Google is looking to bring a mortgage comparison tool to the U.S.

Ready to buy a house? Google would like to help you get a good mortgage: New job listings suggest that the search giant is looking to bring its mortgage comparison tool to the U.S. market as part of its Google Compare service.

Google has helped would-be homebuyers in the U.K. since late 2012 to find mortgages via Compare, which also helps U.K. residents to find deals on credit cards as well as travel and auto insurance plans.

Now, the company is looking to hire mortgage specialists in both the Bay Area and Seattle for Compare, with ads specifically spelling out that potential candidates have to have worked at least three years as licensed loan originators. A completed Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) exam is also encouraged, and candidates are advised that they “may not also be acting as the licensed individual for any other mortgage entity while working with Google Compare.” Google didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.

Google is currently only operating Compare as a credit card comparison tool in the U.S., but the New York Times revealed earlier this year that the company has plans to bring auto insurance comparisons to U.S. consumers as well. In addition to mortgage specialists, Google has also been looking to fill other positions to staff up the Compare team, with one ad reading in part:

    Come join the Google Compare team as we build comparison ads products that provide great answers to our users in the financial/insurance verticals. We operate as a startup within Google, exploring interesting new ideas around how to present more financial choice to users and save time by increasing access to financial information.

Financial information that Google could profit off, one should add. Compare is an ad product at its core, meaning that Google earns money every time a consumer takes an action based on its recommendations. The more money at stake, the higher is Google’s potential cut, which is why mortgages are especially interesting.

read more: https://gigaom.com/2015/03/02/google-compare-mortgages/

Average rate on 30-year mortgage rises to 3.80 percent

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates have edged up for a third straight week while remaining near their historically low levels reached in May 2013.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday the nationwide average for a 30-year mortgage rose to 3.80 percent from 3.76 percent last week.

The rate for the 15-year loan, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, ticked up to 3.07 percent from 3.05 percent last week.

A year ago, the average 30-year mortgage stood at 4.37 percent and the 15-year mortgage at 3.39 percent. Mortgage rates have remained low even though the Federal Reserve in October ended its monthly bond purchases, which were meant to hold down long-term rates.

In testimony before Congress this week, Fed Chair Janet Yellen made clear that the central bank isn’t ready yet to raise rates from record lows. The job market is still healing, and inflation is too low, she said. At the same time, Yellen signaled that the Fed is moving closer to a rate hike by sketching the steps it would take when it deemed the time was right.

A government report issued Wednesday showed that sales of new homes were basically flat in January, evidence that the relatively low mortgage rates and recent job gains have yet to spur the real estate market. Despite the increasingly favorable economy, home sales have been sluggish at the start of the year. Still, many analysts expect that the housing market will gather momentum with the start of the spring buying season.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

see more at; http://www.news-press.com/story/money/industries/realestate/2015/03/01/average-rate-year-mortgage-rises-percent/24087413/

Many Companies Fail to Realize Optimum Value in Consulting Projects, Says New Study

NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2015—According to a new report by Forbes Insights, in association with North Highland, “Perception Versus Reality: Are You Getting Enough Value From Your Consultants?” a vast majority of executives say their consulting projects have been a success. Yet this level of satisfaction may stem partly from complacence and partly from challenges in defining and monitoring success. A deeper analysis reveals cracks in this pretty picture:

    Only half of respondents used the same consultancy again, despite the fact that 92% of executives say the consulting project was successful. This exposes a serious dichotomy between expressed satisfaction and willingness to rehire the same firm.

    Defining and managing the project and its scope was among the most significant challenges for executives. Although the outset of the project is critical to success, just over half (58%) of executives worked with consulting firms on the project’s strategic direction before starting work.

    Change management capabilities are lacking, as many consulting firms deliver a PowerPoint presentation and leave the execution to the client. The survey revealed that communicating with internal teams and management is among the top five challenges for consulting firms.

• Companies don’t know how to define success for strategic projects, as is revealed by their preferred method of payment. Most companies (59%) prefer to pay without taking results into consideration, whether based on a flat fee or hourly charges.

“This report shows that most companies still have a lot of room to increase the value they get from their consultants,” said Bruce Rogers, Chief Insights Officer at Forbes Media.

“The fact that consulting engagements have a certain level of accepted failure should be a wake-up call to our industry to re-evaluate how we partner with our clients to determine what success looks like. This will enable us to deliver more powerful solutions that are long-lasting and impactful,” said Dan Reardon, CEO of North Highland.

Other key findings include:

    Only 37% of those paying a flat fee say meeting project objectives is a critical success factor.

    Top challenges for consulting firms include changes in scope during the project (34%), communications with internal teams (28%), and project plan and milestones (26%).

    Top internal challenges for companies include resources available to devote to the project (36%), changes in scope (32%) and accountability for project outcome (24%).

About this research

The insights and commentary found in this report are derived from both a survey and qualitative interviews. Partnering with consulting firm North Highland, Forbes Insights conducted a survey of 169 senior executives based in the United States and United Kingdom in October 2014. In addition to the survey, Forbes Insights interviewed executives at several large U.S. and multinational companies who successfully manage relationships with consultants.

read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2015/02/25/many-companies-fail-to-realize-optimum-value-in-consulting-projects-says-new-study/

Six Strategies to Get Paid What You’re Worth

By Michael W. McLaughlin

Some years ago, my wife and I decided to remodel our outdated kitchen. Through referrals and research, we found a contractor and conveyed our vision to him so he could prepare a proposal.

The contractor understood what we wanted and contributed some great ideas. We worked well together and were excited about the project—until we got to the pricing discussions. That’s when the contractor’s interests diverged from ours; the tense negotiations about price strained the relationship with the contractor and nearly scotched the deal.

Consultants face a similar dilemma. Things will be humming along nicely as you exchange productive ideas with a client. But when you ultimately come to the subject of fees, the interests of the client and the consultant often head in opposite directions:

Clients and consultants alike usually dread fee discussions. Here are six strategies to help you preserve your profit margins and your client relationships as you work through pricing discussions.

Begin with the End Goal


I once received a single-page proposal from a consultant that contained a one-paragraph project recap, a proposed fee, and a space for my signature of approval. I’m a big fan of short proposals, but this was one for the record book.

I asked how the consultant had derived the fee and the only answer I could get was, “That’s our fee for this type of work.” The number—which was a big one—seemed arbitrary and I judged it to be unacceptable.

Instead of springing an unsubstantiated fee on a client, start every sales process by identifying the client’s desired results, and then quantify them. It’s hard work, but it pays off when you eventually get to a discussion of fees. With a credible estimate of benefits, the client has a powerful context to evaluate whether or not your proposed fee is a good deal.

read more: http://mindshareconsulting.com/six-strategies-paid-worth/

Weigh pros and cons of reverse mortgages for your situation

Reverse mortgages are in the headlines again — and again, sometimes for the wrong reasons.

The attention being paid to the loan product, which lets seniors 62 and older borrow against the equity in their homes, points to its anticipated popularity, especially given the demographics of baby boomers. Some 41 percent of Americans ages 55 to 64 have no retirement savings account, and many do not have pensions. What they do have are homes; almost three-quarters of this group are homeowners, according to government figures.

A report issued earlier this month by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau looked at 1,200 complaints on reverse mortgages submitted to the agency in a three-year span. Topping the list were complaints related to a borrower's inability to make payments, refinance the loans or change the loan terms. There also were issues regarding communication.

One concern noted in the report, that surviving spouses may lose the homes after a borrower's death, may ease going forward. In a policy shift, spouses not named on the most common reverse mortgage, a federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, made after Aug. 4, 2014, may be eligible to stay in a house after the death of a spouse who was the official borrower.

The bureau's report was followed by the agency filing a lawsuit against reverse mortgage provider All Financial Services, based in Maryland, for allegedly falsely advertising its product as linked to the federal government and advertising that no monthly payments were required "whatsoever" so long as the consumer and spouse live in the house. In fact, borrowers still need to pay property taxes and insurance. Interest and fees on the loan accrue, and the total balance is due when the borrower dies, sells the home or permanently moves from it.

read more:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/ct-mre-0222-podmolik-homefront-20150219-column.html

Another Winter Storm Slams The Northeast

The fourth winter storm in the Northeast this year was adding to the 6 feet of snow already on the ground in some areas, bringing with it hurricane-force winds and near-white-out conditions.

In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker said at a news conference early today that snowfalls had already "significantly exceeded" expectations. Accumulation in the northern half of the state exceeded a foot in some places.

According to The Boston Globe, Baker "urged residents to stay off the roadways through early Sunday afternoon, when the worst part of the storm was expected to pass."

Baker said the storm was "officially a blizzard," the Globe said, but National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham said the weather service likely would wait until the end of the storm to declare the storm a blizzard, according to the newspaper.

The Associated Press writes:

    "Before it is all over, southern New England could get several more inches and Maine could see up to 2 feet, weather forecasters said.

    "Transportation officials in the region had taken precautions. Nearly 400 Sunday flights were canceled at Boston's Logan International Airport, and none was scheduled Sunday morning. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority canceled all rail, bus and ferry service in the Boston area on Sunday."

read more: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/02/15/386454272/another-winter-storm-slams-the-northeast

Why we love highly paid consultants

Flashback to the 1980s, when this company is in need of a major database management system upgrade, according to a pilot fish on the scene.

"Our highly paid consultant says we don't need to recompile all the applications' code," fish says. "I argue for it. I get overruled.

"Migration is complete, weeks pass, highly paid consultant is long gone. Then a nightly job goes down with an error in one of the four shared linked modules. Standard procedure is to put a standard patch in to skip the problem transaction, recompile that module and run again. Bam again."

Fish knows this can't wait until the morning for debugging. He finds which module is failing and puts in a display for the bad transaction, so he can see what's happening when the program gets there. Then he compiles and reruns.

And the program runs fine. Huh?

Next morning, fish and his two most senior compatriots put their heads together, but just can't spot a pattern in what happened. But they decide there's no need to remove the the single display that fish put in until the next time fish is on call.

Weeks go by, and then another big nightly program goes down -- and this one has 13 linked modules. Fish's compatriot, who's on call, puts in the standard patch, and it goes down again.

read more http://www.computerworld.com/article/2882815/why-we-love-highly-paid-consultants.html