Origination

As more brokers look to go mobile the world of mobile technology is changing dynamically, and in some unexpected ways according to new research. The dominance of Apple's iPhone in the mobile app download market will be eroded over the coming years as rivals Android, Symbian and BlackBerry make inroads, Ovum has forecast.

So far we have covered having people discover their sales strengths, assisting real estate agents with tax planning and teaching people self defense. This idea takes a little more time-but it's worth the effort.

Total Mortgage Services LLC is expanding its reverse mortgage division and has hired an executive to head it that has held positions at three companies in the residential real estate finance business.

Banker's Portfolio has fed over $10 billion in underwater mortgages through its "decisioning engine" that shows how many loans are eligible for a refinancing under the FHA "Hope for Homeowners" program.

The recovery in the housing sector has stalled with the April 30 expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit and now the market is "going into reverse," according to IHS Global Insight chief economist Nigel Gault.

Standard & Poor's has changed its outlook on the future prospects of the Seattle Federal Home Loan Bank to "negative" from "stable," citing risks posed by its private-label securities portfolio and the bank's capital position.

Refinancing prospects for certain borrowers have improved somewhat, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Now more than ever, with the limited amount of product selection available, mortgage origination is a commodity business. Therefore, one must compete on service more so than price.

Thanks to all who wrote in last week and liked the idea of using nostalgia or the "back in the day" type of story to illustrate the benefits of the reverse mortgage. Often a story can make a point that is much more poignant than all the facts and figures we like to collect.

The Rural Housing Service single-family loan program ran out of loan commitment authority two months ago, but at least one lender, a division of JPMorgan Chase, is still making these federally guaranteed loans.