Broker Magazine articles from December 2003

Broker Magazine archives from December 2003

Using Your Selling Skills.(mortgage banking business )
December 1, 2003... Many of those who are leaving the mortgage banking business have been "seduced into complacency" with their marketing efforts, said "The Coach," Bill Sparkman. At the 2003 Southeast Regional Mortgage Brokers in Destin, Fla., I had the...

Keep Working on Sales Skills.(job training )
December 1, 2003... The president of Business By Phone, Art Sobczak, notes that when one was in school, to do well they had to push themselves and learn the material. But what happens when we leave school and get into the workplace, he asked in one of his...

FNIS RE Services Creates Do-Not-Call Search System.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... FNIS Real Estate Services, Jacksonville, Fla., has introduced a World Wide Web-based "Do-Not-Call" telephone number search capability. This product targets the national and individual state lists, as well as "Seller Specific" and/or...

Public Approval Ratings Increase for Realtors.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A National Association of Realtors survey found that more consumers than ever before believe using a Realtor makes selling a home easier. The number of consumers that believe using a Realtor makes selling a home easier is up 9% over the...

Life Begins When You're Fired from Your Job.(starting up of business)
December 1, 2003... As mortgage rates continue to rise and refinancings dwindle down, many originators are terminating personnel. If you are one of those, one person once in the same boat says it can either be a tragic event or a new opportunity. Bruce...

Brokers' Most Popular Products: The survey results found a wide range of answers.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Among the questions asked in our annual survey of mortgage brokers is, "What are your most popular products?" The large number of responses and the varying types of responses make it difficult to get percentages on what products are the most...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2003... In a table on page 13 of the Oct/Nov issue of Broker, we incorrectly identified the headquarters of Mortgage One as being in Oregon. The company is actually located in Ohio. The error was caused by a data input mistake. We apologize for the...

Top Brokers & Their Most Popular Products.(Illustration)
December 1, 2003... (Dollars in Millions) (part 1 of 2) Broker Name '02 Volume Type L.J. Melody and Co. $8,300 Commercial Hometown Mtg Lending Co. $6,845 Residential/Comm Pacific Bay...

Partners or Competitors?: Some believe brokers need to be working with financial planners to survive. But there are a growing number of planners looking to originate loans.
December 1, 2003... A number of observers in the mortgage broker industry believe that for the business to survive, the broker must become a complete financial resource, the "trusted financial advisor" for his or her client. Some advocate taking the education...

Ask the Experts: The nation's best sales people on the industry's hottest issues.
December 1, 2003... This Month's Question: What are your business and personal goals for 2004? Kirk Van Horn President Best Home Financial Benton Harbor, MI "We plan to grow our loan volume by one-third. I sent goal sheets to all my loan...

Rolling the Dice in New Jersey: The state's tough predatory lending law was the main attraction at the League of Mortgage Lenders' meeting in Atlantic City.(Interview)
December 1, 2003... MARK: We understand that New Jersey's predatory lending law is one of the toughest in the nation. How is it affecting your members? How should it be changed? BOB: It is affecting our members in a major way. We have run two seminars so far...

Rate Lock Issues: Regulators accuse brokers of not honoring consumer rate locks.
December 1, 2003... MASSACHUSETTS Brokers Say They are Innocent Mortgage regulators in Massachusetts issued cease and desist orders against several mortgage brokers who it deemed to be have broken consumer's rate locks. But of the six brokers the state...

Weighing Their Options: Brokers worried about predatory lending laws and RESPA reform are considering becoming net branches.
December 1, 2003... In making the decision to become a net branch, mortgage broker Chad Overhauser primarily was looking to gain access to products and investors that weren't available to his business before. But also influencing the decision were changes in...

Turn On the Lights: What do we do when the party's over?(mortgage banks)
December 1, 2003... It's been a good run. We've set interest rate records, loan volume records, overtime records, and well surpassed the limit for the number of allowable Tylenol tablets per day - many times. So as the lights start to go out on this...

Teeing Up: Golfing is the unofficial sport of the broker industry, but it has mixed reviews as a business development tool.
December 1, 2003... Social gatherings and sports events have long earned a special place in the business world. Being smart means knowing how to maximize and diversify the value of such events as effective tools of marketing and business networking. But finding...

Banking on Referrals: How to stay in business when interest rates increase.
December 1, 2003... From 1998 to the present, the number of individuals entering the mortgage industry has been at an all time high. Since interest rates were on the decline, many professionals saw the mortgage industry as a vehicle to increased cash flow. In many...

Broker Loan Database.(Illustration)
December 1, 2003... (part 1 of 5) Min FICO Program Name 400 Bridge Loans 400 Comme 400 Commercial and Mixed Use 400 Investor Rehab Loans 450 Bridge and Gap Lending 500 20 yr, 15yr, 10yr fixed 500...

Upcoming Sales and Marketing Conferences: December 2003 to March 2004.(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... This calendar of events contains a number of key events worth noting: the FAMB chapters are holding their annual trade shows. December 8-9 5th Annual Mortgage EC Conference Thomson Media Conferences Mandalay Bay Resort &...

Broker to Banker Issues: Our discussion group at www.mortgagegrapevine.com debates the pros and cons of moving up.
December 1, 2003... Cwagner: My primary motivation to become a banker is to have more control, to be able to approve and fund a loan quickly. I am having lots of last-minute funding issues with lenders lately. It has consumed considerable amount of time from our...