Loan Think

I recently received a business card from a loan officer who called himself a "Personal Liability Manager" with the tag line "providing mortgage and liability management on an ethical and objective basis." It's unique. It's different. And it begs the all-important question—so how do you do that?

As an outsource provider of increasingly commoditized loss mitigation tools and asset preservation services, having the right customer service philosophy may be the only deciding factor to our clients versus the competition.

It appears the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will revisit the issue of loan officer compensation - and maybe even in a way that benefits nonbank LOs. The whole issue is too early to predict, and we suggest you visit the main National Mortgage News website for a just breaking update.

For smaller companies, social media is a marketing equalizer versus larger competition. The question has been are they taking advantage of it and the follow up is if they are, are they doing it effectively?

Who says a consumer with a low FICO score can't get a mortgage? A recent survey conducted by National Mortgage News found five lenders that are willing to extend credit to borrowers with FICOs of 600 or less. The three lenders with the lowest FICO scores include TD Banknorth Mortgage, Embrace Home Loans, and Compass Bank.

Few companies recognize the need to train their staff in the discipline of trade show participation (for purposes of this discussion "participation" is synonymous with "exhibiting") and selling. The first step toward the solution of any problem is the recognition that a problem exists. Too often the decision to exhibit at some, or all, trade shows in a given profession is decided for the wrong reasons.

Al Siapno, a Border Patrol agent from San Diego and his wife Leila have pleaded guilty in a mortgage-fraud scam that involved at least 24 other people and several home loans throughout the county. The alleged perpetrators listed in a federal indictment overstated incomes, over-appraised home values and used other fraudulent means to obtain millions of dollars in mortgages.

If you're looking for the missing piece to the mortgage "deconsolidation" equation, its name is Wells Fargo. Never before in the annals of residential finance has one company amassed such an enormous market share in lending (27%) and servicing (20%).

In case you missed the story on the National Mortgage News website, here's a headline for you: Some firms have the ability to make $10,000 per loan on HARP 2.0 loans. A nice chunk of that profit estimate is tied to secondary market pricing.

Feeling hungry for news about the servicing market? Then join me for a free breakfast at the Mortgage Servicing Conference!