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” ranked fifth. While a prospective buyer’s financial information is confidential and generally not disclosed to the real estate agent, exceptions are clearly made when it comes to clients discussing loans with a trusted agent. As seen with the data above, real estate agents are often looked to by clients to recommend lenders. A real estate agent may know lenders with whom they have worked before and thus know that they are competent and effective. And, very importantly, the real estate agent knows which lenders will get the “to-do” list done — on time. You do not want to be swayed by advertised “low interest rates” only to be surprised the day before the scheduled closing time with unwelcome news about loan processing needs or issues with the appraisal. What working with a good lender means is that the closing is not delayed due to some issue with the lender.
In other words, sometimes, you get what you pay for.
These are likely the factors related to why certain lender are recommended:
• They offer reasonable rates and fair fees. • They get to closing smoothly without problems. 35
Powered by FlippingBook