Do I Meet Face to Face With My Loan Officer Or Over the Phone-Fax-Email?

By Erika Naegelin
I have always been a big proponent of applying for a home loan in person. Sure, starting the process over the phone saves time and gas! And starting your pre-qualification over the phone is definitely the first thing to do. Are you even ready for the next step of the home loan application and consultation? This

pre-qualification process will answer that question. Be sure and read my ezine article on How to Pre-Qualify for a Home Loan, the Right Way for more information on being pre-qualified. However, the actual loan application, disclosures, and gathering of your documentation like paystubs, bank statements, etc. is so much more clear and concise when done IN PERSON.

There is tremendous value in meeting with a loan officer LIVE and in person. This means that you can look the person straight in the eye. Having an open and honest conversation with one another is very important, considering this is the largest debt of your life! I strongly urge my clients to come into the office, or meet at theirs to review their loan paperwork. Going over the bank statements, paystubs, tax returns, and the like is much more productive when a loan officer can review the items with you the consumer right up front. It's very frustrating to get your information to the loan officer, to then have them call you back days or even weeks later with questions. Why not just get it all done right away, when it is all fresh? Meeting in person is one way, that this will get done with the experienced loan officer.

Disclosures are certainly a big part of the loan application process, however, you have to remember that the disclosures are all pretty much the same from company to company because the government requires us all to disclose the same thing. They might look a little different with different company logo's, be on different size paper perhaps; but it is all the same. Each state has slightly different requirements and disclosures as well, so if you have done a home loan in one state and are moving to another you might see some differences.

One thing that I do with my clients, to save time at the in person meeting is to email or fax the loan disclosures to you before we meet. This gives you time to read over them, perhaps even sign them before you come in to the office. It helps get general questions out of the way as well, giving us more time to focus on your specific loan questions or my financial questions of you. After all, I am advising you on how to spend your huge check; so let this time really count that we have together!

Getting letters of explanations like employment history gaps, past credit issues, etc. can also be done right on the spot, which just alleviates your loan processor asking you for something to be explained later. And, quite honestly, saves you from signing one more piece of paper at your closing!

The most important part of the time that I spend with my clients in our face to face meeting is reviewing specific loan options. Going over estimates of closing costs, payments, down payments and the like is by far the most important part of my time spent with my clients. Really truly understanding what you will spend of your hard earned cash is imperative to you becoming a successful homeowner. Whatever you do, do not overspend on your home. Having too much house, and not enough cash each month is NEVER a good way to go. This is spoken by someone who knows first hand! My first home purchase was with every dollar that my husband and I were qualified for according to our loan officer. All $82,900 was spent, plus a few extra thousand for upgrades that we really were not supposed to spend. It was a very difficult 2 years of our financial lives. It felt like every dollar of our paychecks were going to pay the mortgage each month. We ended up selling this house after only 2 years, with only a few thousand dollars in our pocket from the net proceeds of the sale. All because we really quite honestly, could not afford it. This was all despite the fact that we technically, according to the loan officer's pre-qualification, COULD afford it! Obviously, this was before my entry in the mortgage industry; we were young and inexperienced in the way of our finances.
However, I do find a lot of my clients use every dollar of their pre-qualified or approved loan amount for a home. Think it through, be sure you want to spend everything. It's always better to have too much money in your pocket each month, than not enough!

The last and equally important part of the meeting that I spend with my clients, is reviewing the actual home loan process. Really understanding what the home loan process is all about is absolutely imperative for you to understand. Why we are asking for certain things, What are the next steps, Who will be working with you throughout the process, Where is the processing done, When will the loan approval be in, How is the process actually taken from one step to the next? This should all be answered in the in person loan application meeting, otherwise known as the Consultation. Personally, this is where more than half our time is spent once we have reviewed the actual numbers.

At the end of a face to face meeting (or skype meeting even!), you will be full of knowledge. Have some valuable new insights into a whole new world (yes it really is a whole new world!). You might even feel like your head has swollen from all the new information you have just taken in. I have heard this many times before in my career! But, I strongly believe too much information is never a bad thing. It is always best to KNOW and have an UNDERSTANDING than be in the dark and walk along blindly throughout the process.

Allowing a good loan officer to lead you to the light, with open eyes and full understanding is the KEY to your HOME LOAN SUCCESS!