Well, I did it! I had my inaugural meeting with a loan agent, and honestly, the first one went ok! Not stellar, but ok. The lady was a very experienced pro, and we chatted for about 30 minutes. She seemed a little hurried, with appointments on both sides of mine, but she was knowledgeable and sharp. Sadly, since she was formerly an in-house loan processor for a realty office, she already had her list of go-to agents. Still, it was a worthy exercise, if anything, to break myself in. And my popcorn cone gift was decently received. Thankfully, it’s something that I can cram into my monster handbag and not show up to these meetings with a shit ton of stuff in my arms.

Afterwards, I was very relieved the meeting was over, but at the same time, I felt a headache brewing. Still, I decided that since I was already all dressed up (that shit is taking longer and longer these days bc my starting canvas is a mess and you know, the final presentation has to be fancier than before), I might as well take advantage. So, on the way home, I pulled over at another bank and did a walk-in. No appointment, and oddly, there was no service person tending to the queue. WTH? After a few minutes of awkward looking around trying to figure out the system, I had no choice but to get in line for the teller. When I told her I was a realtor looking to speak with a loan officer, she was all confused, like are you getting a loan for yourself? Guess my coach is right: realtors hitting up lenders for cross-referral business is a rare thing.

This guy was very pleasant. Right off the bat, he told me his bank is different in that it offers home loans to H1B1 visa holders, which is mostly tech workers from overseas. Still, who knew that option even existed? He also was very amenable to working together and co-hosting open houses and homebuy seminars and such. Very positive experience. Another thing I’ve learned? These officers are on call,  man. Their turn around times for pre-approvals is speedy– like hours and even outside business hours. I like that hustle.

Man, by the time I got home, I was wiped. All that mental anxiety and shit… it beats the body down! But I def patted myself on the back. Nothing more satisfying than a Vix getting down to business!

On Friday, I had another appointment with a loan officer in swanky downtown Los Altos. I had a great rapport with this lady. She was a gracious about my chintzy popcorn and then we actually sat down and did an exercise, with like some client earning x, saving y, blah, blah. Just a sample case scenario. It was so helpful! And then she turned me on to options to increase down payment. For example, for some people, they can use money from their 401k for downpayment and then pay themselves back later. Another secret, right? I think too she was quite impressed that I was just starting up and building my business and going around introducing myself to loan agents. Haha. My coach knows his shit! As I was wrapping up, her new hire came in (I had already scouted out that lady’s profile online too) and we introduced one another. My coach has mentioned before that sometimes when both sides are new, they create a strong partnership bc both parties are building their client list.

As I left there, I again wanted to keep the momentum going, so I then did a walk-in at the bank across the street. Well, I went to my car first to get another popcorn cone out of my trunk, THEN I went into the other bank. That place was a totally different, very casual and familial vibe. I chatted with two agents (though the home loan specialist was out) as well as the branch manager/VP. She was super psyched to see me bc apparently, she had just had a meeting with her staff telling them they needed to reach out to Realtors. Haha. She was super friendly and immediately suggested lunch next week when the loan dude gets back. She also mentioned having a budget for homebuying seminars and hosting community events at their branch. Yay!

So I ended the week pretty happy. Got home and hunkered down with the program: followup cards in the mail to the people I met. And the cycle continues.

I’ve been continuing touring open houses, going through exercises using the apps/tools to evaluate the market, etc. I went to lunch with some former colleagues and figured out a way to ask them to join my email list for periodic updates…. so things are moving in the prep/training up stage. I’m enjoying all the variety of work!