Taking 45 days to close a loan no longer will be acceptable. Customers with high credit scores will be in demand, and leaving them waiting unnecessarily often will lead to losing them for good. This will be especially true in light of the aggressive competition you will face from other brokers and lenders using advanced lead-capture and communication technology.

As industry technology continues to advance, brokers will be able to use trigger leads and information mined from Web sources to locate applicants quickly and efficiently. Brokers may find that a day after taking an application -- or shortly after requesting some other piece of information -- applicants will receive calls from others who hope to take over the deal. Increasingly, borrowers and referral sources will demand excellence in communications and accountability from brokers, who will need to deliver approvals and closings in a timely fashion and at a competitive price or risk losing customers.

Technology also will allow brokers to control all aspects of the origination process from application to closing. For example, tracking of electronic mortgages will allow brokers to know at all times where a loan file is located and why. Brokers also will be able to e-mail or call underwriters and customer-service representatives to explain and discuss underwriting issues.

Brokers who adjust to the changing paradigm and shift toward quality quickly will be better situated to thrive in the future. Those who don't and who fail to produce high-performing loan portfolios will struggle and quite possibly see themselves priced out of the market.

Mathew Ishbia took over as United Wholesale Mortgage's national sales manager in 2006 following a successful career as an account executive. He has helped the company grow into the ninth-largest Federal Housing Administration wholesale lender in the U.S. Richard Greene, consultant and trainer, has been a loan officer and sales manager. He owned and sold a major mortgage wholesale company. Greene has consulted United Wholesale Mortgage for 14 years. Call (800) 981-8898 or visit www.uwmco.com.

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