Comments on: Mortgage Lead Generation Firms Continue to Violate Federal and State Laws

By: weathervanes

weathervanes — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:30:10 +0000

My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on various websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to another platform. I have heard great things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress content into it? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

By: PAUL MAtos

PAUL MAtos — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:55:38 +0000

I am in shock, as much as i hate, deceptive advertising( I loose clients to these lead companies) , When does the consumer take any of the blame. They want to be lied to, thats why when i tell them the truth they tell me i dont knowwhat im doing or that im just trying to make more money. We as a society have to take responsability for our actions. I wont go buy anything without doin my research. When do the consumers ahve to take resonsability for what they are purchasing and the decisions they are making?
It’s amazing that we continue to coddle these people and hurt the masses to be the parents of the lazy or uninformed.
it is part of the problem with our nation and our economy.
Please make peopl responsible for their own actions.

The people clicking on these ads obviously have internet acces, how easy is it to type in the name of the company, and see what the reputation is? But they dont even do that simple task. They will lean towards what eventhey think is to good to be true. They will not even take the time to check.. just doesnt make sense to me.

By: Ed fiorvante

Ed fiorvante — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:44:03 +0000

I find that the majority of people looking to restructure there mortgage could careless about integrity and professionalism. They want to hear the lowest rate possible and usually go with the lender who is most disingenuous. The big banks are no better than the internet mortgage companies or any other lender. My girlfriend works for a well known Canadian bank that has branches along the east coast. She is a customer service rep and when a customer inquires about a mortgage she takes the info and asnswers questions. She has no clue or training on mortages but yet she inputs info provided by the client into the computer and gets a rate. lol. She told me a large percentage never close at the intial rate given and she has to speak with the clients when they call in for status on the loan. She opens bank accounts but to save money the bank will put all these other responsibilities on these CSRs that should be taken care of by a professional in the field. This is the way the big banks work. Its very annoying for me to hear all this negativity in reference to loan originators. The whole system is horrible from your so called college grads that rob investors blind and have no clue what there doing. Securities was mentioned as if the people in that field are educated angels. lol Come on really? Greed is the problem across the board from Presidents, Ceos, Traders, to your local plumber who will rip you off blind with a smile on his face. This is captiolism!!!! To capitolize not far from taking advantage if you can. Its a shame but this America across the board!!!!

By: Ed fiorvante

Ed fiorvante — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 20:39:06 +0000

I am in agreement with posting unattainable interest rates and products. I’m a mortgage banker and hate that i lose business to those who straight out lie to people about what they qualify for. I do not do business that way for many reasons but i do lose business all the time because i’m telling my potential client the truth about what rate there specific scenario qualifies for. I do however see no problem with advertising the lowest rate available even if it is a 5/1 arm. There are many mortgage holders i speak with that insist on having an adjustable rate mortgage. The fact is that credit, Loan to value, rate and term or cashout and even where you live have an effect on the rate you quailfy for. Why would anyone advertise the highest rate available when there are many that qualify for the lowest rate posted on a particular website. This is not bait and switch because if the arm is advertised and you want an arm well then where is the problem. You can’t advertise every possible scenario and the rate that each scenario qualifies for. The mistake is that we assume we can just give three lines of info and get an interest rate associated the minimal amount of info provided. Unfortunately this business is just like 95% of the businesses in our country. When i go to Mcdonalds do i get the burger in the advertisement lol not even close. Think about it what company does exactly what they advertise. Its a shame and i wish it were different. That said i will continue to lose business because i will not lie to my clients. People it seems hate to hear the truth upfront it seems they rather be lied to a little and then a little more and they always wind up at the same deal i originally gave them or worse. I know because i actually have some clients that call me and say you were right ED or completely abandoned the company and come back to me.

By: gary wofford

gary wofford — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:49:31 +0000

I have been amazed at the fraud, deceit and crap that his industry has had and the amount of false advertising is rampant and should be stopped. I was a stock broker for Smith Barney for 25 years before this and was an arbitrator the last 15 of those years and this kind of crap was not allowed in the Securities business but this business seemed to condone it?? It seems we have promoted the used car slime to do mortgages preying on the unuspecting consumer and there are a lot of them. The average consumer has been a target for these kind of crooks. It is too bad as the public has always thought a mortgage broker to be of high caliber and it is totally the opposite and not many even have a collage degree whereas in the securities business don’t even apply if you do not have a collge degree because you will not get thru the front door.

By: Don Davis

Don Davis — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:23:45 +0000

The same laws apply to mortgage advertising as it does to the auto industry (or anyone who advertises). If a car dealer hires an ad agency (lead generation company) both the ad agency AND the dealer are responsible for the content of the ad. If they are caught with deceptive advertising then both are subject to the State Attorney General suing them. There should be no challenge to this topic. If you buy leads from a lead supplier, and the lead supplier is deceptively advertising to get the lead, and you buy that lead, you are just as guilty as the supplier. Ignorance is no excuse. If you don’t know how the supplier is gathering the leads and you think it is just magic, then you are either very naive or just plain stupid. I think most of the bad players in this business would disappear (only to find other industries to terrorize) if they were held liable for misleading, deceptive, bait and switch and sometime just plain outrageous claims. At this point we as an industry can only report violators and hope that the system has the time and inclination to follow up.
By the way the lead generation companies are not required to hold any license for this industry. They pass no test and hold no designation. All they do is promote to get a lead and sell, sell, sell.

By: Owen Bell

Owen Bell — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:44:29 +0000

i am looking for an in-depth tutorial about lead generation, can anyone post links ?,;`

By: Dora

Dora — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:13:33 +0000

This is why all the regulations in the world out of Washington will NEVER stop the bad loans. A homeowner thinks he deserves that awesome rate, no matter his credit or equity. No matter how much we set up NMLS systems, test our brains out, pay thru the nose, there will always be some jerk who is happy to take advantage.

Making it harder for a well deserving borrower to get a loan is not the answer, shutting down these internet thieves is.

I lost a loan a few years ago to a builder/lender, the borrower was shocked to find out he had a 3 yr ARM. He was just gaga about the rate at the time. Then when rates went up, he had to refi. That bank by the way will skate right by the NMLS regs.

By: Loan Home Inc. Lead Generation Scam | Rain City Guide

Loan Home Inc. Lead Generation Scam | Rain City Guide — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:49:51 +0000

[...] generation companies troll the Internet for consumer leads, use banner ad campaigns, and/or send out mortgage email spam and then sell [...]

By: amanda kirilenko

amanda kirilenko — Mon, 31 May 2010 15:21:51 +0000

It is so surprising to me that people click on these ads. I guess proof they do is the ads are still here. There is apparatnly no accountability for these ads. SOMEONE should put on a dark blue suit!

By: Kathleen Manford

Kathleen Manford — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:33:38 +0000

You know, it may just be me, but I like to work through referrals. You always have a client who wants to work with you, not one who is tired of nis name being given to every lender across the board. Where is the customer service? These loans are just being done by data entry people and who knows who closes them. I feel if there is someting wrong with the information provided, punish them but also the lender since they are not following up on the documentation provided. If you lose the personal touch, you lose the accountabilty for the information used to close a loan. I have never bought a lead and do not intend to. I get leads by doing a good job and asking for referrals.

By: Angie Williams

Angie Williams — Thu, 27 May 2010 00:52:39 +0000

I am taking your advice and clicking through a banner ad to experience the..”I’ve been healed” slap on the forehead. Unfortunately when you are in dire straights you will believe in the ad and appreciate the quick fix until you lose your home. Bringing this to the attention of non misleading originators certainly spreds the education to consumers. Knowledge is power!

By: Virginia Miller

Virginia Miller — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:02:37 +0000

I also agree with this article that the mortgage company should also be held accountable. Goes back to my thought of “If it’s sounds to good to be true then it’s proably to good to be true”.

I worked for a mortgage company that took on lead generated leads and it was not definantly not my thing. I felt like a car salesman. I thought it was awful to sucker people to calling from the misconstrued internet ads. After taking a few of these leads I was knew this was not my book of business and I got out of that company. The LO’s I knew personally that based there business with the lead generations are ALL out of the business today. Hmmm I wonder why?

By: Shawn Lynch

Shawn Lynch — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:49:59 +0000

Interesting article. Lead generation is a double edged sword. It’s great to have the loans in process, but at what cost? I am in agreement with the article when it comes to holding everyone involved with a site accountable for the informaiton on that site. If it’s deceptive, if it’s against the law, if they haven’t bothered to run thru it themselves to see where their business is being generated from, then they are a stupid as the people who beleive that the 30yr fixed rate is 3.44% and deserve to be punished. They are paying for that service, after all.

By: Bryce Zimmerman

Bryce Zimmerman — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:29:39 +0000

I agree in that the companies purchasing leads need to be certain that the company providing this service for a fee in meeting both state and federal laws. Again, these types of misinformation is what has led to the general public mistrust in our industry. Luckily those originators and companies that choose to conduct business in the proper manner, typically have been the ones that are still profitable today.

By: Christopher W. Johnston

Christopher W. Johnston — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:50:14 +0000

There are a couple of mortgage companies in my area where I know the principles where all they do is call on lead-generated referrals. I keep reminding them that this is a recipe for disaster as once the refi market dries up, then what?
As for their liability, I agree 100%. They should be held accountable to the practices by which the lead companies gather their info ESPECIALLY given the fact that they physically pay for that service. If it was given for free, I could argue that it is the fault of the lead generating companies but the fact that the mortgage companies pay for it, makes them just as culpable.