Loan Think

Here's a riddle for you: What can you buy at record low prices, that you can't buy at record low prices? Answer: A home. That's right, despite interest rates not seen in nearly 50 years, home sales in the U.S. are sluggish at best. How can that be? Simple really. Most home sales are dependent on mortgage financing, but getting that financing can be a real challenge.

The Mystery of Banking The bank has ten billion this year, But the money is simply not Here--

As Bank of America and other megabanks - except Wells Fargo, of course - continue to scale back their presence in residential finance a rebirth in mid-sized firms is underway, or so we're told. One veteran investment banker we know said there are now many nonbank funders that are producing $3 billion to $5 billion a year in new product.

One of the best ways to improve your reputation with Realtors is to add value "behind the scenes." Basically, this means that you go above and beyond getting the loan done. You find ways to help their business or make their job easier. It's even better if you give this type of value in ways that are not expected.

The first day after his appointment as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray indicated he intends to move aggressively to enforce the agency's expanded authority. He announced the launch of the agency's nonbank supervisory program and stated that the CFPB was already working on significant enforcement actions.

For the "information junkie" who anxiously searches for any glimmer of an economic recovery, 2012 may prove to be a classic "good news-bad news" scenario. If you follow the news feeds, there is definitely no shortage of stories to bolster the position that the housing market is still a mess.

First, some good news: We understand that 350 MetLife Home Loan staffers are about to be made an employment offer. On top of that, other offers are being made to many of MLHL's high-performance loan officers. That's good news for the rank-and-file workers that make up this industry.

The doors to the first chamber of justice in the federal court system have been shut in the faces of nonborrowing spouses in HECM transactions for the second and last time. Yet, their plight, foreclosures and evictions when their spouses die, remains.

When it comes to finding an advantage to using social media to market your REO assets while still managing all the other associated tasks, it can be a real challenge.

What does the NLRB have in common with Lady Gaga? Overtime. And a lot of it. While Lady Gaga is being sued by a single personal assistant for almost $400,000 of overtime, the National Labor Relations Board is throwing out agreements designed to protect businesses from class action overtime suits.