You’ve just read the loan process from beginning to end. You know what the process entails and hopefully are thinking of ways to better help your clients navigate the treacherous waters of the four lending phases. Keep in mind, that you will likely be asked by your clients to help with this process. Often, a real estate agent will offer to help a buyer obtain a mortgage or recommend a specific loan officer, lender, mortgage broker, or settlement/closing agent. In an article appearing in Mortgage News Daily in 2012, it was reported that real estate agents have “a significant role in determining who writes their customers’ mortgages.” This was based on the results of a study, Key Factors in the Referral of Homebuyers to Mortgage Originators , conducted by Inside Mortgage Finance that showed homebuyers rely on their real estate agent’s recommendation of a specific lender in ~33% of mortgage-financed home purchases in the U.S. The study arrived at this calculation through a survey of 1,800 real estate agents. Agents surveyed reported recommending a mortgage provider in ~60% of buyer-side transactions. The survey showed that their recommendations were accepted by homebuyers in about ~58% of transactions. This means that real estate agents influence 34% of mortgage-financed home purchases. Agents ranked factors that determined which mortgage providers they recommend. The top-ranked factor was “reliable pre-approval letters.” However, this also ranked first on their list of significant problems with mortgage financing. Agents ranked “returns phone calls and emails” and “reliable in meeting a closing date” almost as high as “reliable pre-approvals in recommending a lender.” Remarkably, “competitive rates”
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