Definition of "Mortgage Referrals"

Vanessa Brown real estate agent

Written by

Vanessa Brownelite badge icon

August Gray Realty Group

Advice on where to go to get a mortgage. A borrower can always select a loan provider by throwing a dart at the Yellow Pages. A referral is of value if it raises the probability of a good outcome above that from throwing the dart. The four major sources of referrals are real estate sales agents, other borrowers, Internet referral sites, and builders. Real Estate Sales Agents: Home purchasers accept more referrals from real estate sales agents than from all other sources combined. Sales agent referrals generally are to individual loan officers or brokers, as opposed to firms. An agent with great confidence in a loan officer will continue to refer clients even when the loan officer switches firms. Sales agents have the same interest as buyers in completing transactions. Hence, they refer clients to loan providers who can generally be depended upon to close on time. This is the agent's major concern, and it is a concern of borrowers as well. Sales agents have no comparable interest in the mortgage price or whether the borrower is placed in the right kind of mortgage. However, the agent doesn't want the price to be so far out of line or the service provided so abysmal that the borrower throws a fit and blames the agent. Other Borrowers: Referrals from other borrowers are usually based on a single transaction. Internet Referral Sites: These Web sites provide price information for a large number of lenders and mortgage brokers, usually listed by state. They also provide quick entree to the Web sites of each loan provider listed. Builder Referrals: Builder referrals are usually to a lender with whom the builder has a financial arrangement. Hence, they are suspect. In some cases, preferred lenders price loans above the market and kick back some of the excess to the builder. Self-Referrals: Responding to self-referrals (solicitations) usually is a bad idea. Not all lenders who solicit are predators, but all predators solicit.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Mortgage Terms

If you’re a student in medical school, a resident or a medically qualified doctor, you must know the definition of Physicians Mortgage Loan, also known as Doctor Loans. Why? Because, ...

A multi-lender Web site that offered borrowers the capacity to shop among multiple competing lenders. ...

Same as term Points: An upfront cash payment required by the lender as part of the charge for the loan, expressed as a percent of the loan amount; e.g., '3 points' means a charge equal to ...

A payment made by the borrower over and above the scheduled mortgage payment. If the additional payment pays off the entire balance it is a prepayment in full; otherwise, it is a partial ...

An interest rate index that is used on some ARMs. ...

A lender that holds the loans it originates in its portfolio rather than selling them. ...

Same as term Bridge Loan: A short-term loan, usually from a bank, that 'bridges' the period between the closing of a home purchase and the closing of a home sale. To qualify for a bridge ...

A letter from a lender verifying that the price and other terms of a loan have been locked. Borrowers who lock through a mortgage broker should always demand to see the lock commitment ...

A plan purporting to protect FHA homebuyers against property defects. ...

Popular Mortgage Questions