Lender To Move Into Scott Offices

The three most important aspects of real estate - location, location, location - are often repeated, sometimes in comical fashion. But Washington Mutual Savings Bank is taking those words to heart and making no joke about them. As of Wednesday the area's largest home-loan lender plans to have loan representatives at work in five John L. Scott Real Estate offices. Expansion is planned by the end of the year.

This announcement gives Washington Mutual an indirect affiliation with the two largest realty companies in the region. Several Windermere Real Estate offices have had loan reps from Stonemark Mortgage Services for about a year. But Stonemark brokers about 50 percent of its business to Washington Mutual. That percentage was even higher last year because borrowers were choosing fixed-rate over adjustable-rate mortgages.

WaMu will first move into John L. Scott offices in Bellevue, Bellevue Place, Bellevue South, Kirkland and Puyallup - offices averaging about 60 agents.

A better fit for company

Lennox Scott, owner and president of John L. Scott, was part owner of The Mortgage Company, a residential loan brokerage once located within selected John L. Scott realty offices. He abandoned his two-year experiment with a mortgage division about a year ago and says the new association with Washington Mutual is a better fit for his company.

For five years, Scott has envisioned an all-encompassing real estate center with prepackaged services (appraisal, title, inspection). One of his goals is to streamline the process of buying a house so the deal can close within five working days. "Washington Mutual's commitment to a one-day approval along with its superior management of loan processing will help us better achieve our goals," Scott said.

The idea of having a loan officer in a realty office is not new. It has worked well for Stonemark but not so well in other situations. Some loan officers have complained that real estate agents expected far more time and service than initially anticipated.

"I'm sure there will be more demands for service compared with what the loan officers are getting now,"said Steve Freimuth, Washington Mutual's senior vice president for lending administration. "But I think it's important to give that convenience to the customer. It's what they want. They may not want to drive all over town to shop for a loan."

Changes the business environment

Perhaps it is in the best interest of the consumer - albeit inconvenient - to get in the car (or on the computer?) and shop around for a loan. Having a lender in the realty brokerage changes the business environment from focusing on home selection to home-and-loan selection. And while clients have access to most all of the houses available for sale through that office, all the loans available are not available. You also have to ask whether it is in the best interest of the agent who has developed successful working relationships with other lenders.

One of the reasons WaMu decided to move into Scott offices now is because the bank has had a year to gauge and process the loan volumes from Stonemark. In addition, it sees the huge potential for second mortgages, home-equity loans (not to mention checking and savings accounts) that a full-service bank can provide newcomers to the area. When you are transferred and have a weekend to find a home, wouldn't it be nice to get a loan at the same time?

"Our one-day approval now gives the customer ample opportunity to shop around," Ebner said. "The traditional 35-50 days to get everything in and processed is not perceived these days as acceptable."

I am certain point-of-sale will be how most mortgages are marketed in the future, but I am slow to warm up to that fact. "Most convenient" does not always mean "best." But it is true that home and loan should not be compared to church and state.

Tom Kelly is a private real-estate consultant.