Noone Can Do What Countrywide Can..... NOT!! Bank of America just topped them.
Of course we knew this was coming.... Countrywide's Execs were practically asking to be purchased in the media. And the $2B loan a few months ago should have been the first clue.
Clue #2? Well, that would be the fact that BofA shut down it's wholesale lending arm.... which was struggling.
This purchase makes perfect sense for both parties. Countrywide needed money and the rates they would have to pay for loans would hurt them. BofA needed a wholesale lending arm that knows how to lend in the wholesale market. Both get what they need to be a strong player in this volatile market.
Will BofA get rid of Countrywide's wholesale division? I think not. It can be a money maker for them....
This is a story that has been brewing for some time. I am sure that the time it took to get it done was simply the structuring the Golden Parachutes for the Countrywide Execs....
I look forward to seeing this develop. And welcome the competition.... because neither have been that hard to beat in the past.... and I suspect that they will not be hard to beat in the future.
It says something about a company when one of it's employees goes to a competitor for a better rate. Just last month that happened to me!! A Countrywide employee called and said that he knew he'd get a better rate with me.... "Can I fill out a loan application"?
Christina Oneal, a California Realtor pointed out some concerns. Read her comments.... http://activerain.com/blogsview/334727/Top-4-things-about
Tom Burris
DallasLoanGuy.com
Dallas, TX
"A Home Loan for Every Texan"
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Gary.... I didn't want to be TOO CRITICAL. I have friends at both companies.... And while they have god employees..... they have some bad ones too, LOTS of bad ones. BOTH could hire better and train better before turning newbies loose to sell a product like a home loan.
Hi Tom, I liked hearing your input as a lender & how you see it. I put a link to your blog post plus your website in my blog that I just did. Thank you for your insight.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/334727/Top-4-things-about
Tom... how funny. I just wrote about this also. I guess we'll be seeing 100's of blogs and news articles on this today.
To those that say this lender is good or that one is bad... it really starts with the loan officer. Yes, you need a good support staff. But I have made good things happen even with a so-so support staff. It's all about knowing the back end of a mortgage company. Knowing the operations side and how that conveyor belt works. Just my .02. But as you stated, I look forward to the competition.
Renee: This might be good for th industry. Neither are scary competitors.
Christina: I edited mine to include your link. ;-)
JL: We have a GREAT BofA lender here. Ken Stampe. Yes, it is the people. Both of these companies hire bright people with no knowledge of the industry.
Terry: It is our job to interpret things like this for our clients....
Jeff: Yep. 20 down, 80 to go!!! LOL.
Jeff, we differ a little. YES, it is all about the loan officer. But I know for a fact that Countrywide hires kids out of college and trains them on loans. They 'train' them to SELL LOANS. Professionals do not SELL loans. Countrywide is a big corporation.... nuff said.
Its almost liek BOA only really paid more like 2B, since they lent almost 2B to CW only months ago!
:-)
Tom.... no, you are right on that. Countrywide not only has street loan officers, but also in-house loan officers answering the phones. I think where they would have been good here is to give these leads to the street loan officers who were loyal and new more. Usually....who knew more. But I guess greed overcame them, because they paid the in-house people less.
Hence why it goes back to the loan officer... yes, training has a lot to do with this. But also self training... most of what I know today is because I asked questions... I self taught myself. Yes, experience plays a large part also.
Tom the only thing I ever got was a LEAD Parachute! Can you say "Bada Bing, Bada Boom"! I only hope any of the folks I know there will weather fairly well through this transition.
Marchel: They have some good products and good loan offiers.... however, their inhouse loan officers are usually very green. Gotta be careful.
This will be a great deal for them.... maybe even a good thing for the industry.
Tom,
I believe it's a good news that Countrywide got purchased with a more stable company during these tough times.
Let's see if that purchase satisfies the hunger of the media who enjoy reporting the Bad, the Ugly, and the?
Hopefully the consumer confidence will be eased and the psych in making a home purchase becomes better.
We still need a FIX on oil prices. That's a HUGE problem right now on the average consumer and businesses!
I was just speaking with a friend who owns a hot dog concession outside of a local Lowe's store. He was telling me that the price of plastic cups has gone from 7 cents per cup to 11 cents per cup. That's just one example of an increase in "consumable" product's price as a result of the increase in oil prices as reflected in manufacturing and transportation costs. Ughhh.
Oh Help Me Wanda, Help Me....
Kim: Oil? That's easy.... drill for more. And if an environmentalist puts themselves in harms way.... too bad.
Yes, this 'should' help with public perception.