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

The standards imposed by lenders in determining whether a borrower can be approved for a loan. These standards are more comprehensive than qualification requirements in that they include ...

A bundle of mortgage characteristics that lenders view as comprising a distinct category. The characteristics used include whether it is an FRM, ARM, or Balloon, the term, the initial ...

A borrower who submits applications through two loan providers, usually mortgage brokers, without their knowledge. Home purchasers sometimes submit more than one loan application as a way ...

Every ARM is tied to an interest rate index. An index has three relevant features:availibility, level, volatility. All the common ARM indexes are readily available from a published source, ...

Assuming responsibility for someone else's payment obligation in the event that that party defaults. ...

The definition of an assumable mortgage is what happens when a buyer assumes or takes over a mortgage that the seller contracted. This is a type of financial arrangement that passes an ...

Loan applications that are withdrawn by borrowers, because they have found a better deal or for other reasons. ...

An independent contractor who offers the loan products of multiple lenders, called wholesalers. Mortgage brokers do not lend. They counsel borrowers on any problems involved in qualifying ...

The highest rate possible under an ARM contract; same as 'lifetime cap.' It is often expressed as a specified number of percentage points above the initial interest rate. ...

Popular Mortgage Questions