Some brokers will be BROKE-r than others

Since the market is definitely slowing down, I am having more time to talk with some of the brokers I visit. I like getting to know the brokers and building a relationship with them. I had really some really good conversations with a few brokers this week.

There were a few that I could tell were not happy doing what they are doing. Even though they have no formal financial background, they knew that many borrowers were setting themselves up for financial failure. One broker said "80% of the people I'm seeing now should NOT be doing a loan". Another one was telling me how they just cannot put borrowers into neg-am's (see my long option-arm post below for more info). They see other guys in the office making huge money and driving BMW 745's by sticking as many borrowers as possible into option-arms with the 3pt rebate. It was especially refreshing since this broker was in his mid 20's. The broker lives beneath their means...and as hard as it is, is not sidetracked by some of the other guys in their early 20's that are making 15-50k per month.

There are also quite a few brokers that have lost that "excited" look on their faces. I guess now that things are slowing down some, and that 20k a month isn't rolling in as easy now, it is putting a little stress on some people. I know of a 1 broker for a fact that refi'd so they would not be late on their mortgage. I know of a few others that are starting to stress about the 3-6k mortgage payments and other bills. The money isn't "easy" or "guaranteed" like it was the past several years.

BUT...there was also the broker that I talked to, who commented on how slow things were. I said "yup, most borrowers are maxxxed out...what can you do to help them?" The broker then proceeded to tell me they have some clients that are using credit cards to pay their mortgage. I played dumb..."are you kidding me??" Nope, the broker said, it really isn't that big of a deal....I HAVE DONE IT a few times when there have been slow months. Then they said that having a big mortgage payment "motivates them to work harder". Isn't that a nice thought process.

Yeah, I like to hit a bee's nest with a stick before I go for a run...it "motivates" me!!