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	Mortgage and Lending	RAINER 13,642
	James Bingham

	Fresno, CA — Mission Hills Mortgage Bankers

	Helpful Mortgage Loan Information for Everyone

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Top 5 Reasons Why Agents Need A Lender Relationship

As a Real Estate Agent, one of the best things you can provide to your clients is advice. Most buyers ( and sellers for that matter ) look to their agents as a source for information to help guide them through a very complex process to buy/sell a home. During the course of your career you will undoubtedly have the experience of working with numerous local professional service providers with varying results. As a trusted advisor, you are in a clear position to provide insight as to which providers may be best suited to work with your clients.

Realtors are often asked to provide referrals for: Attorneys, Insurance Companies, Home Inspectors, Mortgage Lenders, Surveyors, Appraisers, Landscapers, Tradespeople, & even other Realtors.

One of the important referrals you may make includes a reputable Mortgage lender. If you want your transaction to close, on time, with the least amount of angst for you & your clients, then you need a go-to person in your area to refer clients who need financing.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should have a working relationship with a reputable local lender:

PRE-APPROVALS. If you value your time, then you need to know that your buyer can buy, BEFORE taking them out for the day. A good mortgage originator should be able to quickly ( but thoroughly ) determine if your buyers will ultimately be approved for their financing. Your lender can tell you what parameters the buyer will qualify for, and help you with price range & budget planning. This can be a real time saver, and clients will appreciate knowing they have the process started! Don't forget- your sellers may also need to be buyers, and they should speak to your lender as well, to make sure that when they do sell, they CAN buy. STRUCTURING AN OFFER. This is something often overlooked as a benefit of working with a professional loan originator. Quite often the offer being presented by the buyer has little to do with the true market value & more to do with the desire to "get a deal" or work within a budget. A good originator can help structure a win-win offer that both fits the parameters of the buyer's abilities as well as presenting the best make sense offer. Sometimes, a seller concession, or change to loan type, or even the use of discount points to reduce the rate can be the tools needed in order to get the offer in shape so it works. If you don't work closely with & include the loan officer in the offer process, you may be missing out on deals that are very close to succeeding. In most cases, you'll never know what could have been. COMMUNICATION & TIMELINESS Now that an offer has been accepted, the process of getting ready for closing can begin. This is where your referral of a great loan originator, and attorney can come into play & begin to really make you look good. Your mortgage originator should have an efficient process for obtaining the required documents & disclosing terms of the loan, and needs to work with the rest of the 'team' in order to get the loan approved, obtain a mortgage commitment & clear any outstanding conditions. It's during this time that good communication is demanded. A good originator keeps the client, agent(s) & attorney informed as to progress of the loan file, and is ready to close on time. CLOSING (It's closing time!!!) The day has come, the walk through is complete, the C/O in the file, and a time for closing is here. Everyone shows up- attorney/title rep, buyers, sellers, agents,...and hey wait, where's the mortgage person?? Is the closing package ready? Are the wired funds available? If your mortgage person is not present at the closing, who answers any questions about the paperwork? If your lender cannot make it in person, then they should definitely confirm that everything is in order, and review the closing statement with your buyer, before they walk in the room. This is the last impression you get to make with your client, in order to secure those future referrals- make sure your partners realize this is important, and act accordingly. SUPPORT. Oh, we all need it. A good referral partner does care about you & promoting your business, right? In order for a good partnership to work, there needs to be a give & take. Your mortgage partner should have the desire and ability to help you find new business. They can co-sponsor your broker open houses, provide training, share industry information, and be available to you when you need them. They may offer to do joint advertising, seminars, and other creative & helpful things to make the partnership a true success.

If you don't have a lending partner like this, then please contact me- we do all of the above items & more. It would be our pleasure to discuss how our team can help you & your clients have a terrific mortgage experience.

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