We’ve got a booming re-fi mania running right now, with interest rates lower than you’ve seen at any time in your entire career (or mine). I mention rates because you’re now deeply entrenched into originating ‘conforming’ transactions, so that’s where you and the applicants focus; borrowers are falling out of the sky like ‘manna from heaven’ - life's sweet being an order taker, huh? Can you say 'do you want fries with that?'
You shouldn’t be doing business as usual, like you did before this current industry correction began almost 2 years ago, you should evolve and grow your company for the long-run instead.
It's time to get rid of the Big Commissioned Loan Officers who drain off company income into their own pockets – like I discussed in my Blog mid-April – and to finally join the 21st Century and learn about Website & Internet Originations more, since your website sucks, when it's really the most cost effective way to attract potential customers.
Operating a credible mortgage company with highly ethical salaried well training employees, attracting qualifiable applicants to your organization via proven advertising methods, will improve your bottom line income and change the tone and climate of your company and your entire life. We can show you how to develop these things with lesson 018-301.
Sprinkled throughout our website, we have highlighted more than a dozen key word/phrases where we rank in the top three positions within Search Engine Results. For example right on our front/main index page we point out that we rank Number One for mortgage industry education and training in a Google search. I added more than a dozen various key word/phrase links on several pages to demonstrate to potential Website & Internet Origination class students, that "yes indeed we do know what we’re talking about"! Sort of a credibility thingy is what I had in mind with that, since strong/high ranking in search results is one of the keys to doing well now days on the Internet – I figured showing those might generate more class interest! We’ll show YOU how to this for your own website!! Below are a few of our SERP's from April which relate to what we do, and some key words/phrases people searched to find us last month: You did hear Baranke talk about "green shoots"?
Number One Ranked
certified mortgage broker curriculum
mortgage certification professionals
certified mortgage professional classes
mortgage lessons
mortgage broker mentor
Number Two Ranked
mortgage training professional
training materials for mortgage professionals
Number Three Ranked
mortgage internet originations live class
mortgage certification
loan officer opportunity 50 states
There's more about this class there ---> in the right side-bar, check it out.
Homeownership Hits Nine-Year Low
The homeownership rate fell to 67.3% in the first quarter, which is the lowest level since 2000, hurting Black Americans the most. The U.S. Census Bureau reported the homeownership rate overall fell 50 basis points from 67.8% in the first quarter of 2008. During the same period, the rate of Black homeownership fell 100 bp to 46.1%, while the homeownership rate among Hispanics fell by 30 bp to 48.6%. The Census Bureau also reported that the number of vacant houses for sale fell 5% in the first quarter to 2.11 million units, down from 2.23 million in the fourth quarter. Fueled by overbuilding and rising foreclosure rates, the inventory has remained stubbornly high for nearly two years. Economists at the National Association of Home Builders closely monitor this inventory number because the overhang puts downward pressure on house prices and makes it difficult to sell new homes. Over the past four quarters, homebuilders have reduced their inventory of unsold homes by 38% to 311,000 as of March 31. "Builder inventory has been falling for 23 months," according to the NAHB's director of economist forecasting, Bernard Markstein. "Once the sales pace picks [up] the inventory will fall dramatically," he said.
Senate Passes Mortgage Fraud Bill
The Senate has passed a bill that expands the bank fraud statutes to cover independent mortgage companies and mortgage brokers and increases funding for federal investigations of mortgage and financial fraud by $165 million. By a vote of 92-4, the Senate approved the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act that also expanded federal fraud laws to cover funds involving the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program that is being used to capitalize banks and deal with problem assets. The bill (S. 386) expands the definition of "finance institutions" to ensure mortgage brokers and mortgage companies are held fully accountable under the federal fraud laws. It also makes it a crime for brokers and mortgage bankers to make materially false statements or to willfully overvalue properties to influence any action by a mortgage lending business. The Obama administration supports the bill and the House of Representatives is working on a similar bill. "The legislative enhancements would help the Department of Justice to combat mortgage fraud, securities and commodities fraud, money laundering and related offenses, and to protect taxpayer money that [has] been expended on recent economic stimulus and rescue packages," the White House told the Senate in a statement of administration policy.
House Committee Passes Mortgage Reform Bill
The House Financial Services Committee has passed by a 49-21 vote a mortgage reform bill that favors the origination of prime fixed-rate mortgages and discourages subprime and nontraditional lending. The basic premise of the bill (H.R. 1728) is to require lenders to retain 5% of the credit risk on "nonqualified" mortgages that are sold or securitized. However, the committee expanded the definition of "qualified mortgages" to include government insured mortgages, such as Federal Housing Administration loans, and loans purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lenders don't have to retain capital against qualified mortgages. The committee also approved an amendment by Rep. Leonard Lance, R -N.J., that would ensure all jumbo loans aren't considered subprime because of their high interest rates. In addition, the bill gives federal regulators the discretion to make exceptions to the 5% credit risk retention requirement. The full House of Representatives is expected to vote on the bill on May 7.
Vendor Sees Misconceptions as HVCC Deadline Approaches
Global DMS LLC, Lansdale, PA, a commercial and residential real estate valuation software solutions provider since 1999, said it considers many lenders and correspondents to be not fully prepared to comply with the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, which goes into effect on May 1. Global DMS executives said "widespread misconceptions are leaving lenders and correspondents exposed to possible HVCC violations." One example, judging from the "numerous calls" president Vladimir Bien-Aime said the company has recently received from companies trying to get ready, is that, "quite a few" are under the impression that using an appraisal management company will eliminate their liability in HVCC compliance, and he said that leaves them exposed to compliance violations. Further, some lenders are not aware that if they follow HVCC guidelines they can also use independent appraisers and still be HVCC compliant. Other misconceptions include the belief that it will require a huge capital investment to become HVCC-compliant, or that COD payments are still widely accepted. In fact, he said, compliance costs are low and COD payments are going away, "so lenders and correspondents are going to have to manage prepayments in addition to managing the appraisal process."
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