Back on March 8th of this year, HousingWire first reported that Amazon (yes, THAT Amazon) was looking to hire an individual to lead their newly-formed mortgage division. Previously, it was assumed that the online shopping giant would start with offering checking programs, and then possibly move into debt-based products after establishing themselves. But it seems they’re priming themselves to take the leap as we speak. Yesterday at the MBA annual convention, representatives fo

In the mortgage industry, new lenders are popping up every day, while classic staples run the risk of fading away. Out of the top 20 mortgage lenders from 2006, only 5 survived the 2008 recession. Out of the 15 that folded, 5 were acquired by other lenders and the remaining 10 shut down operations completely. With experts predicting another recession in the coming years, what does it take to weather the storm? Who can keep their head above water? Rates are up and origination

Wells Fargo is once again in the spotlight. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering fining Wells Fargo hundreds of millions of dollars for its mortgage-lending and auto-insurance abuse. Issues arose when a Wells Fargo mortgage banker alleged that the bank falsified records, so it could blame mortgage-processing holdups on borrowers. Additionally, there were claims and accusations of improper mortgage fees. Wells Fargo announced that it would refund "rate-lock

When you do a quick scan of mortgage related news and current events online, you’ll be overwhelmed with the amount of gloomy housing market/financial forecasts. Interest rates are at a 4 year high, applications are down, and the unofficial start of spring (President’s Day) hasn’t provided the immediate boost to the purchase market yet. Everything I see seems to have an underlining tone of increased risk and inevitable crash… Since statistics show decline, people naturally sta

We’re hiring!! Well, yes that’s true… Princeton Mortgage is currently hiring, but so are other non-bank mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers. In December nonbank mortgage lenders brought on 2,700 full-time employees. National Mortgage News reported that employment numbers amongst nonbanks are up to 341,500. More interestingly, December was the third month in 2017 where employment numbers in our sector were above 340K… a stat that hasn’t been hit since November of 2007. Okay,