Four things to avoid when choosing a loan officer.

Good Faith Deposits:

If anyone asks for a “$500 good faith deposit” to work with them, run away as fast as you can! Typically the time from Pre-approval to contract can last anywhere from one month to one year. We close our loans so fast, that the majority of our relationship and hours spent together is during this time. Peoples Mortgage does not charge or obligate you in any way during this time period. We have confidence in the relationship we build with you during that time from the communication and value we deliver that we don’t feel it necessary to corner you into working with us. Why would you pay for any service not rendered? We believe this is to tie you to a lender regardless of the level of service and communication they will provide from Pre-approval to funding. Just don’t do it!

Don’t work with Mortgage Brokers:

This was once a very viable channel to get a home loan. It’s not at all fair, but the government has passed legislation tying broker’s hands when it comes to curtailing a deal to your specific needs. Also, since they are lending money outside of their business, they lose control of the process. They also are forced to work with Underwriters who are not familiar with and many times cannot get the deal done on time or at all because of miscommunication with the underwriter. This also causes unclear guideline. Stick with a direct lender until congress decides to lighten up on this lending channel. Brokering should only be used for very niche, unique deals.

Don’t work with a Direct Lender that does not have the Ability to sell the Servicing Rights to more than Three Lenders:

Financial Markets are constantly shifting and changing. Investors have to make adjustments for a facet of reasons. When a direct lender works with multiple investors it hedges those changes to make sure your deal can be done and guidelines remain steady. We work with all the majors that the government deemed too big to fail.

Don’t Work with a Lender that Passes you Around Several Loan Officers to get Your Deal Done:

Borrowers that go through this type of process become a prong in a system. This just creates information loss and there is no continuity to future deals. Who would you rather handle your loan transaction, multiple people motivated on just this deal, or loan professionals that want to earn your business for life? At Peoples Mortgage your financial goals are really important to us and the only way to continually help you achieve those goals is to align you with a true professional that works with one client at a time. Every person is special because working with you again is what drives our business.