Strong working relationships between loan officers and real estate agents are key, with each referring clients to the other. But even the best partnerships can hit a few bumps, leading to misunderstandings that have costly consequences.
Loan officers say navigating these tricky moments requires a delicate balance. When tensions rise, clear communication is crucial — though, in some cases, the fallout can derail a deal.
In his many decades in the industry there have been moments where his partnership with
"Anytime you're doing business with a partner at that level, little things are going to happen here and there," Overfelt said.
"Either the Realtors are getting complaints about the LO, or the LO is getting complaints about the agent. The trick is you have to work as a team to solve the borrower's problems first and foremost."
The executive said some of his agent partnerships have deteriorated due to poor communication and mismatched expectations, but not because the real estate partner was acting nefariously, as in the current case involving the Alexander brothers, Florida brokers charged with
"Sometimes the real estate agent is telling a borrower one thing, but you're crunching the number and understanding that it's unrealistic," Overfelt added. "Then the agent gets upset, pulls the deal and takes the borrower to another lender."
Alex Margulis, loan officer at CrossCountry Mortgage, notes that some of his deals have faced complications because of misunderstandings or rookie mistakes.
"You definitely want to coordinate the communication with the Realtor in that situation. If it's something you did or they did, it doesn't matter. Ultimately, the goal is to have a satisfied, happy client," Margulis said.
"So jump on that issue right away with your Realtor partner, hash it out and then communicate clearly on whatever the decided action plan is with the clients, so that we can move that over and make sure that there's no lingering effect."
Christian Hernandez, loan officer
For example, Hernandez has been in a situation where a borrower was covertly working with two separate real estate agents, who were both requesting a pre-qualification form from the LO. Ultimately, the Rate LO had to tell one of the agents that the borrower opted for the other real estate agent.
"The buyer's agent was grateful for the call, and the buyer was happy he didn't have to do it," she said. "It's hard being in the middle sometimes like this, but again, at the end of the day, it's about our clients, not us."
Originators say that in most circumstances, if the borrower was referred to them by the real estate agent, they will tough out any uncomfortable transaction, with the main goal of closing the deal.
"If a Realtor recommends their client, I'm just doing the loan, show up at the settlement and say 'thank you,' and that's it. I don't get involved much," said Alex Naumovych, loan officer at First Alliance Home Mortgage.
However, if it is his client, Naumovych notes that sometimes he will shepherd along the deal to make sure that things are flowing smoothly.
