From the monthly archives:

February 2007

If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!It’s easy as a financial professional to get caught up in the need to do something edgy or ‘out-of-the-box’ to win over customers.  It’s natural, you see Nike do a great campaign and you think "wow, if we could [...]

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Ameriquest Acquired by Citigroup

by Morgan on February 28, 2007

It is being reported by the OC Register’s Matthew Padilla that Ameriquest has agreed to a buyout by Citigroup to fund operations and loans.  More later.

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Reclaiming the Soul of the Mortgage Industry

by Morgan on February 28, 2007

Doc Searls talks about how Starbucks can recapture its soul as a great coffee house in his post The Sole of Starbucks. 
It got me to thinking what can the industry do to get back its soul (if there even is one left?)?  Soul=helping people protect their families through smart stewardship of their home (aka [...]

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They’re all Blown Purchases

by Morgan on February 27, 2007

I’m glad to see TheXBroker taking on the realty agent position that somehow the comoditization of the real estate industry shouldn’t apply to them.  In his post Buyer Agents Beware he says:
Look deeply- protecting the Listing is all about keeping the Buyers Agent alive and over funded. What other purpose does â??proprietizingâ?? a Listing [...]

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Ouch, Very Ouch.

by Morgan on February 27, 2007

Sorry to all of my friends who make their living in the stock market.  Xeni Jardin from Boing Boing reports what everyone else should know: Dow drops 500 points (it leveled off at +/-375).

On the other hand, for everyone looking to refinance this is great news. Why you ask?  It starts with a little [...]

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More on my previous post – credit tightening

by Morgan on February 27, 2007

Well, as reported yesterday the biggest of the big have made public their plans to tighten credit guidelines.  Freddie Mac, one of the two government-backed private-sector mortgage backed securities purchasers (the other being Fannie Mae) has announced significant changes to its purchasing guidelines regarding subprime mortgages.  The Mortgage Market Guide (subscription) reported today:
In other news, [...]

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The thing that is really going to suck

by Morgan on February 26, 2007

The thing that is really going to suck for you-especially if you are in a Blown Mortgage-is that if you are in an adjustable rate mortgage and your rate and your house payment start to go up is that there is an excellent chance that you won’t be able to refinance in to a lower [...]

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Customer Service

by Morgan on February 26, 2007

Joel Spolsky on his blog Joel on Software lists his top 7 steps to remarkable customer service in the software industry.
IT customer service is much like mortgage customer service, it’s a complex matter that most people don’t understand. More often than not your explanations seem more like excuses because the customer doesn’t understand what you [...]

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Just Overheard in the Office

by Morgan on February 26, 2007

"Yes ma’am, unfortunately you do have to pay your back taxes."
This amazes me.  Every so often we get some customer who flies off the handle because in order to get a new loan they need to bring any old liabilities current; including taxes, child support and delinquent liens.
This is not your mortgage companies fault.  This [...]

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Something Never Heard

by Morgan on February 25, 2007

Seth Godin, marketing-guru, in his blog talks about New Balance apparel. The CEO answers a question about the failing of New Balance apparel and his answer is:
"It was my fault. We just didn’t do it right."
This is something you will never hear in the mortgage industry. Never. It is always someone else’s fault. Why is [...]

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