Well, here they are: 10 tips for training mortgage loan officers that will help them work better and make more money. Over the years, these tips have helped me make tens of thousands of dollars, and I'm sure they will do the same for you:
Tip #1 for training to be a mortgage loan officer:
Only borrow from a few banks.
Depending on your niche, all you really need are a few good lenders. With about five lenders in your portfolio, you can work with all types of credit and even special programmes like stated, no-doc, and 100% financing.
Tip #2 for training to be a mortgage loan officer is to:
Read your lender's rules to learn everything you can about their products and processes. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! (And it's easy if you only borrow from a few places.) Don't count on lender representatives to tell you how their rules work. They are just like the rest of us and can make mistakes.
Tip #3 for Mortgage Loan Officer Training:
Send your appraiser, title agent, and underwriter gifts to get them to like you. This is a great way to get to know people you need to do business with. Find a reason to send a thank-you card and a gift to these people. This is another good reason to only work with a small number of good lenders.
Tip #4 for Mortgage Loan Officer Training:
Define your market
Which loans will you take out and which will you not? If you agree to a loan that is too much for you, you can and will cause yourself a lot of trouble. For example, I wouldn't even look at a loan if the people who wanted it didn't have a credit score of at least 580. If an applicant's credit score is less than 580, I sent them to my loan officer partner and we split the commissions.
Tip #5 for Mortgage Loan Officer Training:
Specialize
Find a niche. The pay for specialists is always higher than for generalists. Everybody gets loans to buy single-family homes. What if you learned everything there is to know about financing investment properties, construction loans, and VA loans in your area? You could become the "guru" of mortgage lending in your niche if you worked hard and stayed focused. If you did this, you could control your market.
Tip #6 for training to be a mortgage loan officer is to:
The place, the place, the place
If you can, keep a refrigerator in your office, put a copier near your assistant's desk, and put your computer printer right next to your desk. This will save a lot of time from not having to walk all over the office. It will also keep your helpers from getting distracted. It can be hard to walk through an office without getting involved in a few small talk conversations that can slow down the work of your team.
Tip #7 for training to be a mortgage loan officer is to:
Get all of the paperwork at the start.
I think it's important to get all of the paperwork I might need right away. If a problem comes up, you'll be more likely to be able to fix it on your own without bothering the borrowers.
Tip #8 for training to be a mortgage loan officer is to:
Only what you need
You don't have to use extra documentation just because you have it. Don't send your processor or underwriting any extra forms. It could bring up problems you don't want to deal with. Don't send in more or less than what's needed to pay off the loan.
Tip #9 for training to be a mortgage loan officer is to:
Sandwich technique
During the loan process, you will need to get in touch with a borrower and ask for more information at some point. When this happens, you can try the sandwich method:
Get back on good terms.
Make your request: "Oh, I also need____. When can I get it by fax?"
Keep talking to build relationships.
Say goodbye and get off the phone in a nice way.
If you have a hard-to-please borrower, this works like a charm to calm them down.
Tip #10 for Mortgage Loan Officer Training:
Testimonials
Everyone should write a review. They're great ways to get people to know about your business. Use them to reach out to your client's CPA, HR manager at work, real estate agent, and financial planner to build a relationship that will lead to referrals.
So there you go. Use these ideas in your mortgage business and see how they affect your bottom line.
