Has this happened to YOU?

I remind my clients that they pull credit the day of closing to make sure there have been no changes.  Some don't, but many do, so it's not a lie.  You never know if they're going to be chosen for a last minute recheck.  That scares them into not making any purchases and/or changes until closing.

However, I do tell them that they can go looking for things, and to write down model numbers of items, so the day they close, they can go right back and order what they need and it shoud be quick because they've got it all written down.  I did that with my first house, and it was easy.

In my opinion, some people render advice in an incomplete manner.  They will say "You shouldn't do xyz." and leave it at that.  To be effective, when rendering advice, you should also inform them about the consequences of not following the advice.  I have twin three year-old boys, and it holds true when dealing with them as well:

• If I say, "Don't touch the stove," you can be fairly certain, that they will touch it, if for no other reason than to satisfy their curiosity.
• If I say, "If you touch the stove, you will get burned, and it will hurt a lot.  So, don't touch the stove, OK?"  That generally will elicit the type of behavior that I want to encourage.

The key is really letting your clients see that they can and should trust your advice.  For some you will need to explain the reasoning behind the advice.  Others, will need to hear the same thing from another person who corroborates the advice.  After you have worked with someone for a period of time, they will begin to trust you more, and take your advice at face value.  Until that happens, you will likely need to spend time explaining the rationale for the advice you have to offer.  It is simply part of human nature to avoid being told what to do.

Andrew,

Good points. Unfortunately this happens with regularity, despite the client being reminded not to commit to anything major that would change the application dynamics. It sure can ruin an otherwise nice refi.

I actually put that at the bottom of the e-mail to my clients once they put an offer in. EVERY E-MAIL every time after the offer.