I have a question that has been on my mind the past couple of days. This is geared to those professionals who aid us Real Estate Agents in closing out deals (Lenders, Title Co reps, Inspectors, etc).

I have a great team in my Real Estate corner. I am very loyal to my Title Company and my preferred Lender. I take every opportunity to promote their business because the service they provide to me are incredible. I've referred many a client to my partners much to their delight. I do it because I know the deal will get done. If it does not, it was not due to their failings.

As I said, this is just a question. I would ask those that I know in the fields, but I don't want to look like I am trying to "squeeze" them for clients. I know that they work with many, many Realtors everyday, or they would not be successful. So the question is:

If somebody (friend, family, acquaintances) asked you to refer a Realtor contact to them, how would you select a Realtor. Going on step farther, if you were wanting to sell your home, how would you select your Realtor?

A realtor who is trained in multiple areas of the real estate business is my reccomendation. Any newbie can advertise and show a house. Selling a home is about financing the home 99% of the time and if the realtor doesnt understand the mortgage side of the business they may send the buyer to a lender who cant provide the right financing type for the borrowers credit profile or the profile of the property. Some borrowers are better off with brokers and some are better off with the local bank. Mom and pop brokers are only set up with a few lenders and have limited program availablity. and even loan officers from large net branch companies try to do volume through the familiar lenders and programs and working outside their box is not something they do unless business is slow. They depend on the same few lenders over and over after they learn the lenders programs. if the lender the broker uses does not offer the niche program your borrower needs then his reply is the borrower doesnt qualify as opposed to sending you to a competitior that specializes in rural properties or condos etc. or to the local bank.

It is reasonable to expect your lender to give back.
If they aren't driving some of their own business and just taking realtor referrals then they aren't a good partner.

They should have a database and should be marketing to them for future purchases. They will get the call for preapproval BEFORE the client finds a realtor. So there are plenty of leads to be given out.