How Top Real Estate Agents Vet Loan Officers

Learn how top real estate agents find and vet the loan officers they recommend to their clients. Even if you’re not a real estate agent, you can learn from the pros what to look for in a mortgage loan officer as you secure the financing to buy your home or vacation property.

If you start your home-buying journey by finding a real estate agent you trust, it helps to understand how they find the people they trust. Local real estate agents are savvy businesspeople who know who to work with and who to avoid.

When you start your home-buying journey with a personal lender, it helps to take tips from the pros about what to look for in a loan officer as you secure the financing to buy your home or vacation property.

When you’re in the market to buy a new home, it’s helpful to know the steps you’ll be responsible for, what your real estate agent will help you with, and what you’ll need to look toward your mortgage loan officer for help. 

As each of you is clear on your roles, financing and closing on your dream property will be a smooth and easy process.

What to Look for in a Loan Officer

To understand what a loan officer does, start with this helpful mortgage loan guide that details the 12 steps from initial consultation with your personal lender to closing on your home. 

To accomplish each step, your real estate agent and loan officer should work together to help you reach your goals promptly.

One of the top questions that a seasoned real estate agent will ask when they are vetting a new loan officer is:

What is your closing rate?

Why this question? A real estate agent is trying to determine how successful the personal lender is at helping clients advance from initial consultation to financing their home. 

When you find your loan officer, ask them how they will guide you successfully through the loan application process. Be sure to discuss how your loan officer will alert you of important deadlines in your mortgage application process.

This handy checklist can help you to understand:

• What you, as the homebuyer, need to do
• What your real estate agent will take care of, and
• What your loan officer will need to accomplish

Ask your loan officer if they have online tools to make communication easier with you and your real estate agent. By having everything organized online, everyone will know what steps have been accomplished in your loan application process and what is yet to come—in real-time—as they are completed.

Find a Loan Officer Who Puts Your Needs First

A top real estate agent knows that not all homebuyers should apply for a conventional, fixed-rate loan if a better mortgage program is available for their needs.

When a real estate agent is vetting personal lenders, they will check to see if the mortgage advisor understands which type of loan is best for each type of client. They will also see if the mortgage company offers a wide variety of loan types to choose from.

For example, did you know that there are Down Payment Assistance Programs to help qualified buyers cover their down payment and/or closing costs? A top loan officer will know about these programs and help their clients determine if they qualify for assistance from state grants, loans, or tax credits.

Look for a Lender Who Clearly Explains Loan Terms

As you work through the home-buying process, you’ll hear a lot of jargon from your real estate agent, title agent, and personal lender. Make sure your loan officer is stopping to explain what many of these terms mean before expecting you to sign on the dotted line.

For example, ask your loan officer to explain how they will advise you to lock in your interest rate during the initial processing of your loan application. This rate-lock decision alone can cost (or save) you thousands of dollars over the life of a 30-year mortgage.

If you can’t understand the gist of their reasoning, keep searching until you find a mortgage advisor who speaks your language.

These three pro tips on how top real estate agents vet their recommended loan officers can save you, as a homebuyer, time and money. When you ask the right questions, you’ll be ready to vet your own loan officer