I?m going to start off this issue of The Niche Report on a positive note. Actually, make that three positive notes. The first, Fannie Mae has just announced that they are removing their requirements for larger down payments in markets designated as declining. This is huge and will benefit many. It will also allow thousands of non-FHA licensed brokers to compete within this high LTV arena. Second positive note, new home construction posted its largest gain in over two years. Although this may or may not be short lived, it?s nice to hear some good news on this front. Third positive note, I recently found a new large wholesale lender that has the potential to play with the big boys ? Fortes Residential Mortgage. They are owned by Fortes Financial who picked up National City Mortgage; Yes, THAT National City Mortgage. Their business runs deep and they seem to be on good footing, I am rooting for them. The Niche Report is always evolving, and this month is no exception. We have teamed up with Lenderlab.com, an online product search engine that brings an extensive database of lenders to a large audience of mortgage originators. They will be sponsoring and providing our ?Lender Listings? located under our premium niche listings towards the rear of the magazine. We are doing this to create a more robust tool for you (the mortgage originator) to help in finding an outlet for your loans. In this market, keeping your options open is extremely important. I would like to introduce our second columnist for The Niche Report - George H. Marentis, J.D. George will be our resident expert writing on compliance issues that directly affect mortgage originators. His first column talks about the future of mortgage broker licensing. If you ever have a question regarding a State or Federal licensing regulation, please feel free to contact George Marentis directly at [email protected]. Robert Pegg Founder/Publisher
