Refi Boom Near The End
Refi Boom
Has the refinance boom come to an unexpected halt? Well for those of you mortgage pros who actually pay attention to what is going on in your world of mortgage debacleness. You are probably aware of what the great Federal Government has done for you. They have essentially put a halt on your income. This has been accomplished by the extension of the Temporary Payroll Tax Cuts. One of the provisions for this accommodation was to have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Raise Guarantee fees.
The main impact of this announcement will be… Guess What? Mortgage Prices will worsen about 40-45bps over the next several weeks. Longer Term locks will be affected first, but it’s going to have a trickle down effect. Some investors have already started accounting for these changes by increasing rate lock extension fees and/or worsening longer lock periods. For those of you guys out there who use Chase, you may notice they have already put these fees in motion.
One word of advice that I have for you is if you have people sitting on the fence, NOW is the chance to tell them to either “shit or get off the pot.” We all have had that one customer how there who always says… yeah I think rates are going to keep coming down. My personal favorite is the “they say” rates are going to get lower; Who is THEY? Could this signal the end of the Refi Boom? That is if you really want to call it a boom. We had about two months of great interest rates and everyone thinks the market is back. Well those who are actually selling loans may think that.
Refi Boom and New Loan Officers
What most loan officers who think there is really a refi boom going on don’t realize is there are less and less customers that you can help as each month goes by. Most seasoned loan officers know that Nov through February are usually pretty trechorous. This year has been unusual. The reason for it, is of course the low cost of mortgages. When mortgage prices rise and consumers actually get wind of it….guess what’s going to happen. ” Well I heard rates are going to go down so I’ll wait…” Yes that excuse is coming and they will have heard that mortgage rates are going down from “They.” That mystical person that knows more about mortgages than the people actually providing them. Funny if you ask me. Actually it’s not, it’s mildly mentally retarded.
With interest rates going up without a doubt and the scarcity of home owners that you can actually help is a signal of this years mini refi boom coming to an end. What you can expect over the next few months is Realtors will get a lot cockier as they will think they actually have a leg to stand on. The summer is coming and we all know how *some* realtors can be. I’m not a Realtor basher at all. I just wish we could all play well together.
Refi Boom Fallout
In closing I would like to say this to my fellow followers of my random mortgage negativeness. If you are already out there on the fence about the industry and you are fed up with the ups and downs. Join me in my crusade to help you take your life back. Why should we only be happy during a refinance boom? Most of you probably understand how unstable the market and your paycheck is unless you have teamed up with a good group of Realtors that are actually loyal to you. As much as both groups probaby but head s with each other, unfortunately we both need each other to truly be successful in this game. I’m talking real success and not just making 100k a year and calling that it.
Refi Booms are awesome, but when they dry up, they dry the market out. Will you be a loan officer affected by the refinance boom or lack there of, OR…. will you plan ahead and kick the Refi Boom in the balls this time. Let’s not get caught with our pants down this time.
Loan Officer Jobs
Loan Officer Jobs
How quickly we forget! Most loan officers that I talk to today are all wired up about the current mini “refinance boom“ the market is having right now. Most don’t, or don’t want to remember that it was just this summer when they were quoting rates at 4.875 or higher for the same 30 year fixed. It’s funny though we always see the same reversal of trends each and every year. Loan Officers are happy for the most part until February when rates jump up and are high until around may. That is typically the downtime of the year for mortgage loan officers.
My question is how much longer do we really think the refinance boom will really last? Sooner or later everyone that can refinance will have refinanced their home, and we know the purchase market pretty much sucks right now. If you focus mostly on the purchase market I hope you have been nice to your Realtor’s. We know they are not the most loyal group out there, and since we have all been busy trying to get as many refinance loans closed over the past 3 months…. I don’t think we’ve really paid too much attention to them.
So my question is what are your plans after the life of a Mortgage Loan Officer? What happens when the rates go up and the refinances dry up? Are their going to be any loan officer jobs out there for you? Will you be able to keep up with the lifestyle you have come to love over the past few months. Yes; there will be some that will be able to survive the drought, but as usual, there will be some collateral damage. I often ask myself how many “Mortgage Loan Officers” have actually filed for bankruptcy since the whole Barney Frank $hi$ came into play? Seriously, something that was meant to supposedly help consumer’s is actually hurting people at the same time.
Most of us know the Mortgage Game will not last forever… me personally, I don’t want it to. Honestly Loan Officer Jobs can be one of the most stressful jobs on the planet. It’s actually quite sickening when we think about it. We stress ourselves to hell trying to save someone else money when we are truly the ones making less money. Can anyone ready this honestly tell me how being a mortgage loan officer for the rest of your life makes any sense? It’s all fine and dandy when there is a refinance boom going on, but we all know those are short and bittersweet. I say bittersweet, because the more loans you have in the pipeline the more you stress about them. You know those loans in the pipeline is your justification for doing this job. One day you are up, the next day you are down. The loan officer career path is right up there with wall street.
Have you ever caught yourself looking like this guy at the end of the month? This is normally the look of a mortgage loan officer on the 22nd of the month. You see the loans, but you don’t see the movement. Another month of telling the spouse, I’m going to make it happen next month.
Put something in place that you can work on while you are working on your mortgage loans. I know it’s hard to see, but go back and ready my story. I know how dirty the Mortgage Loan Officer industry can be. Loan officer jobs will not be around for long. You should be able to see all the banks lobbying to take out the small guys. They have almost succeeded. Bank of America completely shut down their wholesale division. The refinance boom may save you now, but once it’s over, loan officer jobs will be slim pickings. Any mortgage loan officers out there looking to learn what I’m doing, go and enter your information to the right of the home page. I will follow up with you and we can embark on a journey together to make great things happen. Great Luck!!
Rates are low right now so just about anyone out there with a pulse is being hired as a loan officer. The sad thing about is; most loan officers are seeing the light and opting for other postions. The unfortunate thing is if you have been a loan officer for any amount of time you are considered as nothing but a loan officer by most companies. No one really wants to hire a loan officer who is leaving the mortgage business because they think that is all we know. As a loan officer “we” know that we have all the skills to excell in any position. It takes a very special person to deal with this business, but the hiring of just anyone in the past has given the good guys a bad name.
Just check any job board out there today and I’m sure you will find so many jobs open for a loan officer it’s not even funny. Once the market dies down and all these wanna be loan officers who only got in the business to make a quick buck hits the job market, how can a company distinguish who was a great loan officer and who was a fake? Too bad that is to hard to do, so basically anyone with the title of loan officer on a resume will be thrown into pile on the floor. I’ve actually seen ads that say No LOAN OFFICER NEED APPLY! How hars is that?
If you have found yourself in that pile of resumes and are just sick of this industry, then you owe it to yourself. Take action today and become one of my friends and fellow partners as we go on this journey of taking our financial lives back. Talk soon!
Mortgage Business, What’s Your Future?
Mortgage Business Worries
Last week I sit back and reflected on my mortgage career and what it has been. I also thought of all the colleagues I have in the business as well. One thing I noticed something I have seen in nearly every group of mortgage professionals; people are stressed, they are tired—and they aren’t getting any younger.
I hit the 35 in two months and with that my 10th year in the mortgage business. Most people I know in this business that are my age were smart enough to get out when they could. The frenzied and challenging “Mortgage Business” has taken its toll on many people, and it’s no secret our ranks are fewer and aging rapidly. Fact: The industry you work in is smaller and dwindling by the day. People are getting out of this business!
1. For years, the bigger banks have operated university-type formats for entering the business. They hired from 100 to 500 “newbies” a year, gave them about 2 weeks’ worth of training and they hit the floor boiler room style. These 20-some-year-old kids and hustlers kept the industry hip and fun.
2. The mortgage industry is no longer the money printing press it once was. There was a time when if you were young and energetic, you could almost guaranteed yourself a 6 figure income. That type of income attracted several you and eager “Go-Getters” into the industry. Today if you don’t have experience in the mortgage business you will be lucky to make 30k a year. Unfortunately that is not enough to attract the young talent and energy the business needs.
3. Today it’s much harder to enter the mortgage business. New brokers have to be screened, tested and licensed. The Big Banks are no longer interested in training or internally promoting their own, opting to hire only established, experienced originators from other banks with a track record of proven production and success.
4. Not sure if you have noticed, But there is less business out there; meaning the industry does not need so many originators. In 2005, 7.1 million residential units sold. This year the projection is for 4.7 million units. From a business perspective, if the market demand for new loans is a full 33% less—and expected to decline even further in the coming months and years. Why would a company hire more originators when there is not enough business for the ones they currently have?
5. Most of us in the business today have nowhere else to go in our tight economy and shrinking job market or have no desire at this point to make a move. If you’ve been originating for over 10 years, what else are you qualified to do at this point? Some People are “Chained” to the business today; they aren’t making a lot of money and they are burned out, but change is not an options. So they stay.
The industry is getting older. But, on the upside, there are still a number of originators at every age level doing well, pushing forward, and making great money. What does it take to continue to succeed as you mature in this profession?
My ties in the industry are pretty deep. I’ve worked with some awesome people and built some great relationships. I’m lucky enough to know quite a few sales managers, directors etc… I’ve spoken with several of them to find out what traits they notice of top producers and what they are looking for when hiring new people? What habits, practices and skills did they think makes one originator better than the other.
Obviously they all built an impressive list of characteristics, but one word…“intensity” seemed to top the list. Most of them say their top producers are intense day in and day out. This intensity translates directly into more contacts, more relationships, stellar customer service, high loan application volume, more closings and more income. Intensity seems to be important in the mortgage business as we know it.
It should be known that as we age, our levels of intensity will decrease. Think about it; if you are 40 or 50 years old, do you really have the same intensity and zest for business and life that you did when you were 25? We know you would like to have it, but unfortunately you can’t get it if you wanted to pay for it. Intensity is the by-product of two factors: energy and a positive forward focus.
Most originators in the industry can’t muster the intensity they once had. Age is a factor, but mostly they have been beat up by a sagging housing market, new rules and regulations, (for the most part) and making less money than they once did.
Experience in this business is not a good thing, there is no benefit. (If this week you wrote your 935th loan application of your career, it’s probably all running together and getting pretty boring.) As your energy goes down, your intensity follows in kind.
Most originators who have been in the business for some time are looking to wind down their careers and not ramp them up. Many originators I talk with today only want to talk about how much money they used to make, and how awesome things were at one point. One originator I spoke with is 51 years old and has made great money over the years. He says he’s “spent.” “Just help get me through another five or six years,” he told me, “and then I’m out of here for good.” He’s a great guy, but his interest in learning new products, approaching new markets and implementing new business strategies has left his body. Basically he’s saying the business just isn’t fun anymore.
He’s 51 years old and I hit the big 35 in a few months. Sad things is, I’m already feeling the same feelings he’s felt almost 20 years earlier…. THAT CAN’T BE GOOD FOR ME!!!
Personally, I know the answer to that statement and have felt it for over the past few years. If you are having those same feelings, you owe it to yourself and the industry to get out. The mortgage industry does not hold back punches. I’d love to show you my exit strategy and the plan I have to free me from the “mortgage business” since it has probably already taken a few years of my life. Last I heard doing the same thing and expecting different results was the definition of insanity. The only insanity I need in my life right now is the home workout vide. Let’s embark on a journey together.
For more information visit Get Out Of The “Mortgage Business” Blog
Read my story and what the Mortgage Business did to a top producer.
Will You Survive The Mortgage Business
How many more years do you have to give to the Mortgage Industry? How much frustration have you gone through? I’ve been in the game for 10 years and I’ve had my share of ups and downs. I never thought I’d ever need to leave the building to get a drink so I didn’t kill everyone in the office, but The Mortgage Business will do that to you. Most of you reading this post will agree.
Unfortunately, we have grown to love this industry for one reason and one reason only. M.O.N.E.Y. What else can we do and have the freedom that we have enjoyed? What else can we do and make this kind of money? Before the Mortgage Crisis, My Joke was “I wonder how much money I could make if I actually worked 6 hours a day”? Now that the crisis is still here, it’s more about how much money can I make period… I’ll work 10 hours a day if I can just make half the money we were making before. It’s a sad state for the true mortgage professionals out there.
I can completely relate with you. I’ve been in the situation where I’ve had 20k going in one day, and ended that day with about 2k. That is just what this business will do to you. The ups and the downs take years off your life. That is something I’m just not willing to settle for. My health, sanity and marriage is not worth the mortgage business.
If you are at all like me and know that you can’t continue to give your life to this industry and you would like to know of a way you can use your talents, fill out the form to the right. I’m not looking for people who are looking to make a quick buck, I’m looking for people who are willing to hunker down and make some things happen. I’m willing to help you get that feeling back of actually having some self worth instead of just being a “Rate Whore”.
It’s a shame what the bureaucrats have done to this industry. It’s no longer about skills and relationships, it’s whoever will tell the client they have the best rate. The internet has truly killed this business.
Well if you can agree with what I’m saying and you are interested in your exit strategy; Let’s Connect. enter your information to the right and let’s get started. Talk to you soon.
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