Loan Think

Banking analyst argues that providing good customer service is not integral to financial success.

Late last week we blogged about how certain wholesalers are telling their loan brokers to take a number when it comes to getting approvals (and processing) on purchase money mortgages. We heard from a handful of brokers who said their wholesalers were different and from a few wholesalers who said they can move things along quickly.

I recently chaired a successful webinar on CFPB examinations. So successful in fact we will be doing another regulatory compliance webinar on Sept. 27.

If the CFPB makes brokering impossible, how many brokerage shops can afford to convert into a mortgage banking firm? The capital requirement is currently $2.5 million, while rumors persist that it may be hiked to $3.5 million over the next few years. The net worth requirement is set by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and GNMA/FHA…

We’ve been hearing complaints lately from loan brokers that some of their wholesalers have been telling them to “take a number” and wait if they bring a purchase-money mortgage to the underwriting window.

Banks frequently respond to questions from loan officers complaining that a local competitor has a more "aggressive" compensation plan.

On July 17, an indictment was issued in New Jersey charging 11 individuals from five states a for their alleged roles in a $15 million mortgage fraud scam that used phony documents and straw buyers to make illegal profits on overbuilt condos, including a defendant who attempted to murder a witness to the scheme.

To be successful in the mortgage business, you need to remain healthy.

You might say the megabanks – for now – are sitting in the catbird seat. They have more loan applications than they know what to do with – and they have no desire whatsoever to add more staff to handle the volume, because, well, that’s what happens when you have a cartel.

Up until a year ago, I had never considered using video as a way to communicate with the thousands of loan officers and real estate agents I connect with on a monthly basis.