Would You Get Surgery At McDonald’s?

May 10th, 2013

It never ceases to amaze me how people treat the most expensive transaction that they will ever do in life as a commodity. Would you get surgery at McDonald’s if they got into the health care business because it was the cheapest place to get it? Or would you talk to numerous different doctors based on experience, referrals, track record, and interaction with their staff and systems? I know as you read this blog you would say the answer is that you’d go with Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: big banks, interest rates, local appraisers, mortgage shopping
Posted in interest rates | No Comments »

Are Banks Too Big To Fail? Or Simply Too Big To Work With?

October 8th, 2012

There are some banks deemed too big to fail, and those are the ones that have been the recipient of much taxpayer benevolence. Whether you agree with that or not (I do not, anything that fails should be allowed to fail, and someone stronger will step in to clean up the pieces), my contention is that big banks and most big institutions are simply too big to work with. Most large entities do not work well. Once you scale something up to a certain point in size, its impossible to make it function well. You can even Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: big banks, choosing a mortgage company, direct lender
Posted in interest rates, Loan Process | No Comments »

Banks Treat Me Special….You Know…Because I Have A Checking Account There.

June 13th, 2012

Big banks can be slow, they may use appraisers that do not know the local marketplace, they do not communicate like a local lender does, and they may be slow to return calls and emails. Below is a note from a client who I followed up with after they chose to use a bank they banked with instead of working with me, because they banked there they thought they’d get special treatment.

From the client: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: big banks, getting a mortgage from a bank, mortgage lending, mortgages
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Long Wait To Refinance

May 22nd, 2012

Mortgage pipelines are backlogged thanks to record low rates, that simply keep breaking new records. These delays have created delays for many consumers trying to take advantage of low mortgage rates by refinancing. Customers of big banks report that they are unable to get a call back. One bank told a client that they would return the client’s call in 2-3 months! Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: big banks, direct lender, refinancing
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Where To Get The Best Service In The Mortgage Industry?

April 23rd, 2012

I have cited a thorough and expensive research study several times recently in other blog posts. One message I have not relayed that comes from the data in that study is how poorly the big banks are at execution when it comes to doing mortgages in a timely and efficient manner. I will cut and past comments directly from the study that quotes numerous Realtors, and I will let their comments speak for themselves. Consumers deal with mortgage transactions once every 3-7 years, but Realtors deal with loans every day, and their opinion is the most valid, unbiased and relevant. I have heard a lot of reasons as to why a homebuyer thinks its best to get a mortgage from a big bank, all of them are wrong headed. I hear Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: banking, big banks, direct lender, mortgage banker, mortgage banking
Posted in Underwriting Rules | No Comments »

Big Banks Are Big Time Inefficient?

April 18th, 2011

Big banks, boy, you have to love them. I am not sure I could pull off accepting federal bailouts, pointing the finger at others for a mess I helped to create, then giving out big bonuses to some employees, all combined with poor service at times. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: big banks
Posted in interest rates | No Comments »