Your relationship with your lender is one of the most important parts of your home buying process.
That means it’s crucial to have a great working relationship with them if you want the process to be smooth and fruitful.
One of the best ways to ensure you and your lender are a great fit is to interview them before agreeing to work together.
Asking about rates and fees is important, but it’s also key to go deeper and ensure they understand where you’re coming from and your goals.
Yes, rates and fees matter but you deserve to go a little bit deeper with a lender to understand who's going to be the best fit for you and your goals.
Consider asking them these three questions to learn about how they can serve you so you can confidently decide on who you want to work with.
(1) What types of loans do you specialize in? What specific types of loans do you have experience in?
It’s important to work with a lender that truly understands your scenario. As lenders, many of us have access to a lot of different programs and are well versed in how to use those programs to help clients meet their goals.
For a majority people, you probably have a very vanilla loan type, very straight down the middle of the road. But not everybody does, so if you do have more of a unique situation such as looking for down payment assistance or maybe you're looking to use a VA loan or maybe you're going through separation or divorce, you want to work with a loan officer that truly understands that situation and can give you the best advice and not experiment.
(2) Who will be reviewing my file and what will they look for when issuing my pre-approval?
Your Pre-Approval carries a lot of weight because the money you’re putting on the line is based on the information you're getting from your lender. However, there's a good amount of variety from lender to lender on what a preapproval really means.
Does it just mean that they looked at your loan application and pulled your credit?
Or does it mean they've gotten the documentation needed to support all the details of that loan application and ideally have an underwriter review it and sign off on it?
So understanding that pre approval process will help give you the confidence that you need in order to move forward.
(3) Who will keep me updated during the process and how often can I expect to hear from you?
Communication is key during buying a house simply because there are many steps and parties involved so being able to proactively get communication and understanding who you can contact when you have questions goes a long way.
The overarching goal of asking these questions is really to get a sense of what working with this lender will be like.
Do they have a proven process?
Do they have the experience and the knowledge needed to help you move through this process seamlessly so you can focus on the joy of buying a home and not be stressed about your loan approval?
Once you ask these questions and reflect on the answers, you’ll have everything you need to confidently decide on the perfect lender for your journey.
You can contact me by emailing (rebecca.richardson@wyndhamcapital.com) or finding me on instagram (@the.mortgage.mentor).