Real Estate Professional in Training and YOUR HOME is the Training Ground!!
Everyone is a "newbie" at some time. We see managers training the teenager at Taco Bell or the "Student Driver" signs atop of cars. But when was the last time you saw a "Real Estate Professional in Training" badge on a Realtor or loan officer?
Never?
A good real estate company will hold an agent's hand during the "baby" stage. And a good lender will make sure a complete mortgage application is completed for a new loan officer. Sadly what often takes place is a "sink or swim" training method and some poor soul's home purchase is the training ground. We've seen this with both newbie real estate professionals and often with the "I'm using a relative" scenario.
Is it a fair question to ask a professional how many transactions they have completed lately ... this year ... EVER? ABSOLUTELY.
I'm working with a newbie ... I'm scared!
As a home buyer, working with a new agent or loan officer isn't necessarily a curse. Just because a real estate professional is new to the business doesn't mean they have to be new to professionalism! Indeed, some new real estate professionals are years ahead of some of the "dead wood" that has been around for years. (And I would tell some people to their face if they asked!). If a newbie has strong support, you can feel confident they should do a fair job. If they lack support and they are green, then you are rolling the dice and "good luck" with them handling one of the largest transactions of your life.
Real estate transactions are highly detailed. The home buyer should never be the training ground that a new agent or officer learns the ropes on. They might lose a commission check if the transaction doesn't close. A home buyer however may lose a home, a place to stay, a lot of money, or even worse.
As a home buyer, DO NOT be afraid to ask questions upfront and put the professional you choose to work with to the test. Any professional worth your time will welcome the questions and concerns. And that is a fact, because in such a situation, the professional has the oppurtunity to shine, which will help all parties understand one another and work better together.
(Side Notes for the Professional ... As a new agent or loan officer, do not accept a company that treats training as a "put out the fire" situation. If the company you are joining doesn't have a training program written down before you join them, be skeptical about what training you will recieve. Some owners/managers are nothing more than glorified salespeople and are only looking to make money from you. They don't care about your success. Don't line their pockets as you make a bad reputation for yourself.)
Steve Kappre is a mortgage loan officer in New Jersey. For more info or questions feel free to contact Steve.
- NJ First Time Home Buyer
- Purchase, refinance, rehab loans
- Conventional, FHA, USDA, VA, HMFA, First Time Home Buyer, Police and Fire, Live Where You Work, and more
Call direct @ 856-419-3561 | Subscribe to Steve's blog via e-mail | NJ Loan Officer .com | NMLS ID: 218007
Treasury Mortgage - 550 Bridgeton Pike, Mantua, NJ 08051 - 1810 Springdale Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance
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Realtors should certainly know about these programs, but this is out of their scope. Is it the lender's fault? Not really. A lender can train a loan officer, but they can't make them know everything. IT IS THE LOAN OFFICER'S FAULT! I'm not about to out that loan officer, I don't work like that. But shall I ask the question again; Do you ...
Well the run has begun and the whirlwind of first time home buyersis picking up steam all across the country. Every buyer will want to know how 
Because I talk to buyers (and Realtors) all the time that know little to nothing about such options. Buyers come to me because their agent or their current lender could not answer their questions about such program options.
