Oh, it’s a treat!! Have you had the chance to learn the GE shuffle? It’s the only dance that you can do on the phone. The seller has a name and a number. You call and ask about the property. Of course, you actually leave a voice mail, 2 times a day for three days, then, maybe, you get to talk to a person. They tell you they don’t have the file. They don’t know why you called them. Then they give you the number of someone else who has the file. Leave them some voice mails, then find out that they have the file, but can’t tell you anything without consent from the seller. You send them consent. Now, surprise, they still can’t tell you anything, because the lawyer has the file. Only the lawyer can tell you what you need to know. Leave 8 to 10 voice mails with the lawyer. Call at all hours of the day. Finally, the lawyer tells you that they cannot divulge anything, you must talk to someone at GE. They give you the same name and number you got from the seller. It’s like a bad Monty Python skit, only you’ve got thousands of dollars on the line.
I’m just venting here. I’m sure some of you either are, or know very efficient and capable bank residential loan originators. I don’t mean to offend you, but it seems, in my area, that when someone applies for a job at a bank, they must be given some kind of test. Those that fail the test get to work as a loan processor in the residential loan department. I have never heard so many excuses for failing to meet a deadlines, lost faxes, or other mistakes. I had a deal on a preforeclosure that took 3 months longer to close than it should have because, when the payoff from GE Capital (don’t get me started!) finally came through, the little loan originator couldn’t get the paper work together before the end of the month. Then, of course, it took the other 2 months to get another payoff from GE Capital. On the other hand, after the loan originator dropped the ball on another deal (they had great terms and rates, ok?), I called the folks over in the commercial lending department (same bank) that I had just been introduced to. They said, “Send me the stuff, and lets get it done.” We closed 2 weeks later. One month later, we had closed 2 more deals, effortlessly, painlessly.
Talk about “Can do” vs. “Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t…”
Watch out for “workaholics”, as their called. Workaholics need work TO do. They don’t want to complete jobs. That would only reduce their work load, reduce their “fix.” No matter how much work they do, they will always insure there is something left to do. They like to increase your work load, too, since that will inevitably increase the work load at some later point. Workaholics work long and hard at working long and hard. When you spot a workaholic, run the other way just as fast as you can.
Also, watch out for perfectionistic, rule-based, rigid types. They will always find something wrong, some one more thing you need to do. Its difficult for them to complete a deal, since they will be unhappy “knowing” that there must be something wrong, something undone, something that has been missed.