What can I do to help...Besides my job that is.

I would love to have a reciprocal relationship with a lender.  I get tired of the good ol' boys who hang out in my office while I'm trying to work and say things like, "Hey, when are you going to send me a deal?  What do I have to do to get a referral from you?"  I've been tempted to become a lender myself and start really marketing myself....like Realtors do.  There are so many other things lender could be doing to promote themselves, but they don't....they hang out in our offices begging.  What I wouldn't give to have the tables turn once in awhile.

Chuck, this sounds great. What's your plan for those outside of your local area? I think you are in the right forum. Soon you your phone will be ringing of the hook

there ya go, you need to be something different for everyone.

i think i'll practice my donut scaling skills and go visit the lovely wife.

be trustworthy, honest, knowledgable, helpful and

find Realtors who share the same beliefs, as you do, in the way business should be done.

you can't please everyone. 

I look for accessibility, follow up and follow thru, and timely communications about my referrals. I look for unique loan programs that help solve my problems, and I look for good referrals. Referrals are a two way street.

Chuck:

Responsiveness to my clients is key to me and the ability to be creative in a difficult situation.

Also, I have had so many loan officers who promised referrals but never came through with them. If you can get a solid referral system going I believe that will help to solidify your relationships with agents.

Chuck: I'm going to assume you're new to the business. Realtors are part of the equation. I suggest you build relationships over time. Ask for referrals to realtors and meet them for coffee. Go into the meeting and relationship with no expectations. I personally think it's shameful when mortgage people call on realtors and ask what they've got for them. Reciprocity is the name of the game. This doesn't necessarily mean trading referrals. It could be helping each other with a need. New realtors may not have an already existing relationship and might be open. I've covered a lot of thoughts here and wish you well. For me, building my database full of all kinds of professionals is starting to pay huge dividends. In fact, my best source of referrals this year has been from financial advisors. Again, I wish you well as you build your business. If you consistently market yourself, you'll be ok. Take care.

I'm not sure I'll ever need mortgage help in Alabama but if I did you'd be there.  What I look for is a mortgage person who keeps the process moving forward timely and lets me know issues if and when they come up right away so I can let all the players know exactly what is going on.  When there's a delay with explanation it is received much better.  Keep them informed and the hugs will probably go a long way in your case.

Chuck, a good mortgage guy or gal, knows their stuff, works well with clients, is responsive, and can be counted on to close loans on time. There is a chemistry thing between agent and lender for sure too.

Chuck, what any REALTOR should want is:

  Consistancy

  Honesty

  Answer your phone

  You follow up on the details

  You make the phone call to the other agent when someting goes awry as it always will anymore

  You call the client when something goes awry as it alway will!

  Consistancy

  Honesty

  Consistancy

  Get my point?

Too many loan officers are great all the way to the point that they get their 2nd deal than all of a sudden they stop doing everything they promise.  They stop doing everything they did up until they actually got the business.  I don't want lunch, donuts, dinner....I want a lender I can depend on who will tell me when there is not a deal and who will work one till closing when there is. 

It really is that simple.

Keep me in the loop. Nothing is more aggravating to me than a loan officer who hides pertinent things about the deal until the last minute when it all blows up. Tell me, as I may be able to help.

I recently had a deal where the loan officer sent me an e-mail status update every single Monday morning until the deal was done. There were also plenty of phonce calls but so far she is the only one in my area to do something like this. I will use her often. I loved getting the updates on a weekly basis.

You have some good (and at least one CRAZY) comments here! As an LO, I've found communication is paramount. Education is a close second. I have TRIED to market with many agents, ala open house flyers, mailers, etc. and many either don't have any budget or don't have a consistent protocol for their listings. Good luck finding some great info here. This is a great feature as many people can benefit from it. Good Job

I like the idea of co-marketing and communication is extremely important.  However, I would be nervous to try a new mortgage "guy" with whom I don't have a background.

Well said Erica! I would like to add one thiing..................

                             AMEN!

Communication, communication, communication.  I have a local title company that sends me an email every time they have completed a step in the closing process - I would love to get that same type of service and information from my lenders as well.  If I found a lender who kept me in the loop like that (whether as the listing agent or as the buyer's agent) I would do backflips.

I don't want trinkets, pens, coffee, or marketing help. I just want you do do your job and make sure the loan closes and my clients are not charges exorbitant fees. And if a mortgage person ever sent a referral my way, I would give him a kidney!

I have to agree with Chris co-marketing with a realtor in your area would be very beneficial to the both of you. Oh,  also COMMUNICATION. this plays a big part of the deal goiong through. Thanks Barbara

Chuck......you got a featured post already!  That is awesome!

Chuck, I just got turned on to you by Ann.

Thank you Ann. :)

Here's what a mortgage person can do to make me, a RE broker happy:

Don't take up too much of my time telling me all about your other big deals or how much business you do or how much you have done. I don't care. Just do well with mine.

Get to the point.

Text me or email me as much as possible, call as little as possible. If you wanna call and chat, do it before 8 am not after 3 pm. Fires rage the hottest later in the day.

Be nice to me. And post me on 'events' but not 'minutiae'.

That's it. :)

Congratulations on the featured blog, way to go! Great blog, I can see why it was featured.