Yeah, times are tough and you get deals where you can get them, right?
But, ask yourself this question—does it take any more work to get a $150,000 deal closed—than it takes to get a $450,000 deal closed?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but usually, the lower-priced homes are harder to get approved and closed. And let’s just for giggles, say that you make 1% on the loan—that’s a difference of $3,000 in income.
So, why not ask for what you really want—higher loan amount transactions.
I know that asking for what types of loans you really want sounds simple. You might fear that people think you are greedy (only wanting the higher priced deals), or that there aren’t that many higher-priced ones out there. Even if there aren’t that many in your community, you might as well get the ones that are out there.
Now, don’t get me wrong, you should still take a look at the lower loan amount, the credit-challenged borrowers, but do so with the both eyes open and ask yourself if this question:
“Should I work on this deal that might take me 20 hour of my time to get approved, versus marketing for higher-priced loans and taking 10 hours to close (and more commissions)?”
Chris Vinson, Prairie Commerce Bank in South Dakota has created a brand called the “Second-Time Home Buyer Program." It’s just a 25-year fixed rate mortgage (see my article for the week of May 18th) where he shows them how to save $30,000 by reducing the term of the loan. It’s just branding!
I had a department in my company called the “Executive Mortgage Division," which implied that it was for the higher-priced homes. I also had a first-time buyer division, a corporate benefits division and a new-construction division.
This is exactly what big corporations do—they set up divisions or departments within the company.
So think about setting up “departments/divisions” within your mortgage practice that target the larger loan amounts, even if it’s only one branded division name—like Executive Mortgage Division.
Then learn all you can about the type of buyer, real estate agent, loan program and they go ahead—take a chance and ask for the business—niche by niche!
By the way, if you want to learn how to read complicated tax returns, check out David Kuiper’s seminar How to Read Tax Returns & Close More Loans 2009 Version Online Seminar at
Karen Deis is president of
