Is it time for mortgage lenders to sell the farm?

The good news is that your mortgage lending business has a very large net worth. Your servicing portfolio has become a very large asset which seems to be gaining value every day. The bad news is that your cash resources…

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Posted: Feb 10 2014
Tags: liquidity, mortgage lending, MSR, servicing rights
Comments: 3860

Get out of your comfort zone!

New Year. New reality. The mortgage industry in January 2014 is definintely not what it was in January 2013. Some are choosing to complain about it and accept failure. Others are adapting and making lemonade out of lemons.Want different results? …

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Posted: Jan 22 2014
Tags: brokers, correspondent lending, emerging bankers, mortgage lending, wholesale lending
Comments: 3944

A new entry for The Worry List

It’s been a while since I added to my Worry List, so now seems to be as good a time as any. You may recall that I keep this Worry List not to build high blood pressure or keep myself…

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Posted: Jan 14 2014
Tags: agencies, correspondent lending, emerging bankers, mortgage technology, servicing, The Worry List
Comments: 1875

A few resolutions for the New Year

It’s time for the holidays and all of the festivity and comrarderie they bring. Of course, if you own a business, it’s also time to review your most recent year…and look ahead to 2014. With that in mind, here’s The…

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Posted: Dec 23 2013
Tags: correspondent lending, direct issuer, mini correspondent, mortgage lending, servicing
Comments: 3400

Instead of running for the hills, why not look for gold in them there hills?

So here we go again. You have heard all the slogans before…perhaps even from me. Trees don’t grow through the clouds. What goes up must come down. There will never be massive layoffs in the mortgage business again. People/customers just…

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Posted: Dec 17 2013
Tags: investors, mortgage lending, purchase market, servicing
Comments: 3239

One more for The Worry List

As you may know, I keep a Worry List on behalf of my clients. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s not healthy to simply sit around and worry about potential threats, dangers and pitfalls. But it’s also pretty dangerous to live…

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Posted: Dec 03 2013
Tags: correspondent lending, mortgage lending, purchase market, refinance, servicing, warehouse lending, wholesale lending, worry list
Comments: 7578

Time to get liquid!

Boy oh boy is it ever time to get liquid! Before the interest rate increases happened, those bankers with very substantial balance sheets were living on easy street. Then the bomb hit. Suddenly, many of these stronger players lost a…

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Posted: Nov 13 2013
Tags: interest rate, mortgage lending, servicing, warehouse lending
Comments: 2460

A new reality in market valuation

Just when everyone thought that they had a chicken that would lay golden eggs forever, the chicken died (I know, I know. It’s supposed to be the Golden Goose. It’s my story, and in my story, it’s a chicken!) . I…

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Posted: Nov 06 2013
Tags: market valuation, mortgage lending, mortgage servicing, re-fi
Comments: 3574

Meeting the challenges of the brave, new mortgage world.

I’ve been harping recently on the fact that change brings opportunity to those willing to reach for it. This is not to say, however, that those challenges are always easy to overcome. Sometimes, everyone needs a little help. For example:…

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Posted: Oct 16 2013
Tags: mortgage lending, overlays, purchase cycle, warehouse lending
Comments: 2461

Selling your business. What to do if you missed the boat…

It’s true everywhere…just more so in the mortgage industry. Timing is everything You might have missed an opportunity to sell your company because your re-fi business stopped recently. Believe me, I’ve seen it in more than a few instances. However,…

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Posted: Oct 02 2013
Tags: business plan, business valuation, jumbo loans, mortgage lending, purchase cycle, refinance
Comments: 1912