The Coming Shortage of Loan Officers and Realtors Behaving Badly

Janet - AMEN!!!  You know how I feel about this topic and while I agree with you, I strongly suspect that we still need to weed out a lot more of the ill-mannered, numskull Realtors and agents down here (Los Angeles & Ventura counties) before the Realtor/MLO relationship can improve to any kind of professional level.  Some days, it actually seems like some of them are actually getting worse.

I could apply comment #46, "I consider them a necessary evil to be dealt with, with suspicion." to some of the Realtors/agents that I am forced to work with.  As much as Realtors/agents wish their clients would work with only MLOs/lenders they recommend, the same could be said for wishing borrowers would only work with Realtors/agents that we (MLO) recommend.  As for Realtors/agents finding a good MLO, you said it best, "the strong survive, not the weak".

Ssome of the behaviors you highlighed are a bit comical, but so true. Good loan officers really are becoming harder to find. I almost lost a deal because the original one left in the middle of the transaction and didn't fully appraise the new one about the situation. It took some quick thinking and action on our part to pull the deal off. They can really help or hurt a deal.

Kate: What you have stated is so true. I would say the pool is draining when it comes to loan officers.

I look forward to your post on loan offers being a shortage. When I read this I kinda read it again with the Realtors shortage too.

I think it could be interpreted both ways.

Realtors and lenders need to work together in a synergy.

Janet,

A loan officer selected by my buyers left me a voicemail on Wednesday that he needs a copy of the contract. Did NOT leave an email address, fax number or snail mail address. I promptly returned his call and have yet to hear back from him.  Wanna bet he'll call me screaming that he is on a tight deadline and I haven't gotten him what he requested?

Good loan officers are gems - I'm with you!

I'm sorry to say that while agents behaving badly may not be tolerated by many loan officers, they are still out there continuing to behave badly. I think the market brings out an interesting side to people.

Janet, although what you say is true there are good agents and good loan officers. We both have a vested interest in making a deal work. Thanks.

Hi Janet,  Very interesting post.  As agents we tend to focus in on just our own immediate needs and sometimes forget the other players needed to make the deal happen.  I think I'll go hug my mortgage gal !

Janet, I have a favorite lender here because he is one of the few who provides to buyers exactly what they can expect at closing, and his figures just aren't off, ever. He is a goldmine for us, because we've seen too many buyers, with their own choices, hit with extra unexpected $ at closing. I would never think- EVER- of circumventing him to go above or around him, were there an issue- losing him would be a huge loss to our buyers, and us. We did have to call a supervisor once because the loan officer was MIA- turns out he left the company, and didn't tell our buyers..,

The only time I have EVER had to employ some of these items was with a bad LO...and in no way was I behaving badly.

A good LO is a key player on a good agent's team. My reputation is on the line when I recommend someone.

We can only hope that the bad loan officers have died off.  There have been a few that I was ready to reach through the phone and strangle over the last few years.  Obviously not ones I recommended.

Gary, I have to respectfully disagree with you. Your assumption that a shortage of loan officers will leave mostly those that are not the cream of the crop is just not logical. In my opinion, most of those remaining will be the cream of the crop because they are already successful with a large referral source and will be more likely to remain in the business despite reduced compensation.

Also, it is not fair to assume that someone who will not be able to weather the storm financially would be a less than desirable loan officer. Haven't a lot of Good-Honest-Knowledgeble Realtors left the business due to the economic down turn too? 

Complicated subject. I try not to be a pain to the lender. Have had to do it once or twice with a "brother-in-law" lender who was dangerously inexperienced. I like to give my buyers a short list of lenders I trust and that my buyers have had good experience with.

I know what you mean about Realtors behaving badly.  The same ones behave badly to other Realtors as well as the Lenders.  Makes our lives miserable also.

Erica #62: You are so correct. I've been a lender before, and have heard of loan officers pushing appraisers. I had a relationship with this one appraiser, and everytime I spoke to him, I asked him if we can have the value. He knows, that I understand what he has to do, so he knows what I'm asking. He will not give a value that he cannot back up, and that is perfectly fine. I don't push him any further than that.

Its like a buyer pressuring their agent to get the deal at a lower price, and the seller won't take less. Its not the agent's decision, so harrasing them does no good!!

This certainly spells it out.  Good insight and something to think about.  Thanks for sharin

Very well said.  There are definitely fewer loan officer today than ever before.  Of course, even still, some aren't always the most competent. 

#3 remains an issue.  The issue is that some agents still refuse to accept that the year is not 2007.  Unless they are building a time machine, they need to learn to accept that and move on.  They will be much more successful when they do.

Great post Janet!  I used to see more of issues 1, 2, and 3 back in the "old days", but agents now seem to have a better understanding of many of the challenges we face when putting a mortgage together. 

I also think one of the biggest things we as LO's can do to improve relationships with Realtors is communicate.  With smart-phones and e-mail, there is no excuse for notstaying in contact, yet many of the comments above refer to LO's who don't return calls.  And never "duck" calls!  If there is a challenge, face it head on.  Don't bury your head in the sand and hope it goes away.  That's the worst thing you can do!