Whenever a borrower approaches you about purchasing a primary residence, you know how to work through that loan scenario with your eyes closed. Probably same for when you’re looking at a file for an investment property. But what about when a borrower is looking to purchase a 2-4 unit property that will not only be […]
A version of this post originally appeared in the October edition of Mortgage Orb. Perhaps you’ve heard people in the mortgage industry talk about how the pandemic caused a digital acceleration for the industry. We were suddenly shut off from one another and had to find ways to communicate and do business not only with […]
Now that you have your strategies in place, you might be wondering how you’ll find customers. Our advice to you is to think like a spider. What do we mean by this? A spider will get the thing it desires by catching it in its web. According to Alicia Ault of the Smithsonian Magazine, “The […]
Goal setting is not just about setting up goals in a smart way (although we’ll discuss that in just a second), it’s about knowing the right elements to weave together to ensure you’re as successful as possible in your new role. By now, you’ve probably heard of the concept of setting up SMART goals. This […]
The loan is finally set to fund, but the processor calls out the Verbal VOE and discovers the borrower has changed jobs. Stop the press! Hit the brakes! Best case scenario, this change could be as simple as obtaining a VOE for the borrower’s new/current employment. Trickier scenario, it could be a bit more complicated […]
March 2021 marks a full year of working virtually for many of us. It has been a year of constant video calls, blurred work and personal lives, children in virtual school and hardly seeing people outside your immediate COVID bubble. All these ingredients together have led to an increasingly burned out employee base for nearly […]
Ever get confused over what the difference is between financing concessions and sales concessions? How about if it’s considered a seller contribution or a seller concession? What is an interested party contribution and what does it mean for the loan? These are just some of the questions the Regional Underwriting team frequently fields. In this […]
When working with borrowers, interest rate will be an important discussion factor. But before you start discussing rate with customers, let’s make sure you know the basics. Interest Rate vs. Annual Percentage Rate Mortgages deal with both interest rates and annual percentage rates (APR). An interest rate is what a borrower pays each year to […]
The mortgage industry has its own language which, to beginners, can lead to some confusion. Before you jump head-first into trying to figure out what’s going on in the mortgage industry, you should have the basics down pat. Apart from training or reading an acronyms cheat sheet, signing up for publications that are involved in […]
A version of this post originally appeared in the December edition of Scotsman Guide. Loan officers and listing agents are familiar with homeowner anxiety about real estate appraisals. Questions arise, such as: Does the appraiser penalize me if my house isn’t spotless? Will worn carpeting hurt my value? Will the appraiser look in my closets? […]