It’s strange that a Google or Bing search for “questions a Loan officer should ask” turns up pages and pages of suggestions for what borrowers should ask the loan officer.  Duh, of course you, the borrower, will have questions.  Of course you’ll ask about the loan process, the application, how long until closing, etc.  But I guess no one out there thinks that borrowers ought to expect the loan officer to have decent interviewing skills, too. 

Listen, anyone can cite what documents you need to provide to complete a loan application and submit for underwriter approval.  Anyone can tell you about a thirty-year fixed Mortgage and say how much money will can be saved versus your current payment.  It’s 2010, and thanks to the Internet you can figure out those things without talking to anyone.  Information like that is technical, and says nothing about establishing a real relationship that transcends the immediate transaction.  How much time would you even waste with a loan officer who didn’t at least go over the technical things?

But let’s be real.  We’re not talking about picking up a few things at the grocery store.  There’s more to doing this the right way than simply comparing numbers.  When shopping for a mortgage – you know, the money that pays for the roof over your head – there’s more to consider than just the loan term, interest rate, and estimated Closing Costs, and the like.  Sure, those things matter, but we’re talking about paying for your home, not saving money on canned vegetables at Walmart.  This is a little bit more important than that.

Naturally, there’s no defined set of questions your loan adviser should ask to show that he or she cares about you as a client and more than just another customer in a plain-vanilla transaction.   If there were, we’d all learn these things in a class.  Ask yourself whether your  loan officer is approaching this as the beginning of a relationship.  It’s a huge deal to you, so it had better be a huge deal to him or her, too. 

If you feel it’s not, then you need to walk out of there, hang up the phone, and stop emailing, because having the lowest interest and bottom-of-the-barrel closing costs aren’t worth it.  You’re not just going into a store, buying a mortgage like you might do when you’ve run out of milk and cereal late at night.  This is about paying for your home, and improving your long-term financial health.  He or she ought to be asking for more than just your W2s and work number. 

You wouldn’t be pleased if your doctor, lawyer, accountant, therapist, financial adviser, guidance counselor or realtor treated you like just another person they talk to everyday, would you?  Then don’t let your mortgage adviser off the hook so easily, either.

You’ll know when you’re receiving this kind of attention, but only if you’re expecting it in the first place.  It’s not just about what you should be asking; it’s just as important they take the time to get to know you by asking the right questions, too. 

Based on the treatment you’re receiving now, would you work with the person, again?  That’s the question.