It's a fair question, and a lot of people would have trouble answering it. They went in expecting one of two things. Either they'd hear a yes or a no, or they'd spend the whole time politely dodging a sales pitch. When neither one happens, it can be hard to say what they actually got.
This post tries to say it. It's about what a first conversation with Jeff can leave you with, and how to walk in so you walk out with more.
Two expectations that get in the way
The first expectation is that a mortgage conversation is a test. Someone looks you over, and you leave with a verdict. People who think this way tend to put off reaching out until they're sure they'll pass, and some of them wait a very long time.
The second expectation is that it's a sales pitch with friendlier lighting. You ask one honest question and spend the rest of the time looking for the door. People who expect this keep their questions small and vague. That makes sense, but it also means they leave knowing about as much as when they started.
Both expectations shrink what you bring. And what you bring has a lot to do with what you take home.
What the BankPricer home page says it's for
BankPricer is Jeff Shin's site. Jeff is a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator, and his NMLS number is at the bottom of this post.
The home page describes the work in plain terms. Near the top it says one mortgage loan officer "reads your numbers and tells you what he sees." Further down, under how BankPricer works, it says your inquiry comes to Jeff first and that he "reviews the details." The next line tells you what to do with what you hear: "Use the explanation to understand your options and decide whether to continue."
That last sentence is the one worth holding on to. As the site puts it, the point of a first conversation is an explanation you can use. What you do with it is up to you.
What you can leave with
Every situation is different, so no checklist fits everyone. Still, most first conversations can leave you holding some version of the four things below.
A clearer picture of where you stand. Most people arrive with pieces: a figure from an online tool, a number a friend mentioned, a document they skimmed once, and a rough sense of what a comfortable month looks like. Talking it through puts those pieces in one place. You may not love the picture, but you'll be looking at one picture instead of a pile of fragments.
Words for what's in front of you. If you already have an offer, the home page has a choice made for that: "I have an offer and want it checked." It says the site will flag what is worth questioning. Even when nothing looks wrong, it helps to know which lines on the page matter for your situation and which ones you can stop worrying about.
Better questions than the ones you came with. This one surprises people. You go in with one question and come out with a few sharper ones, the kind you didn't know to ask. That's progress, even if it seems like you're leaving with homework.
A sense of the next step, if there is one. Sometimes the next step is obvious, like gathering one more thing and coming back. Other times the honest answer is that nothing needs to happen right now. That counts as an answer too. Knowing you can leave something alone is worth a lot of quiet evenings.
What it won't do for you
A first conversation won't make the decision. That stays with you the whole way through. The home page says that sending a note through the site isn't the start of a loan, and it says the same about a second opinion. You can hear everything Jeff sees and still decide to do nothing.
It also won't turn your details into somebody's sales list. The home page says that what you tell BankPricer "is not sold." If you've ever typed your name into a form and then heard from people you never asked to hear from, you know why that line is there.
A few people, after the fact
These people are made up. What they took away is ordinary.
A couple renting an apartment they like reached out mostly to find out whether they were being silly to even think about buying. They came away with a short list of things to keep an eye on over the next year, and with the sense that the question wasn't silly at all. Nothing else happened, and that suited them fine.
A man with an offer already in hand wanted to know if anything on it looked strange. Most of it was ordinary. A couple of lines were worth asking about, and now he knew which ones and how to word the question. He took those questions back to the people who wrote the offer.
A woman who works for herself wasn't sure how her income would even be looked at, since her records don't tell the story the way a regular job's would. She came away knowing what would be worth having on hand someday, and that she didn't need to pull any of it together yet.
A woman who has owned her home for years had carried one question around since a neighbor brought something up at a block party. She got a plain explanation of what the question would even involve for someone in her spot. She decided to leave things as they were. She told her sister afterward it was the first time in years she'd stopped turning it over.
None of them signed anything. Each of them left with something they could use.
How to get more out of it
Lead with the thing you care about most. If the conversation runs short, you want your biggest question answered, not the easiest one.
Say where you are, even if it seems unimpressive. "Just researching" is one of the choices on the home page, and it's there for a reason.
Bring what you have, rough or not. A screenshot or a scribbled note is fine. You don't need to tidy anything first.
Ask what you'd look at next. A plain "If you were me, what would you want to understand next?" often gets you the most useful part of the whole conversation.
Write a few lines down afterward. Memory gets fuzzy fast, especially with terms you heard for the first time. Two or three sentences in your own words, written the same evening, will help more than you'd expect.
And if you only want to talk about one thing, one thing is enough. A first conversation can be short and still be worth having.
Lines you could start with
If an empty message box makes your mind go blank, borrow one of these and change it until it sounds like you.
"I want to understand where I stand before I think about anything else."
"I have an offer, and I'd like someone to look it over with me."
"I've had one question for a long time. Here it is."
"I'm not ready to do anything. I'd like to leave knowing what to ask next."
"Here's what I have so far. It's messy."
Each of those says where the person is or what they'd like to walk away with. That's plenty for a first message.
Nothing is owed afterward
When the conversation ends, you don't owe anybody a decision. You can take what you learned and sit with it for a week, or for a year. You can come back later with a new question, and the old one doesn't have to be settled first.
It's your home, or your future home. The choices about it are yours.
One thing to do
Before you reach out, finish this sentence in your own words: "When this is over, I'd like to know..." It can be rough. Put it at the top of your message, and when you're ready, send it through Get In Touch.
Jeff Shin, NMLS 1041652. Barrett Financial Group, L.L.C. Chicago. Company NMLS 181106. Equal Housing Lender. Not a commitment to lend.