Recently, I have attended different association meetings discussing what real estate professionals want from mortgage lenders and vice versa.  In my ten years of association with both industries, I am left dumbfounded that the topics and the points made in these discussions remain the same.  Can it be that that mortgage and real estate professionals are so entrenched in their ways, that they just get together to discuss how to better serve one another, and apply nothing they learned?  Real estate professionals will say that better communication is needed and in order to earn their business mortgage people better prove that they will be offered top shelf service.  Faster pre-approvals, no closing delays, returned phone calls, prompt and frequent status updates, and on and on and on and on.  If I had a penny for ever time I heard the standard list of how to better serve the mortgage and real estate communities, I would have more money than the recent stimulus package passed by the U.S. government.  I am beginning to think that these meetings are meaningless venting sessions.  For example, I attended one well known association meeting where a large real estate team could be asked any question pertaining to how to better service them and their customers.  The team gave the customary answers we have all heard infinite times.  The following day I followed up with a mortgage lender who attended the meeting and asked this person if they learned anything valuable.  They said the things discussed were things that everyone already knew.  My thoughts exactly.  So, why not change?  If you already know all things one needs to do to succeed, why not implement them?  I hope it's not all lip service from both sides of the table.