Real Estate Blog by Windy Crutchfield, REALTOR®

How to Choose the Right Lender

An insider's perspective provided by Mike Miller of Monarch Mortgage.

Last week I saw a restaurant review on a local blog that touted “The New York Times says  . . .” and I thought, wait a minute, the Times didn’t “say” anything, somebody that works for the Times did!  One person, one opinion, not the entire staff and their collective opinion, but one individual.  Invoking the mighty Times just because the reviewer works for the NY Times, transfers the credibility and credentials of the institution to the individual and turns an individual opinion into a powerful endorsement.

The mortgage lending business is hyper-competitive and mortgage originators come in all forms of education, training, experience and affiliation. With 25 years in the trenches, an undergraduate finance degree from a reputable university, countless hours of training and continuous education, and the trust and goodwill I have built with the many sources that refer their clients to me, you would think my capture rate would be bullet proof.  Not even close! I have lost business to mortgage people with less experience, less training and less education, simply because they work for lenders with household names.  A prospective client will tell me that they have “talked to” Wells Fargo or NFCU or TowneBank or whoever, and they have adamant and unwavering faith in the information they received.

When I hear “Wells Fargo told me” or “Chase told me” or “(lender name here) told me,” I recognize that I am competing with the institution and not the rep or employee of the institution that the borrower actually spoke with.  I am thrust into a mortgage contest with the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz with the booming voice and the pyrotechnics, not the little man behind the curtain.  And it is the little man behind the curtain that is quoting terms and offering up the advantages...