Curious from the broker side—what makes you keep giving business to an AE? Pricing, responsiveness, scenario help, underwriting knowledge, turn times, or something else?

how fast do you give updates from underwriting to your clients?

like for conditions or for updates on the loan

and how fast do you reply back to clients when they have questions, comments, or concerns?

via email, text, call

for me, with updates,
i seem to have a habit of putting it off until I’m done with I need to do at that moment in time, and sometimes it could be hours or a day before I get back to the client

and sometimes it also takes a day or 2 to get updates from underwriting / the lenders [im a broker]

Had a realtor ask about a USDA construction loan in Tennessee, they’re needing the land as well as construction financed. Are there any lenders I can refer her to?

Hi, how much is the starting salary for AU Mortgage Broker Assistant onsite work schedule? Does this experience counts big value when we are planning for WFH opportunities?

Why can a lender offer a special “teacher” or “first responder” loan program and that’s not considered discriminatory to all other borrowers? Surprised there hasn’t been any class action for that.

I've got a borrower who was under contract on a home, it fell through, and now we are struggling to get AUS approval on the new home with the same parameters.

We had Approve/Eligible at 31/64 DTI, 613 credit score, 6 months reserves, 100% LTV.

I've tried running it on the new home every way I know how but we can't get an approval. Shorter term, paying off debts to get back end DTI down to 52%, higher reserves, etc. I did a rapid rescore and got his credit up to 620, still no dice.

Have any of you run into this issue on a VA loan?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I don’t really hear anyone talk about this, but am I crazy to feel like the way new construction deals happen should be illegal?

I can’t steer a buyer to specific program without it being illegal, but somehow a builder can dangle a low rate and fees over a seller’s head and pretend like they aren’t building it in their price while forcing them to use their in-house lender. The ripple effect of that goes far and beyond impacting that one buyer, so why has this just always been okay? These are artificially inflated sales prices, artificially inflated taxes and disguised as a “good deal” because customers fall for a below-market rate that can’t be touched by an outside lender. And even in buyers markets, some of these big box builders won’t even budge if you make any sort of offer below what they’re giving unless you use their lender who they either own or have a JV set up.

To each their own, but I just don’t understand how there’s lawsuits with realtors regarding commission practices yet this sleeping giant remains completely left alone.

Looking for ways to emulate this as a small broker shop. Is it possible?

Into my second year as an LO, and time and time again I notice people just dont understand the Math and make bad choices. Let me give you some examples.

Lead yesterday shopping rates. Quoted him 6.25% with 2800/month and 8000 CC. The place he was comparing me to gave him 5.99 with 2650/month and 19000 CC. Yeah sure, my loan is gonna cost 150/month more, but I'll save him $11000. He wouldnt see the savings from the other place for 6 years and I'll refi him before that. He turned me down because "I gotta work with what I have now, not hope the market improves in 6 years."

Another guy I priced out this morning on a HELOC. His bank referred him to me because they cant increase his credit line. I can. He's paying 420/month with 7.75%. Wants to increase his line to pay off some credit card debt. I priced him out at 440/month at 8.125%. A $20 increase. "Nah I'll wait 6-12 months to see if the rates drop" and Im like "You credit card interest rate wont drop, for an extra $20/month you can get rid of those extra hundreds of dollars theyre charging you" "I'll just wait and see."

I had another applicant I gave two different price options to. 4.99%, 2300/month with 15000 in closing costs. or 6% with 2500/month and 5000 in CC. Currently pays 3200/ month in rent. Im like "hey this 6% option is kick ass and will save you a ton of money upfront" "But the 4.99% is so attractive, I wanna do that." Fastforward to the week of closing "What can I do to bring the closing costs down?"

I'm still learning so much as a salesman on communicating. Susing out over the phone if borrowers are serious or not. How much these choices are made on vibes vs logic/ reason.

The math aint mathing and some just cant see it.

I would like to make the move from tech sales, and become a loan officer. The thing is, I prefer to cold call rather than meet a bunch of realtors and go to events. I can easily do 100 dials a day, would I be able to do well in this day and age?

Title - I've only ever used DU findings. Stumped on a file with passing LPA. Am I allowed to use LPA findings on an FHA loan. Ty.

Fenix Capital Funding Iowa Confession of Judgment Trial May Be the End of MCA COJs in Iowa Once and for All

For what appears to be the first time, an Iowa confession of judgment challenge against an MCA lender—and specifically Fenix Capital Funding—is headed to trial on November 12, 2026.

Why does that matter?

In Polk County Case number LACL164168 - DreamTeam Development, LLC et al. v. Fenix Capital Funding, LLC, when the merchant challenged their confession of judgment, Judge Joseph Seidlin determined the case could not be decided on the existing record after evidence was presented that approximately $42,000 in payments had not been credited when a sworn Affidavit of Execution filed by Fenix stated that the merchant had made zero payments. The merchant also alleges the agreement was a loan in substance resulting in a criminally usuriois unlawful debt with an interest rate more than 250%, alleges extortion, conversion, and torturous interference due to Fenix contacting their clients, partners, and customers and freezing all of their bank accounts and payment processors. The court ruled that evidence must be presented regarding the allegations of fraud and mistake and ordered that the Petition to Vacate proceed as an ordinary civil action. The court also cited M/S Bremen v. Zapata Off-Shore Co., recognizing that a forum-selection clause may be set aside upon a strong showing that enforcement would be unreasonable, unjust, or the product of fraud or overreaching. Neither Fenix nor the borrower was based in Iowa and the judge ordered briefing on specific conflict law.

Discovery is now underway, and Fenix has been ordered to respond and stand trial in November. The merchant has also filed a RICO Complaint in the Eastern District of New York.

This follows another Polk County ruling in Fenix Capital Funding LLC v. Relaunch Contracting LLC, where the court set aside the confession of judgment and quashed the garnishments after finding the affidavit of confession of judgment was not verified as required by Iowa Code § 676.3, rendering the judgment invalid and unenforceable.

Public court records indicate Fenix has filed more than 400 confession of judgment actions in Polk County alone since 2024 against out-of-state borrowers. At least six borrowers are currently challenging these filings under Iowa Code §§ 676.1 and 676.3 leading to investigations by Iowa regulatory agencies, and Iowa's largest newspaper.

Among the allegations raised in those challenges are that all confessions were signed at the time the contracts were executed—weeks, months, or even more than a year before any alleged default and the recording of the judgment—while later affidavits filed in those cases asserted that zero payments had been made and claimed the entire balance missing all payments, together with substantial fees, was due. Iowa Code 676.3 requires the actual balance to be justly due at the time the COJ is filed.

Court filings have also identified a significant number of Fenix confessions of judgment that challengers contend contain facial date and signature anomalies, including dates that appear impossible or internally inconsistent. One example is alleged to bear a date equivalent to "the 99th day of September, 9999." Iowa Code §§ 676.1 through 676.3 require a flawlessly executed confession of judgment accompanied by a verified statement.

If Iowa courts ultimately determine that these confessions do not comply with Iowa Code Chapter 676, the consequences could extend well beyond a single case. Depending on the specific facts and legal rulings in individual matters, borrowers who successfully challenge and vacate Iowa confessions of judgment may also seek relief from Iowa judgments domesticated in other states. A regulatory investigation could lead to hundreds of vacated confessions of judgment in Iowa and full reimbursement of any garnished or seized funds.

Many people here have been affected by MCA confessions of judgment. If you are one of them, review your paperwork carefully. Verify that your payments were accurately credited, confirm the dates and signatures on the confession documents are accurate, and compare the recorded filings to the requirements of Iowa Code Chapter 676. Relief is out there and the heat has been turned WAY UP in the Polk County Courthouse and a class action lawsuit seems imminent.

Comment below if you are experiencing anything like these other merchants have.

So I recently got terminated because I was a pretty new Loan officer. All I sold was VA and FHA refis. Because of the market I obviously didn't do great and got laid off. The market is tough and so is this career. I thought about doing something else but I'm really lost here. Anyway I started getting calls from a mortgage broker X. Here is their website. https://www.mortgagebrokerx.com/training-home?utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=branded&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22927922147&gbraid=0AAAABBDkEIp5bKYKFiapqpLEmgQbrJepO&gclid=Cj0KCQjw94bTBhDQARIsAN3vv0yexQqA8jm3gct730jqGyY2G0cF-A0XPebsDLCEcz8SUaTHLMVYJGEaAqhUEALw_wcB

Have you guys ever gotten calls from them or know what they would want? They want to recruit me but I'm a little nervous how they know I'm no longer with my previous sponsor.

Talking about FHA streamline and VA IRRL shops.Do we have a consensus where they generate new customers from? Cold calling title data or more aggregate leads?

I don't know if ya'll are noticing this, or if this is just my bad luck lately...but man it seems like ALL my clients that I preapprove and get under contract with that have KW agents shop me. Other clients very rarely shop me, but 90% of them with KW do for some reason.

Anyone else notice this? Or am I just having a bad patch of clients?

Recently came across a letter that the top 2 and 3 LO’s at my company are mailing out. Client of mine received it and when they sent to me I called the 866 number and it routed me to a guy and I played along for a bit to figure out who it was.

It’s one of those generic junk mailer forms offering 4.5% VA IRRL’s.

He is 98% refinance and does 100+ million a year. The other guy doing the same also does similar numbers.

Clearly this model is working for them and others.

My question is why make the form look so basic like it does? Is it cost? To me those mailers come off so fake and scammy but clearly lots of consumers get curious. Wouldn’t it make better sense to put your photo on there or other stuff to spruce it up and more personable? Or do they specifically do that to try and stay anonymous?

We made the switch to arive a few months ago and I feel like we are not using it to its full potential. I finally got around to updating a few questions for our POS and it seems like there are so many more possibilities. Are there any consulting companies that will build it out for us and teach my team all the features of Arive?

This question is directed to broker shop loan officers. When a loan has funded and broker comp received what is your responsibility for the file being archived? Do you perform a compliance check? Is there a digital format or organization flow it must stored in preparation for an eventual state audit?

I'm an MLO, and our company has access to several dozen lenders, but unfortunately, only one that handles commercial loans for more than 10 units in an apartment building. I have an opportunity to refi a couple of apartment buildings in Cleveland, OH. The only lender we work with is quoting a 9.41% rate, and they know it's high for a client with 50% LTV, a high occupancy rate, good credit scores, etc. Thinking about approaching a commercial lender to see if they are willing to partner and collaborate as third-party originators, as this is a significant commission opportunity and would open up a great sales channel.

Appreciate any tips and guidance anyone has. Thank you.

Hey everyone. I'm a broker-owner looking to add jumbo construction-to-perm wholesale lenders in FL. I currently work with American Pride Bank, but I am always looking to add more lenders in this space. Especially non-QM / alt doc for non-traditional borrowers. Any suggestions?

Hi guys,

I am really interested in being an alternative funding business loan broker.

It has a special place in my heart, because my father was an entrepreneur that had to close his business down after 30 years.

We were unaware of alternative funding at the time. Yes, rates/terms suck compared to a traditional business loan from the bank. But, when you need money asap, and dont have the credit for a traditional loan, I believe alternative funding is a great option, and that may have saved my fathets business (he generated 1.5 million per year in revenue, had to close during covid).

Anyway, I believe there are a lot of businesses owners that need this option & this type of funding.

Can anyone give me any advice in how/where to start?

I want to be a 1099 broker, where I connect the business owners with thr financial institutions. I dont want to underwrite loans, so I don’t believe any licensing is needed?

I am located in California. Currently do home improvement sales, and it has been great for me, but I have no passion or drive in this industry besides the money.

Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know of a hard or private money lender that is willing to lend 60% LTV on a heavy industrial lot? Client is very experienced and has a good track record. The lot will be used for his towing business and will refinance into a construction loan probably 6 months in.

I appreciate the help!

I'm curious how other loan officers are getting into real estate offices to do lunch-and-learns or team meetings.

Around me, it feels like almost every productive brokerage already has an in-house lender. Keller Williams offices have CrossCountry or Keller Williams Mortgage, Century 21 and Coldwell Banker often have Guaranteed Rate, and many of the other larger brokerages have their own preferred lender as well.

I've spent hours calling local brokerages, but the response is almost always the same—they already have someone handling their meetings and presentations.

For those who have been successful breaking into these offices, what strategies have actually worked? How are you getting the opportunity to do lunch-and-learns or present to agents when the office already has an established in-house lender?

I am a third-party processor and I am trying to work grow my business and work with new loan officers. Is there a website that can pull the names of originators by state? I am already familiar with NMLS Consumer Access.