“In 25 years of mortgage lending, the greatest hurdle and biggest obstacle has always been overcoming the dishonest advertising, and its cousin, the unkept promise. Rates and terms that cannot possibly be honored, take advantage of the consumer and steer business away from the many honest and quality mortgage lenders. By the time the borrower learns the truth, they are at the closing table and it is too late. The borrower and the honest lenders lose, and the less scrupulous operator gets a fee. Fortunately, with persistence and patience, the honest lender can spend less on advertising because their satisfied clients will refer business back for years, and it costs nothing! That’s my kind of advertising. Dealing with clients honestly always pays off, but even after 25 years, it is still frustrating to see dishonest advertising!”
-David MacInnes,
Beachside Mortgage
“In today’s world everyone has their own mortgage company. Which means when you call on Realtors sometimes you have to call at the back door rather then being welcomed to come in and visit. This does away with cold calling and more of personal relationships. The changing world!”
- Jacqueline E. Parrillo,
Mercantile Bank
“My biggest obstacle in this rising interest rate environment is finding buyers that can be qualified for the loans that they desire. To that end, I have a credit score correction program that can raise a credit score in as little as four days. My best score increase to date is taking a client that had a credit score of 613 and getting it to a 655. I was able to save her .625 on her rate after the rescore.”
-Mark Marcellus,
mortgage consultant at North Florida Funding
“I don’t have obstacles, I have challenges! One of the challenges that lenders face is the issue of integrity. As an industry, mortgage lenders and brokers have often been stereotyped as individuals that would do whatever it takes to get a deal. We are the bungling idiot, like the loan officer in the DiTech commercials. In the aggressive search for our next deal many loan officers have crossed that barrier of respect, honesty, and integrity. As an individual choosing to make my career in this profession and carrying great pride in the way I represent myself to Realtors, customers, and the community as a whole, I am greatly disappointed in the way in which we are perceived. On the other hand, we have earned this stereotypical perception and are faced with a great challenge of changing that perception by eliminating all those bungling idiots that don’t handle themselves with pride, respect, honesty, and integrity.”
-Chris Davis,
Valley National Bank
“The evolution of mortgage banking has brought many challenges over the years but like all businesses in the face of adversity, you either find a way or make a way to roll with the ever changing environment. The mortgage banking business has always been about serving the needs of the consumer quickly, professionally and fairly. The most common hurdle that I am currently experiencing is market share. With many of the top real estate companies having an ownership interest or a preferred lender arrangement and with many national builders advertising heavy incentives to buy their product with the agreement to use their preferred mortgage lender, makes these two mortgage referral channels difficult to penetrate. The notion of a partnership between the lender and referral source is nothing new however it has become more prevalent with home sales being the catalyst of our economy. Additionally major FDIC banks have made mortgage lending a priority on their list of financial services. Their internal customers have become targets of such advertising campaigns as reduced fees and streamlined approval processes. All of these situations create the analogy of ‘hunting on the game preserve’ thus taking away market share from outside competitors. All three of these examples of shrinking market share can spell real challenges if, as a lender, you are unable to adapt. There are plenty of strategies and niche type business plans that are affective and profitable, however you must remain innovative and able to see the big picture. Fortunately for us, we live and work in one of America’s best real estate markets that is thriving, resilient and relationship driven.”
-Mark E. Carlson,
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
“In regards to the greatest obstacle, I suppose it would be misinformation in the information age! There is so much information out there for consumers to review, they get themselves confused. They need a trusted mortgage advisor. Another issue is that so many lenders are out there killing themselves and trying to cut everything so low, they will eventually find that they can’t maintain a decent profit margin and price themselves out of the business.”
-David Wakefield,
CTX Mortgage