So you’re in the market for a new house, you’ve met with a Realtor, and have begun a cursory look at houses online based upon your assumption of what you can afford, but need to get a preapproval to get the process moving. Your local bank has rates posted in their lobby, and likely a person sitting at the branch ready to answer your questions, the Realtor has a contact that you “must” speak to because he or she gets the deal done so quickly, and every other commercial online or on TV is for a mortgage company touting the best rates and most efficient processing. So, who do you talk to? Who do you trust?

My answer to this is you need to find out more about each potential lender and, more importantly, each individual mortgage officer. Your local bank may have a certain mystique given the size and presence, but if the mortgage officer has been in the industry for a year and fumbles through a conversation, that is probably not the person you want to work with. Similarly, if the referral from your Realtor gets you in touch with an extremely knowledgeable person who has tons of experience but whose company only offers certain types of loans, you again probably want to keep looking.

The best thing you can find is someone who comes highly recommended by friends or family who did a mortgage with that person. If someone you know is willing to make a personal recommendation, it shows a confidence in the service and knowledge of the person. But if there are no personal recommendations available, or if that person is not able to help you, you want to ask the mortgage professionals a few important questions.

The first question is what loan programs they offer. If they can only offer you government loans, or only FHA, or only jumbo loans, or only anything, that is a big red flag. If you don’t fit the scope of that loan, then the loan officer will need to try to make you fit, potentially costing you more in fees, or will tell you your loan can’t be done, which can ruin a contract for you at the last minute.

Next, you want a little information about the institution. Some of the larger banks and lenders have names which speak for themselves. But if you are working with a smaller lender, you want to be sure they have the finances behind them to fund your loan. I can’t tell you the number of times a client has come to me in the 11^th hour because another lender promised to meet a deadline, only to have their credit lines run dry at the last minute. But don’t be too quick to pick a big name, either. Some of the bigger institutions are too big for their own good, and get in their own way. This can create delays in processing and situations where deadlines are missed. Make sure to ask the loan officer how many times he has missed a closing date. The answer might surprise you.

Finally, you want to get to know the loan officer. How long has this person been in the industry? How long has he or she been with the company? Do they have any special designations? Try to throw some hypothetical situations at the loan officer to see how he or she reacts; you can usually find an inexperienced mortgage officer pretty quickly that way. If you get a bunch of “um”s and “I’ll have to check”s, it probably means you need to keep looking.

Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list, but it is a good starting point for any prospective homebuyer.

If you have any questions about buying a house, finding a mortgage officer, or getting a preapproval, please contact me. If you have any other questions to ask a mortgage officer, please leave a comment.