Michael Smalley's (msmalley) Blog

Weekly Market Update from Mike Smalley of Waterstone Mortgage Crop.  Colonial Bank and Taylor Bean & Whitaker This week brings news of FBI raids on Colonial Bank's downtown Orlando office and Taylor Bean's corporate headquarters in Ocala.  Colonial Bank is the #1 source of warehouse credit lines ...

Yesterday there was a lot of chatter about a plan by the US Treasury Department to use the influence of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to lower mortgage rates to 4.5%.  The plan that is in the works is aimed at stimulating the housing market.  Here is an article with details of the plan - http://mone...

This morning the Federal Reserve made another major move to unfreeze the credit markets.  They announced a plan to buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed assets and up to $100 billion in direct loans from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks.  It will also set up a $200 bil...

If you are like me you can't control when a great idea pops into your head.  For me, it normally occurs when I am not sitting at my desk pen in hand.  Jott is a voice recognition software that helps solve this problem.  Just sign up for an account at www.jott.com, save the phone number you are as...

When Congress passed legislation earlier this year eliminating seller funded down payment assistance programs, the availibility of 100% financing programs was reduced to only those qualified for a mortgage through the Veterans Administration, and one other little known mortgage program, offered t...

Today is an historic day, with congress approving the much talked about Federal bailout.  While many media talking heads will lead you to believe that this will immediatly lower interest rates and make it easier to qualify for a home loan, I disagree. The much talked about liquidity crisis is tru...

How much vacation does the average Realtor or loan officer take?  I have never seen a study on the topic, but I can assure you it is not a lot.  Most Realtors and loan officers work more, not less, than people who work normal 9-5 jobs.  The reason most of us got in this industry was to have more ...

For years I sent newsletters to my clients on a monthly basis in an effort to stay top of mind.  I was constantly in front of my clients but did not do a good job of letting them get to know me personally.  One of my mentors once told me the loan officer witht the most friends makes the most mone...

You can't turn on a TV without seeing a mortgage lender trying to take advantage of the public's fear of adjustable rate mortgages.  This fear is just in some cases, but not justified in most.  If you have a standard ARM tied to the LIBOR index, with a 2.25% margin, your fully adjusted rate, were...

As a mortgage planner I am required to get all of my clients birthdays when I take a loan application.  Even though Realtors do not have this same requirement, I highly recommend creating an information gathering tool where you can capture information about your clients, such as their birthdays. ...