Coach vs. Gatekeeper

When you meet with a loan officer to review your options, you need to understand their role in the system. They are not the gatekeepers to the bank vault. Their job is not to keep you from getting the bank’s money, but to find a way to make you a loan. With very few exceptions, lenders are not loaning their own money. They are loaning money that comes from other funding sources including governmental, quasi-governmental, and private organizations. There are no limits in the funds available for lending. If your loan officer could originate a billion dollars in loans each month, she and the mortgage company she works for would be thrilled and the money would be there to fund the loans. You also need to understand that it is not your loan officer, her underwriter or her company who make the rules under which you’ll get your loan. The rules are established by the investors who provide the money for the loans to the mortgage company. The loan originator’s job is to evaluate your financial situation, your plans and goals for the property and the loan, and your tolerance for risk, and then to figure out which loan program or programs provide the best match and will create the least headaches given the rules under which these loans are granted. They are your coach and councilor, not your enemy. For them to do their job, they need to know everything you know about your financial situation and your plans.