Lender referrals

[Frank Bombardiere]

Just wondering how many of you get work from lenders. Would it be a good investment of my time and dollars to pursue them. If so, what works for you? Mailers or visiting the office or what?

[Jeff Spencer]

Frank,

I get steady referrals from 3 lenders local to my area. Combined, they account for about 4 to 5 inspections per month. I'd say they may be a good source, but I never directly solicited them myself.

One lender is a credit union I do business with; a realtor who left the business to work with them referred her clients to me, and things started to expand from that point.

One of the others is a lender who saw several of my reports and then met me at a first-time homebuyer seminar put on by the local (county) HUD office.

I have no clue how I got in with the third; my point of contact there is a bank president. I did have some affiliations with one of his brothers in a previous career, but have never met the president face-to-face.

One benefit is that the lenders I'm working with seem to have a better grasp on report issues than most realtors (it may be pure luck here), hence a lot less drama with more extensive reports.

The major drawback is that from time to time I have to deal with some lender-required issues that are pretty mundane in reality but become a sticking point, i.e., peeling paint, stained carpet, cosmetics, etc. Usually a brief phone call calms things down.

I have no interest in lenders without a local presence that has enough authority that I can deal with them directly to resolve issues.

Jeff

[Scott Patterson]

Lender referrals are a good source. I get a few a month from a couple of lenders. Some are unusual but nothing that big. One thing I have noticed is that two of the lenders deal a good deal with FHA loans and they want a person who has a HUD roster number to do the inspections. Why, I do not have a clue but if it makes them happy and they keep calling who am I to argue.

I'm refinancing my home right now and the lender I'm using has already sent me one inspection.

[Bill Hetner]

Any refferral is good provided that it comes with no strings attached. Spend some time talking and checking things out first before spending a lot of money. sometimes a good chat and good connections is what you need. Not everyone wants to have more flyers they have to trash but a nice cup of fresh ole coffee and some donuts sometimes will help pave the way. being friendly does not have to cost alot, but good relations are worth it.