Could it be true?
“It is with much sadness that I write to inform you that Bank of America has opted to close its Wholesale Channel effective December 31, 2007. This is a bank strategy to become number one in direct to consumer… do not have much information at this time but it is my understanding that all loans in the pipeline will be honored and we will continue business as usual for an additional thirty days from the date of this announcement.”
Say it ain’t so:
I have spoken to two reps at BofA Wholesale and they have confirmed that this is true. If you have pending loans with BofA you will want to check with your loan officer and make sure that they will honor the loan commitment.
Confirmed source that shall remain anonymous.
start a death watch for the mortgage broker business
I think the elimination of mortgage brokers is a huge positive for consumers. I think mortgage brokers are at the bottom of the heap when it comes to integrity and ethical business practices, a long way below used car salesmen.
We should all applaud the elimination of a profession (and I use the word “profession” in its most general sense) masquerading as acting in the interests of buyers while doing everything possible to maximize YSP.
Lets hope other financial institutions move to eliminate this channel.
i can’t say i agree with you love. i have had the same mortgage broker for 14 years and she’s the best. she told me this was coming back in august when nobody would return her calls. i feel horrible for her. just like any industry, there are good folks in it and bad. what do you do for a living love?
You know who this is going to fall on now? Who is going to keep buyers abreast of which banks are offering which rates, and for what criteria? Gee. I wonder.
Sorry I didn’t pick this up sooner, and so it may not be read by anyone. BofA is NOT exiting the mortgage business. It is exiting the WHOLESALE business. That means that they will not borker out loans to loan brokers.
Mortgage brokers are not going away, and that is a good thing. In August 2007, the interst rates for the large institutional lenders, like BofA, were 1.5% to 2% above the rates that mortgage brokers were able to get from small, portfilio lenders (lenders who lend their own money as opposed to selling the loans on Wall Street). Without access to these smaller lenders, you can bet that rates would be higher, and many loan programs that many consumers depend on would disappear.
I admit that there are some predatory lenders out there. The best thing to do is to use a mortgage broker that is recommended to you by someone who used them before and can vouge for their integrity. In any case, make sure that you know everything about your loan before signing the loan documents. Read the actual loan note, and make sure you read whether or not there is a pre-payment penalty. It is only a few pages, and once you sign it, you’re locked into it.
indymac is now rumored to be shooting their wholesale business. the mortgage broker is dead. worse yet, i just found a blog by an ex mortgage broker about how hard it is for them to find jobs outside of that industry. they are all screwed. so sad.
Love said “We should all applaud the elimination of a profession (and I use the word “profession” in its most general sense) masquerading as acting in the interests of buyers while doing everything possible to maximize YSP.”
Ok. If all brokers are gone your dumb ass will pay the same YSP to the bank and it WILL NOT be negotiable. You will also wait for 2 monts to close the deal and if it doesn’t fit their guidelines – guess what? – you’re out of options. You will be stuck with great 9% through the bank while 30 min of work could’ve got you 6%. And remember: brokers don’t charge a lot – you just don’t know how to negotiate