Does Your Mortgage Broker Earn Their Paycheck?

We've talked about this in the past but in light of a couple of stories I heard I thought it wise to revisit the situation. How do you know whether or not your broker is earning his or her money? Whether your doing a refinance or a realtor monitoring your client's purchase transaction, each transaction has it's own set of hurdles however, that does not relinquish the broker from doing their job to the fullest earning every penny they take. I can say with 100% certainty that myself and the staff at Professional Mortgage Group, Inc. earn every dime! Why am I so certain? Because I know in my heart that our clients were given the best possible product, rate, terms, fees, advice and expectations from day one! Following are a couple of "highlights" on things that I think are critically important to earning your money.

#1) Expectations: These can be the downfall to any transaction or can be the lifeline. We must set fair, honest and realistic expectations from day 1. For instance, the "unkowns" during the transaction, time frame constraits, documents needed, the process etc.

#2) Research: Do you know what the market is doing and I am not speaking to the fact of the Dow, Nasdaq, Bonds etc. Do you know the data coming out and how it will affect investors perceptions and hence rates. Do you know where to look and how to analyze this data to give good advice to your clients

#3) Guidelines: Are you familiar with the best possible products and the guidelines that go with them. Do you know what your competition has so you know if you have a product that will compete or even better be more advantageous? Have you prepared your client for possible guideline changes that could happen during their loan process?

#4) Time Frame: Have you met the time line set-forth in the contract or that you have given your client (should it be a refinance transaction)? Have you alerted them to the possibility (early on) of issues?

#5) Disclosures: Did you sit down with your client and go over every little detail? Did they ask questions, did you prepare them, were they prepared?

#6) Above & Beyond: Do you go above and beyond what your clients expect, what your realtors expect and what you expect? This is what sets you apart from everyone else and is the determining factor in earning your money. It could be as little as meeting your clients at home to pick up documents so they don't have to make the trip or as big as helping them prepare a budget and all that entails.

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Your Columbia Missouri Mortgage Broker