Quicken Loans They are a broker shop Scottsdale Arizona

Well, isn't quicken still amusing? According to their own submitted information:
Quickie managed to do the following, between 2007 and 2009:
Employees in 2007: 3512.in 2008: 4920..and in 2009: 2890
Wow, so in one year, they hired 1408 peopleand in less than a year later:
lost 2030Now I am no mathematicianbut if you gain 1408 in x amount of time and lose 2030 in the same finite amount of timethat puts you at approximately 70% turn over. True though, those 2030 people were simply bad bankers that somehow made it through the rigorous hiring process at quicken there is no way that they found, sold on the idea of a career, then were either fired for not performing or quit because it was terrible. I mean, there's no other way to look at it right? I mean, by January 1st, 2009 from January 1st 20082030 people were simply not up to par in the company. Breaking into turnover (which would be the loss of 2009 divided by the level of 2008), we get 41%. So, nearly HALF of the company in one year: left.
Was it true, could it be true, that if you played duck duck goose with every employee at quickie on January 1st 2008, EVERY GOOSE and every other duck was simply bad or not cut out for the job? Hawhat a fun company.
At any rate, according to the magic list of Best companies to work for, quickie also did a fun dance (mostly, they gained on over hiring, then lost by over firing). They went from number 17 in 2007 (which is a sad number for a company who touted for so long that they were the best) to 2 in 2008! Awesome. What made them number 2? Well, acquiring of some financial clutter helps the bottom line, but look at the growth! A nearly 40% growth! In one year! Of course, even based off the new number, there was a 41% LOSS. So, in 2009, quickie and company scoot down to 29. Of course, you have to go all the way down to the 50s before you find a top 100 company with a higher turnover rate. Enough pep talk, let's get to the sales. I mean, by all means, stand up and talk on your headsets, Keep LOLA open guys, seriously. Seriously.
Also, we're not a broker! Yeah, that's why when we can't close a loan because the premium (for the company) is not high enough if it were to close; we use someone ELSES underwriting system: CLOUT. Yeah, goodtimes. That's countrywide. Oh wait; countrywide was so corrupt and failing, that they can no longer be partners with quickie. Didn't they learn anything from quickie about how to sweep things under the rug? How to use political clout (no pun intended) to strong-arm a failing state for tax breaks? Make that failing states, because Cleveland Ohio is not a pretty economic picture either.
So what is quickie to do? Well, working on collaborating with bank of America is a good idea. After all, they acquired what was left of countrywide after the executives walked away with big bonuses and laid off tons of people.
As far as posts on here, I notice the pro quicken lot is dead. Practically non-existent. Which, is expected. Of course, every once in a whilea squirrel finds a nut.
I must say, R, when you say that Yield spread premium is not illegal - it is, by law, fully disclosed on all final HUD statements. I'm not quite sure what you're point is? Great, it's not illegal. Ok, now what? I mean, I don't see the relevance I guess.
As far as changing YSP to origination, not so sure anyone here is right about that. Firstly, to write green into a loan, there were many ways to skin the cat as it were. In fact, some team leaders specialized in such endeavors. They would help their best bankers get more green than the other lowly bankers. I was fortunate (or so I thought at the time) to be a good banker and get extra green in my loan. Of course, when I saw how this was accomplished in the UNIX interface (you know, the actual underwriting area), I was quite astonished. With a few strokes of the keyboard, I made an extra 100 dollars, and the client basically could not tell the difference.
Now, not all brokers are paid purely on commission. If you are going to try to state facts, quit doing the sales talk. When says purely commission that negatively connotes the broker. And you do it on purpose, because you are taught to. That's fine, I understand and I've been there myself. Also, the commission does NOT only depend on rates and fees, at least not all the time if you are trying to be factual. Interestingly enough, quickies commission often depends on rates and fees. In fact, I distinctly remember going all the way to the director of mortgage banking to get one loan cut enough so I could close it because the client was a recycled hard-noser lead from an executive bankers lead queue. In the process of cutting fees and the rate, I lost all my green, and received almost half the normal commission. By the way, when it comes down to brass, quickie bankers are paid solely on commission as well. 24k is, just as quicken puts it: burger and coke money. By coke of course, I do not mean coca-cola.
Also, on lenders: it is NOT true that all lenders make underwriting decisions. In fact, the past few financial laws enacted encroach on the concept of a separation of underwriting and lending, so that scams (like the appraisal scams that quicken is often accused of, and rightfully so) do not occur. To avoid being in the grey area of these laws, MANY REAL lenders ensure that their underwriting is outsourced and/or is chosen by the client. As far as a handful of programs they do really well all convention products are the same, company to company, they just call them different things and assess the fees and costs accordingly to their own company financial outlook plan. Kind of like how you can buy Nikes anywhere, but depending on where you buy it, you will pay different prices.
When you say the big difference between brokers and lenders is lenders can usually guarantee you interest rates and closing costs much more quickly, whereas brokers may have the ability to come in a little bit lower, though with a slower process. Are you saying that the downside of a broker is they take longer? I beg to differ. There are more downsides, and that is the least of them. Also, guaranteeing an interest rate is a joke. Any company can do that. Also, the reason closing costs and rates are discovered more quickly by a lender is because THEY are setting them; it's right in front of the mortgage monkeysame prices, all the time. If they change, you'll get an email. A broker has the ability to haggle (like you say, if connections exist) with multiple lenders.
As far as banks not servicing loans they originatehow many closed leads do you know of in LOLA that are serviced by quickie? As you know, NOT MANY. They sell their loans. They also price their loans for sale, whether on the market itself as securities, to other lenders, to banks, or even affiliate companies.
While you are right that none is superior to the other, quicken sticks out to me as interestingbecause, that grey area every company wants to avoidquicken resides in.
Quicken has always enjoyed (much as dan gilbert has) operating in grey areas to avoid a pitching of sides or sliding market trend. Quicken is not totally a lender, it is also not totally a broker. But bankers are certainly sales people, yet in court, quicken is attempting to claim that mortgage banking is NOT sales, and that in fact mortgage bankers are salaried finance employees. As far as the comfort level with the individual you are working withwhat are the chances that the person you close with at quickie are within that 2030 people that didn't cut it, and then they are gone?

I would say the chances are in the range of 41% for the year 2008. That's a high percentage to trust your home and your money with.
Bottom line: However anyone packages it, states it, twists it, compiles it
Quicken is simply no good. It functions on its ability to turn employees like tricks, squeeze money out of them, and in the process, squeeze money out of its so-called clients. If anyone doubts that, go ahead and get a loan at quicken, wait 10 months and try to call your banker. When a different person answers and states so and so is no longer with the company and then they try to sell you on something elsethat will be your second warning besides this one.
If you think it is a great place to work for, ask your director for a day off, try doing extremely ethical and professional calls for a week you will be fired.
Have fun everyone, enjoy your day, enjoy life.
I'll post again if anyone has anything interesting to reply to.

First, to rebut the above post, yield spread premium is specifically money paid to a broker for originating a loan with an interest rate above whatever par rate is for the company purchasing the loan. Yield spread premium is not illegal - it is, by law, fully disclosed on all final HUD statements. Quicken, in my two years there, never fell under this YSP; the babble above about changing YSP to origination because of lawsuits is completely bogus.

Now, to help folk clarify the difference between a broker, a lender, and a bank:

A broker takes your loan information and checks with several servicing companies and/or lenders to find the best price available. They are paid on pure commission, and this commission does depend on what rates and fees you are charged on the loan. This does not mean they are evil or dishonest - they often have the advantage of multiple companies' loan prices and program availability. A well connected broker can be a great help. A relatively raw broker can be a great hinderence.

A lender, which is what Quicken and many, many other companies are, generally originate all their loans in-house. This means they make the underwriting decisions, they process their loans within the company, and generally have a handful of programs they do really well. They do the initial funding of the loan but, in almost all cases, will transfer your loan to a longer term servicing company. The biggest difference for you, the consumer, between brokers and lenders is lenders can usually guarantee you interest rates and closing costs much more quickly, whereas brokers may have the ability to come in a little bit lower, though with a slower process.

Banks take deposits and lend their deposits out as mortgages. They may or may not service loans they originate. The term 'bank' covers such a wide variety of institutions, with such varying degrees of loan servicing, that there is no easy paragraph to type up. Their level of flexibility and speed will depend on if they do their loan work in-house or through a corporate office. Some banks are great for mortgages, others are very restrictive.


None of the above is inherently superior to the other. It depends on what you want for quality of long term service, speed of the loan being closed, and the comfort level you have with whatever individual you are working with.

Direct Lender:

Yes they are a direct lender based on the fact they do fund the loans in house. However the loan officer's used to make money off yield spread. I believe they have to call this an origination fee now due to pending litigation. Some other direct lenders charge origination fees as well. The do not service many of the loans. In fact, the only loans they service are the ones which they are unable to sell to investors. The loans they do service (if you want to call it that) do not even receive monthly statements nor do they receive the annual 1098 required by law. So if someone was unfortunate enough to do business with this company they should consider themselves very lucky to have someone else provide the servicing.

Pyramid Scheme:

Absolutely!!! The guys at the top make all the money. They don't pay their loan officers much at all for "Grinding to shine" as they put it. This is basically the practice of sucking the life out of a person by working them 12+ hours a day including weekends. Good luck trying to leave in under 12 hours because there is usually a manager standing by the door to scare the mostly young and timid employees into staying.

A first year loan officer who excelled would be lucky to make $50k a year at this company. A loan officer working for a reputable bank that puts in as many hours as required by this company would easily make 6 figures.

Potential borrowers...stay clear of this company at all cost, they lie, cheat and steal from their customers. There is no such thing as a free refinance, they do not have a loan tracker system as they claim, and they will call you at all hours night and day to harrass you.

Employees...see what else is out there and prove me wrong. I guarantee you won't.

Potential employees...I would only recommend this company for someone who needed to learn the mortgage industry, but would caution them to leave after about 6-8 months. Anyone who has been in the business stay away or you will be wishing you had listened to me.

Matt,

Just an FYI all lenders bundle mortgages and sell them off. That's nothing new to the mortgage industry. Yes Quicken is a direct lender. The fund all of the loans. A broker goes t 5-7 ledners to see which one will pay him the most money. The broker has nothing to do with the funding. So you might want to check your facts my friend.

Yours truely,

The middle man