I think you misspoke today when you said correspondents don't need to be SMART Act compliant. It is only depository lenders that don't need to be compliant. non-depository lenders, i.e. correspondent lenders, do still need to be compliant

In today's market, I am not sure why anyone would even both with buying leads. We are in a relationship industry and if we are out pounding the pavement and working our referal sources we will get more business than buying leads. I have tried lead lists and for the cost of the list the return has never been worth it.

On todays show I heard one of you mention if your a correspondent lender you would not need to pass the new test. Is that correct? I am working for a correspondent lender in Maryland and I understood I needed to take the test. Although Maryland has been very unclear on what is needed all along.

Also - Help us out with spell check on this blog...I was not saying small mortgaeg brokers suck...should have been "such as" Sorry.

Hey gys, can you get some feedback from your political connections about the impact of Healh care reform on small companies suck as mortgage brokers. Already struggling, how are we going to absorb what may be very hefty ew expenses. What do you think? Who has a handle on this?

Brian and Frank, thanks for not being "PC" from time to time, a little whisky, a few halls at odd hours, what the heck.

Brian / Frank Please respond on when the Senate intends to vote on the CFPA ? I can't find any information on this, how long of a delay can we expect?

Hmmmm wonder if Zillow is required to comply with the safe-act and obtain licensing? Sucks that they can throw numbers out like candy for the sake of profit with NO SKIN IN THE GAME.

Hi St Louis ~ If that were the case there would be about 10 people originating loans in 2010. My understanding is they're going to look at brokers not sales people. However I could be wrong. Remember with fha CAVIR on you but late payments and a few collections shouldnt stop you.

Tony...I thought you don't agree...everything you stated supports what I said...furthermore, YOU, ME & EVERYBODY in the world are accountable for your actions...I don't care about the sheep/wolf and victum mentality...does being a victum offer special privaliges?

Does anyone know if the new National Registry for LO's will deny LO's with credit issues? I've been hit hard in 2009 with reduced income and wondering if I am going to be able to write loans in 2010 due to credit issues?

When does the Senate vote on the CFPA?

Hi ChiTowngirl, I want people to understand that we are not against people that are going through loan mods, shortsale, or foreclosures, its just lets call this for what it truly is and quit trying to assign blame on others. It's a problem that goes beyond our industry... it permeates our entire society.

I remember when My Community Mortgage required housing counseling. Everyone complained about the requirement. Eventually, the requirement was removed from the guidelines. On another subject, I had a first-time homebuyer in my office looking for an Option ARM at the pushing of his RE Agent. The RE Agent wouldn't leave this person's side and kept changing the subject and openly cutting me down when I tried to point out the faults with the program. I finally convinced the borrower to meet with me without the RE Agent so I could really explain the program and how it worked. When he asked me why the agent insisted on the Option ARM program, I stated that they simply didn't understand it. When the RE Agent found out what I did, she was furious! She told me not to expect any business out of her office because I "betrayed" her and made the customer question her motives. I never heard from that realtor again. I wonder if she is still in business?

Blame the Fed. It seeems their sole purpose to have everyone in debt to them and the big banks - EVERYONE. Including our own sucessive generations. They're busy creating debt out of thin air with fiat that has no monetary basis. Inflation is here and that is a tax. You have $100k that 10 years ago was worth $100k. Since then they've diluted the money supply with trillions - making that $100k worth $60k or less. Where did that $40k go? It went straight to the Fed and the banksters. The Fed was established to protect our money supply. Since it was instituted in 1913 we've lost 96% of that value of that dollar. $1 then is worth .04 now. Great job they're doing ehhh? Audit the Fed and then get rid of them. They are the ones responsible for every boom and bust in the last 100 years.

Frank & Brian, thanks for the show. I like the analysis and thought provoking conversations. :-) When it comes to mods, I assumed that those seeking them were in a desperate position and credit score was a little lower on the radar of issues i.e. due to financial hardship, they are looking for the lesser of two evils, default via foreclosure or default via mod and not foreclose. If someone is getting a mod and is debating the effects of their credit score because they want to purchase a new car, then they must not need it that badly. Maybe part of the mod requirements should be housing counseling similar to that required for a BK. I think that might help people become educated on how much home they can actually afford.

Tonezone, I agree with you. Everyone says they were dumb enough to sign the loan. Then why do we need title, escrow and in some cases a real estate attorney to approve the docs? As I said earlier, no one, and I mean no one can no everything about this. The rules are changing every week! Yes there were greedy homeowners, but look at this example: Could I have walked into a bank in 1999 and tell them I want to buy a house with no money down, zero interest for 2 or 3 years and with no proof of income? No. I couldn't even have invented the product. Flip the scrip, and it is an entirely different story. The public could not have made this product, but if the producer of the product makes it, sells it in bundles as mortgage backed securities, the person signing the loan is totally the blame? The signer does not have the power. Ok, so the signer is stupid. So were does the signer go to get educated? If I were a real estate attorney, I would offer classes on what to look for and beware of.

Tonezone - I can only account for myself and my 20 yr. old company, but we NEVER made any of these neg am loans, etc. When a buyer couldn't afford the house they wanted, we told them so. They probably went elsewhere and we lost out, but I'd rather it be that way then be responsible for getting them into financial trouble. When you honestly explain neg am loans to borrowers, they always choose the 30 yr. fixed rate loan. We have not had a single borrower call and say they are in trouble with their loan and need a modification. Granted, we didn't get rich, but we could look at ourselves in the mirror every day knowing that we did the best for our clients. If every L.O. worked this way we would have no need for all this excessive regulation. We have never had a client that didn't know every aspect of the loan they were getting. Greed, pure and simple, is what has caused all the problems we are having now. We are suffering now, but at least we know we were not the cause of this problem.

I'm hearing a lot of drug dealer mentality here today. If they don't buy mine dope then someone else will sell it to them... No wonder we have so much government control. The love is gone. Greed is truly king! The people need more help they are dumb that is why we have sales people. If everyone was as smart as smarter than we are there would be no need for the salesman.

Scotti: I'm not buying that. This is capitalism and a trickle down economy. Money trickles down from the money changers to the lower classes and so does technological advances and yes, GREED. It's a cultural phenomena. If you want to blame someone, blame the greedy originators, the investment banks and the Gov by mandating "a home for everyone" - even those that couldn't afford it. People are used to accepting whatever trickles down and that can't be helped and there is no blame for those that react like Pavlov's dog when something new trickles in. Blame the money-changers. We're a trickle down society and conditioned that way

Lenders are only allowing 105% because they really want people to lose their homes that are in near 100% CLTV. They won't lose much percentage wise is they take it and sell it. Hell they might make a little money with all the government handouts.

I worked for Wachovia and World Savings for almost 10 years and spent my time in South Central Los Angeles wondering how home owners who made less money than I did could afford their $350k home. Then it occured to me that there was some lying all around. The homeowner inflated their income on their applicantion without verification, the Loan Officer pointed out an interest only loan where you only had to pay the interest on the loan and none of the principle and the underwriter would sign off if the property appraised high enough to allow an 80% loan. As an appraiser the sales in the area were based on similar products and the values were there, but were false due to the income levels in the area not being sufficient to sustain the property values. At the end of the day everyone that lied got what they had coming, but some good people lost their jobs as well. The appraisers who did due diligence and provided proper home values through research were also let go. Oh well, good HVCC

My question still stands. Where do we send the people to get this education? L.O School??? I think most people don't trust any of us in any of the service industries we work in Bank, Title or Mods etc. we all need to share answers to help people. WOW I sure hope I don't sound like a bad church commercial on TV... :-) I just wish there was a way to give the people the answers they need in a fair non rip-off kind of way. Everyone has a different circumstance but I guess there is no money to be made in that. Not many people left that remember how they were brought up I guess.

tonezone...stop taking offense to the comments in the video...I have been doing loan mods for the past 4 yrs, I have been associated to thousands of loan mods and the fact of the matter is 2 fold..1st of all, the primary reason this mess occured was greed and lack of accountability from both the business side (all levels) AND homeowners - homeowners had choices, they did not have to goto 40, 45, 50 or even more DTI...it was their choice AND that leads to the 2nd point...it was all those folks who thought it was OK to make those lousy decisions because 'the bank let them' get ALL that they wanted in a home (like an ignorant parent with a child in the candy store – stuffing their kids with candy) and now we are all paying for it via collateral damage! PERIOD.

TBWS and Timezone working in the modification end of the industry I do have to say that homeowners really should be more educated when dealing with lenders but I will also say that the folks that you talk to at the lenders who process the mods will say just about anything to close a file and sometimes it is really hard to know what to believe. My theory when in doubt call back and ask someone else. 9 x out of 10 you get a different answer.

Time Zone - Dude.. kinda went off there didn't ya? Do you recall what Brian said a the very end of the rant? He said "not everyone". So relax. You helped 45 people and "your" score didn't go down - Great. Is it responsible to tell people that their credit won't be hurt by a loan modification? I think not. We didn't attack you or what you're doing. We simply said that you have to be ignorant to assume that doing a modification should have no effect on your credit report given the fact that you are breaking the terms of the loan you agreed to, and when talking to your clients you shouldn't let them believe that their credit won't be affected. Thanks for the rant!!!

Hello, Let me first start by saying that I watch the show and recommend it to everyone in my industry. I'm not the commenting type and I’m not a big BLOGGER but you statements on modifications got me pissed and most of the crap you talked about today was off base!!! I have personally helped 45 people in the US to get loans modified “FOR FREE” that many a crapy LO put them in. yes some of those people were not qualified to be their with an income of 25k a year with a 300k mortgage but when the bottom fell out who was really to blame... ALL OF US. Banks, L.O.s, Title people EVERYONE. So let’s fix it and take responsibility together, we all made money on these people. I almost lost my home when I got a divorce and had to take money out to give my ex. Not too soon after that every other house on the block was for sale!!! Then to neighbor gave his house up in a short sale making the new price of my house HALF of the apprised value. All this only after the ex got a good chunk of the money from the old value. A mod was the only way I was able to keep my home and my son and I in it. I was going to walk early on but I worked with the bank for a mod and got it 90 days later. It did not lower my score nor had I even had a late payment, now I have been able to pay off the other bills that were weighting me down I have 4 years left to go on the mod by then I will be bill free and be able to re negotiate with the bank for a long term fix. Not a principle reduction just a really long note for a house that is not worth it what I will pay for it. I’m not walking on my responsibility like all of the others have who did the buy and bail. I have not asked for a hand out just help. It’s not fair that the guy in your story wants to buy a new car I do agree but WTF don’t slam the people that really need help. You have all worked to pass bill’s that benefit your industry, jobs and income. “Sometimes over paid in my opinion” but have you helped anyone in need? Some of the people that truly need help can’t get it and don’t know what to do or how to get it… So maybe spend some of your time helping them out as well to please. And I don’t mean some BS handout or flyer on how to call an agent and ask them to short sale your home, real answers. My point in a nut shell is this. Please don’t make blanket statements and group all people into one. Respectfully, Tony

"are. you. kidding. ARE YOU KIDDING?" hahaa - love it.

What i really want to know is why Fannie Freddie, have programs like DU Refi Plus, and their guidelines state up to 125%, and then the lenders are capping at 105% LTV????? WTF

I actually talked to a guy who was ticked off because his score went down after loan mod. He called the mortgage company and had then put him back under the old terms and remove the late payments. Seems that he could afford the loan payments afterall. Mr 'Victim' is part of the problems with the bailout mentality we have out there.

You are right, to think that doing a loan modification will not impact your credit score is not too smart. Sadly, this has been promoted as an "advantage" by loan mod companies and the lenders themselves. You are also right that a loan mod is a default. With that being said, that is why in most cases, folks facing financial difficulties should not engage in a loan modification or short sale but merely walk away. Their credit is tanked either way, they are defaulting either way. The big difference is they get to live in the property while the foreclosure process is proceeding while not making a payment. Default is like being pregnant, you either are or are not. And lets be honest... all the hoops and turmoil to get a loan mod or short sale benefits who??? The lender. After all, the loss is theirs. The bad credit is the consumers. Those are the risks of default. (of course deficiency judgments depending on jurisdiction can be another issue)

chuck@thebeach: Thanks, that's what I thought. Obviously a loan app would not be taken ( the six items) which would trigger the offical GFE. Otherwise this would severly limit a borrower's ability to shop before deciding to apply somewhere. Frank & Brian - Can you help clarify, did someone in your office misinterpret the RESPA change? As long as all six pieces of info are NOT collected, then there is no application, which means no official GFE is required, so an informal pre-application quote or worksheet is legal which means lead providers are GFE 2010 compliant, correct? Thanks!

One important thing for all of us to remember,hindsight is everything. No one, and I mean no one knows everything. At one time, all of us knew little. And we all no more today about the seriousness of signing a loan agreement, than we did 9 years ago. That being said, anyone who now tries to work the system the same way as in 2004 deserves what they get. Yes people did sign stupid loans. For the same reason people go to Vegas to gamble. The nature of human kind must change in order for life to work. All the rules and regs in the world won't mean a hill of beans as long as there are people who sell snake oil (because they like to take advantage of people) and there are people who want to believe in the Snake oil salesman. No one can ever know all there is to know about any one giving subject. We need to simply commit ourselves to our decisions and when we make mistakes, to realize what we did to contribute to the mistake and move on. The Blame game gets old.

I LOVE to hear you guys rant! Sometime we need a little wake-up call... btw, Virginia has some great hill-billies! Come on out - my lawn mower has a flame job and KC lights! (You have to mow at night when it is 100 degrees with 95% humidity.) And Brian, we have the sickest urban off-road mountain biking in the USA!

Anonymous: Yes, it's called a sample worksheet. Use something simalar to the old GFE, but it can not be "called Good Faith Estimate". Two things to remember, one is if there's no property address, then their is no actually application started. 2nd, Don't ask for all the require info that trigger's requiring a full application to be continue.

Congratulations Appraisers! CFPA has passed the House. Yep, As part of its financial and mortgage industry reform bill, the new agency would assume primary federal responsibility. Still this bill needs to pass the Senate and be adapted to their version. It is to terminate the controversial HVCC and require the new director to quickly come up with a new national appraisal rules and standard etc...Fannie's and Freddie's rules have been criticized for producing lowball, inaccurate valuations; cutting appraisers's fees to the point where the most experienced professionals refuse to accept low-pay assign. In fact One petition reportedly pulled in more than 100,000 signatures. WAY TO GO TBWS! The house is now on record as favoring the code's termination. Now the Senate needs the same call to ACTION to complete the message. TBWS, get with it and PUSH the media/network to contact the Senate! PS: we could some Condotel financing on the coast! HELP!

I wish you realtors would figure out what it is you want. Just called an agent for a lockbox code for a vacant property. The first time he sent me up there, there were bums living inside and my dog, that goes in every house before me chased them out - so I left with a trip fee. I called the agent this time and his final words followed by an immediate hang-up were "please dont over-price this house thank you have a great day". What do you gossip queens want, high prices, low prices? How about just accepting the fact that it is what it is and appraisers arent catering to you queens anymore. My 2010 resolution to agents, take this value and stick it. If you dont like it, call the state, and they will tell you the same thing.

So can a quote or "estimate" be given to a consumer WITHOUT having to give an official GFE??

That loan mod story reminds of the way Obama is running this country..spend what you don't have and go and run up a bunch of debt to feed your own stupidity, greed and policies, then just go piss off after 4 years once your time is up and leave your damage to someone else. Seriously his spending policies mirror the excess and irrational decision making of the past decade. Change my backside..guy is the biggest phoney since Milli Vanilli!

Absolutely loved the bottles of Bushmills on the credenza in the background! Reminds me of the old, old days in mortgage banking. Doubt you'd find a redneck drinking that!

In Arizona our State Banking Dept. requires that anyone from whom we buy leads must also have a Mortgage Brokers License. Same for Contract Processing, or similar services. This seems a pretty simple way to ensure they are compliant--they have to know the law & put up the Bond, same as the rest of us.

Paying for leads is just stupid. Paying a referral fee on a CLOSED transaction is ok. Agents sen thousands of dollars on lead that never close...the never get paid.

Amen...The current environment is that of victims, what ever happened to taking responsibility for your own actions? It's time the media stop adding fuel to the fire by interviewing idiots for a good story that fails to tell the truth....you screwed up...no story there!

Anonymous...Ditto to Frank's comment. You can't collect compensation within the lending industry for providing data consumer's will use to make the largest financial decision in the lives; and NOT COMPLY WITH REGULATIONS...it's injurous to consumers. They don't know that you are not a licensed representative within the industry and believe you are following regulations with the information you put out there. Allowing zillow/any mortgage or financial lead generation company to continue without following HUD/RESPA rules is irresponsible.

hey everyone knows "you can't loose money in real estate" circa 2005

I am so happy that someone finally said what I have known. The buyers did not care what type mortgage they had - they banked on selling it when they could no longer make the payments. And now they are victims???

Anonymous - Not any more in my opinion. when the lead gen company gets that lead by quoting a rate and getting paid for that lead from that rate quote - it's a new ball game. I feel if a lead gen company is getting paid for leads that were derived from quoting a rate, that rate and those fees quoted have to stand up to the new GFE 2010 rules. Period.

As someone who has worked in an internet lead shop for years there are several disclaimers and questions that a good l.o. will go through when offering "rate quotes". These questions should be driving to the real business of getting an application out of the inquiry which at the end of the day is the sole purpose for lead generation in the first place. Just because you have a lead doesn't mean you have an application. If you have enough information for an application then are bound by the GFE requirements whether that be 2009 or 2010. If a marketing company is providing you as a consumer the link to a loan officer I don't see how the marketing company is bound by the same rules as the loan officer. Marketing company is not a lender, just matching you with one.

in defense of zillow...once in a while they do have some comps that nobody else has. everything else sucks.

All of those so called "victims" are the reason why our idiot politicians went in and fixed all of the wrong things with regards to getting a loan instead of going after the real crooks in the industry. Chalk it up to the lame stream media being even more ideological than the politicians themselves. Moroff Proff GFE & HVCC...it rhymes...there's a song in there somewhere. Wanna hear it...here it goes...

to add to the "I'm going to get rich" to I'm a victim" discussion -- the blame of course is focused on Mortgage Brokers/Bankers - Loan Officer. Note that you hear NO Realtor taking any responsibility at all -- yet behind literally every transaction -- there was two licensed (in AZ at least), dedicated, professional, ethical and saintly real estate agents readily accepting a typical commission of 3% of sales price. And in fact, Realtors often are the 1st resource a borrower looks to for a recommendation for a lender who will "get this loan through". This of course will never get exposure through mainstream media.

Please refer to all Southerners as Appalachian Americans.It has a friendly tone for all the inbread.

You are exactly right about consumers needing to be responsible and accountable. I am both and I do not want to pay for those who are not. Where is my money?

I'm not anti zillow per se, but I hate the fact that "getting a rate quote" is treated like shopping for a snuggie on ebay! With the weight of seriousness that HUD and the industry has put on the loan originator to be transparent and accurate, these "rate quote/lead gen" companies better have to fall into the same compliance as the rest of the world. Am I right here?

I strongly believe that lead generating companies need to comply with the same rules. a large number of customers rely on these services to offer honest quotes.

Sad to say this guys, but with Zillow now you know how all the Appraisers out there feel about the AMC. Appraiser have all the rules and regs. but the AMCs have no rule, so I guess the same thing applies to Mortgage Brokers and Zillow! The name change, but it's the same old story, the little guy gets bent over again, and again and again. Isn't that Gang Rape????

What cracked me up was that the guy in the CNN Money story really didn't need a mod but tried it anyway, and the real reason he was so pissed off is that he couldn't get the new car he wanted! Ok, so you need a mod cause things are "tight"... but let's go buy a new car??? OMG.

You guys do a great job, and thank you! I am a residential RE broker in northern Colorado. I start every morning with your video blog! I always learn something new I wouldn't get otherwise!

I have never understood how Zillow became so important. It really isn't that accurate and can best be described as a place to see visually homes on the market (satellite photos). It would appear that they are looking to expand their "per click" numbers just like anyone else with a website. I would not use them in regards to accuracy for valuations or interest rates. As for the people seeking loan mods without damage to credit, that is sad. A lot of people took the plunge during the boom years. Now lets all do what we have to do to be accountable. If you really want to stay in your house, you won't care about your fica score. If you are still trying to use your house as a cash cow, then you really didn't learn your lesson.

True Story... I pulled a lady's credit and called her back. "Ma'am, your credit report says that you are in foreclosure proceedings". "I am" she said, "that is why I need to buy another house". To steal a line from a famous redneck comedian "here is your sign". I have learned that people in general are DUMB, most too dumb to be homeowners. Why should the banks or government bail out idiots who were greed struck?

Zillow is one of the scumiest sites out there for Real Estate and Mortgages. They perpetuate everything that is wrong with the industry and their Directors should likely be in jail. Forgetting for a moment the inaccurate and mostly fraudulent Real Estate "information" that they provide, I became a Zillow "certified" Mortgage Broker and started providing rate quotes to consumers who went to their site. Zillow claimed to pre-screen those who could quote rates to their customers so that they only had LO's that adhered to the highest ethical standards. No matter what rate I quoted or posted, someone would provide lower rates that just were not available. In my market, I know who the players are and not only are many of the worst offenders still in the game, on Zillow they provide biographies of how honest and ethical they are yet everything they quote or post is not available. I cancelled with Zillow and encourage anyone in our industry to do the same. Only Landsafe & BOA are worse.

Zillow sucks....Zillow sucks...zillow sucks... did I say Zillow sucks! They have been bad for the consumer and for the LO from the get go. Are these people who get loan mods complete idiots! I always tell my borrowers what the costs are in regards to not paying the loan back. They cry and I go....they must be an idiot or a red neck. I should know I live in red neck country and they are pretty stupid.... Frank you are not stupid enough to be a red neck..... Mable is but not you. :-)

I can hear the cousins yelling from the bank, "drop a ski, drop a ski"...

Good point Brian, you said it exactly right. Buyers in '05 -'06 were looking to make money on their purchase. I have seen the exact same thing as an in house mortgage lender thru the entire time too, now their all victims. I'm tired of them too.

If you are going to post rates then accurate APR and fee disclosure must be part of the deal. Too many lenders and lead company lowball and mislead the public. No that's not marketing it's fraud.

Good choice on whiskey!

I am a loan officer but I worked for LendingTree as an account rep for 6 years or so and their take on RESPA issues was to error on the side of caution so I would imagine that they are thinking about what they need to do to comply with the new GFE. However, I do know that on their "QF" or Qualification Form, they stopped short of being an official application by not collecting property address which they felt kept them from needing to comply and send an actual GFE versus a "quote". On the new GFE, my understanding is that if you don't have all 6 of the required items for a complete application (property address, SS#, name, income, property value, loan amount) you don't have to send THE GFE. They may use this as their excuse for not needing to comply.

if a consumer was making timely payments and did a loan modification would their credit be impacted by it?

Tony B - Maybe Zillow is licensed and all the others. The real question is, after 1/1/10 will those rate quotes generated by these lead gen companies have to be honored under the GFE 2010 rules? I think they should be!

I loved hearing you talk about where poeple's personal resonsibility is. I had a guy that insisted that he should be able to get a loan even though he was selling his current home on a short sale. he was offended when I told him he could not. I am offended that all these poeple are not being responsible and expect you and I to bail them out.

Hey, I think that was in Palatka, FL!!! We used to surf in the ditches on the sides of the roads, being pulled by a motorcycle when the huricanes would draw near!

Under Ohio Law they must be licensed as a lead company. The individual's at the company must also be personally licensed. Hey Ohio, go get them!!!

I have a borrower that tried Zillow, and struck out. She had a lot on inquiries, but no one did any follow-up. She then did a simple Google search, found me, and we have started the loan application...

consumers may have known but lenders knew, banks knew and Wall Street knew. Now, do you want those "victims" decide your future - keep blaming them?

Where do you suggest (address please) for filing a complaint about zillow?

Nice! Way to speak to the truth guys. I am tired of the poor innocent consumer who pretend they cant read.....their note.

Ya'll notice it were a CAT, not no Kubota gittin' the job done!

That is how we ski down here in Florida. Nothing like a mudhole,and a case of budweiser add a backhow and we are happier than a tick on a hounddog. GET ER DONE!