Sometimes when I speak with borrowers, they tell me they heard of a lower interest rate available. Of course there are! What you read in the paper or hear on the radio is always yesterday's news, and oftentimes can be misleading. It might be a "teaser" or mis-communicated rate for a short-term loan vs. a 30 year fixed rate loan. Plus in today’s environment, there are lots of good reasons to use an ARM vs. a longer-term fixed-rate loan. But, they aren't the right fit for everyone. We provide our clients with the best possible counsel and service which go beyond just rate considerations.
So, back to what we do best:
1. We Build Relationships: We like our clients, and they like us, and we strive for mutual trust and respect. It is always optimum to develop a positive bona fide relationship, and it makes working together more fun. We keep in touch after the transaction closes, and follow up to be sure everything is going well. We provide advice about the time to refi, or not…and the time to buy a 2nd home or investment property. Moving up or down? We’ll give the best advice and loan options possible. We care about the kids, the grandkids, and even the family dog. If you have a better option elsewhere, we’ll tell you. And we always advise against using one of the “big banks.” Never better.
2. Knowledge and Expertise: I love to say I did not just fall off the turnip truck. I’ve been in this business well over twenty years, and have worked through many ups and downs, the big meltdown, and survived. There are always new things to learn, with changing programs and guidelines. We stay on top of the changing environment and have many resources to investigate best options for our clients.
3. Gritty stick-to-itivness: I don’t know anyone who works harder to get loans closed for our clients than my team. We don’t give up, even in the face of tough or inflexible underwriting. Yes, it can happen. We fight to the finish to get loans closed and almost always in a timely fashion. Many Loan Officers don’t try as hard, don’t investigate all options, and give up. Not us. Never. It takes determination and experience to know how to structure or re-structure loans for a happy closing for all.
4. Education on Expectations: We’ve developed an introductory video; a list of tips on what to do and not to do; and how the loan process will proceed. An educated client won’t be surprised by some of the crazy things underwriting may require. We explain in detail the loan level pricing adjustments that going into what rate you receive. Not all borrowers are made the same. Your FICO score, your debt-to-income ratio, your loan-to-value and many other factors affect the interest rate you receive. There is no “one size fits all” loan available in the marketplace today. This is why rates quotes are worthless without providing complete information.
5. Pre-Approvals you can Count on: We have never issued a pre-approval letter and not been able to close the loan. We collect all the pertinent information necessary from the client to accurately analyze income, pull credit, run automated underwriting (if applicable) and provide a pre-approval letter. And, we will go a step further with a full underwrite of income and assets for our clients, prior to identifying a property. This is especially useful in a marketplace like we have today, where being able to waive a loan contingency, with a client who is already approved, only an appraisal, contract and title approval is required.
