http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/lenders-and-brokers-share-a-complementary-relationship.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/lenders-and-brokers-share-a-complementary-relationship.html Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"In total, 70% of our lender clients do wholesale lending," said John Walsh, president at Del Mar Database, San Diego. "In my perspective there are only three ways to increase wholesale market share: price, new pro ducts and customer service. We have several products that can help brokers increase customer service. As brokers look at technology they not only have to look at their technology but the lender’s technology as well."


"Generally, the mega lenders provide brokers with better technology but worse customer service," he pointed out. "The other feature that’s important in this area is the ability to expose the loan folder to brokers. That file does not go into a black hole with our product as the broker can track it online via a lender website."


Large net branches like Global Branch Solutions, Tampa, Fla., are also trying to be as transparent as possible to attract new branches and ensure that existing branches are successful. The answer for Global is the Global Loan Phone.


"What we’re really trying to do is introduce a desktop capability to a telephone," said Scott Losch, chief executive. "The broker will have PC capabilities available through his phone. Starting with that premise we’ll be rolling it out within 60 days. We’ve entered into a relationship with Cingular so that we don’t have to totally recreate the wheel."


"The LO can pull from a database of all of our lenders to get a rate sheet for example," he said. "We hook the phones into Microsoft Exchange so he can get access to these rate sheets. Rate sheets are just one of the areas however; as he can also pull lock sheets to lock loans, register loans, converse with underwriters, etc. You can also text message real-time leads to the LO. In fact, lead generation was the original concept that was later expanded to include rate sheets and locking."


"Initially we’ll roll it out to our branches," said Mr. Losch. "Having a branch network gives you an opportunity to try things out to see if you have something that will benefit the entire industry. We’ll test it internally for now and roll it out later on."


Global has set up a master account so their branches can get discounts. Global will offer phones that range from under $200 to $400 for a PDA phone. Phones will include rate sheets, locking, leads, access to the Global Resource Center, e-mail access through Global’s server, and with the higher-end PDAs, brokers could actually enter enough information to get an underwriting decision.


Regardless of the type of Web application, the trend is to release new software in a more user-friendly way to empower brokers to be more mobile, efficient and agile. The Web is here to stay and will be an important tool in keeping many brokers competitive in the coming down market.



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Real world brokering strategies with the technology really makes a difference. Mortgage broker training classes help you to serve your brokering services in efficient manner.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/brokers-need-to-get-dnc-savvy.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/brokers-need-to-get-dnc-savvy.html Wed, 08 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500 mortgage Brokers who thinks the Do Not Call laws don’t apply to you because you’re not making cold calls or you are only buying “scrubbed” leads, you’d better listen up to what the FCC has to say.


The federal government formally established the Do Not Call registry in December 2002 and launched it in June 2003 with joint enforcement from the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Yes, the laws were originally enacted to curb those annoying dinnertime calls from your typical telemarketer; but the reality is these laws apply to all U.S. companies that make sales transactions over the telephone – including mortgage companies.


Beverly Hills compliance attorney Barry Kaye has been closely following this issue “The DNC laws are having a sweeping effect across the mortgage industry. The legislation essentially changes the way mortgage companies must conduct business. What is alarming is that many originators don’t have a clue or are simply not that interested”, says Kaye.


Given the fact that 40% of DNC citations issued by the FCC were to mortgage companies, many companies are taking a gamble. And the stakes are high. The fine for non-compliance is $11,000.00 per call. Just ask Dynasty Mortgage how quickly that can add up. Dynasty was recently issued a forfeiture notice for $770,000.00. You’d think a judgment of this size would get people reacting. Well, so did I.


The sad truth is that almost all the mortgage companies I’ve spoken with who asked not to be mentioned in this article think the laws don’t really affect them because they aren’t making cold calls or they buy “scrubbed” leads. The FCC says they’re wrong and they aren’t playing games.


“The FCC website is very clear regarding the DNC laws. We’ve sent out a message and our enforcement is vigorous,” notes FCC Director, Office Media Relations, David Fiske.


Any outbound call that you make to someone with whom you do not have an established and direct business relationship through realtor referral or past client referral, to a person on a list you purchased – must first be run against the DNC registry.


“The fact that a realtor gave your card to their client and told them you’ll be calling does not keep you compliant. If you think otherwise, you’re wrong. You’re just totally wrong,” says Kaye.


“You need to first get a SAN and run every call – including realtor referrals – against the DNC registry at least once every 31 days. You’ve got to have a written compliance policy in place and train your employees. You also need to have a system in place that documents all calls made, proofs of established clients and consumer inquires, and an internal real-time “do not call” list.


If that sounds like a lot, it is. Small to mid-sized companies are clearly at a disadvantage. Membership organizations like the National Association of Mortgage Bankers and the National Association of Mortgage Brokers have yet to provide an easy to access road map on what members can do to stay compliant like the National Association of Realtors has done for its members on their website.


Rather than relying on membership organizations for guidance, Kaye says you should consider an outsourced call compliance solution that takes care of everything for you.


“You’re on your own right now. And until this issue is really brought to the forefront, chances are we’ll see many more Dynasty Mortgages in the future”.


The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a forfeiture notice to Dynasty Mortgage, LLC to the amount of $770,000 for 70 phone calls made by Dynasty to 50 consumers who were listed on the Federal Do Not Call List. According to the notice, Dynasty obtained the leads from a lead broker, who claimed the leads were scrubbed prior to Dynasty’s purchase of the lead.


The forfeiture notice also found that Dynasty failed to comply with the Federal Do Not Call laws by failing to adequately train employees, maintain written guidelines, maintain an internal company do not call list, and failure to regularly download the Federal Do Not Call List and use the current list to scrub phone numbers before calling consumers.



In the notice to Dynasty the FCC also made it clear that purchasing a scrubbed list from a lead broker or aggregator is not compliant under the law.


Additionally, the notice also emphasized that any permission given by a consumer to allow telemarketing calls must be evidenced by a signed, written agreement between the consumer and the calling company which states that the consumer agrees to be contacted by the calling company and includes the telephone number to which the calls may be placed and is non-transferable.


It also appears that many of the calls that were made by Dynasty to consumers were within state boundaries, commonly known as intrastate calls.


The Dynasty Mortgage forfeiture notice is likely to have a sweeping effect on the mortgage industry. “I think this case is a wakeup call to all the mortgage companies out there that thought the federal DNC laws didn’t affect them. This case shows that even companies that only conduct business in a local market within a single state need to comply with the federal guidelines,” said Barry Kaye, a Beverly Hills attorney that specializes in compliance issues for mortgage companies. “It’s a scary day for anyone that has relied upon buying “pre-scrubbed” leads since in and of itself this offers no protection.”


To date mortgage companies have been the leading industry players cited in the citations issued by the Federal government.



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Need more mortgage industry knowledge and broker’s working process? Take an advantage of the Mortgage Broker license training California.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/new-web-technologies-for-the-mortgage-industry.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/new-web-technologies-for-the-mortgage-industry.html Mon, 06 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500 Web-based technology is always evolving. The latest trend is to offer the technology in what is called Software as a Service model. This model breaks up the technology into services for the broker to decide what he or she wants and pay for that feature alone.


If you are planning to go with an online solution you need to make sure the company offers encryption, data access layers and security protocols. You have to partner with a company that addresses these issues thoroughly. SAAS is the future of software as we see it moving today. Software as we see it today is moving in that direction. We can justify that by looking out of the mortgage space. For example, salesforce.com says that you as a company can go out and focus on your core business and let us technology people manage the technology part.


This way businesses will be able to cut IT staff, slash associated expenses and maintain healthy bottom lines. This line has been around since the application server trend started, but with Google and Microsoft now focusing on SAAS, I’m seeing a lot of people backing and upgrading this process. Also, with the Internet becoming more reliable and trusted, SAAS will become more mainstream.


Why isn’t the mortgage space adopting this technology today? "The mortgage space is always the last to adapt or catch on. Many of our customers are telling us that they want to focus on growing, not supporting a technology staff and paying for upgrades. It is expected that the SAAS model will catch on in the mortgage industry soon.


The cons to SAAS are that it may not be for you, if you are hard and fast about owning your data and are not comfortable with the leasing model. "It’s a hard thing for some people to swallow as they want to buy and own technology in-house. I think it is a moot point because software is always becoming outdated and has to be continually upgraded.”


The main draw to Web-based software is that it allows the user to be mobile. Beyond that, vendors like Alpharetta and Ga.-based Advectis offer BlitzDocs programs to connect brokers to lenders and other third-party services.


"We’re seeing the broker pool that’s using BlitzDocs being more satisfied," explained Advectis President and Chief Executive Greg Smith. "We’re adding more sophistication to the workflow characteristics of the product right now. Things like action sets where multiple events are triggered with a single click are very favorable. Brokers see that this isn’t a static product.”


"Typically, BlitzDocs enables the brokers to work alongside their lenders. That makes it so much easier for a broker to deal with the lender and to handle the docs. Statusing is a real time process, which is something that our brokers are relying on to make faster decisioning. Both lender and broker are able to compress the time needed to for loan processing.”


"One of the big releases that we came up with recently is the ability to use what we call action sets to drive different events that may happen sequentially or simultaneously without the user having to touch the product. We’re about to introduce a reporting module that will allow the user to report on snapshot activity. This will enable users to top view the pipeline to develop trending materials. Some of our users have that built into their origination system while others don’t. There is a lot of demand for such a module and we will respond to that need."


Another collaborative tool that is more commonly known in the space is Dublin, Calif.-based Ellie Mae’s ePASS. Ellie Mae has released an ePASS addition that makes it possible for Calyx Point users to access ePASS and feed data from Point into ePASS to a lender and back into Point. The application is called ePASS Express. It looks like an Instant Messenger and sits on the left side of the screen.


"We originally started with 29 lenders on the product and have subsequently added six new ones," noted David Lewis, senior vice president, marketing. "When we were demonstrating Encompass we heard that a lot of Point users were upset about the lack of lenders in Point. We wanted to give them a consistent access point.”


"Basically, they use it to go to the lender’s door front and proceed from there. We have put it out as a free utility and are happy to note that it has received a positive response. Another benefit is that it stores the password and user name for all lender websites so users can just log right in.”


"We’re planning to have a revamp of the lender storefront in April. Users have looked to us to bring in consistency to the lender’s storefront because they all look different and the mode to access might be different as well.”


"It saves the broker 10 to 15 minutes to get the loan to the lender this way," Mr. Lewis said. "If you’re just using Point, you have to leave Point, you get to the lender’s website, you log in, you upload the file from point, etc. There are somewhere between 18 and 25 clicks needed to get that loan to the lender.”


"However, this product gets you there in just one click, it’s free, installs in under a minute and includes every new lender added to our network and we’re adding a new lender every month," said Mr. Lewis. "It also works with all versions of Point and sits alongside your point application."



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Know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/leveraging-technology-for-growth.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/leveraging-technology-for-growth.html Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

In a down market, the mortgage broker’s ability to originate loans anywhere, at any time, is crucial. New technology being developed by vendors, net branches and lenders is being designed to empower the broker to more seamlessly transact with business partners even if they aren’t located at their desktop in the office.


As a mortgage broker, the No. 1 thing I would be looking at is an online origination system. The ability to have your system online is of key importance. If you can have all your contacts and pipeline available to you wherever you go, it’s a big plus for keeping up customer relationships and volumes.


The second item brokers should be looking seriously at is -customer relationship management functionality. For a mortgage company, having the ability to know all your customers, log all your prospects and manage all that information electronically is critical. Brokers spend 80% of their time prospecting and can’t manage that today with the traditional Calyx Point system.


The third technology, that I think is critical, is imaging. Being able to leverage documents electronically and having the ability to move them electronically is an important trend. Lenders are now increasingly accepting e-notes which represents substantial cost savings.




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Know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/technology-makes-it-easy-for-brokers.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/technology-makes-it-easy-for-brokers.html Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500


Voice2Forms offers a technology that asks the borrower a series of questions via an automated system. The generated data is then automatically fed to Loan Prospector or Desktop Underwriter to pre-qualify the loan. After prequalification, the data is fed back into the origination system from where it is available for access on the broker’s desktop.



Lenders like Mid-Atlantic Financial Services have been using it with great success and the system can be easily adapted to suit the broker’s requirements as well.



"It is a tool our company has been using to attract future homebuyers," explained Mid-Atlantic president Michael Anthony. "Homebuyers speak their information into a phone from where it automatically flows to the system. It works faster feeding your information into the system rather than talking to a human.”



"Some people just don’t want to talk to a salesperson," he continued. "It’s a non-intimidating way for people to apply for a home loan. Each morning mortgage brokers can just go to the site and download the information. It’s turnkey.”



"We like the fact that we can capture after-hour customers without people," noted Mr. Anthony. "Also, the system is very consistent. You know what you’re getting. It also eliminates data entry because it can be automatically uploaded into any application. It’s a good way to pre-qualify the loan and determine which LO is best to handle the loan."



The program was implemented at Mid-Atlantic within a week and they have had no problems to date. "Implementation is simple," said Mr. Anthony. "We had our system up in a week. It was as simple as our IT personnel mapping to our marketing database. Once it is up and running you don’t even have to maintain it."



The system runs 24 hours a day and acts as an alternative for potential Mid-Atlantic borrowers. "We still give the customer the option to call a live number," pointed out Mr. Anthony. "So, we still staff, but it has cut down on the alternative of voice mail and data entry or contracting a call center that may not know much about your business."



The application carries a one-time setup fee and a “per-lead” fee. "We’ve even thought about providing incentives for borrowers to use the system," said Mr. Anthony. "It’s an attractive option that we’re considering. The incentive could be something like a $300 closing cost credit. We’re considering it."



The main reason Mid-Atlantic is willing to even consider such an incentive is because of the ROI that they are getting out of the system. "The advantages for us are - having a turnkey system, savings on HR costs, high conversion rates as roughly 20% of the calls get converted into loan applications and the number you can’t quantify is the number of people that will hang up and go to a competitor when they realize that they’re getting voicemail," noted Mr. Anthony. "It can be imported to LP or DU to get an approved loan.”



"After a five-to-seven minute phone call you could have an approved loan, which cuts down on processing time," he concluded. The system pays for itself in a month and produces loan data with right information and you don’t have to worry about it calling in sick or having a bad day."




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Know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.



Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/honesty-is-its-own-reward-but-not-its-only-one.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/honesty-is-its-own-reward-but-not-its-only-one.html Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500 Mortgage has agreed to pay $325 million in borrower restitution and investigative costs. The settlement is the third largest of all time relating to abusive lending practices and the largest since the Household Finance settlement of $484 million in 2002.


Ameriquest did not admit to any wrong doing in the settlement. Charges against the company included “up-selling” high-priced loans to borrowers with good credit, inflating appraisals and falsifying documents, and unethical and illegal business practices.


You’re probably asking yourself, what does this mean for mortgage brokers? During the press conference announcing the settlement, the state Attorney Generals were asked if the investigation included any review of Ameriquest’s wholesale division, Argent, and if they were aware of illegal activities by mortgage brokers. Their response was that it did not include a review of the wholesale side of lending, but that they are aware of this side of the market and they are looking to review that segment of the industry in the near future. With that harbinger in mind, the CAMB Government Affairs Team reviewed the settlement to see what some of the more relevant practices that were investigated in the Ameriquest settlement that could potentially happen with mortgage brokers.

Inflating Appraisals
It was discovered that Ameriquest sales personnel were colluding with their hand picked appraisers to inflate the prices of homes to put borrowers in larger loans. It was suggested that sales personnel were pressuring appraisers to hit certain home value targets. They used many tactics including delays in payment or the use of a second appraisal as a means to pressure appraisers.


As part of the settlement, Ameriquest agreed to put procedural safeguards in place to ensure accurate appraisals. Sales personnel will no longer select an appraiser. They will be assigned an independent one through a centralized process that is separate from the branch sales office. No communication as to the expected value of the property will be allowed. Complete copies of the appraisal must be given to the borrower and the appraiser must be paid in a timely manner regardless as to whether or not the loan actually closes. If the appraisal is believe to be professionally deficient a second appraisal may be ordered but all records must be kept for audits and company must audit 20% of all appraisals as part of internal quality control.

Non-disclosure of loan program and fees
The state Attorney Generals contended that sales personnel were often not disclosing fees, loan program types, and often would promise lower interest rates or certain loan programs and did not deliver on those statements. Also, sales personnel encouraged borrowers to ignore disclosure documents that contradicted what the sales personnel were telling them.

To address this issue, Ameriquest drafted specific text which must be recited to the borrower for the following loans: fixed rate mortgages with discount points, fixed rate mortgages with specific loan terms, adjustable rate mortgage with specific loan terms, adjustable rate mortgage with discount points, prepayment penalty, concluding statement, interest rate disclosure. Also, all written disclosures must be provided within three days of obtaining the loan pricing information.


Non-disclosure of prepayment penalties and refinancing


Part of the investigation focused on prepayment penalties. According to the state Attorney Generals, prepayment penalties were often not disclosed to the potential borrowers and that the company provided financial incentives to sales personnel to include prepayment penalties in loans. This practice coupled with an aggressive refinancing program that solicited borrowers in a short period of time after their loan resulted in many homeowners losing significant equity in their home.



Under the settlement, the practice of providing employees monetary incentive or other compensation for including such penalties in a loan is prohibited. Also, if any prepayment penalties are not timely or fully disclosed, the company must reimburse the customer for any penalties paid. Ameriquest also agreed to not solicit borrowers within 24 months of closing, except in certain instances.


Unethical Business Practices


The most pervasive company practice that the state Attorney Generals targeted was the policy of “up-selling” where sales personnel were provided financially incentives to increase the fees and rate of the loan. Also, sales personnel were encouraged to inflate or fabricate the borrower’s amount or source of income on stated income loans. Spanish borrowers were often communicated to in Spanish, however there disclosures were often in English. Also, Ameriquest was described as having unreasonable quotas on its sales personnel.


As part of the settlement, Ameriquest must create a pricing model that is designed to produce the same interest rates and number of discount points for all borrowers. Also, Ameriquest cannot have any incentive programs in place that encourage sales personnel to increase the costs or rate of a loan. Ameriquest must also provide Spanish-speaking borrowers with Spanish speaking employees and Spanish documents.


To ensure compliance, outside monitors will observe the company’s operations to ensure that it operates in accordance with the agreement.


When the state Attorney Generals were asked what this settlement should mean to the rest of the industry, they quickly responded saying that while many of the practices, like up selling or providing incentives to increase loan costs were not technically illegal, they create an environment where illegal practices might happen. And, in their future investigations, they will look for these practices as an indication of illegal activities despite the practices themselves not being illegal.


CAMB encourages mortgage brokerages to examine the business practices of Ameriquest and see the procedures and changes they have been forced to make to meet the test set out by the Attorney Generals to be an ethical and honest business. In the future, be prepared for the Attorney Generals to start examining the business practices of wholesale lending channels and how mortgage brokers conduct business with wholesale lenders.

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Know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/brokers-prosper-rain-or-shine.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/brokers-prosper-rain-or-shine.html Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Pretty much a similar scare was used in the housing market. With rates staying around 6-6.5% and the economy still strong sales remain strong and refis are doing OK. The National Association of Realtors, in a statement released on Tuesday, said that housing sales and prices in 2006 will remain strong but will not achieve the record levels of 2005.

Sales of existing homes are expected to drop to 6.74 million this year, a decline of 4.7 percent from the record high of 7.07 million in 2005. New home sales will be down 8.5 percent to 1.17 million, setting yet another 2005 record of 1.28 million. While sales will decline, it is still expected to be the third best year for both existing and new home sales following last year and the earlier record setting 2004. Housing starts are likely to be down 9.3 percent this year at 1.87 million units.

Even in the face of declining sales, prices are expected to continue their unprecedented spiral, although at a less spectacular rate. NAR projects that the median price for existing homes of all types including single family, townhouses, and condos is expect to increase 5 percent this year to $219,200 and the median price for new homes will be up 5.7 percent to $250,900.

While this is well below the double digit price hikes seen in recent years, the rise in prices will still outstrip inflation which the Association expects will be up 3.1 percent this year as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Disposal personal income is expected to increase by 3.9 percent.

David Lereah, Chief Economist for NAR said in the report that the sales slowdown has already occurred. "Right now, home sales are a little lower than projected, but they can be sustained around current levels." He cautioned that people often lose sight of the fact that real estate is cyclical." Even so, sales will continue at a historically high pace with modestly higher interest rates as the year progresses, and 2006 is forecast to be the third strongest year on record."

NAR predicted that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage would rise to 6.9 percent by the end of the year. Freddie Mac, last month revised its prediction for the 30-year downward by 10 basis points to an average of 6.4 percent for the year.

The President of NAR, Thomas M. Stevens, used the new figures to advise sellers to return to the traditional real estate sales model. He stated "It’s easy to understand that sellers have taken it for granted that it would be fairly easy to sell without much compromise during the recent sales boom. Now that buyers have more choices, it’s even more important for sellers to seek advice from real estate professionals."

Got to keep those dues-paying members happy.

NAR will release January 2006 existing home sales figures on February 28 and will "fine-tune" month by month figures for the last three years at that time. The Association will also, within the next two months, revise national and regional median existing home price information back to 1999.


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Know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/study-assesses-mortgage-payment-reset-impact.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/study-assesses-mortgage-payment-reset-impact.html Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Titled "Mortgage Payment Reset: The Rumor and the Reality," by Christopher Cagan, Ph.D., director of research and analytics at First American Real Estate Solutions, the study utilizes the extensive database and analytical resources of First American RES and its subsidiary LoanPerformance to classify market segments as relatively safe or vulnerable under the pressure of mortgage payment resets. The most vulnerable will be those who do not have substantial equity in their homes, but hold adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) with low initial rates, often with interest-only and negative-amortization features.

The study concludes, however, that while individual families and firms that are involved with the riskiest loans may suffer, on a national basis the impact of mortgage payment reset and subsequent default will not significantly impact the economy, as it will result in approximately $110 billion in losses, or less than 1 percent of total U.S. mortgage lending annually.

"Mortgage payment reset is likely to be the most important issue facing mortgage servicers and investors in the non-prime market during the next few years," said George Livermore, president of The First American Corporation’s Property Information and Services Group. "This analysis provides helpful guidance for mortgage professionals by explaining key dynamics associated with mortgage payment reset and provides a method for evaluating risk."

The states with the lowest percentage of high-risk properties, where borrowers have more equity and are therefore less likely to experience the impact of reset, include New York, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey. The states with the highest percentage of risky properties, where fewer borrowers have significant equity and face greater likelihood of experiencing reset sensitivity include Tennessee, Colorado, Minnesota, Alabama and Arkansas. California was not on either list.


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Know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/million-dollar-homes-drive-bay-area-realty-value.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/million-dollar-homes-drive-bay-area-realty-value.html Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500 That’s a nearly 50 percent increase from a year earlier, when 11,399 homes, or 8.5 percent of the total, sold for at least $1 million, according to the research firm.
Only a small fraction of the homes sold, 2.6 percent of the total, went for that in 1999, according to the firm.
The rise in high-end home sales was most pronounced in Solano County, typically one of the least expensive locations in the Bay Area.
Million-dollar home sales in the county, which includes the communities of Vacaville, Vallejo and Fairfield, jumped 154 percent in 2005, compared to a 43.3 percent increase in San Francisco, according to the firm.
Strong demand and low interest rates have fueled the region’s housing boom. Home prices grew about 18 percent in the region in 2005 compared to the year before.
Statewide, nearly 49,000 homes sold for $1 million or more in 2005, an increase of nearly 50 percent from a year earlier, according to the firm.
The home affordability index in the Bay Area is still in the 14% range.


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Know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/amazing-new-technology-makes-life-easier-for-brokers.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/mortgage/amazing-new-technology-makes-life-easier-for-brokers.html Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Loan processing is typically a time consuming, tedious process that involves a large amount of paper pushing. TrueClose, a company that offers software to the mortgage industry hopes to change all that with their version 1.6. Given that the solution is Web-based, processors will now no longer have to manage physical paper files.

Specifically, processors create customized templates within the LOS to keep track of orders and deliver the control and visibility necessary for the processor to manage daily tasks. Also, version 1.6 comes with a checklist embedded in the LOS.

"Because processors are big stakeholders in the system, the logic built into the system allows them to manage daily tasks," points out Michael Blair, founder and CEO of TrueClose. "It gives the administrator a degree of visibility as well via a checklist. Processors can create their own customized templates to keep track of orders.

"We have just completed and will be releasing this embedded processing module to allow processors to manage underwriting and facilitate integrated workflow," he pointed out. "After the loan has been approved it goes into the first processing stage with loan officers doing manual checking and stacking. With this module you can get all the tips from Fannie and parse them throughout processing.

"In the end, that will become a competitive advantage, something that you’re not going to get in Calyx," he reported. "It gives people more control over the process. We continue to focus on going paperless because I believe in the e-mortgage. We have embedded an integrated faxing module because in order to make this successful you have documents coming from the borrower so you need a way to make that electronic. The processing module takes that a step further because it’s all integrated."

Also, TrueClose embeds customer relationship management functionality into the LOS. "The most important part of a mortgage company’s work is prospecting," explained Mr. Blair. "The loan officers in particular are spending 80% of their time prospecting. In order to make a tool to help them it makes sense to have CRM built into the LOS. At the beginning of the process the CRM is a must have with the application.

"What you get with Calyx is something that can build the predisclosure forms, but we wanted to start from the beginning and get into CRM," he continued. "When you talk about CRM you talk about letters, mailings and follow ups, but there is no tool like that in Calyx. We want to give the broker that - in addition to a management tool to help them oversee the process as well.

"When I first got into the mortgage industry, there weren’t many tools to help you manage your leads," Mr. Blair noted. "For example, these people are today calling 20 people a day, now how can you manage that? How do you keep up? Some people make a note and write it down but with the technology we have today it is important that they have one solution to manage everything in one place."

Why not go for a standalone CRM tool? "On a smaller scale you have CRM tools out there, but to be quite honest the target audience that we’re going after are not using more than 10% to 20% of the functionality of those standalone products," answered Mr. Blair. "Also, they’re not mortgage-specific. For example, you have three days in which to send a disclosure so why not have a flag that pops up to tell you that they’re due? You’re just not going to get that from a standalone CRM.

"You also have to manage more than one solution with a standalone product - that creates its own problems," he concluded. "As time goes by, you’ll see people looking to take advantage of the Web. Once this catches people will be jumping on, which is why this has been our focus."



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I am Kelly Heyden. know more about mortgage broker training visit loanbrokeracademy.us.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>