You wouldn’t know we were in the middle of a pandemic based on the housing market. That conforming limit keeps creeping up. It all seems crazy from when I started in the mortgage business in 1994, the conforming loan limit was $225,000. Fast forward 26 years…the 2020 limit was just increased another 9.0% to $548,250 for 2021. Checkout the Loan Limit Geocoder. Now, all we need to know is…what will Fannie and Freddie be doing come …
Why the two tier system anyway? Do consumers realize the difference? For the sake of full disclosure, my business is education. I am a mortgage educator. I write, record and instruct courses for depository and non-depository originators alike. Their job is the same! One could reasonably argue that I have an agenda; I earn my living on education. Does that make the argument for all originators to be educated any less valid? In 2007, I …
26,000,000 people filed for unemployment in the past several weeks; and it’s not over! The Coronavirus is causing serious financial issues for states. For the first time ever, independent contractors are eligible under the CARES Act , even though unemployment taxes may not have been paid in. When the states start looking at all the workers who were 1099, what action will they take? The IRS is just as interested in independent contractors, even more …
Learn how to get YOUR Tripod. Free LIVE Webinar on May 5th 12:00 Noon ET! In this COVID-19 world, companies need all possible resources at their fingertips to keep businesses going and growing to recruit and provide quality professional development in a safe environment. Is consumer direct the future of mortgage origination with all the hidden pitfalls? While it may be a smart strategy for banks and credit unions to grow market share, retain servicing …
Is there any good news today? I guess at least people who have filed will begin collecting some income. The mortgage world is in flux and the challenges are coming faster than we can deal with. We play a very important role as mortgage professionals by helping people make the right decisions; what’s in their best interests. This week I told three customers NOT to refinance. If you are submitting 100% of approvable files you …
In December, 2019 McKinsey & Company’s article “Competing on Customer Experiences in US Mortgage,” they sited reassurance, transparency, simplicity, and speed as the four dimensions of a mortgage experience. The #1 priority; GETTING THINGS RIGHT, THE FIRST TIME! Speed and simple processes are up there, but what do you have to know to get it right the first time? Consumers still like advisors; someone to run things by, ask questions, review the numbers with and rely on …
A picture is worth a thousand words! Take a good look at that image; then ask yourself, how long will you wait before you really learn the business? Why do top producers have time to bring in more business? Minimum knowledge to fill out a 1003 doesn’t cut it! To assume it’s enough, indicates the lack of knowledge about the real business of residential lending. Analysis, critical thinking, mathematics, problem solving, communications and the ability …
With so much focus on AB5, California and the IRS reporting of originator income, is it possible we are missing the 10,000 lb gorilla? California is leading the country into a necessary review of worker misclassification. Recently New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington joined California with their version of how to address this issue of “worker misclassification.” The SAFE Act passed in Congress on July 30, 2008 mandated that all states adopt …
It’s a new year with all the hopes that January brings…it’s also Monday. New week, same old issues. You are in charge of “training.” You yawn, sip your coffee and try to remember where you left off on Friday afternoon. In-house training departments face many challenges. They are expensive and labor intensive. The cost to acquire, develop, maintain, update and deliver content and systems is an ongoing battle. Compliance takes over when new mortgage laws …
Connecticut Independent Mortgage Brokers Association offers live webinar. While a renewed interest in employee classifications started in Califorinia, it is spreading across the country. The recent California Dynamex Case codified the terms under which a “worker” can be classified as an independent contractor under the “ABC” Test (Assembly Bill 5). The California law takes effect January 1, 2020 and many states are following suit. In March 2020, the CA Supreme Court will rule on whether …