Preferred Loan Officer: Mike Layton

One of the major values that a real estate broker brings to the table is a team of the best professionals available in Richmond to handle your purchase or sale. One of my team members is Mike Layton with Village Bank Mortgage. He is one of the best loan officers I have ever worked with.

He is conscious to a fault. Whatever he tells you is gospel; if he says you will be approved for a loan, it is done. When someone tells me the horror story of friends who at closing needed to come up with more money than they were told, I know they had a bad, unknowledgeable loan officer. That should never happen if you are working with the right people. Mike Layton is that right person.

There is more “Smoke and Mirrors” in mortgage lending than in any part of a real estate transaction. To get your business, some loan officers conveniently leave out taxes or fees to make you think you are getting a better deal. Once they have you locked in, most people stay with that loan agency even when they find out they may not have the deal they thought they had. They feel it is too late to move the loan, and sometimes, it is.

One time, I had a situation where there were five transactions that had to close in order for everyone one to move to the next house. The buyers at the beginning of this domino chain found out at the last minute that the internet lender they had chosen required over $3,500 of undisclosed fees to pay at closing. Unfortunately, we could not wait for them to find new financing, so they had to come up with the money.

Some people prefer to use internet lenders even though many times people from other States do not have knowledge of what is necessary to complete a transaction in Virginia. There are plenty of excellent people here who are local but still available conveniently by phone or email and will give you the 100% attention you deserve.

-Sharon J. Coleman