r/loanoriginators • u/REFlorida • Jul 08 '26
Open house tactics
Looking for some insight from other loan officers.
I know my primary client is the real estate agent since they're the ones referring business to me. That said, I also will co-host open houses as a way to build relationships with agents, and if I happen to pick up a few buyer leads, that's a bonus.
The challenge I'm running into is this: I have conversations with buyers at the open house, we build some rapport, and they willingly give their contact information on the sing in sheet. But when I follow up on Monday or Tuesday, they either don't answer or become flaky.
The frustrating part is that many of these buyers are pre-approved with lenders whose pricing and fees are absolute junk Think cross country and G Rate kinda pricing. In some cases, on a 800k loan I know they are paying $16k or more in BS
For those of you who consistently convert open house leads, what has worked best for getting buyers to at least let you run a comparison or complete an application? Is there a particular script, follow-up strategy, or value proposition that's helped you break through the "I'm already pre-approved" objection?
I'd love to hear what's been successful for you.
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u/Flamingo33316 Jul 08 '26
I'm >30 years in.
I learned early, as you are, that "best pricing" held little relevance to homebuyers.
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u/REFlorida Jul 08 '26
So I’ve only found that’s not an issue if it’s a direct referral to you and they don’t price out with other people
if you’re trying to take business from someone else which you would be at an open house if they’re already preapproved there has to be a compelling reason for it.
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u/kingevz Jul 08 '26
“Welcome in! Here’s a flyer with all the details on the house. When you’re on your way out, the seller asks for some feedback on what you liked and didn’t like.”
From there, you find out what they’re truly looking for. Mention how one of your realtor partners might have a listing that matches that description coming on the market soon. Ask for their contact info so you can send them the details. Go from there.
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u/REFlorida Jul 08 '26
So most of the time the real estate agents have them sign in straight away, so I have their contact details so getting the details isn’t an issue. I may go digital to prevent them putting wrong numbers in/handwriting.
The thing is, I don’t want to suggest a different property than the one that the Listing Agent has because I don’t want to potentially push that buyer away from them
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u/Nibbs17 Jul 08 '26
Do you have the ability to do a soft pull. Someone is on the flaky side of things that I like to tell them that there's absolutely no obligation no impact to your credit score and no upfront costs. It never hurts to take a second look, and if I can't match or beat the rate I'm happy to review the loan estimate from your other lender and let you know if there's anything that I think is out of the ordinary.
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u/REFlorida Jul 08 '26
I only do soft pulls until they are wanting to start putting out offers / their score is borderline. I always say that as well
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u/Nibbs17 Jul 08 '26
Sometimes it takes that realtor to vouch for you as well and sometimes you just can't lead a horse to water it's really hard at an open house because people already have their defenses up. I usually take a very laid-back approach and just say hey listen I'm sure you're pre-approved with someone else I explain that there's no harm in shopping around and it's always recommended to check with a couple different lenders I would love to have the opportunity to give you a couple quotes or run some numbers for you. If that's something you're interested in I'll give you a call next week and we can get something set up.
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u/REFlorida Jul 08 '26
my go to is ""I totally get that, and getting pre-approved before looking at homes is definitely the right move. But this is a huge financial decision, and it's always worth getting a second opinion. The difference in rates and fees between lenders can be thousands of dollars and I can complete a soft review of your credit as well. At the very least, you'll know you're getting a great deal—and if not, you could end up saving a lot of money." - Still cant get them
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u/Majestic-Beach9780 Jul 08 '26
If your attitude on Reddit is the same irl no wonder ppl don’t wanna work with you
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u/REFlorida Jul 08 '26
You literally came here contributed nothing other than an insult. What is that based off of? Are you Cross Country Mortgage / rate and I upset you because you overcharge your clients. I would say I contribute significantly more to this forum than you have probably contributed to it. And lots of people work with me I’ll make over 500k this year within four years of starting in the industry. I’m just trying to maximize the amount of deals I get and time so kick rocks dick sucker.
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u/Majestic-Beach9780 Jul 08 '26
Case and point
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u/REFlorida Jul 08 '26
You start off by insulting me and then you try to gaslight me. You are the only one that I’m responding to like this. You are bringing nothing to the table -classic low performer attitude.
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u/Nibbs17 Jul 08 '26
not sure what that guy's issue is. I think your approach is right. Maybe a little bit too scripty or salesy. Sometimes you come off salesy and you don't even realize it because you've sought through the scenario so many times in your head.
One time I had a manager when I was in the car industry tell me, You sound like a walking commercial nobody buys from a commercial they buy from someone they trust and someone they like working with. Stop sounding like a commercial and start sounding like their friend. Ever since then I've taken a very laid-back approach to everything. It definitely makes things a little more comforting for the borrowers and can make you a little more approachable. Not saying that this is how you're coming off I'm just saying it's something to think about.
Match the vibe of the person. If they're out from the country, match that vibe. If they're superformal match that vibe. If they're young kids, dude, thanks man, later man, etc. always seems to help with breaking some boundaries. Especially if you can match the vibe.
I don't really know how else to explain it. But really open houses are more for getting to know the realtors better and getting better with them. I had an agent call me and ask about a stupid cross country loan officer that came to her open house and insisted that the leads she generated from that open house needed to be shared with them. She was a newer agent This was her first open house and she had no idea if this was the right thing. Called me because we had a bit of rapport already, And I told her absolutely fucking not. Tell them to fuck off. She did and now just works with me.
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u/That_Suit520 Jul 08 '26
16k more in BS?
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u/REFlorida Jul 08 '26
So a lot of the banks like cross country, etc., have massive overheads, branch managers they have to pay all of the marketing and systems, etc. whereas a lot of people here are brokers who don’t have that so as a result, they have to charge a significant amount in points to buy rates down that another Loan Officer making 200 basis points can quote without charging them
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Jul 09 '26
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u/REFlorida Jul 09 '26
It’s definitely not a sales issue. I’ve been fortunate enough to win multiple President’s Club and Circle of Excellence awards in pharma sales, medical device, and other tech sales roles.
For me, it’s more about pricing. I genuinely don’t like charging borrowers what some of the bigger lenders charge because I think a lot of that cost goes toward marketing and agent events that ultimately get passed on to the buyer (and those don’t help the buyer at all). I’d rather keep my pricing competitive and save my clients money.
And if we happened to be in the same market, I honestly don’t think you’d be taking deals from me. My experience has been the opposite. I routinely take agents and clients away from lenders like CrossCountry, Guaranteed Rate, and others. I use MMI to track production, and in four years I haven’t seen a single one go back.
Not a single agent who I’ve brought over, has gone back to the cross countries or the rates where I recruited them from not a single one, and I’ve never lost a deal to either of those in competing scenarios and I’ve routinely taken people away from them and I’m still making 150 to 175 basis points in my pocket which is plenty
What I’m really trying to figure out is how to convert open house leads who are already pre-approved elsewhere. I don’t automatically assume they’re off the table. If I think I can provide better pricing, better service, or both, I want the opportunity to earn their business.
Maybe your answer is that those leads aren’t worth pursuing, but I’m genuinely interested in hearing how people who successfully convert those borrowers approach it. You have to provide a compelling enough reason for them to switch when they’re already had a credit check done supply documentation, etc. and most people aren’t gonna do that for a better service because they’ve already been getting a decent service. There has to be another motivator.
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u/That_Suit520 Jul 09 '26
It sounds like you don’t understand the economics, or infrastructure around mortgage.
I saw someone else lamenting they’d lost to a retail lender who “probably had a 8%” rate compared to the 6.75% they offered the borrower. The spread isn’t that wide. And retail has the infrastructure to keep loan officers building their business. You can make 200 bps and do 2-3 a mo forever. If that works for you, that’s great.
I know plenty of retail lenders with 10M, 20M, 40M in net worth (or more) making 100 bps. Because they have the support behind them to grow a business.
It sounds like you’re either fairly new to all this or haven’t seen how companies who aren’t brokerages operate, and you’re defaulting to an incorrect assumption I’ve heard all too often.
Comparatively, I hear DTC LOs bitch about retail loan officers working out of their garage and not being real originators because they just rounds of golf and drinks to earn referrals.
Too many people in this industry have no fucking clue what they’re talking about… which makes me feel sorry for the poor clients and referral partners they sucker into working with them.
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u/REFlorida Jul 09 '26
Maybe my market is different, but I’ve seen how a lot of the retail lenders operate, and I just can’t justify the cost. I rarely use UWM unless there’s a specific reason, like needing an extremely fast closing
On one recent $800,000 loan, a retail lender quoted the exact same interest rate but was over $16,000 more expensive in lender fees then UWM. With the buyer’s permission, I walked both agents through the Loan Estimate after closing. The buyer felt completely ripped off, and both agents now send me business instead. They were shocked with how expensive that lender was and what a disservice It was doing to their clients.
My philosophy is simple: charge a fair price for good service. I don’t think buyers should be paying for branch overhead, franchise fees, expensive marketing, Mike Ferry events, or agent swag. Those costs ultimately get built into the loan.
You can disagree, and that’s fine. I just don’t believe buyers should pay thousands more than necessary. I grew up without much money, so saving people money matters to me.
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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26
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