The key to being a successful lender is consistency…. That’s it!

Real Estate is a funny business.  You have a wide array of personalities that get into the business. You have part time, full time, some of the time, and hardly any time workers.   Over the past two years I have closed 459 transactions and here is what I have learned….

1. You need to work every day.  This is a full time job if you want to be successful.  You don’t stroll into the office at 10 or 11am…  You get to the office by 9am and start your day… I see people working into the wee hours of the night and do not get me wrong, every once in a while that is required, but most of the time I find that people are doing this because they are not EFFICIENT with their time during the day.
2. Loans are not hard.  It really is paint by numbers every loan is different but the process should always be the same.

• It starts with a loan application.  If you do a half ass loan application you are going to get half ass results
• Based on your application gather the proper documentation.  So as you can see if you do not do step one correctly, it can throw off step two.
• Talk with you clients, set the proper expectations.  Remember that people with buy 4 or 5 houses in their lifetime, and we do this 4 or 5 times a day.  Cover the basics like, don’t move money around, don’t deposit cash into your account, don’t take days off work, don’t buy a new car, let them know how fast things move once an offer is accepted, let them know they need to make this a priority as well, ask them how long they plan on being in the house…. what are their short and long term goals.  If nothing more, it shows you care about them as people, not just as a transaction.
• Create a system and follow it EVERY time.  My assistant and I prequel, collect documents, request title/escrow, order the appraisal, stack a file, request items, etc… the same on EVERY file.  It is the ONLY way we can identify where something went wrong IF something goes wrong at all.  If you are always changing the way that you do things, you cannot identify what IS and IS NOT working… There is POWER in consistency.
• Get to know your agents.  I mean really know them as people…  There is a lot to be said for respecting them, knowing them, and being able to communicate with them.  I NEVER like to let my agents down because I genuinely like them and view them as friends.  Of course you don’t want to mess anything up because there is a paycheck on the line but it comes from a different place when you actually KNOW and LIKE them,
• Take care of those that take care of you.  I could not do what I do without the help of my processor, my assistant, the funders, the loan openers, etc…  Every once in a while buy them lunch, give them gift cards, or simply say thank you.  This is a relationship business and I think all to often we forget this.
• Realize that “no” builds credibility.  All to often people are looking for someone to tell them yes.  This business is full of “yes men and women” who just tell everyone what they want to hear instead of what is reality.  It is not always easy to tell an agent that a buyer does not qualify for what they are looking for, or to tell a buyer that they need to do “this or that” to qualify…  What I find is that lenders tell everyone yes just to “get the business” and then deal with everything once they are in escrow and have everyone “hooked” (for lack of a better term).  This is how you ruin your name and give everyone a bad taste in their mouth.
• Invest in people.  For me, I personally like helping realtors grow their business.  I love working with realtors that treat this as a career not a job. We essentially are our own “brand”  If we think of the big picture there is so much that we can do… I have closed 40 loans a month and have realized the work that goes into that is not much more than closing 15.  It is all systems and consistency.  If no one ever took a chance on me I would NEVER have made it this far.  I have had people invest  a lot of time in me and I take it personal.  I do NOT want to let them down…  I am always looking for that next realtor that is wanting to do MORE than what most people think is possible because that is when this business is FUN!

 

It really is paint by numbers, if you can just remember that

1. Is Blue

2. Is Green

3. Is Red

4. Is Purple

The loan (picture) will change, but if you stick with that the end result will always be the same… A funded loan, with a happy realtor and happy buyer!!!   It really is that simple.

10 things real estate agents need to know in this market

1. Find a lender that you trust and then let them do their job.  If you feel you have to tell them how to do their job, they should not be your lender.

• I get agents all the time that tell me to order the appraisal on a rush.  FYI, this is not new news.  Every agent asks for this so I order the appraisals right away on every file.

2.  If there are no comps to support the offer price that you wrote the contract at do not be surprised when it does not come in at value. 

• It is a very competitive market out there so I understand that every property has multiple offers and right now people are bidding above list price.  This does not mean that the seller is going to drop the value if it comes in low, and if they do it is the agents job to negotiate that.  The seller will always come back and say why did you offer that high if you knew it wouldn’t appraise???  We all know the answer…. To get your offer accepted but trust me, that will be their first response followed closely by “Does your buyer have the money to come in with the difference?”

3. No one wins if the deal does not close so trust the lender when they say they want max appraise value as well.

• about 75% of the time when an appraisal comes in low the agents all of a sudden forget that this is a team effort.  It takes the agents, the lender, the appraiser, title, escrow, the buyer etc… to make a deal go smoothly.  When an appraisal comes in low this is the time to really buckle down and work together.

4. Prep the buyer about a real estate transaction.  We as agents and lenders will do this thousands of times in our lives, the buyer may do it 3-5 times.

• Each transaction is roughly the same.  Provide paystubs, tax returns (all pages), bank statements (all pages) and W2’s.  no cash deposits!!!! This is all stuff that the lender should go over with the buyers but sometimes it is too late when they get to us.  Setting proper expectations can save days and sometimes even weeks on a transaction.

5. If you have a good relationship with your buyers see if you can get a copy of their financials on a PDF.

• how many times have you written an offer and had to have the buyers cross qualified??   If you are writing offers in this market I am going to say quite frequently.  I have two big investors that I am a preferred lender for and they require a cross qualification in order to accept the offer and so many times buyers miss out on the house that they want because they cannot get documentation over to me in time… If their agent had this they could send it over right away even though the buyer is stuck at work.  Offer accepted!  (we will need all the items mentioned in tip #4)

6. Rates are pretty much the same no matter where you go and loan officer comp plans have changed so the cat and mouse game of are you getting the best rate from your lender is pretty much gone.

• this is not 2004-2007 anymore.  Lenders are not really doing arm loans anymore (I do not remember the last time I did one), they are not sticking prepayment penalties on the loans etc…  Think about it logically… everyone gets their money from the same place so if something sounds to good to be true it probably is.

7.  FHA, VA and Conventional loans take the same amount of time to close if you have a good lender.

• Is each loan different, ya a little but if you have a good lender the time frames should not be an issue.  Write each offer with confidence.  I can close any loan FHA, VA or Conventional in 21 days or less so should everyone else.  If they cannot, find a new lender.

9. Have fun with your buyers.

• We make sure that we have fun and joke around with our buyers.  If we are relaxed, they are relaxed.  We do this everyday so there are things that we know are normal that the average buyer does not.

10. Once you find a lender that is good.  Be loyal.  These lenders that are good will make you and your transactions a priority if you are an agent that consistently brings them business.

• I have about 10 agents that bring me every deal.  I know how they work, and they know how we work.  There is a lot to be said for getting to know one another.  Each agent is different and wants different things throughout a transaction.  I can tailor each transaction to each agent after I have worked with them a couple of times.  Some agents want updates every couple of days.   Some agents just want updates when there is a problem.  Some agents want to come into the office.  Some agents want nothing other than a fast close.   Tell your lender what your 3 hot buttons are so they can make sure to meet all your expectations.

Real estate can be fun, buying a house is not and should not be rocket science.  Find that lender that you trust to get your deals closed and the lender that will treat your clients right.  This is a team effort whether you want to believe it or not…. No matter how good the agent, the lender, the escrow officer, the buyer etc… It will not be a smooth transaction unless everyone comes together and works as a team!!!

See link below, I was number 11 in the entire Country for 2012 FHA origination volume.  Bigger numbers coming for 2013…. Stay tuned 😉

http://www.scotsmanguide.com/TO/2012/fha_volume.asp

Don’t fight the funk…

No matter who you are, what you do, what you drive or what style of music you like, you know that you have found yourself rocking out to your favorite playlist on your way into the office.  You know what i am talking about… I mean really rocking out.  That rocking out where your head is bobbing, the feet are tapping, and your are signing like you are recording your debut album.

I am not really concerned about the signing, really what I am focusing on is that feeling you have deep down in your gut that you can do anything.  That music that is getting you totally amped to take on the day.  That feeling that no matter what the day throws at you, you are going to crush it…

For me, I listen to hip hop or rap on the way into the office.  I love the fact that they are talking about money, fame, hustling, being #1, grinding, being on top and doing it better than anyone before.  All these thoughts get me in the mindset to tackle any situation, customers, agents, processors, underwriters, agents etc… throughout the day.

Music has the ability to take you somewhere else if you let it.  The key is taking that energy that you have while you are in the car and carrying it with you throughout the day long after your engine has cooled off.  I actually will crank up the volume in my office and blast one of my favorite songs before I make an important call to an agent, buyer or seller… This ensures that I bring my A-game and all the positive energy.

Don’t fight the funk… Let the music take you away. 

I would love to hear comments on what your song is that takes you away….

Drive thru- F you!

Got your attention?

Do you ever see those people sit in the drive-thru every morning at Starbucks for 15 minutes?  Or at the bank?  Go to restaurants and never really talk to the servers and ask how they are doing?  Yeah, me too…

I go inside everywhere I go. I make conversation and get to know everyone because I like people and it builds relationships. My assistant Sophie always asks why I do that because it takes longer to go into the bank, or Starbucks etc…

My answer = I love going into Starbucks because I know everyone that works there.  They know me, my order, what time I come in, who my wife is, what I do for a living, my hobbies etc… These are called personal relationships.  Personal relationships are part of life and by simply going into Starbucks, the bank, restaurants, the dry cleaners, etc… and conversing with people I:

1. get to converse and meet people I otherwise would not have met

2. I expand my business because people always know what I do for a living (mortgages)

When people get to know you as a person it makes it easier for them to approach you for advice on whatever it is you do (for me real estate).  I cannot begin to tell you how many people I have ended up talking to for 45 minutes just because I bumped into them at one of these places.

You cannot be a secret agent or a ninja.  People need to know you, your name and what you do in order to request your services.  Next time you pick up a cup of Joe, snag a bite to eat, or pick up your clothes from the dry cleaners:

1. go inside,

2. ask the person behind the counter their name, and how they are doing.

3. repeat this step 5 times and watch the relationships start….

Sock it to me…

I think fashion says a lot about a person. Someone who is very mild mannered might be the person you see just wearing the khakis his wife bought him. The wild child might wear leather or sport a crazy hair style.

Me… Well I wear a shirt and tie every day to the office. Some might think that gets old and bland but I always find a way to throw in my own flavor. I am all over the place with tie/shirt combos and I must say I put together some pretty fly outfits, but one thing is for sure… You are always gonna find me with a fresh pair of socks. Take a look at the fun filled drawer at my house.

Try adding some color to your wardrobe and your life. It’s a good conversation starter… What’s your style????

Two Ears One Mouth…

So the owner of my company always reminds me of this little quote.  “two ears, one mouth.  Use them in that proportion!”

I find myself guilty of this quite often not only in sales but in life.  Now I catch other people doing it to me and now I can often be found telling one of my assistants “there is a difference between listening, and waiting to talk.”  I was telling my assistant the same thing over and over but he was not retaining the information that I was giving him.

Think about everything we miss when we are just waiting to talk while someone else’s lips are moving. 

1. Do we miss the point of a story?

2. Do we miss a chance to learn something?

3. Do we miss the opportunity to learn something about a loved one, friend, or client?

4. Do we ignore our children and discourage them from opening up to us?

The answer to that is most likely YES but how will you ever really know because you were to busy structuring your next thought in your head.  I think that we can all be a better spouse, friend, salesman/ saleswoman and overall just a better person if we remember “two ears one mouth, use them in that proportion.” and “there is a difference between listening and waiting to talk.”

Honestly sit back for a few minutes and think if you are guilty of this…  You might be surprised!

The background

In order to follow someone I think you need to know a bit about where they came from, what they do and what their goals are…

I graduated from a private university back in 2004 with no idea what I wanted to do.  I think alot of people find themselves in this position and really have no direction.  The only thing I knew was that I liked business and wanted to make money.  That was it!

Like most recent graduated I bounced around to a few jobs before I stumbled upon something that I fell in love with.  My sister was working for one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country for the sake of anonymity let’s call the company “Countywide” 🙂

I still remember the phone call like it was yesterday…  she called me and said “Nate, you wanna make some money?  I am doing well here and you would kill it if you worked here”.  Money???  I am in.  I started my real estate career in 2007 and havent looked back.

I love real estate and everything about it.  I love helping people with the biggest purchase of their lives.  I love teaching people how to invest and increase their personal wealth.  I love the negotiation.  I love the pressure.  Most of all I love dealing with people.

I am not a fly by night mortgage banker, I closed 298 deals in 2012 and will find out in a few weeks if I was one of the top producing loan officers in the Country for 2012. This is something that I say in the most humble way possible, but it is something that I am very proud of!!!

I was blessed beyond belief and all the stars aligned for me to get to where I am today.  I work with amazing people who are great at their job and push me to be better everyday.  I have family, friends, mentors, and a sphere of influence that no amount of money could buy.

Over the past year or two I have found that I really love to teach, and to be taught.  I have learned that I love the work it takes to be successful just as much as I love the success itself.  Trust me I am no Donald Trump, but I the fire has been lit.  I love training people in this business.  I love finding ways to do it bigger, better and faster.  I love the challenge of being the best!

I want to expand what I do. I want more business ventures. I am not sure what I mean by that but I am sure I will figure it out along the way…  Stay tuned.