I’d like to share something that happened to me this past week that will help explain how ethical business practices extend to others in my industry, not just borrowers.
I got a call from a potential borrower who wanted to refinance quickly, but less than six months after her last refinance. In most circumstances when a loan is paid off in full in less than six months, the original loan agent has to pay back the commission they earned for a significant chunk of work as well as any rebate given to the borrower at closing to help offset closing costs. Unfortunately, unscrupulous brokers won’t hesitate to do deals like this, because they are only looking out for their own profit.
I asked this borrower to check back with the loan agent who did their loan five months ago to make sure that this would not happen to him before choosing to work with me. In doing this, I essentially turned away a potential deal based on my personal ethics.
I have been on the other end of this situation twice recently that cost me close to $15K. Just this month two other unethical loan agents didn’t blink before refinancing the loans I had processed within a few months and basically stole time and earnings from me.
When I asked the potential client how she found me, she said she looked for mortgage broker Oakland and liked my name and said I have a friendly face! That may be because my entire business is about relationship building and operating in an ethical way that I can be proud of year after year. Whether you are engaged with me as a potential borrower or as a fellow loan processor, I’d rather err on the side of doing what’s right than just on making money.
If you’re looking for an ethical person to help you with a mortgage loan, find out how the person you are thinking of working with treats others in their circle, not just those they can profit from engaging with!