Hello to all you realtors. As of 9-11-06 I will be taking a Loan Officer position in the Cincinnati OH area with my current company (US Bank). Currently I am a mtg underwriter and have also worked as a mtg processor and closer for the past 8 years. As you know, gaining steady business from relators is a must for any successful Loan Officer. My question to all of you is what can guy like myself, who has been involved in all aspects of the home loan field except for origination, do to gain realtors trust and business?
Dude,
Forget about realtors. They will only break your heart. Go after builders, financial planners, cpa’s, etc…
Realtors are a dead end. They will call you at 9:30 on a monday night asking you to pre-qual some deadbeat who could not make the time during the work day to call you, hound you incessantly for their ONE deal, then move on to another lender if the HUD is not prepared and in their hands three days prior to closing.
Trust me on this one.
Thanks for the reply Christopher…
so, lets change the question…What can a guy do who has 8 years of back end mtg operation experience do to convince builders, cpa’s, etc. that I am the right man for the job? Aside from giving them my bio and promising the world to them?
Michael,
Learn your companies products inside and out. That is the first step. If you don’t know a product you sure as hell won’t be able to sell it. Next go out in the field and start visiting these people every week. It can be tedious in the beginning but as they get to know your face they will be much more open to doing business with. Ask them questions like who do they currently send their business to? If anyone. Builders tend to let customers come to them with their own financing, but many times they will get a word of mouth referral who needs a lender that is where you come in. Also, when I say builder I mean CUSTOM builder. Builders like D. R. Horton already have mortgage companies in house so that is a dead end. Another good way to get your business going initially is to make a list of EVERYONE you know or have know in recent years. High school friends, college friends, etc…Send them a nice letter explaining to them what it is you do and letting them know you would be happy to help them anytime in the near future with a mortgage. Then add them to a contact list and keep contact with them on a regular basis. Check out this web-site.
They do a fun little newsletter that they send you every month with your name and contact information already printed and ready to go.
Send that out every month to keep your name out there.
Finally start reading everything you can by Todd Duncan, Steven Marshall, and Jim McMahon. These guys are the movers and shakers in our industry. You will get a good head start by doing these things. Check out the mortgage coach software as well.
I am sure that there are plenty of other loan officers on this site who can give you helpful advice as well. This is a great field you are getting into. I can honestly tell you I love coming to work everyday. Good luck in your new endeavor.
I dunno man. This is a matter where some of us will just have to agree to disagree. Anyone who is not networking with realtors right now in a buyer’s market is missing a boat. A big boat. But thats coming from a L.O. for a mortgage broker who is buried in leads from purchase requests. I take my purchase requests, pre approve them, QUALITY pre approvals, mind you, and refer them to a realtor. If the borrower is in an area where I dont know any realtors, I look one up with a search engine or the licensing bureau. I look for experienced realtors with lots of tenure and expertise. The licensing bureau has this data (how long they’ve been a realtor). I then forward the pre approved buyer to the realtor and request or actually mandate seller concessions. Thats where I make another 2 points anyway. Ca ching! 1 or 2 on the front, 2 on the back on every purchase deal. Seller concessions are easy to mandate right now, as sellers will do almost anything to sell right now thanks to the panic button having been pressed. Plus, seller concessions dont cost anyone any money anyway. Not only have I assisted buyer and seller, but also realtor, who in turn sends me their deals for life and talks me up to their colleagues.
Happy selling!
Christopher said something VERY important - KNOW YOUR PRODUCT!! People will have a lot more confidence in you if you know what you’re talking about confidently. Whether you hit realtors, builders, cpas, attorneys, etc., the key thing is CONSISTENCY and making sure your name is always in their faces - email, mailers, office visits, etc. I hope you’re not a shy person and aren’t afraid of rejection. If you are, you need to learn to shake that off before anything. As you know, part of being in sales is accepting that not everyone is going to welcome you with open arms right off the bat.
I recommend you find your “niche” so you have a specific group you market to regularly. Also, don’t forget that you are not selling rates, you are selling service. When I first started in the business, I made the mistake of competing with rates instead of service. This caused me to lose some business b/c my competition sounded a lot more confident by emphasizing their service.
If you market to Realtors, Realtors want to hear that you can close for them faster than anyone else - Countrywide is known for the 10 day closings. (Make sure you have your in-house team ready for fast closings and you deliver on that promise!) Most of them don’t have much loan knowledge (some do but most don’t) and aren’t as interested in the product or rate. Bottom line is, if they can get their commission faster, they will be willing to give you a try. Your first transaction with them is almost the most important transaction so be very cautious and STAY on the file.
Hope this helps.
^^^Good advice.
Some realtors you will want to steer clear of and others might make you a living. It depends on which one you are dealing with. Service is key as well. One realtor I do business with sends me a referral here an there because I impressed him so much the first loan by closing in less than a week. They love getting that paycheck soooo fast. Wouldn’t you? I think there are good realtors, investors, cpas, builders, etc to do business with…and then there are others you may want to way the time and effort and fallout vs. marketing for better clients.
On the topic of knowing your product…
If I ask you a question and your response is a long delay followed by “let me ask my boss” or “let me look that up and get back to you” I’m not going to be very confident in your abilities.
It’s a tough field. Definitely if you can do some business with brokers that’s a good way.
Try to sign them up if you are a lender as an LO. The cont. ed requirements are small, and then you can legitimately pay them a referral fee…
Money talkes.
Diligence with good work ethics pays off! It may be frustrating at first and you’ll hit moments where you feel discouraged, but when that happens, just jump right back onto this forum and I’m sure there will be tons of people to help get you motivated again. Good luck!
I know I’m opening up a can of worms with this comment, but lets be real. It’s about kick backs and as we all know kick backs are illegal…but it’s a reality in this business even if it’s an ugly one and that is what you are up against.
There is no magic bullet. Christopher made some very valid points. Know your product inside and out and sell your product. If you can help others understand your product they will come to you for your product and overtime you will build loyalty and they will come to work with you.
Once you know your product put together some marketing materials highlighting your niche…for instance the 525 100% program US Bank offers. Prepare a 10-15 minuet presentation and then start calling offices inviting them to lunch in exchange for hearing your presentation.
Your best bet is to market to people coming out of option ARM because of your 125% (yeah.yeah…restrictions apply) program.
Keep working at it and you will hit your stride eventually. Good luck.
Isn’t that a sad fact? I think it is so rude to expect a kickback for your hard earned money. Fortunately, I have NEVER given kickbacks because there actually are plenty of referrals that don’t want kickbacks because they understand how unethical it is. I’ve even seen some Realtors frown on L/Os when they were offered a kickback because they didn’t practice in such manners. There are good people out there. But I agree with 4EEM. Too many Realtors have been programmed to steer referrals to the one with the most green to offer, as oppose to the best service. Ultimately, that “kickback” comes out of THEIR customer because the L/O will just charge more in fees and points to make up for the difference. I highly recommend not getting in the habit of playing the kickback game. You’ll be respected a whole lot more in the long run.
It’s sad, but you will notice its very rare to see someone who has been in the real estate profession long-term who plays the kickback game. Short money is just that, short.
Yes realtors are good source. I have my list of the top producers in California. They do the real estate and I do thier loans. Knowing your products and underwriting does help get loan closed. Anything that has to do with residential, commercial, construction , spec loan, etc… I can do. It pays to know your product, the clients, the program and financial planning . A win-win solutions for every one. Always be closing!
:o
You should write a book. You would make more from the sales of a book and tape set than loans.
There is a saying , those that can’t do, teach.
Seminars are only good for free information and networking.
Leverage and diversity is what I learn as a financial planner.
I like to work smarter and not harder. I rather have 100 people giving me 2% of their effort than a few, that is leverage.Knowledge is power. Wrong! Applied knowledge is POWER. It is who you know that really counts. I am just like every one else, but I have alot of knowledge from the people I associate myself… Power player.CEO, CFO,COO, Directors, Chairman of the board…etc… This is my “DREAM TEAM”
I just want to thank you all for the great input to this thread. It’s been a week since my first day and I am loving it so far. It can get a bit overwhelming at times, but alot of hard work and alot of advice that has been thrown my way (much from this discussion board) has really paid off!
I got 4 deals right away and have made my first successful realtor contact that I think will be very productive in the future.
I look forward to many more discussions with you all!
Thanks!
Mike
Can an actual agent add a word in here? 
If you approached me as a lender and offered me a kickback, that would be our first and last conversation. I refer lenders because they do a great job, provide excellent service, and find the best loan that fits the consumer. If I do a great job in my field, I make a great living - the lender should be the same way and there should be no need for any of us to get in anyone else’s pocket. I would far rather you fly those loan docs to my out of state client to get them signed in time.
One more word - honesty is paramount! Please just tell me that a loan may not fly up front so that we can look at alternative creative financing right from the get go. Nothing is worse than having been told, hey everything’s great, loan is great, buyer is golden and then all of a sudden two days before the closing - guess what. That is an agent’s nightmare. Tell me and tell the client what the real percentages are so we can make a contingency plan and we can also let the seller in on it too. They are far more likely to be amenable to working with us if we don’t ambush them at the end.
Okay - just one more word! An agent with a decent amount of business can bring a lender a nice steady flow of leads. I have been in business a long time and run a small team of agents who handle my overflow. Our lender picks up anywhere from 6 to 10 deals a month regularly (depending on how many new homes we sell where the builder already has someone and is offering incentives - lately it has been more new homes than resales but that will not last forever) It won’t make you the big bucks like a builder might, but it is certainly a good living if you can find three or four loyal agents that can throw you that kind of business.