The Truth About Being a Loan Officer Nobody Tells You

People think being a loan officer or realtor is easy.

Pass a test. Get licensed. Make your own schedule. Collect a commission.

But what if the reality looks nothing like that?

In this episode of Ask Ella Show, I share the side of the mortgage and real estate business that clients rarely see — the weekend calls, late-night texts, unpaid hours, emotional pressure, and the responsibility that comes with helping families make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.

This is an honest conversation about what happens behind every pre-approval letter, every accepted offer, and every closing table.

If you've ever worked with a realtor, loan officer, or anyone in a commission-based profession, this episode will give you a completely different perspective.

This isn't about mortgages.

It's about people.

💡 In This Episode, I Cover:

What most people misunderstand about loan officers and realtors
Why real estate is far from "easy money"
The reality of working weekends and being on call constantly
What really happens behind last-minute pre-approval requests
How commission-based professionals actually get paid
The emotional pressure of helping clients buy homes
Why honesty and loyalty matter in real estate
The hidden hours clients never see
How relationships become more important than transactions
Why many real estate professionals sacrifice family time to serve clients
The human side of the mortgage business
What respect and communication mean in this industry

Many people see the commission.

Few people see the work behind it.

🎯 Need mortgage guidance from someone who genuinely cares about your goals?

👉 https://www.fairway.com/lo/ella-gurfinkel-188161

Real estate is not a transaction business.

It's a relationship business.

What is #AskElla SHOW?

Hi, I'm Ella Gurfinkel, your host of the AskElla Show and senior loan officer at Fairway Independent Mortgage. On my podcast, I cut through the noise to bring you honest conversations about real estate, mortgages, and financial planning.

I interview industry experts to tackle everything from homebuying basics to complex topics like reverse mortgages, trusts, and market trends. With decades of experience, I'm passionate about dispelling myths and providing clear, actionable advice.

Whether you're buying your first home, refinancing, or planning for retirement, I'm here to help you make informed decisions. Join me for straightforward talk about real estate and beyond!

People think that being a loan officer or a realtor is super easy. All you have to do is pass the test, get the license, and boom, the money just trickles right in. In some cases, it just showers you. I wish that were the case. Others think that we have all the freedom in the world as far as our schedules and time goes. Again, you work for yourself. You work in commissions. You can do whatever you want. Hit up a spa, go to a happy hour, do whatever. And then reality hits. 7:00 p.m. at night. You're doing dinner with your family and your phone blows up because guess what? People look at homes after work. People want to write offers after work or on the weekends. You're out at the baseball game with your kids or in my case dance competitions when my younger daughter was doing ballroom and the phone blows up and you're trying not to miss the competition and at the same time you want to take care of your clients. There is nothing easy about what we do. But what is heartbreaking is when people do not appreciate or understand the fact that we are people too. Loan officers, realtors, there is so much that is expected of us and we put our hearts and souls on the line for you to successfully be able to buy a house. But we are people, too. We have lives. We have families. And when you're shopping for a house over the weekend and your lender only works 8 to5 or works at a bank and therefore you can't get a hold of them over the weekend and now reaching out to me because your lender is closed and ask me to write a pre-approval for you. You're taking up a couple of hours out of time that I could be spending with my family, the time that I could be spending doing something for my household. And then come Monday, your lender is back online and my pre-approval letter no longer matters to you because your lender is back online because now you're going back to them. Please do understand. I don't mind working evenings and weekends. None of us in this profession do, but we work for free until your transaction closes. So, jumping from lender to lender or hitting somebody up on the weekend or evening when you have no intention of using their services in the first place, how would you feel? You work for a living. You get paid for the hours you work. We don't. We're purely commission based. And with that, do I love what I do? Yes, very much so. Would I change anything? Absolutely not. All we normally ask from our clients is for just a little bit of loyalty, just a little bit of understanding and just a little bit of honesty. That's all we want. Because if you're already working with another lender and you just need that pre-approval to get a home over the weekend because your lender is closed, please tell us that honestly. Or at least give us your lenders, your realtors. give us a chance to do right by you and actually be the one to close your deal and actually get paid for it because it may seem simple. Our business may seem easy, but it takes hours in some instances in many instances to get that pre-approval letter out. It's not push button get mortgage. There's nothing more misleading about what we do. I love my clients to pieces. I appreciate the business that I get. I stay friends with my clients for years. So, all we want is for everybody to understand that we're putting our hearts and souls on the line for you, but we also have a life and all we ask for is just a little bit of respect of that. Thank you so much.