How to Find Wholesale Mortgage Lenders
Some mortgage bankers and portfolio lenders are also wholesale lenders that deal with mortgage brokers, sometimes exclusively.
Most mortgage lenders have both wholesale and retail departments. Mortgage brokers prefer to obtain wholesale rates and then mark up these rates by adding points, presenting the borrowers with quotes that are similar to what borrowers could obtain directly from a retail lender. Mortgage brokers are free to set whatever prices they want, and have different methods for marking up wholesale rates.
Wholesale mortgage lenders generate residential mortgages through a network that includes independent brokers and lenders, offering a wide variety of home financing options: conventional, home equity, government, alternative and jumbo loans. All of these may be purchased from the mortgage professionals, including lenders and brokers, who make up a wholesale mortgage lenders network. The goal of the network is to ensure that both borrowers and lenders benefit from the transaction.
Different types of Wholesale Mortgage Lenders
o Wholesale Mortgage Lenders Network
This is a network of professionals working together in order to find the best deals for those involved in the mortgage process, including homeowners, lenders and even independent mortgage brokers. Professional loan consultants work with the homeowner in order to understand their needs and assist them in choosing the best mortgage program. Even people with less than perfect credit may be able to obtain a mortgage that will help them repair their bad credit, reduce their monthly payments or buy a home.
o Second Wholesale Mortgage Lenders
These mortgage lenders offer a range of second mortgage finance programs to help homeowners choose the right option. A second mortgage lender offers competitive rates for different loans. There are different types of second mortgage programs, like a cash-out second mortgage that can be taken out for debt consolidation and home improvement. It can also be used to consolidate high interest credit card debt. It could mean a re-mortgage and be used to purchase another property.
The lending criteria set by second wholesale mortgage lenders are very strict, though the cost is similar to first mortgages. There are also potential tax consequences as the second home or property could be classified as providing the rental income to the owner.
o Online Wholesale Mortgage Lenders
There usually are no upfront costs or obligations when you apply with an online mortgage lender. It offers flexibility both in applying online as well as in obtaining information about various mortgage programs. Quotes are also available for free and the homebuyer is under no obligation to apply with the lender. Rates and costs are easy to compare, since there are many available materials online to help the home-buying process. For advice on which online lender to choose, a professional mortgage advisor may be of help.
o Sub-Prime Wholesale Mortgage Lenders
These are lenders specializing in loan programs for those with less than perfect credit history. Sub-prime mortgages are usually written at a higher interest rates compared to ordinary mortgages. Because of the high cost, it can help in establishing or re-establishing a good credit record. Sub-prime mortgage lenders help credit-impaired borrowers obtain a mortgage. A sub-prime mortgage is for a short period compared to other programs. In order for a borrower to qualify for a sub-prime mortgage, a significant deposit amount towards the home is expected.
How to Prevent Foreclosure
This is a scary time for homeowners, especially if you are working in an industry that has been hit by the recession. If you are having financial difficulties you may be worrying about the possibility of losing your home to foreclosure. But foreclosure doesn’t have to happen. In fact instead of worrying about foreclosure, maybe you should think about how to prevent foreclosure. Here are some foreclosure prevention tips.
The number one way to prevent a foreclosure is to always without fail make every mortgage payment and be sure the payment is not late. Foreclosure can’t happen if you are fulfilling your end of the deal.
Unfortunately, this may not always be possible if you are facing unexpected financial problems. Job cuts, layoffs, accident, injury, fewer hours, lower wages and more may cause hardship and an inability to pay your bills. Even at this point though, foreclosure prevention is not impossible.
To prevent foreclosure, one option is to see if you are able to refinance your current mortgage. If you’ve been a long term customer it’s more likely that your lender will be able to help you out. A couple of possibilities that may be offered are paying interest only for a period of time or stretching your mortgage over a longer period of time. But even a new customer with a good credit history may have options.
You should know that most lenders want to avoid foreclosing on properties if they can. It’s expensive, time consuming and they rarely get back their investment in today’s housing market. That gives you a better chance of working out a new arrangement, although there are never any guarantees.
Keep in mind that it’s easier for lenders to come up with options for homeowners who are working on foreclosure prevention rather than those who are trying to stop a foreclosure. So contact your mortgage holder as soon as you know that you are headed for trouble.
7 Cheap and Easy Ways to Generate Mortgage Leads
Need a few more loans but don’t have the cash to do some serious marketing? Have no fear. In this issue I am going to reveal 7 fantastic ways to generate leads almost for free. These methods are super cheap (most are free) and work like gangbusters.
Here we go…
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip # 1. Join an Association
People join associations for one of three reasons:
Social – they want to build or maintain friendships and influences that may have taken years to build;
Promotional – they want to offer their own products or services to others in in a cost effective and positive way;
Educational – they want to see what their competition is up to, and find out about the latest developments within their industry
Grow your network and your database by joining groups of already established people. By socializing with people who have something in common with, it makes it easier to generate business. People like to do business with people they like and trust. Most people like others who have the same interests as they do.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #2: Use Book Stores
One of the questions I keep asking all my coaching clients is “How can you tell if someone is getting ready to need a mortgage? What do they do? How do they act?”
This is the million dollar question. If you can answer this question, you can easily be rich in the mortgage business. By being able to identify that they want a mortgage before they start looking for one, you can get a jump on all the other loan companies. This is one area of our business that still annoys me. Most other businesses, have a way to identify when someone will need their service and can market to them accordingly. Like when someone buys a new home, they most likely will be buying furniture, blinds, home accessories, etc. So if we were selling any of these items, all we need is a list of new homeowners to market to. And that list is easily available. But how the heck do we figure out who is “thinking” of getting a mortgage?
The answer one of my coaching clients came up with was that they might go to the bookstore or library to read books on home buying, or mortgages, or real estate in general. And that’s true. Every bookstore has a real estate section. And most of the books are for consumers who are buying and selling real estate.
So my next question is, “Now that we have identified what they do, how do we get our message in front of them?”
And my client came up with this simple method: Go to the bookstores and libraries and insert a business card into each book.
After doing it for a couple months, he came up with some simple observations:
First, he learned that the best place to put the card was somewhere in the front. Try for the first chapter because not everyone reads the whole book.
Second, pick the books with the best covers and graphics inside- they sell the best.
Third, not all books sell and some are sent back to the publishers.
Fourth, having a USP on the card helps boost response.
Fifth, it takes about 10 minutes per bookstore.
Sixth, he averages 3-4 calls a month, and one loan per month.
Seventh, he now has his assistant do it. And she goes once a week.
Eight, the people who call are in search of more information, so offering them unbiased advice and more resources really turns them on.
If you have the time, and are brave enough to be seen doing it, try it and see what results you get. I wanted to test it in my market. So I went to three bookstores and put in about 120 cards. I got 2 calls, and one of them is a very serious prospect. If I do it more often, I have no doubt that it would work for me as well.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tp #3: Orphan Files
When a loan officer leaves a company the clients he/she brought to the company are called orphans. These clients now belong to the company. Ask your manager to see if you can contact any orphan files in your office to see if they need any mortgage or real estate help. Be nice enough, and they will allow you to add them to your database.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #4: Tradeshows
Another coaching client of mine goes to tradeshows. But not the ones related to our business. He goes to unrelated trade shows: electronic shows, design shows, car shows, and his favorite: women’s trade shows.
Most of the time, he is the only mortgage company there. And he is averaging 2-3 loan applications per show. The trick is to tie in your business with the show. If it is a car show, you can advertise that you can help anyone buy any car in the place.
If you can pre-approve someone at a car show for a cash out refinance, they can go and buy that hot car they have been salivating on for the last 2 hours. Instant gratification.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #5: Join A Local Real Estate Investment Group.
Every major city has one. And they are full of people buying and selling houses. They need money to buy houses, and they need money to help others buy their houses.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #6: Realtor Open Houses
Stop by at realtor open houses on the weekends. Offer to leave some financing materials.
When you get to know a realtor, you can offer to do open houses for her where you sit in the house instead of her. It is not a fun way to spend an afternoon, but you might get some good leads out of it.
If you decide to go this route, make sure the house is in a well trafficed area and easy to get to. And make sure the agent does some advertising and lends you signs and balloons. You do not want to sit in a house, where no one shows up because it is hard to find or no one knew about the open house.
Another tip is to meet the neighbors of the home you are holding open. See if they know anyone wanting to move or buy. Chances are someone will know of a family wanting to move into the neighborhood.
Cheap Mortgage Lead Generation Tip #7: Realtor MLS
Want a source of thousands of people who will be getting a mortgage within the next couple months?
It’s sellers. And the Multiple Listing Service used by Realtors is full of them. Do a search of homes for sale, get the owners’ name from the tax records and you have yourself a good prospect list.
Mail them something about you or an offer for free information. Call them if you can get their phone number and they are not on the Do Not Call list, or just drop by their house if you have the guts.
This is exactly what one of my coaching clients does. He calls Realtors who have listings and asks them if he can market his services to the home sellers. Many Realtors say yes. When they do, he contacts the sellers, and tells them that their realtor said it was ok to call on them.
He tells me the majority of home sellers he talks to are willing to talk to him and he gets several loans a month using this trick.
