As part of my ongoing service to my clients I strive to talk to each of them once a year. Some clients will feel like I am trying to sell something or refinance people them when it’s not appropriate. But in truth, since I view my past customers as clients, and not just customers, I feel an obligation to do what I think is the right thing. This includes asking questions about changing circumstances. So I call.
Sometimes the calls go unanswered or people are quickly trying to get me off the line. I get that, it comes with the territory. Most folks don’t have the expectation that we would be calling and when I do are in a hurry to get off the phone. In today’s world they can even ignore my call by cell phone to ensure that they don’t have to talk to me. For many folks, the call is just a touch base “ping”. I am here if you need me, rates are up a little or down a little and not much has changed in the clients lives. We have a brief, polite chat and move on.
The second group of clients I have built a better rapport with and we can have a full chat. How are the kids? Have you started planning for college? What is your plan to pay off your mortgage relative to your target retirement date? Do you need an introduction to a financial planner, accountant or some other person I can recommend that you can trust? These calls are a pleasure and on occasion, sure, we end up refinancing a mortgage that no longer fits a borrowers circumstances. We could end up saving some money on rate or reducing the number of years on the loan to save the really big money. Most of the time though, it’s a due diligence call to help people make sure they are on the right path.
I point these things out because when you hire me, you get this. It’s impossible people to see this from the place where customers sit when they need their mortgage the first time. Borrowers can get quotes and slick presentations, videos, commercials from the big banks and/or Quicken loans. But it’s not likely that their systems are set up to serve clients over the long run like we do on my team.
I mention all this selfishly because I had an annual review call with a client last week. This borrower has been in his suburban Chicago community for seven years with his wife and three kids. They live in a teardown community but in an older home. We talked about a few things listed above but then the conversation changed to him discussing housing in his area. We talked quite a bit about property taxes in his community and the bite they are taking out of many budgets.
One of the untold (because builders and real estates sales people don’t have a stake in telling you) stories of new housing stock created by tear downs is that property taxes can pound you after a couple of years. This client is seeing families that his kids are growing up with “opt out” of the $12K, $15K, $20K annual tax bills and move away to more affordable towns. He is very happy that he opted into a cheaper house with a more affordable tax bill in 2007.
That choice was NOT an accident. Prior to buying the house they looked at a new construction property near completion and at least $250,000 more expensive with a larger tax bill. He called to get prequalified at the time and I informed him that I could get him the loan…but he is the one that would have to make the dramatically higher payment, for thirty years.
After much consideration they opted into the smaller house they have today. Even though they bought near the high of the market their payment was workable enough to weather the storm of the market crash. In 2012 they got a HARP refinance and now have a 15 year mortgage under 3% for about the same amount as the original payment and are building HUGE equity in the property. They were hit by the housing market, but were in no way crushed by it. I would actually argue that they are thriving!
As we wrapped up the conversation he thanked me. It was the most rewarding phone call and thank you that I have received in a long time in this business. It’s not often you get to see the results of what you do every day, years after you do it. This was one such occasion. I’m selfishly grateful for this call.
The big moral of the story though is, many people in big banks, call centers large lenders and “me first” mortgage sales reps will let you get into any loan they can earn a commission on. Then you are on your own. A mortgage pro will watch out for you up front and make sure you have everything need to keep keep your family finances in good stead over the long run.
