The Loan Officer's Practical Guide to Residential Finance (Perfect Paperback)

by Thomas A. Morgan (Author) "When you were in high school math class and the teacher started to explain algebra, did you say, "I don't need to know this stuff..." (more)
Key Phrases: Residential Finance, Loan Prospector, Record Result (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
...a fantastic resource for the new or seasoned loan officer... a great value for the amount of information presented... -- Mortgage Originator Magazine, June 1998

...a fantastic resource for the new or seasoned loan officer... a great value for the amount of information presented... --Mortgage Originator Magazine, June 1998

Haven't been able to find as much info in one place and as well organized anywhere else! Thanks, wildly exceeded -- Jim Gulvin

Haven't been able to find as much info in one place and as well organized anywhere else! Thanks, wildly exceeded expectations! --Jim Gulvin

Product Description
This is the 2009 Edition of the first book in the "Practical Guide" series for the mortgage industry.

Published since 1992, and updated annually, this 198 page textbook was written as an answer to the "sink-or-swim" training methods of many mortgage firms. The format is designed to give the newly initiated loan officer/agent, lender, processor, or other initiate the practical information they need to do the loan officer's job.

The reader learns how to understand rate and point quotes, how to use a financial calculator, how to make basic computations customers require, how to understand loan programs and compare product features. The student progresses through understanding loan specifications - Conventional Conforming, Jumbo, FHA/VA and Sub-Prime program guidelines - to a practical understanding of ratios, income, assets and closing costs, debts and credit history. This is then placed in the context of the loan application - how to collect all the required documents and disclosures and supervise a loan from application to closing. Beyond the basics, students learn how to finance various property types; condos, PUDs, new construction and investment property. A detailed chapter on refinancing addresses the issues which most often confront the loan officer in a period of heavy refinancing - 10 reasons to refinance.

Finally, understanding how loans are made in the secondary market and the basics of interest rate quoting and behavior are covered.

This product is submitted for approval for use in continuing education in all states which have, or are adopting, a requirement. Many companies use this product as a handout to prospective new loan officers. Many loan officers give this product to their referral sources to help educate them to the requirements of the industry.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 206 pages
• Publisher: Quick-Start Publications (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971820503
• ISBN-13: 978-0971820500
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #314,908 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No new, prospective, or veteran residential mortgage loan originator should be without this book. , April 6, 2004

By	Christopher Cruise "LOBooks" (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE most comprehensive Loan officer training book in print!, April 6, 2004

By	Isalena Merritt "isalena13" (Maryland) - See all my reviews

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!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for the new mortgage broker!, September 15, 2005

By	D. Lea (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!