How will upcoming NAR changes affect mortgage professionals?

In

a
November
post
for
Forbes,
Matthew
VanFossen,
chief
executive
officer
of
Absolute
Home
Mortgage
Corp.,
said
consumers
may
decide
that
listing
agent
marketing
services
are
less
important
–
partly
due
to
the
rise
of
digital
homebuying,
and
partly
because
housing
supply
has
fallen
sharply.

With
the
buyer
agent
role
diminished,
that
could
see
real
estate
agents
veer
towards
“dual
representation”
according
to
VanFossen
–
acting
both
as
the
seller
and
buyer
agent
in
a
transaction.
“This
offers
a
window
of
opportunity
for
loan
officers
who
have
experience
navigating
the
preapproval
process
for
buyers,”
he
said.

Loan
officers
may
choose
to
pair
with
listing
agents
to
assist
in
that
process
as
buyers
submit
offers
–
and
buyer
agents
could
also
consider
becoming
licensed
loan
originators,
VanFossen
added,
“[teaming]
up
with
loan
officers
and
[becoming]
employees
of
lenders,
thus
collaborating
to
handle
applications,
collect
documentation,
prequalify
buyers
and
structure
deals.”

Could
the
changes
complicate
matters
for
homebuyers?

Mike
Rankin
(pictured,
top
right),
president
at
Clearpath
Mortgage
Solutions,
said
he’s
been
having
conversations
“nonstop”
with
agents
about

the
upcoming
changes
–
and
noted
that
they
could
create
some
additional
hurdles
for
buyers.

“I
think
it
makes
things
more
complicated
for
the
buyer.
It’s
a
struggle,
because
mortgages
and
buying
a
home
are
already
complicated
and
now
that
buyer
has
to
potentially
navigate
some
additional
complexities:
‘How
am
I
going
to
pay
my
agent?
Is
my
agent
worth
having?
If
I
go
to
the
listing
agent
directly,
do
I
lose
representation?’