January 24, 2013

Why Work With A Trusted Mortgage Originator? That's the question I would like to answer today so let's move on! As you can tell from being on this website along with doing your standard Internet Searches about mortgage programs, there is so much information to go through and with that said, the time it takes to go through all of those searches to try and figure out what may work best for your goals can lead you to complete frustration!

A Trusted Mortgage Originator (TMO) will work with you directly to ask the questions that should be asked to help analyze your current needs and desires. Knowing more about the customer and client will help the TMO prepare the most viable options available and the options presented would be only ones that actually work for you. This means that the underwriting guidelines have been researched and confirmed that you would be eligible to use the particular loan program. This research in itself is very tedious and time consuming for the TMO, but it is something we must do in order to qualify the options to present to you, our hopeful client!

It is easy to post questions and field many answers, which is what most users of this site do, but having a direct conversation with someone, usually over the telephone, will render much better results in much less time. I myself have had many offline conversations with site visitors about questions that I answered and typically, much more information comes out which does help to provide the most accurate and detailed response to the questions initially asked online!

So, my advice is that you find a TMO who seems to be someone you could see yourself working with and then go ahead and make that call or send a direct email. A TMO's job is to first Educate the Consumer and then to work with the Consumer to build that level of Trust that will turn a Consumer into a Client! It is at this point where the relationship moves forward to proceed on a path to reach the mortgage financing goal that was the original reason the initial conversation began.

Now, please make a note to make sure the person you would like to work with is "legally licensed' to directly help you with your financing needs. The TMO should be licensed or authorized under a Federal or State Charter to conduct lending activities in the State where your financing request stems from. Be aware that some of the replies you may get from questions you asked are coming from loan originators who are just generically answering your questions, but are not able to actually help you directly due to not having the legal ability to work in the State you are requesting financing in. The question about proper licensing should be asked to the person you would like to work with immediately upon direct communication. If the person doesn't initially identify that they are licensed in your State, they most likely will not be and may try to refer you to someone else. The relationship you thought you were building would then be eliminated as that person would no longer be able to work with you as you first hoped!

To wrap this up....set some goals for your personal budget as to what you can afford, have a time line in mind for when you would like to complete your financing request, decide if want to explore various property types (ie, single family, multi units) as programs and financing approvals can differ based on the property type you choose, and lastly, try to find one TMO to work with where you can build a long term relationship with, as this can be one of the best business relationships you develop throughout your lifetime!

Good Luck !