"Ray" Qirong Mo's Discussions

A True Complete mortgage quote must include Four factors:  Loan Program/Term, Mortgage Rate, Discount Point, and Lender's Fees.  Judging from the quotes you get, it is far from complete; the best advice to you is to get a writtern Good Faith Estimate, so you have break-down of all fees.  Since this is a purchase loan, you should not be concerned about title escrow (attorney) fees, because your lender has no control over those fees.  But again, an experienced local loan officer should be able to give you close estimates of all third-parties fees and pre-paid expense items. As a rule of thumb, a variance of $200 is a VERY GOOD ESTIMATE.  Watch out for "Hidden Fees" and low-balling traps here.  At the end of the day, only the Total-Loan-Costs over your mortgage holding period (be it 5, 10, or 30 years) matters.  APR is irrelevant, since not many people did hold the loan for 30 years.  You can always compare the Total-Loan-Costs for different loan quotes if you know your holding periods, then you can make an informed decision as to which loan best fits your financial needs.  Look out for "NO FEES, NO WORRY" marketing schemes here.  There is no free lunch, consumers pay the costs ultimately in higher interest rate.  Look for an independent Mortgage Planner who can assit you weigh different loan options, and can be unbiased to loan programs. 

I just started in the information gathering process, any suggestions are welcome.  I would appreciate you telling me both sides of the coin, i.e. pros and cons of each company.  I understand there are some sensitive numbers you might not want to disclose, but ball park numbers will do.  If you are an agent, it will be helpful to describe what your realistic expectation from your broker / company. Here is a little about myself: a licensed California broker since 1998; in mortgage brokerage business ever since, dabble in sales/listings with past clients only and enjoy some degree of success and satisfaction.  I believe I can add value to both my agents and clients with my extentive knowledge and experience in mortgage / real estate investment field.  But I am still exploring the best way to deliver those values. 

Paying $300 a year to stay active in the business is not such a bad ideas.  100% commission might not be the only choice.  It would be hard to sell a home without any support from the office and co-worker.  However, a referral (20% to 50%) to your co-worker without substantial personal effort sounds a better deal.  My firm is in SoCal, feel free to contact us.

Why not all 3 together?  The catch is you need to focus on doing what you do best, i.e. bringing in business, while let your team or co-workers do the fulfillment part.  If you don't have a team, then outsource.  Of course, you have to disclose everything upfront with your sellers/buyers, to avoid potential lawsuits.  In CA, a licensed agent can sell real estate, originate loans and manage properties.  Only in FHA transactions, you can't be both the agent and loan originator.