u/davefc26

I really can’t stand greedy realtors.

This file has honestly irritated me because the loan was CTC almost two weeks ago. Everything on our end was done, the borrower was ready to close, and closing is Friday. Then at the very end, we find out the realtor is getting 2.5% from the seller and also charging the borrower another .5%.

That extra .5% completely changes the borrower’s cash to close, and somehow now she’s trying to make it seem like the lender is the problem.

What really has me thinking is how hard she was pushing the lender credit from the beginning. Every time anything came up, it was always, “What about the lender credit?” She kept putting it in the borrower’s head that we were going to give him this credit like it was just free money sitting there.

I explained to the borrower from the beginning that lender credits don’t work like that. If you want us to give more credit, normally you’re going to have to accept a higher interest rate. The borrower didn’t want that. He wanted the better interest rate and the lower monthly payment, which is completely understandable.

He already had around $6,500 in seller credits, and we used those toward title, closing costs and buying down points. We structured the loan around getting him the better payment and rate he wanted.

Then the ICD comes out. The borrower shows it to the realtor, and suddenly she has all these things to say. Now apparently we didn’t explain things correctly, we didn’t disclose things, “we look bad,” etc.

Mind you, I barely heard from this realtor the entire transaction.

But now, at the finish line, suddenly she’s involved in everything.

Then she starts bringing up the builder. “Well, the builder was offering this,” “the builder was giving that,” basically insinuating that the borrower could’ve just gone with the builder instead.

And that’s when the whole thing started making sense to me.

Apparently the builder was offering her 3% commission. On our transaction, the seller is paying her 2.5%, and she’s charging the borrower the other .5%.

So now I’m thinking she was pushing that lender credit the entire time because in her head she was already counting on us to cover that .5%.

Almost like, “Well, if they’re not going with the builder and I’m only getting 2.5% from the seller, I’m still getting my 3%. I’ll charge the borrower the other .5%, and the lender can just give them a credit so they don’t feel it at closing.”
Obviously I can’t say for a fact that was her plan, but looking at everything now, it sure feels that way.
Because why were you so worried about our lender credit the entire transaction?

Why was that such a big concern to you?

And why does your compensation just happen to be short exactly .5% compared to what the builder was going to pay you?

The funniest part is they basically wanted everything. They wanted the incentives they could’ve gotten from the builder, they wanted our better interest rate, they wanted the lower monthly payment, and they wanted a lender credit on top of it.

You can’t have everything.
If the builder is giving a bunch of credits, there’s usually a reason they can offer those incentives. If you want us to increase our lender credit, there’s a pricing tradeoff. I’m not going to jack up the borrower’s interest rate just so somebody else can protect their commission.

And after all of this, my branch manager actually took the cut and paid out the lender credit anyway to help the borrower and keep the deal together.

So think about that.

We’re the ones who ended up giving up money on our side.
Meanwhile, the realtor still gets her 2.5% from the seller plus the additional .5% from the borrower, getting her right back to the 3% she would’ve made with the builder.

Yet somehow we’re the ones who “look bad.”

And her additional .5% isn’t even showing on the ICD yet. So the number the borrower showed her isn’t even the final problem. Once her fee gets added, the borrower’s cash to close goes up because of her fee, not because of something the lender suddenly decided to charge.

That’s what pisses me off.

You’re already getting paid thousands of dollars from the seller. If you negotiated another .5% with your buyer, fine. That’s your agreement with your client.

But don’t expect the lender to give up their compensation so the borrower doesn’t notice what you’re charging them.
And definitely don’t wait until the week of closing, after the loan has been CTC for almost two weeks, and then start telling the borrower that the lender didn’t disclose things properly and that we somehow look bad.

Especially when we’re the ones who ended up taking the hit to make sure your client can still close.

Some people want everybody in the transaction to give up money except themselves.

I’m sharing these cases for discussion only. I’m not criticizing the officers, departments, or disciplinary process. The public summaries may not include prior discipline, the full Internal Affairs investigation, union agreements, or settlement details.

What are your thoughts on these disciplinary actions based only on the information published in the report?

Atlantic City Police Department — Officer Martina
Suspended for 180 days with a monetary fine or loss of pay.
The report states that she had previously been ordered to follow the uniform policy and not wear earrings while in uniform.
She was later seen on camera putting earrings on after leaving roll call.
She also received a separate seven-day suspension for failing to attend the final day of School Resource Officer training without approval.

Camden County Department of Corrections — Officer Donald
The report lists several disciplinary actions:
180-day suspension for possessing an unauthorized Apple Watch with phone capabilities inside the secured jail.
90-day suspension for failing to complete a general incident report and use-of-force report.
45-day suspension for using an offensive term when describing an inmate.
20-day suspension for calling out sick without enough available sick time.
The report identifies some of these actions as progressive discipline.

New Jersey Transit Police — Officer Michael
Suspended for 134 days with a monetary fine or loss of pay.
While off duty, he used a device to avoid paying two tolls.
He was stopped, arrested, and later pleaded guilty to a municipal ordinance.

Tinton Falls Police Department — Sergeant Robert
Terminated from employment.
The sustained charge was insubordination.
The report states that after not being promoted to lieutenant, he sent a department-wide email making disparaging comments about the police chief, public safety director, captain, and a lieutenant.

New Jersey Department of Corrections — Senior Correctional Police Officer Ronald
The report lists progressive attendance-related discipline:
10-day suspension after calling out sick without enough sick leave.
15-day suspension after another sick call without enough sick leave.
Removal from employment after another sick call without enough available leave.
The incidents were classified as chronic or excessive absenteeism.

Hudson County Department of Corrections — Officer Frank
The report lists two cases:
30-day suspension for failing to account for and turn over equipment to the relieving officer and failing to complete a physical headcount at the beginning of the shift.
65-day suspension for not working mandatory overtime after reporting sick and failing to provide medical documentation after returning to duty.

Camden County Department of Corrections — Officer Xavier
The report lists several progressive disciplinary actions:
20-day suspension for calling out sick without available sick time.
30-day suspension for calling out sick without available sick time.
45-day suspension for calling out sick without available sick time.
60-day suspension for calling out 36 minutes after the required notification deadline.

Atlantic City Police Department — Officer Julian
Suspended for 10 days with a monetary fine or loss of pay.
He responded to a service call at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.
After the call ended, he did not immediately clear the call and waited until after the shift was secured.

Camden County Department of Corrections — Officer Jose
Suspended for 120 days.
The sustained charge was neglect of duty.
The report states that he was sleeping and had his personal cellphone while assigned to hospital duty.

Camden County Department of Corrections — Officer Sam
Suspended for 100 days.
The sustained charge was neglect of duty.
The report states that he had his personal cellphone and was caught sleeping while assigned to hospital duty.

New Jersey Department of Corrections — Senior Correctional Police Officer James
The report lists two cases:
30-day suspension after being observed sleeping while on duty at a hospital.
90-day suspension after he was photographed sleeping during another hospital assignment.

Hopewell Township Police Department — Sergeant Mark
Suspended for 45 days.
Temporarily demoted to patrol officer for three months.
He disclosed confidential promotional rankings to a subordinate after supervisors were directly ordered to keep the results confidential.

Camden County Sheriff’s Office — Sheriff’s Officer Brian
Suspended for 60 days.
While off duty and intoxicated at a bar, he became involved in a verbal altercation.
He made derogatory comments and challenged another patron to fight.
The report states that the incident did not become physical.

Hoboken Police Department — Patrolman Ahmed
Suspended for 10 days.
He was found at a workstation inside police headquarters with his eyes closed.
The investigation determined that he did not intend to fall asleep, but he did fall asleep and failed to complete assigned tasks.

Camden Police Department — Sergeant Vincenzo
Suspended for 15 days without pay.
After being directed by a lieutenant to complete administrative paperwork, he sent the lieutenant a text message containing profane and insolent language.

Camden Police Department — Officer Sean
Suspended for 15 days without pay.
He used profane and insolent language toward a complainant.
The complainant told him that he was being recorded, but the officer continued using inappropriate language.

New Jersey Department of Corrections — Senior Correctional Police Officer Marquis
Suspended for 30 days.
The report states that he posted unprofessional and inappropriate content on a public Instagram account.
The posts discussed the murder of a well-known activist and the activist’s public views regarding race.
The matter was handled under the department’s social-media policy, and he signed a settlement agreement.

Source:
NJ Office of the Attorney General, Major Discipline Reporting — January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025
https://www.njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Major-Discipline-01-01-25-to-12-31-25.pdf

Last year, our branch closed 180+ loans, and we’ve helped families get approved that other lenders already gave up on. Low credit, self-employed, difficult income situations, first-time buyers, high DTIs, collections… you name it, we’ve probably seen it.

We’ve also watched a lot of realtors become top producers while using our team, our systems, our support, and our ability to get difficult deals closed.

But here’s the funny part…

Now we’re bringing in new guys, taking them under our wing, training them, guiding them, and helping them grow under the same system that helped close 180+ loans…

And suddenly, some realtors don’t want to work with them because they’re “new.”

So now their “easy” clients with perfect credit and simple files start getting sent to other lenders…

Meanwhile, they send us the clients that can’t even get approved for a scooter

The crazy part?
We’re usually the ones actually figuring the deal out and getting it closed anyway.

Even though the structure, strategy, support, and guidance are still coming from the same Branch Manager, Co-Branch Manager, and Sales Manager.

And somehow…
WE STILL GET THEM CLOSED.

But all of this taught us something:
Depending too much on realtor relationships is probably not the move long term.

As we get ready to open our new office, we really want to start building more direct-to-consumer business and create a brand where buyers come straight to us because they trust the work we do.

Not because we’re the “backup lender.”
Not because another lender said no first.
Just because we actually get deals done.

For the lenders and business owners that already made this transition:
How did you do it?

How did you stop depending so heavily on realtor referrals and start building a business where clients come directly to YOU?

We're going to keep a hand select few of realtors that been with us from the beginning, but all these other realtors are getting cut the f.. off.

Would honestly love some advice because that’s the direction we’re trying to go in now.