Loan Think

In the good old days of traditional direct mail marketing, experts repeatedly stressed that to determine the success or failure of any campaign, the marketer had to have metrics in place to measure the response. Failure to have those metrics in place meant that in most cases the marketer was wasting his or her money.

There's a little more than four months left in 2010 and some mortgage bankers are getting a bit nervous about next year. I'm not talking about rates and loan volumes.

THIS JUST IN: Who says super jumbo lending is dead? Directors Financial Group of Aliso Viejo, Calif., is telling customers it can fund mortgages of up to $5 million. Its partner is a Japanese bank. The mortgage banker will fund 30- and 15-year loans and even 40-year notes. However, only California homes are eligible which means our nation's movie stars are in luck.

The job numbers came out today and let's face it, they stunk: A small gain and fears that growth is slowing. The strange thing (as well all know) is that corporate profits are damn good and the auto sector looks like it's thriving.

As a result of my ignorance my dog Buddie almost died this week.How: He had been eating the stalk of a palm plant on the back porch after it died from the winter freeze.

Now that AIG and the FHLB system are profitable again, what about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? What about all the loan buybacks - and putback settlements they've been negotiating with seller/servicers the likes of GMAC/ResCap?

I recently came across a blogger's post which said, "I hate marketing-especially when it comes to marketing and talking about myself. I hate talking about myself-but most of all, I don't think people are interested in what I have to say."

On July 29, 2010 Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard announced he filed a lawsuit against THE GUARDIAN GROUP LLC for engaging in allegedly deceptive mortgage loan reduction services that have cost more than 2,500 consumers millions of dollars.

As part of its case against former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, the Securities and Exchange Commission is now deposing certain officials quoted in the book, "Chain of Blame, How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis." (I’m one of two co-authors on the book, which was published two years ago.)

If you've kept up with your reverse mortgage news this week you've learned that we have moved a step closer to the subsidy that has been requested for the Federal Housing Administration Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program. This is certainly positive news but we have a way to go yet. What can you do as a reverse mortgage originator to help keep the message alive?