"53" Necessary Loan Officer Qualities

Many of the below qualities were posted on ‘The Grapevine at: BrokerUniverse.com

1. Take a complete and accurate 1003 (or make sure someone does it). Every line is there for a reason.
2. Never work with more than one file open at a time.
3. Don’t beat a dead horse.
4. Don’t ever be afraid to lose a loan.
5. Learn to ask enough questions up front so that you do not have to pull credit each time you speak to a borrower.
6. Have a basic idea of what your lenders do and do not do.
7. The object of the game is NOT to get a 1003, pull credit, and then send to every lender in town. Know your borrower and your products well enough that you can troubleshoot before any money is spent.
8. Leave coherent voice messages for account reps including your phone number and area code. (Sounds simple, but you would be amazed!)
9. Learn to say what you have and want in 20 seconds or less. For example, the following is NOT acceptable:” I have this loan and I need to know if you can do it. The borrower is a really nice guy and has had some trouble and has been late on the mortgage a few times but he is back on track now. What can you do?” Get to the point..)’ I have a borrower, 555 mid score, been late 2x30 last 12 months, no bk’s several medical collections, and the DTI is under 45%. I need 90%, can you do that?
10. Develop at least a rudimentary understanding of the secondary markets and how they affect pricing, risk, etc.
11. Please, whatever you do, look at all the docs the borrower gives you before you send it to underwriting.
12. Please, please please, develop a basic understanding of how to read an appraisal.
13. Do your homework on RESPA, predatory lending, and churning.
14. Understand that you can never know everything, you will learn something new everyday, and nothing stays the same for very long. That means you must always be learning.
15. Honesty and integrity go further than anything else in this business, and if you build your client base from there it will weather any market conditions.
16. A quick no is better than a 6 week maybe trying to find a yes.
17. Always ask for referrals.
18. Develop relationships. 2 conforming and 3-5 non-conforming is a great place to start and then niche it all out beyond that.
19. You cannot be everything to everybody. Find what you like and what you are good at and specialize if the market will allow.
20. Learn from your mistakes, and don’t repeat them.
21. Never chase a dead deal. You WILL do this but the frustration will enable you to recognize the future ones.
22. Never stop learning. There are a huge amount of valuable resources out there.
23. Invest in yourself as a mortgage pro. Find one or two “mentors” whose strategies fit your personality and learn everything you can. A good place to start is the various “Lender Fairs”... check the schedules on your applicable NAMB (state specific) website.
24. Learn how to say “People in hell want ice water, Mr. Borrower...that ain’t happening” with a smile in your voice and on your face.
25. Empathize, don’t sympathize.
26. Educate your clients that referrals are a required part of the process.
27. Treat your “team” right... AE’s, appraisers, the title company, etc.
28. Underwriters are almost God. ..your AE IS God.
29. Make time for golfing. Good for the noggin and some good leads out on the course.
30. Don’t be afraid to try something ‘cuz you might fail. Some of the greatest “wins” come that way
31. Under-promise and over-deliver. If you tell a borrower 3 weeks to closing and deliver in 4, you’re bad. Promise 5 weeks and deliver in the same four, you’re a hero!
32. Don’t let your “lows” get too low, or your “highs” get too high. When you have that $90K month, don’t buy the Jag (yet), When you have that “ZERO” month, don’t jump off the bridge! I’ve had both in 15 years!
33. Find a way to have a “Miller Time’ in your work life. Sometimes we just go from deal-to-deal, and forget to step back and relish our accomplishments.
34. Be sure to understand that sometimes we are the last resort to someone getting their home or not--we have a lot of responsibility to each borrower and transaction. Much more so than the Realtor’s, because without money, there is NO transaction to close.
35. I would add that a good LO will always understand the needs and financial objectives of the borrower and in doing so will sometimes tell the borrower not to complete a transaction.
36. If you concern yourself with the needs and objectives of each borrower, your income will naturally follow (albeit not on every transaction)
37. Bottom line: never suggest a borrower sign a loan that you personally would not, given their circumstances.
38. With so many moving parts to a mortgage transaction it is important to understand what each participant’s role is. You have to realize that the part-time title clerk does not always care that closing the deal by the 30th may mean that you get to pay YOUR house payment on time.
39. “Inspect, don’t expect.”
40. Make sure that the company you work for mirrors your ethics. Ethics are the foundation of any company.
41. Treat your processor like gold, because without a great support staff, you are going nowhere.
42. If you don’t know something, ASK. No one knows everything and you learn something new in this business every day.
43. Make sure you look before you leap when you decide it is time to move on from your current employer.
44. Mortgage banking is a lot like dating: lots of empty promises and not much to back it up. The grass is not always greener elsewhere.
45. Don’t jump around from company to company. It does not look good to your customer base. The longer you stay with one company, the more your referral base and income increases.
46. Keep your cell phone and/or pager number constant... put them on your card... install a second phone line in the house and use that number as “residence” on your card...
47. The 1003 is of paramount importance. YOU must know everything about your customer. You are the specialist, not the general practitioner and therefore will know where to take the deal if you invest the time to learn the programs.
48. You have a dual purpose and must “sell the deal” to the underwriter as well as the customer. You will never win an argument with the customer.
49. Last and very important*** do not sell rate*** as you will box yourself into a corner. Sell on what the deal is doing for the customer Mortgage payments are dollars NOT an interest rate.
50. While everything else mentioned is extremely important, we are actually only paid when we close a loan. A good LO can be a real positive in the process, just like a poor LO can really harm the client.
51. Ask questions of the borrower; find out what their goals and plans are. Why, for example, would you want to place a borrower in a 30 yr ARM when they only plan to be in the property for 3 or 4 years?
52. By asking probing questions, you can help the borrower find the best loan for their particular circumstances.
53. Also remember that each person is unique and we are actually working for them in the loan process, and if we don’t provide them with extemporary service then why should they use us?