I Will Not Do Your Loan Unless You Consult With "My Preferred Agent"

Even if you have been working with your favorite real estate agent for the last 9 months, even if you have already looked at 20 homes with your favorite agent, even if you have already had the home builder install your favorite colors and appliances, I will not do your loan until you call Tommy T Thomas over at Big Builder Incorporated and speak with one of his agents. Now you do not have to buy one of Tommy T's homes but you do have to go look at one and let the sales agent check your contract with the home you think you want to buy.

Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? It would be an insult to you as an agent or builder for me to require "my preferred agent" to read over the contract would it not? Even if I said, "You have to do this but you do not have to use my agent. They are only involved as a safety net to make sure if you can't get it done they will step in and make it happen."

There is no difference when you as a builder, agent or real estate broker demand my client, with whom I have been working for months, in a business I am as good at as anyone in the nation, speak with some other lender. Especially when that lender is my direct competition. You think I don't remember that the next time I think about referring one of my hard earned clients? How would you like it if I kept a list that I gave to my preferred agents and said, "Never show any of these homes from this builder or agent because they pull this monkey business."

Yes, monkey business. The reason they give is to "make sure in the event the current lender can't get it done 'thei' lender can". Okay, that's insulting. If I can't get it done THEN you defer to someone else IF my client, the one I created with my hard work and advertising who may not even originally have been interested in purchasing a new or additional home until they spoke with me as a result of my efforts.

What if you went to Snarky's Department Store and pulled out your trusty credit card to pay for your purchase and the sales clerk handed you an application for a Snarky's credit card and said, "We can accept your major credit card but first you have to apply for our Snarky's card"? Or what if you actually spent all of your time driving around to business association meetings and loan officer's conference handing out your cards and sending greeting cards and newsletters and doing free workshops to generate prospective clients but when you went to present a contract to the listing agent they said, "We'll accept this after our inhouse agent has a chance to sit down with the client and review your contract and make sure you've done it right?"

Oh, I know, you've got the hammer of threat of law under the buyer-broker agreement. How nice. Now you're going to tell me about the time your clients were pre-approved with so-and-so and how the pre-approval wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. Be careful what you say, I've been in this business for a long LONG time and I have a lot of horror stories that fly in all directions.

Yesterday, a client I have known all my life, working with an agent whom I have known all of her life, called and said, "The seller won't accept the offer until they get me pre-approved with their bank." My first thought was, "well it's a bank owned property and some banks work that way." In that case I really didn't have an objection but when I found out it was the LISTING AGENT and not the SELLER and the LISTING AGENT/BROKER required the pre-approval from a CORRESPONDENT LENDER and I work for a DIRECT LENDER I definitely took note of it. I took note of the listing broker's name and the listing agent's name for future reference when I have clients who are shopping.

Think about it, comment about it or state your case. I know what you may say your reason is but I will remind you what an insult it is to a consummate professional who generates their own leads and refers them to local agents. It really just confuses and concerns the client and if that's how you want to treat your clients you can know what they think of it - they do NOT like it. Clients are very careful with choosing with whom they share there very private and confidential information and being forced to do so does not make them happy. I know it doesn't because even when they are not my client I have had them call me for my professional opinion on this specific activity. And do you know what they suspect you of? That's right ... under the table agreements with the lender to get an illegal kick-back.