Las Vegas Mortgage Rates - Your Local Las Vegas Lender
What Makes a Good Loan Officer?
Ten Reason to Consider Us for Your Local Lender
There are a number of concerns that need to be addressed when selecting a loan officer. I believe that the loan consultant needs to be your trusted advisor. You need someone who will work hard for you and go beyond the norm to find a loan program that works for you. You need someone who is client centered and not just working to make a commission.
Some thoughts:
1. Experience, especially given today’s market, should probably be on top of the list. Colleen Jane McGrath is my partner on this blog site. She has been in the business for 35 years and she processes all of our loans. Colleen was recently interviewed, regarding the refinance market, on Channel 8 News here in Las Vegas. Colleen is an advocate for our clients and she fights for them whenever it is necessary. In fact, over the last week we have been working with a retiree in Michigan. He has some concerns over his reverse mortgage. We are helping even though we know there is no fee to earn. Colleen recently wrote an Open Letter to Our Senate and Congress on the housing crisis. You can click here to read her thoughts.
2. Housing affordability is a key issue for most homebuyers. There are many community lending initiatives that still allow for no down payment. You can click here to read a post that I wrote on these products. You want an affordable loan and a loan that will not put you in jeopardy three to five years down the road.
3. Purchasing a home starts with the client getting pre-approved. This allows the real estate agent to know what the client can truly afford. There is no sense in getting excited about a new home and then finding out that you can’t afford it.
4. You will want to make sure that you have a realtor and a loan consultant who is available to you 24/7; purchasing a home is a major event and you don’t want to feel that you’re being neglected. 5. A loan consultant is often only as good as his loan processor. A good partnership between the loan processor and the loan consultant is imperative. This will facilitate the entire loan process and make it much easier on the borrower. You want to make certain that the money will be there in time for closing and you don’t want to have any surprises when you are closing your loan.
6. I will preface this thought with the fact that I work for a mortgage broker. I believe that a mortgage broker can be a better source for identifying the best loans programs with the lowest cost. A lender typically concentrates on certain loan programs and may not be competitive across the board. A mortgage broker has access to numerous lenders and the loan consultant can find the most competitive rate for their borrower.
7. There have been many studies on loan costs. Many suggest that the mortgage broker may be able to quote lower fees since they are not brick and mortar like the large banks. I believe that this is true. Remember, it is extremely important to have a loan consultant of high integrity who is more concerned with you than he is his commission.
8. I think it is important to have a loan officer who educates and is with you through the entire process. Showing up at the closing, while not always necessary, is just another way of showing your client that you care.
9. You may want to avoid using the real estate agent as a loan officer. There is an inherent conflict of interest involved that I just can’t get past. Mortgage Financing is in a huge state of flux and you need someone who is working full time looking after your loan. Doing both real estate and mortgages is blending two related, but still different occupations.
10. What you want is a loan consultant who has experience working with real estate agents, that won’t charge high fees, will deliver as promised, will close on time, will honor rate locks, and will work with lenders who will keep their word.
Mark V Clawson 702-351-7912 markvclawson@gmail.com
Colleen Jane McGrath 702-445-5681 colleen@colleenjanemcgrath.com
