Realtor to realtor referrals often include a lender “tagalong”

I was referred a wonderful first-time homebuyer by Catherine Myers of Alain Pinel Realtors. (Catherine is a fantastic realtor so any referrals in the Walnut Creek, CA and surrounding Bay Area should definitely be referred to her!)

After Catherine showed the buyer houses for months, he decided to change his strategy and telecommute to work from a lower cost area giving him to the opportunity to buy more home for the same money. Catherine referred the buyer to Gena Riede, ReMax Gold in Sacramento, CA. As often happens in these situations, I was the tagalong lender to the referral.

Imagine this from Gena's perspective. I was an unknown lender and, worse yet, outside of her market area! Enough to send shivers down your spine.

Gena found the buyer a home that he loved which required a significant seller credit and strong negotiating skills. The transaction ended up being difficult: a listing agent who apparently believed contractual deadlines weren't important, delays in seller responses to requests for repairs, and an escrow company who fell short on follow-up.

Throughout the transaction, Gena and I had to communicate constantly to ensure that everyone was getting their job done. Gena proved her professionalism and peppered it with lots of humor. Although down to the the final minutes on the wire, the transaction closed on time.

As the tagalong lender, I am glad that Gena didn't encourage our mutual client to utilize her preferred lender because I had the opportunity to meet and work with another fabulous realtor.