Mortgage Grapevine

Political: If you change companies, you still have to deal with crap.

Loan officers always think the business is easier somewhere else this time of year. Same with brokers. If you are going to be successful in the mortgage business, you have to learn to manage your crap. If you close shop, you have to start over at a new company, and eventually you learn the crap is still the same but just looks different. Mortgage bankers are getting great margins right now, but that doesn't mean the crap is any better. A good broker can find competitive pricing but the crap is difficult to manage. Sooner or later the government will need to raise rates. 80% of the business right now is refinances. The only thing that keeps you in the game in 12 months is if rates drop another point. Next year the forecast is for $1.3 trillion of volume. Only so much business to go around. And the crap is getting deeper on each loan transaction. So, are you a good crap manager?
by the voice of reason November 4, 2009 5:48 PM

What a load of crap!

by Goofy November 4, 2009 5:52 PM

Chit man, you mean we gonna' have to keep dealing wit mor n' mor chit? oh no esay'
(my current girlfriend is latina, so I can get away with this..he he)

Seabiscuit= Sea bee= more sarcasm, less fighting



by Sea bee November 4, 2009 5:55 PM

You're dating Rosie Perez?
by fundster November 4, 2009 7:30 PM

I wonder where you people get this shit?
by THEVIRGINIAGENTLEMAN November 4, 2009 10:31 PM

Reason,
you are right, everything is crap, no matter where you go. It all depends on picking your poison, as it is all poison.

Stay a broker?- Dealing with lenders who really don't want to broker loans, as there is no recourse if the loan goes bad, is making it more difficult for the small independents to stay in business.

Work for a pass through correspondent- good pricing right now, but how long will that pass through be able to stay in business, with all of the buy backs coming from the servicing lender? A LOT risk for the correspondent, and increased pricing from the warehouse lenders makes this type of business very hard to be profitable, if you have to offer lower rates than the big banks.

Work for Wells or B of A- Lots of corporate stuff to deal with, always being watched from a corporate perspective.

The Upsides?

Broker- remaining independent for those who are too free spirited to work for someone else

Correspondent- Lots of lenders to choose from, and the ability to earn a good living for the short term, two years, at best.

Wells or B of A- The ability to have consistent pricing, knowing your loans will fund, and the name recognition and the "perception" of stability that today's customers are looking for.

It is just a matter of picking the venue that works best for you.
by McC November 5, 2009 7:32 AM

good thought MCC, but you left out one thing: too big to fail?
by the voice of reason November 5, 2009 8:58 AM

Reason,

That is precisely the reason I am now working for B of A. I had worked for 9 months for a Large Non Bank company, but the fear in these non bank companies is unreal.

Crazy underwriting conditions, to prevent any possible chance of the investor requiring a buyback. It was an absolute nightmare.

I spent my time babysitting my deals, instead of selling, because once it went to the processing center, it got lost in the haze of overworked support staff who had way too many loans in their pipeline to be effective processors
by McC November 6, 2009 9:27 AM

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