Tag Archive for: mortgage industry

If the Stock Market Crashes, What Happens to the Real Estate and Mortgage Industries?

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“I hope the stock market continues to boom because that means more money for down payments, a willingness to buy no matter what, and more appraisals for me…” I have a friend in the SF Bay Area who has been appraising for almost 40 years, and he made the above observation to me last week.Read More

Are Things FINALLY Turning Around For The Better?

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“Things Are Turning Around” Barry Habib told us today in his morning update. He pointed out that rates are finally falling consistently, existing homes were up in November (despite record-high rates when those buyers were shopping in October), and inventory is climbing as well. All this is happening during “slow season” too, so things should be far better by the busy spring selling season.Read More

5 Reasons Why Interest Rates Matter So Much – For Real Estate Agents

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They Screamed: “Never Sell Rates!” I was a member of The CORE Training Program years ago, and it was very effective, as they preached focus, financial discipline, time-blocking, non-stop selling, […]Read More

Government Shutdowns – Much Ado About Very Little; The Impact of Shutdowns!

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It looks like we averted another government shutdown at the 11th hour over the weekend. While shutdowns do impact people within the government, they do not actually impact the rest of us that much. The media like to make a big deal of out shutdowns because their biggest impact is often making one of the political parties look worse in the eyes of voters, and thus impacting elections.Read More

Nordstrom, Walmart, Or Both?; Millennials Demand Both

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Balancing High Service with Competitive Pricing: The Nordstrom-Walmart Strategy I was at a coaching event last year listening to an extremely successful loan officer, with a huge team, explaining how […]Read More

Car Industry Vs. Mortgage Industry; Consolidation Coming? We Want To Be Ford In 1913

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At the turn of the 20th century, there were almost 100 different car companies operating in Detroit alone. But by the 1920s, there were basically three companies – Ford, General […]Read More

In Defense of Cities & Large Offices

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I once had a client who was a commercial airline pilot living in San Francisco. As a pilot, he could live anywhere in the U.S., so he decided to sell […]Read More

Yoga Babble & Pizzas Under Cost – Heading Our Way Soon!

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A prominent mortgage bank posted this employment ad last week in a very popular mortgage blog: The company culture at ****** Mortgage is a direct reflection of the lender’s vision […]Read More

Contingency Periods During COVID-19 Crisis; Which Loans Are Safe; Employment Is a Huge Concern

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I mentioned yesterday that we are still getting purchase contracts and agents are still making offers, and asking us about contingency periods in light of the COVID-19 crisis. We obviously […]Read More

Forbearance Confusion; Refis Dominate Market; Purchases Still; Mortgage Industry Remains Alive

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FORBEARANCE CLARITY The mortgage industry, terrified of a mass onslaught of payment forbearances, was alarmed by a misleading report by CNBC. Reporter Diana Olick said that borrowers obtaining a forbearance […]Read More

FED & Industry Updates; Loans Disappearing; What Agents Should Do; Deferments Not Free Money

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THE FED, RATES, & MORTGAGE COMPANIES The Fed has purchased over $250 billion of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) over the last two weeks – an unprecedented record by far. This has […]Read More

Appraisal Relief’s Here, But Limited; Purchase Appraisals Going Well; Interest Rate Updates

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Fannie and Freddie released “Appraisal Relief” guidelines yesterday that consisted primarily of waiving interior inspection requirements. They agreed to accept “exterior inspection” and/or “desktop appraisals” in lieu of full, traditional […]Read More

Predictions for 2020 – Higher Rates; Tech Disruptions; Fight for Eyeballs; Collapse of Mortgage Industry; Start of Boom

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I have read dozens of predictions of various sorts over the last month, so I thought I’d add a few of my own. HIGHER RATES While many pundits like Barry […]Read More

Teddy Roosevelt – Amazing Human Being & Great Motivation

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A friend of mine (a mortgage bank owner) sent me a great Teddy Roosevelt (TR) quote that he sent to his sales team as motivation during what are clearly tough […]Read More