Before Choosing a Mortgage Broker, Get Answers
Wednesday April 11, 2007
I received a call yesterday from a reader in Louisiana who works as a mortgage broker. He wanted to know how he could get more referrals from real estate agents. While I don't know anything about Louisiana agents, I did tell him why I tend to do business with a certain group of mortgage brokers:I'd like to share those reasons with you.
- They respond to e-mails from my clients and me within 5 minutes.
- They answers the phone when my clients or I call.
- If the line is busy and the call goes to voice mail, somebody immediately calls back.
- They provides financing options flyers for my sellers so their buyers don't have to second-guess their mortgage payments.
- They've been in the business long enough to know that one-size-does-not-fit-all and customize options for each client.
- They beat every retail rate available on the open market, and those they can't beat, they match.
- They don't charge garbage fees yet guarantee Good Faith Estimates.
- They have never let a loan fall apart and, in fact, have repackaged loans from other lenders that did fall apart, funding them within seven days.
- I can count on them to get the job done and get it done right, even if it means working on the weekends or after hours during the week.
- And I like the loan reps. They are friendly and always smile, regardless of how tough the loan.
If you're wondering how to evaluate your lender, here are a few mortgage broker answers to questions you may ask. It's not enough to know the right question, you need to know the right answer when you hear it.
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©Elizabeth Weintraub, Licensed to About.com
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Comments
Evelyne and I have much in common. That’s a solid list of reasons for referral that not many brokers can live up to.
If you don’t go to Evelyne, check our mortgage company out. We serve MD, VA, DC, DE, NY, MA, FL, GA, and CA.
That’s a good list. Here’s my favorite question to ask and gauge a lender’s competency: What makes mortgage rates move?
The answer isn’t the Fed, Federal Reserve, contrary to popular belief. And it isn’t any one factor. It’s a host of factors. So many, in fact, that they can’t be explained here. Please go to HSH.com to read an article titled What Moves Mortgage Rates. A good and long account of reasons to rate fluctuations. Enjoy.
I would caution any of you considering using Mortgage Express. We recently went through a transaction in which they were the broker. They, and the lender they chose, failed to complete the loan twice, and ruined our transaction on a house we were purchasing. When I filed a complaint against them, they were not apologetic. They are not a reputable company.
Do not use Mortgage Express in Oregon or Washington. We had a terrible experience with them.