Loan Think

In my last article I started by saying that whether you like it are not, you are a manager. The only question: Are you a good manager?

Everyone knows that if you are looking to purchase a home, the time has never been better than right now. Tenacious builders that survived the housing market plunge are gearing up; they are building new homes and remodeling existing ones at a rate that we have not seen for many years.

It's hard out there for an LO - unless, of course, you have purchase money experience. The ongoing refinancing boom won't last forever. (Then again, we've heard that before.) Talk to any mortgage CEO or sales executive and chances are he'll tell you that he's hiring - but only loan officers with key contacts with Realtors and builders, which means housing may finally be poised for a true recovery.

Every sales person has his or her own technique, or method. That's a good thing. Selling techniques are the result of numerous forms of input that eventually became a technique. A sales manager may instruct their minions that this is the way their product or service needs to be sold.

When faced with a national issue like the housing crisis, there are times we need to put aside the arguments about who to blame and who should bear the cost so that we can focus on an immediate issue that must be addressed soon in order to help maintain the recovery from the negative impacts the crisis has imparted on all participants.

The struggling housing market needs to look to every possible financing source. So, how are housing bonds doing? According to our sister publication, The Bond Buyer, housing bonds were off last year. But in a small victory, they were not off as much as the entire market.

Steve Jobs, the visionary leader of Apple computer who died last October probably never gave much thought to the REO business. Use of his creations, however, have become pervasive worldwide in the business and entertainment industries. iPhones, iPads and Mac computers are everywhere.

First the good news: there appears to be plenty of warehouse credit available to nonbank mortgage firms provided they have a decent capital position, seasoned management, and strong production. But what about the smaller firms that fall into the 'broker to banker' category?

Many people will tell you they want to achieve success during their lifetime. But what really defines success? Success is personal and for it to have real impact on your life, you must have defined what success really means to you. You may succeed based on someone else's standards or definition but remain unfulfilled. And you will actually feed unsuccessful with no sense of personal accomplishment.

Several lenders have recently been investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other regulatory bodies concerning their use of Marketing Services Agreements and similar types of agreements.