We Tell it Like It Is

Both a mortgage person and a Realtor should be willing to do everything they can do for you...I mean, within reason. Side novel: I will bend over backwards for my clients, however, in the past, I've had people take advantage of that. I've had people call me unexpectedly on a Friday at 6:00 pm and ask me to make appts. to show them 4 houses to see within the hour. And when I explain to them that I have another activity I'm already involved in or explain how difficult it is to get 4 appts. in that short amt of time (this means trying to get a hold of 4 families and then asking them to drop everything and quick leave their house so we can see it in 15 minutes), they have gotten upset at me and say they feel like I'm not doing everything I can to help them. Whew; now that I got that off my chest.

Anyhow, don't settle on a mortgage person who does not return your calls within a few hours and doesn't seem to want to get things done for you. Many mortgage people will issue you a pre-approval letter and not take the time to find out who you are and what you need. A good mortgage person will want to find out everything about you so that they can serve you better. He/she will be willing to find loan programs that are right for you and have some options for you to choose from. A good mortgage person will seem eager for your business and will keep in regular contact with you.

Use a mortgage person that was recommended to you by someone you trust had an A+ experience with him/her.

With the wrong mortgage person, stuff like this has happened to clients:

--postponed closings; buyers' purchase is postponed up to 3 wks because of poor decisions/lack of actions on loan officer's behalf

--mortgage person turns out to be psychotic and goes postal via email; buyers fear he will show up to the closing threatening violence (I'm not kidding; this really happened to us)

--home purchase doesn't go through because buyers' mortgage company was not legitimate or goes under

--no one can get a hold of the mortgage person and buyers worry themselves sick that their home purchase will fall through

--loan officer leads buyers astray and results in financial issues later