As a mortgage loan officer, I am simply a salesperson. In other words with this innate skill, I should be able to sell anything from socks to snowballs.  People say, selling is an art, but I think it is a skill you are born with- like playing the flute. Lately, being a mortgage loan officer is so much more than that, in fact it is becoming the profession it was intended to be. A mortgage loan officer is defined as one who performs the service of helping a client obtain the right mortgage at the lowest interest rate. What a loan officer is supposed to do is advise, not sell, a borrower about the loan programs and products that are right for them based on their personal needs. In these days of ever changing loan disclosures, products and interest rates and loan officer must be on top of their game and on top of the rules. Since the rules change every day, part of the skill set is now repeat calls to mortgage institutions to find the right lender for the client, harassing bank personnel to approve the loan in a timely fashion and honor a loan commitment even though the guidelines have since changed and begging them to get the loan ready to close. Although not the most professional of acts, a good mortgage loan officer will hunt for a loan, beat a “dead horse” to death in trying to get it approved and fight to the finish to get their client the lowest interest rate. Only when a loan officer understands the basic rules and regulations, can they take this posture with their lenders. In the 20 years I have been in this industry, going through ups and downs, this is the biggest shakedown the industry will see in my career. I am proud that I am still working and thriving in the industry. I still love what I do, but I do hate the everyday activity of the fight. It is not fun for me to beg and harass people that are in their own stressful situations, but you gotta do what you gotta do. As people exit the industry in droves, what will be left are the professionals. A professional mortgage loan officer is one that advises their client on the best loan product based on their needs and obtain the lowest interest rate for them. The process should be easier for the client and not greater. Know your loan officer!

Dale Robyn Siegel