I am only licensed to practice real estate; I am not a mortgage professional.
This very fact is espressly stated in section 28 of the Virginia Association of Realtors Residential Contract of Purchase. The listing and selling companies are only retained for their real estate brokerae expertise.
This week I received an email from a prospect that was like many emails that I have recieved from clients in the past. Basically it read: " I have a credit score of x. What is the best financing available for me?" If you have made such a request of your real estate agent donn't be embarassed; we get this kind of request ffrequently.
My response is: I am not a mortgage professional and I would not want to give you any information that is not accurate. There are several different financing options and one may be better than another for your personal situation. Here is the contact information for three different loan officers, each of which would work very hard for you. Of course, if you already have a bank or lender that you work with by all means speak with them as well. At the same time, it would be a good idea to get a preapproval letter, because we will need one to accompany any offer that you will end up making.
I have found that many clients particularly first time homebuyers are very reluctant to speak with a lender before they are ready to make loan application. I am not sure if they are uncomfortable sharing their financial information or if they don't realize that they will not be obligated to that particular lender. It is important that the client understands how much easier everything will be if the lender is brought in at the beginning of the process. Particularly, because if we know how much they can spend, we can target their search accordingly and they will not fall in love with a home that they cannot afford.
A good real estate agent AND a good loan officer are both essential elements of your real estate team.
