As the war for talent heats up and lenders face tougher decisions in recruiting and hiring loan officers, the need to deploy certain tactics might seem appealing, but will ultimately create more problems than they are worth.

There should be contractual agreements in place between mortgage companies and loan officers that clearly define what, if any, customer information loan officers can bring from former employers to new ones.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending April 15.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending April 8.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending April 1.

A jury awarded Mount Olympus Mortgage Co. more than $25 million in a lawsuit alleging "corporate espionage" by former employee Benjamin Anderson and his new employer, Guaranteed Rate.

Appellate courts are officially playing pingpong with underwriters' employment status, leaving lenders to decide whether or not they qualify as employees exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay — and open to regulatory scrutiny.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending March 25.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending March 18.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending March 11.

February jobs report signals stronger economy and possibly higher mortgage rates this summer.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending March 4.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill this week that would increase the mobility of mortgage originators who take a new job across state lines or move from a federally regulated bank to a nonbank.

Lenders ready to court millennials as potential clients, and employees, can find common ground more easily than they might assume.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Feb. 26.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Feb. 19.

The mismatch between demand for new homes and the supply threatens to drive up prices and dampen lending.

National Mortgage News readers share their views on the most pressing mortgage and housing topics of the month. Comments are excerpted from reader response sections of NationalMortgageNews.com articles and our social media platforms.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Feb. 12.

The nonbank mortgage sector ended 2015 with 12,300 more full-time employees than in December 2014.