(At Least) Two Great Ways To Find A Loan Officer

Are you in the market for a mortgage? If so, here are a few ways you can pick a loan officer:

• Fill out your personal information on a splog/spam site/scrape site and wait for a lender to contact you.  Or 10 of them.  Or, maybe a hundred depending on which site you submitted your personal information.
• Answer your phone when a telemarketer calls, and don’t hang up soon enough.  Hint: Register for the the Do-Not-Call list. It’s free to register.
• Sort through your daily pile of mail, pick your favorite mortgage-related piece, call the number on it, and see who answers.
• Do your homework online and find a loan officer that you can “relate to” by visiting their website.
• Get a referral from a professional in a related field such as a CPA, lawyer, Realtor or escrow officer.
• Use Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, anonymously submit your information, and allow lenders to provide quotes for you without giving up your personal information.

Which is the best?

The most effective and safest way to pick the “best” loan officer is to get a referral from someone else who has experience with that loan officer.

In my experience, mortgage shoppers fall into two groups: ”bargain shoppers” who are interested in the absolute lowest rates and fees, and those who are looking for great service at a fair price.

If you are a “bargain shopper,” look no further than Zillow Mortgage Marketplace and submit your information.  Zillow has pumped up their rating system so that you can see what other people have to say about the mortgage professionals who quote on Zillow.  Those lenders who rank 5 out of 5 are working hard to provide great service, and they are proud to show how many people gave them high referral ratings.

Do you consider yourself someone who is willing to pay a fair price for great service?  Then think local. Ask your CPA, Realtor, insurance guy, lawyer — all of these professionals generally know a great loan officer.

Both of these two methods — using Zillow Mortgage Marketplace and asking a local professional for a referral — won’t guarantee your success of having a smooth loan process, but they sure will help.

September 23, 2008