Your Successful Career as a Mortgage Broker By David Reed

Book review: Your Successful Career as a Mortgage Broker By David Reed, Amacom: American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, ISBN 0814473709 , 978-0814473702 , $18.95, 240 Pages, 2007

David Reed’s newest mortgage title; Your Successful Career as a Mortgage Broker rounds out a successful on-going mortgage banking career and his previous three mortgage-related books. Based in Austin, Texas, Mr. Reed writes mortgage columns for Realty Times and Mortgage Originator. For those considering a career as a mortgage broker, banker, processor, or underwriter, this book is chock-full of everything you need to know before taking the plunge into this exciting field of work.

Chapters cover: The Mortgage Loan Officer and His Team, How Do I Get Started?, Mortgage Banker versus Mortgage Broker, The Loan Application Process, Types of Mortgage Loans, Loan Prequalification and Approval, Loan Documentation, Interpreting Credit Reports and Credit Scores, Interest Rates: How They’re Set, How to Quote Them, How Brokers Make Money, Marketing Yourself, and Marketing Secrets From the Pros. Additional features include a preface, a glossary, an index, and a thorough resource appendix The 1003 and Disclosure Forms, Ten Steps to Becoming a Successful Mortgage Loan Officer, Ten Steps to Becoming a Megaproducer ($250,000 + per year), Sample Marketing Pieces, Industry Resources, State Licensing Chart and Payments Per Thousand Dollars Financed.

I found the chapter on Loan Documentation especially informative. In an age where borrowers can choose to have all or none of their income or assets verified to secure a mortgage, Mr. Reed does an excellent job describing the process and alternatives for new or potential mortgage bankers or brokers.