Are You Being "Played"?

Always remember that even under the present conditions in the mortgage market, good projects can usually get funded. But we must ascertain how good the project is before we start searching for the funding. If I were to contact a lender and ask them if they do spec funding, their 1st question will be "Well, tell me about the project". And I would say umana-umana-umana....

You have a good quality in you - you don't want to waste anybody's time. But doing initial legwork to determine if we can help fund a deal is not a waste... see, many people will throw out scenarios as a carrot... they may be serious, they may not be... we dont know until the legwork (document gathering) is done.

If people are serious, they will happily give you whatever you ask of them. So do a sit down or telephone application, ask them for 2 years business & personal tax returns, run their credit, take an an app fee...these are the things that determine their level of seriousness. It's like saying "Oh, you want to dangle a carrot? Then take a small bite and dangle it right back..

You need to show people you come in contact with that you cannot be "played". You want to establish that you are a serious player... It's like in a poker game... all the good players know who the patsie is... the inexperienced player that will lose all the money. You are not the patsie... but you have to prove it.

I usually say it like this... "What you are asking of me will take some time to research. I don't mind doing it for you... I WANT to do it.... but I need a much better understanding of the (loan, project etc) and I cannot begin without supporting documents. I can meet with you on... and then give them a day and time... make them be ready for you. This is establishing yourself as professional and they'll see right away that they're not getting anything without some effort on their part.

Sometimes, you'll say this and and get the brush off... GOOD!

Those brush offs establish that your prospect was not all that serious! But see, most loan officers get brushed off like that a few times and that plays on their sub-conscience. So, next time, they think "I'm not going to lose this one like I did that last guy". And they'll do a whole lot of work for nothing.

Look - it's way better to get brushed off from the beginning than after you have done all the work. Involve your prospects. Make them invest some time, some effort. If they give you that, well, then you have a serious prospect. And they will know up front exactly how you do business, which will make them a better client once you decide to accept their business.