Broker Magazine articles from February 2006

Broker Magazine archives from February 2006

Price, Service or Both: By Brad Finkelstein, Editor.
February 1, 2006... A mantra that I have heard consistently repeated is that a business must decide to compete on either price or service. It cannot do both and be successful. Yet there is one business that is very successful doing both - JetBlue. The airline...

Lone Star Producers: We take a look at the top originators from Texas in 2004.
February 1, 2006... Since Broker came into existence back in 1999, we have been surveying mortgage brokers for data on such things as originations, technology, marketing and the like. Last year, for the first time, we made an effort to reach out to loan officers,...

Top Loan Officers In Texas.
February 1, 2006... Rk Loan Officer Company City State '04 Volume '03 Volume 1 Stephani Bankett Bankett Realty & Mortgage Houston TX $32,540,000 $37,900,600 2 Doug Welling J. Hilton Mortgage Group, LLC Keller TX $28,550,000 $12,400,000...

New Year's Shmooze-olutions for Lenders.
February 1, 2006... Want a more prosperous 2006? Focus on building strong, emotion-based relationships. Richard Abraham, author of "Mr. Shmooze," gives you 10 ideas for improving your shmoozability in the upcoming year. "Strong relationships are the backbone...

Can Fraud Be Justified?
February 1, 2006... Ethics expert Christopher Bauer writes that "a frightening number of people" believe that some acts of fraud are defensible. "When the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud published the results of a 1997 survey on attitudes about fraud, they...

Get Organized in 2006.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Organization expert Eileen Roth said one of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to get organized. "Yet it doesn't happen quickly, so many people quit before they barely get started. There are several reasons for this. "First, they...

Survey: I'm Not Retiring.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... A survey conducted for the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index found that eight in 10 small business owners said they have no intention of retiring. In fact, 42% said they would cut back on work, but never completely abandon their business....

Five Sales By A Cab Driver.
February 1, 2006... Telephone sales tip expert Art Sobczak took a cruise recently. But his tale is not about his shipboard experiences but how one taxi driver turned a one-off sale into five pieces of business. Before his ship left from Fort Lauderdale, he...

Five Keys to Online Networking.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... According to Ivan Misner, CEO of the networking firm Business Network International, the goal of networking online is the same as traditional networking: you're trying to form a relationship with somebody you trust and who trusts you. His five...

Protecting Against Fraud: Technology enables mortgage originators to be proactive and help cut risk, but statistics show occurrences continue to rise.
February 1, 2006... Mortgage fraud is becoming a serious and costly threat to the lending industry and companies across the nation are taking steps to create new and innovative products to assist lenders and brokers in minimizing the risk associated with fraud....

More Laws on the Way: Mold, predatory lending, data protection top the legislative action list in 2006.
February 1, 2006... DIST. OF COLUMBIA Attorney Provides Legislative Forecast As the consequences of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continue to be explored and become better understood, Jeffrey Marston, a partner with the Washington law firm Lotstein Buckman,...

Protecting Your Business: It is not just the consumer that can be victimized by identity theft.
February 1, 2006... Identity theft has become the fastest-growing crime in the country, costs time, money and trauma for individuals, but for mortgage brokers, it may compromise a deal, relationships with investors and referral sources, or if undetected too long,...

Responding To A Growing Problem: Originators are to blame, must take the lead in combating fraud.
February 1, 2006... Read it and weep. According to the FBI, pending cases of mortgage fraud have gone up by 35% in fiscal 2005, and fraud-related losses totaled over $1 billion in 2005, which is more than double than in 2004. In fact, the problem has hit really...

Taking Stock in "You, Inc.": Ten ways to maximize your most valuable asset.
February 1, 2006... OK, you're not Gillette, you're not Google, but you're in charge of a very important and personal brand called, "You, Inc." Here are ten ways to maximize your value in the market. 1. Build your personal brand. To make your indelible mark...

Winds of Change: While Hurricane Wilma had an effect on attendance at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention in Orlando, our panel discussed the storm clouds on the industry's horizon.(Panel Discussion)
February 1, 2006... BRAD: How do you see the state of the relationship between wholesaler and mortgage broker? Are you seeing churning as origination volume decreases? LISA: Our relationship is just fine. I think the brokers are in a tough spot now. There are...

Dear Brian: Industry expert Brian Sacks will be happy to answer your most pressing marketing questions each month in the Dear Brian column.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... Dear Brian, I am new to the business and I have been getting a lot of what would be considered tough loans. I am finding it very hard to find a place for these deals. Do you have any suggestions? Dan Wordell New Jersey Dear...

Categorize Your Life: Organizing tips for people who do not plan.
February 1, 2006... If you are the type that has previously purchased leather bound planners, and never cracked them open to utilize, you need this article. If you have been issued a company Palm Pilot planner, and have yet to load and program it, you need this...

Transform or Perish: The times they are a-changin'. Is it survival of the fittest?
February 1, 2006... As you sit in your office, take a moment and look around, notice anything different? Is there something about the office that seems uniquely different than a year ago? Not sure? How about the silence? Have the phones stopped ringing with...

Learning to Plan Now For Tomorrow: A sold out house in Las Vegas rocked and rolled to the teachings of Tim Braheem and Greg Frost at Business Plan 2006.
February 1, 2006... It is the kind of sentiment one expects to hear from someone who has been to a religious revival. Kevin D. Herthel, from Cincinnati's AFS Mortgage Group said that Business Plan 2006 "was life changing, as far as from a business aspect." He...

Broker Registry Formed.
February 1, 2006... For the past few years the National Association of Mortgage Brokers has considered forming a broker registry to alert the industry about which brokers aren't reputable. Needless to say, there has been no action, so a group called the Coalition...

Do Not Call Lists: One member of the www.mortgagegrapevine.com community writes about being fined for violating this law.
February 1, 2006... Darkstar: Be interested to hear how you all feel the DNC list impacts us. I know we were just fined $40k, our portion just for calling a man back twice. He was a lawyer that specializes in taking calls, telling them to put them on DNC list and...

A New Niche For Brokers: Vadium Group founder Joel Pate helps originators get into the construction-to-permanent loan business.
February 1, 2006... Simultaneously specializing in one marketplace while also diversifying services provided within the larger market context is a strategy that has proven successful to founder of Vadium Group, Mobile, Ala., Joel S. Pate. A broker whose real...

Upcoming Sales and Marketing Conferences.(Calendar)
February 1, 2006... BROKER: February to April 2006 This calendar of events contains a number of key events worth noting: the NYAMB is holding its 13th annual Wholesale Conference in Tarrytown, NY February 2-4 Winter Education Conference Florida...

Advertisers' Index.
February 1, 2006... a la mode Business Development Cover 3 Aegis Home Equity 32 Aegis Mortgage Corp. 29 Allied Home Mortgage Capital Corp. 39 American Home Bank 45 Argent...