Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get RSS feeds and residential mortgage firm newsletters

One of the key tasks at hand is reading news alerts and residential mortgage company newsletters that are strictly geared to the mortgage industry. Watch other economic forecasters that will eventually touch the mortgage-lending arena so that you can gauge the trends and adjust your marketing efforts accordingly.

I recommend: DS News keeps you updated with daily headlines that cover the foreclosure industry. Mortgage Lending News covers all aspects of the industry news from lending regulations to emerging technology, subprime and foreclosure issues.

Make information gathering an important piece of your home mortgage business

Encourage managers and all your staff to keep up with mortgage lending news and trends so that you can cover all the sources. Ask one staffer to watch the government sites for regulatory changes, another to monitor competing banks and still another to watch consumer buying trends.

I recommend: Participate in blogs, read current commentaries and get the news from around the nation at National Mortgage News. Residential Real Estate Today is a good source for news that affect all the markets involved in the lending industry.

Participate in associations for residential mortgage companies

Show up at residential mortgage lender association meetings and conferences so that you can build important relationships with other professionals who can share important news and trends with you. Attend the annual meetings that typically bring in mortgage lending experts who will provide the attendees with reports and forecasts for the future.

I recommend: Join the National Reverse Mortgages Association to keep up with news that affects that arena and to network with other lenders. The Mortgage Bankers Association is a respected organization that will keep you in the loop with the important news and trends.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Read your local paper or follow a local online news source to monitor how the national mortgage lending news is affecting your area's market.

1. The type of home mortgage you wish to obtain;
2. The contents of your credit report that home mortgage companies will pull;
3. The special circumstances that drive your search for a second mortgage lender.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Know your mortgage needs and budget - and stick with them

When dealing with residential mortgage lenders, it's important to know ahead of time what you really can afford. Often, mortgage lending institutions will loan you more money than is really wise to accept. But if you know what you have to spend and what type of mortgage you're looking for before you even sit down, you're way ahead of the curve in getting a great deal on a home mortgage.

I recommend: E-Loan offers online applications for its mortgage products. In addition, it offers several mortgage tools to help you choose the right mortgage for your needs. Well-known residential lenders include the LendingTree and Wells Fargo.

Make certain that you apply with the appropriate residential mortgage companies for your credit

In a perfect world, everyone would have clean credit. Because we instead live in the real world, though, things aren't so perfect. If you have less-than-perfect credit, it can seem impossible to find residential lenders willing to work with you; they are out there, though.

I recommend: Total Bankruptcy can help you connect with residential mortgage firms that specialize in post-bankruptcy mortgage lending.

Choose a second mortgage lender that fits your unique needs

If you're in the market for a second mortgage loan instead of a primary, your search can be much more difficult. It doesn't have to be impossible, though. There are several second mortgage lenders available who are willing to cash out your home equity for a variety of reasons.

I recommend: Ditech is one of the home mortgage companies that offers second mortgage loans for a flat fee. This can save you overall over lenders who charge more in closing costs and/or roll them into your second mortgage loan.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Always read the fine print. Some residential lenders will try to slip fees and charges in without really discussing them with you. Among the most popular are repayment penalties.

1. Take courses aimed at brokers for residential mortgage companies to brush up on documentation, verification and processing skills.
2. Sign up for online, self-paced seminars and workshops to keep up with regulations and trends in the residential and second mortgage loan industry.
3. Obtain training materials to help you break into the residential lending market or brush up on skills if you’re an experienced residential lender.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Attend courses to receive loan processing training necessary as a residential mortgage lender

Whether you own, work for or hope to work for a residential mortgage firm, training classes are the ideal ways to gain the knowledge you'll need to help clients meet their financing needs. Try local colleges, financial institutions and real estate schools to find courses that provide education for residential lenders.

I recommend: The Brooklyn School of Real Estate offers a course on mortgage lending finance to help mortgage loan officers. Topics include financing programs, interviews, estimates and appraisal reports. Take training seminars on loan servicing, marketing strategies and appraisals offered by the Credit Union National Association.

Complete online workshops for skills to make you invaluable to residential mortgage firms

Online education is ideal continuing education for current residential lenders or a way for new brokers to gain additional information to become second mortgage lenders, for example. Self-paced classes let you learn while you're working so you won't have to take time off or suffer a loss of income in the process.

I recommend: The California Bankers Association offers online home mortgage courses that are either self-paced or instructor-led. Receive discounts on courses like the Introduction to Mortgage Lending by joining the association. Take self-paced courses on banking, business skills, regulatory compliance and Microsoft Office through the American Bankers Association. The association also offers on-site training and instructor-led courses.

Study training materials as continuing education or to help seek a job with home mortgage companies

Get additional residential lenders education and training and have your questions on regulatory compliance, marketing or processing answered with self-help materials like books, forms and computer programs. Create a library of reference materials so you can learn and instantly confirm facts as needed.

I recommend: The Mortgage Academy offers downloadable and printed products tailored to the residential mortgage lender. Items include loan manuals, training for sub prime lending and compliance manuals. Get digital manuals, templates, software, paper manuals and compact disc that provide mortgage broker training and information through Mortgage Education Made Simple.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  As you attend seminars and workshops for residential lenders, network with other professionals to discover their keys to finding new clients. You'll receive training and expand your potential customer base at the same time.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

HELOC

Home equity lines of credit (HELOC) are a type of loan that let people with home loans borrow from the equity they have already paid on the house. This type of loan can be used for any financial needs the home owner has.

I recommend: Learn more about Home equity lines of credit from Bob Gammache. Find an easy-to-understand guide to HELOCs at WordPress.

ARF

Assignment Recording Fee (ARF) is a fee that is placed on most home loans. When a lender sets up the loan, they send the loan to a company that receives the payment each month. This fee covers the recording and the transfer of the loan payments from the initial lender to the payment processor.

I recommend: Locate more information about assignment recording fees at LeadSteps.

P and I payment

P and I payments are the monthly principal and interest payments you make on any home loan. It is the total combined principal and interest that needed each month to pay off the loan in a given amount of time.

I recommend: Visit Qchest.com to learn more about P and I payments. MortgageQnA.com also offers information about monthly principal and interest payments.

Lifetime cap

A lifetime or overall cap is a limit on the amount a payment can increase or decrease when it comes to an adjustable rate mortgage. A lifetime cap is normally placed at a percentage of the original rate.

I recommend: Investopedia provides detailed information about lifetime caps. MortgageFit also supplies information about overall caps.

Seller concessions

Seller concessions or seller contributions are funds that are paid to the seller to cover closing costs on the property. The way this normally works is this: the seller asks if you agree to a certain percent of the sale as a seller concession. The percentage is added to the home loan. When the sale is complete, the seller uses the concessions to handle all the costs.

I recommend: Quicken Loans provides information about seller concessions. REMAX also supplies information about seller concessions.

Aggregate adjustment

The aggregate adjustment is the system used to determine how much money needs to be in the buyer's escrow account. This is used to make sure there are enough funds to cover taxes and insurance.

I recommend: BankersOnline offers more details about aggregate adjustment. Ruth Technology also provides information about aggregate adjustment accounting.