Colorado RE Agent and Lender Relationships

[Stuart Grazier]

Colorado Agents, 

From your perspective, what are the best ways for mortgage loan officers to create a winning relationship/partnership in order to help you and your buyers?  Are there certain qualities and/or business systems that you look for in a good lender? 

[Mike Wadsley]

Hey @Stuart Grazier - 

My big items are:

1. Responsive - If I or my clients leave you a message or send an email, I want to hear back same day. If they are on the phone, my best lenders will send a text that just says that they will get back with them as soon as they can. I dropped a lender just the other day for taking two days to get back to me on a purchase. I need to know that when I'm ready to write a contract that you're able to get me a lender letter quickly.

2. Show me that you're shopping the best rate and terms for my client. Don't say "I always use these guys". I had one lender that if he had spent 5 more minutes looking one other spot he would have saved my clients almost 1/2. A lender just yesterday said let me check a fifth lender she doesn't use often and came up with the best rate we've seen to date. 

3. Be open and honest in a transaction. "We'll get it done" isn't a good answer. I had one loan stuck in underwriting because the buyer opened a new credit card. We got final numbers the morning of closing. If the lender had told me the whole story, we might have pushed out the closing. Needless to say everyone else in the transaction was very nervous.

4. If you're working with one of my clients, I need feedback at least once a week.

5. Keep me up to speed on what's happening in the lending world that I can use to send to my buyers and post on social media. I had a lender send me info on a cool new loan program that may just get one of my buyers to pull the trigger.

My biggest

6. We're partners serving our common client. We need to be in lock step with next steps and expectations of one another.

That's how a LO gets on my list of lenders.