Dave Ramsey – Financial Guru

” When getting help with money, whether it is insurance, real estate or investments you should always look for someone with the heart of a teacher, not the heart of a salesman.” Dave Ramsey

Whether you are a first time home buyer or someone who has just not bought a home for years and years, the mortgage process can be a bit overwhelming and certainly confusing. I mean we have so many abbreviations and acronyms it’s ridiculous, listening to a mortgage lender is a lot like staring into a bowl of alphabet soup (MIP, UFMIP, TIL, GFE, PITI, etc.). It’s extremely easy to get that glazed over feeling and just bob your head up and down like you understand.

But that’s not what the mortgage process should feel like. Here are five reasons why it’s critical for you to find a mortgage lender with the heart of a teacher:

1. The Loan Officer who can make a complex process sound easy is the smartest one on the block. A true professional can break down the most intricate parts of their craft and make them simple to understand. If you walk out of a meeting with any financial advisor – be it a lender, REALTOR, insurance agent or financial planner and they’ve not been able to clearly articulate the best strategy for you and why, run don’t walk! Yes our profession gets complicated and intricate at times, but a true professional should be able to boil that down for you so that you understand exactly what you are going to get and how the process works.

2. A mortgage lender who is capable of perfectly explaining the loan and the process involved in getting the loan is likely not hiding anything. You see it’s much harder to fool someone if you’ve explained the whole process to a client and he knows what to expect. More than likely the borrower who is confused is the borrower who gets duped.

3. The act of becoming the teacher makes you a better Loan Officer. I know personally whenever I’m going to put myself out there, whether it’s on a stage or in writing about a particular mortgage product, I always go back and re-study the subject before I present or write the article. Where most Loan Officers might review the new rule or regulation once, the teacher will read the material two or three times to ensure complete duplication of the process or theory before I ever put myself out there as the expert.

4. If you have been involved with your industry long enough to become a teacher, you’re in for the long haul. Meaning that you are not just here to make a fast buck, you are actually here to contribute to your profession and as such you are much more likely to care about your professional reputation. This is a good thing for a client because you know that person is going to do everything possible to provide a good experience for you, the consumer. Think who has more to lose, the mortgage lender doing his first deal or the lender who has spent the last ten years building his or her business and reputation.

5. Last but not least, the Loan Officer who has written articles, taught others in the lending profession and spends time educating clients has the heart of a giver. More often than not, when you find someone who is a teacher, someone who gives so much of themselves, you’ve found someone with a good heart. They’re not behaving that way for personal benefit, this type of person wants others to succeed, wants you to have a good experience as a client and is much less likely to advise you to do something that’s against your best interests.

So how do you find this advisor, this teacher that wants what’s best for you? Google them, it’s that simple! If you are comparing three different Loan Officers, you should always research them online before making a decision. You’re going to find out real quick who has been around for a long time, who gives back and contributes to their industry and who is just in it for their own personal benefit.