Broker Magazine articles from December 2006

Broker Magazine archives from December 2006

The Future is Online.(Conference news)
December 1, 2006... Could there be a shift in the way mortgage companies market themselves? The topic of the final session at the 2006 Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention was "The New Reality of Customer Acquisition and Retention." The three speakers...

Record Keeping Equals Tax Deductions.
December 1, 2006... The National Association of Tax Preparers is giving some end-of-year advice that loan officers can take to heart. By keeping records of your expenses, even the small ones, your deductions can add up and exceed the 2% adjusted gross income...

Telephone Skills Key to Gaining Customers.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Much of the contact mortgage originators have with their clients is done over the telephone. The way your office staff communicates over this device could have an impact on whether a potential borrower chooses to do business with you or one of...

Gaining Focus on Business Goals for 2007.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... With 2006 coming to an end, leaders are evaluating their business strategies and considering what they can do personally to get a competitive edge in the new year. According to Gayle Lantz, president of WorkMatters, an organizational...

Ethics Training For Today and Tomorrow.
December 1, 2006... Business ethics expert Christopher Bauer writes, "Training new employees on ethics and values needs to begin from day one so as to help reduce the risk of ethics problems right off the bat. However, by doing so there is even greater, longer...

CORRECTIONS.(Correction notice)
December 1, 2006... In the November issue of Broker, in the story "Credit Score Tune Up," the paragraph on page 78 referring to the PRBC acronym has the past and current names switched. The paragraph should read: The PRBC acronym once stood for Pay Rent, Build...

Combating Fraud: New York Seeks to Stop Identity Theft Through Credit Freeze.
December 1, 2006... ARIZONA Guilty Plea To Bankruptcy Fraud After fraudulently filing bankruptcy petitions on behalf of people who had no knowledge that he was doing so as part of a mortgage fraud scheme, a Chandler, Ariz., man has entered guilty pleas to...

Top California Loan Officers: The nation's largest state had four originators do over $100 million in volume.(Statistical data)
December 1, 2006... In the last issue of Broker we ran the nationwide results of our second annual survey of loan officers. In this issue and possibly several more in the future, we look to present data from some of the various states. We are starting with...

Changing Fortunes: With a changing economic and political environment to deal with, mortgage brokers need to prepare new marketing strategies for 2007.
December 1, 2006... If 2006 was a trying year for most mortgage originators, 2007 promises to be even worse. Aside from woeful economic news, most mortgage originators will perceive the shift in Washington as a negative for their businesses. The reality may be...

Becoming More Efficient: Technology vendors say mainstream implementation and not innovation, will be the market emphasis next year as the mortgage market continues to contract.
December 1, 2006... Those mortgage brokers looking for the next great tool may be disappointed about what is to come in 2007. Noted mortgage broker technology vendors say the emphasis in 2007 will be technology adoption of tools and concepts previously only...

Dear Brian: Industry expert Brian Sacks will be happy to answer your most pressing marketing questions each month in the Dear Brian column.
December 1, 2006... Dear Brian, I am very limited in my marketing budget right now and was wondering what ideas you might have to start generating some deals very quickly. Thanks, Joe Foster Oklahoma Dear Joe, First I would like to...

Into the Mainstream: Emerging market borrowers may benefit from price depreciation as more of them seek homes.
December 1, 2006... The affordable housing marketplace has been and will remain one of the toughest markets to be in when considering its biggest long-term challenge is availability, experts say. To make affordable housing possible, the industry needs to provide...

Difficult Times Ahead: Builders enjoyed good times in recent years in a market driven by new homebuyers and speculators. But as interest rates rise and prices drop, many are gearing up for a much slower 2007.
December 1, 2006... In a time of low interest rates, a drop in housing prices in most regions of the country and significant homebuilder incentives offered to potential buyers, the housing market continues to slow and homebuilders are facing a deepening slump. In...

Silent Selling: Your on-hold message is a very important marketing opportunity that many waste.
December 1, 2006... According to Barry Weiss, president of On-Hold Productions, the average mortgage company receives about 22,000 calls per year. The average hold time is 17 seconds, or 6,120 minutes (102 hours) of valuable time that could be used to tell your...

NJAMB Wins Gamble: Mortgage originators in New Jersey were among the parties that convinced state regulators and legislators the predatory lending law needed fixing.(New Jersey Association of Mortgage Brokers)(Brad, Bob, Gary)(Discussion)
December 1, 2006... MARK: This is the fourth session we have had over the years with the board of the NJAMB. The last time we were here, about three years ago, the association was in an effort to get an amendment, or a refinement or a clarification to the state's...

Opening His Own Shop: A poster asks the www.mortgagegrapevine.com community about what he should be prepared for.(Discussion)
December 1, 2006... Aaronula1: I've been in the business for roughly five years now. I'm thinking of possibly finally taking the plunge. I got my licensing. In the process of getting office space here shortly. Looks like I'll be starting up in February or so....

The Broker Loan Guide.(Table)
December 1, 2006... Residential Decision One Program Name Core Portfolio Plus Alt-A Min Credit Score 520 (580 to get 100% CLTV) 580 620 Max LTV/CLTV 90%/100% 100%/100%...

Conference Calendar.(Calendar)
December 1, 2006... Upcoming Sales and Marketing Conferences BROKER: December 2006 to January 2007 December 3-4 The Broker's Forum of Small Balance Commercial Real Estate Lending The Hartford Group The Millennium Resort McCormick Ranch ...

Advertisers' Index.
December 1, 2006... AMC 8 Aegis Home Equity 10 Aegis Mortgage Corp 25 American Brokers Conduit Cover 2 American Creative Solutions 63 Ameritime Mortgage Co...