I don't read books.  I read blogs.  I read plenty of blogs. 

I was honored when Jeff Belonger asked me to write this review. This is the first time I've written the Week in Review and I spent most all of last week thinking about what I would use as the theme. I also have seen so many different excellent mortgage posts from so many different and excellent loan officers. Hey guys, we have some great talent here!

So what makes a great loan officer, great? Is it product knowledge? How about salesmanship? Negotiating abilities? Communications skills? Financial know how? Legal and contractual IQ?

You know the answer - it's a combination of all of these ingredients and more.

For my Mortgage Week in Review I chose to highlight the best of the best in each of these ingredients.

With the holiday season upon us, and my underlying theme of ingredients, my theme for this post became obvious.

Cioppino!

Michael Chiarello and I have a little history together so I chose his recipe to feature.
I've linked his picture to the recipe on FoodNetwork.
Nothing says Happy Holidays like a great Cioppino, and a good bottle of spicy Zin or Sangiovese!

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For a Great Cioppino, gather the following... The Base 2 quarts fish fumet or stock - You need to start with a good base. It's the foundation that everything is built upon. Jeff Belonger gives us a great base for understanding FHA Mortgages in FHA mortgages - FHA loans & things that you need to know about them!!! The Body a pinch saffron - Nothing adds body like a hint of saffron. Wars have been fought over this simple flower part. Matthew Rosov gives us body in explaining the differences in Simple Interest Mortgage vs. Fully Amortized Mortgage The Lubricant 6 tbs. olive oil - A good oil can bring the flavors together, and it can also keep items apart. Mike Jones mixes his love of cars in Active Rain, Localism, Real Estate and Car Buffs--A Great Combination! The Aromatics 5 large garlic cloves, 2 medium onions, 1 head fennel - Aromatics fill our senses. They draw attention to particulars we might have passed too quickly by. Jeff Belonger draws our attention to the possible new rules in FHA reform bill gets one step closer..... Passing the Senate today - 12/14/07 The Dry Spices Grey salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 tbs. toasted fennel seed, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp. dried oregano - Although these are considered dry, they are still very potent when used appropriately. Aaron Gordon tells us why he made some changes in a very cut and dry manner in Today's Lending Crisis is Far Different on The Retail Side of Things, Especially Blogging The Acids 2 tbs. tomato paste, 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes - It's the acid in food that delivers the spark. A wine without acid is flat. The proper use of acid in food delivers that same spark and vibrancy Janet Guilbault certainly adds a spark in her metaphoric tale A Real Estate Fable: The Winter of Skinny Rats The Wine 2 cups dry white wine, 1/2 cup Pernod - Some say wine make the world go round - I say it's the wine that makes Cioppino SING! Tom Burris offers to pony up for everyone attending Free Beer!!! Courtesy of the DallasLoanGuy!! Wednesday, December 19th I have one question Tom - Are the beers, like everything else, bigger in Texas? The Heat 5 whole jalapenos - The heat of the Jalapeno brings out the intensity of the flavors. Cooking for just myself, I prefer the slightly hotter Serrano. If I'm cooking for the family, it might be the low level Poblano. To each their own. Janet Guilbault illustrates how we can make ourselves hotter by adapting to the ways of the upcoming generation in Text or Die: Six Things You Need to Know About the Next Generation of First Time Buyers The Herbs 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley leaves, 3 tbs. fresh chopped basil leaves, 2 tbs. fresh chopped tarragon leaves - Fresh herbs. There's nothing like fresh to bring out the best in a dish. Never substitute frozen when you can have fresh. Scott Gormley takes a look at the fresh plan and finds it's not "all that" in Bush's Bogus "Rate Freeze" Plan The Fish 2 lbs. littleneck clams and PEI mussels, crab legs, large shrimp, 2 lbs. halibut fillet, 3/4 lb. sea scallops - Everyone knows to use only the freshest fish. Just one piece of bad fish will ruin the whole dish. Know where your fish comes from and how fresh it is. Do your homework. Joseph Metzler shows us how to better protect ourselves from those that want to spoil our financial dish in Protecting yourself against predatory lenders, mortgage scams, and Loan Officer screwups Ed Rybczynski examines a case of YSP abuse and asks a question in More Mortgage Industry Punditry ... and a loaded question The Butter 1 stick unsalted butter - Butter brings it all together. It makes everyone happy. Always invite butter to the party. Sarah Eubanks shows us her top 10 in Family Fun Night ~ Movie Marathon - Me? I'm a Griswold fan all the way! Jeff Belonger provides proof that there is life outside of ActiveRain in Active Rain gathering in Philadelphia -- A Success !!! All in all there is nothing like a great Cioppino to help celebrate the holidays. And like a great loan officer, a great Cioppino brings together many different ingredients. It's the combination of those ingredients and not one single ingredient that makes both great. NOTE: I read every single post written by a Loan Officer or Mortgage Company over the last week. Every single one! It was the first time I had done this. I was surprised at how many posts were cut and paste hacks, or reposted over and over again in hopes of Search Engine Rankings. If I found your first post wonderful and enlightening, it was eliminated when I saw it reposted again with just a few keywords changed. Also, if your post started out as great but was abruptly halted with a Read More... it wasn't really a post here on ActiveRain was it? Sorry about that. If your post was marked by a splot it wasn't good enough for AR, so I figured it wasn't good enough for me. What I did learn was that it was so easy to make the Mortgage Week in Review. All you have to do is write compelling original material. Do that and do that once. Enjoy the Cioppino and Happy Holidays!

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The next 3 members :

1. Cheryl Hale 12/17/07 through 12/23/07

2. Jeff Belonger 12/24/07 through 12/30/07

3. Jason Sardi 12/31/07 to 01/06/08

Mortgage blogs by loan officers Here is a list of Loan Officers. If you are not listed, please email Jeff Belonger to be added. This way the person doing the Mortgage Pro week in review can try and find most mortgage related posts in one section. ActiveRain is growing rapidly and it is difficult to keep up.... If you think you have been ignored, you have not. This is open to all!!!

MORTGAGE PRO Week in Review A repository for the Mortgage Week in Review. Please don’t hesitate in joining this group.

There will be no recreations of any type regarding the titles or content of this group or Review without the permission and expressed written consent of the Group's founder- Copyright 2007^©

Courtesy of Teresa's post today...

Here's a brand new video from Freddie Mac explaining just one version of the many different Foreclosure Rescue Scams.

 

Most every competent mortgage person will tell you...

When the feds change the rates they are responsible for (Fed Funds and Discount) it has little effect on the actual mortgage rates you and I get to pay.

So the Fed's decided to lower the Fed Funds Rate .25 bps and lower the Discount Rate .25 pbs.  

Did Mortgage Rates go down? 

Here's a short video with Greg McBride from BankRate explaining the disconnect.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=606963530

I have issues with BankRate in that they exist to sell advertising, much of the rates advertised there are deceptive at best.  But Greg does know what he's talking about in reference to rates - I'll give him that.

So should you wait to refinance or purchase until the Feds lower even more?
I think you already know that answer.

 

 

Fellow blogger and all around good guy, David Petrovich once wrote,

"Sometimes, the offer of a helping hand is really a cement lifejacket in disguise."

This week I received contact from two people who had "issues" with the same foreclosure rescue company. That's what I thought. My mistake.

It turns out that the company they had an issue with was more of a franchise. Each branch seems to be independently owned and operated. They were dealing with two independent companies.

I did a quick search and found some of these branches had run afoul of the law.

Here's just a couple:

• People With Homes In Foreclosure Say They Were Victimized By Blue Ash Firm
• Ohio Man Indicted in Foreclosure Rescue Scheme

• 86 Year Old Ohio Woman Ripped Off By Foreclosure Rescue Service

BTW: I wrote about the 86 year old woman's story when it happened. I remember it not because she was 86 and lost her home but that she was working THREE JOBS trying to keep her home before going to the foreclosure rescue scammers.

So I would like to hear your story. Have you had bad dealings with a rescue firm? If so, don't send me an email - add your comments to this post and I'll publish it.

Tell your story. It doesn't have to be short, use as much space as you need. Be complete.

And yes, you can do it anonymously if you like.

 

Beware of the Bubble Blogger.  They might be right on some things, but they can also lead you horribly astray.  That happened today.

I read Keith over at HousingPanic all the time.  (Yes, before you tell me, I already read Patrick too). 

So there I was...  watching the Bush / Paulson plan live on CNBC.  At the same time, I was watching my Google Feed Reader for bloggers reactions looking for the first one to post their response.  I subscribe to well over 100 RE bloggers.  That's when I saw the post. 

I'm guessing the emotion of the moment got the better of him.

"Call your lender today and tell them you're done sending in payments unless they freeze your ARM and give you their best teaser rate from 2005 - 2007.

And call 1-888-995-HOPE if you don't get anywhere with your soon-to-go-out-of-business lender.

The banks and lenders are going to go out of business anyway. Might as well try to protect your ass on the way out."

Sorry Keith but that information you just pumped out is out of line.  You know it too.  I can understand where you are coming from but really, are you not just throwing gasoline on the fire?  If anyone takes your advice - what gain do you expect them to see?

Read his post - then erase it from your mind. 

If you can make payments, keep making payments. 

Look for solutions, don't create new problems. 

I'm not a proponent of this modification or bailout by any means.  I don't think it will help as they say it will.  But do the best thing you can given your situation and don't heed the irrational advice of a bubble blogger. 

Talk to your trusted Mortgage Professional. 

Find out from people who know, what options are available to you. 

Do it quickly.  Everyday, every minute is important.

 

Will the Lenders soon change their business model, dumping Mortgage Brokers for Real Estate Agents in the name of profitability?  I posted the question over at Lenderama earlier this week.

 In simple terms, a company's bottom line (profitability) is determined by how much they brought in minus what they spent to do it.  Along the way to that number we can also throw in what they lose.   That loss is called shrinkage.

SHRINKAGE

The Chef has shrinkage.  They will try best to minimize this.  The pretty vegetables on your entree plate had parts they trimmed from them.  Instead of tossing those away they toss them in the stock pot.    Like Ravioli or a good meat sauce?  As they trim the large pieces of meat down to perfect New York's for grilling, the small (but very good scraps) are certainly not thrown away.  Now you know where they go.

The retail store has shrinkage.  It's called shoplifting.  Some have more than others.  Sandy's Teen Emporium has more than Tiffany's.  No surprise there.  But retail also has shrinkage outside of theft.  The grocery store will have vegetables, dairy and other items that have past their shelf life.  What about BOB?  The checkers are notorious in forgetting to check the Bottom of the Basket.  How many cases of beer roll out the store unpaid for on that lower rack of the shopping cart?

Lenders have shrinkage too.  We've all heard they don't really want to take back your home.  They really don't.  Current estimates say that it will cost the lender over $60,000 just to take back your home.  Once they have it back they will need to sell it.  They'll have to pay to get the house back into proper shape to sell.  They'll have to pay commission to the real estate agents.  There are also large financial ramifications dealing with trust accounting when a lender carries a property on it's books as an REO.  All this represents shrinkage and has a heavy effect on their bottom line.

BOTTOM LINE TIME

In the past the Lenders have tapped the Mortgage Brokers to generate more loans.  They were working on the premise that more loans created more revenue.  The Brokers could be serviced with a minimal staff.  They didn't need to pay for fancy retail space.  Let the Brokers do that.  Let the Brokers pay for advertising.   Using Brokers was a leverage play.  Today, many are trying to distance themselves from the Brokers.  No surprise there.

Looking at the other side of the equation, the shrinkage side.  If a Lender can minimize it's shrinkage, it can have a profound effect on it's bottom line.  How can they do that?  The Short Sale.  By a successfully negotiating a short sale transaction they can minimize the negative impact of foreclosing on that home.

THE LOSS MITIGATION DEPARTMENT

The lender already has a staff in place to address this shrinkage.  I know many of you are laughing right now.  For those that are not, here's the joke.  Negotiating a short sale with a loss mitigation department is typically an exercise in patience.   These departments are horribly understaffed and overworked.  Want to wait on hold for hours, only to be told that you are not talking to the right person?  Don't call the IRS, call any Loss Mitigation Department!   If you really do, here's a Big List of them.  Have fun!  The utter ineffectiveness of the Loss Mitigation Department is legendary amongst those that know.  They are the red headed step child of the Lenders organization.

My point is this:  How long until the lenders get wise?  How long until they start staffing this department with their very best people and plenty of them?  How long until they start courting the Real Estate Agents to get out there and negotiate short sales?  Do this and it will have a dramatic effect on their shrinkage.  Minimize that shrinkage and you add to the bottom line.  How long until the see this as a reality?

I was just watching the US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson's news conference.  In it he urged homeowners in trouble to call their toll free number.

It's called HOPE NOW

888 995-HOPE  (888 995-4673)

I'll see if I can get in there and play later, but for now I would like to hear from anyone who has called.

 

 

I'm interested to know

• What did you think?
• What options did they offer you?
• Would you say you received valuable information?
• What were you looking for that you didn't find there?