If I were a newbie here's what I'd do.... - Posted by A. T.

Posted by Lib Cassin on March 26, 2000 at 06:52:56:

what is the home mortgage network and how can I find it

Thanks

If I were a newbie here’s what I’d do… - Posted by A. T.

Posted by A. T. on March 25, 2000 at 10:04:36:

Hi,

I noticed that the two most common threads on this board are

  1. People who have a lack of knowledge about real estate, real estate documents and how a real estate deal is actually put together.

  2. People who are currently unemployed or do not feel that they have the financial “stuff” to get their first deal going.

I think I have a solution that solves both of those problems. I have spent the past year and a half doing temp work at large banks in their mortgage departments. It is generally document review type of work and does not require any special skills or talents. The pay is generally $9-$10 per hour but that is not the important part. The important part is that you have access to the meat and potato(e)s of the real estate business…documents.

All day I go through loan and mortgage packages. It includes the loan app., credit reports, appraisals, sales contract and everything else involved in each loan. Seeing loan after loan, you begin to get a feel for what home values are. You learn what a bank considers when making a loan as far as what REALLY is good and bad credit. You find out that while certainly not all deals are ‘no money down’, banks often lend money to homebuyers, investors or not, with often just $2,000-$5,000 dollars down. MANY homeowners agree to second mortgages and holding notes or equity every day. I see it.

The knowledge that I have garnered is better than any Carleton Sheets course (which I own). I see what houses are selling for in certain neighborhoods. I know what rental rates are in neighborhoods (rental agreements and lease documents are included in loan packages when an owner refinances). That kind of knowledge, especially if the bank is local and you can see what is going on in your own area, is priceless. Plus, after a while you become familiar with the documents and the whole real estate acquisition process becomes less intimidating. You begin to truly believe, “Hey, real estate isn’t so complicated after all.”

As for line 2, if you are currently unemployed or ‘underemployed’ and are looking to get into real estate for financial reasons (aren’t we all) then there are plenty of mortgage jobs out there! We currently have 5 hours a week of MANDATORY overtime and have unlimted voluntary overtime. So call your local temp agencies and tell them you are interested in a mortgage processing position in a financial institution. The mortgage industry is one of the biggest in the financial sector and it takes a lot of people to process those mortagages. So you could have a job, in the real estate industry, and be getting paid to learn! That’s how I look at my job. Even if you do real estate investing full time, just doing this part time would give you exposure to the market ‘happenings’ and provide you with a little extra money to boot!

I just wanted to share my experience with others. I know that a lot of people have no exposure to real estate and are just intimidated about what actually ‘buying’ or ‘investing in’ real estate is all about. Or often I read posts of people who are about to go bankrupt or not making enough money. This could help people in both of those situations and that is what CREOnline is all about. WIN!-WIN! I would be glad to try to answer any questions that you may post.

Thanks,
A.T.

Excellent Post! - Posted by David Butler America’s Note Network

Posted by David Butler America’s Note Network on March 26, 2000 at 15:59:27:

A.T.

Excellent post, and thoughtful to share it with some of the other folks. Just goes to show, where there is a will, there is a way - and your real life expericence demonstrates just one of the avenues people can take to get paid to learn something useful… if they really want too!

Good luck to you!

David P. Butler Vice President, Broker Relations

Re: If I were a newbie here’s what I’d do… - Posted by charlie mccullough

Posted by charlie mccullough on March 25, 2000 at 12:48:06:

does this job require a lot of work on the computer? I have tendinitis in my hands and can not work on the computer for more then 30 minutes at a time.

Re: If I were a newbie here’s what I’d do… - Posted by A.T.

Posted by A.T. on March 25, 2000 at 18:36:02:

No it doesn’t. In fact, in all of my positions I have not used the computer once. Both of the temp agency’s however did require me to take a couple of tests using Microsoft Excel and Word just to be sure that I had a basic knowledge if those skills ever became required.

A.T.

Re: If I were a newbie here’s what I’d do… - Posted by dave

Posted by dave on March 25, 2000 at 18:54:04:

Go to the home mortgage network they do all the loans for the gurus. 801-313-95091!