Regardless of the recent bailouts. Regardless of the fact that January saw another significant drop in home sales and values Regardless of the loss of nearly all of the warehouse lenders remaining that fund non-depository lending operations.
Regardless; regardless; regardless!
If you will concentrate on relationships with referral sources: Agents, small builders and real estate owned platforms, and you do a GREAT job with the customer, you have done all you can do, as an originator and just about all you need to do to stay in business.
That's right. You cannot control everything. But, you better control everything you can control.
In today's ever changing mortgage lending world, the next shoe to drop may very well be the end of or at least the severe further shrinking of the broker channel. The banks are doing it on purpose. They want to rearrange the deck chairs.
While that may irritate you - it may be wrong, it may be a bad move for the consumer, etc. - if it happens, guess what, it happens. But, it doesn't matter, really. If it happens, it happens. Neither you nor I can do anything about it. But in order to survive, we must adapt.
With that said, what you can control, you must control. That's why building and managing relationships with referral sources is so important. You can just take them with you as the market causes one segment of the mortgage industry to allow you to serve your referral sources more than another. They will follow you, if you have done a great job for them and they know they can count on you.
So how do you build relationships with agents and small builders? I used to say it was simple. All you have to do:
- Do a great job on the loan
- Communicate with everyone in the transaction on a weekly basis
- Control the expectations
- Be significant and inspiring
Today's market is obviously more difficult than at any time in the recent memory. A number of agents and builders that you have worked with over the years are no longer in the business. But, guess what, they have been replaced by a number of REO platforms that will be listing their property with an agent and the purchasers will need a mortgage.As long as you become and remain the lender of choice among the agents that will be selling these homes, you can survive and perhaps even thrive. Yes, even in this market. There may be fewer loans to do, but there will be loans. Since a whopping 70% of borrowers referred by real estate agents use the originator that they were referred to. As I always say: Now, that's control. Whether we like it or not, agents control a large percentage of the decision to use a particular mortgage originator.
So, what do you do? What tricks or efforts should be employed by you in this market to build your business with referral sources?
Answer: The same ones listed above. There are no new or different tactics under the sun.
The fortunate thing for you is that a Road Map to Success with Agents already exist that many other originators have already utilized to build long lasting relationships with referral sources. In this market, you must have all of the tools available. For a free copy click the link below:
