Miami Dade Real Estate Scoop

When I consult with my buyers I like to tell them a bit about myself and how I work.  One of the things I tell them is that I am not a mortgage broker.  Most are surprised as they are under the impression that being a real estate professional means I do all of it, including the mortgages.  I also tell them that I will NEVER be a mortgage broker. 

And then I explain why.....

I believe the mortgage industry is specialized enough that it requires a full-time approach to it.  I would be doing my customer a disservice by dabbling in it part-time.  And just because I do real estate full time doesn't qualify.  There are way too many changes to the industry, for someone who is not a dedicated mortgage professional to keep up with. 

I believe I can better serve my customer by wearing ONE hat, and doing that job extremely well.  I have excellent mortgage professionals I work with.  I trust them to do a great job for the people I refer to them.  I have the utmost respect for those in the mortgage side of real estate.  They keep up with a myriad of things that would make my head spin.

I believe a real estate agent has enough duties to perform without getting involved in the mortgage side of it. 

I know there are real estate agents out there who have their mortgage license and believe they are offering their customer the convenience of dealing with one less person.  I will never be one of them.

When you wear two hats, and you stand a chance to earn income from each, on the same transaction, the motives behind your actions may be questioned.  Let me tell of an experience I had last year with a colleague.

This real estate agent called to show one of my listings.  The listing was in a brand new community.  My seller was the builder and he had me list all the homes for sale.  The bank that held the mortgage was, of course, interested in getting the homes sold.  They were offering a special incentive to qualified buyers.  They were not forcing people to use them.  But if you did, you could benefit from the incentive being offered. 

The agent said the homes seemed perfect for her buyer and asked for more information on the incentive.  When I explained she stated that she couldn't do that, as she was doing the mortgage.  I thought to myself that it wasn't that she couldn't do that.  She chose not to do that.  She chose to not show her buyer these homes because she would not be earning a real estate commission and money on the mortgage.  She would just be earning a real estate commission and apparently that alone wasn't enough for her.

I was incredulous.  During the many months I was selling those homes she was the only agent who chose not to show them because she would not be doing the mortgage.  Keep in mind that she could have done the mortgage.  But her buyer would have likely seen our promotional material regarding the incentive and asked about it.  Her agent would have had a lot of explaining to do.  Serving her own needs before those of her customer was costing her customer a bit of money.

 I think I'll keep my single hat and keep it fitting pretty.