Edgewood, WA Real Estate Blog

I’m very pleased to announce Rhonda Porter as a contributing author.

I first met Rhonda while I was with John L Scott in Federal Way. She regularly visited the office to distribute marketing materials. As my office was located in close proximity to the agent mail boxes, I often had occasion to “bump into” her.

Over the years I’ve recommended a number of different lenders to my buyer clients based upon their performance, integrity, and fair pricing. And by integrity I don’t just mean straightforward and honest – that’s a given. I mean delivering what’s promised… cause neither I nor my clients like surprises.

It was during the real estate run up of the last several years when the lender I was then using left the area.

Coincidently I was seeing a lot of what I considered bad actor lenders on the other side of my transactions. I was primarily listing properties where I represented sellers, but since I always review the HUD-1 (settlement statement ) I could see what the lender was up to.

So I set out to find a new lender. Being in the business as long as I have, plus spending some time digging into common lending practices, I knew what I wanted in a lender for my clients.

When you buy a home, it’s pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get (yes, you need a good inspector).

Not so in the lending business. Practices tends to be opaque. Unless you’re in the business (or invest substantial time learning), there’s just no way you’re going to know all the ins and outs. And even if you do invest the time, you really won’t know what you’ve got until closing (and as we’ve seen in the press, often not even then).

And that’s what led me to Rhonda. Although she’s got all the credentials in the world, is referenced and quoted nationally, that’s not really important to me.

It’s that she knows her stuff, is transparent and straightforward, and can be depended upon her to take excellent care of my clients. In other words, she’s worthy of not only my trust, but of my client’s trust.

And so again, it’s my pleasure to welcome Rhonda.