All in a Day (and Night’s) Work Ok, so there are plenty of times I wouldn’t have taken the call. Or, would have unplugged my phone, and not known about it until the next morning. But, since I’d left the other agent a voicemail regarding my client’s question around dinner time, I felt it was...Read More
Thanks, Keith!** From my Realtor’s perspective, credit consumers — specifically, home Buyers looking for a mortgage — place FAR too much emphasis on fees, and WAY too little on service, and the very real financial value of same. Call it, “missing the forest for the trees.” So, on average, to originate a $200k mortgage, a top...Read More
Exhibit A: Reaching the Lender in the Middle of Multiple Offers Prospective mortgage borrowers correctly pick lenders based on their interest rates and fees (it’s the combination of both that matters). But, good client service can matter just as much — or more. Exhibit A: my Buyer was involved in multiple offers last week, and raised...Read More
Q: When is a 3.75% FHA loan a better deal than a 3.5% FHA loan? A: When the 3.75% loan is (a lot) cheaper to get. Consumers shopping for a mortgage tend to focus only on the face rate of the mortgage. That’s a mistake, because the total cost of the loan breaks down into two...Read More
Great Client Service — For a Non-Client! How does a lender generate goodwill (and future referrals) with a Realtor? (this Realtor). By quickly getting back to them with the answer to an obscure question on FHA loan processing fees. On a Saturday night. On a loan they’re not even handling! Thanks, Keith! (That would be...Read More
“Your Mileage Points May Vary” Once upon a time, it was (fairly) safe to tell Buyers that the maximum contribution that a Seller could make toward the Buyer’s closing costs was 3%. No more. Here’s the current, updated “cheat sheet,” courtesy of Edina Mortgage’s Keith O’Brien: FHA is 6% regardless of down payment. Conventional is...Read More
