I have a friend that I work with that recently started blogging (is that the right term?). His passion and enthusiasm towards it made me curious as to what the attraction was to sharing one's thoughts and ideas in a public forum. He suggested I give it a try, so here I am. As this is an industry blog, I felt that my first entry should be something related.
I've been in the mortgage industry now for a bit over 5 years. I love this industry and truly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it. I do everything I can to continually increase my knowledge through seminars, educational forums and reading as much as I can and I encourage my loan officers to do the same. Recently I had the pleasure of getting a call from an old client that I hadn't spoken with in almost 8 months. He told me that he wanted to refinance and pay off some debt and needed to make sure his payments stayed manageable. Sounds simple enough... I said sure, I'll do what I can. He then told me that his wife had spoken with her nephew who was ‘in the business' and he had offered them a great 5 year interest only loan at only 2%! This is where I perked up. I asked him if this relative of theirs had said anything else about his phenomenal program and of course he said no. There was no mention of the fact that this was a Neg Am loan.
I'm concerned for my industry. There was a time when mortgage brokers and loan officers had reputations that one could be proud of. There was a time when people would speak with a loan officer, not from a defensive and distrusting position, but one of respect and appreciation. As I said I haven't been in the business for that long, but I come from a family that has been in it for over 30 years. It's definitely changed. And I believe loan officers, like the nephew my client spoke with, is part of the problem.
What can we do as a community to protect our industry and livelihood? Well, for starters, the managers, team leads and company heads, can try to place more emphasis on learning. Make sure your loan officers actually know what they're selling and are explaining it fully to their clients. And for the loan officers reading this, believe me, you'll have a longer, more profitable and fulfilling career by listening to your clients and offering them products that really do allow them to achieve their financial goals. Business becomes much easier because instead of constantly cold calling or knocking on Realtors doors, your clients will become a source off continual business through referrals and repeat business.
Fortunately for my client, I was able to explain to him what that loan was, how it worked and what specific questions he should ask his nephew. He did, and needless to say, he's no longer going with that loan or loan officer.
Please feel free to share your thoughts on this or your opinion of how I did with my first blog. I'd love to hear from you...
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