Posts

Nordstrom, Walmart, Or Both?; Millennials Demand Both

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I was at a coaching event last year listening to an extremely successful loan officer, with a huge team, explaining how he maintains strong client relationships by offering much more than just mortgage services, e.g., moving services; contractor referrals; financial analyses; rate monitoring; house valuation and equity updates; etc. It resonated b/c we of course […]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 Motors and Chrysler – according to this Wikipedia article. What does this have to do with mortgages and real estate? A lot, b/c at some […]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 and use his equity “to pay cash for paradise” in Tennessee. He lasted two years. He moved back, at an enormous cost, b/c he missed […]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 to Inspire Hope, Deliver Dreams, and Build Prosperity. I laughed when I read that b/c I am pretty sure the company really just originates and […]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 can’t close in 14 days now b/c of COVID-19-related delays, so below are some contingency/closing periods we are requesting until the crisis ebbs. We do […]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 could tack the missed payments on to the end of the mortgage. This is not true, however, as most servicers will try to recoup the […]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 pushed MBS yields down significantly for investors in the secondary market, but mortgage rates at the consumer level are still not moving for reasons we […]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 appraisals. But, the relief is turning out to be more limited than we hoped. LIMITATIONS Appraisal relief is only available for conforming (Fannie and Freddie) […]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 Habib (owner of MBS Highway) think there will be a recession next year, resulting in sharply lower rates (b/c all of our economic indicators have […]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 times in the mortgage industry as a whole. I will of course share the quote, but I want to mention a few of the things […]Read More

The Key To Survival in 2018

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I read on Friday that there are 1,400 vendors vying for business in the residential mortgage industry! All of those vendors promise to reduce work, reduce costs, improve the client experience, and/or bring more business to your doorstep. The question is how to sift through all of the vendors?? And how do you know which […]Read More

Vodka And Lenders Are The Same! (OR NOT)

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ALL VODKA IS THE SAME Vodka is just pure alcohol with some water added, and there is no difference among the brands. I have been saying this repeatedly for years, much to the annoyance of friends and co-workers. My assertion was backed up recently by this excellent Planet Money Podcast, called “The Vodka Proof.” According […]Read More

Our Rates Are Lower; How & Why? Rate Surveys & Lending Channels

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INTEREST RATES AT JVM We want to address interest rates again b/c we sometimes get compared to some of the large banks offering promotions. LOWERED OUR RATES First and foremost, our rates are now lower than ever, relative to our competitors. We have been able to lower our rates for several reasons: (1) New Investors: […]Read More

Your Cheese WILL Move; Examples

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Heejin is aggressively exploring JVM’s expansion into the Texas market, and amazingly it only took her about three hours to find high-end, class A office space like we need to attract talent. She used websites like WeWork and Truss to map out everything – commutes, demographics, leasing costs, layouts, furniture design, etc. In contrast, when […]Read More

“Top 20 Companies Transforming Industries;” JVM’s #10, and Proud!

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The Muse is a major online job search and career website with hundreds of major clients across the country. And recently, they published an article titled 20 Companies Transforming Industries. We were delighted and very proud to see that JVM Lending ranked #10, among some very strong competition. This is what The Muse had to […]Read More

Mortgage Company Costs Way Up; Profits Down; Beating A Confused Dog :)

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“Right now the residential lending industry is a dog that continues to be beaten after the bad behavior has stopped and doesn’t know why.” The above quote and today’s info is from Rob Chrisman’s excellent commentary. A few quick stats: It now costs a mortgage company almost $8,000 to close a loan in our post […]Read More

Apple Employees Aren’t JVM Employees; One Size Doesn’t Fit All

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When we first started to grow our business, we’d take in enormous amounts of outside business advice from every source and try to apply it to JVM. It was only after much trial and error that we figured out that “one size does not fit all.” Much business advice simply does not work for JVM. […]Read More

Beware of “Coffee Cup Holders”

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Heejin frequently tells an amusing story about her first job in the mortgage industry after immigrating from Korea. She would see managers walking around the floor holding a coffee cup, but not actually performing any function. She referred to them as “coffee cup holders.” The purpose of the managers was confusing to Heejin, as she […]Read More

Risks Of Pursuing Lowest Rate (Mostly In Regard to Purchases)

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We have more funding sources through our mortgage bank and wholesale channels than almost any other lender. We also have a large number of complex transactions with tough appraisals, income issues, HOA issues, quick close issues, etc. We always connect borrowers to the best funding source relative to the borrower’s needs. Issues often arise when […]Read More