Seriously, I’m a mortgage broker and I often find myself contemplating this very question. Why use me? Why would a client need to choose me? Not just me, but any broker. As I’ve pondered this question countless times I feel like I finally have a few good answers. Now keep in mind that one obvious reason a client would come to a broker is because they have already tried their bank and for one reason or another they couldn’t get the loan done. I don’t want to focus on that client because the answer is too easy, not to mention that the majority of my clients could go to the bank and get their loan, yet they choose me. I really want to figure out why, then build on those skill sets to make myself an obvious choice for anyone looking for a loan.

Reason 1: Knowledge

I’m not saying that bank loan officers don’t know what they’re doing. Many of them are consummate professionals, but let’s look at the different roles and see how that makes a difference. Many of my clients end up with me after a round or two with a bank, sadly, the only reason the loan didn’t close was a direct lack of knowledge on the part of the LO. These days there are a plethora of guideline changes happening almost daily, and the saying about if you’re standing still you’re really going backwards couldn’t be more true in this industry right now. I think part of the issue is that many loan officers don’t spend the necessary time studying their guideline books or maybe they get so stuck thinking inside the box that they never look for alternative solutions to a situation. Large institutions like banks force their LO’s to stay in that box, but more on that later. I certainly don’t mean disrespect to LO’s that work at a bank, many of them are top notch as I’ve already said and with so many large brokers going out of business many of their former LO’s ended up at a bank. Seriously, no offense intended……

Reason 2: Flexibility

This probably should have been reason number one. When you think of flexibility you probably don’t picture a bank. Think about how rigid they can be about checking account rules, ten forms of ID to cash a check, waiting 10 days for an out of town check to clear, etc. Do you really think they are any more flexible when it comes to loaning an individual hundreds of thousands of dollars? Banks have a tendency to be super cut and dried when it comes to their internal mortgage guidelines. Don’t fit the criteria on one tiny little point, DENIED.  When you go to a bank and apply for a mortgage, you are applying for that banks programs. In other words, they have one set of guidelines for FHA, one for VA, one for conventional, etc. If you spend three weeks working with one bank only to get turned down, you try bank number 2 and find out the same thing.

That’s where a broker like us comes in. I have to admit that we are actually a mortgage banker 1st and a broker second but here’s the difference. We have my mortgage banking division with their one guideline set up, but then we have access to over 83 lenders with my broker division. When I look at a loan I check it against my bank’s guidelines first, if it doesn’t meet up, I go to my other lenders. Aha! There’s the catch! When I go all broker on you I charge more right? Nope, my fees don’t move an inch and the rates we can get on a brokered loan can sometimes be better than when we bank one, as a matter of fact we start on the broker side first in many cases. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• An individual bank typically offers 4 basic programs: FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional.
• That bank will have one “rulebook” on each program, so one bank gives you 4 chances of getting your loan closed
• A independent banker/broker like us offers the same 4 basic programs
• We have 83 lenders each with one “rulebook” for each of the 4 programs which gives you 4X83= 332 chances of getting your loan closed!
• Did I mention we only pull credit once? Even when we shop your loan to multiple lenders?

Reason 3: Good Looks

Okay, that’s a joke. I’m sure there are plenty of other LO’s more handsome than my crew……

The Real Reason 3: Efficiency

Independent brokers like us do one thing: residential mortgages. That’s it. We don’t worry about our next toaster give-away for new accounts, we don’t have to deal with commercial transactions which take TONS of time. We specialize in one thing, closing loans and as quickly as possible. We don’t get paid salaries so we don’t get paid until we close your loan. Trust me, that goes a long way in motivating us to get our loans closed on time or ahead of time with as little stress to our customers as possible.

Reason 4: Service Level

This to me goes way beyond just closing your loan on time with minimal stress. I own my business and I know that the only way we’ll be succesful is if we take the time to treat you like we would treat our mommas. We will never treat you like we don’t have time for you or your loan isn’t as important as the guy who has more money deposited with us. I know what I’m doing because I take the time to study and research my industry and I don’t do it for me, I do it for you, my customer.

I want my customers to truly like me, not just as a loan officer, but as a friend and trusted advisor.  I want to give you an example of what I mean. Not too long ago I had one of my previous purchase clients call me because her grown sons had been bugging her to check on doing a refinance. She is an older lady and I can tell you all about her family and those grandbabies she loves so much. We talked about her gettting a guard dog and how it would be trained and so on. When we finally got back to the business end of the conversation I realized that the numbers just didn’t work to her favor like I thought they should.  I could have easily done the loan and collected the revenue but a friend wouldn’t do that to another friend, so I explained to her that I wouldn’t do the loan and if she really wanted to refinance she should consider a 15 year term as that would give her a true benefit. We talked a little longer and as she was getting off the phone she thanked me and said “Love you” just like she’d say to one of her boys, without hesitation I replied “love you to”. The best part was, I meant it. She values my opinion as her mortgage expert and in turn I enjoy our conversations, I truly value that relationship we share. Will every one of my clients end up this way? I doubt it, but I view my clients as real people and I think they sense that. I don’t know about you, but that’s important to me when I deal with someone of the largest financial transaction of my life.

I would absolutely love to help you in any way I can when it comes to your mortgage. Questions, comments, free expert advice is a phone call or an email away.