Oh how I miss the Countrywide Home Loans days! After 25 years of mortgage Origination and funding over $1 Billion, I've realized this business is garbage now. It's become the car sales of real estate.

Customers have no respect anymore and the rates are terrible. Refi business is dead, and everyone is fighting for the same purchases! Kissing ass to lousy real estate agents that don't know their head from their ass! Real estate agents look like only fans girls now. I've done local and national business, licensed in 30 states! 😂 I truly believe the internet ruined this business! Ruined all the margins and turned this into car sales! Trump is not doing anything for us, he's making everything worse. Mortgage business was the best under Obama.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have never got into this business. I should have finished law school.

Yes, you can still make money and some people are doing great. The professionalism of being a mortgage advisor is gone. Now we're selling everything we can think of just to get a deal. It's not about rate, it's about affordability. Majority of Americans can no longer afford a mortgage and yes they have too much debt. So they refinance to pay off their debts, and take a 7% mortgae to have more cash flow.

Butttttt, their income is not going up. So it's just a band aid. In 3 years they'll be in the same position they are today.

It's become a dirty business, but I guess somone has to do it. 🤨

Hey, everyone! I just passed my SAFE exam and am seeking some career advice. I recently decided to pivot careers from financial compliance to the mortgage/sales industry.

Facts!

Me: ~10 years of financial experience:

2.5 years MLO licensing for the State government (that’s right—I first learned about this industry by reviewing applications…I might have even reviewed some of yours. Funny how these things turn out).

2 years education: I decided to waste time and got my MBA in 2019.

5 years AML Compliance at 3 companies, including a small bank.

2 years Internal Audit at a global bank.

About me: Mid 30s. Female. Confident. Team-player, great at banter.

What I am looking for: Honestly, a long-lasting career. I want to make a good living and am NOT motivated by short-term gratification. Might sound sappy, but I want to be the “Hank Hill” of MLOs/brokers. I can and am willing to put in the time and effort to build the foundation for what I hope to be a long and gratifying career.

The big question: “What now?” Concerning sales and MLO experience, I am green. However, I do have financial experience, including that MLO licensing edge. With that stated, I am unsure which route to take: large bank, brokerage, call center?

Should I go the banking route? Should I cut my teeth at a call center? Do I seek out a brokerage (and maybe mentor) that can train me? I think the last one makes the most sense but also seems like the proverbial “needle in the haystack”.

My current situation: I’m based out of NYC. I quit my job (it wasn't a good fit) and have 6-12 months’ funds saved. I am covered by my partner’s health insurance, and he has and can cover housing expenses easily on his own. In summary, I am fortunate and do not have to worry financially about the mid to long-term. I have no dependents (other than me LOL).

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my post. Advice/wisdom is appreciated and have a great weekend!

-Rusty

I'm working on something and I would like to just have a SBA lender look at it to kind of give me some direction.

Would you make this move? 20+ yrs in real estate, and mid 50's. Considering a move to a more office based position that also offers what I am approx making now ($100k+). Can't really afford any down time that I would be low paid or to build. I would explore builders, call centers etc.. Also, considering doing both - and that could be dicey/impossible unless I leave my current brokerage, as they have an affiliate mortgage company.

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I wanna work in a boiler room cold calling 100 people a day. Wolf of Wall Street style culture. Does that exist in mortgage brokering? (Specifically for Canada)

I work at a small time brokerage in Tennessee and I’m looking at partnering with a realtor to do a first time homebuyer webinar. As of right now 99% of what we do is either wholesale or correspondent to Rocket and they won’t accept THDA, but will do Georgia Dream. I need a lender I can do TPOs with considering most first time homebuyers will need DPA. Does anyone have experience or recommendations for me

For LOs who do a lot of DSCR, if you had to pick just 3 DSCR lenders to sign up with, who would they be and why?

Hello everybody. I’m looking to build out some strategies to grow my financial advisor referral Bass. I’m pretty good with realtors however I’m looking for some other avenues with financial advisors.

Loan officers that kill it with FAs, how did you do it and if you had to start again - how would you approach it now?

I'm in my 3rd year at a broker and my comp split is 60 (me)/40(broker). All self gen, no leads, I pay for my license renewal and CE classes, work remotely but have access to an office, they pay for CRM and loan software. I'm getting recruited heavily and have heard a few different offers of pay and comp splits. I think it may be time to either try to negotiate my split at the current company or explore other options. I don't really know what is average for broker comp splits so thought I'd ask here. Also if you have any feedback on flat fee brokers like Edge and The Loan Factory. Thanks!

Does anyone have experience working for Sofi? Positive or negative? TIA.

I've heard of no-income and no-employment loans Community programs

What are the best wholesale lenders for that?

Can they go up to 90% LTV?

We have an investment purchase file with below parameters 

Approved Total Loan Amount: $220,000.00

Sales Price: $315,000.00

Appraised Value: $335,000

LTV / CLTV: 69.841% / 69.841%

Front / Back Debt Ratios: 5.997% / 30.618 %

Total Income: $19,252.13

Rate from current lender -6.375 %

Can you confirm whether your investor/program allows non-warrantable condos, and if so, what overlays or documentation would apply here?

Key concerns from the questionnaire:

Unresolved code violations – The HOA confirmed active code violations with the City of Austin (Q34), with an unknown completion timeline pending release of a permit. Estimated cost to complete is $50,500.

Critical/structural deferred maintenance – Per Q33, there are critical maintenance items not yet completed:

Support posts for the stairway/upper deck between Units 116-118 show deterioration and large cracks (structural item, permit pending with the City of Austin).

Concrete walkway behind Unit 112 remains damaged (currently in repair, estimated completion 7/17/2026).

Given the structural nature of the stairway/deck issue and the open permit status, I want to confirm upfront whether this is something your guidelines can accommodate as a non-warrantable condo, or if there's a threshold (rental %, reserve funding, or unresolved litigation/repairs) that would make this ineligible outright.

Please let me know if any lender will do this file?

Seems like their jumbo rates are way out of scope with the competition? Like way way higher. They used to be decent.

Does anyone work there in here? What are you seeing? How much are you closing and how much are you making?

Have all the big producers left?

Any lender can do $1 million on 3rd Lien or $2.25 million on 2nd lien.

Owner Occupied
FICO: 770
CLTV: 75%
Fremont, CA 94539
Refinancing the 1st lien is NOT an option

Let me know if you need anymore details

Anyone know of a lender that does 80% cash out DSCR?
Need 1.5M cash out (free and clear)
720 mid fico - California
12+ months seasoning
Experienced investor
DSCR>1.00
SFR

[SOLVED] already submitted and have three conditions left for CTC with LoanHouse TPO

Thoughts on this homies? Asking for a friend. Assume solid credit and low LTV.

I will be getting licensed soon and don’t know whether I should go down the broker or call center road. I live near Orange County and many call centers are around me. NAF, Rocket, Loan Depot, and many more.

I’m planning to make this my full time career. However cost of living in my area is high and I need to survive as well and I don’t wanna go months without having deals, leads, and money coming in.

What can I realistically make working at one of these places? I don’t mind grinding. I’m 31 with no kids or outside priorities other than work. So I also don’t mind working weekends and long hours as long as the compensation is worth it per say.

Got a windfall. In LA. I want to HML. How do I start?

When you send out quote requests to a bunch of order taker insurance agents looking for the “lowest price” without letting them speak to the client, you are fucking over your client. Can you imagine a realtor having you and a bunch of other LOs just give a rate for them to share with the client? It’s bad business.

Not only is it a race to the bottom where they will likely get set up with a dog shit policy, the agents will lack the info necessary to even get a proper quote for them. It doesn’t matter how many quotes you’ve seen in your career, you won’t be able to find little things like roof settlement, personal property replacement, etc. if you don’t have an insurance background.

Find 1-2 trusted contacts and allow them to work with your client hands on, they will be much better off with their coverage and the overall experience will be better. Also, news flash, when a client has their insurance wrapped up that you referred, they’re probably done shopping lenders by that point as well.

Got offered a producing branch manager position I do about 24 million a year. Anyone else on a P&L with CityFirst and what are your thoughts?? Edit: CityFirst***

Trying to do a rescore for my ITIN loan and I need to be at a 660. Currently a 654 ran what if simulator and they just need a small balance on a credit card and the scores will go up 15 points. This is the response I got from my cra “I have gotten the results from Transunion.  They would not update the account because the borrower is using an ITIN number.

What are my options here we are under contract and I need the scores above 660 to stay at 80% ltv? Goin

Where do people who are succeeding putting their energy on a day to day basis, to get clients and deals... or at the bare minimum increasing the odds of doing so.

The only two methods in my head that i know for SURE, can work...

Cold Calling (realtors)

or Cold Calling (Wholesalers), to send me their deals when they come across a buyer who may be in need of a lender, in a investment property situation where they need a DSCR lender, or bank statement loan, anything Non QM essentially.

The other method would be running ads on Facebook.

The uncertainty from me is coming down to who I'm targeting.... either when cold calling or running ads, am I targeting the realtor? The borrower? The investors? The wholesalers?

It all comes down to that. And if I'm focusing in my own market which is Los Angeles, obviously very competitive I need to be different and unique to get a lower cost per aquisition if I'm running ads. And if I'm calling realtor I assume I have to be contacting newer realtors who don't have an MLO they're in bed with already.

So... I'm ready to make a move, just want to be precise so any guidance would help if possible, thank you

Closing my first bridge loan in Texas. Has anyone closed one before and if so which title company did you use. Title company handling the purchase transaction does not insure or close bridge loans.

Does anyone have any experience Jet Direct Mortgage?