The profession of loan officer has been beaten up pretty badly in the media as of late. We were blamed for the sub-prime crisis and consequently much of the problems in the financial system. It's obvious now that there was some unscrupulous lending going on. Many of the loan programs that got borrowers into financial trouble are gone and I suppose that many of the dishonest loan officers are gone with those programs.
Even with all the changes there are still some bad loan officers out there. But there are also some good ones. It can be hard to know who is who and whether a loan officer is going to provide great service or not. The following lists should help you know what to look for.
A "good" loan officer should...
- Be available 24/7
- Ask a lot of questions about your situation and listen more than talk
- Present you with multiple options
- Disclose how much they will make on the transaction
- Provide you with a good faith estimate and a guarantee that it will not change at closing
- Explain the option of locking or floating the interest rate
A "good" loan officer should NOT...
- Try to predict the future of interest rates because nobody knows!
- Set unrealistic expectations for closing dates and times
- Collect a check for the appraisal until the borrower has had 3 days to review the initial disclosures
These are just a few things to look out for when you are meeting with a loan officer. I like to think of myself as one of the good ones that is trying to give the profession some dignity again. I think that the changes that are occuring in the industry are a good first step to helping establish the consumers trust in the mortage industry again.
If you can think of any other things that a good loan officer should or should not do, I would love to see your comments on this.
About the Author
John Neil is a loan officer that is passionate about his profession. His goal with every transaction is to make a customer for life. The result is that 95% of his business comes from referrals of satisfied clients. If you need a cache valley mortgage, you can contact John at 435-770-2709. You can also follow him on twitter @LoganUTMortgage or facebook @facebook/MortgageNerd
John - I likew your list - and although I am very available - much more so than any bank - 24/7 might be stretching it a bit - we do need to sleep sometimes.
Who can quarrel with being available from 8am till 8pm? (Although I often answer e-mails till midnite).
John: Thanks for the list. Transparency is huge in any business and is key in ours. Thanks for posting this. Have an awesome day!
Rick- I think 8 am to 8 pm is very acceptable. 24/7 might be a little bit of hyperbole.
Paul- Thanks for the comment. Have an awesome day as well!
I agtree with Paul ! But the comment about 24/7 is on target too!