Ever forget to pay a bill or do something that lead to possible fines or a monetary loss?? Feel like kicking yourself afterwards? Here is a mortgage story....
My clients bought a lovely new construction townhome. The builder was giving a huge incentive to use their mortgage and title company, so we knew there was no need to shop around for the mortgage at settlement. One hopes that the lender's rep would stay in touch and follow up with his clients... Turns out, everyone dropped the ball and somehow the buyers never locked in their mortgage rate before settlement. The interest rates were steadily rising over the period of construction - but the 60 day rate difference was small - about 0.2% approx. However the perception in the buyer's mind was different, and he was feeling really bad about letting that important step slip thru the cracks.
Now, I had the option to say, "I sent an email to remind you....you had signed a form for the lender that clearly stated it is the buyer's responsibility to lock in the rate (which was the mortgage rep's response to buyer) ...I handle real estate, mortgage is a completely different field....sorry I cannot really help in this situation".
Would have been easy, but there would be a cloud over the buyer's joy at settlement. Long story short, I jumped in, used all my persuasion skills and goodwill to negotiate a better rate from the lender, and managed to get a 0.125% reduction for my buyers. A $20 reduction in monthly payments, resulting in over $7000 in savings for the buyer over the 30 yr life of the loan.
Making my client's settlement worry free ...and their first home buying experience exciting...priceless! Buyers brought me flowers to settlement and thanked me for all my efforts.
I cannot tell you exactly how I will make a difference to your real estate transaction, because each transaction is unique, with different set of players and circumstances. But I will confidently tell you, I am customer service oriented and fiercely loyal to my client's interests, so there will be a noticeable difference.
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