During the height of the real estate boom, mortgage companies were getting licensed in the states that had the most active selling climate. Assuming you could meet the brick and mortar and other licensing requirements, Nevada and Arizona were on everyone’s “hot” list. So were California and Florida.
Times are different now and the “hot” states are experiencing very high rates of foreclosures. This means a slow sales climate and selling prices that are plummeting. It is much more difficult now to make money in these states.
If you are licensed in a state that is not your home state, you should do some market research for that state. How much business are you doing in this state and how much profit are you making? Are there any very active markets in that state (not every city is experiencing the same level of sales meltdown)? Have sales prices fallen or risen? Do you have contacts in those active markets or can you create referral relationships?
Do the same market research in states that you are not licensed in now but could be if the conditions were favorable for you to make money. First, find the cities and states where sales levels are greater than the national average. Do you have any contacts in these cities? Can you find referral sources through your contacts? Don’t forget to use your business and social contacts to reach out to others who are living and working in other states and can lead you to those referral sources (the six degrees of separation phenomenon). If you join LinkedIn or Facebook or other internet social media, can you locate possible referral sources or borrowers?
You want to be one of the survivors in this very difficult market. This means changing strategies to take advantage of changes in the lending environment. Use the ability to be licensed in more than one state strategically to make more money.
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