Your competitors are stealing your clients!                                                                                        A method that more and more lenders are using to steal customers from brokers is gaining increased attention these days.  The use of the “trigger lead” programs provided by the credit bureaus is giving mortgage companies a way to grab new customers out from under each other, and has many brokers up in arms.  But even bigger than that is the concern over mortgage lead generation companies purchasing the lists to sell independently.  So what are trigger leads?  The problem is explained in a letter that Joe Adamaitis, president of Direct Mortgage Services in Portsmouth, N.H., sent to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson in August 2005.  The problem Calling it a “serious violation of privacy and business practices,” Adamaitis said, “As a mortgage professional, I am required to pull credit on each and every borrower.  I am also required by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and any other institution who buys loans to submit three credit scores which are provided by the big three:  TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.  This is all fine, except that now we find out that the minute we pull credit, one of these bureaus is selling the names of the people who we just pulled credit on.”  Targeting Experian’s Prospect Triggers program, Adamaitis said, “Experian is now selling borrowers’ information to other lenders immediately upon receipt of our request.  The client is then called by the purchaser of the name and begins telling them they are aware of their recent application for a mortgage and that they are there to cut out the middle-man.  Now, if you’re a business owner who is required to use these services only to have them used against you, I think we have a huge conflict and a huge privacy issue.”    Read more…….

 

In an April 6 letter to Alphonso Jackson, secretary of the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, seven consumer groups made three primary recommendations for the changes HUD should include in the new RESPA rule.  Their suggestions touched on each of the major issues at stake in the reform process:  mortgage broker compensation, improvements to the GFE and the proposed Section 8 exemption. 

The groups signing the letter included ACORN, the Center for Responsible Lending, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Action, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and the National Consumer Law Center.  Each of these groups was represented at HUD’s RESPA roundtables last year. 

In their letter, the consumer groups stated their belief that HUD should:

• Require that a mortgage broker: (a) reach written agreement with each client early in the financing process on the total amount of the broker’s compensation, and (b) provide the consumer with choices regarding how he or she will pay that fee at closing.

• Require loan originators to provide an early and firm GFE that both itemizes fees and draws attention to important summary information, including an APR alongside the note rate, and loan features such as adjustable rates, prepayment penalties and balloon payments.

• Maintain all Section 8 anti-kickback rules, without exemptions.

Out with the YSP, in with the broker contract 

In elaborating on the first point, the groups laid out a wholesale attack on the broker’s yield spread premium (YSP).  Calling it “exactly the type of kickback that Congress sought to forbid when it enacted RESPA thirty years ago,” they asked HUD to “curb abusive yield spread premiums” and “amend its substantive regulations on yield spread premiums,” saying that  provisions on disclosure would be “insufficient.” 

Further, “HUD must also reverse its stated prohibition, articulated in its 2001 Policy Statement, against enforcing violations of Section 8 through class actions.”  Read more…..

 

Of course, you knew the first reason.

Second reason is as obvious as the first.

Shriyajundakrushnavida (first recruit) before we hired him. He is just as happy and much more productive now.

 

They don’t mind the rush hour and love to ride to work

 

They arrive early and fight to get to work first. A very competitive nation, indeed.

They change their names (Jane, John & Julie are the most popular names), dress in Iriginal Escada suits and speak perfect Inglish.

 

 

We believe our good deeds will eventually pay off but that is not our main objective. We enjoy empowering poor nations and spreading the Gospel.

 

 

Tuesday’s bond market has opened in positive territory following the release of weaker than expected economic news. The stock markets have responded favorably to the news also with the Dow up 62 points and the Nasdaq up 15 points. The bond market is currently up 6/32, pushing the benchmark yield below 5.00% again. This should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .25 of a discount point.

The Labor Department reported this morning that the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.5% last month, slightly exceeding analysts’ forecasts. However, the more important core data reading rose only 0.1%, falling short of the 0.2% that was expected. This is very good news for the bond market and mortgage rates.

March’s Housing Starts report was also released this morning, showing a 8% drop in starts of new homes last month. This was much weaker than was expected, but this data is not nearly as important as the PPI release and has not had a significant impact on this morning’s trading.

Also today is the afternoon release of the minutes from the last FOMC meeting. Market participants are interested in how divided the Fed is towards rate hikes and possible future moves. The minutes give us insight to their current thought process and individual Fed member opinions. Any surprises in the 2:00 PM ET release c ould cause afternoon volatility in the markets and possible changes in mortgage pricing.

Tomorrow morning, the Labor Department will post March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). This index is similar to today’s PPI, but tracks prices at the more important consumer level of the economy. As with the PPI, higher than expected readings could lead to higher mortgage rates and lower than expected reading will likely push rates lower. Current forecasts are also calling for an increase of 0.4% in the overall index and 0.2% in the core data.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Float if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days… Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days… Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.