Rob Lawrence, Chief Mortgage Warrior Of mortgagebattlecall.com

Wow! What a response I got from last week's article on mortgage net branching. I am very surprised by the tremendous outpouring of frustration and grief loan officers are feeling at their current firms.

Mortgage employers listen-up, because your l.o.'s are very unhappy campers. Top producers are not going to stick around very long if you keep paying them low commission splits and monkeying around with their payouts. And, if your loan officers are reading my Sink or Swim newsletters, you can be guaranteed that they will arm themselves with the tell-it-like-it-is knowledge that will help them succeed.

My readers have the inside edge and a perspective into the industry not found anywhere else. When I was a beginning loan officer, I searched for information like this, and it was no where to be found. Now, with years of experience under my belt, I write about the topics and issues I wish someone else had written about when I was just starting out. I hope my experiences will help you to catapult your career

I promised I wouldn't reveal names until my research was complete, so thank you everyone for being patient. Here are my best picks for mortgage net branching. I choose these companies after much review, and an evaluation of their net branching terms and their standing within the mortgage industry. I looked at payout structure, access to lenders, preferred lower pricing, back-office support, etc. All of which are factors you need to weigh before deciding on a company to go with.

(By the way, none of these companies know that they are on my list). Drum roll please:

1. Allied Mortgage Capital Corporation: http://www.alliedmortgagecorp.com 

2. Carteret Mortgage: http://www.carteretmortgage.com 

3. 1ST Metropoloitan Mortgage: http://www.1stmetro.com

These are the top three on my list of stellar companies to work for. They have a requirement usually of 2 to 5 years loan experience, as they are set-up to make you independent loan officer and not hand-hold you along the way.

If you decide to contact them, you can say that Rob Lawrence from sent you. (They won't know who I am, but feel free to mention me anyway). I'm watching them closely. :-)

All of the net branches mentioned above are national players, they cover most of the country and because they are bigger can offer lower rates from lenders based on volume. In order to win in the loan game, you need to be extremely competitive on your pricing.

Keep in mind that there are literally thousands of mortgage "net branches", and many are not true net branches in the sense that you are operating independently, but using them for back-office support. Some of the net branches out there are merely small local or regional mortgage brokers looking to expand their local sales force, or in other words, you are simply an employee that works from home and are tied to commission goals and oppressive management rules. So, be careful in choosing who you do business with.

Here are some other places you can go to further research netbranching:

* My Sink or Swim Loan Closing System has a lot more information on net branching and lists more names and companies to look into, even smaller regional players. It also has hundreds of other free and low-cost sales and marketing resources for loan officers. Be sure to check it out.

* Mortgage Daily's net branch list at: http://www.mortgagedaily.com/netbranch.asp 

* Mortgage Mag's net branch list at: http://www.jobmag.com/em2142.htm 

* Mortgage Technology's net branch feature: http://www.mortgage-technology.com/plus/feature/ 

I hope these resources prove a starting point into going out on your own as an independent loan officer. Remember, net branching is a complex issue and your choice in a mortgage firm should be viewed as a long-term business partnership. By knowing what to look out for and what questions to ask of net branches (both topics covered in previous newsletter articles), you will be able to make a better informed and educated choice.

Please keep me updated on your progress and I want to hear about your next career move and the success you are enjoying.