Customer Reviews

The Loan Officer's Practical Guide to Residential Finance - SAFE Act Version

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first wrote this review in early 2004 in response to the concerns of one reviewer who didn't like the price. The comments he made were foolish and I wanted to tell you why. This was the first review I had ever written on amazon.com, or anywhere else for that matter. I had a choice of many other books to use as a textbook for the class I taught at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, Maryland on mortgage loan origination, and I chose this one. At first, I, a stingy Yankee, was taken aback by the $55 price, and concerned for my students who have to deal with high textbook prices, but when I examined the book and compared it against others available out there I was amazed at how much there was in it, information not available in such form anywhere else. There were a few other manuals and texts that I could have chosen for the class, including some that were hundreds of pages long, but many of them - although not all - were full of fluff and consisted simply of compiled information. They were four pounds of hamburger; this book is 12 ounces of filet mignon. It is is focused, focused, focused on providing information mortgage loan originators actually need. It has helped my students start lucrative careers and has helped me teach a very popular course; I even use it when I teach private classes for some of the biggest mortgage lenders in the nation, along with Dave Hershman's Book of Home Finance. I have been a mortgage loan originator since 1988 and I have never seen such a valuable book. I was amazed - even embarrassed - at how much I learned about the business from this manual, even after 15+ years originating loans. With information, it's not the price so much as it is the value, and this book is incredibly valuable. There are four pages in the book that I require my students to copy and keep with them; these pages alone are worth hundreds of dollars, and contain on four pages information that is spread across hundreds of pages of industry publications. I encourage anyone considering the business, and even anyone in the business already, to buy this book. Feel free to call me at home at 301-563-6225 and I will be happy to discuss the book - that is how strongly I feel about its value (although please don't call to ask how to get into the mortgage loan business - I just don't have enough time in the day to deal with that question; go to www.loanofficerschool.com and sign up to take one of my classes which are given on weekends around the country). Not ONE of my hundreds of students has EVER been anything less than enthusiastic about this manual. I even discussed the price at the beginning of the first class session, and told the students that I thought, at first, that it was too high. Then, I encouraged them to evaluate it over the course of the class, and tell me if they think it is overpriced. Not ONE of them has EVER told me so, nor has anyone in the mortgage business ever told me so. If it were up to me, this book would be required reading for every mortgage loan originator in the country. If mortgage loan originators read this book and absorbed the information in it, this would be a much easier business to be in for everyone involved. It has been approved by a number of states for the instruction of mortgage loan originators, as well as numerous community colleges. Sorry to ramble on like this and sound like a shill for the book, but as an originator and an instructor I wanted to address the cost issue. Some people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Ignore the price here, and look at the value. Do that, and I believe you will see what I am talking about.

Thomas Morgan's The Loan Officer's Practical Guide to Residential Finance is THE most comprehensive loan officer training book in print today. Chock full of every single aspect of the mortgage origination process, I truly recommend this book to every amateur as well as novice loan officer I know!

I wish I had found this book the very day I passed my state exam. It would have saved me much frustration and my confidence could have been boosted a lot sooner, which is key to succeeding in this business. This book is putting me equal to, if not ahead of many people who have been in the business for years. I'm shocked at how little people know and I'm pleased at how much I've learned from this book. Absolutely the best money I've spent on my new career!

This is a good book. It is crammed with lots of information that is specific to the loan industry. It is a comprehensive guide covering most of the aspects of the loan industry. I turn to this guide every now and then to check up on problems and questions that I run into with my loans.

Only problem is that it could be written more clearly. It's difficult to decipher some of the figures and tables because the author doesn't explain them enough beforehand. Also he uses some jargon and other terms that might not be familiar to a new loan officer.

Overall, a good guide with lots of specific, useful information. Drawback is some parts and concepts are not clearly explained. I would still recommend to buy it though as its faults are not overwhelming.

I have been a senior executive in the mortgage business for over 25 years and I would recommend this book to anyone considering the business. I found this book to contain in a concise and organized manner all the information a new or seasoned Loan Officer would need to be successful in the mortgage origination business. I advise any manager to consider providing a copy to each of their originators.

I agree with many of the previous posters as to the value of the information contained in this book....it is excellent. That being said, the book is evidently updated annually and the author does a VERY poor job of editing from one edition to the next. I believe this to be part of the reason a previous poster found the text to be confusing at times. In addition to typographical errors, there are errors in the page locations of certain topics, and errors with some tables as well.

That being said, I still highly recommend this book. It is not one to be read only, but to be worked through with paper, pencil, and calculator.

This book is a very good tool for new loan officers. It is a good book, but you can find the same information in other books that are more reasonabaly priced. I would have given it a higher rating, if it was priced below [money]. It was just disappointing to receive such a thin book in the mail for [money].

This is a text book for all loan officers. It is a must read for everyone interested in mortgages. The book is easy to understand and gives all the information in one place. This book will teach you everything you need to know about mortgages. Maximize your knowledge.

The subtitle indicates that this book is a "comprehensive guide on how to make loans on a practical basis". I'm not sure I agree with that assessment and therefore I have mixed feelings about this book.

The book provides a plethora of reference material pertaining to the residential mortgage industry. It's nice to have so many reference tables in one place! The author educates readers on a variety of different topics - even seasoned professionals can benefit from reading this book, as I did cover to cover. The material seems to be current, an important consideration in a very dynamic industry. And I really liked the author's conversational approach throughout the book.

However, there are some things about the book that can be improved. The book contains some sloppy errors which seasoned professionals will find annoying and new hires will find confusing. The book has a "crowded" and "rushed" feel to it with occasional grammatical, formula and reference errors. I guess it needs better proofreading - page 63 has a paragraph repeated word for word. Some chapter titles scream at you. Some conceptual and procedural explanations seem to come up short.

The book seems to be more informational rather than a practical "how-to" guide. Some readers may be disappointed at this and are able to get more in-depth information from other sources such as Fannie Mae, FHA, VA, AllRegs, etc. In addition, if the book is to benefit more readers, I suggest that the author add HP 12C and TI BAII Plus keystrokes as these calculators are widely used by mortgage professionals.

If you're new to the mortgage business, then I highly recommend buying this book. It's very detailed and contains all of the practical info that you need to get a start in the mortgage industry.

Other than that, at times it becomes confusing due to a few editing errors.