I am reading the writing on the walls and coming to the conclusion that the days of the Mortgage Broker are probably numbered.  Bank of America cut off their wholesale division awhile back, and since they now own Countrywide, I believe the Countrywide wholesale operation will soon follow suit.  Once that happens I believe lender wholesale divisions will fall like dominoes. 

Maybe it is a good thing in the long run.  As long as Congress and the public at large are of the mind that unscrupulous brokers caused the mortgage crisis, eliminating brokers may be the only way to restore some confidence in the mortgage market.  Restoring confidence in the mortgage market is crucial for everyone’s sake

If you have read my previous blog entries you will know that I don’t really believe that Mortgage Brokers are as much to blame as the Wall Street Investment Houses who invented loan programs that required virtually no strength whatsoever on the part of borrowers.

As long as public perception is what it is,  upper management at Mortgage Banks will be able to cut off mortgage brokers and then turn to their shareholders, and the public at large, and announce they have fixed the problem.  Soon after closing down wholesale divisions, upper management will realize the same kind of “problematic” lending practices exist in their own retail lending divisions as well.  Retail loan officers will be the next to go. 

Washington Mutual has already closed standalone retail lending offices, along with their wholesale division. Washington Mutual has apparently chosen instead to handle mortgage applications via general purpose branch personnel.  I believe upper management at most mortgage lenders tend to view mortgages as a product rather than a process so I foresee that they will ultimately attempt to “sell” mortgages on line and eliminate local loan origination personnel altogether.

I feel bad for all the honorable Mortgage Brokers out there, and there are many.  I feel bad for the borrower because they will lose access to the valuable knowlege and service that a good broker provides.  I see borrowers in the future going from lender to lender trying to find one who will qualify them for the loan they need.  They will probably have to start from scratch with each new lender.

I feel bad for Realtors too because a trusted mortgage professional provides invaluable service before, during, and after the real estate transaction.  I interviewed with a high profile Internet lender awhile back.  The first thing that struck me was the job description stated “no mortgage experience required!”  During the interview, I asked how they handle the pre-approvals of clients for Realtors.  The interviewing manager responded that they “discourage their employees from wasting time with those.”

As for me,  I am  an ex-mortgage broker now. I don’t want to end up like the guy who used to deliver ice for your ice box after the refrigerator was invented, so I am working on something new.  I am  back in school to retrain myself in all of the technology involved behind the scenes in Internet marketing. 

One of the first things I learned was how important digital images will be in marketing real estate, or anything else for that matter, over the Internet.  With gas approaching $5 a gallon, more and more buyers will narrow thier search by reviewing listings on line before they jump in the car to go visit homes.  Listing photos will be relied on more heavily than ever to make the all important first impression.

I have developed processes specifically geared toward improving the digital photographs Realtors obtain of their listings.  We have developed processes to lighten, brighten, straighten, and sharpen the digital images of your homes when they are listed for sale.   

This week we launched, Mio -Marketing Image Optimization.  We can fix your listing pics!  We would love for you visit our web site and let us know what you think.

http://www.lightbrightlistings.com