Explain To Me!

Hello and welcome to my first attempt at a blog. You as consumers deserve more control in your mortgage process. This is my attempt to give you that control in the form of information and knowledge.

I have been involved in mortgage financing for 5 years with 3 years specifically as a Mortgage Loan Officer. I've taken plenty of applications and have spoken to just as many people. I plan to share with you the patterns I've seen emerge and ways to improve your standing in the mortgage process and to improve your credit. I'd like to give you a leg-up on anyone else applying for a loan because you will know what's really going on.

Let me also tell you what I am not. I am not a writer. I cannot apologize for this shortcoming since my goal is not to impress you with prose. I want to tell it how it is. I'd like you to be exposed to the brain of a loan officer and I'd like to open the door to show you what goes on inside the bank during the decision process of your loan.

I don't pretend to be the best and most knowledgable loan officer out there. I'm sure there are plenty that make more money than me. The difference is that they make money based on what you don't know. I sleep better making sure everyone I talk to is completely educated about the mortgage process even if that does affect my earnings.

I'm not selling anything to you. Let me repeat: I'm not selling anything to you. Yes I'm a commisioned loan officer but I only work with clients I can meet face to face. The only way I'll work with someone directly is if you happen to be buying property in Pennsylvania. I know plenty of mortgage brokers that make money by helping people buy homes all across the country. They thrive by keeping their customer in the dark. Most of their customers don't realize that there is someone just down the street that can do the same thing as this person across the globe.

There are distinct benefits to staying local when choosing a mortgage broker. It saves time when you know you can drop off necessary documents at the office. Your loan officer can copy them and hand them right to you. Not so with a national broker. You also have the best advantage in the world when you can shake your loan officer's hand and smile. It is in those first 30 seconds of meeting a person that you can make the best decision whether you truly trust that person or not.

I know I didn't spill much information on my first blog here but this could perhaps be the most important point. Only work with people you can trust. The second your subconscious says that you can't trust this person you should cut and run. Speaking of... never ever ever do an application with a mortgage broker if they ask for any fee. You should not have to pay $1 out of your pocket to your loan officer until at least after you've found a house, signed a sales agreement and are having your future home appriased. Many lenders will even pay for that and charge you back in the closing costs. You should always be free to walk away from your mortgage broker. He should accept this because if you did walk, it was something he did or didn't do that made you leave.

In the same token, don't expect to come to the closing table with no money at all. It is VERY rare that this happens. You will need to make at least a small investment in this huge home purchase, usually a couple thousand dollars to secure your new home. It is unrealistic to think otherwise. There are ways to reduce the amount you would need to bring but we'll get into that a little later.

Since this is my intro to blogging, I'd appreciate any helpful advice or constructive criticism regarding future topics or just on improving the web page here.