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Our realtor keeps pushing a lender and homeowner's agent to us. Is this common? Is he getting a kickback of some kind?
Today the homeowner's insurance agent called and said she talked to our agent who told her our closing is in the middle of the month. Why is our agent telling her this information and talking to her? I already have compared other places and most likely will be going with someone else (because they are cheaper and it is tied with our exisiting business policy that we have for our cars).
I always ask my clients if they need referrals and only give them out if they need them. I don't tell anyone to call my client and quite frankly if you are on the DNC I still think it would violate those laws because YOU didn't initiate the phone call.
Kickbacks are illegal, violating RESPA regulations. As above, I only make referrals when a client needs them, and provide multiple contacts to choose from.
Kickbacks are illegal, violating RESPA regulations. As above, I only make referrals when a client needs them, and provide multiple contacts to choose from.
Your agent shouldn't be "pushing you" to use anyone. We can always recommend someone if the buyer doesn't have someone that we know will get the job done right but never should be pushing anyone.
The Realtor likes to give referrals to those they know will deliver with service. There are just way too many out of state "we don't care what your agent thinks" loan officers out there. Many areas also have pockets of known trouble makers. It's possible your Realtor is trying to be diplomatic and trying not to say anything negative about your lender selection.
There is no kickback, I assure you. What there is, is a very big stick. I know if I don't perform, my referral source is dead. My Realtor referral sources know when they call, day, night, weekend, I am going to answer their call and try to get the information they need, accurately and quickly. If I am an online lender 5 states over or even a credit union, those questions will be answered at their convenience, not yours.
Yes, it's common for Realtors to recommend service providers they are familiar with; however, you do not have to use those service providers.
Personally, I NEVER use inspectors, lenders or attorneys recommended by my Realtor. The relationship "is too close for comfort" for my liking. What if something goes wrong? What if you don't like the service provided? It seems very clear to me that a service provider (recommended by a Realtor) has a much deeper interest in keeping that relationship due to receiving future business versus protecting my interests.
If you search on my posts, I discussed a Realtor relationship gone bad and how she divulged private information to the other side when she could not bully us into buying a home she knew had problems. Lesson learned. Yes, the kickbacks, breach of confidentiality, etc. are illegal, but who wants to spend years fighting back against people breaking the law, especially when there is very little proof to present such a matter in court?
The Realtor likes to give referrals to those they know will deliver with service. There are just way too many out of state "we don't care what your agent thinks" loan officers out there. Many areas also have pockets of known trouble makers. It's possible your Realtor is trying to be diplomatic and trying not to say anything negative about your lender selection.
There is no kickback, I assure you. What there is, is a very big stick. I know if I don't perform, my referral source is dead. My Realtor referral sources know when they call, day, night, weekend, I am going to answer their call and try to get the information they need, accurately and quickly. If I am an online lender 5 states over or even a credit union, those questions will be answered at their convenience, not yours.
But the thing is, our lender picks up my calls immediately, emails me back immediately and is local. (Five minutes from where I live). He's good at what he does and is a nice guy. It's a guy with my bank (Suntrust). It's not some weird online lender. My realtor has repeatedly pushed his in house lending services EVERY single time I talked to him and saw him. (Every time we saw a house, he would push his lender and he would say snide remarks about our lender).
I could see your side of it by saying he was trying to be diplomatic, but he's so far from being diplomatic. He talked to his lender, gave all our information to him, (property address, purchase price, downpayment amount) and then the lender sent us a GFE. This was ALL done without us asking for it or with our permission. In my opinion, that is crossing lines.
If he really was being diplomatic, then he should just tell me straight up why he doesn't like our choice rather than making snide comments.
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