Let humility reign down upon me. 
Years ago I was told by the senior partner of our firm here in Pennsylvania, "In this business, every mistake costs you money." Oh, so very right. So I wanted to take this time, these moments, to reflect on some mistakes I've made that not only cost me money, cost me something even more important, unbridled trust and client loyalty. I hope to have learned from each of the following and even though they are in no particular order, one thing is for sure....I'll make a mistake again. My only hope is to react and adapt to better handle the human error I've been blessed with.
10) When using bank statement programs to document income, NSF's or Non Sufficient Funds showing up in bulk can screw up the entire transaction. This happened to me on a purchase where the customer's not only couldn't document income, had a very beat up credit history, but it was a referral from a friend. Ended up having to totally restructure the deal and still got them in the house, but to this very day...I hated the way that particular tranaction panned out.
9) Hard times in the real estate industry. Welcome to 2007. I had a loan approved through one of our investors for a purchase of an investment property by a client I had garnered through internet marketing and closed a loan with before. There was a 21 day time frame between the signed AOS and the settlement day. Low and behold, a week prior to closing, that investor closed its doors, went out of business, and I had to scramble to get similar terms elsewhere at the last minute. Of note, my mistake was to not immediately tell the client about this when it happened. I figured it wasn't their problem, it was mine. I was wrong.
8) Even though I am the follow up king, I too have failed to be totally infallible in this regard. There has been a few occassions where my follow up wasn't what it should of been. By the time I did follow up, they had gone elsewhere. While a lot of my clients call me first, it is our job to remain in front of them on a consistent basis. When this doesn't happen, be sure to note somebody else is and don't be surprised if they went elsewhere.
7) Know thy product. Whether it be commercial financing, Pay-Opton ARMS, or a first time home-buyer, if you aren't ultra-familiar with what you are giving the client....it is a recipe for disaster. This happened to me when the Pay-Option Arm was first rolled out and I lost a potentially returning client:-(
6) Stated Income Loans. Here is a conversation piece. Stating Income is not combining the income of the borrower and the spouse and using that as the income because the significant other has horrible credit. This was an early mistake and I think still is made (knowingly and not) to this day across the industry.
5) Credit is more than just scores. Just because a client has a 515 score doesn't mean you can't get them bought conforming. I wrote a blog on this awhile back. Not to open Pandora's Box, but when reviewing your client's strengths as a borrower...just because they have a low score doesn't mean they don't get bought conforming.
4) Disclosure! This is another early mistake. Let your clients know how much and why you make money on each loan. Enough said.
3) Attend Closings. If it is a purchase-money transaction and the wire is a little late, or money to close is off, no matter who dropped the proverbial ball, if you aren't there......the chances of criticism being deflected towards your direction are great. I've had a couple of instances where for one reason or another I wasn't at the closing, and while the majority of the time things went smooth....the instances where they didn't bit me in my keister. It is also important to be there to make sure everything is exactly how you explained it to your client and to help answer any outstanding questions. This is our duty as mortgage professionals on the financing end.
2) Value of the Subject Property. Here's another conversation piece. While I have never intentionally pushed values, oft times I have mistakenly not asked the right questions to get a good & accurate barometer of what a client's house is worth. This is crucial.
1) Being everything to everyone. Like many I assume, early on I was hungry to get whatever business I could. No matter the situation or scenario, I tried like the dickens to make sure I had the direction for every inquiry's ideal destination. Whether is was a client who wanted a residential blanket loan, no money down commercial financing, etc.....I took on all comers. And while it is easier to pick and choose, so to speak, your battles if you have a nice and steady influx of business and healthy pipeline, in the long-term your business is better served if sometimes you simply say, "That isn't what we specialize in here."
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