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Updated over 1 year ago, 07/25/2023
Checking credentials of a Lender
Hi! I found the PERFECT real estate agent and am now in the process of vetting a lender. I am having difficulty finding this person's company on the BBB, but that may be a glitch. What are some other ways to vet his company before providing my financial information to them?
Quote from @Kristen Dolotina:
Hi! I found the PERFECT real estate agent and am now in the process of vetting a lender. I am having difficulty finding this person's company on the BBB, but that may be a glitch. What are some other ways to vet his company before providing my financial information to them?
Did you check NMLS? Every lender should be licensed and have a NMLS number. If they are a private lender they may not have a NMLS but should have a website and some references you can check. At the end of the day you ALWAYS go through a title company so if the lender was not legit you would know it well before you got to closing since they need to fund the deal.
- Chris Seveney
Hey Kristen,
We have an A+ rating on BBB but depending on what financing you need, that would be another discussion. Always happy to connect and talk about your success plan and investing goals!
- Devin Peterson
- [email protected]
- 860-538-3672
NMLS consumer lookup drop down on self reported employment history, are they more than ten years in the business.
Work under a corp or LLC name lookup in secretary of state for complaints
Ask three realtors for a couple names
Check the website. What is the company corp address. Separate search the address is it an office? Who are the owners - lookup their Linkedin job history do they have 15 years in the business?
BBB not the greatest information and because is financial services much is blacked out. Reviews can be made up so 5 star ones are suspect but read the 1 stars
Strongest method is talking to other people who have used this lender. Read online reviews or ask them to send you 3 people who have completed a loan. If company is not reputable they will suddenly seem to not be seeing or reading your request. You'll have to ask multiple times and their responses will get slower and slower.
Always go to nmlsconsumeraccess.org to find out any lender/loan officers credentials. By law, every one must be licensed by the NMLS to operate so their information will be there. Always
@Kristen Dolotina, First question that i would ask is why is your perfect agent recommending this lender? Have they been doing business together a while? Does this lender have a solid track record? Do they answer the phone outside of business hours? Is there underwriting in house?
These are all questions that can be answered on a simple 30 minute phone call with the lender.