First out the gate: This story from JP Morgan Chase was met with skepticism from Loan Officers viewing the HousingWire Facebook page:

Chase offers $3,000 grant to low income homebuyers

One Loan Consultant for Caliber Home Loans had this to say: “Is the $2,500 actually a grant or is it just a yield spread premium? Any lender will pay closing costs…if you take a higher interest rate."

"The 3% down is just a Fannie Mae program, available through pretty much every lender in the US to first time homebuyers," he added. "This looks a lot like a Chase advertisement dressed as a news article.”

Ouch. But does he have a point? 

Second: On the borrower front, we’re seeing yet another play to get lenders to pay for more services:

“Experian launched its new product which will give lenders an unprecedented view into consumer behavior over time across all three credit bureaus,” writes HousingWire reporter Kelsey Ramírez. “The company explained that while traditional credit gives lenders a glimpse into credit during a single moment of time, Experian's product will add a deeper layer of insight.”

Doesn’t it seem that borrower-behavior/credit tech companies launch something like this every six months?

It can be trickier in these times, as one HousingWire reader noted on our comment board that: “Credit profiling of consumers and selling the predictive analytics is a despicable business model.”

Here's where that comment gets REALLY interesting:

“Not just for consumer lending but they do this same thing for retail, automotive and many other markets. These captures are alarmingly comprehensive and complete as to know more about you and your consumer behavior than you do. Much more. Remember, if you're not a customer of a business like this, you're the product.”

So lenders, we ask you, does this kind of tech help you make decisions or is it the unnecessary stockpiling of the personal information of our fellow Americans?

Comment at me below.

Third, we have a sponsored content story, but it’s a great read. It’s from The Money Source and it’s titled: “Your borrower portfolio is your greatest asset, why hand it over to a pack of wolves?”

I don’t have a vested interest in this story one way or another, but appreciate the opinion as there is a war happening over Loan Officers and their client base.

It’s gotten so heated, I’m not even going to mention the parties involved publicly.

But the TMS article is worth a read if only for the president of TMS’ take on borrower portfolios. Here’s a summary:

“We painstakingly worked with the three different subservicers, who were all extremely slow with antiquated technology and poor customer service,” said Ali Vafai, president of TMS. “We want a lifetime relationship with our borrowers and decided we wouldn’t put up with it anymore, so we built our own award-winning technology and servicing platform.”

And then later, he adds: “If a lender’s subservicer isn’t delivering an exceptional customer experience, the borrower won’t be a customer of theirs for long and will shut the door to cross-sell,” said Vafai. “The opportunity for a total home ownership relationship is huge.”

BONUS: Radius Financial Group is hiring a ton of Loan Officers in several states. Loan Officers can browse those opportunities (and many more) at HousingJobs.com, the free mortgage finance jobs website, powered by HousingWire.