Referrals are what make and break many mortgage lenders. Referrals are incoming calls that are referred to you from an outside source. That source might be a newspaper, a friend, a former client, or even the internet. In the end, though, mortgage originators know that incoming calls are always better than outgoing calls. So by understanding what types of referrals you can take advantage of, you will be better able to pursue them the right way.

Your Family and Your Friends

They may not count for a lot of your business, but a mortgage professional should be able to count those closest to him or her. When someone's immediate social clan is in the market for a mortgage, you would likely be the first one they call. Certainly you do not have to worry too much about competition, but you do have wade through the referrals you get that are not qualified to pursue a mortgage.

With a family or friend referral you get a little bit of everything from your mom's divorced friends to your buddy's old college roommate. The referrals may or may not even qualify for the mortgages. However, in the mortgage business it is all about numbers so you take them anyway.

Referrals from the Internet

There are also referrals coming from the internet. Mortgage customers find online help and that is where your form shows up. When they fill out the form with their information, the form is fed to you so that you can then take that and turn it into your lead.

These referrals are great, because you are getting the prequalification information up front. Before you even make a phone call you will likely have knowledge of whether or not the referral is worth your pursuit. With internet referrals you can even go all the way to targeting certain sizes and types of mortgage. In a way, the internet referral is the most reliable if not the most common to come across your desk.

Ads

Sometimes, your referrals may come from traditional advertising. For instance, many mortgage professionals give those applying for a mortgage after seeing their ad some sort of incentive. The incentive may be an award, money, a coupon, or something else that could push someone over the edge in terms of applying for a new mortgage.

Real Estate Mortgage Referrals

Then there are the referrals you get through real estate agents. These are the referrals that come from realtors who help people buy new homes. They usually know that the people are interested and by the time they get to you it is just about getting them qualified. These are great referrals because they are fairly well qualified and you do not usually have a lot of competition for the loan.

These types of referrals are exactly why it is important to find ways to partner up with real estate agents. There are many ways to do this, most of them wrong, and a number of advantages to it if done correctly. Besides allowing you free access to a number of leads, it also allows you access to the best customers in the mortgage industry: renters who are looking to buy for the first time.

When you are in the mortgage business, turning renters into buyers is the easiest way to make money. When you partner up with the right real estate agent, you will get all of the renters turned buyers you can handle, which can make you thousands every month. The key is simply to find a program that will help you do just that. When you find such a program, your real estate mortgage referrals can go up significantly which makes your income go up.

Referrals are what can launch you from a pedestrian mortgage professional to someone who is breaking the bank and making noise in the industry. That is why it is important to cultivate all the right mortgage referrals so that you can produce the best and brightest business possible. It does not matter as much what type of referrals you get, but that they are your best leads: although, a partnership with the right realtor can have you both taking care of all those first time buyers who are ready to buy a mortgage from you.