I Lost The Deal
I lost a loan this week.
Now this happens every now and then. You can’t avoid it. But this one wasn’t because of a bad inspection or a buyer who couldn’t qualify.
I lost it because another lender quoted a much lower interest rate.
Usually, when a client compares rates, we’re within a small margin of other lenders. If we weren’t competitive on rates and loan costs, we wouldn’t be in business very long.
But this time, we weren’t even close.
Now my client had been working with me for a while when he brought up a rate quoted by his business banker. I told him I’d look into it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come close to matching it.
Things are very competitive in the mortgage business right now. People are putting off buying homes, and every deal matters because there just aren’t as many deals to go around.
This one mattered even more to me because it was a jumbo loan, meaning a very large mortgage. Closing it would have been worth about as much to me as closing five other loans combined.
I really wanted to keep it!
But I didn’t.
Over the years, I’ve seen lenders quote very attractive rates to win a deal, only for those rates to change as closing gets closer. I’m not saying that’s what will happen here. But I’ve seen it happen enough to know that a quote isn’t always the final story.
But my approach is simple.
I tell the truth. I want what’s best for my client, even when it doesn’t benefit me financially.
And If another lender truly has a better deal and can show me an official Loan Estimate so I can verify the numbers, I’ll recommend that my client consider using that lender.
You’d be surprised how many clients don’t expect to hear that from their current loan officer!
Now I’ve lost my fair share of business and money by sticking to this principle. But I can sleep well at night knowing I did what I believed was right.
A Real Christian Businessman understands that integrity isn’t just about doing the right thing when it benefits you. It’s about doing the right thing when it costs you something.
“The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.” Prov 12:22 (NIV)
My responsibility isn’t just to close loans. It’s to serve people honestly and treat them the way I’d want to be treated.
And so far, whether in the mortgage business or in other areas of my career, that approach has worked out pretty well. I’ve never gone hungry or been unable to pay my bills because I chose to do the right thing.
That doesn’t mean every decision has worked out financially. It means I’ve learned to trust that doing what’s right matters more than winning every deal.
Our character is revealed not by what we do when integrity is easy, but by what we do when it costs us. Because people may not always remember what we sold them or how much money we made.
But they’ll remember whether they could trust us.