Copyright 2005 - Carey Pott

It's pretty easy to isolate the good from the bad in a lot of professions: a dentist laughing gleefully every time you flinch, a plumber demanding payment up front while your knees disappear underwater, a real estate Agent who never returns your call or is constantly dragging you to inappropriate houses. You wouldn't let any of these hang around long enough to do any real damage.

A loan officer is a little bit harder to quantify, largely because the bad ones often don't show their true colors until late in the house-buying process.

Still, you may gather a few clues from thoughtful interviews of any you are considering. Yes, you should interview a loan officer (or a real estate agent, for that matter) just as you would any potential employee or contractor. This person will be every bit as important to you over the next few months as your secretary, babysitter, or auto mechanic.

Without further ado, here are the three questions you MUST ask:

1) What hours are you available?

The right answer to this question is "Whenever you need me". Real estate takes place during weekends and evenings and you may well need to get hold of your mortgage person at some very awkward times. Your loan officer will be ungrudgingly available to fax you a revised preapproval letter or answer questions even if it is the Fourth of July.

Most of the time a good loan officer will be able to keep you up to date with what's going on and answer your questions during normal work hours. Most importantly, a good loan officer will always make themselves available when you're signing the loan documents. This is the most critical point of the loan and the time when you're most likely to have questions, so they NEED to be available while you're signing.

2) How do I reach you outside of office hours?

A good loan officer will give out his/her cell, home phone, or beeper numbers for emergency use. There is a responsibility on your part to not abuse this access. If you are making an offer, 7 PM on a Sunday is not too late for a call, but 9 PM probably is.

As we mentioned above, a good loan officer will make himself available for you whenever you need him and will make sure he's available at all times. Being a loan officer is somewhat similar to being a doctor - if you do your job right, you can get everything done during normal working hours. However, if emergencies come up or a patient desperately needs you, you need to make sure they know where to find you.