Finding A Good Lender:

Working with a good lender and team is vital to the goal and planning of your home acquisition. What is the difference between a loan officer and a mortgage broker?

First a loan officer represents just one lender (bank, credit union) but does work like a mortgage broker would work. They can also be effective for your acquisition.

Common Traits of a Good Mortgage Broker:

  • A good broker after hearing your full situation will elicit the use of their mathematical tools and be able to easily shape some scenarios for you and advise you. A bad broker will just give you specifics about 1 loan option based upon lowest rate.
  • A good broker elicits referrals for the bulk of their business so they will probably not be contacting you as often. You will seek them rather them seeking you.
  • A broker with a large book of business who does good work will have no trouble telling a client not to refinance. Bad broker's who need a commission might steer the client to refinance when it's not the exact best solution for them.
  • A good broker will know which product fits your financial needs the most. There are so many products to select from and so many different programs and a good broker needs to be able to identify the perfect solution for you and your family.
  • A good broker will typically have many options for your questions. Such as if you were to ask him or her, "Should I refinance?" He or she might ask you 20 different follow up questions in order to properly evaluate your refinance needs. A shady broker might just say "absolutely rates are the best they've been in the last 15 years and are expected to increase soon" which further creates a sense of urgency for you.
  • A good broker thinks about his responses and acts more like a financial planner taking into account your entire financial picture to determine what is best for you. Items like paying down debts or consolidating debts. A home loan is very large debt usually and being smart can save you potentially thousands of dollars.
  • A good broker, like in most professions, will listen well. The reason there are sale people is because not everyone fits into a mold and the sales person's job is to help the person they are selling to to find that perfect product to purchase. The concept is simple but the act of doing the concept does not seem to be for many people.
  • A good broker may attend a closing signing if necessary or makes themselves available via telephone for questions that may arise from a signing.
  • A good broker will act on your behalf to the other parties involved in the transaction. The Realtors, Escrows Officer, Lender and Sellers. They will seek out any unnecessary expenses and eliminate. They will stand by their good faith estimate.
  • A good broker operates transparently giving you the buyer all the options you may or may not understand as well as helping you to make the very best choices. A broker who will not give you a straight answer or does not give you the full picture such as back end compensation to them will not have your best interest at hand when push comes to shove.
  • A good broker can multi task and handle multiple assignments at a time and has an efficient system in place so they never get behind on a file. They will institute very lengthy checklists and will be constantly communicating with you. They should be pressing you for information they told you they would need rather than pressing you for more new information.
  • A good broker won't make you feel rushed whereas a bad broker will make you feel behind and rushed.
  • A good broker will not give you surprises. A bad broker will give you many. A bad broker will typically blame underwriting for everything. If you ask them "why did you tell me this document would be needed?" a bad broker will typically say underwriting changed the rules on these types of loans so we don't have a choice.
  • A good broker will tell you the advantages and disadvantages of rate lock and will act promptly when you advise them to.
  • A good broker will not give you a low ball price they will go in depth before discussing loan details.
  • A good broker can provide all documents to the borrower prior to closing a transaction. This gives you the necessary time to formulate your questions. Closings can be very time consuming and can have hundreds of pages of paperwork so if you had that prior you would be more informed of some of the items you will be signing and could ask the appropriate questions. A good broker wants you to be as prepared as possible. A bad broker will want to keep everything last minute so the closing is hurried and questions won't come up that could possibly kill the loan.
  • Good brokers tend to have years and years of experience and can talk to with all types of customers who could be knowledgeable or not. While bad brokers do not have the experience and are better at dealing with clients who are not as knowledgable.
  • Look for a straight shooter. Someone who is comfortable telling you their total fees earned for the transaction. If you hear the broker say, "Don't worry the lender pays for my fee, or don't worry about your interest rate increasing that will only happen if such and such happen", then I would be very cautious and probably move on to someone with a little more comfort.
  • A good broker wants a happy customer and a bad broker wants a happy commission.

For the Portland Area here are a few of the brokers we are very comfortable with and have done a tremendous job for our clients.

| Client Tools For Buyers | | Client Tools Sellers |
Look For Portland Homes Home Buyer Information Home Seller Information Listing Appointment Request
3 Real Estate Calculators for Buyers First Time Homeowner Buying Guide Find Your Competition How Can I Sell My Home By Myself?
Buyer Affiliate Partners 7 Buyer's Freebies and Helpers Seller Affiliate Partners 17 Seller Freebies and Helpers

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