Residential Finance Specialist designates guides Buyers through mortgage maze and even ad to the value you provide to potential clients.
When I, AKA The EXiT Guy, look at the news and read about the financial woes facing so many homeowners today, I can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that I am able to guide so many clients safely through the mortgage process.
As a Broker with EXiT Realty Premier in Tupelo, MS, I am among fewer than one-tenth of one percent of all Realtors nationwide, and one of only two in Mississippi, who have earned the Residential Finance Specialist (RFS)TM designation awarded by the Residential Financing Council.
The Residential Finance SpecialistTM certification program goes into great detail about how the lending system works, how the various players-the banks, the mortgage bankers, and the mortgage brokers-make their money, and how each type of loan is structured. The two-day course on lending had a strong focus on "predatory lending" practices-long before the media or the legislatures began focusing on this issue.
Over the last few years, new loan programs and so-called ‘creative financing' made home buying a possibility for a large number of consumers who previously would not qualify for a loan and this created many of the problems we see today with the lending industry. With the training provided in the RFS course, I was better able to analyze lending programs and to realize that when things look too good to be true, they usually are."
"There are so many technical issues involved in the purchase and sale of real estate, and most buyers and sellers are just anxious to get the deal done and to move on with their lives. It's not just finding the right home at the right price, but also getting the right financing. I can play a huge roll in the long-term success (or failure) of the homeownership experience, as today's wave of foreclosures will testify.
When a buyer closes on a loan that is at the very top of his or her qualifying limits, then puts little or nothing down on that home, that's a blueprint for disaster. Add to that the fact that some lenders were encouraging borrowers to take additional cash to cover closing costs and even some move-in expenses. Many were allowing such loans without the need for complete documentation of income (stated income loans). When the housing market took its dive, or when borrowers earning power was diminished-even temporarily-keeping up with the payments or even selling the home to get out from under those payments became virtually impossible.
Most lenders talk about the ‘3 Cs' of qualifying for a loan: Credit, Capacity and Collateral. The RFS training emphasizes a ‘fourth C,' and that is ‘Comfort Zone.' Buyers need to recognize that there are many variables that can occur in one's home budgeting, including unexpected expenses, layoffs, etc. So even though they can qualify for a certain payment based on the lender's ‘3 Cs,' the amount should not stretch the buyer's budget to the limit, but should fall within a reasonable ‘comfort zone' allowing for the unexpected. Helping buyers identify that ‘comfort zone' should be part of the real estate counseling process. Hence, a real added value proposition as a Buyers agent.
Candidates for the Residential Finance Specialist (RFS) designation must complete twelve hours of actual instruction on financing and then sit for a written exam covering all phases of the home financing process. I received my certification in April 2002 and althought it is not a NAR recognized designation, it doesn't need to be to be a "real credential" for your clients benefit. I also hold the "Graduate Realtor Institute" or "GRI" designation and the "Accredited Buyer Representative" or "ABR" designation.
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