“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” — William James
When taking an application we assume nothing. There are a variety of words every Broker would do well to eliminate from their vocabulary including the following:
- Assume
- Liar
- Promise
These are potentially relationship-ending words, and if you think about the times they have been directed at you, or used by you, you will recall it was most likely in a negative context. Client communications should always be in a positive context. Thoughts about clients should also always be in a positive context. Thoughts become words.
Every week, the world over, Realtors, Brokers, appraisers, home inspectors and lawyers utter the words “I have never run across anything like this in XX years in this business.”
By making assumptions we jeopardize the file, by making promises we jeopardize our reputation, by thinking, or worse still, suggesting that anyone involved in the equation is a liar we jeopardize our relationships and the respect of those we do business with.
Ass u me…
Just because a client is 22 years old and living with their parents, we should not assume they are a first-time buyer, nor should we assume that their marital status is single. They may well be divorced, twice, even in this day and age. And there may be spousal or child support payments to factor in. Finding this news out a few days prior to completion will not be good for anyone involved. Especially the Broker. The Broker will be the one put into the pressure cooker to come up with a solution.
One day you will be a Broker with 1,000 plus applications under your belt, but you still will not be able to read minds. You still need to ask all the questions and guide clients around all the pitfalls. Even 1,000 files later, because the reality is that your client, they still have between zero and three mortgage transactions under theirs. Who is the expert in this equation?
Behave like one.
Things are not always what they seem. In fact, I would suggest things are rarely, if ever, as they seem. This is something that a Broker learns as they see behind the curtain in so many people’s lives.
Pants on fire
Nor should we think that the client was at any point lying to us. It is far more likely we did not ask a question that needed asking. We either failed to ask because it was difficult, embarrassing, or we just made an assumption that we knew the answer already because we are so amazing at our job.
All weak excuses.
Generally speaking, problems in files originating from the client’s side are not because the client intentionally meant to mislead or to cause harm; rather they are because this is a highly complex business and the piece of information omitted was just not thought (by the client) to be relevant.
The same happens on the Broker’s side of the file on occasion. We forget to mention a key piece of data to the underwriter because we do not realise that it is in fact crucial.
Leave no field blank in the application.
Fill no fields with answers provided from your amazing mind-reading skills.
Fill all fields in with answers from your client’s lips. If you can truly read minds, find a poker game and skip this book and this business.
Clients rarely lie. More often we lie to ourselves about whose fault a file going off the rails really is. Brokers fail to ask questions that needed asking—Brokers assume a client would offer the information if they:
- Own three other properties.
- Have accepted offers on two more properties.
- Are about to quit their job and open a new business.
- Are about to lease a new truck (or two) after the contract is firm, but before the completion date.
Each of the above is an example of an instance where I failed. Not the clients, me.
We are the professionals in this equation.
We are meant to ask all of the questions —even ones that will seem silly the majority of the time. Clients may not offer information that is material to the approval, but this is simply because they do not know any better.
Ask questions and assume nothing!
An incomplete or inaccurate application is the number-one thing that will irritate an underwriter. Inevitably the data left out of the application acts as thread protruding from a sweater, and when it catches the eye of the underwriter and is tugged on it often leads to the approval completely unraveling.
Create tight files with no loose threads.
Whether the applicant is single, separated, divorced or married is one of the first fields to be filled in. You need clarity. Lots of people will say they’re divorced but in fact they are not officially divorced. They parted ways ten years earlier, or two years earlier, but they’ve never been formally divorced. There is no written separation agreement. Most lenders will require a written agreement. Some will allow a statutory declaration that no support payments are being made; others will want a statutory declaration from the ex, which can be tricky (back to that topic of lender selection).
Promises, promises
When it comes to Promises, this is a word best eliminated from your vocabulary completely. If you use it even in the most general sense— “I promise to do all I can to get this approved with XYZ bank”—and then XYZ bank declines the file leaving you with an option that comes with a slightly higher rate… well you can count on that word of yours coming back to haunt you.
“You promised they would approve us.”
How would such a thing even be possible? That is beside the point. You used the word and a perception was created.
“You promised us X.XX%.”
Nope, but again you had the word in the paragraph near the name of the lender and the rate. And people will recall things as it suits them. I know that I do, and I am sure you do too. At least that’s how I recall it.
Don’t challenge your clients on truthiness, don’t ever make assumptions about them, and whatever you do never ever promise them a single thing.
Life is unpredictable, and the business of Brokering radically unpredictable.
Chapter Tip: Always take the high road, it is the least crowded road there is. Don’t be too quick to let clients blame themselves when things go off the rails; first think long and hard about every possible way it might be your actions or inactions that got you to where you are. Can you eliminate the possibility that you made an assumption? Odds are, it is really your own fault. Own it and fix it. Respect will follow, along with referrals.