One of the jobs of a real estate agent is ensuring your client, whether it's a buyer or seller, gets to closing. A huge part of that equation is the lender used in the transaction. All agents have lenders they recommend because we know they can get the deal done. It a common misperception that agents receive money for referring lenders a client. Um..that's illegal and you can go to jail. That's not why we recommend these lenders. We refer them because they rarely let us down. All of lenders are local and know the market. Nobody wants to use a big bank like Wells Fargo or Bank of America because they are the worst. Consistently. They're so bad that some agents won't move forward with a deal using either of these lenders. An agent can never insist that a client use a specific lender. It's always the clients choice. However, agents always know there's going to be an issue if the deal is being financed by either Wells Fargo or Bank of America.
For example, one of my deals is using Wells Fargo as the lender. Yesterday, I received a call and was told Wells Fargo said no to the loan on a technicality. This is after Wells Fargo issued the pre-approval and told all parties involved it'd "be no problem to get it closed." Yesterday. We're supposed to close next week. This sort of situation is all too familiar and has happened on multiple occasions.
This is a disaster on many levels. First, the buyers and the sellers are upset. Second, the buyer has to resolve this by using another bank. Yep, that's right. The buyer, after already paying for an appraisal, etc. now has to start ALL over. When I got the call, my immediate reaction was "Of course. I should have known this deal was going too smoothly with Wells Fargo as the lender". It's going to work out but meanwhile, it's a hot mess and stressful for both parties involved in the transaction.
What's the point of discussing this topic? CHOOSE YOUR LENDER WISELY. It's THE most important factor in a real estate deal.
