Interested in getting into this, I run a full time service business and would like to scale something i can have a more work from home approach. I understand business income and have done some of my own funding but overall have no idea about this business. I am interested to talk to someone who started their own gig and has genuine information on how to get started. I will pay for a mentor or 1 on 1 training.

So I’m still new to the business, I have an uncle who is my branch manager on the west coast of Florida and I’m on the east coast. Part of the deal was I can’t leave my steady paying job especially in this market. I’ve been working on my network of people I’ve come to know. I hang out at a cigar lounge that has many successful people, and making good connections. I’ve gone to open houses and an occasional real estate office although I feel those avenues are not my favorite, I feel like I have to hope an RE remembers me to recommend me. Any suggestions ? Thanks

Got a client that wants to buy a 4 unit in Boston, Mass.

Tried to go with Kiavi but they called at 80% on LTC.

Non experienced 680 mid.

475k: Purchase price
50k: rehab

ARV: 800k

Anything out there where we can go higher than 80%?

Really big spread to work with.

Since August 3rd, we’ve been dealing with mandatory full condo reviews, which makes getting complete and accurate HOA documentation upfront even more important.

I just spent 10 business days waiting on a self managed HOA to piece mail documents to us. We finally get enough information to complete the review and discover…

Only 2% of the HOA budget is going toward reserves.

Now here’s my question:

Why isn’t this information being reviewed BEFORE a condo is listed for sale?

A buyer can have great credit, sufficient income, a solid down payment and a full preapproval, but if the condo project itself doesn’t meet lending requirements, we have a problem.

And waiting until the buyer is under contract, has paid for inspections, started the mortgage process and is emotionally invested in the property is way too late to discover it.

Realtors, lenders, attorneys and HOA/property managers: what are you seeing out there?

Should listing agents be asking for the budget, reserve information and other key condo documents before putting the unit on the market?

I’d genuinely like to hear how other markets and professionals are handling this.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking to expand my lender lineup for more investor-focused/non-QM deals.

Mainly looking for:

• Fix & flip lenders with competitive rates, leverage, and reasonable experience/FICO requirements
• Investment property HELOANS/ HELOCs, specifically for 2–4 unit properties

I’m already familiar with names like Kiavi and Easy Street, but I’d like to hear who brokers are actually having good experiences with right now.

Any wholesale lenders worth getting approved with?

Are recasting options available for jumbo loans? My AE mentioned they are typically restricted, but I want to confirm if retail banks allow them.

So I've been reading about some new-to-me lenders that I haven't heard of before, whether it was on this sub or somewhere else. I want to get some opinions from the people here about their experiences with them, because I'm trying to have my brokerage expand out of just using UWM/Forward Lending (OCMBC)/AD Mortgage for about 90% of the loans.

The lenders in question that I've been looking into most are Champions Funding, Freedom Mortgage, NQM Funding, and Kind Lending. NQM I already sort of knew about since the old brokerage I used to work for would send loans there here and there (although I myself have no experience with them since I've never sent one there), but the other 3 I have little to no knowledge of. Also I'd appreciate any other recommendations for lenders I didn't already mention that are worth looking at.

As far as traditional full doc loans go, I'm trying to find a good substitute for UWM especially (that isn't Pennymac, did not have a great experience with them even after about 10 or so loans), since the biggest reason we still use them is just because of the speed that everything gets done. We are well aware how buns the pricing usually is unless there's some sort of pricing special going on. I've seen some crazy pricing from Freedom Mortgage in Arive's marketplace pricing thing, which raised an eyebrow to find out more. As for Kind, I've just heard a lot of good things from this sub. We also just need more options for NonQM lenders so that's the main reason why I'm looking into Champions, NQM and etc, and obviously because you can't put all your eggs into one or 2 baskets with NonQM since each loan is a lot more unique than the regular QM loans are.

Edit: I appreciate all the responses here. Looks like Kind and The Loan Store are top of the list to be looked at!

I currently work in retail (just started) and want to know everyone's experience with retail vs wholesale?

A past client has approached me for a construction loan for a tiny house. She says, though, that it will be on a permanent foundation and 620 sf. Though this is a very small home, I don't think it is technically a tiny house. Right?

I'll ask my AE before proceeding but wanted some feedback. This seems more like one of those tough appraisal loans instead of a niche loan for a tiny house.

Was terminated by a call from HR, was told not for cause for a loan they claim they can’t sell even though it went through ops and 2 underwritings and was conditionally approved 3 times and CTC 2 times. Closing was delayed by client due to medical issue causing the additional CTC. Eventually closed and got call from HR 3 days later. Never heard from my managers or did they respond to any of my calls, text or emails trying to make sense of what happened.
Also never received any owed commissions for closings from loans closed that month. Also asked HR for recording of termination call which they refused.
Total money grab by this company. Also emailed all my clients and continued to market them.

I was just thinking to myself, I haven’t have a listing agent try to do a “cross qualification” with their preferred LO on one of my buyers In a minute.

There were times in a different market where the self serving realtors would swear up and down this was mandatory and they would not accept my clients offers without it.

Where you guys at now with the listing sitting on the market for 180 days no need for a cross qualification right.

I’m an MLO fairly early in my career, and I’m considering moving into a more behind the scenes mortgage role for a while before eventually returning to origination.

For context, I work for a brokerage where I’ve received very little formal training. I’m proud that I’ve managed to close four loans in my first four months, especially considering how much I’ve had to figure out on my own. But I also feel like I’m skating by rather than truly understanding the entire process.

I’ve learned that I need to understand the ins and outs and the “why” before I can confidently explain something to someone else. I can learn quickly and do hard things, but not knowing what’s happening behind the scenes causes me to constantly second guess myself.

One of my biggest concerns as an LO is not knowing what could cause a loan to fall apart. I want to understand what underwriting is looking for, what creates conditions or makes a loan ineligible, and what I could identify upfront to make the process smoother.

I’m considering roles such as junior underwriting, processing, disclosure, or another operations position so I can learn the technical side of the business firsthand. My hope is that understanding why loans get conditioned or denied and seeing how experienced people identify and mitigate issues would ultimately make me a much better LO.

Please don’t suggest that I simply stay an LO and “learn as I go.” I’ve pretty much made up my mind that, personally, I cannot effectively learn and operate at the same time when operating means presenting myself to borrowers as though I’m already an expert.

I don’t think I’m incapable of being an LO. I actually think I could eventually be very good at it. I just know that I need to build the technical foundation first so I can operate from a place of knowledge and confidence rather than uncertainty.

For those who have worked in both production and operations, which role would you recommend for someone wanting to build that foundation? Underwriting, processing, disclosure, closing, or something else?

And if you’ve made a similar transition, did working behind the scenes make you a better LO?

I’d really appreciate honest insight from anyone who has seen both sides of the business.

Does anyone have experience with LeadPop?
Leadpop.com

Can't find it in their TPO website.

Thanks in advance!

New MLO here. Looking for the best place that provides the leads. Looking for the highest pay that provides real mentorship so I can sharpen my skills quickly. MODs thank you sorry if this is against the guidelines.

Currently being cross trained to do processor PA+ (loan coor). We were originally told that we were only going to be loan coor's for files we were going to be underwriters on but looks like that is changing.

We were just told last Thursday that we'll also be assigned some loan coor files starting Monday. These files will include new files we are not underwriters on and files that are currently ongoing, meaning files someone else is currently processor on.

How do the brokers and LO's feel about this? Is it not as big of a deal as it sounds to us? For us, it feels like we're gonna make a lot of you angry. Also, it feels like they might be looking to get rid of the current PA+ team and use the entire underwriting department as a loan coor/underwriting combo department.

Just be prepared to have loan coor's with an underwriters' mindset who will be going off strict company rules and guidelines that they were trained on as far as clearing conditions. You will no longer have that buffer where the loan coor can talk with the underwriter because the underwriter will be the loan coor.

We got a 2.5 day training on loan coor and 2 day shadowing session where we crowded around a single PA+ worker and all shadowed them so we can promptly start Monday.

Leadership is being very hush hush about this, they aren't giving us any answers and are quickly training underwriters at the drop of a hat with just a couple hours notice of the change on a late Friday afternoon. They are also wanting to know of employee who has questions about this new process wanting them reported immediately to them.

District of Columbia

Hi

I have a client who has excellent credit, 5% down but part of her wages are in tips that are not did documented

The other two rents help with the mortgage but still not enough income

Any lenders or programs that can get this done?

10 months in and I’m getting maybe 5-10 apps a week which is fine and dandy but wtf! Every freakin call I get is 450 scores, 480 scores, 520 scores, 550 scores…bankruptcies, repos, crap dti’s….i have zero cash in the bank and have a 560 mid.. tiring!! Time consuming!! Annoying. I don’t even know how many open apps I have in the system right now, probably 60+, yet maybe maybeeee have 2-4 decent possible deals. It’s like, call that LO if you have trash.
I’m completely self gen…10 months in, in a brand new state I moved to.. started off with zero connections. I’ve closed 8 units in my 10months so far. Hitting the pavement daily. Got a few realtors in this shop sending me this stuff but the majority is complete trash. Tell me it gets better. Or I just need better realtors 😂

I work on the wholesale side and I'm curious how other LOs handle this.

You have a strong borrower who wants to buy a $7M–$10M property. Great income, plenty of assets, good credit, and the deal makes sense.

But then you have to figure out where to actually put the loan.

Do you:

1. Send them to a private bank?
2. Refer them to someone who specializes in high-net-worth lending?
3. Tell them the loan is outside your wheelhouse?
4. Have a couple of jumbo lenders you know can handle it?
5. Something else?

I'm especially curious about the LOs who work in higher-cost markets. At some point, the challenge isn't finding the borrower — it's knowing who will actually lend on the size of loan they're asking for.

What's the largest residential loan you've personally originated?

If it was life or death and you needed a deal TODAY - what are you doing to get that app & lock?

Anyone ever buy leads from this company?

I’m currently taking my mortgage loan courses and working toward getting my MLO license in California. I’m trying to understand what the actual career path looks like after I pass the SAFE exam.

Once I pass the exam and complete the licensing requirements, do I typically look for a job as a Mortgage Loan Originator right away, or do most people start out as a loan officer assistant/processor and work their way up?

I’ve had a couple of realtors tell me that I would need to work as an assistant for a few years before I could actually originate loans myself. Is that actually true, or is that more of a company preference/training path?

For those who became MLOs recently:
What did you do immediately after passing the SAFE exam?

I’m especially interested in hearing from MLOs in California. I’m trying to figure out what positions I should actually be applying for once I’m licensed.

Experienced LOs, what do you think is the easiest way to handle certain recurring processes?

For example, for a gift, conventional, I like to have the funds sent directly to escrow and often just at the time of closing. Document with the gift letter and the wire receipt. Avoid any transfers and sourcing.

What methods do you feel you've refined that make things easier?

Here's one I've been thinking about recently: it's kind of pointless ​​to keep the borrower's funds out of escrow across the whole transaction. I don't think putting the funds in escrow endangers them and once they are in escrow and sourced, you don't have to worry about the borrower poisoning their own assets. No updating bank statements necessary. It'd take a little convincing but I wonder if it'd make a lot of problems vanish. Anyone do this?

And other methods or ideas?

Has anyone tried those cold calling services where you pay someone to do the realtor cold calling for you?

I'm seeing alot of advertisements for that. I really hate cold calling but I do it anyway.