Ebony Griffin's Blog

I am BACK....with PROOF.....MAybe :)

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:43:08 -0700

Afternoon Rainers!!! So tomorrow is Friday, and I just wanted to report how this week in business has gone for me. I remember last week reading some blogs on AR about pre-approval v. Pre-qual, and I began to get stirred up, because almost every REALTOR DEMANDS a pre-approval letter before putting an offer on a home for a buyer. At my company, we JUST DON'T DO IT! Regardless of the pressures from well meaning realtors. I didn't understand it at one time. I was thinking "somebody has to break....they need a pre-approval, we need a contract." At the risk of sounding redundant, why in the world would a lender issue a pre-approval letter without a sales contract that actually shows that an ACTUAL property is being brought? I have had 2 clients this week who have had agents who refused to put an offer on the house unless they saw a pre-approval letter. We issue pre-quals, but refuse to issue a meaningless piece of paper, just to pacify our clients...and their well-mening agents. To make matters worse, One of my clients has been pre-qualified for TWO WEEKS......TWO and I offered to send in a pre-qual letter to the agent, which he said he could not use. In the mean while, he took her money for the earnest deposit, the contract expired 10 DAYS AGO...and guess what? He's no where to be found!! How messed up is that? In this case...how would a pre-approval letter have served her when this...PERSON....ran off with her money? I guess what I'm saying is....can't we all just get along? Why are we not as agents and LO's understanding each other? For those who don't believe that pre-approvals mean NOTHING, and can actually hurt the buyer, read this: http:www.mortgagenewsdaily.com

FREE FOR LOAN OFFICERS

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 18:22:16 -0700

Since this forum is for freebies, I have found some totally FREE things that may be of interest to NEW LOAN OFFICERS.

http://www.loanofficersurvival.com - Taught by Erik Webster- Good training, 8 modules, and absoluetly free.

http://www.LoanAce.com- A free LOS soft ware that helps to keep your clientbase in tact, on schedule, etc. Complete with all disclosures...and ABSOLUETLY FREE!

http://www.lodatabase.com - a website that teaches things like how to read a credit report, and it also has forums to discuss your practice.

Http://www.efanniemae.com - Free webinars, marketing material, etc.... for originators, appraisers, to learn products and be more efficient in business.

I know some of you may have heard of these sites, but hope this helps someone :)

Ebony Griffin

Loan Officer

Portland Financial Services LLc.

1-800-372-0812 ext 201

TO ALL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:42:15 -0700

Howdy RAINERS!

This question is to ALL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS! Here is my scenario:

Clients have 750 FICO'S and are first time homebuyers. They need 100% financing on a $137,500 property.

The home appraises for $165,000. Now excuse my ignorance, but here is my question. A colleague tells me, "I

can help set your client up to walk away from closing with $27,500" Bells automatically went off in my head since

I only typically hear of 3-6% seller's concession. I am in the state of New York and am wondering " Is this

legal"? If so, how do I set it up for the client ? And if not, do I notify the FBI??....WELL THAT'S A LITTLE

DRAMATIC.......LOL

I have a question for all mortgage professionals

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 08:56:12 -0700

Howdy RAINERS!

This question is to ALL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS! Here is my scenario:

Clients have 750 FICO'S and are first time homebuyers. They need 100% financing on a $137,500 property.

The home appraises for $165,000. Now excuse my ignorance, but here is my question. A colleague tells me, "I

can help set your client up to walk away from closing with $27,500" Bells automatically went off in my head since

I only typically hear of 3-6% seller's concession. I am in the state of New York and am wondering " Is this

legal"? If so, how do I set it up for the client ? And if not, do I notify the FBI??....WELL THAT'S A LITTLE

DRAMATIC.......LOL

LACKOFTRAINING-ITIS- A DISEASE MOST NEW LOAN OFFICERS SUFFER FROM (PT 2)

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:02:35 -0700

Hello Fellow Rainers!

Last time I blogged, I got somethings off of my chest about inexperienced loan officers who suffer from that nasty disease..."LACKOFTRAINING-ITIS". This time I want to kind of go further into my experiences as a new LO and maybe get some feedback from you experts who have been in the business for a long time. So, last time, I left off talking about dishonest buyers and how much time they consumed of my life at one point. Why is it that buyers try and construct their own deal and then try to only give you the information that they think you need to know?! I had a client who needed to refinance a property. She submitted her 1003, and all corresponding paperwork but something didn't add up.... well a lot didn't add up.

She claimed to be in business....we found no listings of her business, she stated on her app that she made $ 7000 a month, but on her w-2's we only see about $2000 a month, and she says she owns rental properties...yet, she's renting her apartment...Hmm...and might I add that there are NO mortgages on her Credit Report? I confronted her about all of the discrepancies, and here is what she says (((((drum roll please)))))))...."Oh, I'll just leave out the other information, cause' the less THEY know, the faster we can close". I know what you're thinking....and that the same thing I thought...."Did she just say "THEY"? I told her.."'Excuse me, I am THEY. I am not about to help you commit mortgage fraud". As a loan officer, I have a duty to protect the assets of the lender", I told her. She was shocked, and I told her that if she wanted me to help her, she needed to stop trying to construct ther own deal and let me do my job. She re-submitted another 1003, and was denied for a mountain of reasons. I had another client who called and told me that her and her husband's credit was a little bad, but they needed a loan. I tod them that I could work with them, of course, and soon found that the husband had about 4 judgements, and the wife had 2. All accounts were late....and by that time, my time was wasted. The lesson?

Being a loan officer is not a job. It is a career! When I first got into the business, I thought that I just had to "get loans". My understanding of this business has changed tremendously since then. I now know and understand that I have a responsibility to educate my clients and tell them what they need instead of what they think they want. I didn't have the training at the time to ask the appropriate questions to phish out the buyer-liars! Now, I am on it. I double check everything a borrower says, and I am honest with them, which I find that they appreciate. Training is vital in this industry, so I make sure that I try to keep myself versed in the happenings of the mortgage industry. This way, when I get a call from someone who wants to borrow $100 million dollars ( No money down), I can know that this guy is a waste of time. That is a true story.....I'll get into another time. In the meanwhile, can you all tell everyone on these boards as LO's what you did an do for ongoing traing? What works ? What doesn't? How can we new LO's overcome LACKOFTRAINING-ITIS?

LACKOFTRAINING-ITIS- A DISEASE MOST NEW LOAN OFFICERS SUFFER FROM (PT 1)

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Wed, 16 May 2007 09:20:52 -0700

Hello one and all!! This is a disclaimer! THIS IS MY FIRST BLOG ENTRY ON ACTIVE RAIN....so I hope I get it right. The reason for my posting is simply to get some things off my chest ( if I may). I read a couple of blogs here on the RAIN by Broker Bryant, and a few other members, but Broker Bryants blog was about mortgage deals going sour at the end because of information not being disclosed upfront about foreclosures, and what have you. Reading that blog got some things stirred in me to share.

I have not been a Loan Officer for very long (about 2 yrs), and can understand the frustration of dealing with less than honest buyers. When I first got into the business, I made no money, learned nothing about the industry, and most of that was attributed to dealing with dishonest buyers, who were looking to "get over" on the rookie. I think they can smell the fresh meat. I would get countless numbers of calls, yet not ONE completed 1003. I'd get calls like "Do you do hard money deals?"....."I need a loan, but I don't have a down payment, a job, and a 300 FICO". That's not even the funny part. The funny thing is that I would actually entertain that foolishness; so much so that it consumed me! I thought I could help everyone get a loan. I was one of those people going around saying " NO JOB.....NO PROBLEM, NO MONEY.....NO PROBLEM"....I had THE problem, the problem lots of new Loan Officers have, and it's called.....lackoftraining-itis. I know I said that a lot of failures I had were due to dishonest buyers, but they were only a small portion of my issues. The larger component of my problems were working with the WRONG MORTGAGE BROKERS! You know the ones. They recruit 400 LO's, don't train them ( except tell them "we can APPROVE anybody"), and when the rookies bring in the deals...you have mayhem, and the very brand new Loan Officer is left feeling helpless.

So what is the remedy for lackoftraining-itis for New Loan Officers? Simply, begin by learning your craft (so to speak). Spend a few hours a day to learn about what's going on in the mortgage industry. Join reputable communities such as Active Rain, to learn from your colleagues, and most importantly get with a GOOD MORTGAGE COMPANY that is committed to their own success. Companies that want to succeed, make sure that the people representing them, succeed. They make sure new Loan Officers know and understand how important it is to COMPLETELY fill out a mortgage loan application. A good broker doesn't just submit ANYTHING to underwriting and HOPE the loan is approved. Oh, I'm not done yet. Stay tuned for part 2 of the frusrtations of the New Loan Officer.

please, allow me to RE introduce myself.

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:28:26 -0700

Hello Brothers and sisters in the Lord!! I previously posted an introduction of myself, but was told that the guidelines were not followed, and so I would like to start off by saying that I do apologize for that as I was very new to AR, and thought of this site as "just a marketing tool". I was told that my posts have to focus on how being a Christian affects the way I do business. Having said that, My name is Ebony Griffin and I am a born again, spirit-filled believer. I have been on the battlefield for the lord for 12 years now. I have been married for 7 years, and have 4 children, ages 5,4,3, and 1. I am a Loan Officer, and have been for a little over a year now. I'm still relatively new to the business, but thank God for giving me the opportunity to do kingdom business here on earth.

How does Christianity affect the way I do business? My goal in getting into the mortgage industry was initially to get out of debt, and create a more comfortable life for my family. We all know that success however, sometimes come at higher cost than we are willing to pay. It becomes difficult sometimes because this business has a lot of sharks who just want to use you to get ahead; and use others as well. My relationship with Christ has allowed me to see that only what I do for him will last. Yes, God wants me to succeed, but not at the cost of my integrity and his witness. I conduct business the way the word tells me to....with honesty, and complete dependence on him. I am believing God for favor to succeed in this business, but am unwilling to do it the worlds way. I am determined to worship the giver of the gift, rather than the gift. I realize that I can do nothing without him. I truly love the Lord, and want to right by him, and maybe I won't close 100 deals per month by dishonest acts, but "My God shall supply my needs according to his riches in glory". I just wanted to stop in and officially re-introduce myself, and hopefully meet some new brothers and sisters in God who have a kingdom agenda, and know that God has given us dominion.

Yours in Christ,

Ebony Griffin

please, allow me to introduce myself.

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:49:08 -0700

My name is Ebony and I am a loan officer with Portland Financial Services. We are a mortgage company APPROVING residential loans in 31 states and commercial loans in all 50 states. We can APPROVE loans for the client with low FICO's ( some scores below 500), and for clients who want to purchase investment properties. I wanted to reach out to you in case you had clients who could use my help in getting their loan APPROVED, and also find out if there is a way in which I can help further build your business. In case I can be of assistance, please don't hesitate to call me at 315-566-9401 or e-mail me at eygriffin3000@yahoo.com.

Best regards,

Ebony G

please, allow me to introduce myself.

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:45:31 -0700

Best regards,

Ebony G

please, allow me to introduce myself.

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:43:59 -0700

Best regards,

Ebony G

please, allow me to introduce myself.

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:41:28 -0700

Best regards,

Ebony G

please, allow me to introduce myself.

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:39:32 -0700

please, allow me to introduce myself.

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:08:57 -0700

Best regards,

Ebony G

Newbie

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:59:01 -0700

My name is Ebony Griffin, and I'm a Loan Originator with Portland Financial Services. Our corporate office is located in St.Petersburg, Florida. At PFS, offer comprehensive financial and real estate consulting and have hundreds of lenders and literally 1000's of loan programs to suit your mortgage needs. Perhaps you are a 1st time home buyer with little or no down payment.....I can get your loan APPROVED! Maybe you're an investor who needs a blanket loan to purchase or refinance more than one property....I can get your loan APPROVED! Maybe you're self employed, have difficulty getting a loan approved because you don't have W-2's.....I can APPROVE that loan, too!

It is my goal to establish a relationship with all of my clients. Any one can get you a loan, but I care. I want to know what your goals are, and help you meet them. Whether you need 100% financing, or to obtain a home equity line of credit, it is my goal to meet and exceed your expectations. I also APPROVE commercial, construction-to-permanent, and hard money loans. Whatever your situation, I CAN HELP! By working with me, you can be sure to receive the highest level of confidentiality, unparalleled professionalism, Excellent customer service, and quick response to all inquiries.

In closing, I excitedly look forward to making your real estate dreams a reality and working with you to create a relationship of productivity and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Ebony Griffin

Loan Originator

Portland Financial Services, LLc

(315) 566- 9401

http://us.f563.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=eygriffin3000@yahoo.com

Newbie

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:54:11 -0700

My name is Ebony Griffin, and I'm a Loan Originator with Portlan Financial Services. Our corporate office is located in St.Petersburg, Florida. At PFS, offer comprehensive financial and real estate consulting and have hundreds of lenders and literally 1000's of loan programs to suit your mortgage needs. Perhaps you are a 1st time home buyer with little or no down payment.....I can get your loan APPROVED! Maybe you're an investor who needs a blanket loan to purchase or refinance more than one property....I can get your loan APPROVED! Maybe you're self employed, have difficulty getting a loan approved because you don't have W-2's.....I can APPROVE that loan, too!

In closing, I excitedly look forward to making your real estate dreams a reality and working with you to create a relationship of productivity and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Ebony Griffin

Loan Originator

Portland Financial Services, LLc

(315) 566- 9401

http://us.f563.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=eygriffin3000@yahoo.com

Newbie

Ebony Griffin (Higher Heights Real Estate Services LLC) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:52:01 -0700

Hello All!

My name is Ebony Griffin and I am a loan officer with Portland Financial Services. I just wanted to come by and introduce myself. I look forward to networking with you all!