*Warning* - This is a long one...
It's later than I expected, but my desire for this has been long coming. I title my particular blog, "The Insider's Insights on Mortgages" but I have yet to express to folks the workings behind that often foggy door of Lending. Shame on me, for that. I may actually spend some time on this post for once, if I do it right... I think it will be important.
The title of this post is, I admit, a tad misleading. While I think it could become a hot ratings sell, I don't necessarily foresee a sitcom based on the Lending institution... just yet. The point I want to drive home is a greater understanding of the money (financing) side of Home Loans and what we do and how we do it. Actually, I want to identitfy some of the psychology behind the whole deal. It's my belief that a better understanding by Agents, Consumers, Appraisers, Inspectors, Title Companies, etc will make all of our lives just a tad easier. While I want to say it poetically, plainly, & eloquently, I'll just say it. I only hope that the following properly expresses my point.
Before I knew what a mortgage was, I thought you made mad money on every deal you did. I never majored in business or finance, did the accounting thing for about a year, and eventually graduated with degrees in Psychology & Philosophy. Frankly, they were the only subjects that held interest for me at the time. I looked at College for what it was (or what I thought it was) a highway to knowledge ... not an occupation. In my case, I was right. Yet, I wasn't right about the Mortgage Process... not at all.
*Skip the next few paragraphs if you want to look into the Inside, rather than hear any inkling of my own story*
So, I entered this business because I wanted to make some coin and have a career. I wanted to help people and make some money doing it. I thought, "Who better than me to be a part of an Industry so important to our Country?" It took awhile to get my foot in the proverbial door, but eventually I went to work with a small firm in Allentown, Pa by the name of First Choice Equity Group Inc. I've looked back since, I won't lie.
My first year was wonderful, I marketed my posterior off and did rather well. While I didn't know much about Mortgages, I had a wonderful support TEAM behind me who made sure my mistakes were minimal and cost effective. Everything was by the book, which I knew ... even then ... may hurt us in the short run. It pays to be a criminal... just not in the long run.
Then came the second & third year, my head was so far up that same posterior that my forehead was touching my tongue. I was dealing with demons and doing my clients, my company, & myself a disservice. I floundered like a fish out of water and was ready to drown before I realized something somewhat profound... "Take your head out of your posterior and look square in the mirror. Wipe that colored stuff off your face and move on. Don't let YOU hold back YOU! And don't let YOU ever hold up or back the very people you were meant to help"
Year four was a bore. I was just trying to make up for lost time and trying to survive. I was on a mission, but as missions go ... it tends to be a slow and steady process. I worked that tail that sometimes wags me off to get there. And I did. I moved from resident ‘head case' to the top producer... not only in our office, mind you. There were waves of recruiting efforts aimed at me across the board when my head was on the neck and body that seems to guide it. The fact that you care about transactions and people isn't mentioned often enough, and despite my faults, I did and I do. Sure, year four was a bore. Yet, I was damn sure it wouldn't be any semblance of my legacy. There's an ego in all of us... wanting to be greater than we actually are. I don't want to be great, I want to be me... that, in the end, may just fit the bill. If I don't, at least I won't look in the mirror and cry.
Years five & six, I'll skip... for now. They are less tragic in nature, I was doing my job rather well ...
*Ok, back on something you may want read... the insight from the insider*
And soon after came a point where more than dust hit the fan. Things were starting to turn outrageous. While at one point it seemed almost anyone could get a mortgage, now it's like taking a limp piss into a full-blown wind. It's as if everyone is watching their asses at this point ... barely making enough loans to call themselves a lender. The following will tell more of the story... based upon (and not loosely) an email I got... which showed me where the problem always lies.
‘Hey Jason, hope you are doing well and business is flourishing! I just wanted to tell you about a wonderful opportunity that many Mortgage Brokers are taking advantage of since things aren't as pretty as they once were.'
My response, while snide, " Pretty, eh? Some folks call me a ‘Loan Officer' or a ‘Mortgage Consultant' or a ‘Loan Originator' and the beat goes on. In this state of being, in this industry, I call what I do ‘Chaos Control'."
His retort was simple and spoke volumes, not necessarily about him, but about this Industry.
"When we were making three digits a year the chaos is easy to deal with."
Hmmmm, I'm sorry but when did you staple a number to people's lives? You're making handfuls of money and then all of a sudden, when you are not... you bail? I'm not wearing a Rolex, I'm not sporting a thousand dollar suit and I'm certainly not encaved in a half a million dollar home because of the 'boom'. A bulk of that is my fault but I never lost sight of why I wanted to do this... to help. While I understand in the Capitalistic Society we live in, you have to earn money, I will also understand but never agree with those who get in and get out. Financially speaking, they are probably wise. Ethically, I wouldn't trust them to feed my cat. And Baxter is an eater by the way:-)
Some folks have left the Mortgage Industry because it wasn't their thing and they had to do something else to live. I get that, understand that, & respect that. I've met a ton of good people who I wish were still in this Industry, but are no longer.
The main problem with everything can be summed up with one word, five letters, one syllable, Greed. I've said it before and I'll say it again, that's the downfall of any business, society, economy, & human relationship for that matter. Greed can be good but not in the way we have and continue to practice it. Self-Promotion & Self-Gain and that's it. While I know this world is a great big place, it's really very small. I firmly believe in the 'survival of the fittest' mentality, but that mentality means helping each other out, that's how we survive. If we don't, problems will linger like the soft scent of a candle in a once barren corridor.
"When we were making three digits a year the chaos is easy to deal with." That mentality scares me, not because he or she is opportunistic... but because he or she was into it without others in mind. Or, so it seems. This process, Mortgage Lending, is just as much about caring as it is about closing a deal. Or is it...
Money & Power intrigue us. The concept or reality, whichever you are living, presents a wealth (pun intended:-) of opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I would never want to turn our culture or country into a socialistic or communistic operative, but I do want to call a spade a spade. Our humanity is just a subtle breath of everything else. That's scary. That can be changed. When we start to care, to be selfless, to be inclined to look out for somebody else's best interests ... then, this will truly turn around. Perhaps I'm waxing philosophical here and I certainly didn't spend nearly as much time on this post as I should have... that just makes me a 'D' student with a loud heart. Money & Power intrigue me as well. It intrigues me how it can both screw us up and help us out... opposite ends of a superficial spectrum. I want to make sure anyone I encounter utililize them in the good way. I also want to make sure they are ready for it. That's the thing about Money & Power... you eat well but often times sleep restless.
Some days, I feel like this. Other days, I feel like this. Bottom line, Mortgage Lending is like life, like this. Just hope that Blair isn't your Loan Officer:-)
JMS
You should know that rates are still very low. From a historical standpoint, you're talking about 2% lower than what you could expect. There's also a large inventory of homes on the market. What that means for potential buyers is that you can get cheap money to buy a large array of inventory (homes). The questions are, can you afford it and do you qualify?