Hi djcamacho,
To answer your question, I interviewed three residential realtors in
different locations and stages of their careers. The first is the
broker/owner of a long-established residential and commercial real
estate firm on Cape Cod. Here is what he had to say.
“The answer to your question should be fairly simple. Realtors are
looking for the following from lenders....
1. Service - the lender has to communicate quickly and constantly
with
all parties involved.
2. Rates - since this is highly competitive, it still comes down
to what
lender provides the best service to their customers.
3. Service, Service, Service is the simple answer.”
The next agent that I interviewed is in the early stages of her
career. She said the following:
“...realtors do business with a lender who offers the best rates and
service. It also helps if the lender has several different loan
programs to accommodate every type of situation. Not everyone has a
good credit score. They also need to be flexible, responsive, and
have a professional attitude during the entire transaction. As you
know, buying a home can be a stressful time and the financing should
be kept as simple as possible. Obviously, personality also enters
into the equation. It's just like any other business. Realtors do
business with the vendors who can offer great products at a good
value.”
The last realtor I talked to is someone who has just retired after
many years in the New Jersey residential real estate market. She had a
lot of very specific details and suggestions in her answer. I am
quoting her entire answer for you, as I think that there is much here
that you can use.
“1) Have reputation, track record of being client focused & good at
communications- take good care of Realtor's client, and always keep
client and Realtor in the loop/informed/feedback/status info., etc.
2) Closings are on time, go smoothly, are short...no last minute
mortgage problems.
3) Available/accessible - "800" like number - someone available to
answer questions, do prequalification & preapprovals then Fax
verification to client & Realtor...especially available
evenings/weekends!
4) Provide Realtors with one page, simple, clear, easy to understand
samples of their current rates - mail directly to each Realtor, have
extra copies for Office.
5) Be visible, become "known" - visit Realtor Offices, get to know the
Realtors - perhaps leave pens with the Mortgage Co. name, and the
"800" like telephone number on the pen.
6) Be creative, flexible with making "non-standard" client situations
work, and preferably with "reasonable" documentation.
7) Offer competitive rates!!”
So it seems that, as in most other businesses, service plays a very
large part in the selection process. Additionally, many home buyers
actually choose their lender first and seek pre-qualification before
they select an agent. To market to those customers, who are
increasingly web-savvy, consider a good website designed to inform
potential home-seekers that choosing you first will speed up their
home buying process. In hot real estate markets, a pre-qualified buyer
has a definite edge.
“Finding the right home starts with finding a good lender. You need to
know how much home you can afford, how much money you will need for
down payment and closing costs, and what your monthly payments will
be. A lender can pre-approve you for a loan and issue an approval
letter. This is invaluable when you are negotiating on a home! If more
than one comparable offer has been received the seller will always
choose the buyer who has the financing in place.”
Source:
http://www.house-hunting.com/justsold/BuyingaHome.htm
Century 21 Las Vegas JustSoldTeam
Turning to online research for some additional views on what realtors
are looking for in a lender, I found the following.
"A good personal relationship is more important than anything, because
you need to work with someone you can count on to do what they say
they're going to do," says Rubin, sales associate with RE/MAX of
Cherry Hill, Cherry Hill, N.J. "And that relationship depends on
honesty."
Source:
Realtor Magazine Online; May 1, 2002
The Right Lender for Your Customers
by Michele Lerner
http://www.realtor.org/rmomag.NSF/pages/mortlendermay02?OpenDocument=
This would indicate how important it is for you to get out and make
yourself known to the realtors in your area. Establish a personal
relationship that will ensure that they think of you when making a
recommendation to a client.
“The relationship between realtor, lender and you is critical to a
successful transaction and a positive experience. Any lack of
communication between these parties can result in delays, confusion
and potentially unhappy participants.”
Source:
Scott E. Henry
Seattle Real Estate Agent - Branch Manager
http://scottehenry.com/lenders.htm
Lastly, I will leave you with an interesting article on a new type of
realtor/lender relationship in some states, which makes the real
estate office a type of branch lender.
Source:
Realty Times: Agent News; September 13, 2002
Brokers: Remargining The Profit Zone
by Terri Murphy
http://realtytimes.com/rtnews/rtapages/20020913_profitzone.htm
One of the realtors that I interviewed said that she would pose the
question to the manager of her office, to obtain another view. If I
should receive anything further from her, I will post it for you as a
clarification.
I hope that this information will prove helpful to you, djcamacho. If
any part of my answer is unclear, please do not hesitate to request
clarification.
Best of luck to you.
Beth
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