Loan originators are often approached about joining another organization, some as often as every month, according to a survey of mortgage salespeople. Regulation and legislation are seen as challenges for 2012.
A majority of mortgage loan originators see an increase in oversight and legislation as the biggest challenge they will face this year.
That was according to the Second Annual Survey of Originator Opinions.
The survey was conducted on 400 active loan originators by Hammerhouse LLC.
Another 29 percent considered this year’s biggest challenge to be “working with a committed and financial stable mortgage lender.”
But a majority also indicated that new compensation regulations have not impacted their competitive standing.
In response to a question about the optimal company structure for an originator who generates his or her own referrals, 56 percent chose a mortgage banker and 28 percent chose federally chartered bank-backed institutions.
A third of those surveyed had been in the mortgage business less than a year, while less than that proportion had been in the business for at least four years.
Two thirds of the group had been approached by a recruiter at least once during the past six months, while the rest had been approached by at least five recruiters in that same period. Nearly half view the recruiter as a comparison shopping tool.
Corporate culture and leadership were cited as the biggest reason to consider jumping ship by 42 percent of the participants.
More than three quarters of the respondents said that they or their companies invests in sales presentation tools, business coaching, industry indicators or other value add tools and resources.
Drew Waterhouse, managing director of Hammerhouse — a Mortgage Daily advertiser — said the number of loan originators have been cut in half as the sector faced a “difficult couple of years.” But those still standing “are focused on rebuilding the mortgage industry.”
