The Power Of Pictures

Pictures are powerful.

It is even said that a picture is worth a thousand words – which is extremely helpful since a thousand words won’t fit in a mortgage application.

So, why should you send pictures with an application?  After all, the appraisal will already be full of them.  But often there are times when the power of pictures is very beneficial, for instance:

• If there happens to be an issue with the property and you want to know if it will even be worth ordering an appraisal.
• If a borrower has made upgrades to the property.  And if the property looks significantly different than the old appraisal or Google Streetview.
• If there actually is no Google Streetview or old appraisal.  This can often be the case for rural properties.
• If the borrower needs money to complete construction and you need to show the current state of the build.

The power of pictures can be very helpful to you, as a broker, as well:

• It saves you from wasting time if the property is not something that can be financed.  Or if this property is something that you need to refer out.
• It allows you to get ahead of any problems by having solutions in hand when presenting to a lender
• Saves the borrower money by not paying for an appraisal if the pictures show a property that cannot be financed.

Kokanee Mortgage often lends in a lot of places where there is very little visual information available.  Properties like that, are where pictures are most powerful.  And it’s recommended that pictures be sent with the application.  Otherwise, we’ll likely be asking for them anyways once the application has been reviewed.  Save frustration (for both you and your client) and mitigate any potential problems by asking your borrower for a dozen or so pictures at the time of application.