How To Find The Right Loan Officer

Loan officers come in all shapes and sizes. They generally tend to specialize in either mortgage loans, commercial loans, or consumer loans. For the purpose of this article, I’m only going to be addressing mortgage loan officers. These men and women can be your best friend or your worst enemy. They want you to get your loan. They also want you to get the home of your dreams. So in the beginning of the home buying process when they are giving out money they really do seem to be the best friend you can have on the planet. However, that relationship can go seriously wrong if you and your loan officer do not temper your wants with your needs and fit them into your budget in a manner that allows for contingency planning.

In plain English, what I just said is this. If you have a loan officer that is giving you more money for a house than you can really afford to pay back, they really aren’t being the friend you thought they were. We all get stars in our eyes a bit when we’re shopping around for the perfect home and I can think of very few people who have ever looked at a really nice house and said you know that’s just too nice for us, we don’t deserve all that. I know I’ve never said it. We all want the best house for our money. We want our kids to go to the best schools and we want the really nice huge backyard for our kids and their friends to play in. The reality is that often what we want and what we can realistically pay for are two entirely different things.

Unfortunately a loan officer can suggest things like interest only mortgages or adjustable rate mortgages or countless other things that will ultimately lead us down the path of financial ruin. I’m saying all of this not because all loan officers are bad or even that most are, but to warn you to make sure you are aware of what you are getting into when you get your loan. Chose your loan officer wisely, ask questions, get references, and make sure you read the fine print.

Now, I’ll get to the best friend part. If you have a loan officer who shoots straight and tells it like it is, you’ve found a golden friend and you should work hard to maintain that contact for the next major purchase you decide to make in your life. You see, if you find a loan officer such as the one I’ve mentioned above, you have found someone that can act as an advisor for your financial situation. Someone who can help you make the decision on whether you are adequately prepared to buy up or if you should stay where you are a little longer. He/She will also be the one to tell you that while you may be approved for XYZ dollars, it may not be wise to put it all into your home.

The bottom line is that the unexpected happens every day, a good loan officer can help insure you have the tools in place to be prepared. A good loan officer will strongly advise you not to overextend yourself financially just to get a house that you cannot really afford, although at the time you will think he/she is your worst enemy.