The partnership between a lender or mortgage broker and a real estate agent is critical for getting buyers into their homes. It also helps both parties be successful.
Every mortgage lender should strive to improve their relationships with local agents, as they likely share social and work spheres. A buyer’s customer service experience with the two parties improves when they work together.
Not all buyers can purchase their home cash in hand or without assistance from a bank or credit union.
Now more than ever, buyers are taking out mortgage loans and looking for reasonable interest rates to finance buying a new home. Become the preferred mortgage broker for local agents to recommend to their buyers.
Article At a Glance
Mortgage brokers can improve their relationships with realtors by:
- Networking as much as possible, online and in-person, without being aggressively forward.
- Making a name for themselves as a broker and serving as a local resource.
- Staying up to date with mortgage knowledge and sharing information with agents.
- Standing apart from the competition by communicating clearly and authentically.
- Getting loans closed on time, without any issues on their part.
Develop Strong Relationships with Listing Agents
A critical component in the lender–realtor relationship involves getting to know your local real estate agents.
Loan officers assisting buyers with their finances are highly likely to interact with and learn about many realtors. Real estate agents work with them every step of the way.
A good mortgage broker will also deliver on their promises and be a trustworthy partner. No agent wants to work with a broker who loses paperwork, is unorganized, forgetful, or unresponsive during the homebuying process. When everyone is on the same page and knows the score, everyone wins.
Additional Read: The Home Buying Process Explained
Share Your Industry Knowledge
The mortgage industry is changing daily. Real estate agents appreciate the expertise of someone who follows trends and steps for mortgages, as this makes getting buyers into their homes less stressful.
They may also share their insider knowledge from an agent’s perspective because they are glad to have your assistance.
As a mortgage broker, make sure your connections in the real estate industry know about rate changes, special government lending programs, and other pathways they can use to help their buyers secure the loan amount they need.
Your realtor friends will bring their buyers to you as a knowledgeable mortgage loan resource.
Make Yourself Readily Available
It is difficult to strengthen the relationship between mortgage brokers and real estate agents if the broker is inaccessible or unreachable. Answer your messages, keep in continual communication, and make a point of being close to where agents are.
Even better—set up in the next office over or nearby so real estate agents can pop in for questions or assistance.
Be the person who is always available when many others are not. An empty office during your available hours means you are inaccessible.
A simple answer to an agent’s question that takes 20 minutes could result in a collaboration or established relationship in the future.
It is also good practice to give agents your cell phone number and tell them you are highly responsive and available to meet their needs.
You should quickly, respectfully, and appropriately respond on time to their phone calls, text messages, emails, and voicemails.
Establish a Local Presence
People will recognize and interact with you as a mortgage broker more often if they can put a face to a name.
Make yourself involved in the local community and show up to connect with others at the chamber of commerce meetings and community events to strengthen your relationships. You may also meet potential buyers and agents.
Real estate agents who see you genuinely assisting your area and exhibiting a passion for your work will be more likely to strike up a conversation or enjoy working with you in the future.
Smile, ask questions, and shake peoples’ hands to make a friendly and professional impression.
If a real estate agent recommends a mortgage broker, they will expect them to follow through with their plans and perform quality work.
If a broker proves unreliable or does not live up to the agent’s expectations, they will not deem them someone with whom to form a strong partnership.
It is critical to be a reliable mortgage broker who is locally known, provides professional services, and delivers on their promises.
Get Creative with Communication
So many real estate agents receive impersonal and cold emails built from templates. Spam fills their inboxes, offering no genuine connection or evidence of an effort by the mortgage broker—just an aggressive sales pitch. Mass messages like these, written without the individual in mind, don’t work.
Instead, stand apart from the competition by getting creative with how you communicate, especially with agents you may work alongside.
Create honest interactions with agents on social media, jump in the conversation naturally and appropriately, and show up consistently, including through digital media.
Even better—make your communication known in person. What better way to find industry-related professionals than through local and in-person networking events?
You may meet fellow loan officers, real estate agents, accountants, and other professionals who become support and referrals.
You could also attend Zoom meetings for continuing education in mortgage lending. Connect with fellow experts and industry professionals citywide, state-wide, or even nationwide.
You may find yourself making connections you never knew were possible and learning from someone whose skill set differs from yours.
Additional Read: Ten Reasons Why You Need a Mortgage Broker
Build Genuine Connections
It is obvious when a lender–agent connection feels forced or aggressive. Brokers who have little success with agents may push strangers to work with them.
They can appear overly forward when trying to partner with a real estate agent they think will help their efforts.
Partners with a genuine connection will get to know each other over time and learn how the other operates. They will go into the process believing each other to be trustworthy, dependable, and compatible.
A genuine connection suggests that the mortgage process will proceed more smoothly between two parties seeking collaboration.
Never send a social media connection request or email to an agent you’ve never spoken to in person.
Although, if you just shook hands and traded business cards at the last chamber of commerce meeting, that’s enough to start a steady line of personalized communication online. Send an invitation to connect on LinkedIn or a quick email offering to meet one-on-one.
Go Above and Beyond Your Lender Competition
One of the best ways to find success as a loan officer is by doing what others will not. You must stand out from the crowd. This means going above and beyond what people expect of you.
Exceeding expectations will show you honestly care about the mortgage process and your relationship with agents and buyers.
Whatever you do differently from the rest is what will make you memorable in the minds of real estate agents.
Your hard work will be recognized and pay off. You may guarantee specific closing dates, be the most accessible broker outside of typical hours, state your unavailable hours, or be helpful, resourceful, and kind in situations that offer no reward or benefit.
People will remember your genuine desire to help others when no one watched or provided an incentive.
When looking for the best loan officer, a real estate agent will not look far to find the best choice. If you try to be the best broker you can be, things will work out well.
You will stand apart from your competition by making yourself a resource.
According to RESPA rules, agents cannot receive rewards for referring business to a lender, nor can the lender receive one for sending clients to an agent.
Someone cannot receive payment for referring a person to a federal mortgage loan, per Section 8 of RESPA rules. Government entities (e.g., Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) receive the conventional loans sold to them.
Speak With a Home Loan Expert: A and N Mortgage Services, Inc.
A and N Mortgage Services, Inc. is a mortgage banker in Chicago, IL, that can help you with your home buying process.
A and N Mortgage can assist you if you are a first-time homebuyer, relocating for work, or are making an investment purchase. We tailor our home loan programs to fit you.
We work to save you time when possible. As a mortgage broker in Chicago, IL, we offer complimentary quotes. Call A and N Mortgage Services, Inc. today at (773) 305-5626 to learn more about mortgage lending for home buyers.
