In a home buying transaction, there are two known professionals to help the buyer get the best experience until closing. These two are a real estate agent and a loan officer. If you are to ask, most people are likely to know much about real estate agents than loan officers. Loan officers are less-known most especially to new and first-time homebuyers. While you can still find some similarities between these two careers such as state licensing and oversight, they have many differences between their roles to be played in a real estate home buying transaction.

Real estate agents and loan officers both have a vital role to play during a real estate transaction.

Real estate agents have the role of making sense out of their client’s property and needs so they can fully offer their services to the satisfaction of their clients. They try their very best to either help clients sell their homes or buy new ones for them. Real estate agents base their concentration on finding new and fast ways of purchasing properties and finding new answers toquestions about listings. While loan officers are known to focus most of their time getting clients educated on their financial needs, their income and other relevant data. More on that, loan officers are left to evaluate their client’s financial data so they can determine the possiblerisk if a lender gets to lend a client money.

Real Estate Agents: Real estate agents have the primary role of assisting clients through the buying and selling process. While some of their duties are carried out in an office, much of their time is spent outside traveling and searching for different listings. Its normal for real estate agents to work for long hours and as well as evenings and weekends. Real estate agents must possess strong business skills with interpersonal skills to get a good report with clients. Real estate agents can pursue their broker’slicense after gaining practical experience with further training which can lead to a significant increase in salary.

Other responsibilities of a real estate agent include:

• Getting information about their listed properties
• Showing homes or businesses to potential buyers
• Handling rental contracts for properties
• Producing contracts
• Negotiating the sale’s terms

Loan Officers: Loan officers have the job of securing financing for homebuyers to take out a mortgage to buy a home. They may work with some specific business or be employed by banks. Some loan officers get to travel out of office to meet clients. They pay attention to details as they need to provide relevant and accurate information for business decisions. They have two main areas of specialization, either the commercial or consumer loans or collections.

Other responsibilities of a loan officer:

• Providing information on loan options
• Help clients complete loan applications
• Collect and verify documentation
• Determine whether or not a client is qualified for a loan option
• Communicate to all parties on the process of the mortgage

There is a countless list of duties that both real estate agents and loan officers perform on a daily bases. As a loan officer, I would love to help walk you through the home buying process!

Please reach out to The Sherry Riano Team with any questions!

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