Frequently Asked Question: How do I get licensed to originate in another state? First things first: Your company must be licensed to do business in any state in which you’d like to become licensed. Next, no one originates un-supervised. Someone at your company must be named as the person who will supervise your conduct when you […]
Can a Loan Originator Pay an Assistant Directly?
Here’s a common question: Can a licensed loan originator pay an assistant directly (out of pocket) for work performed? For example, Licensed LO needs clerical work performed. For the sake of ease, we can break the clerical work into two scenarios, both legit: 1) Clerical work is being performed by a W-2 employee of the […]
Idea: Attract more culturally diverse job applicants when recruiting for mortgage lending jobs
Beyond Craigslist, LinkedIn, Indeed and Monster.com, here are some ideas to attract a more diverse pool of candidates when recruiting for jobs in the mortgage lending and real estate industries. Note: This list is focused on the greater Seattle, WA area. Northwest Asian Weekly —– Seattle Chinese Times —– La Raza Northwest —– Seattle Medium […]
Why does the mortgage industry put up with Rob Chrisman’s sexist jokes?
One of the first things I use to read each morning was Rob Chrisman’s daily email newsletter for the mortgage lending industry. He’s always on top of what’s going on across the U.S. At the end of the daily email, Rob adds a joke. Sometimes the jokes are just silly and G-rated enough to share […]
Why Are Appraisal Prices So High?
I hear this question frequently from licensed loan originators and Realtors: “Why are appraisal prices skyrocketing all of a sudden? Is there an appraiser shortage?” The reasons for the appraisal price increase are many and the solution will be multi-factorial. I attended a Washington State Mortgage Bankers Dinner meeting recently, and we had an appraisal […]
Realtors: Please Stop Advertising Loan Programs
Another day, another Realtor advertising loan programs on The Facebook, The Twitter and The Snap Insta-whatever social media platform is hot right now, or old-school mailers and postcards, Realtors live and die by leads. Marketing 101 taught us that there are two things that sell products: Sex and fear. Out of those two, fear sells […]
NMLS Instructor Eligibility Policy Effective May 30, 2016
The following bulletin was posted within the NMLS Course Providers Website in April. Basically, the NMLS found that when an employee of a mortgage company was contracted to be the course instructor, things didn’t go well. So this is no longer allowed effective May 30, 2016 ———- NMLS – Instructor Eligibility Policy Effective May 30, […]
Can a builder threaten to take away seller concessions if the buyer does not use the builder’s preferred lender?
I am asked the following question least 100 times a year: Question: Is it legal for a builder to offer something to the home buyer such as extra funds to use for closing costs, or extra upgrades to the subject property, but then take those extra things off the table IF the home buyer refuses […]
What to do if you can’t pass the loan originator exam
As the only local, live course provider that offers the Loan Originator Pre-Licensing class in the greater Seattle area, I meet lots of people who are having problems passing the national loan originator exam. This blog post will provide suggestions on how to achieve your goal, but it might not be what you want to […]
Expanding Mortgage Loans to Consumers Without A Credit Score
Published on Inman Select Real Estate News December 23, 2015 Our government created the FHA Mortgage Insurance Program right after the Great Depression, to encourage banks to lend to people who have less-than-perfect credit. More recently, the FHA Mortgage Insurance program was used during the Great Recession to cushion the loss of subprime lending. FHA […]