I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to the crappy lending institutions out there (my good lender friends, this is NOT aimed at you), who for the last couple have years have disappointed me, my clients and our industry.
I'd like to THANK YOU for setting my expectations SO LOW that I've come to accept that seeing a final HUD on the same day as closing is a normal thing. Heck, even seeing it 4-8 hours prior to my closing time was doing "pretty good".
Why am I thankful?
Because it has taught me to be a better advocate for my client. While my clients may see me as a "Debbie Downer" sometimes, I like to think that playing Devil's Advocate and coaching them to have multiple "back up plans" in case we don't hit our targeted closing date is a good thing.
I'm tired of hoping that large faceless institutions will see there are human beings involved whose stress level sky-rockets while waiting for those wonderful five words "we have clear to close" or for me, those 2 words "we're funded". I was tired of the "it's not my job" or "it's out of my control" attitude that so many have taken.
So for the lenders out there that actually return calls and emails promptly, who set REALISTIC expectations for my buyers, and for those that care about these buyers as people, not just a file number, I'd like to say THANK YOU. You've made me more appreciative for the little things.
The inspiration for this post...
Today I had a very pleasant experience with USAA. Now, I've had buyers use USAA in the past and they weren't the most seamless of transactions. And no, this is not a "bashing USAA post". I'm personally a USAA customer, and love what services and products they give to our veterans.
So, I prepped the buyer with the normal speech I give when they're using a lender that I did not recommend: get the lender what they need as fast as you can, have a couple of back up plans in case our closing is delayed, get the contact name/number of the exact person we can get directly in contact with for your file etc.
Well, not only did my clients do exactly what they needed to do, USAA came back and did what THEY needed to do! Not only that, but we are able to close our deal about TWO WEEKS EARLIER than planned. I was floored.
So thank you USAA...for helping me believe that having an "early closing" is no longer a thing of the past, and that customer service is still alive and well - even at the big institution level.
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