MAY 2013 - National Mortgage Professional Magazine

Transcription

NMP MEDIA CORP.
1220 WANTAGH AVENUE
WANTAGH, NEW YORK 11793
PRESORTED STANDARD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
NMP MEDIA CORP.
Mortgage PROFESSIONAL
CALIFORNIA
MAGAZINE
Your source for the latest on originations, settlement, and servicing
California Association of Mortgage Professionals
1225 8th Street #425 v Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone #: (916) 448-8236 v Fax #: (916) 442-3616
Web site: www.ca-amp.org
CAMP 2012-2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Phone #
E-mail
Fred Kreger
President
(661) 505-4311
[email protected]
George Duarte
President-Elect
(510) 377-9059
[email protected]
Michelle Velez
Vice President/
(408) 342-3745
[email protected]
Mario Yeaman
Vice President/Membership
(310) 766-0432
[email protected]
Ben Ramos
Vice President/Education
(805) 929-2828
[email protected]
Cathy Warshawsky
Vice President/Treasurer
(408) 371-2172
[email protected]
Ed Craine
Immediate Past President
(415) 406-2330
[email protected]
Matt Wheeler
Executive Director
(916) 448-8236
[email protected]
Government Affairs
STATEWIDE DIRECTORS
& CHAPTER PRESIDENTS
Thurza Andrew
Greater Northstate Chapter
(530) 343-2454
[email protected]
Belinda Austin
San Diego Chapter
(760) 452-7674
[email protected]
Nick Barayuga
Central Valley Chapter
(559) 325-3650
[email protected]
Gena Pasquini
Greater Ventura County
(805) 480-2491
[email protected]
David Brown
Central Coast Chapter
(805) 686-2321
[email protected]
Patterson Gaughf
Greater Monterey
(831) 645-1160
[email protected]
Glenda Brass
Los Angeles Metro Chapter
Jon Kaempfer
Greater Sacramento Chapter
Stevens Manning
Cheryl Mehe’ula
Alan Nuttall
Bay Chapter
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(916) 486-6922
[email protected]
North Bay Chapter
(415) 485-4321
[email protected]
Silicon Valley Chapter
(408) 371-8882
[email protected]
San Francisco
(650) 994-8705
[email protected]
Peninsula Chapter
Michele Chapel
Southern Los Angeles
(562) 498-8200, ext. 29
Los Angeles Man Pleads Guilty
to Falsifying Mortgage Apps
Ricardo Fabian Salinas of Los Angeles, Calif. pleaded guilty to bank fraud in
connection with a mortgage fraud scheme in Bakersfield, U.S. Attorney
Benjamin B. Wagner announced. According to court documents, from 2007
to 2010, Salinas, Eliseo Jara, Sergio Jara, and other co-defendants ran a
scheme that defrauded banks and mortgage lenders by selling properties to
nominee buyers using loans obtained with fraudulent applications and false
documentation. At the time of the scheme, Salinas was a licensed real estate
agent. Salinas purchased a residence as a nominee buyer from Jara Brothers
Investments (JBI), owned by Eliseo Jara and Sergio Jara. They caused materially false statements and omissions to be submitted to the lender concerning Salinas’ income, the funds on deposit in his bank account, his rent
expense, the source of funds for closing costs, and his lack of intent to occupy the property as his personal residence. They also caused false supporting
documentation to be submitted. Ultimately, the property that Salinas purchased from JBI went into foreclosure when the loan payments were not
made. Salinas admitted in his plea that the losses attributable to his role in
the fraud scheme were approximately $575,000.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk E. Sherriff and Henry Z. Carbajal III are prosecuting the case.
Salinas is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 4, 2014, by Senior United
States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii. The maximum sentence for bank
fraud is 30 years in prison. The actual sentence will be determined at the
discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into
account a number of variables. There are eight defendants charged in the
case in addition to Salinas. The other eight defendants have pleaded not
guilty, the charges as to them are only allegations, and they are presumed
innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
CA
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[email protected]
County Chapter
Bob Rice
Inland Empire Chapter
(909) 383-7556
[email protected]
Manuel Solana
North Los Angeles
(818) 999-6070
[email protected]
Don Currie
Orange County Chapter
George Tribble
East Bay Chapter
--------
-----------------
Greg Armstrong Sr.
Advisory Director
(916) 932-7276
[email protected]
Theresa Ballard
Advisory Director
(619) 397-2603
[email protected]
(510) 451-8900
[email protected]
ADVISORY DIRECTORS
Ginny Ferguson CMC NAMB Board Director
(925) 469-0100, ext. 21
[email protected]
AUGUST 2013
Wednesday-Friday, August 14-16
California Association of Mortgage Professionals 2013 Summer Convention
San Jose Marriott
301 South Market Street
San Jose, Calif.
For more information on all CAMP events, call (916) 448-8236
or visit www.ca-amp.org.
n California Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2013
MAY
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
County Chapter
California Attorney General Files
Unlawful Debt Collection Action
Against JP Morgan Chase
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed an enforcement action against JPMorgan
Chase & Co. alleging that the bank engaged in fraudulent and unlawful debt-collection practices against tens of thousands of Californians. The suit alleges that
Chase engaged in widespread, illegal robo-signing, among other unlawful practices, to commit debt-collection abuses against approximately 100,000 California
credit card borrowers over at least a three-year period.
“Chase abused the judicial process and engaged in serious misconduct against
California credit card borrowers,” Attorney General Harris said. “This enforcement
action seeks to hold Chase accountable for systematically using illegal tactics to flood
California’s courts with specious lawsuits against consumers. My office will demand a
permanent halt to these practices and redress for borrowers who have been harmed.”
From January 2008 through April 2011, Chase filed thousands of debt collection
lawsuits every month in the State of California. On one day alone, Chase filed 469
such lawsuits in California. The Attorney General’s complaint against Chase alleges
that, to maintain this pace, Chase employed unlawful practices as shortcuts to
obtain judgments against California consumers with speed and ease that could
not have been possible if Chase had adhered to the minimum substantive and
procedural protections required by law.
“At nearly every stage of the collection process, Defendants cut corners in the
name of speed, cost savings, and their own convenience, providing only the
thinnest veneer of legitimacy to their lawsuits,” the complaint states.
Chase used California’s judicial system as a mill to obtain default judgments,
the suit alleges, using illegal tactics to flood the state’s court system in order to
secure default judgments and garnish wages from Californians.
The alleged misconduct includes:
MAY 2013 n California Mortgage Professional Magazine n
CA
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n Robo-signing: Chase illegally robo-signed various litigation filings, including
sworn documents, declarations, and verified complaints, without reviewing the
relevant files or bank records or even reading the documents before signing.
n “Sewer Service”: Chase failed to properly serve notice of debt collection lawsuits
against consumers while claiming they had been served as required by law. This practice, known as “sewer service,” deprives the consumer of any notice of the lawsuit.
n Filing Irregularities: Chase haphazardly assembled its official legal filings. For
example, Chase failed to redact consumers’ personal information in attachments to filings, potentially exposing them to identity theft and in violation of
California law. In addition, when asking courts to enter default judgments
against consumers, Chase consistently swore under penalty of perjury that the
consumers were not on active military duty. In fact, Chase never checked. This
deprived servicemembers of important legal protections to which they are entitled while on active duty.
Save the Date …
Wednesday-Friday, August 14-16
Headlines and breaking news from
NationalMortgageProfessional.com.
California Association of
Mortgage Professionals 2013
Summer Convention
San Jose Marriott
301 South Market Street • San Jose, Calif.
Featuring:
n Top industry speakers
n Exhibit hall
n CE classes
n Board and committee meetings
n Training
n And much more!
For more information, contact CAMP Director of Membership Carmen Berry
by phone at (916) 448-8236, ext. 107, e-mail [email protected] or visit
www.ca-amp.org.
Headlines and blogs from
around the web.
CA
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CA
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CA
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CA
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GUIDELINES:
1. Brokers Protected
2. No Upfront Fees
3. Stated & NO doc programs available on
Investment/N/o/o Properties
4. Purchase loans up to 70% of Purchase Price
with NO prepayment penalty available
5. Residential rates start at 8.50%,
interest only
6. Loans from 11 months to 5 years 7. Stated & NO doc up to 70% LTV with
500+ score
8. NO prepayment penalty options available
CA
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facebook.com/mortgageprofessional
LinkedIn.com (search National Mortgage Professional Magazine)
Twitter.com/ntlmortgagepro
CA
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1
10
Waiting for the CPFB
By Jonathan Foxx
M A Y
24
Lesson Learned:
The Great Recession
Ends, but Young
Professionals Remain
Elusive!
By Chad Jampedro
table o
N A T I O N A L
2 0 1 3
l
M O R T
V O L U
A SPECIAL LOOK AT
“MOTIVATION AND
TRAINING FOR
SUCCESS”
The Benefit of a Hired Sales Trainer By Greg Frost Sr. ......50
Training and Coaching Sales Personnel
By Dave Hershman ......................................................................51
Leadership and Restoring Confidence in
the Community By David Lykken ........................................52
Unleashing the Trainer in You: 10 Easy Steps
to Creating a Course By Ginger Bell ..................................54
Welcome to
the Show!
32
Wecome to the Show!
Industry Newcomers
Learning From the
Past to Create a
Positive Lending
Future
By Tara R. Nygaard
Stop Getting in the Way of YOU—Build
Systems for Success and Prevent
Self-Sabotaging Behaviors By Kelly Resendez ....................57
Learning Event Strategies to Enhance Motivation
By Judy Wheatley & John C. Cunningham ..................................59
You Can Let Your Teeth Rot or Recruit New
Loan Officers … Your Choice By Ralph LoVuolo ................61
FEATURES
When to Stop Thinking By Jake Soley......................................8
The Elite Performer: Set Your Goals!
By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ........................................................8
33
Regulatory
Compliance Review:
FHA Mortgage
Review Board ...
Administrative Actions
By Jonathan Foxx
36
Growth and
Expansion in Today’s
Mortgage
Marketplace
Two Reverse Mortgage Misconceptions
By Ralph E. Rosynek Jr. ........................................................16
Escrow Requirements Final Rule—
Amended Already? By Laurie Spira ....................................18
NAMB Perspective ........................................................20
V I S I T
Company
Web Site
O U R
A
Page
AllRegs.............................................................. www.allregs.com ..........................................................34
American Financial Resources Inc. ...................... www.afrwholesale.com ............................Inside Back Cover
Appraisal Nation, LLC ........................................ www.appraisal-nation.com ............................................57
Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................21
Calyx Software .................................................. www.calyxsoftware.com ................................................43
CBC National Bank ............................................ www.cbconnex.com ......................................................34
Cendix .............................................................. www.zairmail.com/mortgage_marketing ........................51
Crawford Park Financial Inc. .............................. www.crawfordparkfinancialinc.com ..............................CA1
Credit Plus, Inc. ................................................ www.creditplus.com/undisclosed-debt-monitoring ............23
Data Facts ........................................................ www.datafacts.com ........................................................60
Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ........................................................9
FAMP ................................................................ www.myfamp.org ..........................................................47
indMortgageJobs.com ........................................ www.findmortgagejobs.com ..................................46 & 66
First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmcwholesale.com ................................................7
GSF Mortgage Corp. ............................................ www.gsfsales.com ..........................................................19
Hometown Lenders ............................................ www.whotookmybacon.com ..................................13 & 35
HomeBridge ...................................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................41
Maverick Funding Corp....................................... www.maverickwholesale.com ........................................27
Maximum Acceleration Coaching ........................ www.maccelcoach.com ..................................................25
Menlo Park Funding .......................................... www.mpfunding.com ....................................................61
f contents
T G A G E
M E
5
P R O F E S S I O N A L
l
N U M B E R
5
Create Preeminence in Wholesale Lending
By Sharon Bitz ....................................................................22
Secrets to More Closings: Stages Three
to Five of the Sales Funnel (Part II) By Jean LeBlanc ........30
Bonded With NAMB: C’mon … Step Right Up
and Play the Shell Game By Mason Grashot, CPA ................40
FHA Insider: FHA Lays Down the Hammer
on Multiple Lenders … Find Out Why By Jeff Mifsud ..........44
The Five Critical Factors to Develop
Call Confidence By Jeff Krantz ..........................................48
Using Engagement-Based Professional Services
to Meet Your Business Needs By Dan Thoms ..................49
Increase Your Monthly Funding Volume
With These Simple Steps By Joshua Conklin ......................62
2013 … So Far So Good for the USDA
Single-Family Loan Program By Rich Obermeier ................63
NAMB Sales & Marketing Tips for
Today’s Mortgage Professional: Sharpening
Your Skills … A Daily Practice By Fred Arnold, CMC ............64
Have You Seen a Dip in Your Marketing Results? ........65
The Keys to Leadership: An Unlikely Source
By Kevin E. O’Connor, CSP ....................................................66
NMP News Flash: May 2013 ..........................................12
New to Market................................................................14
Heard on the Street ......................................................62
soar
Through our Integrated Marketing Campaigns, we offer our
advertisers ads in the monthly edition of National Mortgage
Professional Magazine and our 38 state-specific electronic editions. We also offer promotion throughout various forms
of electronic media, including e-mail blasts, social networking
outlets, banner ads and the ability to interact with our
readership through jointly-hosted Webinars. To find out how
National Mortgage Professional Magazine can
empower your brand, contact us today.
NMP Mortgage Professional Resource Registry ..........68
NMP Calendar of Events ................................................72
Company
Web Site
Page
Mortgage Mapp, Inc. .......................................... www.mortgagemapp.com/MO ........................................29
Mountain West Financial .................................... wwwmwfinc.com ........................................................CA3
NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ..........................................................42
New Penn Financial, LLC .................................... www.gonewpenn.com ....................................................53
PB Financial Group Corp..................................... www.pbfinancialgrp.com ......................................CA7 & 47
Quality Mortgage Services .................................. www.qcmortgage.com ....................................................58
REMN (Real Estate Mortgage Network) ................ www.remnwholesale.com ................................................5
Reverse Mortgage Solutions .............................. www.RMPath.com ........................................................45
Ridgewood Savings Bank .................................... www.ridgewoodbank.com ..............................................56
Rushmore Loan Management Services LLC............ www.rushmorehl.com ....................................................17
Salomon James Capital Group, ULP...................... www.salomonjamesfinance.com ....................................11
Simple Nexus .................................................... www.simplenexus.com ..................................................59
Streetlinks LLC .................................................. www.streetlinks.com ..............................Inside Front Cover
TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................39
The Bond Exchange............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................50
Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. ........................ www.titanlists.com ..........................................................1
Ultimate Mortgage Expo .................................... www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com ....................................15
United Wholesale Mortgage ................................ www.uwm.com ................................................Back Cover
Vanguard Funding LLC........................................ www.unleashvpower.com ..............................................31
WCS Lending...................................................... www.wcswholesale.com ................................................38
NMP Media Corp.
1220 Wantagh Avenue
Wantagh, New York 11793-2202
516.409.5555
516.409.4600
[email protected]
www.NationalMortgageProfessional.com
COMING SOON!
D V E R T I S E R S
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COLUMNS
let us
help your
brand
MAY 2013
Volume 5 • Number 5
FROM THE
1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202
Phone: (516) 409-5555 • Fax: (516) 409-4600
Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com
STAFF
Eric C. Peck
Editor-in-Chief
(516) 409-5555, ext. 312
[email protected]
Joel M. Berman
Publisher - CEO
(516) 409-5555, ext. 310
[email protected]
David J. Coster
Senior Editor
[email protected]
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Assistant Editor
(516) 409-5555, ext. 314
[email protected]
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Art Director
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National Account Executive
(516) 409-5555, ext. 316
[email protected]
ADVERTISING
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Koondel at (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail [email protected].
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS/PRESS RELEASES
To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please
contact Editor-in-Chief Eric C. Peck at (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 or email [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is the
first of the month prior to the target issue.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
To receive subscription information, please call (516) 409-5555, ext.
301; e-mail [email protected] or visit www.nationalmortgageprofessional.com. Any subscription changes may be made to
the attention of “Circulation” via fax to (516) 409-4600.
Statements, articles and opinions in National Mortgage Professional
Magazine are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply the
opinion or endorsement of NMP Media Corp., or the officers or members
of National Association of Mortgage Brokers and its State Affiliates
(NAMB), National Association of Professional Mortgage Women
(NAPMW), National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) and/or other
state mortgage trade associations.
Participation in NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage trade associations events, activities and/or publications is available on a non-discriminatory basis and does not reflect the endorsement of the product and/or services by NMP Media Corp., NAMB,
NAPMW, NCRA, and other state mortgage trade associations.
National Mortgage Professional Magazine, NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA,
and/or other state mortgage trade associations do not make any misrepresentations or warranties concerning the regulatory and/or compliance aspects of advertisers, products or services and/or the editorial
content contained in NMP Media Corp. publications. National Mortgage
Professional Magazine and NMP Media Corp. reserve the right to edit,
reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
is published monthly by NMP Media Corp.
Copyright © 2013 NMP Media Corp.
publisher’s desk
The Catch 22 of compliance
I recently attended the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Secondary Marketing Conference in
New York City and was troubled by an old buzzword. “Compliance” is not new, it’s been
around for as long as people have been closing loans and putting people into homes. The
advent of the Dodd-Frank Act has put compliance again to the forefront, and the chatter
amongst the small businessmen and mortgage professionals in attendance at the MBA’s
Secondary Conference left me confused.
The birth of Dodd-Frank has caused a boom in the compliance market, as new layers upon layers of
legalities and regulations have been put in place to achieve the American dream of homeownership. Sure,
compliance is a good thing. It has effectively washed away many of those who swooped into the industry,
illegally made a quick buck and either ran for the hills or wound up behind bars. In addition to the layers
of regulations previously mentioned, mortgage professionals now needed compliance professionals on call
at all times in order to keep pace with new rules and regulations as they were passed. End result … another added cost to the overhead of today’s mortgage professional.
And what of those who are lacking in information … those who are not really following the ebbs and
flows of the regulation arena closely? They too pay a price, but their cost is generally in the form of huge
monetary fines or even jail time. Bottom line … there is a cost of the double-edged sword that is compliance. Jonathan Foxx, on page 10, prepares us for the impending Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(CFPB) fines and penalties against non-banks.
Motivation and training
This month, we focus on motivation and training. Kicking things off this month for us is Greg Frost Sr.,
known as the industry’s first billion dollar originator, with his story on page 50 about hiring a sales trainer. Dave Hershman picks up where Greg leaves off on page 51 and discusses the ways in which to properly prepare your training and sales personnel to get out and makes some deals. David Lykken follows on
page 52 and gets into the motivation end of business in his piece on how confident leaders setting the tone
to restore confidence in today’s homebuying public. National Training Director Ginger Bell of Plaza Home
Mortgage takes training a step further on page 54 with her article. She provides you with the foundation
to take your industry experience and utilize it by getting out into the field and becoming an industry trainer by creating industry-specific courses. Kelly Resendez of Paramount Equity breaks down the barriers to
achieving personal success with her article on page 57, focusing on goal-setting and laying the foundation
to your future successes. The duo of Judy Wheatley and John C. Cunningham of Indecomm Global Services
dissect the three elements of successful learning on page 59, when they delve deeper into pre-learning,
learning and post-learning. And wrapping up our special section on page 61, Ralph LoVuolo of consulting
firm Mortgage Motivator shares some real-life experiences in his piece on building the ideal LO for today’s
marketplace.
Back to our leaders
In my travels at the MBA Secondary Conference, I encountered many who foresee a downshift in the market. As the refi market subsides, a new purchase market strategy must compensate for that lost refi business, and many of the mortgage professionals I met with are grabbing the bull by the horns. To avoid from
the mistakes of the past, many are prepping their infrastructure and shifting their focus to the purchase
market. These individuals are to be applauded for not viewing an impending down market as a roadblock,
but a simple bump in the road on their path to success. They have set methods in place to deal with these
issues such as a dried up refi market in a positive way, and not treating it like it’s the end of the world.
To that end, National Mortgage Professional Magazine was able to host a roundtable discussion and
brainstorming session with 10 of the industry’s movers and shakers. Our 2013 Mortgage Mastermind panel
discussion, beginning on page 36, lends their ideas and thoughts on how to keep pace with an ever-shifting market and how to properly navigate through these waters to maintain success. From company growth,
to everyday business practices, our panelists tackle the issues in roundtable fashion and share what has
made hem successful and also discuss the pitfalls to avoid along the way.
All of this and much more lies ahead in this issue of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. As the
summer months set in, take this opportunity to stay sharp and remain ahead of the curve. While your competition is kicking their feet up and sunning in the sand, gain that competitive edge and claim your share
of this changing market and stay sharp. With rapid-fire regulations changing daily, there is no time for
relaxing, only time for vigilance as the hold of compliance grows stronger. Don’t be the one to pay the ultimate price of compliance … stay ahead and keep ahead of the curve to avoid long-term troubles by tending to short-term problems.
Sincerely,
Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEO
NMP Media Corp.
[email protected]
CHOOSE
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Proudly delivering same day turn times since 2002*
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NAMB—The Association of
Mortgage Professionals
National Association of
Professional Mortgage Women
2701 West 15th Street, Suite 536 l Plano, TX 75075
Phone: (703) 342-5900 l Fax: (530) 484-2906
Web site: www.namb.org
P.O. Box 451718 l Garland, TX 75042
Phone: (800) 827-3034 l Fax: (469) 524-5121
Web site: www.napmw.org
NAMB 2012-2013 Board of Directors
National Board of Directors 2012-2013
OFFICERS
Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS—President
Amtrust Mortgage Funding Inc.
200 Medical Drive, Suite D l Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 575-4355 l [email protected]
John Councilman, CMC, CRMS—Vice President
AMC Mortgage Corporation
11920 Fairway Lakes Drive, Suite 2 l Fort Myers, FL 33913
Fred Arnold, CMC—Treasurer
American Family Funding
24961 The Old Road, Suite #101 l Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381
Kay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS—Secretary
KC Mortgage LLC
200 South Wilcox Street #224 l Castle Rock, CO 80104
Jim Pair, CMC—Immediate Past President
Mortgage America Corpus Christi Inc.
22800 Bulverde Road, Apt. 1402 l San Antonio, TX 78261
(361) 774-7314 l E-mail: [email protected]
DIRECTORS
6
Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS—Director
Lending Arizona LLC
1996 North Kolb l Tucson, AZ 85715
Rick Bettencourt—Director
Mortgage Network
300 Rosewood Drive l Danvers, MA 01923
Donald E. Fader, CRMS—Director
SMC Home Finance
PO Box 1376 l Kinston, NC 28503-1376
Andy W. Harris, CRMS—Director
Vantage Mortgage Group Inc
15962 SW Boones Ferry Road, Ste. 100 l Lake Oswego, OR 97035
(503) 496-0431, ext. 302 l [email protected]
Olga Kucerak, CRMS—Director
Crown Lending
328 West Mistletoe l San Antonio, TX 78212
Linda McCoy—Director
Mortgage Team 1 Inc.
6336 Piccadilly Square Drive l Mobile, AL 36609
Dick Morin—Director
Consumers First Mortgage
P.O. Box 918 l Kennebunk, ME 04043
207-985-2895 l [email protected]
Valerie Saunders—Director
RE Financial Services
13033 West Lindburgh Avenue l Tampa, FL 33626
John Stevens—Director
Bank of England d/b/a ENG Lending
11650 South State Street, Ste. 350 l Draper UT 84020
President
Candace M. Smith, CME
(512) 306-6354
[email protected]
Vice President—Northwestern Region
Debbie Tofte, GML
(425) 483-3359
[email protected]
President-Elect
Jill Kinsman
(206) 344-7827
[email protected]
Vice President—Western Region
Lyman King III, CMI, CME
(916) 967-4653
[email protected]
Senior Vice President
Christine Pollard
(607) 226-1046
[email protected]
Secretary
Sara Vasura
(703) 255-7460
[email protected]
Vice President—Central Region
Kelly Hendricks
(314) 398-6840
[email protected]
Treasurer
Jeanne Evans, CME
(918) 431-0155
[email protected]
Vice President—Eastern Region
Katrica J. Driscoll, MML, CME, CMI
(919) 877-5683
[email protected]
Parliamentarian
Hulene Works
(972) 494-2788
[email protected]
National Consumer
Reporting Association
701 East Irving Park Road, Suite 306 l Roselle, IL 60172
Phone: (630) 539-1525 l Fax: (630) 539-1526
Web site: www.ncrainc.org
2013 Board of Directors & Staff
Daphne Large
President
(901) 259-5105
[email protected]
Maureen Devine
Vice President
(413) 736-4511
[email protected]
Donald J. Unger
Ex-Officio
(303) 670-7993, ext. 222
[email protected]
Mike Brown
Treasurer
(800) 925-6691, ext. 4350
[email protected]
Nancy Fedich
Director–Chair
Legal Committee
(908) 813-8555, ext. 3010
[email protected]
William Bower
Director–Chair
Tenant Screening Committee
(800) 288-4757
[email protected]
Tom Conwell
Director–Liaison
Legislative Committee
(800) 445-4922, ext. 1010
[email protected]
Judy Ryan
Director–Chair
Strategic Alliance Partnership
Committee
(800) 929-3400, ext. 201
[email protected]
Renee Erickson
Director–Chair
New Membership Committee
(866) 932-2715
[email protected]
Sharon Bieszk
Director
(262) 542-1700
[email protected]
Mary Campbell
Director
(701) 239-9977
[email protected]
Terry Clemans
Executive Director
(630) 539-1525
[email protected]
Jan Gerber
Office Manager/Member
Services
(630) 539-1525
[email protected]
We’re more than just our niches.
7
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products of all types, too. We have the mortgage that best fits your customer, and
we support it with superior underwriting, an easy-to-use origination platform
and an experienced team focused on working with brokers and independent
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When to Stop Thinking
By Jake Soley
8
“Overthinking” marketing is a common error many
brokers and lenders make when putting forward
the best effort for their marketing approaches.
Oftentimes, the best thoughts lead them down the
path to failure. This can be attributed to thinking
from the wrong perspective. Lenders and brokers
without much experience will put forward what
they think is the best as it suits their personal taste instead of looking
at their approach from the eyes of their target consumer. Many also
lose sight of the goal that direct mail is to spark the interest of the borrower to call and not to sell the borrower on the loan program being
proposed.
The most common error in “overthinking” is in piece design. During
the design process, the lender/broker envisions what they would
respond to or attempt to elaborate in strong detail on what they are
selling the borrower. This will often lead to a piece that is over the
head of the borrower, using terms that a layman may not be familiar
with or spending too much effort explaining why they should refinance with you. No borrower wants to read a two-page document
about why they should refinance with you. When it comes to
approach, the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) comes to mind.
If the borrower does not understand terms that are simple and easily
understood, they simply will not respond.
With direct mail, you only have a few seconds to capture the interest of the reader. Far too often, we encounter clients who saturate
their mail design with verbiage that “explains” the loan program, thus
relying on the mail piece to sell the loan program. This approach clutters the piece with information that most borrowers will not read, and
in many cases, often confuses them. The most effective approach is
when the piece is direct, highlights the benefits of the loan program
you are targeting and is short with a call to action. Using color to highlight the benefits of the program amplifies the points that trigger the
borrower to respond. Don’t overthink beyond these simple tenants.
Another common “overthinking” mistake is when companies want
to test a market, but do not want to spend the money necessary to hit
the quantity needed to give the test a fair shot. Many are hesitant to
break into a new market out of fear of failure and money wasted.
Testing should be approached as a normal drop would; the best test
will come from dropping the maximum amount of pieces for the maximum return. By testing a minimal quantity, you will not hit enough
of the quality within your universe to extract a comfortable return
that would justify additional mail efforts. When testing, always focus
on testing at least 5,000 pieces. With around 5,000 pieces is where the
best returns begin. When thinking of your mail campaigns, whether
they are continuous or are chartering into new territory, take simple
steps in your approach to the design and target.
Jake Soley of Titan List and Mailing Services has specialized in mortgage-specific marketing since 2006. Jake’s commitment to educating his
customers on the proper steps to take when launching direct mail programs has catapulted him as a leader in mortgage direct mail. He may
be reached by phone at (800) 544-8060, ext. 209 or e-mail [email protected].
THE
elite performer
Set Your Goals!
By Andy W. Harris,
CRMS
s a small business
owner, it’s important to consider
and respect the vital need for goal setting. Yes, if you originate mortgage
loans you are a self-employed small
business owner. If you hang your hat at
a company with 5,000 employees or
five employees, it won’t make a difference to your title. The success of your
small business is only determined by
the person you see in the mirror every
morning and the team you work with
daily. Setting and documenting your
own tangible career goals is a necessity.
The first plan in developing goals
is to understand the two primary factors for success:
A
l Self-motivation: The ability to
motivate yourself internally and
work hard without requiring constant external assistance or someone else to push you. This is the
single most important quality any
person can hold to be successful.
To have a successful business and
to be the best employee possible,
you must be consistently self-motivated regardless of the circumstances you face.
l Vision: The ability to see the
future and actually visualize meeting your goal is vital. If you cannot
see yourself reaching your goals or
lack the determination, than there
is no point in setting goals. You
must have a vision in sight at all
times to support your self-motivation, as well as planning accord-
“The arrogance of success is to
think that what you did yesterday
will be sufficient for tomorrow.”
—Willam Pollard
ingly and preparing
changes in the future.
any
Once your goals are established,
make sure you remove any outside
pressures if possible. In a transactional-based commissioned business,
make sure you control your balance
sheet more than your balance sheet
controls you. Save more than you
spend and don’t borrow money unless
secured to real estate for housing or
responsible investment. Limiting your
liabilities will reduce stress and allow
you to focus more on business and on
your asset column.
There are numerous benefits for
those who establish and actually write
down their goals. The number one reason people don’t document goals is that
they don’t want to be held accountable
if they fail to reach their own goals. How
ridiculous is that? If this has crossed
your mind, really think about what this
means. It truly means that you’ve
already planned to fail.
Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and
owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage
Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage
Professionals. He may be reached by
phone at (877) 496-0431 or e-mail [email protected] or visit
VantageMortgageGroup.com.
COMING SOON!
Sponsored Editorial
for
9
Waiting
for
the
CFPB
By Jonathan Foxx
y sources tell me
that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will
soon announce substantial monetary
penalties and other administrative
actions against a large non-bank. I guess
it is inevitable that when such an
announcement is finally out and about,
humans—and especially the financial
services type humans—will be easily
aroused to panic—which means the nascent, CFPB exam preparation industry
will receive a steroidal boost. And the frisson of dismay and frenzy will be stirred
up even further by the ambulance
chasers, running to the rescue, with their
merry band of products and services to
quell the indomitable, bureaucratic
brute.
There are plenty of compliance and
law firms scouring the horizon for new
clients that seek CFPB exam readiness.
Indeed, I know of one such firm that has
made fear-mongering into a fine art,
whirring about and speaking at industry
events where a surfeit of anxiety and
angst may be supremely generated. As
the affrighted crowd bounds into the
arms of these ushers of deliverance, seeking the aegis of their singular protection,
they are quite sold on a full scale risk
assessment and sempiternal, on-going
monitoring. But the prospective clients,
sore at the loss of money in this endeavor, need not be too vexed, inasmuch as
they do get action plans, some risk assessment tools, and assorted bric-a-brac of
one-size-fits-all templates “specially drafted” for their own unique purposes.
Our industry is a strong bunch, survivors of the toughest real estate cycles,
and accustomed to adapting to regulato-
M
10
ry mandates. We have seen the largest fall
and the lowest rise. We push back, when
needed; and we push forward, when
appropriate. We know that our industry is
the backbone of the economy. Our future
will not be compromised by cold sweat
and consternation.
So, when considering the legal and regulatory compliance requirements of the
CFPB, how alarmed and apprehensive
should we be?
Trembling before
the Tsar
In the Tsardom of Russia, most people
never met the Tsar. They met his agents,
which at the time meant the duly constituted orders of functionaries who acted in
accordance with the law. The people who
did meet the Tsar, even nobles, were
known (and even expected) to tremble in
his presence. Like the custom required by
English kings, the people who stood in the
presence of the Tsar stated their views,
when called upon to speak, and, upon
finishing their statements, they left the
reception chamber by bowing and slowly
backing out of the room, always facing
the Tsar. This kind of obeisance showed
respect for the established order and
reflected the insuperable power and primacy of the monarchy.
But we do not live in a monarchy and
the CFPB is not the Tsar. We need not
tremble before the CFPB!
There are a set of guidelines that the
CFPB requires for implementation by
lenders, mortgage brokers, servicers, and
others in the financial services sector.
Most of these guidelines are not particularly ponderous, unless the foregoing
entities hadn’t been implementing them
all along.
It is not as if we do not know the importance of fair lending or proper data collec-
tion pursuant to the Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act (HMDA). There is no real
mystery regarding compliance with advertising rules. Every company is keenly aware
of the mandates set forth in the Real Estate
Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and the
Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA).
At this point in the industry’s growth,
who does not know about the importance
of risk controls and risk mitigation? Who
does not know about the central importance of responsible and knowledgeable
management? How many companies willfully ignore consumer complaints?
A whole generation of bankers,
lenders, brokers, and servicers have cultivated a heightened sensitivity to the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair &
Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA),
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Bank
Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering
Program requirements, Equal Credit
Opportunity Act (Regulation B), Home
Ownership & Equity Protection Act
(HOEPA), Secure & Fair Enforcement for
Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act), the Fair
Housing Act, the Anti-Predatory Lending
Act, the National Do-Not-Call Registry,
and monitoring third party service
providers (sometimes neutrally referred
to as “vendor management”).
These are the sorts of areas about which
the CFPB has an interest in ensuring consumer financial protection. None of the
aforementioned is strange or new to anybody who has been paying attention!
I have
said many times
that “Preparation is
Protection”—and most companies associated with residential
mortgage loan originations and servicing
have been preparing, thus protecting
themselves, for a long, long time. Many
have been through numerous state and
federal banking examinations, responding, where needed, with corrective
actions. Not a few have retained competent mortgage risk management firms or
in-house compliance advisors. Even those
who cannot afford compliance counsel
have participated in one way or another
in conferences, conventions, and training
venues in order to be educated in regulatory developments. Everybody now
knows unequivocally that sales are
cemented to compliance.
Who’s afraid of the
big bad wolf?
As I wrote recently in this publication,
the CFPB has considerable enforcement
powers.1 Among other things, it can
rescind or reform contracts, require the
refunding of money to a consumer and
demand other forms of restitution,
mandate the disgorgement and refunding of various types of assets, compel
the return of real property, cause fees
and other compensation to be disgorged for unjust enrichment, require
the payment of damages or other monetary relief, cause public notification
regarding a violation, limit the activities
or functions of alleged violators, and, of
course, exact civil monetary penalties.
But, in terms of the remedies mentioned above, none of these administrative actions is really new. Virtually
every state banking department in the
country has most of these enforcement
powers. Nearly all prudential regulators
have many such authorities. Banks and
nonbanks that have undergone routine
examinations are not an unsuspecting
lot, completely unprepared for the
kinds of detailed review that the CFPB
conducts. Having watched the CFPB in
action, I can say that a firm that is adequately prepared for a state or federal
examination should be prepared for a
CFPB examination.
Is the CFPB’s examination a bit more
detailed? Yes.
But most of the exam requirements are
re-treads or the kinds of state and federal
banking information and documentation
requests or guidelines that are mostly customary and pro forma.
Does the CFPB create some new
readiness challenges? Yes.
However, for the most part,
if an entity that is subject to
the authority of the CFPB
is already implementing the “Four Ps”—
principles, policies,
procedures, and practices—it should be in a position to respond promptly, confidently, and accurately to CFPB examination
protocol requirements.
To be utterly reductive, the CFPB examination is not a known-unknown, or an
unknown-unknown, but merely an
unknown that is actually, mostly known!
tions heretofore experienced, or what we
thereby learned toward improving our
compliance with applicable banking laws.
Of course, my firm offers CFPB examination preparedness. We were among the
first to set up such procedures, and we
even offered (at no fee) a Compendium to
navigate the use of CFPB’s Supervision and
Examiner Manual—Version 1. CFPB exam
readiness is important to undertake for
certain types of entities.2
Like Vladimir and Estragon, some companies wait around endlessly for the CFPB
to show up.
Eventually, it may!
But in the meantime, doesn’t it make
sense to prepare determinedly through
proper compliance with all the rules, standards, guidelines, and laws involving resi-
dential mortgage loan originations? Isn’t it
more cost-effective and responsive (rather
than reactive) to carefully prepare through
continual due diligence? To think that
some company or expert is going to offer
regulatory deliverance on a silver platter is
simply unrealistic. Be cautious of such
promises!
Our firm works hard to ensure that our
clients are prepared for any banking or
due diligence examination, state or federal, Agency or Warehouse Bank, including
certainly an examination by the CFPB. We
see our role as providing guidance to identify, mitigate, reduce, and, where possible,
eliminate risk. This is because we know
that going to the goal is the goal! That is a
mission which we all should feel confident
in pursuing.
Jonathan Foxx is president and managing director of Lenders Compliance
Group and Brokers Compliance
Group, mortgage risk management
firms devoted to providing regulatory
compliance advice and counsel to the
mortgage industry. He may be contacted at (516) 442-3456, by e-mail
a t j f o x x @ l e n d e r s c o m p l i a n c egroup.com, or visit www.LendersComplianceGroup.com or www:BrokersComplianceGroup.com.
Footnotes
1—Foxx, Jonathan, The Enforcement Powers of
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
National Mortgage Professional Magazine, April
2013, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp. 8-32.
2—See
www.LendersComplianceGroup.com,
Footer Section: CFPB Compendium-V1.
Waiting for Godot
11
In the absurdist play “Waiting for Godot,”
by Samuel Beckett, two characters,
Vladimir and Estragon, wait for the arrival
of someone named Godot (the “t” is silent).
While waiting for Godot, the two men,
both vagrants, occupy their time by philosophizing, sleeping, arguing, singing,
exercising, and even considering suicide anything “to hold the terrible silence at
bay.”
But Godot never shows up and,
although they agree to leave, neither of
them ever leaves.
It seems to me that we can be prepared
for the CFPB examination, without having
to endure the rancorous agitation stirred
up at conferences by CFPB “experts,” sales
pitches by “compliance” firms with a better eye for mining new clients than providing demonstrably worthwhile services,
though they promise (for a fee, of course)
to offer churned-out, colored-coded charts
and unceasing monitoring.
To be sure, being unprepared for the
unknown is not qualitatively the same as
being prepared for the mostly known! It is
easy to conflate the two, but often costly.
Indeed, there are aspects of preparation that probably do require professional
support, if a company has not been towing
the regulatory line for some time. There
may be gaps in legal and regulatory compliance knowledge that will affect management’s ability to prepare incisively for a
CFPB examination. But we should not
underestimate our own track record of
complying with the expectations of
Examiners and Regulators. We should not
depreciate or otherwise minimize our own
efforts to prepare for the many state and
federal and Agency regulatory examina-
EWSFLASH l MAY 2013 l NMP NEWSFLASH l MAY 2013 l NMP NEWSFLASH l M
Originator Survey Finds
Regulations Remain Top
Industry Concern
12
Hammerhouse
LLC has released
the results from
its 3rd Annual Survey of Originator
Opinions. The Annual Survey asked
originators for their opinions on critical issues facing the mortgage industry
and impacting their performance of
their jobs. Of the significant sample of
more than 350 active mortgage loan
originators that responded, about 81
percent have been originating mortgage
loans for more than 10 years. Key
responses to survey questions included:
l Regulatory oversight remains the
top issue facing the industry.
l Mid-sized, non-depository lenders
are superior alternatives to large
depositories or brokers.
l Operational capability of a lender is
clearly their most important attribute.
l Leaders of lending organizations are
judged by their integrity and the
clarity of their vision.
l Recruitment of top originating talent has intensified.
l Loan volume will rise, as will their
personal production.
l Marketing must be diversified and
involve referral relationships with
professional partners.
“The best originators in 2013 are a
very experienced group of professionals that are in high demand by lenders,
but who demand outstanding operations, technology and leadership from
their
employers,”
said
Drew
Waterhouse, managing director of
Hammerhouse LLC.
The questions from the 3rd Annual
Survey of Originator Opinions cover
important factors from each of the six
core business areas identified by
Hammerhouse as integral to the relationship between originators and
lenders: Leadership, Culture, Business,
Operations, Technology and Geography.
“The sheer size of the mortgage
originator responders with more than
10 years of experience suggests a need
for lenders to seek younger origination
talent by developing talent in-house or
through recruitment from outside,”
said Waterhouse. “The results of the
2013 Survey of Originator Opinions are
supportive of these forecasts. In our
2013 Survey, we hear a very clear statement from originators that they are
professionals who expect to work with
effective lenders and with other professionals in service of the housing and
financial needs of consumers.”
Mortgage Banker
Per-Loan Profits Down
$200 to $2,256 in Q4
Independent
mortgage banks
and mortgage
subsidiaries of
chartered banks
made an average
profit of $2,256
on each loan they originated in the fourth
quarter of 2012, down from $2,465 per
loan in the third quarter, as increasing
costs outweighed higher revenues, the
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)
reported.
“Per-loan profits decreased in the
fourth quarter, primarily driven by rising
costs,” said MBA Associate Vice President
of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh.
“Historically, production costs have
dropped with rising volume. In this quarter, however, despite high origination volumes, per-loan costs reached the highest
levels we have seen in this study, other
than during the first half of 2011, when
origination volume was 60 percent lower.”
MBA’s
Mortgage
Bankers
Performance Report series offers a variety of performance measures on the
mortgage banking industry and is
intended as a financial and operational
benchmark for independent mortgage
companies, bank subsidiaries and other
non-depository institutions.
FHFA Directs GSEs to Only
Purchase Loans Meeting
QM Requirements
The Federal
Housing Finance
Agency (FHFA)
has announced
that it is direct-
ing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to
limit their future mortgage acquisitions to loans that meet the requirements for a qualified mortgage (QM),
including those that meet the special
or temporary qualified mortgage definition, and loans that are exempt from
the “ability-to-repay” requirements
under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
In January, the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final
rule implementing the ability-to-repay
provisions of Dodd-Frank, including
certain protections from liability for
loans that meet the criteria of a qualified mortgage as outlined in the rule.
Beginning Jan. 10, 2014, Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac will no longer
purchase a loan that is subject to the
ability-to-repay rule if the loan:
l Is not fully amortizing,
l Has a term of longer than 30 years,
or
l Includes points and fees in excess of
three percent of the total loan
amount, or such other limits for low
balance loans as set forth in the
rule.
Effectively, this means Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac will not purchase
interest-only loans, loans with 40-year
terms, or those with points and fees
exceeding the thresholds established
by the rule. Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac will continue to purchase loans
that meet the underwriting and delivery eligibility requirements stated in
their respective selling guides. This
includes loans that are processed
through their automated underwriting
systems and loans with a debt-toincome ratio of greater than 43 percent. Loans with a debt-to-income
ratio of more than 43 percent are not
eligible for protection as qualified
mortgages under the CFPB’s final rule
unless they are eligible for purchase by
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under
the special or temporary qualified
mortgage definition.
Adoption of these new limitations
by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is in
keeping with FHFA’s goal of gradually
contracting their market footprint and
protecting borrowers and taxpayers.
Survey Finds Appraisers
Finding Hope in
Rebounding Housing
Market
A recently completed
survey
conducted by
United
States
Appraisals found
appraisers mildly encouraged
by the current housing market. When
asked, “What is your current level of
confidence in the housing market,”
54.7 percent of respondents answered
mildly or moderately strong, while 24.9
percent were neutral. The survey was
completed by United States Appraisals’
nationwide panel of residential
appraisers. United States Appraisals
plans to conduct this survey quarterly
to monitor trends and opinions in their
appraiser network.
“Appraisers tend to be realistic,
focused on their local markets and
unmoved by news stories and national
numbers,” said Aaron Fowler, president
of United States Appraisals. “We believe
they provide a good gauge of the status
of the housing market. After the last
few years, a mildly strong level of confidence shows some definite improvement in appraiser attitudes.”
Opinions were slightly higher
regarding home values with 46.2 percent of respondents reporting a mild
increase in values in their area, while
15.6 percent were seeing a moderate
value increase, while 24 percent were
neutral. Despite somewhat tepid feelings on the market in general, most
appraisers reported increased order
volume, as 26.1 percent saw mild
increases, 17.8 percent saw moderate
increases and 18.5 percent reported
significant volume increases. Only 15.3
percent of respondents reported any
reduction in their order volume.
“We all know the real estate market
continued on page 16
13
DocMagic Launches New
4506-T Income
Verification System and
Transparency App
14
DocMagic Inc.
has announced
its new 4506-T
service, an automated service
for income verification that provides a
quick and complete service, automatically submitting borrowers’ eSigned
forms to the Ives vender of their choice
for immediate processing by the IRS.
DocMagic’s automatic income verification process accelerates workflow so
that critical data, typically entered
manually on the IRS Web site, is handled instantly in one streamlined solution. Bundled with the initial disclosure package, or served-up separately,
the eSigned 4506-T service saves time,
increases efficiency, and protects document integrity.
DocMagic handles all the details of
compliance with federal law ensuring
that forms meet all current regulations. DocMagic’s eSign technology
delivers the signed 4506-T in compliance with the standards and requirements of the federal Electronic
Signatures in Global and National
Commerce Act (ESIGN). Since 2010,
DocMagic has processed over 23 million eSign requests.
The automated 4506-T service is just
one more way that DocMagic’s technology improves the borrower’s experience, increases efficiency for the lender,
and ensures compliance and data
integrity along the way. DocMagic’s
technology solutions and compliance
expertise keep you on the leading edge
of the mortgage lending industry.
DocMagic Inc. has also announced
the launch of BorrowerMobile, an interactive application that turns any tablet
or smartphone into a seamless communication tool for borrowers and lenders.
Through BorrowerMobile, lenders simply invite borrowers to download the
BorrowerMobile application and the
system establishes a direct communication link between the lender and borrower, allowing all parties to interact
and share information from anywhere—communication is instant,
seamless, and completely secure.
BorrowerMobile brings transparen-
cy to the loan process. Borrowers have
constant access to their loan status,
giving them the ability to anticipate
and understand next steps; electronically satisfy loan conditions, and eSign
documents and disclosures … all with
the touch of a finger. BorrowerMobile
allows lenders and closing agents to
communicate loan conditions immediately, giving borrowers a real-time “to
do” list. As borrowers satisfy the list of
conditions, the application instantly
updates the lender and closing agent
as items are satisfied.
BorrowerMobile
leverages
DocMagic’s eSign process, the fastest,
easiest and most secure way to get documents signed. Borrowers can review
and eSign loan documents and disclosures, attach any required trailing documents, or provide additional information instantly. BorrowerMobile can
be easily customized to share the
lender’s unique branding style and the
system can easily integrate with any
loan origination software system (LOS).
UWM Unveils Free
Marketing Program for
Brokers
United Wholesale Mortgage
(UWM) has announced that it
has launched a
free Web portal that enables brokers
they work with to produce customized
flyers, with options geared towards
also marketing to borrowers and real
estate agents. The system offers an
easy-to-use interface by which to tailor
marketing pieces, thus promoting the
growth of their businesses and personal brands.
Users can log into the portal and
quickly generate a free PDF for e-mail
purposes of self-printing whereby contact information, company name,
logos, photos and more can be configured to create a professionally designed
marketing piece. Functionality at the
site allows brokers and agents to personalize flyers, change content and
instantly download them into formatted PDFs. UWM makes available options
to order full-color printed copies that
can be used to hand out to borrowers
or realtors, as mailer campaigns, or in
any way the like.
“The initial response of this free service has been well-received by originators, and we expect the portal to
become a widely used marketing tool
over the next few months,” said Mat
Ishbia, president of UWM. “We strive to
continually make our originators more
successful; the development of this free
service helps them to accomplish that.”
New Secure Settlements
Offerings to Help
Mortgage Lenders
Increase Consumer
Protection
Secure Settlements Inc. (SSI) has
announced that it has launched two
new lender-subscription fraud tool
programs assisting in the evaluation,
monitoring and reporting of closing
agent risk. Closing Guard is the result
of the continuing evolution of the SSI
risk management program, designed
to help lenders uncover and reduce
fraud risks while simultaneously providing better consumer protections
surrounding the residential mortgage
closing. Following consultation with
key industry partners, including retail
banks, warehouse banks, mortgage
lenders, title and escrow agents and
professional associations, SSI has created a subscription fee based service
that allows banks to adopt the SSI
Closing Guard program as a new tool
for quality control (QC) and loan quality assurance while shifting the cost of
vetting, monitoring and reporting of
risk away from agents.
The cost shift allows banks and
mortgage lenders to avoid competitive
disadvantages while meeting their regulatory obligation to address closing
agent risk in the daily operation of
their businesses. The agent-paid
model will not disappear. Agents who
choose to become vetted and join the
SSI National Closing Agent database as
a marketable credential can choose to
pay the applicable vetting fee and gain
the advantages of independent vetting,
monitoring and reporting for 12 months,
which gives them access to the SSI photo
ID card, SSI Vetted Agent Seal, eligibility
for discounted insurance, free fraud and
best practice resources, and discounted
continuing education programs.
“These new programs maintain SSI’s
position as the industry leader and innovator when it comes to third party service provider risk management,” said SSI
President and CEO Andrew Liput. “We are
excited about the launch of Closing
Guard and Quick Check and look forward
to doing the ‘heavy lifting’ needed by
mortgage lenders in this area of regulatory compliance so they can focus on
what they do best: Selling loans.”
Lenders who desire to do business
only with vetted agents for risk management purposes will pay the Closing
Guard subscription fee which will allow
all of the agents they choose to handle
their funds and documents to become
vetted, without any cost to those
agents. The subscription fee for lenders
is based upon lender loan volume, and
it includes agent vetting, ongoing monitoring and reporting, and unlimited
access to the searchable SSI database.
Agents will be vetted and rated for risk
using the same comprehensive risk
evaluation methodology SSI has pioneered previously as the leader in closing agent risk management.
360 Mortgage Group
Releases No MI NOMI
Offering
360
Mortgage
Group
has
announced that
it has expanded
its product portfolio by offering a new No Mortgage
Insurance Loan or “NOMI Product” to
borrowers purchasing a home. This
first-of-its-kind NOMI product offers
borrowers with a less than 20 percent
downpayment the opportunity to avoid
mortgage insurance (MI) payments
without interest rate adjustments or
other price inflations.
“This unique product provides borrowers with an opportunity to benefit
from low interest rates without having
to pay mortgage insurance,” said Mark
Greco, president and founder of 360
Mortgage. “Many lenders currently
offer a NOMI-type product, but add on
a pricing adjustment that increases the
borrower’s interest rate and overall cost
of owning a home. Our NOMI Product
will give mortgage brokers the opportunity to help home buyers save thousands
of dollars annually and realize the dream
of sustainable homeownership.”
The NOMI Product has no pricing
inflations or adjustments to interest
rates. This product allows borrowers with
a less than 20 percent downpayment to
avoid the cost of mortgage insurance
rates and take advantage of the lowest
potential interest rates available in the
marketplace.
Key guidelines for NOMI include:
Purchase transactions only, a minimum
740 FICO score, a maximum LTV 95 percent, no mortgage insurance underwritten, and the residence must be owneroccupied.
“360 Mortgage is committed to offering our mortgage brokers partners relevant products with competitive pricing,
extensive product knowledge, and bestin-class technology and service,” said
Greco. “Our objective is to enable all
third-party originators to offer borrowers the best mortgage solution and
operate efficiently within our model,
which is based on service, speed, and
sustainability.”
McLean Mortgage
Announces New LoanFirst
Program
CoesterVMS has launched its CFPB Suite,
a Web-accessible compliance program
that allows lenders to verify compliance
with all third-party regulations set forth
by the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB), every time an appraisal is
done. CoesterVMS’ CFPB Suite is powered
by a proprietary technology that logs,
files and sorts all CoesterVMS’ compliance
related activities for every third party regulation, from appraiser independence
and appraiser selection requirements, to
mandates for customary and reasonable
any third party regulation on a per loan
basis, via their own CoesterVMS.com
client pages. The CFPB Suite provides
more than a yes/no response to its compliance checklist. It also provides supporting information for each regulation, so lenders know the steps
CoesterVMS took to stay compliant.
“Using a third-party service provider
can be a lender’s best decision for specialized services like appraisal management, but engaging the wrong provider
exposes them to unnecessary risk,” said
CoesterVMS CEO Brian Coester. “The
CFPB has stated that it expects lenders
to do their due diligence on the service
pliance with every CFPB third party regulation that could possibly be considered their responsibility. We’re making
that due diligence easy.”
DataQuick Launches New
REO-to-Rental
Neighborhood Rankings
DataQuick has announced the availability of REO-to-Rental Neighborhood
Rankings, which leverages the compacontinued on page 63
Be An Ultimate
Mortgage Exhibitor!
Come To The Hottest Mortgage Show of the Year!
June 9-11, Tropicana Resort, Atlantic City
The mortgage market is hot, and we’re kicking off the summer with the biggest gathering
of mortgage origination pros so far this year!
The Ultimate Mortgage Expo is brought to
you by Agility Resources Group, creators of
the incredible NAMB National conference
and the same management team that created
the highly successful New England Mortgage Expo.
15
Join companies like United Wholesale Mortgage, Maximum Acceleration, Quality Mortgage Services, Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Mortgage Educators, National Mortgage Professional Magazine, Best Rate Referrals, Carrington Mortgage Services, National Credit Fixers,
Appraisal Nation, Yodle.com and more!
www.UltimateMortgageEXPO.com
Or contact
Vincent M. Valvo
Agility Events
[email protected]
Direct: (860) 922-3441
IN
PARTNERSHIP
WITH
Why should you be an Ultimate
Exhibitor or Sponsor?
n Innovative and effective techniques to drive
crowds of top mortgage originators to
the show, and to you. Invite all your customers and prospects to attend the entire conference for free
— a $295 value.
n We’re giving all paid attendees a chance to get all of their required 8 hours of continuing education for free. n Speaking opportunities available to select sponsors.
n We’re expecting 700-1,000 attendees
n We drive traffic into the Exhibit Hall constantly, where all
meals and beverages are served. We give away a 42-inch
HDTV at every break! And we’re hosting two cocktail receptions for added networking!
n We offer affordable exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities.
This is not just a great conference for attendees, but an exciting and profitable one for our vendors as well. NationalMortgageProfessional.com
McLean Mortgage Corporation announced
that the company has released
a special program to aid homebuyers
and realtors in today’s real estate market. McLean Mortgage Corporation recognizes the special needs of prospective
homebuyers today in a market characterized by increasingly scarce inventory and
competition from cash bidders. The
LoanFirst Program allows for a prospective buyer to make application for a preapproval mortgage loan before they purchase a home. McLean will not merely
issue a pre-qualification opinion based
upon this application, but actually fully
process the credit and income documentation of the borrower so that it can be
underwritten by an underwriter and a
full pre-approval issued. This preapproval would be subject to a sales contract on a property, as well as a satisfactory appraisal and title policy – after a
property is identified.
“In my experience in the mortgage
industry, I have always felt that the
average Realtor and homebuyer went
about the process backwards by shopping for a home and then applying for
a mortgage,” Nathan Burch, president
of McLean Mortgage Corporation, said.
“Just to satisfy a seller, a Realtor will
call a loan officer the day before a contract is presented to obtain a pre-qualification letter, which is merely an opinion and does not bind a lender.”
fees, and current state licensing laws.
providers it engages. The CFPB Suite
Compliance Verified
Coester
customers
can
access
that
allows lenders to find out the actual
Via New CoesterVMS CFPB
information, verifying compliance on steps CoesterVMS took to ensure comSuite
Two Reverse Mortgage
Misconceptions
By Ralph E. Rosynek Jr.
As loan originators, our ability to overcome objection
is the key to successful transaction completion. In the
formative years of the reverse mortgage industry, it
became very apparent that the reverse mortgage was a
product which cannot be sold. It is a product which
must be delivered with an educational component
from loan origination professionals who also understand the concerns of
a class of borrowers who have been targeted due to their lack of information and resources.
Despite significant consumer education and information efforts over
the past years by industry professionals, U.S. Department of Housing &
Urban Development (HUD) counseling resources and reverse mortgage
media discussions, reverse mortgage loan acceptance by seniors continues to involve misconceptions in many cases. Two of the most common
misconceptions are:
1. The bank owns my home
The bank does not own the home. A reverse mortgage is secured by a primary lien on the property, no different than a forward traditional mortgage, with one minor difference. Upon recordation of the lender’s interest, a second mortgage instrument (not a second mortgage facility) is
recorded against the property subsequent to the lender’s first lien position. This second mortgage instrument is in favor the Secretary of HUD
and allows for the seamless transition of loan control should the first lien
holder lender become impaired and unable to be responsible for continuing to service and support the loan.
2. Reverse mortgages are expensive
16
In the past, the costs, expenses and fees associated with a Home Equity
Conversion Mortgage (HECM) transaction were greater than the products
being offered today, The more “expensive” years were, in part, due to
decreased options, features and benefits; lesser volume restricting
potential secondary and investment banker interest; and a scarcity of
vendors and resources familiar with the product.
Today, the costs, fees and expenses associated with the reverse mortgage transaction have been reduced due to greater Wall Street investor
opportunities recognizing the quality of the product, the offering of a
“saver” product group alternative to those borrowers not seeking full
proceeds access, and the offering of lender credits resulting in additional borrower proceeds.
The reverse mortgage product may not be the right fit for all senior
borrowers. As the efforts of many resources continue to whittle away at
product misconceptions, the commitment to preserve the product for
use as a viable choice for a senior to remain in their home and maintain
financial independence has not changed over the years since the introduction of the reverse mortgage in 1989.
If you are considering expanding your market share and adding the
reverse mortgage product, now is the time to look at this growing opportunity. Your market entry will require a sales force committed to education with knowledge of this increasing class of borrowers. One of the
most important aspects of your plan should be your ability to draw upon
the strengths of a recognized Lender and staff for guidance and assistance to achieve your success.
Ralph E. Rosynek Jr. is senior vice president, national production manager
for RMS, Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. RMS provides complete HECM
program training, product availability and partnership access to mortgage
professionals through the company RMPath wholesale and correspondent
channels. He may be reached by phone at (281) 404-7970 or e-mail
[email protected] or [email protected].
Sponsored Editorial
nmp newsflash
continued from page 12
is a zip code by zip code driven business,”
explained Fowler. “Our appraisers are our
eyes into the local markets and the backbone of our business. We want to make
sure we stay engaged and understand
their vision of the marketplace.”
FHFA Extends HARP
Through 2015
The
Federal
Housing Finance
Agency (FHFA)
has
directed
Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac to
extend the Home Affordable Refinance
Program (HARP) by two years to Dec. 31,
2015. The program was set to expire
Dec. 31, 2013.
“More than two million homeowners
have refinanced through HARP, proving
it a useful tool for reducing risk,” said
FHFA Acting Director Edward J.
DeMarco. “We are extending the program so more underwater borrowers
can benefit from lower interest rates.”
In addition, FHFA will soon launch a
nationwide campaign to inform homeowners about HARP. This campaign will
educate consumers about HARP and its
eligibility requirements and motivate
them to explore their options and utilize HARP before the program ends.
HARP is uniquely designed to allow borrowers who owe more than their home
is worth the opportunity to refinance
their mortgage. Extending the program
will continue to provide borrowers
opportunities to refinance, give clear
guidance to lenders and reduce risk for
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and taxpayers.
Commercial/Multifamily
Market Closes $200
Billion-Plus in 2012
Commercial and
multifamily
m o r t g a g e
bankers closed
$244.2 billion of
loans in 2012
according to the Mortgage Bankers
Association’s (MBA) 2012 Commercial
Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Annual
Origination Volume Summation. Loans
originated for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
and FHA in 2012 collectively totaled
$77.6 billion, and represented the leading investor group. Commercial bank
and savings institutions saw the second
highest volume, $56.9 billion and were
followed by life insurance companies
and pension funds; CMBS issuers; REITS,
mortgage REITs and investment funds;
and credit companies and specialty
finance firms.
In terms of property types, multifamily properties saw the highest origination volume, $103.2 billion, followed by
retail properties, office buildings, industrial, hotel/motel and health care. First
liens accounted for 98 percent of the
total dollar volume closed.
Driven in part by greater coverage,
the reported dollar volume of commercial and multifamily mortgages closed
in 2012 was 33 percent higher than the
2011 volume. Among repeat participants in the survey, the dollar volume
of closed loans rose by 15 percent.
“The commercial and multifamily
mortgage market saw solid growth during 2012,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s
vice president of Commercial Real
Estate Research. “The multifamily market continued to be a major driver of
activity, and nearly every investor
group increased their activity from the
year before. With a continuation of low
interest rates and improving property
markets, originations are on track for
continued growth this year.”
Four Million-Plus
Borrowers to Receive
Servicing Settlement
Payouts
Payments to 4.2 million borrowers began April 12 following an agreement
reached by the
Office
of
the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and
the Federal Reserve Board with 13
mortgage servicers. The agreement,
which was reached earlier this year,
provides $3.6 billion in cash payments
to borrowers whose homes were in any
stage of the foreclosure process in 2009
or 2010 and whose mortgages were
serviced by one of the following companies, their affiliates, or subsidiaries:
Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank,
Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase,
MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, PNC,
Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and
Wells Fargo.
The payments will range from $300
to $125,000. For borrowers whose
mortgages were serviced by 11 of the 13
servicers—all servicers but Goldman
Sachs and Morgan Stanley—checks will
be sent in several waves beginning with
1.4 million checks on April 12. The final
wave is expected in mid-July 2013.
More than 90 percent of the total payments to borrowers at those 11 servicers are expected to have been sent
by the end of April. Information about
payments to borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by Goldman Sachs
and Morgan Stanley will be announced
in the near future.
In most cases, borrowers will receive
a letter with an enclosed check sent by
the Paying Agent—Rust Consulting Inc.
Some borrowers may receive letters
from Rust requesting additional information needed to process their payments. Previously, Rust sent postcards
to the 4.2 million borrowers notifying
them of their eligibility to receive payment under the agreement.
Rust is sending all payments and correspondence regarding the foreclosure
“ Nobody cares how much
you know, until they know
HOW MUCH YOU CARE .”
– Theodore Roosevelt
17
K N O W L E D G E A N D K N O W H O W. And at the end of day
we thrive on it! If there’s a way to make a better decision,
streamline a process or uncover a new opportunity, we’ll do it.
CALL US
888.202.0878
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VISIT US
www.rushmorehl.com
S U B M I T. A C H I E V E . G R O W.
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Rushmore Loan Management Services LLC, NMLS ID# 185729, 15480 Laguna Canyon Road, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618. 1-866-699-5600. Not an offer for the extension of credit or a commitment to lend.
Intended for mortgage brokers. Not licensed in all states. Alabama Consumer Credit (#21602); Alaska Mortgage Lender (AK185729); Arizona Wholesale Lender Exemption; Arkansas Mortgage Banker-Broker-Servicer (#101513); Licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage
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Lender Licensee (#24224); Hawaii Mortgage Loan Originator Company (HI-185729); Idaho Wholesale Lender Exemption; Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee (MB.6760723); Indiana DFI First Lien Mortgage Lending (#18619); Indiana DFI Subordinate Lien Mortgage Lending (#187644); Iowa Mortgage Banker (MBK2009-0083); Kansas Supervised Loan (SL.0026265); Kentucky Mortgage Company (MC71455); Louisiana Residential Mortgage Lending (#185729), Maine Supervised Lender (SLM11886); Maryland Mortgage Lender (#19168), Michigan Mortgage Broker, Lender & Servicer (FL0017075); Michigan Secondary Mortgage
Broker, Lender & Servicer (SR0017076); Minnesota Residential Mortgage Originator (185729); Mississippi Mortgage Lender (185729); Montana Mortgage Lender (#185729); Nebraska Mortgage Banker (#2071); Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department Mortgage Banker (#15265-MB), Licensed by the
New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Residential Mortgage Lender (#186729), New Mexico Mortgage Loan Company (185729); North Carolina Mortgage Lender (L-154769); North Dakota Money Broker (MB102411); Ohio Mortgage Loan Act Certificate of Registration (SM501700.000); Oklahoma
Mortgage Broker (MB001561); Oregon Wholesale Lender Exemption; Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking Mortgage Lender (#39094); South Carolina Mortgage Lender/Servicer (MLS-185729); South Dakota Mortgage Lender (ML.04880); Tennessee Mortgage License (109273); Texas SML Mortgage
Banker Registration; Utah Wholesale Lender Exemption; Vermont Lender (#6411); Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission Lender License (MC-5664); Washington Consumer Loan Company (CL-185729); West Virginia Mortgage Lender
(ML-24836); Wisconsin Mortgage Banker (#185729); Wyoming Mortgage Lender/Broker (#2250); Fannie Mae Seller/Servicer (#30519-000-4); HUD FHA Title II (#3094100002);Veterans Affairs Lender (#902914-00-00).
we care about helping you get the best for your client. In fact
R U S H M O R E H O M E L O A N S I S L E D BY A G RO U P W I T H
Escrow Requirements
Final Rule–Amended
Already?
By Laurie Spira
Issued in January, the Escrow Requirements under the
Truth-in-Lending Act Final Rule (Rule) seemed straightforward. It was clear from a quick read that the Rule lengthens the time for which a mandatory escrow account established for a Higher-Priced Mortgage Loan (HPML) must be maintained.
The Rule also creates an exemption for small creditors that operate predominately in rural or underserved areas and expands upon an exemption from escrowing for insurance premiums for condominiums by
extending the exemption to other similar situations.
A closer read shows that this regulatory change has a greater impact
than appears on the surface. The Rule revises the definition of an HPML.
The Rule also removes the ability-to-repay requirement and existing
restrictions on prepayment penalties. Then, on April 12, the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposal containing amendments to the Rule. The proposal clarifies the exemption for creditors
operating in rural or underserved areas and restores the ability to pay
requirements and restrictions on prepayment penalties.
Do you feel like you need help keeping everything straight? Here’s a
summary of the Rule, which is effective for applications received on or
after June 1, 2013:
The definition of HPML will be revised
Under the Rule, an HPML is a closed-end consumer credit transaction
secured by the consumer’s principal dwelling with an annual percentage
rate (APR) that exceeds the average prime offer rate for a comparable
transaction as of the date the interest rate is set by:
18
l 1.5 percent or more for first lien loans that do not exceed the Freddie
Mac conforming loan limit in effect as of the date the interest rate is set;
l 2.5 percent or more for first lien loans that exceed the Freddie Mac conforming loan limit in effect as of the date the interest rate is set; or
l 3.5 percent or more for subordinate lien loans.
Currently, the jumbo loan threshold applies only to the mandatory
escrow account requirements; however, beginning June 1, the jumbo
threshold will become part of the definition.
The requirement to establish escrow
accounts for HPMLs will change
The Rule lengthens the time, from one year to five, for which a mandatory escrow account established for a HPML must be maintained. The
Rule also creates an exemption for small creditors that operate predominately in rural or underserved areas and expands upon an existing
exemption from escrowing for insurance premiums for condominium
units to extend the exemption to other situations in which a consumer’s
property is covered by a master insurance policy.
Other requirements relating to HPMLs
may change
As it stands today, the Rule deletes the prepayment penalty and abilityto-repay rules applicable to HPMLs. However, the CFPB has issued a proposed amendment to the Rule that would ensure these protections
remain in place until the effective date of the Ability-to-Repay rule,
which expands these protections to apply to most mortgage transactions.
The CFPB has acknowledged that “certainty regarding compliance is a
matter of some urgency,” and plans to make both the Rule and any
amendments effective June 1.
Laurie Spira is chief compliance officer with Torrance, Calif.-based
DocMagic Inc. She may be reached by phone at (800) 649-1362, ext. 6446
or e-mail [email protected].
Sponsored Editorial
nmp newsflash
agreement at the direction of the OCC
and the Federal Reserve.
In determining payment amounts,
borrowers were categorized according to
the stage of their foreclosure process
and the type of possible servicer error.
Regulators then determined amounts
for each category using the financial
remediation matrix published in June
2012 as a guide, incorporating input
from various consumer groups.
Regulators have published the payment amounts and number of people
in each category on their Web sites at
www.occ.gov/independentforeclosurereview and www.federalreserve.gov/
consumerinfo/independent-foreclosurereview-payment-agreement.htm.
While the agreement ended the
Independent Foreclosure Review for the
13 companies identified above, the
review continues for OneWest, Everbank,
and GMAC Mortgage.
Four MI Firms to Pay
$15 Million-Plus in
Penalties to the CFPB
in Kick-Back Probe
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
has announced
four enforcement actions to end what
the Bureau believes to be improper kickbacks paid by mortgage insurers to mortgage lenders in exchange for business.
The CFPB filed complaints and proposed
consent orders against four national
mortgage insurance companies in order
to stop these practices, which have been
prevalent for more than 10 years. The
proposed orders require the four mortgage insurers to pay more than $15 million in penalties to the CFPB.
“Illegal kickbacks distort markets and
can inflate the financial burden of homeownership for consumers,” said CFPB
Director Richard Cordray. “We believe
these mortgage insurance companies
funneled millions of dollars to mortgage
lenders for well over a decade. The
orders announced today put an end to
these types of arrangements and require
these insurers to pay more than $15 million in penalties for violating the law.”
The CFPB alleges that four mortgage
insurance companies violated federal
consumer financial law by engaging in
widespread kickback arrangements with
lenders across the country. The CFPB
believes the mortgage insurers named in
today’s enforcement actions provided
kickbacks to mortgage lenders by purchasing captive reinsurance that was
essentially worthless but was designed to
make a profit for the lenders. The four
companies named are Genworth
Mortgage Insurance Corporation, United
Guaranty Corporation, Radian Guaranty
Inc., and Mortgage Guaranty Insurance
Corporation. In exchange for kickbacks,
these mortgage insurers received lucrative business referrals from lenders.
These types of kickbacks were a common
practice in the years leading up to the
financial crisis. These four companies were
key players during that time.
“Genworth USMI agreed to settle this
review so we can focus our resources on
working with customers to help borrowers
responsibly achieve and maintain homeownership, and to resolve the uncertainties inherent in such a review and any possible resulting litigation,” said Rohit Gupta,
president and chief executive officer of
Genworth USMI.
eRecording of
Documents on the Rise
Nationwide Title
Clearing Inc. (NTC)
has announced
that company
experts
have
identified a trend that shows more documents are being recorded electronically in the nation’s Recorders’ Offices.
NTC’s eRecording manager Brian
Ernissee spoke on the topic at the
Property Records Industry Association
(PRIA) Winter Symposium as part of an
expert panel.
“More than 840 jurisdictions are
currently eRecording-enabled, and
approximately 15 new jurisdictions
become enabled every month,”
Ernissee said. “The volume of documents sent by NTC to record electronically has gone from 10 percent in
May 2012 to well above 40 percent in
February 2013. With such positive
growth, we expect the total volume of
documents submitted electronically
for recording to be well above 50% by
May.”
eRecording at NTC consists of a
five-step process: Submit, receive,
review,
record
and
return.
eRecording makes processing land
record and property documents simple, fast and secure. The process
allows documents to be submitted
24/7, and is cost-effective, reducing
paperwork. Documents are scanned
and submitted within minutes, and
are then returned electronically
immediately after recording.
PRIA is an organization which
develops and promotes national
standards and practices within the
land records industry. The PRIA
Winter Symposium consisted of 23
sessions on the topic of eRecords and
was well-attended with 148 members, guests and speakers. Brian
Ernissee, NTC’s Electronic Recording
Manager, spoke on a panel at the
conference called “eRecord from a
Submitter’s Perspective.” Ernissee
spoke about the relative newness of
eRecording and how to improve upon
the practice and make it widespread,
drawing upon NTC’s 20 years of experience with property documents.
It’s All We Do!
19
1-800-400-USDA
NAMB
perspective
The President’s Corner: May 2013
he time has come for
me to write an article
that really points out
a few of the items that continually make me scratch
my head and wonder
“WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE???”
I have been the president of
NAMB—The Association of Mortgage
Professionals for nearly 18 months
now, and it seems to me that we are
continually fighting every day for the
existence of the mortgage broker. And
to say that I am a little upset about this
is an understatement. I just got done
attending a conference call about the
qualified mortgage (QM) and the Three
Percent Rule. What I don’t understand
about this entire situation is that a
mortgage loan is a mortgage loan is a
mortgage loan, no matter who does it.
So why is every change in this going
towards the mortgage broker? When
the SAFE Act was passed, it reminded
me of the things that happened to
make all of the stock brokers, no matter where they worked, to all be on the
same page. There wasn’t anything different for those that worked in a bank
or those that worked for a broker or
broker house. Everyone was now treated the same and they all had the same
rules and regulations governing their
transactions. But in the mortgage business, we have different rules for different sectors of the business.
Mortgage brokers are the only ones
who need an agreement with the lender
on how much they get paid. This is done
T
20
to eliminate steering. But, brokers have
to complete a Steering Form to inform
the customer of their loan options. Only
brokers do this. Why? If you don’t need
an agreement, no Steering Form even
though this is where the originator can
wait to find out what lender is paying the
most and send it there. And everyone
keeps trying to get me to open up a warehouse line so we can become lenders and
not have the agreement and we can collect all of the money for our company.
They also want us to become this correspondent so we do not have to disclose to
the customer how much money we are
making. And we can make as much
money as we want because as a correspondent, that is what we get. And you
don’t have to complete a Steering
Disclosure either. But the ironic thing is I
have been a mortgage broker for 25
years, and I have never lost a loan to a
customer for disclosing my fees. I like the
fact that we are transparent to the customer on everything.
So here is my question. Why are
there so many different rules for mortgages? Wouldn’t it be better to have one
set of rules for all mortgage loans? This
would make the process so easy and the
consumer would be able to go from
broker to bank and broker and get the
same information. The government is
spending millions of dollars to make
three different programs work, when if
they just had one set of rules for everyone, it would be so simple. Imagine
having every company on the same
page and the forms we send out would
be so easy to understand because everyone is the same.
Would this really change the way we
do business? I don’t think so. I think
that audits would be easier, disclosures
would be simpler and understandable,
and there would be no confusion as to
what the customer is looking at of getting. After all, this is what we are all
about, making it easier for the consumer to understand the largest transaction of their lifetime. That is what the
goal should be at this time. And as far
as licensing ALL mortgage originators,
this is a must. Make everyone who
works in the business have a license.
Why are we only going half way by only
a section of the business has a license? I
hear the critics now basically saying
that it would cost too much. All current
brokers and non-depositories are
licensed and we all paid to take our
education, fingerprints, background
checks, take a national and state test
and send our state their credit report.
Why isn’t good enough for the rest of
“Mortgage Land?”
If the CFPB and those in government
really want to make changes and clean
up these problems, they need to make
the mortgage business transparent and
make everything the same. Then, there
would be no misunderstandings, no
picking on one sector of the business to
make them do this while the other sector does that. As I said before, when a
consumer is looking for a mortgage, it
would be easier for them to know that
all originators are the same and what
they are looking at from Company A is
the same as what Company B has to
offer. You can still have your differences from state to state, and from conventional to FHA, to VA and what types
of loans you can do, but the documentation and disclosures would all have
the same criteria, and each originator
would have the same credentials as
being licensed and the consumer would
be able to better understand what
information that they are getting for
their loan and to be able to compare
the programs.
I think that this is the right way to go!
As a final note, NAMB is participating
in the Ultimate Mortgage Expo in Atlantic
City, N.J. from June 9-11. This marks
another great opportunity to get out and
see some great speakers, network with
your peers, get some education and
become more knowledgeable about the
industry. Come and join your fellow originators in this outstanding event.
And this just in … the 2013 NAMB
National Conference is set for SaturdayMonday, Oct. 19-21 in Las Vegas at
Harrah’s. We have moved to this hotel
this year and it really looks to be better
than last year. So mark this date on your
calendar. NAMB will be starting to accept
reservations very shortly so stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS,
President
Professionals
I Signed What?
By John
Councilman, CMC,
CRMS
One day, you may be asking yourself that question.
I’ve noticed the contracts we are being
asked to sign are what one lawyer once
described to me as “frying pan” contracts.
I think he meant that if you jumped out,
you landed in the fire. Either way, you got
burned.
You may be signing an employment
agreement, a branch agreement, a correspondent agreement or a broker agreement. If you didn’t draw up the contract
or have your attorney draw it you can be
certain the terms aren’t in your favor.
As an employee, you may be asked to
sign a contract that you will never compete with your new employer. You may be
prohibited from calling on the people with
whom you have long-standing relationships. It will be very difficult to move to a
better company or secure better working
conditions. Hiring a lawyer is an expensive
proposition for an individual. Be careful
before signing an employment contract.
I can remember when branches first
started to become popular. I was called
upon to be an expert witness in a lawsuit
between a lender and a branch. The
lender stopped paying the branch and its
expenses as called for in the agreement.
The lender claimed they had never
authorized the people the branch hired or
the commission split given to the originators. The contract said that the lender had
to approve all contacts and the loans and
employees belonged to the lender. They
could terminate the contract at any time.
Things dragged on for several years until
the lender started having financial troubles. I don’t think the branch ever got any
money.
Lenders have become must more
sophisticated since those days. The contracts I have seen require the “branch,”
which had been an independent business,
to “sell” the entire operation to the lender.
There is very little freedom after that.
Every decision is made by the lender. This
is very difficult for entrepreneurs who are
used to making the decisions. Many of
these contracts make the originators and
branch employees “at will” employees.
That means they can terminate any
employee at any time for any reason. The
lender retains the branch, even if the
branch manager is terminated. I know of
one instance where the lender decided to
consolidate two branches. It didn’t make
economic sense, but that is what they
decided to do. They let the good processors go and kept the cheaper, less talented ones. The originators didn’t want to
commute 20 miles and left one by one
and found new employment. What had
been a very profitable independent business became a valueless, empty shell.
Perhaps the area that is of most concern is the evolution of the correspondent
or broker agreement. The days are gone
when people unloaded junk on Wall
Street with no recourse. We operate in a
strange business. A company can produce
NAMB
asking brokers who had originated loans
for failed banks to pay for the losses on
loans the banks had made. They particularly singled out stated-income loans.
Nearly every broker agreement contained
a buyback agreement if the file contained
fraud, whether or not the broker was
aware of it.
I have heard many brokers say they
don’t even bother to read these agree-
ments. That may be fine if you have nothing to lose. Unless you view your business
as a short-term proposition, you may want
to pay close attention to what you are
signing. It may be that many brokers do
not understand the legalese contained in
the contracts. I suspect the majority simply want to make a living and will sign
anything. That is a sad commentary on
how desperate people have become to
make a living. It would even sadder to
see them lose everything they have
worked for.
John Councilman, CMC, CRMS is NAMB
vice president and FHA Committee Chair,
and president of AMC Mortgage
Corporation. He may be reached by
phone at (239) 267-2400 or e-mail.
[email protected].
21
$1 billion worth of loans with a net worth
of only a few million. It only takes a few
bad loans or buybacks to erode that equity. One small event such as a spike in FHA
delinquencies, a mistake or a regulatory
finding, can cause your warehouse lender
to cut you off. If that happens, you are out
of business in days or hours. Many of
these warehouse agreements contain personal guarantees. I have seen people who
were flying high one day financially
ruined the next day. One person I knew
committed suicide. Correspondents are
expected to buy the loan back for virtually any reason. If you don’t, your investor
will cut you off. If you are dealing with
Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, they may stop
purchasing your loans. It doesn’t matter if
you think you are right or perhaps you are
right. If you cannot sell your loans, you are
toast.
The most curious agreements I see are
today’s broker agreements. Most broker
companies have a net worth that is less
than $50,000. Some are much lower. Yet,
we now see the same or similar agreement for brokers as we see for correspondents. I see broker shops with a net worth
of $10,000 agreeing to buy back loans that
may be in the $400,000 range … that is
insane. Lenders say Fannie Mae, Freddie
Mac and bank regulators require them to
have such clauses. The contract of one of
the largest wholesale lenders calls for buybacks for any reason. It is in their sole discretion to require the broker to repurchase the loan or indemnify them.
Perhaps they just didn’t like the loan or
maybe the borrower lost his job after a
year. Like many other contracts I have
seen, even if the lender made a mistake or
error, the originator is liable to buy back
the loan. I refused to sign their agreement, but have a friend who signed up
who said it was too expensive to pay $600
per month for a compliance contract. Is
this really what this wholesale lender
wants, to sign up brokers with little to
lose?
A few wholesale lenders are now
including personal guarantees in their
agreements. I suppose they will try to grab
your bank accounts or sell off your car or
your house. What is so silly is that anyone
who has substantial assets will shy away
from these agreements while those with
nothing to lose will sign them. The lenders
have no idea whether the person making
the guarantee is a pauper or a millionaire.
It is likely that conscientious, high-quality
originators will select other lenders to do
business with.
Although there are not a huge number
of buybacks for brokers at this time, these
contracts are sometimes enforced many
years later. Not long ago, the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was
perspective
Client Preeminence in
Wholesale Lending
By Sharon Bitz
Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan
a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the
foundation of humility.—Saint Augustine
22
Success in business is wholly dependent on the ability to
solve a problem or to make your partners’ lives easier. In
building a business many will miss the key point and in so doing, plant
the seeds of their own failure. The point, of course, is to serve your
clients by providing goods or services that they need and want. WCS
Wholesale is retooling its foundation to build its business and to ensure
that it’s not missing the point.
WCS Lending is an independent, financially strong, mid-tier mortgage
lender. Our wholesale business has the corporate DNA and proven management capability to be successful, yet we know we fail if we don’t meet
the basic requirement of “client preeminence.” Client preeminence is a
comprehensive orientation to put the needs of our originating partners
first in every aspect of our business.
What does this foundation look like?
The first building block of our client-oriented business is listening.
Before we began growing our business we interviewed dozens of successful brokers to get their feedback on the characteristics of the best
wholesale lenders and the shortcomings of others. We have asked brokers: How is wholesale mortgage lending best done? Where must we
excel to win and maintain broker loyalty? What areas of friction exist in
the process? How can we maintain an open dialogue so that we can constantly adjust to your assessment of our work? As an example, I recently sat in on an originator roundtable at a CMBA convention where the
originators were stressing a need for lenders to accommodate their
clients prequal’s (TBD’s). Reaching out to the originating community to
determine their needs is a strategy that will set WCS apart from the competition. After listening, we’ve come up with a strategy to serve the prequal need of the originating community.
One consistent comment we received was that many lenders’ communications are unclear. We have therefore made it a priority to ensure
all our written communications are vetted, clear, consistent, and concise.
Clients can feel confident that all changes will be communicated in a
timely fashion, keeping them informed and up to date.
The second building block of a client-oriented business is making life
easier for the client. If we truly put our broker’s needs first, they will find
it easier to do their job. Since there are many pieces to the puzzle of originating, underwriting and closing mortgage loans, there are numerous
places in which the process can be improved. We are committed to simplifying the process and developing tools that will make working with us
the smoothest choice available. As a national company with fulfillment
on both coasts, we exercise best practices based on decades of mortgage
lending experience in order to guarantee streamlined operations.
The third and final building block of a client-oriented business is to
define our success by the success of our clients. In mortgage origination,
production volume and quality is the ultimate measure of success, along
with satisfied customers who will recommend you. Therefore; we will
measure our success by the growth in production volume of our originating partners. Our task then is to provide staffing that supports our
customer’s volume, and service that is timely and efficient.
Making mortgage originators successful and improving the quality of
their lives is our business. Together as partners we will “rise”.
Sharon Bitz is the national head of wholesale lending for WCS Lending, one
of the largest privately-held mortgage banks in the U.S. that has been recognized as an Inc. 5000 honoree for the fourth consecutive year. WCS,
which is licensed in 49 states, has offices in Florida, New York, California,
Michigan, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio and Hawaii and generates $2 billionplus in loans annually. She may be reached by phone at (916) 996-1620.
NMLS #4260
www.wcswholesale.com
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
nmp newsflash
New FHFA Initiative
Assists Delinquent
Borrowers With Avoiding
Foreclosure
The Federal Housing
Finance Agency (FHFA)
has announced that
Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac will offer a new, simplified loan modification initiative to minimize losses and to help troubled borrowers
avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes.
Beginning July 1, servicers will be required
to offer eligible borrowers who are at least
90 days delinquent on their mortgage an
easy way to lower their monthly payments
and modify their mortgage without requiring financial or hardship documentation.
The new Streamlined Modification
Initiative eliminates the administrative
barriers associated with document collection and evaluation. Eligible borrowers
must demonstrate a willingness and ability
to pay by making three on-time trial payments, after which the mortgage will be
permanently modified. Homeowners are
encouraged to continue working with their
servicer to evaluate all of their foreclosure
prevention options. Documenting income
and financial hardship could result in a
modification with additional savings for
the borrower.
“The Streamlined Modification Initiative
adds to the suite of home retention tools
offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,”
said FHFA Acting Director Edward J.
DeMarco. “This new option gives delinquent
borrowers another path to avoid foreclosure. We will still encourage such borrowers
to provide documentation to support other
modification options that would likely result
in additional borrower savings.”
Homes Near Public
Transportation See
Rise in Value
“Location, location, location near public
transportation” may
be the new real-estate
mantra according to a
new study released by
the American Public
Transportation Association (APTA) and
the National Association of Realtors
(NAR). Data in the study reveals that
during the last recession, residential
property values performed 42 percent
better on average if they were located
near public transportation with highfrequency service.
“When homes are located near public
transportation, they are among the most
valuable and desirable in the area,” said
APTA President and CEO Michael
Melaniphy. “This study shows that consumers are choosing neighborhoods with
high-frequency public transportation
because it provides access to up to five
times as many jobs per square mile as
compared to other areas in a given region.
Other attractive amenities in these neighborhoods include lower transportation
costs, walkable areas and robust transportation choices.”
“Higher home values reflect greater
market demand for areas near public
transportation,” said NAR Chief Economist
Lawrence Yun. “Transportation plays an
important role in real estate and housing
decisions, and the data suggests that residential real-estate near public transit will
remain attractive to buyers going forward.
A sound transportation system not only
benefits individual property owners, but
also creates the foundation for a community’s long-term economic wellbeing.”
The study, “The New Real-Estate
Mantra:
Location
near
Public
Transportation,” investigates how well residential properties located in a half-mile
proximity to high-frequency public transportation or in the “public transit shed”
have performed in holding their value during the recession compared to other properties in a given region.
While residential property values
declined substantially between 2006 to
2011, properties close to public transit
showed significantly stronger resiliency.
The following are a few examples from the
study: In Boston, residential property in
the rapid transit area outperformed other
properties in the region by an incredible
129 percent. In the Chicago public transit
area home values performed 30 percent
better than the region; in San Francisco, 37
percent; Minneapolis-St Paul, 48 percent;
and in Phoenix 37 percent.
Your turn
National
Mortgage
Professional
Magazine invites you to submit any
information on regulatory changes, legislative updates, human interest stories
or any other newsworthy items pertaining to the mortgage industry to the
attention of:
NMP News Flash column
Phone #: (516) 409-5555
E-mail:
[email protected]
Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the
1st of the month prior to the target issue.
Correction …
Due to a production error on page 45 of the April 2013 issue of National Mortgage
Professional Magazine, the incorrect pull quote appeared with the article by Les Acree
in his article, “Are Leaders Born or Can Some one be Taught to Lead?” The correct
quote that should have appeared is as follows: “I do believe that leaders know, at an
early age, that they did not come into this world to sit on the bench … they came to
play.” The quote that appeared in the April 2013 issue should be attributed to
Tommy A. Duncan, CMT from his March 2013 article, also on page 45, “Quality
Control Trends Positively Impacting the Market.”
IT’S CLOSING TIME AND…
1 IN 5
*
OF
BORROWERS
YOUR
HAS ADDED NEW
DEBT
AREE YOU
U COMPLIANT?
23
ss-OONITORSBORROWERSCREDITACTIVITYBETWEENTHEORIGINALCREDITlLE
NITORSBORROWERSCREDITACTIVITYBETWEENTHEORIGINALCREDITlLE
pull and the loan closing
s
s!LLERTSYOUTOSUSPICIOUSACTIVITYCONCERNINGNEWTRADELINES
ERTSYOUTOSUSPICIOUSACTIVITYCONCERNINGNEWTRADELINES
inquiries and secondary re-issues
ss%LIMINATESLASTMINUTESURPRISESTHATMAYAFFECTCLOSING
LIMINATESLASTMINUTESURPRISESTHATMAYAFFECTCLOSING
ss0RROTECTSAGAINSTBUYBACKORREPURCHASELOSSESTHROUGH
OTECTSAGAINSTBUYBACKORREPURCHASELOSSESTHROUGH
insurance program backed by A-rated carriers and offered
THROUGH!RTHUR*'ALLAGHER2ISK-ANAGEMENT3ERVICES)NC
THROUGH!RTHUR*'ALLAGHER2ISK-ANAGEMENT3ERVICES)NC
U NDIS C L OS E D DEB T PRO TECTI O N A
ATT I TS F I N ES T.
T. C ALL TODAY.
TODA Y.
* According to Equifax’
Equifax’s
uifax’’s whitepaper titled “Zooming in on Undisclosed Debt” published in January 2013, almost one fifth of all mortgage borrowers applyy for
fo
at least one new tradeline during the “quiet period.”
800.258.3488
80 0.258.3488
www.creditplus.com/undisclosed-debt-monitoring
www.creditplus.com/undisclosed-debt-monitoring
© 2013 Credit Plus, Inc.
[email protected]
Make sure you’re in compliance with LQI and protected from buybacks. Regulations are going to get tougher
tougher.. The GSEs
GSE are working
g on additional
suggestions to make sure your loan is sell-ready in 2013. Can you afford not to use Undisclosed Debt Monitoring?
TTurn
urn
u to Credit
Cre Plus for Undisclosed Debt Monitoring™ powered by Equifax®.
Lesson Learned:
24
The Great Recession Ends,
but Young Professionals Remain Elusive
Learn how borrowing lessons from the world of social media can help bring them back
By Chad Jampedro
In the thralls of the go-go
1990s, young professionals seemed to have it all.
Flush
with
college
degrees and the cash from good-paying
jobs, the generation not only embraced
the American Dream—they built it bigger and better than any previous generation had before. Not content with the
quaint Cape Cods and split-level colonials inhabited by their parents and
grandparents, the group sprung for
McMansions in sprawling suburbs or
sophisticated condos in the city.
Then the housing market crashed.
In one fell swoop, the Great
Recession dashed the hopes of millions
of would-be first-time homebuyers. As
businesses dealt with the blow from
constricted budgets, some college grads
were forced to forego a promising
career for low-paying service jobs.
Others had no choice but to move in
with their parents just to get by.
Thousands of young professionals
could scarcely pay their rent, let alone
invest in a mortgage.
To make matters worse, the constant
coverage about predatory lenders tarnished the reputation of the mortgage
industry. The reports swayed even those
young professionals who managed to
escape the woes of the downturn.
Despite their footing, the group consistently turned to more malleable living
options, like renting and rooming.
Today, the housing industry is experiencing a venerable recovery. But, the
young professional remains elusive.
It’s no coincidence that the recession
happened at the same time that social
media, and other digital communication channels, began to take the world
by storm. Outside of their novel features, perhaps the biggest lure of these
new mediums was their inherent sense
of transparency—a facet that had long
been lost on the nation’s marketers in
the decade’s prior.
Social media allows its users to “get
behind the Man” and get right to the
point. It also provides a constant stream
of information—social channels are literally built so users never miss a thing.
The way that information is presented
is engaging, simple and straightforward. When its not, users can instantly
provide feedback and demand a
response.
Many mortgage companies are “on”
social media. But, this isn’t a column
about social media or digital marketing.
It is about how mortgage companies
can use the lessons learned from social
media companies to attract young professionals back to the housing market.
Understanding the
social shift
The numbers speak for themselves.
First-time homeownership is at an alltime low. According to a fall 2012 survey conducted by Campbell/Inside
Mortgage Finance, the first time homebuyer share of home purchases fell to
34.7 percent.
To understand why young professionals are eschewing homeownership,
mortgage professionals must first try to
understand the social shift that has
occurred in this group. For example,
young professionals are more likely to
feel “tied down” rather than liberated
by owning a home. Studies also show
they are waiting longer to “settle
down,” get married or start a family.
Others are simply “turned off” to homeownership by what happened during
the housing crisis. While rising home
prices and tighter lending is certainly to
blame, mortgage lenders possess the
capabilities to reel in a greater share of
these customers.
“How so,” you may ask? Consider this
… despite could-be homebuyers’ hesitations, a 2011 Pew Research study on
homeownership reported more than 80
percent of current renters expressed
wanting to own a home and agreed
that “buying a home is the best longterm investment a person can make.”
Young professionals want to buy
homes. Mortgage lenders can make
that happen. Yet, first time homeownership is at an all-time low. There’s a
disconnect occurring here, and it is up
to mortgage professionals to fix it.
So, how does the mortgage professional heal the wounds left behind by
the recession? It all comes down to
trust.
Socially speaking
following up with a client, or by
anticipating their needs.
In the mortgage industry, that also
means reminding young professionals
about the importance of homeownership. This group is reachable, but mortgage professionals have to be willing to
go where young professionals go—
mentally and digitally.
Chad Jampedro is president of GSF
Mortgage Corporation. With more than
20 years of experience, GSF Mortgage has
embraced the next generation of homeowners with its GOGSF brand, continuing
its dedication to flexible and transparent
lending. He may be reached by phone at
(262) 373-0790.
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l Be an information generator: Young
professionals demand a constant
stream of information—it puts them
at ease. Information should be presented clearly and simply, and available in a variety of formats, including print, on the Web, on social
want the truth—not fluff. Clouding
promotional materials with empty
promises and marketing jargon isn’t
going to result in sales. Give it to
them straight.
l Embrace technology: Young professionals often equate a trustworthy
business with a tech-savvy one. An
outdated Web site or a site with slow
page load time may turn off a potential customer. A small or ineffective
digital footprint makes the young
professionals of today wonder if a
business is sketchy or out of touch.
l Show your value: If Facebook’s $40
billion IPO was any indication, a
company’s value is about more than
just money. Prove your worth by providing excellent customer service,
Social media companies have grown instep with the millennial generation, so
it’s not hard to understand why young
professionals prefer the digital landscape. This is a generation that was
raised on the Internet and technological expansion. The rise of technology
has brought down the walls of hierarchy, in many ways, and social media
found a way to capitalize on that.
As virtual as the world of social
media may appear, it works by building
relationships—online and offline. In
the social world, the number of users
matters, but it is the effectiveness of
those relationships, often corroborated
by distinguishing the levels of “user
engagement,” that bring a user back to
the business, time and time again.
User engagement is about a lot more
than “Likes.” It’s about the information
sharing, the commenting, and the “IRL” (in
real life) word-of-mouth buzz. In the mortgage industry, we can compare “Likes” to
leads. At some point, we want those
“thumbs up” to turn into conversions, and
eventually, into real-life customers.
At its most basic level, social media
really isn’t all that revolutionary. But,
what sets social media companies apart
from traditional corporations is that
they not only tune in to their users’
habits and wants, but they listen to
their needs. Then, they deliver and
delivery fast. Social media communication cuts through the “red tape” and
bureaucracy that many companies
refuse to let go of.
In many cases, users are receiving
information from and directly communicating with the higher ups of an
organization. Then, they provide the
platform for users to speak for themselves. If a company is lucky, users will
also speak on behalf of the business,
and create a buzz.
Embedding interactivity and providing personal access to superiors
within a company isn’t a new concept.
It’s the very lifeblood of old time Ma
and Pop shop business models, and
other successful ventures. But, it is a
notion that many industries have lost
along the way.
Mortgage companies cannot compete with the broad appeal of social
media companies, like Facebook or
Twitter. But, they can heed some lessons from this group of successful marketers. There are reasons why social
media channels make young professionals tick.
Here are some tips to get you started:
media and on mobile and tablets.
l Mix-it up: Social feeds are popular
because they contain a variety of
content. Embed videos, images, glossaries, audio programs, news articles, industry updates and blogs on
company Web sites and on social
channels.
l Respond to feedback: Avoid automated voice systems and placing customers on hold. Customers should
have direct phone access to the business, as well as the tools to reach out
to mortgage pros via social media, email, commenting boxes or online
chat. Mortgage professionals should
do their best to respond to customers
within 24 hours.
l Be transparent: Young professionals
heard
street
ON THE
Our Heard on the Street column is a chronicle of events, changes and passages in the lives of the people
and companies shaping the mortgage industry.
DocMagic Achieves 100
Percent Uptime
26
DocMagic Inc. has
announced that
the company has
maintained a perfect 100 percent
uptime record for the past 120 days.
DocMagic provides system status information on its Web site in real time.
Over the past 12 months, DocMagic has
maintained an unparalleled 99.989
percent uptime record. That period of
time includes the company’s move to
their new location and switch-over to
the new state-of- the-art technology
center resulting in the new 100 percent
uptime record.
“Some service providers and IT executives will say that 100 percent uptime
is an impossible standard,” said
Dominic Iannitti, CEO of DocMagic. “I
can assure you that it is possible and
meeting this standard involves investment in infrastructure, superior staff
training, constant monitoring and an
unwavering commitment to the task.”
When it comes to measuring online
service reliability, the terms uptime
and availability are often used interchangeably. However, they are not
always the same thing. Often providers
that measure uptime only check to see
if a server is responding to pings on the
network. In some cases, a server may be
“up” but unable to perform the service
for which it was designed.
GSF Partners With
TRUSTe Privacy
Management Firm
GSF Mortgage has
announced that it
has joined forces
with global privacy management solutions provider, TRUSTe. TRUSTe enables
multinational companies to safely and
efficiently handle the customer data
powering their online businesses including advertising, cloud services, mobile
applications and websites. The online
consumer protection company works
with several recognizable companies,
including Apple, Disney, HP and eBay.
As more and more companies move
their businesses online including GSF,
the company recognized the need to
ensure Web user privacy, especially in
the home mortgage lending space.
While GSF, which offers a variety of
mortgage tools and online lending
options on its Web site at
www.gogsf.com, has always practiced
secure lending practices, the partnership with TRUSTe adds yet another layer
of protection against the breach of privacy. Customers can rest assured that
their privacy and data is secure with
GSF, as all online transactions conducted through the company will now be
monitored by the third-party, TRUSTe.
“Our mission is—and has always
been to put our customers at ease
throughout the mortgage lending
process, whether it’s through our low
rates, flexible lending options, or
through our online tools,” said GSF
President Chad Jampedro. “We are
extremely excited to partner with
TRUSTe, a step that we feel will help us
continue our legacy as a transparent
and trustworthy home mortgage
provider.”
WCS Lending Revamps Its
Wholesale Lending Division
WCS Lending has
revamped
its
wholesale lending division as part of its
plan to significantly increase the company’s loan volume and customer
base throughout 2013 and 2014. The
re-introduction of WCS’ wholesale
program includes expanded program
offerings, improved pricing, and
redesigned infrastructure, with the
ultimate goal of establishing itself as
a vital part of the mainstream wholesale mortgage market and becoming
the most trusted partner for wholesale lending within the origination
community.
WCS’ wholesale division’s new prod-
uct line includes a wider range of
mortgage products. In addition to conventional, FHA and VA loans, WCS is
one of the few wholesale lenders to
offer USDA loans. The company will
also be adding portfolio jumbo loans
to its offerings within the next several weeks.
“We’ve got a plan that takes great
care of our loyal, longstanding customers, while allowing us to quickly
expand into more markets and still
deliver on our trademark quality,
service and speed,” said Rouvaun
Walker, WCS’ wholesale divisional
manager in California. “I think the
mortgage broker community is going
to be shocked at how much of a difference it makes when a wholesale
lender invests in the best technology,
hires more knowledgeable and seasoned staff, and offers a full suite of
loan products.”
As part of its growth initiative, WCS
Lending has reinforced the division’s
infrastructure by creating the policies
and workflow that will support exponential growth and implementing
new loan origination and accounting
software.
Industry veterans Sharon Bitz, the
company’s national head of wholesale lending who has 35 years of
experience, and California divisional
manager Walker, who has 22 years of
industry experience, are guiding the
expansion of WCS’ wholesale division.
“There is a demand for the products, service and expertise WCS provides,” said Bitz. “Loan originators
need wholesale lenders that function
like true partners; otherwise they can
end up losing a lot of time, or even
entire transactions. All of the changes
we’ve made have enhanced our ability to function as a true partner to the
origination community. We’re looking forward to the growth we have
planned for the next two years.”
United States Appraisals
Partners With Collateral
Risk Network
United States
Appraisals has
announced
that it has joined the Collateral Risk
Network (CRN). Composed of chief
appraisers, collateral risk managers,
regulators and valuation experts, CRN is
focused on resolving the risk and compliance challenges facing the collateral
risk profession. With over 400 members
represented by leading AMCs, lending
institutions, Wall Street, Fannie Mae,
Freddie
Mac,
The
Veteran’s
Administration, the Federal Housing
Administration and appraisers, CRN
engages all stakeholders in open dialogue to find solutions to industry
issues.
“We are pleased to join an organization that utilizes the diverse backgrounds of its members for the common good of the industry,” said Aaron
Fowler, president of United States
Appraisals. “Obviously, risk and compliance are hot topics in the mortgage
industry. As we grow, we wanted to
ensure our involvement in the discussions that shape our industry. We look
forward to working with our peers and
industry partners to identify and
resolve these issues.”
Joan Trice, CRN founder and managing director, said, “We welcome United
States Appraisals to the CRN group. We
are always excited to have a growing
organization bring a fresh set of ideas
and a new perspective to the table.”
First Guaranty Mortgage
Moves Into Larger Facility
First Guaranty
Mortgage Corporation (FGMC)
has relocated its national headquarters
to a larger facility in the Tysons Corner
neighborhood of McLean, Va. FGMC is a
27
The Three Cs
of Mortgage
Success
(Part I)
So you want to create
maximum growth acceleration
for your company …
but where do you start?
By Erik Janeczko
28
The most common question we hear in coaching
is “how do I get more
business?” But there are
always multiple layers to consider
before answering. The simple answer is
get more leads and convert better, but
often that is easier said than done.
Beyond that, what if you have a capacity problem?, In reality, we have found
it better to ask first, “Are you ready for
more business?” Think about this for a
moment, what is the role of a loan originator in your organization? We find in
most organizations, that originators
wear three separate hats: Lead generation, that’s the creation phase; sales,
which is a function of lead capture and
conversion; and then the third phase is
completion, but do you really have the
capacity for more business? To find out,
we need to dig a bit deeper, and that is
exactly what we intend to do in this
series over the next three issues …
You see, the mortgage industry is no
different than any other professional
practice, there’s really only three critical focus areas that impact production
growth. We call them the “Three Cs of
Success:
Create,
Capture
and
Completion.”
1) Create is about Getting more leads;
2) Capture is about converting more
leads; and
3) Completion is about your ability (or
capacity) to handle the volume you create and capture, with the desired level
of service quality.
This last one is probably the most
subtle and difficult one to manage, as it
is often the silent killer. Think about
the last time you received poor service?
How many people did you tell? The crit-
ical failure often is, if you don’t make ly have the skill and ability to generate
sure you have the capacity to service the more lead volume than your support
deals that you generate, the first two Cs teams can handle, you most certainly
are totally wasted effort.
will reach a capacity ceiling. Think
The other big challenge to effective about this for a moment, why is it that
growth planning and training imple- the average loan officer in the United
mentation is not knowing in what order States closes four loans a month or less?
to work on these three areas. For exam- Now this may be counterintuitive to a
ple, in our coaching often what hap- lot of managers, and I’m probably irripens is that we work from three back to tating some of you right now, but the
one. If an originator, branch or region is practical reality is that the primary reaseeing significant volatility to their pro- son most originators in the U.S. average
duction, with widely ranging peaks and less than four loans per month is
valleys month by month, then most because they’re doing three jobs, and
often we first have to expand
most of the time, not doing them
capacity. Before we then can
very well. In essence, they
improve conversion, and
have a lead creation job;
“… our job as
all this must happen
they have a lead capleadership coaches,
before it is even pruture job, and they have
dent to invest time or
a lead completion
trainers and originators
money on creating
job—the last of these
is to keep a constant eye three consuming the
more leads. So the
fundamentals of any
majority of their time.
on capacity and build
good sales developThink about it from
for it before it
ment program should
this perspective … in
arrives.”
focus on these three crititerms of the highest paid
cal focus areas and one must
extremely skilled processors,
first assess the needs of the organiwhat do they typically earn per year
zation and individuals before offering in your market? I’m not going to go into
any training. Then, once it is clear what specifics here, but think about it, what
the real needs of the organization are, do the rock star processors in your area
develop programming organized into make a month? For most areas of the
the proper sequence for the organiza- country, including the high index martion. For the purpose of this series, we kets, you’re talking probably an income
are going to address these three areas scale that tops out at $45 or $50 an
on the order they most often need to be hour for an exceptional processor. Now
addressed which is Completion, compare that to the value of the origiConversion and Creation.
nators 10 or so hours over six to eight
weeks to solidify a real estate agent or
Completion is
financial planner partnership that is
about capacity
worth six or more deals annually. How
Often in our coaching and training much revenue does your company
work, we find that marketing and sales, make on six deals a year? For most of
though needing attention, are not the our coaching clients, it is in excess of
most urgent issue limiting an organiza- $4,000 per loan (company gross revtions growth. If your originators are enue). So, every hour an originator
focused and professional then they like- spends chasing conditions and mas-
saging loans through underwriting, is
an hour they are not spending creating new business, which carries a
heavy opportunity cost. How much
money does that hour potentially cost
the company? Just look at this rough
comparison: If the company average is
$4,000 in gross profit per loan, and it
takes 10 or so hours for that originator
to create a relationship worth six deals
a year, that’s $24,000 annually in revenue or $2,400 per hour activity, and
an opportunity cost of over $2,300 per
hour.
Armed with this information, how
fast should we be working to effectively
create additional support capacity that
grows at the same pace (or even faster
than) the growth pace of our Creation
and Capture programs?
If we truly understand this issue,
then our job as leadership coaches,
trainers and originators is to keep a
constant eye on capacity and build for
it before it arrives. To do this, there
are two primary solutions we must
implement:
1) Help the originators get consistent
focused and efficient; and
2) Build capacity by building the right
team at the right time.
Through our coaching work, we
have identified that the first part of
creating capacity is to build the focus
and efficiency skills of the originator.
This includes both basic time management training, as well as sales discipline through business planning
and performance metrics. By training
and reinforcing success habits with
your team, you will improve capacity
by helping the originator recognize
that their highest and best use is lead
creation and conversion, and that
you will get them producing more
Erik Janeczko is head coach/speak with
Maximum Acceleration, and is also president of the Missouri Association of
Mortgage Professionals (MAMP), a state
affiliate of NAMB—The Association of
Mortgage Professionals. He may be
reached by phone at (573) 298-4237, ext.
101 or e-mail [email protected].
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29
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with interactive tools and videos
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©2013 Front Pocket Marketing
Capacity management becomes every
bit as important, if not more important, in some cases than creation or
conversion. Skill development training, staffing, recruiting and integrated
team communication training systems
all become a vital part of an effective
and efficiently-growing practice, company or organization.
So there you have it. If you’re considering sales training or a structured
development program, or are considering a rapid growth and development
process, first start by assessing which
of the three areas is your biggest need.
Are you generating plenty of leads, but
your conversion rate shows limited
lead pull-through? Then you need
sales training. If your originators can
convert like mad, but are complaining
about lead volume, then you need
marketing and business development
training first. If your marketing is generating plenty of leads and your originators are converting effectively, but
you’re still not at the volume that you
think you should be, or you’re starting
to see massive peaks and valleys in
your organization with individual originators, then start looking at the systems and processes that those originators are using. You need to see what
their support staff and teams would
like to build and if they have the
capacity to efficiently pull that volume
through all the way to closing. Once
you have your capacity issues fixed,
you can circle back around to marketing and sales training.
At all three levels, Creation, Capture
& Completion, identifying where the
biggest opportunities for growth are,
then strategically resolving those challenges is your best bet for creating
effective and efficient growth.
Through coaching, we have refined
this model with the thousands of originators, managers and sales teams
that have grown through our training
programs.
The single most important lesson
we have learned through the years is
that we must always follow a solutions-oriented strategic planning and
growth model. We are most effective
by starting with objective assessment,
moving on to action planning, and
finally, implementation.
Looking at your organization’s
growth, follow the model of studying
what are the challenges, and then
determine the best practices and
strategies to apply at each phase of the
process that will yield the greatest
amount of growth in the least amount
of time. Stay tuned to next month’s
issue of this series where we will go
deeper into the best methods for
Capturing leads.
results in less time, by being more
focused on those activities.
The second part of creating capacity is to build the right support team.
By the way, I’m not just saying go out
and hire a bunch of entry-level
processors and throw bodies at the
problem, because that simply does
not work. Throwing people into a system-less environment just creates the
3 Cs you don’t want “Confusion, Chaos
and Crisis.” The first step is systemize.
Get your originators efficient and consistent with the amount of time and
energy they’re spending on capacity
creation and conversion; efficiently
pushing loans through. And then work
to recognize the warning signs of
pushing the capacity ceiling, and
move proactively to hedge against
service failures and lost volume.
Once the systems are in place and
the originator is operating at maximum efficiency, eventually, the volume of business increases beyond the
man hours available by any one originator. Think about it from this perspective, how many actual man hours
does it take from start to finish on a
viable, well-structured, well-documented loan? Opinions range on this
issue, but in our experiences, the typical sales cycle, from first contact
through to 30 days after closing, is
consistently around 50 to 60 man
hours per loan. Another way to recognize this in your own organization is
do the math. At what level does your
team begin to experience burnout
from being overworked and massive
peaks and valleys begin to appear?
If your average originator, with a
shared processor, is maxing out at
about five loans per month, this indicates that, based on five files, which
equals 40 hours per file. Add to that
the time a processor spends on each
file and it is a bit easier to see why
your growth is volatile. In most organizations, top originators will reach
their first ceiling of capacity somewhere around what will average out
to six or seven loans per month. With
the support of a shared processor
who is handling a pipeline of 80-100
loans and the processor’s job is mostly just pushing that file through
underwriting efficiently. Unfortunately,
most originators won’t be doing seven
or eight loans per month consistently. They’re going to be doing 10-12
loans one month and two or three
the following month. So the primary
first indicator that you have a capacity problem is watching for volatility
in the pipeline. If you have originators on your team doing massive
peaks and valleys, that’s probably
one of the single best indicators that
you have a capacity challenge in your
organization.
The next thing that we spend the
majority of our time working on with
our coaching members is helping
them grow and build their businesses,
taking loan officers from five or six
deals each month to 10-12, 18-20, and
20-plus to whatever level they want.
Secrets
to More
Closings:
Stages Three to Five
of the Sales Funnel
(Part II)
By Jean LeBlanc
30
Last month, we began
looking at the initial
stages that every one of
your prospects goes
through as they strike up a relationship
with you, from the tire-kicker stage to
the Stage Two “Seekers.” This month,
we’re exploring what your prospects or
clients are looking for in Stages Three
through Five, and therefore, what you
need to be able to provide to them, in
order to keep them moving down the
funnel toward closing.
Stage Three:
The shoppers
Armed with the information they’ve
obtained from you (or from another
mortgage office), now they’re ready to
shop. They’ll compare you to your competitor down the street and to online
sources such as bankrate.com, or lowermybills.com.
Again, we have learned recently that
many borrowers just don’t shop
around, but go straight to one company
and never look at another. We also
learned that price isn’t necessarily the
primary deciding factor, but often service is. Lesson for all of us: while we may
not be able to compete with the lendingtree.coms of the world, we can compete on service and other factors. That’s
why it’s so important to make your customer reviews readily available to
shoppers.
In this stage, it’s important to
know your company’s USP (Unique
Selling Proposition), which answers
the question, “What makes you
unique from the other lenders or brokers?” or “Why should I purchase my
loan from you?” Your sales materials,
even down to the e-mails you send,
should answer this question for
prospects in the shopper stage.
Stage Four:
The application
Your clients are excited. Chances are, they
have found their perfect home. Now
they’re ready to make this thing happen—and tomorrow isn’t too soon. And
you’ve got to burst their bubble—gently.
If they’re a first-time buyer, they may
have no clue how time-consuming and
labyrinth-like the loan process can be.
Even if they’re not a newcomer to homeownership, the rules have changed, and
they may be required to submit MANY
more docs than they did before.
This is when you want to provide them
with concise information, either on your
Web site or handouts, as to what to expect
during the app process: Tips on credit,
appraisals, gathering their docs, and so
on. The more professional materials that
you can provide that are simple to read,
the more your LOs and your company will
look like experts.
Finally, you want to continue to sell
your company and your LO during this
stage, because they may be hearing
from other lenders with attractive
offers. Be attentive, communicate positively and regularly; show just how
good your customer service is. And continue this during Stage Five.
Stage Five:
Waiting to close
During this stage, a number of elements
are outside your control, such as how
long underwriting takes, what additional docs are required, whether closing
will happen on time, and so on. Most of
the communication that happens here is one-onone; by that I mean,
you won’t be handling
the client a brochure,
but rather communicating personally.
For instance, this is a good
time to remember some of the
things they told you earlier, such
as their desire to upgrade the
kitchen. Send them
links to kitchen
upgrade ideas online
and a few contractors
that they may want to talk
with. If they’re moving from
outside the area, send them
links to events in their new neighborhood. Just keep communicating—positively—with them (to
help overcome any negative conversations that you may need to have, such as
“Your closing’s going to be delayed”).
Now is a good time to ask for referrals
as well. An e-mail is timely that says,
“Most of my clients are referred to
me from others who have worked
with me in the past. Do you have any
friends or family members who may
be looking for a home purchase loan
or a refinance loan?”
Next month, we will explore the last
stage of the funnel … after the close. Too
many loan originators stop communicating once they receive their commission
check, forgetting that these valuable
clients may very well bring you additional
income in the future!
Jean LeBlanc is director of marketing for
Guaranteed Home Mortgage Company.
For more marketing tips, download the
eBook, 13 Ways to Juice Up Your
Marketing in 2013, by going to
joinghmc.com and clicking on the eBook
offer midway down the page. She may be
reached by phone at (914) 696-3400.
31
Welcome to
the Show!
Industry Newcomers Learning
From the Past to Create
a Positive Lending Future
By Tara R. Nygaard
Two days after receiving
my mortgage license, I
stepped off a plane in
D.C. to attend the 2013
NAMB Annual Legislative & Regulatory
Conference in March. To this point, my
experience in finance consisted of purchasing a home in 2007, working at a
bank right out of college and passing
my licensing exams.
How did one with so little exposure to
the mortgage broker business end up in
D.C. at a national conference? My husband and I were relocating to Billings,
Mont. for his work. I commenced house
hunting and called the home loan company that was listed first on my Google
search. The broker and I ended up talking for three hours at the first appointment. I sent her my resume to see if she
knew of any career opportunities. Her
response was, “Have you ever thought
about being a loan originator?” and my
honest answer was, “No.”
That was last December. We never
found a house, but I plunged headfirst
into the world of the mortgage broker.
When I got to the NAMB Legislative
Conference D.C., it was apparent to me
that I would be one of the youngest
attendees at the age of 29.
During the conference, I learned the
industry was still licking its wounds
from the financial meltdown; how new
regulations were affecting companies
like my own employer; and I learned
how rules and regulations that were
coming down the pipeline could even
further damage the mortgage industry
which I was now part of. The DoddFrank Act and the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) were no
longer answers to multiple choice test
questions, but now were regulation
hurdles to my future success.
By far, the most frequent question I
received was usually why I decided to
begin a career in origination at a tumultuous time like this in the industry, at my
age and in the state of Montana. Truth
be told, I didn’t have an answer then, a
mere 48 hours after being licensed.
Since then, I have wrapped up the
Wyoming state test, the Uniform State
Test and now have a little over a month
of industry experience under my belt in
originating. My perspective on the economy, the ways of lending and mortgages
themselves have been crafted.
Today’s young people are driven.
One can blame it on energy drinks or
designer coffee, but we are. We want to
be in control of our income and require
intellectual stimulation on a daily basis.
When I finished up grad school, there
was a moment where I wasn’t sure what
to do with a master’s degree in consumer psychology aside from an ad
agency or in-house marketing department. Since 2009, each origination has
a little psychology built into it while
calming the fears of customers. With
today’s mortgage application turned
into an investigation into the life of
each applicant, it’s easy to build
Consumer Behavior 422 into each day.
I am not the only member of
Generation Y walking the halls of
Division Mortgage Group (NMLS Entity
#140614). I am one of three, in fact,
that Tavell Peete, CRMS, broker/owner
of Division Mortgage Group, brought on
within a month. She attributes it to the
perfect storm between a flexible schedule, challenging industry and the ability to earn as much as you desire (i.e.
commission-based comp plans).
“Hiring young people ensures the
broker’s existence,” said Peete. “They
bring new ideas and a fresh perspective
to the industry. On the flip side, we, as
brokers, can offer all of the perks the
younger generation is looking for, such
as work-life balance and upward
mobility.”
With 63 percent of my office under
the age of 33, you can bet the office is
high-energy and tech savvy with
healthy competition among originators. The mortgage industry doesn’t
have the sexy allure of ad agencies and
fashion icons, but for someone like me
with advanced degrees plus professional experience in marketing and advertising, it requires all of the skills I’ve
been striving to use. Therefore, my
approach to the market is probably
very different from someone with 20
years on their resume.
“Young people view the mortgage
industry as being in repair,” explained
Peete. “They are aware of the meltdown and see an industry they can
improve upon. It’s a chance to make a
difference in how one of the biggest
financial transactions takes place.”
I think my motivation and approach
are indicative of my generation. I incorporate technology into everything. I
aim to be responsive and available to
customers outside of the normal office
structure. I headed out to D.C. to
understand how decisions being made
on Capitol Hill trickle down to every
customer and loan originator, even out
here in Montana.
My ambitions go far beyond the
standard nine to five workday, but into
making the brokerage business beneficial to the customer and subsequently
successful, a sentiment echoed by all of
my peers thus far. It may be interesting
for the wise and the new to share space
for a time. We respect what the industry has gone through and aim to learn
from the unfortunate events to create a
positive lending environment for the
next wave of homeowners.
Tara R. Nygaard, MA is a loan originator with Division Mortgage Group
(NMLS #140614) and a member of
Professionals. She may be reached by
phone at (406) 690-0098 or e-mail
[email protected].
regulatory compliance
review
FHA Mortgagee Review Board: Administrative Actions
By Jonathan Foxx
eriodically, I review
with you the types of
administrative actions taken by the U.S.
Department of Housing & Urban
Development’s (HUD) Mortgagee Review
Board (MRB). The review of the MRB’s
published administrative actions should
be considered a teaching moment for all
FHA approved mortgagees, inasmuch as
the MRB is empowered to enforce its
administrative sanctions through, among
other things, reprimand, probation, suspension or withdrawal of approval and/or
underwriting authority, cease-and-desist
orders, and civil money penalties.
On April 11, HUD published the administrative actions taken by the Mortgagee
Review Board (MRB) against certain FHA
mortgagees. The period covered in the
issuance is Jan. 1, 2012-Sept. 30, 2012.
In this article, I provide an outline of
the kinds of violations and respective
sanctions that the MRB recently sustained.
P
A word to the wise
Administrative actions1
Violation: Failed to notify the Department
that it was the subject of multiple state
regulatory actions and sanctions, and submitted false certifications to HUD in con-
Violation: Failed to obtain adequate documentation of the income used to qualify
a borrower, failed to resolve discrepancies
and/or conflicting information before submitting loans for FHA mortgage approval,
and failed to ensure mortgagors were not
charged fees that were excessive and/or
unreasonable for the services performed.
Action: Settlement Agreement that
required civil money penalties in the
amount of $17,000, to indemnify
HUD/FHA for its losses with
respect to two FHA-insured
loans, and to refund
borrowers for excessive origination fees.
Violation:
Submitted
or
caused to be submitted false information to HUD in
relation to 63
mortgagee record
changes, failed to reconcile its
portfolio data and allowed HUD
records to incorrectly identify the mortgagee as the holder of 97 FHA-insured
mortgage loans, and submitted false information to HUD on 133 claims for FHA
Violation: Employed or retained a
debarred director and made three false
certifications to HUD on the Yearly
Verification Report and annual recertification submissions to HUD for 2009, 2010
and 2011.
Action: Civil money penalty in the
amount of $59,000.
Violation: Failed to engage in loss mitigation and/or retain required documentation in its loan servicing files with respect
to its loss mitigation decisions.
amount of $32,500.
Violation: Failed to adopt and maintain a
quality control plan and management
reports, failed to implement a quality control plan, allowed non-employees and non
W-2 employees to originate FHA loans,
and failed to require the loan interviewer
to sign page 4 of the initial Uniform
Residential Loan Application, Fannie Mae
Form 1003, and page 1 of the initial Form
HUD 92900-A.
amount of $12,000.
Violation: Disseminated a misrepresentative or misleading advertisement or business solicitation to the public.
Action: Probation for a period of six
months and required to pay a civil money
penalty in the amount of $7,500.
Violation: Failed to maintain a quality
control plan, failed to perform quality
control functions, failed to service
FHA-insured loans in accordance
with HUD’s loss mitigation requirements, and failed to timely provide the
HUD-PA-426 pamphlet to delinquent
borrowers.
amount of $23,300, to require all of its
mortgage servicing staff and supervisors
to complete, within six months, HUD’s
twelve-module electronic training program on loss mitigation and servicing systems, and to submit to HUD and implement a written quality control plan that
complies with HUD requirements.
Violation: Failed to notify HUD/FHA
that the mortgagee was involuntarily
dissolved by the state of Illinois and,
the fiscal years ending March 31, 2009,
March 31, 2010 and March 31, 2011,
failed to timely submit its Yearly
Verification Report/Elec-tronic Annual
Certification forms, failed to pay the
annual recertification fees and failed to
submit acceptable audited financial
statements.
Action: Notice of Administrative Action
withdrawing the FHA approval for a
period of one year.
Violation: Failed either to timely remit
monthly mortgage insurance premiums
to HUD/FHA or to notify HUD/FHA within fifteen calendar days of the termination of the contract of mortgage insurance, the sale of the mortgage, or both
on 1,373 loans.
amount of $85,150.
Violation: Failed to engage in loss mitigation, failed to service FHA loans in
accordance with HUD requirements,
and failed to offer property disposition
options to the mortgagors.
amount of $37,000, and pay $92,677 to
indemnify HUD for its losses with
respect to one FHA loan, to indemnify
33
Rule of thumb rule
The MRB is not sympathetic to a mortgagee that violates HUD/FHA requirements which are, or are expected to be,
within the mortgagee’s control. Violations
that are not, or not expected to be, in the
mortgagee’s control provide the MRB with
a more nuanced basis upon which to provide some leniency.
Violation: Failed to perform quality control functions in compliance with
HUD/FHA requirements, failed to meet the
requirements for participation in the FHA
mortgage insurance program, failed to
ensure the correct mortgagee identification number was used when originating
FHA-insured mortgage loans, failed to
adequately document the source of
and/or adequacy of funds used for closing,
failed to correctly calculate and document
the mortgagor’s income, failed to verify
the stability of the mortgagor’s income,
failed to ensure the mortgagor was eligible
for an FHA-insured mortgage loan, failed
to ensure the property met HUD’s eligibility requirements, failed to comply with
TOTAL Scorecard requirements, failed to
comply with HUD’s property flipping
requirements, failed to provide construction documents required for property eligibility and/or high ratio financing resulting in over-insured mortgages, failed to
ensure that the maximum mortgage
amount was correctly calculated, resulting
in over-insured mortgages, failed to
ensure that data submitted to HUD systems was accurate, and charged mortgagors unallowable fees.
immediately and permanently withdrawing the FHA approval.
insurance benefits and, in 90 instances,
claimed benefits for ineligible holders of
record.
Action: Settlement Agreement that,
among other things, required a civil
money penalty in the amount of $1.2 million and to complete mortgage record
changes to facilitate the payment of certain FHA insurance claims.
In representing clients before the MRB, we
can vouch for the exhaustive due diligence that is virtually mandated, the considerable costs involved, the experienced
legal counsel and requisite regulatory
compliance expertise that is needed, and
the significant adverse impact on an FHA
lender’s ability to conduct or even continue in business.
It’s easy to get lulled into a sense of false
confidence by thinking that some violations
are minor. But if the MRB gets involved,
those minor violations will become a part of
the causes for administrative action, and
even in some instances the proximate cause
of the administrative action.
Nothing should be considered a
“minor” violation, when originating
HUD/FHA mortgage loans. It is instructive
to note the causes for the administrative
action brought against an FHA-approved
mortgagee.
Ignorance is a futile defense, when it
comes to the causes that can affirmatively
contribute to disciplinary action.
nection with its annual renewal of eligibility documentation for its fiscal years ending in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Action: Civil money penalty in the amount
of $75,000.
regulatory compliance review
HUD for any loss (past, present or
future) on five FHA loans for a period of
five years from the date of the agreement, and to retain and fully pay for a
third-party servicing monitor for a period
of one year.
Whether required by current legislation, agency guidelines or
your corporate infrastructure, the creation of detailed mortgage
policy and procedure manuals is a labor intensive process.
Save time with AllRegs Policy Manuals, pre-written by industry
experts and customizable by you with your company’s name,
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34
mortgage insurance premiums to
HUD/FHA or to notify HUD/FHA within
15 calendar days of the termination of
the contract of mortgage insurance, the
sale of the mortgage, or both on 20
loans.
amount of $8,100 and remit all
Mortgage Insurance Premiums and late
fees due HUD for 20 FHA insured mortgages serviced by the mortgagee.
Violation: Approved loans without
properly analyzing the borrower’s credit, approved loans without properly
documenting or verifying effective
income, approved loans with inadequate verification of the borrowers cash
investment in the property, approved
loans with inadequate analysis of the
borrower’s ability to repay the mortgage obligation, approved a loan with
an incomplete Mortgage Credit Analysis
Worksheet (MCAW), and failed to implement an acceptable quality control
plan.
amount of $91,500, to pay $917,528 to
indemnify HUD for its losses with
respect to five defaulted FHA loans, and
to indemnify HUD for any loss (past,
present or future) on three FHA loans
for a period of five years from the date
of the agreement, without admitting
fault or liability.
Violation: On 13 FHA-insured mortgages serviced or held by the mortgagee, the mortgagee failed to remit
Mortgage Insurance Premiums, failed
to notify HUD/FHA within fifteen calendar days of the termination of the contract for mortgage insurance or the sale
of the mortgage, or both.
period of one year.
Violation: Failed to timely remit 200
Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premiums
to HUD/FHA within ten calendar days of
closing or disbursement, whichever was
later, and failed to honor two indemnification agreements with HUD when it
failed to remit payments owed to HUD
pursuant to the terms of the
Indemnification Agreements.
amount of $13,500 and to pay
$243,872 to indemnify HUD for its losses with respect to two defaulted FHA
loans.
Violation: Failed to complete its annual online certification, failed to submit
the recertification fee, failed to submit
its audited financial statements,
employed individuals to originate loans
who NHL knew or should have known
were engaged in prohibited outside
employment in the mortgage lending
field, permitted non-FHA-approved
mortgage brokers to perform loan origination services, failed to adhere to
HUD/FHA requirements when underwriting loans for FHA insurance, and
failed to adopt, maintain, and implement a quality control plan in compliance with HUD/FHA requirements.
permanently withdrawing the FHA
approval.
Violation: Failed to remit payments
owed to HUD per the terms of an
indemnification agreement with HUD,
failed to timely notify HUD/FHA of a
business change that affected the standing as an approved institution or
changed the information on which it
was originally approved, failed to timely submit its audited financial statements for fiscal years 2009, 2010, and
2011, failed to timely submit its annual
recertification fee(s) for fiscal years
2009, 2010 and 2011, and failed to
timely submit its annual online certifications for fiscal years 2009, 2010 and
2011.
permanently withdrawing the FHA
approval.
Violation: Failed to maintain its state
mortgage lender’s license and failed to
notify HUD/FHA that it had closed its
main office and was no longer licensed
in the state.
period of one year.
mortgage insurance premiums to
HUD/FHA or to notify HUD/FHA within
fifteen calendar days of the termination
of the contract of mortgage insurance,
the sale of the mortgage, or both on 97
FHA-insured loans.
Action: Civil money penalty in the amount
of $15,000.
Jonathan Foxx, former chief compliance
officer for two of the country’s top publiclytraded residential mortgage loan originators, is the president and managing director
of Lenders Compliance Group, a mortgage
risk management firm devoted to providing
regulatory compliance advice and counsel
to the mortgage industry. He may be contacted at (516) 442-3456 or by e-mail at
[email protected].
Footnote
1—Mortgagee Review Board: Administrative Actions,
Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing, Federal
Housing Commissioner, Federal Register, Vol. 78, No.
70, Thursday, April 11, 2013, Notices 21618-2162. For
PDF download, see www.LendersComplianceGroup.com, Library, Issuances 2013.
35
Growth and Expansio
National Mortgage Pro
Mortgage
Navigating the water
N
ational Mortgage Professional Magazine
recently had the opportunity to gather 10
of today’s top mortgage leaders for its 2013
Mortgage
Mastermind
VIP
Panel
Discussion. The event, moderated by
Co-Founder Andrew T. Berman, was put
together as a forum to share ideas and pick
each other’s brains on the latest trends and innovations taking
place in the market. Some on the panel, seasoned veterans who
have watched their businesses grow and succeed in the everchanging mortgage market, shared their thoughts and perspectives with others who touched upon their own growth and
expansion. No matter the situation, the message remained clear:
There is no right or wrong way to go about doing business in the
mortgage industry, one’s work schedule and work ethic is dictated by how one defines success.
36
Moderator: Does the size of a company matter anymore? Does the size of
a company hurt of hinder its growth?
Barbara Gallagher McDonald: I think
it goes both ways. I’m very old fashioned, and Welcome Mortgage
Corporation has had chances to grow,
but I’m very hands-on, so, growth isn’t
something we’re interested in. I only
work with referrals. We have a small
group of people I know and trust, and
we make a nice living that way.
Craig LaBruno: I’ve never worked for a
big bank like Wells Fargo or Bank of
America. Mortgage Capital Associates has
only about 10 or 12 employees. We don’t
take on any new guys, we only go with
seasoned veterans in the business. We all
work together and help each other out.
I’m the FHA guy, and every one in the
company has their own specialty. I
believe in a slow growth of the company.
Dave Pressel: I think this industry is all
about scalability. Whether you have 100
employees or 40, the last thing you
want is a person getting overextended.
The business really boils down to one’s
capabilities. My reputation is made better by the people behind the scenes. It’s
in my best interest that the originators
or processors I hire know what they are
doing. Whether you are as big as Wells
Fargo or as small as “Joe’s Mortgage” …
it’s about dedication and doing a good
job.
Kevin Zhu: When I grow, I start with
one assistant, then add another, and
another. I don’t look at how big a corporation is, as I have found out … I add
more to my sales team as I go. You
always hit a ceiling. Size, in my experience, can limit your production.
Nikitas Kouimanis: I feel sometimes
bigger is better, and that is why I have
decided to join Equity Loans. They not
only have the strength of a mortgage
lender, but maintain flexibility and
diversity among a huge product line. To
add icing on the cake, they are now
Fannie Mae seller/services, or should I
say we are now seller/servicers.
Ed Kenmure: No matter how big you
get, how quickly you get support,
whether you are with a large company or
small firm, it all depends on how you
treat your business. Each one of
PrimeSource’s offices acts as an independent company. How they treat the
community is like a one-on-one basis. We
are not looking at size, but I think how
one does business is more important.
Jeff Van Note: Brokers are getting
squeezed out, so we have to adapt our
mentality. Working at a smaller compa-
ny, we are looking to close 15-20 deals,
it’s a goal. If you’re looking to close
more deals, you’re not going to meet
the individual’s needs.
Jon Lamkin: If you’re entrepreneurial,
and have more freedom, you can go
and build your own team. I’m a firm
believer in giving the consumer a nice
story if you are a relatively unknown
company.
Robinson Cardona: Small bank or big
bank … it doesn’t matter. There’s a difference in how you go about your business, but the goals are the same.
Brian Ofsie: If you are too big, you need
to streamline your processes. You cannot work the deals and work with the
consumer, spending time on the deal.
At the same time, we are getting
squeezed by the big banks. You must
n in Today’s Mortgage Marketplace
ofessional Magazine’s
Mastermind 2013
rs of an ever-shifting marketplace
The 2013 Mortgage Mastermind VIP Panel was comprised of the following:
37
Robinson
Cardona
Barbara
Gallagher
McDonald
Nikitas
Kouimanis
Vice President
PrimeSource
Mortgage, Inc.
Senior Mortgage
Banker
Equity Loans LLC
Moderator: What do you think is stopping you from getting to the next
level of originations?
Craig LaBruno: Unfortunately, we are a
smaller company and lack the ability to
hire that many assistants. I feel a little
more help would be good. I have a
processor who deals with my deals.
There was a small period of time four
years ago where I was starting to lose
faith in this business. About a year ago,
I started really liking what I do. The
constant changes and the stress of rates
changing would get to me. With securities being down and the constant market swings, I really focus more on getting out there. I take care of the inside
Craig
LaBruno
Brian
Ofsie
AVP/Mortgage
Senior Residential President and CEO
Sales Manager Home Loan Consultant
Vanguard
First Hope Bank
Mortgage Capital
Funding LLC
Associates Inc.
work that allows me to get out, I structure my business a little different, and it
allows me the time to hit the pavement
more. Now that I’ve got things set up
how I want them to be internally, I can
grow more.
Dave Pressel: It’s by choice I don’t go
back to that next level. About three
years ago, we did close to $100 million
in business. It was so much work, so
much time. My decision was to be
home with the kids when they get
home from school and spend time
with them. For me, I put the gauge of
success on something other than the
financial. Getting a large paycheck is
nice, for sure, but at the end of the
day, that’s not what it’s about for me.
Like my grandmother said, “Think
twice, act once.”
Kevin Zhu: Everyone has their own lim-
Dave
Pressel
Manager
West Town
Savings Bank
itations, in terms of time, children or
whatever it may be. I stopped working
Saturdays and Sundays last year
because I hit a level where I can take
the time to spend with my family. This
year, we hired a sales manager
because I want to reduce my working
hours and continue to reach the next
level. In turn, by adding staff, I have
doubled the amount earned. I barely
had time to make phone calls, so I give
my leads to others. Next level for me is
expansion.
Nikitas Kouimanis: I like to delegate
work to my team and focus on the
industry more. This way, I can go after
more business from real estate agents,
financial planners and CPAs.
Ed Kenmure: In the business sense, it’s
been a challenge this year to grow and
make that jump to the next level, but
Jeff
Van Note
Kevin
Zhu
Branch Manager Managing Director
United Northern
of Sales
Mortgage Bankers MLD Mortgage Inc.
Ltd.
I had to work with the back-office
people to connect with our investors.
The next level is getting the team
ready to deal with products, families
and types currently offered.
Jeff Van Note: It’s tough to do business
in a changing marketplace. Loan officers focus on the negatives more often
than not, so personal issues can be distracting.
Jon Lamkin: Just this year, I hired a
marketing company, and we have been
working on branding. We’re working on
a lot of different things, as well as
updating our CRM system. Last year was
our biggest year, it doesn’t matter
because it’s a new year. I want to continue to do well, but I pride myself on
not missing any of my kid’s games or
have the right capital for the right
investors. You must try and have a
good balance without getting too big.
Keep your identity and have a great
company.
Jon
Lamkin
Mortgage Planner
Vice President
GMH Mortgage
Welcome Mortgage
Services LLC
Corporation
Ed
Kenmure
mortgage mastermind 2013
dance recitals. I coach a lot, but if the
phone rings, I’ll tell the client that I’ll have
to call them back after my kid’s soccer
game or whatever I may be tied up with.
Brian Ofsie: I originate and manage a lot
of people. What I try to do is have everybody work as smart and as hard as they
can. I have each individual, including
myself, investing back into their work.
Everyone has an assistant or two. They
need to be out in the field and networking
in the community. My goal is to give them
enough ammunition to get it done. You
don’t have to work 15 hours a day, just
work smart and plan for success.
Barbara Gallagher McDonald: Desire and
need. I used to care about things I don’t
care about anymore. Life’s too short to do
what you don’t like. I like talking to clients
and building relationships. Because I did
the sales stuff that I don’t like, I can now sit
back and not have to deal with that stuff
anymore. It has to be more than three
years since I’ve been asked what our rates
are. I want my kids to grow up knowing
that I was good at what I did.
38
Moderator: Do you think that your company’s structure allows you to have
access to top-tier talent and allows you
to push loans forward?
Dave Pressel: What used to be so simple is
now often difficult. We’re in a business
where sometimes logic has no place in the
workflow. We all play in the same sandbox
in terms of compliance, etc. It doesn’t matter what happens with FHA or the DoddFrank Act, I still feel it in my gut whether a
borrower is going to make a payment on a
loan. The decision-making that was a slam
dunk four years ago is now up in the air.
Interestingly enough, the changes in our
business have gotten a lot of people out of
our businesses that shouldn’t have been in
our business to begin with. It’s a function
of workflow efficiency. Once you’re done
with A, go to B, and once you’re done with
B, go to C. What works for investor A will
not work for investor B. It’s all about planning ahead.
Kevin Zhu: It’s very important to distinguish the types of loans and the channels
through which these loans travel. We have
a huge core center that moves things
online, with tons of volume. My own ratio
is definitely around 95 percent and you
have to communicate with top management to distinguish this.
Nikitas Kouimanis: I think that it all
depends on the loan and how you put it
together. Some loans will obviously move
quicker than others through the pipeline,
so, if you ask for the right documents
upfront and package the loan correctly, it
will move quicker than others.
Ed Kenmure: Pushing a particular loan, a
tough one, through a smaller organization,
maybe you get to the mid-sized loans, but
the mid-sized guys give you the ability to
push a loan through with a proper backoffice staff. You can eventually get to
enough resources where, as you grow, you
can push loans through.
Jeff Van Note: It all depends on who is
pushing what through. An experienced
loan officer will be able to get something
through faster than an inexperienced loan
officer. It all depends on the type of loan,
as well. I think it’s fair that everyone operates under the same terms, but the more
deals you close, you should be able to
expedite the process a bit.
Jon Lamkin: If I don’t think a loan is going
to go through, I don’t waste the processor’s
time. I’m smart enough to know not to
waste the underwriter’s time, but sometimes, I’ll let them know that I need them
to look at something today.
Robinson Cardona: I do not think everything should be a rush. I think it’s important to follow that model.
Brian Ofsie: We try to streamline our
pipeline as much as possible. We preunderwrite, and have six or seven underwriters whose job it is to tackle any problems from day one. Once we get to processing, everything is streamlined. When
you’re smaller, you can massage the deal,
so, that’s always good. On the other side, in
terms of operations, it’s getting so difficult
to sell loans in the secondary market.
Barbara Gallagher McDonald: This business did draw a lot of criticism. Many of
those who were criticized left the business,
and those who remained, we are used to.
I think that’s how you manage.
Craig LaBruno: These issues have begun
to trickle down to us. I’m not a manager,
but because I deal primarily with real
estate agents and purchase businesses, I
believe in doing the work upfront. I like to
pre-approve and close the loan myself. It
all depends on the deal. Sometimes, you
will see 35-day closings, but at the same
time, putting together a three-day closing
can really hinder the process.
Moderator: What are some of the practices you implemented when you first
started in the business that you continue
to use today?
Kevin Zhu: The things I have been doing
the past 10 years have been broadening.
I’m always looking for new companies,
and am always looking to broaden myself
as well. My name is very strong in my community. I’m very tight in the Indian community, I close about 80 percent of the
houses in my community … all through
referrals.
Nikitas Kouimanis: When I first started, I
actually was trained and learned that you
39
Bonded With NAMB
C’mon ...
Step Right Up and
Play the Shell Game
What does this General Indemnity
Agreement do? Should I actually
read all of this?
The Indemnity Agreement is one of the cornerstones of what makes surety bonds different from
other insurance policies. The Indemnity (hold
harmless) Agreement allows the bond carrier to
recover assets from the indemnitors if the carrier is damaged by having to pay a claim to the obligee because of the principal’s failure to
meet the obligations of the bond. Each carrier has its own version of
the indemnity agreement with its own terms and conditions. However,
they are all constructed with the same purpose: To give the carrier
direct, express permission to recover damages. Depending on the
amount of the overall bond exposure, the agreement can be as short
as one page or as long as a dozen.
40
should always take appointments face to
face. I still do that. I think it’s important to
meet face to face with your customers so
you can get them their documents upfront
and the client establishes a personal connection with you.
successful. It’s about workflow, and it’s
about what not to do. What used to be a
standard thing may not be the way they
want it done. It will affect your mindset
when you understand that you don’t have
all the answers.
Ed Kenmure: As much as things change,
they stay the same. We can get away from
automation, but we still need to work on a
loan before it enters the system. When I
jumped into the business, we got everything upfront and it’s still the same way.
Moderator: What do you think is the primary difference between top producers
and marginal producers in today’s mortgage market?
Nikitas Kouimanis: I think it’s in the way
we work and what you put into that work.
Networking and getting out there are key,
but it is really just about motivation … the
way you work and what habits drive you. I
think others look at this like a job instead
of as something they have a passion for. I
wake up every day and I am happy to be a
part of the achieving the American dream
of homeownership. I wouldn’t give this up
for the world. I think other people look at
this as a nine to five job and pretend it’s
just a job or a paycheck.
Jeff Van Note: Rules, values, ethics … if
we keep doing things the right way, business will be fine.
By Mason Grashot, CPA
I’ll sign on behalf of my company, but why do
I have to sign personally? Why does my spouse
have to sign? Why do the other owners have to
sign? Why do my other business ventures have
to sign?
In short, because the surety has been there/done that … once bitten,
twice shy. Instead of playing the legal game of trying to determine
what “shell” the assets may be hidden under in the event of a bond
claim, the surety industry simply will not play unless it’s according to
its rules. Regardless of their choice of entity (LLP, LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp),
most licensees are closely-held companies. This means that, while
there may be a legitimate separation of business and personal
finances, decisions, etc. during the normal (happy/healthy) times, at
the end of the rainbow (when everyone’s got their hands in the pot of
gold) those individuals in control of the company can creatively move
cash and other assets out of the company and into the control of
themselves personally, their spouses, or even other business entities
in which they have an interest. Ultimately, the surety carriers would
like the indemnity of anyone who has or could easily end up having
the assets that are supporting their underwriting decision to go ahead
and bond the principal.
Mason Grashot, CPA is president of The Bond Exchange, a national insurance agency focused on surety bonds with a unique specialty practice centered on the mortgage profession. As the endorsed strategic partner of
NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals, The Bond Exchange
services thousands of surety bonds through programs designed specifically
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visit www.thebondexchange.com.
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Jon Lamkin: I had a goal to take applications and get two potential referrals from
each deal. I still try to do that. Whether it’s
the client themselves or an attorney you
connect with, you must always be working
on building relationships, and always try to
make deals through deals.
Robinson Cardona: I always call the customer first, and not wait for them to call
you. Following up is big, that’s really something that has worked for me.
Brian Ofsie: Always say organized and
meticulous to detail. If you do that, you
can be a great loan officer. It’s not about
being the best salesman, it’s about servicing clients. Every night, I put together a todo list and am prepared for the next day.
When I come in, I have a combination of
motivational sayings from Tony Robbins, I
get myself focused and everybody in the
office knows I’m ready to tackle the day.
Barbara Gallagher McDonald: I am a 100
percent referral-based business, and still
meet my clients face-to-face … these two
reasons are likely why many of us are still
here today. Referrals are so much cleaner
and loyal, they make all the difference in
the world. I also keep lists on customers,
and have more than 20 years of notes,
including their kids names, and follow up
with birthday cards, etc. I try to stay in
touch as much as possible.
Craig LaBruno: I keep up on the latest
online and Internet trends, and remain
close with my customers through face to
face meetings, and connect with financial
planners. My niche was in real estate agents
and the first-time homebuyer market. Not
much has changed for me since day one. I
still get out there and make sure I am seen.
I make sure I am meeting with my real
estate companies once or twice a week.
Dave Pressel: I am always teachable and
desire to acquire knowledge. We don’t
have the answers to everything in this
industry. Nowadays, we get four or five
product changes a day. It’s crazy. Our
industry has had a lot of changes, and I
think sticking with those changes and staying on top of them are keys to remaining
Ed Kenmure: We all like what we do.
Consistency, motivation, organization, and
having a strong passion for your career are
all keys to success or failure.
Jeff Van Note: I think it comes down to
one’s natural talents. When I get a closing
report, I relate it back to sports. If you are
submitting 10 files and staying competitive, maintain strong ethics and have a
desire to succeed, those attributes will separate you from the others.
Jon Lamkin: Time-management is key. I’ll
see guys with a huge closing month, but
nothing the next month. If you are organized, I think that will put you ahead of
other guys in the business. It’s a cycle, so
having prospects for your next month is
key.
Robinson Cardona: You must love what
you do. If you love what you do, you’ll be
successful in any career.
Brian Ofsie: In this industry, you don’t
need to re-create the wheel. I believe you
must map out all your aspects, properly
manage your time, market properly and
have the right technology in place.
Technology is unbelievable, so making use
of it is vital to any business. If you have
some who are excellent at sales and marketing, you will be fine.
Barbara Gallagher McDonald: I believe
that you must truly love the business. I have
always loved the business, and if you truly
care, people know that and good follows.
Craig LaBruno: I have been lucky enough
to work with great producers. Everyone
has a little niche. The main thing that separates us is the follow-up and making sure
clients are followed-up with. It’s the little
touches you do. Obviously, having a good
41
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Dave Pressel: Adopting a nice, positive
attitude helps success. When you get to the
office, set some goals for the day. I once
had a loan I closed all via e-mail, I never
spoke to the woman before. Again, its
about remaining teachable. This is what
separates us from a middle-tier guy.
There’s a different mentality to defining
success. Geographically, there are companies with lower-loan amounts, so it’s all relative. It’s not about volume, its about units
to me. I’m not shallow enough to base my
success in life on money. In the grand
scheme of things, I know what I can do. It’s
all about accountability and reliability. The
client doesn’t care. They want to know if
you can close their loan and if it will be
done on time. If you apply logic to a situation, failure is not an option.
Kevin Zhu: Basically, remaining consistent, establishing a reputation, using technology and executing successfully helps
keep you consistent. Whenever new technology comes onto the scene, I look for it
and research it. Google has really helped
make everything easier. I use a Google
Voice number, so when a client calls, my
assistant has the potential to answer,
which helps the process. I use Google Docs
to monitor when business is up or when
business is down. All of these technological
enhancements have made things easier. I
use everything, LinkedIn, Google, etc.
Dave Pressel: I get at least two loans a
month off Facebook, and I don’t even
advertise my rates. Google is definitely a
plus.
For additional information,
please contact the Conference Chairs:
Kathryn Hardeman
1st Alliance Mortgage LLC
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Deanna Mellas
North American Title Company
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Richard Alvarado
Sutherland Mortgage Services, Inc.
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Ad provided by North American Title Company.
www.nat.com
Like Clockwork ®
Craig LaBruno: Every few days on
LinkedIn, I post articles and stuff on my
page, I have become very active on
LinkedIn and have made countless valuable connections.
Moderator: What does retirement look
like for you?
Ed Kenmure: I have four kids all with the
same wife. I realize that I’m going to have
to work until I’m 64-years-old because of
college, but I’ve also looked at the business
as being great to be in. We’re not putting
out fires or shooting bad guys. On days
when we relax, we can still get a client and
help them out, play some golf, whatever.
Why do I want to sit around and watch TV
or play golf? Why not help people all my
life? I’m not going to retire.
Jeff Van Note: It’s different for everyone,
and it depends where you’re at. You have
to plan accordingly and give yourself the
option to retire if you need to.
Jon Lamkin: Put your money in different
buckets. The business is jamming, and I’m
a big proponent of not wasting money. But
if you want to enjoy life and plan accordingly, you’ll be fine.
Robinson Cardona: My dad used to say,
“If I stop working, I’ll die.” Retirement’s not
for me.
Brian Ofsie: It’s great that we are making money, but you never know what
tomorrow will bring. It’s good to have
meetings like this to pick one another’s brains and make as much money
as we can.
Barbara Gallagher McDonald: In 2003, I
remember telling my loan officers that
the money is very good and you need to
sock it away, and they kept throwing it in
my face. However, I’m saying the same
thing now. We have to prepare. Save
what you can save, because eventually,
rates are going to rise once again. I’m not
an expert, but eventually, we’re going to
be at a rate of six percent or so, and people won’t be saving money anymore. I
think we need to prepare not necessarily
for retirement, but for the lean years that
may lie ahead. I don’t think the little guy
will ever be squeezed out.
Craig LaBruno: I’m going to start setting
aside money for my kid’s college fund.
We’ll have to take it upon ourselves and
use our own money. We don’t have stock
options or a 401k or anything like that.
We don’t have to punch a clock, we can
be mobile. I don’t plan on retiring, but I
do plan on slowing down. I’ll scale down
and cherry pick is all.
Dave Pressel: I still play music, but I
gave it up when I was building my business. I love to play the keyboard, and I
get to play once a week with a couple
guys. When I retire, I’m going to play
music, and do a few loans here and
there. I’ll still get business from time to
time, unless I cut myself off from the
industry. The Web is very dangerous, so
its imperative that you maintain your
reputation in this business. That’s the
snowball that will either lead to a lot of
business or a factor that will contaminate the business down the line. As
long as you’re making “X” amount of
dollars and don’t live to excess, that’s
usually a safe and steadfast formula for
maintaining your life down the line.
Kevin Zhu: You cannot trust Social
Security. I will likely retire and keep writing
one or two loans a month. You don’t have
to work a crazy amount. One or two loans
should be very easy. For myself, I plan on
staying on top of technology and continue
to learn. It’ll be good to see how technology impacts what we do from here, and
honestly, I do about 50 percent of my
loans via e-mail. If I can use new technology to have other people help me, those
one or two loans per month can pay for
my retirement.
Nikitas Kouimanis: I’m not looking to
retire. I’m looking to do this until the business kills me or until I die.
heard on the street
national, full-service mortgage lending
firm offering retail, correspondent and
wholesale mortgage solutions to clients
of varying income and credit types. The
new facility, which is two miles away
from the company’s previous headquarters, is a top-floor location. FGMC will
occupy the entire level. The headquarters is 60 percent larger than the company’s previous location, and includes
increased and improved space for technology, collaboration and presentations.
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Peters
notes that the relocation was made necessary by the company’s dramatic growth
in the past two years, including a 50 percent increase in staffing.
“We’ve now established four distinct
production channels, all of which are
growing quickly,” Peters said. “We foresee
considerable growth in the near future,
and are confident it will be sustainable.
Quite simply, we outgrew our old facility.”
AllRegs Powers Poli
Mortgage Group ‘s
Lending Library Using
Veros Real Estate Solutions
has been named a distributor of the
Global DMS Recognized
by Pennsylvania Governor
Global DMS has announced that it has
been named one of five finalists in the
state of Pennsylvania’s inaugural
“Governor’s Impact Awards” in the category of small business impact within its
region. The Governor’s Impact Awards
recognizes companies from 10 different
regions throughout the state in five categories: Community Impact, Small
Business Impact, Entrepreneurial
Impact, Export Impact and Jobs First
Impact. In the category of Small
Business Impact, the award is given to a
business with under 100 employees that
has been an innovator in its industry,
demonstrated revenue/profit growth,
expanded its workforce, and been committed to the growth and development
of its employees and community.
The Governor’s Impact Awards is a
joint effort coordinated by the
Governor’s Office, the Department of
Community
and
Economic
Development (DCED) and the Team
Pennsylvania Foundation.
“We are honored to be named a
finalist in the small business category by
the judges for the inaugural Governor’s
Impact Awards,” said Vladimir Biencontinued on page 45
[email protected]
www.calyxsoftware.com
Veros Named Master
Distributor of Freddie
Mac Valuation Tools
43
Norwood,
Mass.based Poli Mortgage
Group Inc. has
announced that it
will leverage the
AllRegs technology platform to publish,
manage and maintain its lending libraries
of underwriting guidelines. Poli Mortgage
Group will now leverage the AllRegs technology platform and publishing expertise
to manage and maintain its retail and
wholesale lending library of mortgage
underwriting guidelines. Users will benefit
from a variety of productivity tools,
including an electronic Table of Contents
tree with links to content, guidelines and
forms. Content is also accessible through a
robust search engine that features a thesaurus with industry jargon and relative
matching results. Through the archiving
feature, users will be able to view revised
content with the effective date displayed
and a shaded background.
“We are excited to help Poli Mortgage
Group utilize an innovative and robust
resource to publish their guidelines and
communicate policy and changes, as
well as navigate and search the company’s underwriting guide,” said Dan
Thoms, executive vice president of
AllRegs. “Poli Mortgage Group’s lending
libraries will help their staff and partners
alike to streamline business processes
and increase productivity.”
In addition, the Poli Mortgage Group
Lending Libraries features a Recent
Updates section to announce changes to
content, as well as E-mail Alerts to notify
users of changes.
Freddie Mac Home Value Suite, which
includes the Home Value Explorer (HVE)
and Home Value Calibrator. Freddie
Mac’s Home Value Suite is a defined set
of valuation modeling tools that are
designed to automate, streamline, and
ultimately drive down the industry’s
cost of collateral valuation. The suite
was developed to serve lenders in processing and underwriting capacities,
portfolio managers, quality control professionals, real estate brokers and Wall
Street investors. Veros is authorized to
directly distribute the products.
Freddie Mac’s HVE is an automated
valuation model (AVM) that incorporates the property data from the GSE’s
portfolio of loans, appraisal data from
the Uniform Collateral Data Portal
(UCDP) and data from the GSE’s portfolio on the 12 non-disclosure states that
do not allow public access to this information.
“We have found the HVE AVM to be
an excellent complement to the
VeroVALUE AVM in cascade approaches,
which are available via our proprietary
valuation management systems,” said
Charles Rumfola, senior vice president
of strategic initiatives for Veros. “We
encourage clients to engage in their
own blind AVM tests or utilize the testing conducted by industry experts, and
the results of those tests consistently
show the VeroVALUE AVM and Freddie
Mac’s HVE AVM as top performers.”
FHA Lays Down the Hammer on Multiple Lenders Again: Find Out Why
By Jeff Mifsud
44
In
compliance
with
Section 202(c) (5) of the
National Housing Act, the
U.S.
Department
of
Housing & Urban Development (HUD)
publishes notices in the Federal
Register making known the cause and
description of administrative actions
taken by HUD’s Mortgagee Review
Board against FHA-approved lenders.
The purpose of this article is not to single out specific companies (which I’m
not mentioning by name), but to highlight the reasons why HUD has penalized these companies so we can learn
from their unfortunate experience.
This public notice from FHA coincides nicely with this issue’s theme of
training since otherwise good companies are often fined heavily due to a
lack of internal training systems; systems which needed to be in place to
assure strict staff compliance of FHA
guidelines.
Now we’ll explore some of the penalties recently imposed on six FHA
lenders. These penalties include: Civil
Money Penalties; Withdrawals of FHA
Approval; Suspensions; Probations;
Reprimands;
and
Administrative
Payments. The cases below are excerpted from the Federal Register Vol. 78,
No. 70 dated April 11, 2013. Each case
shows the action taken by FHA and the
cause of the action.
Case #2
Action: On March 22, 2012, the Board
issued a Notice of Administrative Action
which immediately and permanently withdrew the FHA approval of the company.
Cause: The Board took this action based
on the following violations of FHA requirements alleged by HUD: The company
failed to perform quality control functions
in compliance with FHA requirements,
failed to meet the requirements for participation in the FHA mortgage insurance
program, failed to ensure that the correct
mortgagee identification number was
used when originating FHA-insured mortgage loans, failed to adequately document
the source of and/or adequacy of funds
used for closing, failed to correctly calculate and document the mortgagor’s
income, failed to verify the stability of the
mortgagor’s income, failed to ensure the
mortgagor was eligible for an FHA insured
mortgage loan, failed to ensure the property met HUD’s eligibility requirements,
failed to comply with TOTAL Scorecard
requirements, failed to comply with HUD’s
property flipping requirements, failed to
provide construction documents required
for property eligibility and/or high ratio
financing resulting in over-insured mortgages, failed to ensure that the maximum
mortgage amount was correctly calculated
resulting in over-insured mortgages, failed
to ensure that data submitted to HUD systems was accurate, and charged mortgagors unallowable fees.
That’s an awful lot of oversight, don’t
you think?
Case #1
Action: On April 27, 2012, the Board
entered into a Settlement Agreement
with a company that required a Civil
Money Penalty in the amount of
$75,000, without admitting fault or liability.
of the following violations of FHA
requirements alleged by HUD: The company failed to notify the Department that
it was the subject of multiple state regulatory actions and sanctions, and submitted false certifications to HUD in connection with Academy’s annual renewal of
eligibility documentation for its fiscal
years ending in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Case #3
Action: On Sept. 14, 2012, the Board
with a company and required it to pay a
civil money penalty in the amount of
$1.2 million and to complete mortgage
record changes to facilitate the payment
of certain FHA insurance claims, without
admitting fault or liability.
on the following violations of FHA
requirements alleged by HUD: The company submitted or caused to be submitted false information to HUD in relation
to 63 mortgagee record changes, failed to
reconcile its portfolio data, and allowed
HUD records to incorrectly identify the
company as the holder of 97 FHA-insured
mortgage loans. In addition, they submitted false information to HUD on 133
claims for FHA insurance benefits and, in
90 instances, claimed benefits for ineligible holders of record.
Case #4
Action: On June 14, 2012, the Board
entered into a Settlement Agreement with
a Company and required it to pay a civil
money penalty in the amount of $12,000,
without admitting fault or liability.
on the following violation of FHA requirements alleged by HUD: The company
failed to adopt and maintain a quality
control plan and management reports,
failed to implement a quality control
plan, allowed non-employees and non
W-2 employees to originate FHA loans,
and failed to require the loan interviewer
to sign page four of the initial Uniform
Residential Loan Application (Fannie Mae
Form 1003), and page one of the initial
Form HUD 92900–A.
Case #5
Action: On Nov. 21, 2012, the Board
entered into a Settlement Agreement with
a company and required it to pay a civil
money penalty in the amount of $37,000,
and pay $92,677 to indemnify HUD for its
losses with respect to one FHA loan, to
indemnify HUD for any loss (past, present
or future) on five FHA loans for a period of
five years from the date of the agreement,
and to retain and fully pay for a thirdparty servicing monitor for a period of one
year, without admitting fault or liability.
failed to engage in loss mitigation, failed to
service FHA loans in accordance with HUD
requirements, and failed to offer property
disposition options to the mortgagors.
Case #6
Action: On July 16, 2012, the Board
with a Company and required it to pay a
civil money penalty in the amount of
$91,500, and to pay $917,528 to indem-
nify HUD for its losses with respect to five
defaulted FHA loans, and to indemnify
HUD for any loss (past, present or future)
on three FHA loans for a period of five
years from the date of the agreement,
without admitting fault or liability.
approved loans without properly analyzing the borrower’s credit, approved loans
without properly documenting or verifying
effective income, approved loans with
inadequate verification of the borrowers
cash investment in the property, approved
loans with inadequate analysis of the borrower’s ability to repay the mortgage obligation, approved a loan with an incomplete Mortgage Credit Analysis Worksheet
(MCAW), and failed to implement an
acceptable quality control plan.
As you can see from the actions
taken by FHA against these companies,
FHA means business when it comes to
complying with FHA policies and procedures. From your company marketing
to your MLOs taking application, to
your processors, closers and insurers,
all need to be continuously trained and
updated on FHA requirements. It’s hard
to believe that companies in today’s
regulatory environment still don’t take
compliance seriously. Given the high
number of FHA loans currently being
originated, and the revenue that can be
generated, how can a company compete without FHA approval? Let this
serve as a lesson to all company decision makers to analyze the strength of
your business systems when it comes to
FHA compliance, and to the staff’s level
of knowledge needed to meet the compliance requirements.
Go FHA!
Jeff Mifsud is founder of Michigan-based
Mortgage Seminars LLC, a former FHA
underwriter with 15-plus years of experience originating FHA loans, an FHA
expert for LoanToolbox.com and creator
of The FHA Originator, a monthly FHA
newsletter. Jeff may be reached by
phone at (248) 403-8181 or visit
www.MortgageSeminars.com.
heard on the street
Aime, president and CEO of Global DMS.
“Global DMS is a highly entrepreneurial
organization that provides innovative
software solutions for the mortgage
banking industry and has built a company that is growing and making a positive impact in our local community.
We’re very excited to be recognized by
Governor Corbett for our achievements,
commitment to our employees, the
mortgage industry and the state of
Pennsylvania.”
Mortgage Master Expands
Further Westward Into
the California Market
Largest Issuer of HMBS in 2012
Rated 'Strong' by Standard & Poor ’s
State-of-the-art CRM/LOS Applications
REO Management and Leasing Services
Forward/Specialty Mortgage Servicing
RMSNAV.com
RMSNA
AV..com
RMS FAMILLY OF COMPANIES
45
WE OFFER EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AND MARKET- LEADING PRICING
Powerful, Secure, Scalable Loan Origination System utilizing the RM COMPASS Technology Platform
V a l u T r a c
Software and
Platinum Data
Solutions have
announced they have entered into a
partnership that sets a new standard
for a single, end-to-end appraisal quality verification and management technologies solution. The companies will
integrate ValuTrac’s ValuTrac Pro, a
customizable appraisal management
system, with Platinum’s RealView, a
configurable appraisal data quality verification technology, to provide mort-
focusIT
Inc.
has
announced a partnership with renowned
mortgage sales and
marketing guru Greg
Frost, integrating Greg’s sales and marketing software, including the ACTion!
Marketing System, Daily Communicator,
Call Capture Marketing System, and
more, with focusIT’s Pulse productivity
software for mortgage originators, providing Pulse users with a comprehensive, effective system for marketing,
selling and managing loans.
“The way we’ve integrated Greg’s systems into Pulse, we’re offering our customers a set-it-and-forget-it marketing
program,” said Josh Bopp, CEO of
focusIT. “Greg’s systems literally guide
users with day-by-day instruction and
automation to easily reach prospects
and referrals with consistency.”
Pulse is a Web-based software that
fully integrates into the Calyx
PointCentral loan origination system.
The seamless exchange of information
between the two software solutions
enables users to manage their loans,
while also automating sales, production
Wholesale Lending
Correspondent Lending
Aggregation Partnering
RMPath.com
ValuTrac and Platinum
Data Enter Into Appraisal
Quality Partnership
Greg Frost Announces
Marketing Partnership
With focusIT
Your direct path to
growth in the Reverse
Mortgage market.
Mortgage Master
has announced
that it plans to
expand its West Coast geographic footprint by opening new branch offices
and recruiting high quality production
professionals. Mortgage Master, which
led the state of Massachusetts in residential loan production in 2012 (bank
or mortgage banker), is now focused on
leveraging its successful model in the
California market. Ito Rodi, who recently was named branch manager of
Mortgage Master’s La Jolla, Calif.
branch, will lead the drive to recruit
additional high quality loan officers
and increase originations throughout
San Diego County.
The La Jolla, Calif. branch currently
has six actively producing loan officers,
including a dedicated team of onsite
underwriters and processors with 75
total years of experience underwriting
in California.
“Our expansion plans, which have
just begun in California, have always
been based on having the highest quality and most experienced mortgage
professionals in place to lead and drive
our growth,” said Paul Anastos, president of Mortgage Master. “We are confident that Ito’s successful production
track record, industry knowledge, and
mentoring skills will help us attract top
industry talent, like Brian Wada, by
offering them the opportunity to deliver the best possible pricing and service
to borrowers, while maximizing their
earnings potential.”
gage lenders and appraisal management companies an all-in-one solution
for managing workflow, ensuring compliance, and mitigating risk in the
appraisal review process.
“ValuTrac is setting a new standard
by providing the industry with state-ofthe-art, fully customizable appraisal
management technology,” said Clint
Cornett, chief executive officer of
ValuTrac. “Platinum is the premier
provider of appraisal verification tools
and a perfect partner for us to further
help our clients mitigate risk in the
lending value chain. By adding
RealView to our product offerings, we
now offer appraisal management companies, banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders the industry’s most
advanced appraisal management system to help them operate more efficiently, enhance customer service, mitigate risk, and ensure industry regulatory compliance.”
ValuTrac Pro is a customizable
appraisal management system that
streamlines appraisal workflow, producing huge operational efficiencies,
while mitigating business risk.
ValuTrac Pro customers gain significant efficiencies with one repository
for all appraisals, streamlined webbased appraisal ordering, real-time
appraisal status, automated status
notifications and appraiser selection.
ValuTrac Pro is fully customizable to
fit each customer’s specific business
requirements.
heard on the street
and marketing efforts. Pulse enables
loan originators to achieve what users
refer to as drastic increases in productivity and efficiency throughout the
mortgage cycle, from prospecting to
close to follow up marketing.
A renowned expert in mortgage
originations, Greg Frost has been one
of the country’s top producers in the
mortgage industry for more than two
decades. He has been recognized as
the first billion dollar loan originator
by National Mortgage News and the
number one mortgage originator in
the state of New Mexico by
Albuquerque Business Journal. His
sales and marketing systems are
based on his personal formula for
achieving the high volume of transactions he has generated over the past
two decades. Frost’s sales and marketing systems provide marketing
templates as well as a formal process
for contacting prospects and referral
sources at predetermined intervals.
Title Source Expands
California Operations
Title Source has announced that it has
expanded its presence in California,
46
and is now licensed to write title insurance policies in all 58 counties in the
state. This is in addition to Title Source’s
current presence in California, where
the company has been providing escrow
and closing services since 2004. Title
Source has been writing title insurance
policies in the state’s most densely populated areas since its 2007 acquisition
of Transunion Title and Escrow, but just
recently expanded to include the entire
state. Also in 2008, the company’s service expanded to include title insurance
in the most populated counties within
the state.
“We are excited to extend our title
coverage throughout the entire state of
California and look forward to delivering the seamless and comprehensive
service experience that our clients have
come to expect from Title Source,” said
Jeff Eisenshtadt, president and CEO of
Title Source.
“Successfully obtaining authorization from the Department of
Insurance to operate in all 58 counties
in California is a great achievement,”
said Tim Donovan, corporate counsel
at Title Source. “This is consistent with
our mission to remain the largest
independent provider of title insurance, property valuations and settlement services in the nation.”
Capsilon Merges Katalyst
and DocVelocity Into One
Product
Capsilon has announced that it has
merged its Katalyst and DocVelocity
imaging systems into a combined offering, called DocVelocity, available to all
lenders. This product combination follows Capsilon’s recent acquisition of the
DocVelocity business. Until recently, the
Katalyst and DocVelocity services were
sold to different segments of the mortgage banking market. With Capsilon’s
acquisition of DocVelocity, the company is now able to better serve the entire
market. The unified system is scalable
to meet the needs of both large and
small mortgage lenders.
“Our DocVelocity offering combines
an award-winning, highly scalable document management solution with
superior maintenance, support and
professional services capabilities,” said
Sanjeev Malaney, chief executive officer
at Capsilon. “The unified DocVelocity
system enables Capsilon to serve small,
medium and large mortgage lenders
equally well with single industry-standard solution.”
Capsilon developed much of the
technology that DocVelocity marketed
and sold from 2007 until its acquisition.
Lenders who previously bought from
DocVelocity will benefit from this consolidation, as they now have a direct
relationship with the company that
develops and supports the technology.
In addition, certain optional capabilities, such as mobile access and enterprise interoperability, previously provided only by Capsilon to its own customers, are now available to all new
and prior DocVelocity customers.
All customers will benefit from the
combined product lines, whether they
bought from Capsilon or DocVelocity, as
they all will now use the same, unified
technology platform and receive consistent support, training and services
offerings.
CoreLogic Acquires
Case-Shiller
CoreLogic has announced the acquisition of Case-Shiller from Fiserv Inc. In
addition to the widely recognized CaseShiller Indexes, CoreLogic will continue
to offer its CoreLogic HPI, which represents the most geographically comprehensive and current set of home price
indexes available. The CoreLogic HPI
and the Case-Shiller Indexes are complementary measures of home price
trends utilizing the same baseline
methodology of repeat home sales.
The Case-Shiller Indexes will be
renamed the CoreLogic Case-Shiller
Indexes. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home
Price Indices will retain their brand
name. The CoreLogic HPI, CoreLogic
Case-Shiller Indexes, and S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Indices reports will
continue to be published and distributed on their customary time schedules
and in their current formats.
Dr. David Stiff, chief economist for
Case-Shiller, will continue to supervise
the preparation of the CoreLogic CaseShiller Indexes and comment on the
findings of those indexes. Dr. Mark
Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic,
will continue to supervise the preparation of the CoreLogic HPI reports and
comment on the findings of those
reports.
National MI Officially
Launches Operations
National MI has issued its first mortgage insurance commitments, officially
marking its entry into the private mortgage insurance (PMI) business. National
MI plans to quickly establish itself as a
company that offers the most definitive
terms of coverage in the industry. The
company has approved its first 100
master policies with lender customers.
Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
approved National MI as a qualified
mortgage insurer in January, and
National MI intends to work with
lenders nationwide. To date, the company has been approved in 46 states
and the District of Columbia, and
expects approval from the remaining
four states in the near term.
“With our unique master policy and
transparent terms of coverage, National
MI is reinventing private mortgage
insurance,” said Bradley Shuster, president and CEO. “By raising over $500
million in capital last year, we led the
way for the reintroduction of private
capital into the mortgage insurance
industry.”
National MI was founded last year by
Bradley Shuster and Jay Sherwood,
executive vice president and CFO of the
company. In 2012, Shuster and
Sherwood raised $550 million in private
capital to launch the new venture. The
company estimates that its available
capital will support mortgage insurance
coverage on over $30 billion of mortgage loans, which will help make
homeownership available for roughly
150,000 households throughout the
country, most of whom are expected to
be first-time homebuyers.
Liberty Home Equity
Solutions Purchased By
Ocwen Financial
Corporation
Ocwen Financial Corporation announced
that it has completed
the purchase of Liberty
Home Equity Solutions
from Genworth Financial. Liberty will
continue to offer reverse mortgages
through direct, wholesale and correspondent channels.
“Liberty is the industry leader in
helping seniors secure their retirement
with strong customer-service and superior quality,” said Ronald M. Faris, chief
executive officer of Ocwen. “We believe
this promising market offers enormous
long-term growth potential, and this
purchase positions Ocwen to capture
that growth.”
Pete Engelken, president of Liberty
Home Equity Solutions, said “We are
very excited to complete this transaction and become a part of one of the
largest mortgage servicing and origination companies in the industry.
Together we will be able to help even
more seniors with home equity retirement income solutions, including FHA
and proprietary products.”
Value Services LLC
Changes Name and
Launches New Site
Quicken Loans
Acquires Servicing
Rights from Ally Bank
We have proven closing records
CALIFORNIA GUIDELINES:
1. Stated & NO doc programs available on Investment/N/o/o Properties
2. Purchase loans up to 70% of Purchase Price with NO prepayment
3. Residential rates start at 8.50%
4. Loan terms from 11 months to 5 years 5. Stated & NO doc up to 70% LTV with 500+ score
6. No prepayment penalty options available
7. Brokers Protected
8. No upfront fees
NewDay USA Acquires
Education Provider
Abacus Mortgage Training
Chrysalis Holdings
LLC, parent company of NewDay
USA, has announced it has acquired the
intellectual assets of Abacus Mortgage
Training and Education, a privately held
company and provider of NMLSapproved loan officer training and education for mortgage originators. This
timely acquisition supports and
strengthens another of Chrysalis’ key
holdings, NewDay USA, one of the
nation’s leading mortgage companies
serving the homeownership needs of
veterans by providing VA, FHA, reverse
and conventional loan products.
NewDay USA also provides loan officer
education and training through its
NewDay USA University initiative. The
acquisition enhances NewDay USA
University’s capabilities and positions
the company to achieve its objective of
serving the veteran community.
“The NewDay USA University initiative is one of the cornerstones of our
company’s success,” said Rob Posner,
chief executive officer of NewDay USA.
“At NewDay, we are committed to
developing the industry’s next generation of mortgage bankers. The
University’s programs, which focus
intensely on originations, loan processing and underwriting, will deliver the
training that puts our professionals on
the path to a successful career.”
Abacus Founder Paul Donohue will
join the leadership team at NewDay
USA and serve as Dean of NewDay USA
University. In this capacity, he will
manage and oversee the design of
leading-edge curriculum devoted to
housing finance sales, service and
compliance issues. Donohue, whose
mortgage and housing industry experience spans more than 30 years, is a
nationally-renowned speaker and educator in the lending industry. He is the
author of numerous training courses
approved for federal and state mandated requirements.
Abacus team members Tom Estes Jr.,
47
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HERE WE GROW AGAIN
Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc.
announced the purchase of approximately $34 billion in mortgage servicing rights from Ally Bank. The servicing
pool is comprised of non-delinquent
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae-backed
mortgages that currently have higherthan-market interest rates which could
substantially benefit from refinancing.
The acquisition, expected to close in
the second quarter following approvals
from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will
dramatically increase Quicken Loans’
servicing footprint. In the last year, the
company has aggressively built a $90
billion mortgage servicing portfolio,
making it the nation’s 17th largest servicer. With the addition of the $34 billion in servicing from Ally Bank, the
company is expected to grow to be a
top-10 servicer by mid-year.
PB FINANCIAL GROUP
Value Services LLC
has announced
that it has
changed its
name to reflect the mortgage industry’s
growing demand for service and value in
the appraisal market. The company was
originally founded as Reese Appraisals
and was later affiliated with IRRResidential. In addition to its new name,
Value Services has launched a new Web
site, www.ValueServicesAppraisals.com,
and in the coming months plans to
introduce a new appraisal solution
aimed at addressing the mortgage
industry’s most pressing valuation
needs.
Value Services provides residential
and commercial property appraisals in
addition to appraisal management
services, forensic appraisal reviews, litigation support, alternative valuation
products, appraisal compliance services
and other solutions. All valuation work
is performed by licensed and certified
appraisers who have established themselves as leaders in their local markets.
The company’s staff includes licensed
builders, certified expert witnesses and
USPAP-certified instructors.
“We have not been bashful in making
the market aware of our interest in
acquiring servicing rights,” said Bill
Emerson, chief executive officer of
Quicken Loans. “This transaction with
Ally Bank allows us to purchase a well
performing pool of loans, and will help
grow our servicing footprint. This servicing pool will also create a large opportunity for Quicken Loans to refinance a
substantial amount of these clients into
significantly lower monthly payments.”
The company also announced that it
will continue to pursue servicing pools,
while also growing its servicing portfolio
organically through its mortgage origination business. In 2012, Quicken Loans
originated a company record $70 billion
in residential home mortgages, making
it the nation’s third largest mortgage
lender.
The
Five
Critical Factors
to Develop
Call
Confidence
Factor #2:
Comprehend the “art”
onfidence is a mag- and “science” of
netic personal qual- appointment scheduling
By Jeff Krantz
48
C
ity that causes Contacting prospects to schedule
prospects to desire to appointments an art form. It’s a real
hear what we have to say. It’s one of life, authentic endeavor to connect
the most effective traits of top pro- with a real person who has very real
ducing sales professionals. But
needs. Appointment scheduling
how do we get it?
is an art form because it’s a
Every sales represenand all
“Even the best “people-business,”
tative, whether the
people are different. We
“newbie” or the seainterpret experiences
in the business
soned professional,
differently much in
experiences appre- experience days when the same way that an
hensions from time
they don’t ‘feel’ like artist’s painting may
to time when it
be interpreted differcomes to prospecting making prospective ently by a viewer. One
for new business. This
size does not fit everyphone calls.”
nervousness has been
one.
commonly known as call
Appointment scheduling is
reluctance. It’s natural. We all get
also a bit of a science, because it can
it. But what separates the top probe completed successfully if we break it
ducers from the rest of the sales force down into a proven process. If we folis how they get over it and develop low sequential steps that work each
call confidence.
time, we can be more assured of reachThe following five factors are cru- ing our desired outcome.
cial to develop the confidence
required to effectively prospect and Factor #3:
schedule quality sales appointments: Proven process
Driving a car that has a stick-shift
Factor #1:
transmission involves following a
Be fully prepared
proven, sequential process. If you
It starts with research. We must have skip steps, you will either break
enough quality information on the something or hurt someone. In the
background of the prospect and their same way, successfully scheduling
purchasing tendencies. Once we have sales appointments follows a proven
this understanding, we can draft an process.
effective, well thought out, pre-call
plan. Successfully scheduling a quali- Factor #4:
fied appointment then becomes a Experience
matter of executing the plan.
Nothing beats the experience that is
developed over the course of time as
we practice, practice, practice. The
most accomplished and successful
professionals in every industry have
spent time practicing their craft until
they have mastered it.
Like any seasoned professional,
through trial and error, they know
what works and what doesn’t work.
These professionals draw on years of
experience that has made them what
they are today.
When it comes to developing confidence, there is nothing quite as effective
as the experience that develops the skills
we need to perform at our very best.
Factor #5:
Acknowledgement
Who doesn’t like to celebrate success? When sales managers give credit to those on their team who have
achieved milestones, they help them
to develop greater confidence.
I’ve developed sales leadership
programs which equip sales managers with the acumen to positively
lead their sales teams to greater levels of achievement. Inspirational
leaders are those that provide recognition and acknowledgement to their
teams when they succeed.
Overcoming
call-reluctance
By Dan Thoms
l Factor #2: View the appointment
scheduling process as critical to
your success
Imagine trying to drive a car and
“skip” second gear? The engine
would stall. If you want to drive it
successfully, you have to follow
the proven process and move
properly through all the gears.
Appointment scheduling is a critical step in a successful sales
process. If you avoid this step
because you are reluctant, your
sales will stall. Developing a positive mindset toward sales appointment scheduling is a critical factor
in overcoming call-reluctance.
l Factor #3: Proven methods
When we follow a successful
method, it takes the stress off of us
and puts it onto the process. It’s
not a matter of whether or not the
method works, it’s more a matter
of whether or not you “work” the
method.
l Factor #4: Partnering
Accountability is an incredibly
motivating factor in business.
Sometimes when we try to “go it
alone” we run out of inspiration or
may even fall back into old, ineffective habits. If you have a colleague, whose motivation is to see
you succeed, he/she can act as a
mentor. This person can offer
encouragement and feedback
when you need it most. That type
of edification builds confidence
and alleviates the feelings of callreluctance.
l Factor #5: Practice, practice,
practice
There is nothing that fosters confidence or dispels fears like the experience that results from practicing.
The more time you practice the
skill of appointment scheduling,
the faster you will master it.
• I don’t like the feeling of being
rejected.
• I feel like I’m bothering people.
• It feels as though I’m just interrupting them.
• They feel like I’m just calling to
“sell” them something.
Every
successful
professional
spends ample time practicing their
skill, over and over and over again.
Each exercise of the skill becomes a
learning opportunity of what works
best or a moment of enlightenment
for what “not to do again next
time.” We all learn through trial and
error.
Five factors for
overcoming every hint
of call-reluctance
l Factor #1: Prepare and plan
Planning is critical in every sales
Jeff Krantz is of www.JeffKrantz.co LLC
trains the techniques that ultra-top sales
producers use to fill their calendars with
qualified sales appointments. He may be
reached by phone at (716) 432-1202 or email [email protected].
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Sponsored Editorial
49
l What causes call-reluctance: Start
by listing the top three reasons that
you personally experience callreluctance. When I facilitate training workshops, I hear a few of the
common reasons that sales professionals experience call-reluctance,
including:
How do we remedy this? How can we
overcome every hint of call-reluctance?
Using Engagement-Based
Professional Services to Meet Your
Business Needs
Even the best in the business experience days when they don’t “feel” like
making prospective phone calls.
Some days, the phone looks like it
weighs 500 pounds. This apprehension to pick up the phone and reach
prospects has been referred to as
“call-reluctance.” It can be one of the
most crippling mindsets in the profession of selling.
If we allow call-reluctance to hold
us back, we won’t have calendars full
of quality appointments and our
sales production will suffer poorly.
How do we rid ourselves of CallReluctance? Let’s start with identifying what causes it in the first place.
activity. If we go about the call haphazardly, we will not be prepared
and the prospect’s responses could
catch us off guard. The result is an
ineffective appointment scheduling
call and a calendar void of meaningful sales meetings. It has been said,
“success is where preparation meets
opportunity.”
“A good trainer has been in the origination trenches and
should be able to readily adapt to your wishes.”
The Benefit of a Hired Sales Trainer
By Greg Frost Sr.
rofessional training is a topic
close to my heart. Being a former NCAA athlete, as well as a
nationally-recognized loan originator, I have always had a deep appreciation for and have personally benefited from, both group and personal professional training. Being both a
production manager and a professional trainer myself, I am also keenly aware that “A prophet is rarely
heard in his own village.”
I can stand in front of 200 loan
originators in a hotel ballroom and
move most of them to commit to
implement one or more of the tactics, strategies or business building
systems, to which I train. But, I’ll be
darned if I can get my own eight loan
originators here in Albuquerque,
N.M. to embrace my teachings. This
is especially perplexing because they
P
50
are in my market and have either
watched or are keenly aware of how
I became the first billion dollar loan
originator in the entire mortgage
industry.
What is it about a professional
trainer that will cause your team to
pay more attention than they will to
you, and more than likely determine that the training material is
beneficial and worthy of consideration? The trainer may well have
included several tactics you have
suggested many times. However,
when a professional trainer presents
them, they are embraced. It’s crazy,
but true. I have regularly maintained that once I crossed the New
Mexico state line, I immediately
became an expert and significantly
more credible.
To better understand this phe-
nomenon, you need to look no further than Dr. Robert Cialdini’s writings
on
the
“Principles
of
Persuasion” and focus on the principle of authority. When one is presented as an authority and possesses
the trappings of authority, one is
perceived as an authority. When one
is perceived as an authority the psychological principle of “satisficing”
(to satisfy and suffice) is embraced
by the recipients, causing them to
want to believe that what they are
hearing will actually help them.
Many will still question and even
eliminate certain isolated aspects of
the training, but most will be
accepted as beneficial.
What can you do to insure that
the message your team receives is
consistent with what you want them
to be taught? Insist on a content
review with your prospective professional trainer. Review your objectives, the proposed material and
insist on curriculum modifications
where necessary. A good trainer has
been in the origination trenches and
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should be able to readily adapt to
your wishes. Include time in the
training for a commitment session,
at which time every attendee vocalizes which of the tactics presented
they like and are willing to implement. Get their commitment in writing, as well.
Budget for a follow up training,
where the trainer returns to interactively focus on your team’s individual
implementation of successes and
failures. The trainer should be able
to share their personal implementation experience with each tactic,
identify with the challenges and
offer counter measures and “in-flight
corrections.”
If your team knows beforehand
that this is not just a “one and done”
training. If they know that the trainer will be back and personally follow
up with them, they will be much
more inclined to “buy in” and
embrace one or more of the tactics
presented.
If you can get 50 percent of your
team to embrace and implement
just one successful business building tactic, and if that one tactic
results in that 50 percent of your
team funding two more loans per
month, what is the return on your
training investment?
Zig Ziglar maintained that, “You
can get everything you want in life
if you will just help as many people,
as you can, get what they want.”
Help your team learn new business building strategies by providing
professional training; help them
commit to implementation; help
them recover if/when they stumble
with training follow up and watch
them help you get what you want.
Greg Frost Sr. is vice president of
national training for Primary
Residential Mortgage Inc. (PRMI). He
was the industry’s first billion-dollar
originator and has been the number
one residential mortgage lender in
New Mexico since 1985. He may be
reached by phone at (505) 292-7200
or e-mail [email protected].
“We can train and monitor all we want, but we are not going
to know what an originator is saying out on the street in
order to help or hurt the cause.”
Training and Coaching Sales Personnel
By Dave Hershman
l
this is called the process of benchmarking.
l Monitoring calls: We are observing
a salesperson’s behavior. It is up to
us to let the other person do the
talking—even if we are approached
by a person, attempt to defer. Our
goal is to observe true behavior
(not exactly as effective as having a
hidden video or audio tape). Many
telemarketing firms do monitor
calls blindly for training purposes.
l Joint calls: Whether a conference
call or a joint sales visit, many of our
sales personnel will rely upon us to
help them seal important deals.
Perhaps you have a previous relationship with a particular client or
office. Perhaps you have a great
sales meeting presentation that you
can deliver on behalf of your
employee.
l Are they making calls but not asking
for the business?
l Are they calling on the wrong targets?
l Are they saying the wrong things and
turning people off?
l Are they too aggressive?
l Are they hiding out in a bar all day?
Identifying reluctances
Scripts
Every salesperson has some type of
reluctance. This reluctance could be
defined as a type of call reluctance,
marketing reluctance or even communication reluctance such as the fear of
public speaking. These reluctances
can be crippling to the average salesperson and an important part of the
manager’s job is to not only to identify this reluctance, but format solutions to help the salesperson overcome this handicap. For example, it is
important for a salesperson to stay in
contact with previous customers. And
the most effective contact in this
regard is over the phone rather than
sending notes. But if the salesperson
has a reluctance to make telephone
calls for marketing and/or customer
service purposes, this is an issue. The
question is: how do you overcome this
fear? Before finding an alternative
means of communication, there are
many tools you can use:
No salesperson can develop into a
true relationship star through the
use of scripts. Yet, we all know that
the secret to great telephone sales
and overcoming objections is being
T
We can train and monitor all we
want, but we are not going to know
what an originator is saying out on the
street in order to help or hurt the
cause. Coaching calls will not necessarily tell us what is wrong because we will
not see true behavior while we are
present. Just because coaching calls will
not be 100 percent effective does not
mean that they are not important.
Basically, there are three types of
coaching calls:
l Training calls: We send a rookie out
on the street with us or have them
listen to us handling inquiry calls.
They are to observe our behavior.
This is a training exercise and the
goal is learning. In technical terms—
l By making sure they schedule activi-
l
l
l
This article barely scrapes the surface of training and coaching issues.
But it does demonstrate several factors which are important within the
process. Training and coaching are
serious and important functions of
managers and most managers have
not been trained to become excellent coaches. Getting the most out of
our staffs is an important objective.
So is the goal of reducing turnover.
In other words—it is complicated
and difficult, but worth the time and
effort to accomplish in the right way.
Dave Hershman is a top author in the
mortgage industry with seven books published, including The Complete
Mortgage Management Kit. Dave is also
director of branch support for McLean
Mortgage. He may be reached by e-mail
at [email protected] or visit
OriginationPro.com.
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51
here are several reasons why
many in the mortgage industry do
not hire inexperienced loan officers. The lack of time is one reason.
Most managers are personal producers
and do not have the time to train.
Secondly, identifying the needs of each
neophyte is difficult. Not every person
needs the same training. For example,
someone who is inexperienced may
have 20 years of sales experience or 20
years of real estate experience. Their
needs would be different than hiring
someone from a government job.
Finally, the training of sales personnel
provides some special challenges
because it is difficult to measure the
reasons they may or not be producing
results. For example, when we train an
originator and he/she goes out on the
street: How do we know why they are
not producing?
prepared with what to say and at the
right time. You will facilitate the
process greatly by developing standard answers for standard questions.
In training, I often jest by saying,
“Don’t put the customer on hold
while you search for your script.”
Scripts do have a time and place—
but they do not substitute for real
needs assessment and conversational/relationship skills.
ties which they are likely to overlook
if they are not specifically on their
calendar;
By helping the loan officer eliminate
obstacles that are being used as
excuses for keeping us from doing
what they need to do. For example—
showing them that their pipeline
does not need a babysitter.
By pairing up with “buddies” or
“coaches” who will give them daily
encouragement to take certain
actions.
By making it fun with contests, challenges and games. These things may
be seen as “infantile” by some, but
they are really major sales tools. In
reality, if they do not like what we
are doing, they are less likely to
accomplish the task.
By helping them be honest with
themselves. If they are going to overcome an obstacle they must admit
that their call reluctance (and perhaps attitude) is the problem, not all
the other things we have been blaming—such as paperwork and the
competition.
“According to a survey conducted by Freddie Mac and Roper
Public Affairs, six out of 10 homeowners wished they more
thoroughly understood the terms and details of their
mortgage.”
Leadership and Restoring Confidence
in the Community
By David Lykken
s I sit back and think about the
training programs and initiatives
for loan officers in the mortgage
industry, it is difficult to write about how
to teach salespeople to become better
salespeople without first teaching them
about leadership. Don’t get me wrong; I
believe many benefits can be derived
from a good sales training program. But
before anyone starts talking about sales
training, a different conversation needs to
take place. As leaders our industry and
community, we need to muster the
inward strength and integrity to first
address a different kind of training—values training. You start by asking yourself
questions like, “What are my values?” and
“What the values of my organization?”
Recently, I was speaking at a state
mortgage industry convention to a large
group of mortgage professionals and
“Murphy’s Law” showed up. As soon as I
stepped on stage, I started experiencing
technical difficulties. My laptop wouldn’t
communicate with the projector. As I
quickly tried to resolve the problem, I
could feel some restless tension begin to
stir in the room. Knowing the importance
of keeping the attention of the audience
was way more important than getting the
presentation working, I made the decision
to just set the laptop aside with all my
notes and slides and just started visiting
with everyone in the audience as if they
were sitting in my living room. I began to
speak from my heart about two topics I
am so very passionate about, LEADERSHIP
and VALUES. The technical difficulties I
experienced turned out to be the most
convenient inconvenience that could possibly have happened because I began to
expound on what I think is the most pressing leadership issues in the mortgage
industry today.
I spoke from the heart about the importance of homeownership and how integral
it is to our economy. By this time, an
A
52
audio/visual person fixed the problem and
I was able to step back into the slides I had
prepared. It was perfect timing. The slide
that first came up in my presentation was a
slide that showed how the level of homeownership had fallen to alarming new
lows. The trend lines were showing how we
were fast becoming a nation of renters.
At another conference where I was the
keynote speaker, I asked the audience to
raise their hands if they thought they
could afford to buy a new home in the
next few years. The vast majority of people in the audience raised their hands.
Then, I asked another question. “How
many of you,” I pressed, “actually plan on
buying a home within the next few years?”
Like a receding tide, over half of the hands
slid slowly downward—confirming the
data on the slide. Fewer and fewer
Americans plan to buy a home in the near
future. Why?
As I ask more and more people that
can afford to buy homes, as to why they
are not doing so, I consistently get the
same answers:
l Because, I don’t see the benefits in
owning a home.
l It is a long-term financial commitment,
and I honestly don’t know if my
income will remain at this level or if I
will even have a job this time next year.
l In spite of homes be very affordable, I
don’t want to run the risk of losing my
home to foreclosure … I’d rather play
it safe and rent.
This fear of being foreclosed on pervades our culture today. Since the end of
2006, the U.S. has added 4.8 million
renter households and lost 1.7 million
owner households. Just as this trend
began, a survey by Harris Interactive of
1,334 U.S. homeowners revealed the following answers to the question, “If home
foreclosure were likely for you, what best
describes how you would feel?” Here are
the results:
l
l
l
l
l
Scared (38%)
Depressed (35%)
Angry (9%)
Embarrassed (8%)
None of the Above (9%)
The Mortgage Banking Association
(MBA) estimates that roughly one million
new families each year enter into foreclosure, and that one out of every 200 home
purchases will end in foreclosure. This
trend is a systemic problem that feeds on
itself. When homes are foreclosed, fewer
people buy. Prices rise and more foreclosures occur. It’s a vicious cycle filling the
country with fear. When people lose their
homes, they aren’t just losing houses.
They’re losing a piece of their foundation/roots. They are losing a sense of stability and confidence in the future.
During a brief period of insanity, from
2001 to 2007, many mortgage professionals enabled buyers to buy homes they
could not afford and failed to properly
educate them on what they were getting
into, much less how to make responsible
homebuying decisions. Those who didn’t
participate in the insanity did little or
nothing to try and stop the madness. If
you have ever heard me speak at a conference, you will hear me make this statement, “When we fail to regulate from
within, we will be regulated from without.” The Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB) is all the evidence we need
to realize just how painfully true that is.
Great leaders don’t need regulation.
They are built with internal regulation.
They have integrity instilled in their core
that emanates from their being. Those are
the mortgage professionals we need rising
up in the industry. Those are the loan originators we need in the field. We don’t
need people selling houses, but need people to teach others how to responsibly buy
homes. Only when that happens will we
see the industry bounce back.
Why complain about the regulation?
Instead, let’s turn it on its head. Let’s set the
bar even higher. Let’s become teachers.
According to a survey conducted by
Freddie Mac and Roper Public Affairs, six
out of 10 homeowners wished they more
thoroughly understood the terms and
details of their mortgage. Moreover, even
more than six in 10 homeowners who
were delinquent were not aware of the
programs offered by lenders to help them
find solutions to paying their mortgages.
What does this tell us? Two very important
things:
l Buyers are not properly educated; and
l Buyers want to be more educated.
That’s where great leadership in the
mortgage industry comes into play.
How do we alleviate the fear? How do
we restore confidence to the marketplace?
How do we turn this thing around? The
solution, as with many other things, lies in
education. We need to work with local
builders to create programs that foster a
more educated community of homebuyers.
We need to take the responsibility of making sure people know what they’re doing
when they enter into mortgage contracts.
We need to teach people financial/fiscal literacy. People need to understand
what they can and cannot afford and why.
People need to understand how interest
works. People need to understand how
property taxes work. And we can no
longer have a “that’s for us to know and
you to find out mentality.” We must take
responsibility for our customers’ understanding of the mortgage finance industry. If they don’t understand how it works,
it isn’t because they failed to learn; it’s
because we failed to properly and effectively teach them. I believe that the future
leaders in the mortgage industry will be
those offering seminars and workshops
through local churches, community centers or libraries to teach the public how to
manage their finances, especially as it
relates to buying a house. The more educated homebuyers are, the less fearful
they will be in entering market. People
are afraid a great deal because they don’t
understand how mortgage finance works.
Let’s take that fear off of the table and
teach them!
We need to remind people of the benefits of owning a home. More and more,
as the market recovers from the recession,
people are beginning to be able to afford
homes. But we still need to remind them
why they would want to own a home in
the first place! We need to remind them
that, according to research done by Ohio
State University for the Journal of Housing
Research, homeowners tend to be healthier—mentally, emotionally, and physically—that homeowners tend to have higher participation in civic life and that children of homeowners tend to reach
greater levels of academic performance.
In short, we need to remind people that
owning a home is a good thing.
Almost everyone knows the Biblical
story of David and Goliath. Most people
view it as an underdog story—the small
boy David taking down the giant Goliath
with nothing but his faith and a single
stone. But there’s more to the story. It’s
also a story about fear and how unrealized leadership can overcome it.
Most think David killed Goliath with a
single rock slung against his forehead, but
in reality, it was that he believed in something beyond himself. As a result, he overcame “giant” odds and turned the tide of
that battle. David probably didn’t see himself as any kind of leader, but the net
effect was that he demonstrated more
leadership than the entire Israeli army.
What amazes me is how the Israelites—
his people, who moments before were
“dismayed and greatly afraid,” reacted to
the victory. The Bible says in 1 Samuel
17:52, “The men of Israel and Judah arose
and shouted and pursued the Philistines
…” Just like that, the fear was gone. How?
David restored confidence through a single act of bold confidence in the face of
seemingly gigantic adversity.
Just as David restored confidence in his
people, we must restore confidence in
homebuyers across the nation. All it takes
is the strength of character to step up and
do what no one else is doing. It’s time to
become leaders by educating Americans
in the basics of financial management and
responsible homeownership. Mortgage
professionals are the “Davids” of today,
and homebuyers are the Israelites. Fear is
the Goliath of the mortgage industry and
education is the stone that slays it. Go
forth and lead your people into home-
ownership and achieve success regardless
of what market conditions.
David Lykken is president of mortgage
strategies and managing partner with
Mortgage Banking Solutions. He has more
than 35 years of industry experience and
has garnered a national reputation, and
has become a frequent guest on FOX
Business News with Neil Cavuto, Stuart
Varney, Liz Claman and Dave Asman
with additional guest appearances on
the CBS Evening News, Bloomberg TV
and radio. He may be reached by phone
at (512) 977-9900, ext. 10, or e-mail
[email protected] or
[email protected].
53
“Creating a training course may seem like a daunting task,
but it’s really very simple.”
Unleashing the Trainer in You:
10 Easy Steps to Creating a Course
By Ginger Bell
“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree,
I’d spend six hours sharpening my axe.”
–Abraham Lincoln
ith the Consumer Financial
(CFPB’s) focus on compliance
management systems and the
increasing need to provide training to
personnel outside of the standard continuing education for loan originators
with the passage of the SAFE Act in
2008, our industry has had to look to
means to create effective training.
Whether you are a subject matter
expert (SME) creating a course on
“Completing Correct Disclosures,” or a
loan originator looking to provide education to your real estate agents and partners, we all begin at the same starting
place—a blank sheet of paper. The reality is that we all have something we are
really good at. Whether it is specializing
in VA loans, marketing or underwriting,
you have information you can share with
someone else. The challenge lies in how
you go about creating a presentation,
course or video that shows someone how
to do what you do or know.
Creating a training course may seem
like a daunting task, but it’s really very
simple. If you follow these 10 simple
steps, you’ll be on your way to creating
a successful course that will allow you
to take your expertise and hold a realtor presentation, develop an entire curriculum to place into a learning management system or write a continuing
education course.
W
54
Step 1: Prepare yourself
l Begin by educating yourself by reading and researching articles about
your topic. This will help to provide
supporting documentation and information to support your knowledge.
l Create a file folder on your computer where you can gather information
material that includes case studies, Step 4: Determine how to
assignments and corresponding deliver materials
items.
l Determine which materials should
l Include material for all learners and
be delivered in the face-to-face cominstructional methods that address difponent of your course and which
ferent learning styles and preferences.
materials can be delivered online if
l Write the course description providyou are using an online model.
ing a brief introduction to what you
Select items that are relevant to your
will be covering in the course.
course objectives and will also provide for the best learning experience
Three Hours 2012 Update to Federal
for your students.
Mortgage Laws: Course is intended
l Prepare your materials for both faceto provide the student with an
to-face and electronic delivery. This
understanding of the major changes
may include scanning graphics, crethat were implemented from 2009
ating files, developing activities, case
and 2011 that industry professionals
studies, tests and slides.
need to be aware of in the day-tol Avoid delivering materials that will
day performance of work and/or to
distract the student from the course
prepare to take and pass the MLO
objectives. Don’t add irrelevant
SAFE test.
information to “fill-up” your time.
to use as a reference and guide for
writing your course.
l Determine how you will deliver the
course. Will it be online, live or both.
l Make sure you have the right software to prepare your course. Will
you be presenting live to a group?
Will you be creating a video to
embed on your Web site or
YouTube? Will you be conducting a
live Webinar? Will you be creating an
online course to be presented in a
learning management system (LMS)? l Write the course learning objective. Face-to-face best practices
Often, you can repurpose your inforThis will help you as you develop the l It is important to use a variety of
mation into a variety of delivery
course and help you to make sure
teaching and learning materials in
methods.
you have reached your objective.
your face-to-face sessions to help
l If you are going to have your course
Including a timeline for each objecmeet the intended learning objecapproved for continuing education,
tive will help you to focus on how
tive. You’ll want to include audioyou will want to research how to do
much content you will need to
visual aids, tasks for students to
that with the governing authority.
include in each section.
complete and handouts. The most
effective face-to-face course includes
Step 2: Prepare your
Learning objectives
explanation, demonstration and
materials
n Understand the requirements of
practice. Interaction and participal Gather your course materials and
the Federal SAFE Act and its impact
tion in the course will promote
content in a central location.
on the industry. 30 minutes
learning, engagement and retention.
l Include items such as handouts,
n Review the major changes to
Be sure to use demonstration and
slides shows, syllabus, lecture notes,
RESPA and how they impact the
practice of what you are teaching.
projects, assessments and discussion
MLO. 30 minutes
Simply explaining how things are
points.
n Compare and contrast the old and
done will not enable the students to
l Determine the formats of your matenew Good Faith Estimate and
learn the skills. Be sure to use examrials. Take notes of items already in
know how to complete the form
ples, emphasize or dramatize your
electronic formats such as Word docand explain it to consumers. 30
ideas and use open format to prouments, spreadsheets and slides.
minutes
mote questioning. Include pop
l Accommodate different types of
n Understand how Yield Spread
quizzes and fun activities and
learners. Make sure visual learners
Premium (YSP) is used on the new
resources in your face-to-face
have graphics. Provide narration and
GFE and know how to explain it to
course. Keep details on your slides to
text for verbal learners and include
consumers. 15 minutes
a minimum and use a handbook for
projects to keep students active and
n Become familiar with the changes
students to refer to more in-depth
engaged.
to Reg Z and its impact on mortdetails and activities. Allow room for
l Identify measurable course objecgage loan origination. 45 minutes
note taking in the handbook.
tives. Determine if there are core
competencies and knowledge stu- l Make sure to include tools in your Electronic delivery best practices
dents will need to meet these
course using the following learning l You will want a mix of delivery
objectives.
modalities:
forms. This will include starting
• Visual: Seeing pictures, words, diagrams
with text and including short
Step 3: Make an outline
• Auditory: Listening to explanations
recorded sessions, brief case studl Make an outline. Be sure to use
• Kinesthetic: Performing the activity
ies, interactive activities for stu-
dents to perform online including
word matches, fill in the blanks
and short quizzes. Providing a mix
of delivery methods will help to
keep your student engaged. If you
are working with a system administrator, they may suggest how they
want the material delivered.
Important note
Try to avoid putting all of your information on slides and then reading the
slides. This is an easy pattern for speakers to fall into, but one of the least
engaging and least effective teaching
methods.
Step 5: Build a course
skeleton
Main folder–Three-Hour Federal
Regulations Class 2013
n Subfolders
n Research
n Online Course
n Older Versions
n Text Document
n Case Studies
n Tests
n Activities
n Recordings
n Slides
n Face-to-Face Course
n Older Versions
n Text Document
n Case Studies
n Tests
n Activities
n Recordings
n Slides
Step 6: Write the course
Course consistency checklist
n Layout of course is visually and
functionally consistent
n Navigability is clear, simple and
user-friendly
n Spelling and grammar are consistent and accurate
n Written material is concise
n Language of written material is
friendly and supportive
n Clear directions are given for
each task or assignment
n Sentences and paragraphs brief
n Research material is referenced
n Visual aids are properly used
n Course objections and timeline
are met
l Whether you are delivering your
course live or online, it’s important
to use tools that engage your students, such as videos, test questions,
activities and group discussions.
l Locate five to 10-minute videos from
credible sources to add to your faceto-face courses. There are a variety of
tools available to embed videos into
your slide presentation. Make sure to
give proper credit for any videos you
add. Add the link to your slides so
you can easily remember where you
got the information.
Step 8: Develop activities
for the course
l It is important to add activities to
your course to keep the student
engaged and learning, such as the
following examples.
Activities to enhance student
learning
(Addresses multiple learning styles)
n Video clips of interviews
n Historical audio clips of famous
speeches
n Screen animations for instructional exercises using software
n Personal interview reports
n Crossword or word search puzzles
n Matching and game-show-style
trivia games
n Online scavenger hunts
n Annotated bibliography
n PowerPoint presentations as
assignments/quizzes
n Flash simulations
Activities to develop critical
thinking and problem-solving
skills
n Discussions center on questions
without a single correct answer
n Compare and contrast exercises
n Case studies
n Critique classmates’ assignments
n Collaborative exercises
n Portfolios (building one activity
upon another) to share/peer
review
Step 9: Develop questions
and tests
l If you are developing a course for
continuing education credit, you
will probably need to include a
final exam. Check with the licensing board or regulatory authorities
on what the requirements are for
final exams.
l Start at the beginning of the course
and start developing questions.
You’ll want to make notes on
where in the material the answer
lies for future reference. You may
also need to note this information
when you get your course
approved for continuing education. As you write the questions
and answers, you’ll want to think
of the most probable answers that
are close to being correct but are
not in fact correct. Be sure to
include reference material and
reasoning so students will know
why the answer they selected was
correct or incorrect.
Developing questioning in the
course
The effective use of questions is
one of the most difficult but
effective methods for promoting
learning. The skillful use of
questions can achieve the following results:
n Questions can stimulate interest
and motivation
n Questions can use learners’
knowledge for the benefit of the
group
n Questions focus thinking skills
and the practice of thinking skills
n Questions encourage the development of self-expression of
thought and feelings
n Questions can be used to assess
student knowledge and understanding
Key tactics in developing questions
l Make the questions clear and brief.
Just ask one thing at a time.
l Pitch questions at the right level
for the individual or group. Be sure
to use language the student can
understand.
55
l Now that you have your course outline, objectives and research, you
can begin writing. First, write the
course completely in text. Then you
can pull the content out into shorter videos for your online course
and build your slides for your faceto-face course. Be sure to use references for your research. The course
consistency checklist below will
provide a guide for your course
development.
Step 7: Incorporate
technology into the
course
l Create the organizational (or skeleton) structure of your course. This
involves creating a series of clearly
labeled folders that will hold the
course materials.
l Make a folder for every item in
your outline (from Step 3) or
mimic the structure of your course
outline.
l Enter the course information area
and create subfolders for your outline, slides, case studies, tests,
activities, etc. Be sure to note
where you obtained information
from your research in your course.
This will help to build credibility in
your course and provide reference
notes for course evaluators if you
are planning to get your course
approved for continuing education.
Be sure your folders and subfolders
correspond with the main topics
sections of your course. If you are
providing both online, electronic
training and face-to-face training,
you’ll want to have a folder and
subfolders for each of these as your
delivery methods and content will
be different for each. When creating your subfolders and subtopics,
be sure to name each for easy reference in the future. Also date each
file when you update information
and put older versions of your
information in a different folder.
Be sure to date each version so you
know you are working with the
most current information. When naming your folders use this example:
l Choose the right type of questions
for your purpose. For example;
open questions for exploration;
closed questions for a focused
response.
l Provide enough time for the students to answer questions.
Step 10: Pulling all the
pieces together
Here’s what you have accomplished so far:
1. Prepared yourself and completed
your research.
2. Created your outline, course descrip-
tion and objectives.
3. Determined your delivery method
and built your course skeleton.
4. Wrote your course using text, videos,
activities and questioning.
l Now it’s time to review your information and make certain you are
meeting your original outline,
timeline and objections.
l Review all of your course material. Verify your reference material, check your links, proofread
your descriptions and view the
course from the student’s perspective.
l Prepare all information for delivery–
upload course content into your
online learning system and print
your materials for your face-to-face
delivery.
l Teaching can be a valuable tool to
position yourself as an expert in
your industry. The key is successful planning, preparation and
delivery.
All of us teach! We teach our kids
how to tie their shoes or show a
processor how to input data into a
loan origination system (LOS). We’re
all trainers. Sharing that information
is critical, and creating a presentation
or course to do that doesn’t have to
be intimidating. It just takes time and
a little practice!
Ginger Bell is a best-selling author
and the national training director for
Plaza Home Mortgage, with expertise
in developing and implementing
training programs and speaking on
mortgage related topics. She recently
joined forces with best-selling author
and speaker, Brian Tracy, and other
successful business professionals to
publish the best-selling book titled
Cracking the Success Code.
56
we’re committed
to brokers!
Markets may be volatile, but there’s one thing you can always count on, the total commitment
of our Mortgage Te
eam. Loyalty, continuity of service and our dedication to protecting the
integrity of our relationships are just a few of the things that set us apart.
Ridgewood understands the needs of its communities and develops specific product benefits
to meet those needs.
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t6QUP.JMMJPO$BTI0VUPO1SJNBSZ3FTJEFODFT*
Call Bijan Farassat at 917-731-4870
or email [email protected]
NMLS ID# 646654
C Lisa
Call
Lis Constant at 516-640-8375
or email
o
ema [email protected]
NMLS ID# 646655
N
4FSWJOH
4
FSWJOH#SPOYt#SPPLMZOt.BOIBUUBOt2VFFOTt4UBUFO*TMBOEt/BTTBVt4VGGPML
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www.ridgewoodbank.com
www
w.ridgewoodbank.com
.ridgewoodbank.c
.
*LLTTVs apply.
Member FDIC
A Member of the New Yo
ork
Associattion of Mortgage Brrokers
“By treating your business like a franchise and setting up
systems for success, you’ll foster happy customers and a
solid referral flow.”
Stop Getting in the Way of YOU—
Build Systems for Success and Prevent
Self-Sabotaging Behaviors
By Kelly Resendez
W
The first step in achieving your goals is
to set up systems that set expectations
for your customers, automate regular
communications, and encourage referrals. Think of your business as a franchise where you could bring someone
else in from the outside, train them on
your system, and have them be just as
successful as you. So many professionals fall into the trap of getting caught
up in the day-to-day details, which
leads to burnout and hampers creativity and energy that could be spent on
growth. Here are the basics you need to
systemize and streamline your processes to allow yourself more time be a bet-
l Maximize opportunity: Customers
have many options when shopping
for mortgage products and you have
to be ahead of the curve. Utilize profile sheets and gather the information necessary to best guide your
client. Create a personal connection;
e-mail loan proposals to every customer, mail personal notes 100 percent of the time to your referring
party and new customer, and add
them to drip campaigns and schedule follow ups. Be organized and use
your calendar to remind you to call
your customers back–if you don’t
Goals, goals, goals
Now comes the fun part! By now you’re
treating your business like a franchise,
you have systems in place to ensure
57
Foundation for
sustainable success
ter real estate professional and build
your business:
handwritten note is always appreciated, and be sure to send along business cards that they can give to
potential clients. Then, include them
in your ongoing communications
processes. It could look something
like this:
• Mailed a thank you note after the
transaction
• Add to newsletter drip and e-mail
monthly
• Add on social media and post
updates weekly (this will keep you
keyed into big life events that may
warrant a new mortgage product,
such as marriage, retirement, new
baby, etc.)
• Follow up call 45 days after funding, and semi-annual phone call
• Send physical mail quarterly (post
card, flier, etc.)
• Don’t forget to thank your real
estate agents and ask them for
referrals
hat is standing in the way of
your success? Do you want
more clients? More referrals?
Do you want to build better relationships with those in your field? What’s
holding you back? When I ask real
estate professionals these questions,
the answer I almost always come to
find is … you.
Most of us have goals we’d like to
accomplish, but many times, our own
perceptions, inaction and quest for
perfection gets in our way.
Additionally, we don’t set up systems
for success and try to treat each customer’s needs as they come in fits and
starts. To overcome these self-induced
challenges, I implement in my team a
two-pronged approach to get them
moving from intention to action, setting up processes that are applied to
each and every one of their customers. Not only will this approach
lead to a more successful business,
the lessons learned can be applied to
almost every aspect of your life.
schedule it, you’ll likely forget it.
l Manage your pipeline: Starting at
the beginning of the transaction, set
expectations that you can meet or
exceed (under promise, over deliver).
Most customers understand that
obtaining a loan can be difficult, and
are looking for a loan officer to be
open and upfront with them about
potential hurdles. Create a calendar
for your files when your clients go
into escrow and hold yourself
accountable to communicating during important milestones in the
transaction, such as contingency
removal, appraisal due, loan
approval, target signing day, and
funding. Fight the urge to hide your
head in the sand when the news isn’t
perfect–communicating is completely within your control while the rest
of the transaction often isn’t.
l Work your database: If you do a
great job of obtaining customers and
communicating with them throughout the process, you’ll likely have no
problem receiving referrals–that is, if
you ask for them! It all starts with the
initial thank you after closing. A
consistent communication with your
customers, and you have a good referral flow coming through. In order to
take your business to the next level, it’s
time to take a hard look at your goal
setting process and how you may be
sabotaging your own efforts.
It starts with a plan
What are your intentions, goals, or vision?
If you have these in place, do you have a
roadmap to get there? And how do you
measure your success or progress? Many
people don’t even bother making goals for
many reasons: it’s too scary, they feel they
won’t achieve them, or they feel they don’t
58
have the time. But goal setting in a vital
exercise in creating the life you want by
taking the time to really know what you
want and why.
Start with your values: What do you
value in life? What motivates you? For
most of us, we create goals that aren’t specific, are too much of a stretch, or are solely driven by competition. These goals set
you up for failure. Take the time to really
think about your values and write them
down. I like to use a grid that lists them
into categories: business, financial,
health/personal, and family.
Now, how do these values play into
each category? Within each category, I cre-
ate short- and long-term goals for each
item and have a list of three activities associated with those goals that I will take within three months and one year. This allows
you to break your goals into smaller,
achievable action items and keep you
motivated and on course.
Ready, set, goal!
Now that you’ve detailed your goals, it’s
time to start acting on them. Set deadlines
with calendar reminders, find an accountability partner that you can meet with periodically to check in on your progress, or
create a visual associated with your goals
and post it in places that you’ll consistently see (phone backgrounds/lock screens are
a great place for this). Surround yourself
with reminders of your goals so they stay
top of mind. And recognize yourself when
you achieve milestones! By celebrating
completed activities or even attempts to
complete them, you’ll get a sense of fulfillment that will keep you motivated.
Stop getting in your way
There are many excuses why people fail to
reach their goals, and most times it comes
down to themselves. We can be our own
worst enemy, giving ourselves every reason
to abandon our goals when it doesn’t go
our way. Here are the biggest barriers that
people create that inhibit them from
reaching their goals:
l You seek perfection: Are you waiting
for things to be just right before you
act? Are you an all or nothing person?
The truth is that there’s never a perfect
time or circumstance for most events in
life. Perfection is not necessary for success. No one is really going to notice or
care that everything is perfect, so it’s
better to aim for imperfection than
unfeasible perfection.
l You’re paralyzed by fear: Many people
live their lives in fear of the “what ifs.”
We can imagine negative situations in
our minds so vividly, it’s almost like
they’re real. However, these thoughts
are not real; they’re hallucinations of
our own creation. They usually lead to
inaction, which can cause not only
more worry, but often potentially negative situations to escalate. To stop this
negative cycle, start testing out your
biggest fears. Let’s say you’re afraid to
give a customer bad news. What’s the
worst possible outcome you can think
of? What’s the best? What’s the likely
outcome? Now, write these down. Then
push yourself–face your fear, call your
customer, and deliver the bad news.
What happened? Most likely it will fall
somewhere in between the best and
likely outcome–nowhere near our
imagined worst-case scenario we created in our thoughts. In addition, try
doing something uncomfortable or that
you fear every day. Whether it be waking up early to go to the gym or starting
a conversation with someone that
intimidates you–pushing yourself to
fight off your hesitations will condition
you to take on life’s challenges and can
potentially lead to opportunities you
never dreamed of.
l Don’t beat yourself up: Many times,
we dwell on our mistakes and run a
cycle of negative commentary in our
minds. Have compassion for yourself
and the mistakes you made. We are
quick to compare ourselves to others
and judge ourselves as failures – but one
universal truth we neglect to remember
is that everyone makes mistakes and
everyone fails from time to time. Learn
from your mistakes and move one without knocking yourself around in the
process.
You have all the tools you need to create
the business you want. By treating your
business like a franchise and setting up systems for success, you’ll foster happy customers and a solid referral flow. Once that’s
in order, take the time to find your values,
create your goals, and eliminate the barriers you create that prevent you from being
successful. You are in control of your success
– now you just have to go out and get it!
Kelly Resendez is senior vice president of
business and sales development for
Paramount Equity, assisting with mortgage originator recruitment and training. She studied economics at California
State University Sacramento, and is currently completing her degree in psychology at University of Massachusetts
Lowell. She may be reached by phone at
(916) 290-9999.
“With increasing regulations in the mortgage industry and the
stress associated with rapidly implementing the mandated
changes, it is often difficult for employees to stay motivated.”
—Judy Wheatley
Learning Event Strategies
To Enhance Motivation
“Finding the right mix of tools and making them
easily accessible can inspire learners, promote the
pursuit of knowledge, and increase the training’s
effectiveness.”
—John C. Cunningham
tle time for a project of this scope nor is
there room to even layout the pieces. It
will not be long before the excitement and
motivation wanes. Overreaching is almost
always demotivating.
By Judy Wheatley & John C. Cunningham
Enhancing motivation
during the learning event
F
The key to any effective initiative is a
good strategy. In a sense, this means
having all your “ducks in a row” before
One key to inspiring motivation and
delivering a successful learning initiative
is to trust your preparation and follow
the plan. Flexibility is important, as is
identifying the spontaneous teaching
moments. But sticking to the plan and
not getting seriously sidetracked is going
to go a long way in motivating your learners. Remember that you spent a good
amount of time during the pre-learning
event identifying the key objectives and
planned accordingly. In the midst of the
actual learning event, assessing how
motivated your learners are (especially
for remote learners), is very important
and a few tweaks to the plan are fine.
But, overall the instructors need to trust
the strategies that were chosen.
Another method of enhancing motivation in the learning event is to use as
many of the engagement and interactivity tools as you have available. Almost
every training vehicle has interactivity
tools which are available to maximize
both engagement and motivation.
Whether you are taking advantage of
WebEx features such as polling or chat,
using gamification features in an e-learn-
59
during the post-learning
event
In order to keep employees motivated
and to measure the value of the training event, there must be follow-up
activities and tools to reinforce the
learning. Sometimes it is not easy to
measure effectiveness. For example,
diversity training is more difficult to
measure than skills based training.
However, if learning is aligned with
business needs and applicable tools are
used, companies can calculate their
return on the training investment.
The place to start your post-training
event is with a participant survey evaluat-
during the pre-learning
event
the learning event occurs so that learners can be actively involved in a meaningful educational experience.
The pre-learning event process begins
with identifying the learning objectives.
Any event provided by the organization,
including training, must have relevant
goals. One of the most frustrating, as well
as de-motivating experiences for an associate, is to be involved in an initiative
where learners do not know or understand the purpose. This leads to confusion and resentment when they are asked
to spend time they could otherwise use
getting their work done. Thus, making
certain that each and every training event
is meaningful, worthwhile, and appropriate to all of the learners is a top priority.
The next step is to select the most suitable learning vehicle to support the
objective. Remember, the aim is to create an educational initiative that will
motivate participation so the tools selected are critical. The event could employ a
variety of different tools during training,
or just one single tool. Finding the right
mix of tools and making them easily
accessible can inspire learners, promote
the pursuit of knowledge, and increase
the training’s effectiveness.
Arguably the most important component in this strategic process is to be
aware of the parameters of the initiative.
One of the biggest mistakes educators
make is that they forget or simply ignore
legitimate constraints. These can include
company guidelines, time restrictions,
limitations on technology or educational
vehicles, and remote participants.
Failure to take these into account can be
an error in judgment permanently
impeding the motivation and pre-planning process. This can be demotivating.
A simple analogy can be helpful here.
Suppose a person takes on the challenge
of assembling a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
But, in the excitement of the moment,
they fail to realize that there is far too lit-
rederick Herzberg, a pioneer in
employee motivation, taught that
an employee’s opportunity to
learn, grow in responsibilities, and be
recognized for achievements is a much
more powerful motivator than just
money. With increasing regulations in
the mortgage industry and the stress
associated with rapidly implementing
the mandated changes, it is often difficult for employees to stay motivated. In
fact, all the change can end up being
very debilitating for employees as they
restructure their work processes and procedures to meet regulatory and business
deadlines. Designing innovative and
motivational learning events can, however, be a powerful aid for employees,
helping them to see their role in the
company’s future. Corporate learning
can guide them to optimize their performance, and ultimately enhance their
satisfaction with the organization.
Successful learning inspires and motivates employees with three elements: Prelearning, learning and post-learning. It
starts with careful planning during the
pre-learning phase. This entails a variety
of factors, including an assessment of the
needs of the organization. The learning
event itself must be balanced and flexible
enough to follow a predetermined plan,
but at the same time it must be able to
take advantage of “teachable moments”
which arise spontaneously.
Post-training events are an essential
component of successful learning. They
reinforce the training and are important to provide continuing motivation
and for further supporting the concepts
presented in the learning event.
ing course, or presenting your “stand-up”
facilitation session energetically, these
individual engagement tools are invaluable in initiating and maintaining maximum learner motivation.
A good rule of thumb regarding the
heightening of motivation during the
learning event is to balance information and activity. Keep in mind that
even though pure information is
extremely valuable and a significant
part of the learning event process, it is
not the part of the training which
always promotes maximum engagement. The activity portion is the part
which generally does that best, and the
key to any activity is the effective use of
the appropriate motivational tools.
ing the learners’ first impressions and
helping to identify ways to improve the
event. Companies need to provide an
anonymous method for participants to
submit their opinions on the presenter,
material, timing, methodology, and perceived effectiveness or utilization of the
training. Survey results need to be quantified and reported to management.
Making learning available anytime and
anywhere is a critical way to reinforce the
specific learning and keep employees
motivated. One approach is to provide the
course content online for participants to
reference. Video recording a classroom
session is another effective method. Elearning approaches continue to mature
60
and many companies use podcasts, learning in motion, or blogs to share information and support on-going learning.
Skills-based training should include
tools such as job aides that employees
can use in their day-to-day functions,
allowing them to practice the skills they
have learned. Monitoring employees’ performance with the use of assessments
done at various intervals after training is
a good way to measure the effectiveness
of the training event, as well.
One-on-one mentoring sessions are
also important to reinforce learning
events. They help to keep employees
motivated because mentoring demonstrates a company’s commitment to an
Training is an investment
interactive will yield more motivated
associates and a high rate of return on
the company’s learning investments.
Learning events that are carefully designed
to be meaningful, worthwhile and appropriate will have many benefits for your
company and employees. Greater motivation will lead to an increase in productivity
and a reduction in staff turnover.
The best types of events take into
account that people have different learning styles. Some employees learn best by
listening, some by seeing and others by
experiencing, but most learn best through
a combination of these styles. Learning
events and post-training activities that
combine these styles to be engaging and
Judy Wheatley is senior vice president of
compliance for Indecomm Global Services.
Judy received her Certified Mortgage Banker
(CMB) designation in 2003, and her
Accredited Residential Underwriter designation in 1993. She may be reached by e-mail
at [email protected]. John C.
Cunningham holds the position of education
coordinator of the Lenders Solution Group
for Indecomm Global Services. John is also a
Results Coach, having received his training at
Coach U. He may be reached by e-mail at
[email protected].
employee’s development and success.
“Much too often we wait. We wait until something
seriously bad happens before we start to realize
what’s going on.”
You Can Let Your Teeth Rot or Recruit
New Loan Officers ... Your Choice
By Ralph LoVuolo
O
With more than 45 years in the mortgage
industry, Ralph LoVuolo is president of
Mortgage Motivator, a consulting firm
on the cutting edge of the mortgage business. He may be reached by phone at
(561) 509-8425 or e-mail [email protected].
61
Get ON BOARD With The
BEST MORTGAGE LENDER
In the Nation!
For Branch opportunities call 877.896.8496
www.mpfunding.com
Real Estate Mortgage Network Inc, DBA Menlo Park Funding.
499 Thornall Street 2nd Floor, Edison, NJ 08837. NMLS# 6521
ing about his teeth and the pain he
was suffering through. “When are
you going to the dentist,” she asked.
“I’m going soon. I just hate the
pain while I’m in the dentist’s chair.”
“Well,” she said, “If you had just
flossed every day like you were told
by your mother, you wouldn’t be suffering right now.”
“And what about you,” he asked?
“Do you floss every day?”
“Are you crazy,” she retorted, “I’m
too old, nothing I do is going to
change these teeth.” “So wait a
minute, you’re telling me to floss
every day, and in fact, if I would have
done it every day, I wouldn’t be having this pain; but you’re too old? I
think this conversation is over. What
you’re saying doesn’t make any
sense.”
To me, this entire conversation
didn’t make any sense. I was observing the American attitude. The standards that most of us live by. Let’s
not make a plan. Lets not really put
any thought into the future. We all
hate meetings, let’s just keep doing
what we’re doing.
A good friend of mine had a mortgage brokerage company that had
about 20 sales reps. Yet he had one
person on the payroll whose fulltime job was to ensure that every
active LO had to bring in one business card a week of any LO that they
determined was their competition.
The person on payroll assembled a
file on these competitors and the
president of the firm made at least
one call a day to recruit one of those
people. The tenor of the market didn’t matter. This was done every day
of every month of every year.
Right now there is so much scrambling to figure out a plan to recruit
LOs, that I am astounded. Don’t we
ever learn? In fact, I saw one com-
you would want a company to offer
you if you were a successful LO.
Then, see what your budget will
allow you to enact.
Here is what I promise you … if
you don’t start a recruitment plan
now, your teeth will rot.
kay folks … what are you going
to do now? What are you going
to do to increase your business? What’s your plan? What great
ideas did you put in place to get you
through 2012. What’s your five-year
plan? What do you absolutely know?
What did you know in November that
you could have enacted this year
that would have helped you? What
I’m finding from this vantage point
is, very little.
Much too often we wait. We wait
until something seriously bad happens before we start to realize what’s
going on. Ever notice how often we
drive by a spot on one of our streets
and say to ourselves, “This is really a
bad spot. There really needs to be a
speed bump put in here. I’ll call City
Hall when I get home to let them
know.” Meanwhile, we’re on our cellphone talking to someone, even
mentioning what we just thought.
Then we drive a couple of blocks and
forget.
I’m seeing so much chatter about
how to increase business. Last year,
it wasn’t a problem. Refis were
abound and even purchases were
fueled by rates that challenged the
floor. One of the most often discussed ideas is to start to poach on
the company down the street and get
their loan officers to see our light.
The light we shine is brighter than
the light shining from the other companies. We have better service. We
like our people more than they do.
Don’t we ever learn? Why didn’t
we have a recruitment plan in place
all along?
Around the year 1993, I was consulting at a mortgage company in
Brooklyn, N.Y. One of our part-time
LOs was an older woman. She was
standing next to the desk of another
much younger LO. He was complain-
ment in an often read blog that eluded to the fact that it is too late to put
a recruiting plan into place. Too late?
Too late? If it’s never to late to start to
floss, which I am pretty sure you’ll
agree with, it’s never too late to begin
to put any well thought-out plan in
place. And to use the same reasoning
over and over that we hate meetings
because it takes us away from what
we’re doing is just as ludicrous.
Have a meeting. Include the top
brass. Make a list of your company
strengths and weaknesses. Make a
third list that states what it is that
Increase Your Monthly Funding Volume
With
These Simple Steps
BY
H
ow do I increase my conversion
rate on the lead I purchase?
This is the top question I am
asked on a daily basis. So, I thought I
would post directly to that question.
These are common best practices
and will be reiterated by any successful
sales organization and lead provider.
However, the difficulty is having the
discipline (or the lead management system) to consistently enforce these best
practices.
62
Be diligent
JOSHUA
CONKLIN
Take
Although we all want to be
applications
“Know what is An application and
one-call closers, this is simply not a reality. In fact,
quote is free, so take
going on.
most consumers close
applications and give
You need to
somewhere between the
them often. Consumfifth and 10th call. If you
ers are looking for the
know your
are only calling on those
price and commitmarket, your
fresh leads each day—you
ment.
Withholding
are losing deals to the
the price so that “the
competitors,
competitor. This happens
customer doesn’t shop
and what is
for a variety of reasons:
with me” is bunk. If
People are busy, their
causing people you don’t tell them
Be informed
needs can be complex,
to have a need the deal they will get
Know what is going on. You need to their final decisions may
from you, they are
for your
know your market, your competi- require input from a
guaranteed to go to
tors, and what is causing people to spouse, etc.
the
competitor.
product(s).”
have a need for your product(s). If
Consumers want conyou have a large number of prod- Ask questions
venience, not games.
ucts, educate yourself and simplify and listen
If you are still worried about
your presentation by segmenting This seems intuitive, but how many times shopping, use the application and
products by potential consumer have you heard a salesperson so revved quote process to build trust. Educate
needs.
up on their canned pitch that they are them on all of the tricks and hidden
In addition to understanding what talking past the potential customer. Make fees or gimmicks the competitor is
you are selling, make sure you read sure that you start with questions and a going to pull, and when they do,
and watch what is going on in the needs assessment and close with confir- they will run back to you and be a
news. Consumers want to feel like mations of these needs. This is guaran- trusting customer and referral for
there is a human on the other end of teed to increase your closings!
life.
the sale. Read the front page, the
sports pages, and the entertainment
pages of the newspaper or your
favorite news sources on the Web.
People love to talk about the weather, so be sure you know what it is
going on outside of your cubicle.
Contact quickly
Consumers, especially Internet consumers in this age of high-connectivity, expect an immediate response.
Unfortunately, on the sell-side of the
equation, consumers also expect to
transact at their convenience.
Consequently, you need to immediately respond to each new lead
receipt with an immediate message
to the consumer that you are
attempting to contact them. This is
easily done with an introductory email and phone call (voice mail). This
introduces your company, what you
have to offer and your ability to meet
their needs.
The bottom line: Follow-up,
don’t lose customers and
satisfy needs
As your pipeline gets larger, it gets harder
and harder to manage this bottom line.
That is why I generally recommend a managed pipeline of no larger than 100-150
leads. This ensures that you are able to
contact every consumer in your pipeline
at least once every 48 hours, assuming you
are hitting my recommended call velocity
of 60-80 calls per day. The management of
the pipeline, call backs and annotating
consumer needs all point to the need for
a capable lead management strategy that
keeps all of these best practices consistent,
enforced and managed.
Enjoy increased closings today!
Joshua Conklin is director of business
development at MortgageLeads.org and is
an authority in the lead generation space.
Joshua has more than 14 years of experience at developing strategic marketing
platforms for the nation’s tops lenders and
brokers nationwide. He may be reached by
phone at (800) 848-7086, ext. 201 or email [email protected].
new to market
ny’s National Property Database and
RiskFinder Distress product to score and
rank counties and ZIP codes within counties. Servicers and investors can use the
rankings to identify the specific geographies they want to target and then the
specific ZIP codes in those geographies
that offer potential for the highest return.
Scores and ranks are based on property
valuation appreciation and depreciation;
depth of market supply; depth of market
demand; distressed sales; and distressed
discount trends.
“Identifying the most attractive REO-toRental markets and properties is cumbersome for servicers and investors due to
the sheer amount of data an accurate
analysis requires,” said John Walsh, president of DataQuick. “The REO-to-Rental
Neighborhood Rankings provide more
than 10 years of monthly metrics for ZIP
codes nationwide, ensuring the best REO
investment destinations are evaluated
and targeted.”
REO-to-Rental Neighborhood Rankings
are also delivered with extensive data sets
that allow for custom analysis.
ISGN Partners With
TRUPOINT on CFPB
Mock Audit
Mortgage Keeper to Aid
Homeowners During
Disaster Recovery
MortgageKeeper Referral Services has added
resources to aid homeowners in case of natural disaster. The application already has
information for national service providers
such as the American Red Cross. In the event
of a disaster, MortgageKeeper can quickly
add local non-profit and government
resources that are uniquely qualified and
equipped to help struggling homeowners.
“These days, homeowners turn to their
mortgage servicer to find their bearings
after a disaster,” said Rochelle Nawrocki
Gorey, president of MortgageKeeper
Referral Services. “Our servicer clients are
now equipped to refer homeowners to
resources that can help. This may include
national and regional responders, but also
the makeshift assistance center started in a
local church. Our disaster assistance will be
local and flexible.”
Ernst Increases
Geocoding Functionality
The year 2013 has been good thus far for the USDA single-family program in adding additional scope to the
refinance program, clarification to underwriting criteria and an eligibility deadline extension.
Effective in February, the USDA added 16 new states
to their Rural Refinance Pilot Program. Individuals with existing USDAinsured home loans located in one of these states could refinance
without the need to obtain a credit report or appraisal. The original
states were: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New
Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina
and Tennessee. The additional states added are Alaska, Arkansas,
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, West
Virginia and Wisconsin.
Also, in February the USDA offered clarity with regard to underwriting guidelines as they apply to loans with and without Guaranteed
Underwriting System (GUS) findings. The update published a comparison checklist for documentation required for manually underwritten
loans and loans receiving GUS finding recommendations as "refer"
and "refer with caution.” As part of the update, the USDA has also
addressed the details of reduced documentation for eligible loans
receiving a GUS accept recommendation.
Most recently, it was announced that the USDA would delay the
implementation of the 2010 Census Data that would align area eligibility. This is good news since the data, if acted upon, would have
adjusted area eligibility and disqualified more than 900 currently
approved communities and disqualify nearly 40 percent of the loans
in process at the time. The current eligible areas will remain in effect
through Sept. 20, 2013. This extension was part of the 2013
Appropriations Act of 2013. To remain eligible, it is stated that the
Rural Development (RD) field office would need to receive a “complete
application” by end of business on Sept. 30.
The USDA program continues to be the only source of non-military
100 percent financing in the marketplace. In 2012, before the
Refinance Pilot Program was released in March, 97 percent of Rural
Development production was purchase money, and after its release,
92 percent of total production are purchase transactions. All 50 states
currently have areas of eligibility.
As an originator, one should develop a more purchase-dominated
pipeline where the USDA fits in nicely as a loan option. There is a
learning curve in mastering this product, and having a wholesale lending partner that is exclusively dedicated to processing and underwriting this loan is an advantage.
With more than 25 years in the mortgage industry, Rich Obermeier, National
Accounts Representative for GSF Mortgage Corporation, has worked with some
of the largest mortgage companies in the country developing retail and
wholesale channels. Rich has assisted in developing and implementing
operational protocols for sales managers, originators and loan processors. In
recent years, Rich has developed the USDA Rural Development Product in
multiple states and locations. Rich may be reached by phone at 800-400-USDA
(8732) or e-mail [email protected].
Sponsored Editorial
63
Ernst Publishing
Company has released new functionality for its patented
fee engine technology that allows the firm
to overlay its data on a geocoding application provided by CoreLogic to provide precise local tax jurisdiction information to its
customers. The new functionality is expected to save Ernst’s clients millions of dollars
as new taxing jurisdictions continue to
spring up across the country.
“When neighborhood communities find
themselves low on funds they often levy
new local taxes on real estate to make up
the difference,” said Gregory E. Teal, president and chief executive officer of Ernst
Publishing. “This is their prerogative, the
challenge is knowing where these taxes
apply. Most lenders are unaware of these
confusing sub-jurisdiction until they result
in undisclosed transfer taxes that were not
on the GFE or HUD-1. This happens most
often the most affluent neighborhoods
across the country, these surprise taxes can
cost lenders upwards of $40,000 to $80,000
per loan!”
The new functionality uses mailing
address standardization to geocode the
address and then overlays it with Ernst data
to determine the proper fees and taxes. If
the recording jurisdiction cannot be located, options are provided for near miss
addresses. Each lender can customize the
functionality to pass addresses with a
warning if it is a near miss or pause the
deal until more information is provided by
By Rich Obermeier
ISGN Corporation announced
it has partnered
with TRUPOINT
Partners to offer
a comprehensive Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB) Mock Audit,
ensuring financial institutions and mortgage lenders maintain compliance with
the changing regulatory environment,
CFPB rules and Fair Lending requirements.
ISGN’s Professional Services group, which
assesses compliance and operational risk
and provides process optimization and
cost reduction strategies, has developed a
proprietary risk framework to conduct a
mock CFPB audit for financial institutions
and mortgage lenders. During the audit,
ISGN performs a targeted loan review of
potential problem loans identified
through TRUPOINT Analytics’ Fair Lending
and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA) analysis systems.
According to Lisa Weaver, CMB, senior
vice president of Mortgage Solutions for
ISGN, “This approach provides our clients
the ability to conduct a ‘dry run’ to bring
out any issues prior to the actual regulatory review.”
TRUPOINT Analytics is a Software-as-aService (SaaS)-based comparative analysis
platform for financial institutions.
TRUPOINT’s revolutionary analysis engine
provides the data analytics and lending
report insight financial institutions need to
understand and mitigate Fair Lending and
HMDA risks.
“When left unchecked, Fair Lending and
HDMA risk can stall growth, undermine
acquisition plans, hinder profitability and
damage an organization’s reputation,” said
Trey Sullivan, CEO of TRUPOINT. “The col-
laboration of TRUPOINT’s compliance analytics combined with ISGN’s compliance expertise compounds our ability to offer cost-effective solutions in a difficult area where mistakes can have severe consequences.”
2013 … So Far So Good
for the USDA Single-Family
Loan Program
NAMB Sales
Marketing
Tips
for Today’s
Mortgage
Professional
Sharpening Your Skills: A Daily Practice
64
By Fred Arnold,
CMC
A
t the beginning of
the year, I suggested five disciplines
to incorporate into your daily routine,
to keep your pipeline full. The easiest
of the five, but most overlooked discipline, involves keeping yourself at the
absolute forefront of industry trends,
legislation, compliance and regulation.
Keeping informed of up-to-the minute
market changes and legislation is vital
to being a true expert, which is exactly
what our clients need and deserve. We
owe it to them to not only be able to
answer all of their questions, but also
to educate them about the mortgage
industry in general.
Continuing education courses and
seminars are obviously very important.
Unfortunately, we cannot afford to
spend every morning in a seminar, or all
afternoon participating in a Webinar.
Therefore, we need to be smart in terms
of how we go about this. If we don’t have
a structured practice in place, we run
the risk of becoming distracted all day
long by news and updates. That’s where
the daily discipline of strategically
spending 20 minutes to sharpen our
skills comes into play.
To increase efficiency when it comes
to reviewing the latest updates in the
mortgage field, it’s wise to create a filter system in your e-mail. Set up e-mail
filters to automatically file your daily
updates into a folder for keeping, to
read at your predetermined hour. For
example, I subscribe to a number of enewsletters and updates, including
National Mortgage Professional
Magazine’s Mortgage News
Ticker, Rob Chrisman’s Daily
Mortgage News &
Commentary, Larry Baer’s
Market Alert, The Garrett
and The McAuley Report.
I also receive updates
from NAMB via National
Mortgage Professional
Magazine, and the
California Association of
Mortgage Professionals.
Some of these come
weekly, some come daily
and others come multiple times a day. I don’t
read them the moment
they arrive as this distracts
me from my work with
clients, and my clients must
remain my number one focus. All
updates are immediately streamed
to a specified folder so that I am able to
read them, at the specific time I’ve set
aside each day.
It is a good practice to read updates
in the morning before getting to the
office, or on lunch break. That way you
can be informed of changes before you
begin your work day, and check again
around midday to see if there is any
news you need to be aware of for the
second half of your day. Trying to keep
up with all news updates throughout
the day can lead to procrastination, or
at the very least, reduced efficiency.
In addition to reports from
third-party providers, you also
likely receive reports, updates
or newsletters from referral
partners or colleagues such
as real estate agents,
insurance agents, title
and escrow companies,
and more. Again, filtering these to a specified
folder will help you
remain focused during
the day, as well as
ensure that you do not
overlook them or delete
them without reading. If
you are still looking for
additional sources of
information, sign up for a
search engine service such as
Google alerts, or use Google+
to flag relevant articles, and have
those directed towards your education file as well.
Remember the reason you’re doing
this is to further cement your own
understanding of the mortgage industry. You’re striving to become a true
expert, by building a foundation of
knowledge. To that end, after you’ve
spent your time sharpening your skills,
try to recall one or two key points from
“If we
don’t have
a structured
practice in place,
we run the risk
of becoming
distracted all
day long by
news and
updates.”
what you’ve read to commit to memory. If it helps, you might consider determining who in your database of clients,
strategic partners or networking group
might be most interested in a particular
insight. Then, send a synopsis or quick
e-mail to at least five people who will
find the information useful or insightful.
Committing to spending 20 minutes
each day to further your own education
will do wonders in terms of helping you
become an expert in the field. The
ongoing effort will provide you not only
with information useful for your clients,
but will allow you to also reach out to
strategic partners with information that
may help them, all the while, you will
continue to build your own personal
knowledge base.
Fred Arnold, CMC is past president of the
California Association of Mortgage
Professionals, current Treasurer of
Professionals, and a mortgage professional at American Family Funding, a
division of American Pacific Mortgage.
Fred hosts the radio show SCV Chamber
and Business Spotlight on AM 1220
KHTS, as well as the televised program
“Out of The Rough” on SCVTV.com, channel 20. He may be reached by phone at
(661) 284-1150, ext. 109 or e-mail
[email protected].
new to market
the borrower. The functionality is available to Ernst clients now.
Xerox to Streamline
Servicing With New
BlitzDocs Servicing
Offering
LRES Adds to Its Online
Vendor Portal
Carrington Technology Solutions
LLC and Equator
Business Solutions
have announced the commercial availability
of RentPointe, Carrington’s proprietary software application specifically designed to
meet the complexities of managing diverse
portfolios of single-family rental properties.
Integrated into Equator’s EQ Investor
Platform per an exclusive agreement
between the two companies, RentPointe provides financial institutions, institutional
investors and large-scale property management companies with a scalable, end-to-end,
single-family asset management suite dedicated to efficiently maximizing the performance of multiple-property portfolios.
RentPointe offers a specific advantage to
property management companies tasked
with managing multiple properties and
groups of individual property managers.
Delivering RentPointe as a software as a
service (SaaS) solution through Equator
introduces this and other key advantages to
a broader market and provides users with a
robust, comprehensive system to more
effectively meet their acquisition, property
management and asset disposition needs.
“RentPointe was specifically designed to
meet a growing need within the single-family rental market for more efficient portfolio
management and a solution with the ability
to manage multiple property managers
simultaneously,” said Brent Rasmussen,
executive vice president and CIO for
Carrington Technology Solutions, LLC.
“Having utilized RentPointe as a proprietary
solution for the past seven years to manage
its own portfolio of nearly 15,000 U.S. properties, Carrington knows firsthand the
potential impact this solution can have on
the industry. That is why we are so pleased
to offer RentPointe to the commercial market on Equator’s EQ Investor Platform.”
Your turn
invites you to submit any information
promoting new “niche” loan programs,
new products or any other announcement related to the introduction of a
new program, to the attention of:
New to Market column
Phone #: (516) 409-5555
E-mail: [email protected]
Follow the trends
It’s never a good idea to try and develop your own marketing campaign until you’ve found multiple types of marketing that work for
you. If the big word in the industry is HARP (the Home Affordable
Refinance Program), don’t try to go against the grain and market for
something that isn’t working. The public is well-aware of the changes
in the mortgage industry, and is keeping up on buzz words like “FHA
STREAMLINE” and “HARP.” Find a marketing means that works for you
and your budget and get to work. When you go to trade shows or talk
with colleagues about how great their own campaigns are working, GO
AFTER THE SAME THING! The marketing is working because the market
is accepting it. Find a marketing firm that follows the trends, and then
follow them yourself. The market will always show you how to best
offer your products.
Test, measure, test again
Many people begin a new marketing campaign with a new marketing
firm and think that they should be setting records right away. This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, in most cases, the first campaign is
only the beginning. Campaign number three or four is where their
efforts really begin to pay off.
Tips for 2013
Direct mail responses are up. If you haven’t tried direct mail in a
while, it might be time to give it a try again. VA responses are down so
try to mix your VA campaign with other loan types as well. It’ll keep
your response rates up while keeping an eye the VA market so you’ll
see exactly when responses come back.
Internet leads work if you work them. Don’t expect to make an easy
buck … those days are over. If you must use them, make sure you get
exclusive Internet leads and not ones that have been sold 10 times
already, unless you already know those type of leads work for you.
When it comes to Internet leads, cheaper is not always better.
Live transfers are a thing of the past. With as much as 90 percent of
the population on the Do-Not-Call List, telemarketing just isn’t what it
used to be.
New data files are available specifically for the mortgage industry.
You don’t have to get set up with credit bureaus to get qualified data
anymore. Mail houses won’t have it, but good marketing firms will.
Trigger leads are still being sold by the credit bureaus. Remain aware
of what methods your competitors are using. Whether you are using
them or not, it’s a reality that must be dealt with.
Last, but not least, RIDE THE WAVE! The mortgage industry is back and
it’s time you came back with it. If you are not having the biggest year of
your career, you’ve got to take a look at your own marketing efforts and
how you can make your campaigns perform better.
Medford, Ore.-based TagQuest is a full-service marketing firm created
specifically for the ever-changing business world. TagQuest assists companies with their direct marketing, advertising and branding needs, and
knows what it takes to generate quality customers and, most importantly,
how to retain those customers for years to come. TagQuest brings forth a
unique opportunity to utilize our experience and expertise in varying consumer sales and marketing environments. For more information, call (866)
376-5540 or visit Tagquest.com.
VIEW OUR MOST RECENT WEBINAR ON YOUTUBE
Online readers please click on the link below,
readers of the print edition, please copy the link and paste it into your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coBEsmEV0go
Sponsored Editorial
65
LRES has announced
new features to its vendor portal Web site
designed to enable
licensed appraisers the
ability to manage their residential and commercial property appraisal orders more efficiently. The updated vendor portal Web site
offers smoother workflow and transition to
various site features, more organized work
queue based on priority of orders, dashboard with order counts by status and the
ability to search/sort, order payment history and detail and an interactive mapping
system.
Workflow management features
include the ability to search and view completed orders/work files by dates, addresses, order numbers, payment status, etc.
The vendor portal website also now
emphasizes special instructions/order due
dates and provides unlimited access to
engagement letters.
Carrington and Equator
Announce the Expanded
Availability of RentPointe
Here are some tips to keep your pipeline full
regardless of market conditions
As new federal regulations requiring transparency, accountability and collaboration
continue to be put in place, borrowers will
see increased communication regarding
the servicing of their mortgage, even after
the home is purchased. Xerox is helping
lenders and servicers simplify this process
with the release of BlitzDocs Servicing.
BlitzDocs, which has been used by
lenders for more than a decade to accelerate and improve the loan process for origination and post-closing, provides an electronic loan folder (eFolder) that mimics
traditional paper loan folders. This offering extends BlitzDocs’ intelligent collaboration into the servicing sector of the mortgage business and provides a single point
of reference for all documentation related
to a borrower for the duration of the loan.
“BlitzDocs provides a single point of reference for all documentation relating to a
loan; resulting in better customer service for
our borrowers,” said Matthew Schuster, senior vice president of Servicing Operations at
Fay Servicing. “The ability to index and reconcile documents from our sellers in bulk
also results in faster review times.”
Leveraging the BlitzDocs intelligent network, documents can be sent and received
from trading partners including originators, borrowers, investors, sub-servicers,
business process outsourcing providers
and mortgage insurance companies. Xerox
continues to add points of integration,
including new partnerships with BeesPath,
ComplianceEase and numerous loan origination systems.
“LRES places a premium on the strength
of its vendor network, so we constantly look
for ways to improve their user experience
and work more efficiently,” said Roger
Beane, CEO of LRES. “The new features
added to our vendor portal website create a
more productive environment and userfriendly experience for our valued partners.”
Have You Seen a Dip in Your
Marketing Results?
The Keys to Peer Leadership:
An Unlikely Source
By Kevin E.
O’Connor, CSP
A
66
s a small business CEO
observed a window
washer at the Atlanta
airport one day, she asked what she
thought to be a straightforward question,
“What’s the secret to window washing?”
“No secret, ma’am,” the window
cleaner said as he continued working. “I
just focus on keeping on with my tools
and my experience. I keep on going.”
The master continued working with
repeated, slick motions, his tool
remaining fixed to the glass, and leaving not one smudge. Then, true to his
word, he kept on going.
When the CEO asked what was in the
blue water, the cleaning professional
smiled and said, “I can’t tell you that! If
you knew that, you could do my job!”
Then, before attacking another pane,
he said, “It is very special, though.”
When a professional window cleaner
uses just the right combination of
resources—minimal tools; years of
experience; a flowing, non-stop
motion; and a secret concoction of
suds—his or her work is efficient,
engaging, and looks natural—perhaps
easy—to those who observe.
Unlike the window washer, many
team leaders don’t find their work to be
efficient, easy or appear natural. These
leaders often do not have degrees in
leadership; they are promoted because
they are very good at their jobs. Their
former colleagues and friends now
report to these “peer leaders.”
There is a skill to leading your former
peers without encountering resistance,
resentment and regret. When your toolbox contains a simple collection of
thinking, communicating, and acting
that is coherent, ordered and intentional, your leadership appears as if it is
natural. When you’re charged with leading a team of your peers or former
peers, the right combination of
resources makes all the difference. The
following techniques should be at the
core of every peer leader’s toolbox.
1. Minimal tools
keep you focused.
The most effective leader uses only one
tool: his or her personality. One great
peer leader uses his thirst for understanding and information. When a
member of his team enters his office,
he asks that person to be the teacher
while he plays the role of student.
“Any questions I ask are merely a student asking,” he explains. “Then, I never
use the words ‘I’ or ‘you’…I only use the
words ‘we’ and ‘us.’ I want them walking out of my office feeling better than
when they walked in.”
By using the mindset of education, the
pressure is removed from his “teacher” so
that no question is off limits. This philosophy sets the tone for education and teamwork. If, instead, he were to use his intellectual curiosity to demonstrate that only
he knew the correct answer, he could face
resentment. The best peer leaders learn to
harness their personality to inspire trust
and teamwork.
2. Experience gives
you credibility.
Just as window washers have well-exercised wrists, your team wants to see that
you still need and relate to them. While
your team is working to create the next
product, researching relevant case law, or
driving across town at a moment’s notice
to meet with a customer, they want to
know that you’re there with them.
Sometimes that means that they want
your hands working alongside theirs, and
sometimes it just means that they want
to know that you understand their daily
routines,
frustrations
and
joys.
Regardless of which approach your team
members prefer, they want you to guide
them in the next, and right direction.
Your team will remember that you
were there with them when you encourage. Today’s culture makes it easy for
bosses to find faults, but you will have
much greater influence when you frequently ask this question of your team
members: “You know what I liked
about what you did (or said)?” Be relentless as you look to find the ways that
their input, skills and contributions
have benefited the entire team. This is
always of interest to the receiver; no
one has ever responded, “No, I don’t
want to know what you liked!”
3. A flowing, non-stop
motion is very intentional.
There are few things more beautiful than
a leader who knows how and when to listen and where and when to speak; the
times to agree and those to dissent; when
to stay with the group and those other
times when to go out on a limb. Just as
the window washer intentionally follows
a specific pattern, the successful leader
never allows these moments to be chance
events. Instead, they are always intentional. While employees sometimes want to
be inquisitive, your peers want to be connected with you. With intimacy comes
great trust and loyalty.
A consistent engagement with your
team on a personal level (within the
business environment) turns your role
from that of a boss to one of a fearless
leader, mentor, and teacher. This intimacy comes when you go beyond their
favorite sports team to learn about
their childhood passions, when you
understand their family’s immigration
experience deeply affected their outlook on international business, and
that their self-directed nature comes
from their Eagle Scout training. To the
inexperienced leader, these characteristics are mere factoids. The best peer
leaders know that an understanding of
these experiences and traits lead to
unbreakable loyalty, an impassioned
work-ethic and—most importantly to
the company’s owners—higher profits.
4. Your secret formula
keeps you ever useful.
Famous chefs sometimes share their
secret recipes, for they know what
many of us have learned after carefully
following the same recipe three times:
there are just some techniques that
can’t be explained with words. Food
rarely tastes the same way twice and
rarely as good as it does in your favorite
restaurant!
The window washer humorously
refused to share the ingredients in his
bucket for fear of being replaced. The
best peer leaders are afraid that their talents and “secret concoction” may go
unused, so they focus on how their team
is furthering the company’s mission.
When leading a group of your peers, you
must have a firm hold on the secret formula that lies within you. Ask your team
members what they believe to be your
“secret sauce,” and be ready to listen
without judging their responses. You
may find that your team wants you to
talk more at meetings, even though you
might think you talk too much. Your
team may want you to consult them but
ultimately make a firm decision, while
you may lead by consensus for you fear
making decisions alone. When your
team tells you what they want, find a way
to do what they have asked!
Dolly Parton said, “Figure out who
you are and then do it on purpose.” All
of what you do as a leader must be naturally intentional, obviously purposeful, yet elegantly skillful.
Kevin E. O’Connor, CSP, is a facilitator,
medical educator and author. He focuses
on teaching influence to scientific and technical professionals who are charged with
leading teams of their former peers. His latest book, Fearless Facilitation, is due out
this year. He may be reached by phone at
(847) 208-8840, e-mail [email protected]
or visit www.kevinoc.com.
SUMMERS
l 360 Mortgage Group has announced
that it has hired Ron Summers as its
newest account executive to focus on
expanding relationships with high
quality mortgage brokers throughout
Northern California. 360 Mortgage
has also announced the additions of
Kim Bessette as wholesale account
executive for the central and northeastern Florida region, and Jennifer
Warthen as account executive for the
Sand Diego, Calif. area.
ADGER
l RealtyTrac has announced the hiring of Jake Adger as chief economist.
l Norcom Mortgage has announced
the addition of Lynn LaPierre as a
mortgage consultant.
l United Guaranty has announced
that Matt Muller has joined the company as senior account executive for
the Oklahoma market.
l Real Estate Mortgage Network Inc.
(REMN) has announced the opening
l
l
l
l
l
Your turn
National
Mortgage
Professional
Magazine invites its readers to submit
any information, events, passages, promotions, personal or professional
occurrences that seem appropriate
and/or other pertinent data to the
attention of:
Heard on the Street/Mortgage
Professionals to Watch column
Phone #: (516) 409-5555
E-mail:
[email protected]
67
l U.S. Bank has named Rick
Aneshansel president of U.S. Bank
Home Mortgage, succeeding Dan
Arrigoni who will retire June 30 after
42 years in the mortgage business.
l First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation
(FGMC) has named Jeffrey Gibson to
the position of managing director of
TPO flow.
l Jim Bagnell of SBF Mortgage has
attained his Certified Residential
Mortgage Specialist (CRMS) designation from NAMB—The Association
of Mortgage Professionals.
l Devin Daly has joined Mortgage
Success Source LLC as executive vice
president of sales and service.
l The Mortgage Bankers Association
(MBA) has announced the promotion
of Kenneth A. Markison Esq., formerly associate vice president and
regulatory counsel, to the position of
VP and regulatory counsel.
l Cognitive Options Group has
announced the hiring of Dante
Jackson as the firm’s operations
manager and Michael Richardson as
director of special projects.
l ServiceLink has announced the addition of Mike Zwerner as senior vice
president of corporate development.
l Titan Lenders Corp. has brought on
software development specialist,
Matt Steck, as the company’s new
chief information officer.
l Blueberry Systems LLC has
announced the promotion of indus-
l
try veteran Dominick Marchetti to
chief operations officer.
WFG National Title Insurance
Company has announced the addition of Lee Ann Fenske to serve as
senior vice president, compliance
and national training officer.
Stearns
Lending
Inc.
has
announced the appointment of
Aaron Samples as the company’s
new vice president of strategic development
Radian Guaranty Inc., the mortgage
insurance (MI) subsidiary of Radian
Group Inc., has announced the addition of 30-year mortgage industry
veteran Phillip Bracken to the team
in the newly created role of chief
policy officer–government and
industry relations.
First American Financial Corporation has announced the addition of
Mark C. Oman to its board of directors. Oman retired from Wells Fargo
& Company in 2011, after serving
that firm for more than 30 years.
Loan Resolution Corporation (LRC)
announced that Corey Landon has
been promoted to operations director.
LenderLive Network Inc. has the
additions of Kevin Kelley as senior
vice president of operations for the
Document Services unit, and Leon
Niedzwiecki as director of review
services.
Carrington Property Services LLC and
LendingXpress, an SWBC company,
have announced an exclusive crossmarketing agreement focused on providing credit unions and community
banks with a comprehensive suite of
real estate-owned (REO) asset management services designed to reduce
costs and maximize returns. Through
this
strategic
relationship,
LendingXpress
will
market
Carrington’s integrated, end-to-end
REO asset management solution to its
customer base, offering credit unions
and community banks the proven,
best-in-class capabilities previously
reserved for large-scale financial
institutions.
“This arrangement directly supports
the
value
proposition
LendingXpress was based on–giving
lenders a highly efficient, seamless
method for accessing products and
services designed to increase efficiency, reduce risk and offer a competitive advantage,” said LendingXpress
President Ted Robinson. “We’re
thrilled to work with Carrington
Property Services and to add REO
asset management to our service
offerings tailored to meet the needs
of the financial community.”
Carrington’s integrated solution
begins with an assessment of the
property, which helps the lender
determine whether to rent or sell the
asset, and whether or not repairs are
warranted. From that point, in compliance with applicable federal, state
and local laws, Carrington handles
occupant resolution, property repairs,
and either rental management or the
marketing and disposition of the REO
properties – all through a central
point of contact on a single operating
platform, and executed on a local
level by the company’s national network of real estate and property management professionals. LendingXpress
will integrate this full range of capabilities within its existing offering of thirdparty products and services dedicated
Mortgage Professionals
to Watch
LAPIERRE
Carrington Property
Services Partners With
LendingXpress on REO
Services
to meeting the needs of financial
institutions.
ANESHANSEL
and Joy Soler will also join NewDay
USA. Estes, who served as compliance
and curriculum developer for Abacus,
is a nationally recognized regulatory
compliance expert and author. He
will be a member of the NewDay USA
compliance committee and will serve
as a liaison between compliance and
curriculum development. Soler, who
served as project manager at Abacus,
has broad experience working with
regulators to obtain curriculum
approvals.
FISHMAN
MULLER
heard on the street
of their first Akron, Ohio office, and
Ohio mortgage industry veteran,
Steven Fishman has joined the company in the role of branch manager
of the new office. REMN has also
added several new associates at their
branches nationwide, including:
Tom Bawany in Orlando, Fla.;
Duante Duckett in Columbia, Md.;
Mark Erickson in South Burlington,
Vt.; Michael Gordon in Denver,
Colo.; Shane Hale in Plano, Texas;
Ronald Ireland in Overland Park,
Kan.; Rose Pinto in Daytona Beach,
Fla.
APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY
BONDS & LICENSING
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www.bondedwithnamb.org
(501) 224-8895
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The Bond Exchange is a national surety agency specializing in servicing mortgage license bonds for thousands of mortgage professionals across the country.
Low prices and fantastic service. You really can have them both at
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BRANCH OPPORTUNITIES
Are you a mortgage origination professional?
Are you exceptional?
Is your company?
Gateway Mortgage Group has immediate opportunities in 16
states. Our origination teams enjoy:
• A local branch- and origination-centric model
• The perfect balance of corporate support
• Competitive compensation plans
And best of all, our entire platform is built with one thing in mind—
helping local originators take their success to the next level.
Visit our careers page on LinkedIn. Follow us.
Or call us at 888.360.3773.
And we will show you YOUR Gateway to a Great Way of Life™!
Gateway Mortgage Group, LLC
is an equal opportunity employer. NMLS 7233
HQ: 6910 E. 14th Street, Tulsa, OK 74112
BRANCH MANAGER
StreetLinks Lender Solutions
(800) 778-4920
www.streetlinks.com
[email protected]
68
It’s Time…to join one of the Top Mortgage Bankers as Branch
Managers or Loan Officer NOW! Why? You Have Our Guarantee!
MAY 2013 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n
StreetLinks Lender Solutions provides an innovative and
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lenders, servicers and appraisers nationwide to improve everyday
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StreetLinks industry-leading products include LenderPlus™
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appraisal management software and SCORe™ appraisal
reviews and a series of valuation analysis tools for services.
Our commitment to quality and service, embodied by our
partnership approach to clients and appraisers, continues to
set us apart as the nation’s premier lending solutions partner.
For more information, visit www.streetlinks.com.
Hometown Lenders
(888) 606-8066
[email protected]
www.hometownbranch.com
"WE HELP YOU GROW YOUR BRANCH AND SKYROCKET
YOUR INCOME!"
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World-Class Service. Nationwide Coverage.
Discover Confidence in Your Appraisal Partner!
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United States Appraisals combines nationwide coverage with
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Underwriter-Ready reports – the first time!
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Call us at (866) 562-0123 for a free consultation.
Or visit www.UnitedStatesAppraisals.com to learn more.
We fund your start-up costs
Corporate Recruiting Team that puts producers in your branch
Direct Connection with the branch managers who are crushing it
Proven "Marketing Maps" that will double your business
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Get a BPS payback from our volume incentive, or build a margin
for yourself into your rate!
Full capability to control your loan officers' pricing.
Create, Customize and Optimize your branch's compensation plan.
Full Eagle Lender and In-House Underwriting, Closing and
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Currently looking for high-quality producers in: TX, CO, NC, SC,
NJ, OH, GA, AL, TN, FL, MS, LA, KY
Meadowbrook Financial Mortgage Bankers
1-888-MEADOW8 (632-3698)
www.mortgagesalesjob.com
Our Guarantee
We will not leave you stranded and alone on an island. Our
seasoned operational rollout team will ensure you a smooth transition to our branch platform. Our RHF University will train everyone on your staff. We stand by our reputation of providing ongoing support and communication to every branch , every day.
You’re our #1 Priority! We are a Full-Service Banker, a Direct
Endorsed FHA and Fannie Lender. We are a TRUE 48 hours in
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We will give you full access to all marketing and development
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CALL NOW 866-319-4442 or EMAIL [email protected] or
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Meadowbrook is hiring Branch Managers and Loan Originators.
We are licensed in NY, CT, PA, NJ, MD, FL, MA, NC, pending in
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Meadowbrook is an FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and VA
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Reverse mortgage experts
Corporate branch opportunities
COACHING
COMPLIANCE/CONTINUING EDUCATION
"! ! " ('&%$#"! '%
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! AllRegs—Your Source for Fast, Reliable Answers
2600 Eagan Woods Drive, Suite 220
Eagan, MN 55121
(800) 848-4904
www.allregs.com
AllRegs offers mortgage professionals fast, reliable answers needed to conduct their day-to-day business. From research and reference to business intelligence, from education and training to
professional services, we are your definitive source for mortgage
industry information. With tools for originators like NMLSapproved CE training, regulatory content libraries for compliance
staff, guidelines for underwriters, policy manuals for operations,
and business intelligence for business development – we have you
covered as the leading information provider for the mortgage
industry. If you have a specific need, our professional services
team can help with thing like policy, procedure or guideline development, as well as custom training or publishing resources.
Contact us to learn how we can help you – visit www.allregs.com
today.
DIRECT MAIL
TagQuest
www.myharpleads.com
TagQuest.com
888-717-8980
TagQuest is a full service marketing firm created specifically for
the ever changing mortgage business. We have tested and proven
campaigns for FHA -VA - HARP - CONVENTIONAL loan types.
TagQuest knows what it takes to generate quality leads whether
through direct mail marketing, telemarketing, internet leads, data
lists, tracking systems, or any combination thereof. TagQuest will
brand your company, prepare targeted marketing campaigns that
generate interest in your company, and most importantly, show
you how to turn sales leads into repeat customers.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
COMPLIANCE CONSULTANTS
BROKERS COMPLIANCE GROUP
167 West Hudson Street – Suite 200
Long Beach | NY | 11561
[email protected]
www.BrokersComplianceGroup.com
Leveling the Playing Field for Mortgage Brokers
Low Cost Monthly Membership Includes:
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• Policies and Procedures
• Webinars
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Cost: Only $19.95 per month per physical office location
Jeff Mifsud, a former FHA Direct Endorsed Underwriter trained by
HUD and an FHA Originator for over 15 years, is publisher of The
FHA Originator, a monthly marketing newsletter which gives you…
•
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FHA guideline news to keep you updated
FHA Marketing tips and downloads that are easily customized
Personal development tips to help you develop your character
Full access to all previous FHA marketing downloads!
Cost: Only $19.95 per month per physical office location.
EMPLOYMENT SERVICES
Pioneers in outsourcing solutions for mortgage compliance.
Our Compliance Team Will:
Leverage your existing employees.
Improve your productivity.
Collaborate on projects.
Make the most of your current technology.
Bring innovation to your company.
Be a strong cultural fit.
Free you to focus on your core competencies.
Give you access to world-class expertise.
Lower your total operational costs.
Credit Plus, Inc.
31550 Winterplace Parkway, Salisbury, MD 21804
800-258-3488
www.creditplus.com
Credit Plus, Inc., a leader in credit information services, is dedicated to providing mortgage professionals with an unsurpassed
level of service and technology. We provide lenders and brokers
the best tools and support to close more loans faster and cheaper. Offering the most innovative, reliable and robust credit reporting platforms on the market, Credit Plus goes BEYOND BUNDLEDTM by combining key products, such as credit reports, scoring tools, Undisclosed Debt Monitoring powered by Equifax, flood
reports, title services, AVMs, Warranted AVMs, tax return verifications and more, while providing stellar customer service. 69
n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2013
The first full-service, mortgage risk management firm
in the country, specializing exclusively in mortgage compliance.
Titan List and Mailing Services, Inc. is a direct marketing agency
that offers a complete range of advertising and design services.
The firm specializes in data lists (mail/phone), printing, direct mail,
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campaign themselves including Design, Data Lists, Printing,
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No contracts so sign up today and give yourself the tools to brand
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CREDIT REPORTING
LENDERS COMPLIANCE GROUP
167 West Hudson Street - Suite 200
Long Beach | NY | 11561 | (516) 442-3456
www.LendersComplianceGroup.com
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(800) 544-8060
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Division of Lenders Compliance Group, BCG is the first and only
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the unique compliance needs of residential mortgage brokers.
Mortgage Seminars
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BrochureGuy.com
LOAN ORIGINATION SYSTEMS
American Financial Resources, Inc.
Jim Melchior, National Sales Director
502-882-0529
www.AFRWholesale.com
American Financial Resources’ Wholesale Division is one of the
country’s leading wholesale lenders. Recently ranked #2 in total
sponsored FHA loans closed, AFR officers a wide variety of
products including:
• Conventional
• Freddie Mac Open Access and Fannie Mae DU Refi Plus
• USDA
• Manufactured Housing
• VA
• One-Time Close Construction
• FHA 203k full and streamline rehabilitation loans
Since 1997 we have been expanding to better serve you and
our hard work and investment have resulted in faster turn times,
quality customer service, and one of the most robust product
lines in the industry.
RECRUITMENT
Close Jumbo Loans Others Cannot
70
Service more jumbo borrowers with New Penn’s
Jumbo Advantage portfolio product
877-930-PENN
www.GoNewPenn.com
Calyx Software
800-362-2599
www.calyxsoftware.com
MAY 2013 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n
Jumbo Advantage Highlights:
• Market leading jumbo rates
Calyx Software is the #1 provider of affordable mortgage solutions
for banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers. Beginning
with customizable websites that offer online mortgage applications
with eDisclosures and document request/retrieval, Calyx offers
products that enable smooth bi-directional flow of data from start to
finish. Our solid yet flexible LOS delivers smart technology with
electronic document management, back-end functionality such as
underwriting and secondary marketing, strong security, remote
access, on-the-go productivity available with optional mobile apps,
and a configurable business rules engine needed for workflow and
compliance. Convenient interfaces with over 200 vendors providing
PPE, closing documents, compliance services and more make endto-end processing and reporting simple & accurate. Lenders can
take advantage of our fully integrated automated underwriting and
pricing products that determine loan eligibility and pricing against
investor or FHA guidelines.
MARKETING SERVICES
• Loan amounts up to $2 million
• Cash out up to $400,000
• FICO down to 680
• Expanded loan-to-value (LTV) up to 85% (no MI)
• Expanded debt-to-income ratio (DTI) up to 50%
RETAIL BRANCH
Whether you are an experienced reverse mortgage professional
looking to grow faster or a firm wanting to create a new product
line, allow RMS’s production division RMPath to work with and
alongside you to build a strategic path to success. We have:
• Correspondent, Wholesale Lending And Aggregation Partnering
• We Offer Exceptional Customer Service And Market - Leading
Pricing
• Powerful, Secure, Scalable Loan Origination Systems
• Proprietary State-Of-The-Art Technology Utilizing The RM
COMPASS Technology Platform
• Customizable Production Strategies To Fit Your Needs
• Rapid Execution And Exceptional Customer Service
• Excellent Compliance And Regulatory Controls
8520 Macon Rd. Ste 2
Cordova, TN 38018
[email protected] | 615-477-7118
MCMF developed My Guide, a Premier Credit & Financial
Education Magazine that you can customize with your LOGO
and Ad Pages to feature your organization as well as provide
your borrowers a go-to-guide for credit and financial resources,
empowering them to make the most informed financial
decisions.
This 16 page, full color, quarterly publication, provides financial
literacy tools in a concise, unbiased, easy to understand format.
The Direct Path into the Reverse Mortgage Market.
Ralph E. Rosynek, Jr. / Senior Vice-President
National Production Manager /HECM Direct Endorsement Underwriter
E-Mail: [email protected] / [email protected]
Office: 281.404.7970 / Cell: 708.774.1092 / EFax: 866.543.5420
URL: www.rmsnav.com • www.RMPath.com
Maaverick Funding Corp. is a direct mortgage lender licensed in
30 states across the country. Haavving obttained FHA, VA
A, USDA and
Fannie Mae appro
ovals, Maaverick is growing and seeking top
talent for their expanding nationwide footprint.
My Guide is offered in traditional magazine print, as well as our
newest electronic flipbook version, bringing “flipping through a
magazine” experience right to your desktop
Phone: 855.422.5917
ny NJ
NJ,, 07054
9 Entin Rd., Parsippany
Visit us at www
w.Ma
. averickFundingg.com
Contact me today to learn more about this one of a kind
opportunity!
Maverick Fundingg Corp. NMLS# 7706
WHOLESALE/CORRESPONDENT LENDERS
WHOLESALE LENDERS
WHOLESALE/RESIDENTIAL
CBC National Bank
3010 Royal Boulevard South, Ste. 230
Alpharetta, GA 30022
888-486-4304
Rushmore Home Loans
www.rushmorehl.com
888.202.0878
Rushmore Home Loans is a wholesale lender dedicated to
understanding and answering the needs of our brokers. We
provide competitive mortgage loan products with a focus on
quality, efficiency and flexibility. Our goal is to deliver an
experienced, customer-focused team with access to the most
comprehensive technology platform to deliver the highest
possible service to our brokers.
United Wholesale Mortgage
800-981-8898
www.uwm.com
UWM has a full set of mortgage products to meet all of your
lending needs with Conventional, FHA, USDA (Rural
Development), VA, Jumbo, HARP 2.0 and DU Refi Plus. With
UWM’s ELITE program, you will receive the most aggressive
conventional rates and pricing in the industry for your elite
borrowers! Discover Lending Made Easy with United Wholesale
Mortgage!
CBC National Bank is one of the nation’s fastest growing
wholesale lenders offering Conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA.
The most important aspect of being a leader in today’s market is
the ability to build and maintain a meaningful relationship with
each customer. We understand that these meaningful relationships coupled with competitive pricing and efficient technology
are the pillars of today’s lending environment.
We are hiring Loan officers in the Southeast. GA, FL, AL, TN,
NC,SC.
Contact Gabe Santiago our Corporate Recruiter at
[email protected] for further details.
Big Enough to MATTER…Small Enough to CARE
WHOLESALE LENDERS
71
HomeBridge is a national wholesale lender offering both
conventional and government products. We are committed to
providing the highest value to our clients through competitive
pricing, unique product offerings, superior customer service,
and state-of-the-art technology.
Currently expanding and hiring experienced Wholesale
Account Executives nationwide.
Please send your resume to [email protected].
Building bridges to success, one loan at a time.
REMN has FHA, USDA, 203k, VA and Conventional solutions to fit
the needs of your customers. But, at REMN, our most valuable
product is our people. The REMN Sales and Operations Teams
give you - and your loans - the time and attention that you
deserve. Even better, at REMN, same-day approvals are guaranteed.* You can rely on us to get the little, yet vital, things taken
care of on time.
Interested in joining our Wholesale Division?
Send your resume to
[email protected]
n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n MAY 2013
Real Estate Mortgage Network, Inc.
www.remnwholesale.com
866-933-6342
HomeBridge
5 Park Plaza, 10th Floor
Irvine, CA 92614
www.homebridgewholesale.com
calendar of events
N A T I O N A L
M O R T G A G E
JUNE 2013
Monday-Friday, June 3-7
MISMO Spring Summit Meeting
Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum
by the Galleria
14901 Dallas Parkway
Dallas, Texas
For more information, e-mail
[email protected].
72
Friday, June 7
Mastermind 2013 Maximum
Growth Summit
Presented by Maximum Acceleration
The Palms Hotel
4381 West Flamingo Road
Las Vegas, Nev.
For more information,
call (888) 819-7047 or visit
www.maccelcoach.com.
Sunday-Tuesday, June 9-11
2013 Ultimate Mortgage Expo
Tropicana Resort & Casino
2831 Boardwalk
Atlantic City, N.J.
call (860) 922-3441 or e-mail
[email protected].
JULY 2013
Wednesday, July 17
2013 “Let’s Make A Deal” Tri-State
Wholesale Lending Fair
Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort
1000 Boardwalk Avenue
Atlantic City, N.J.
call (732) 596-1619 or visit
www.mbanj.com.
P R O F E S S I O N A L
Wednesday-Saturday,
July 31-August 3
Florida Association of Mortgage
Professionals (FAMP 2013) Annual
Convention “Here We Grow Again”
Rosen’s Shingle Creek
9939 Universal Boulevard
Orlando, Fla.
For more information, e-mail
[email protected]
or visit www.famb.org.
AUGUST 2013
Thursday-Friday, August 8-9
Louisiana Mortgage Lenders
Association (LMLA) 2013 Annual
Conference
Hilton New Orleans Riverside
2 Poydras Street
New Orleans, La.
call (225) 590-5722 or visit
www.lmla.com.
OCTOBER 2013
Saturday-Monday, October 19-21
NAMB National 2013
Harrah’s Las Vegas
3475 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, Nev.
For more information, call (972)
758-1151 or visit www.namb.org.
Sunday-Wednesday,
October 27-30
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)
100th Annual Convention & Expo
Walter E. Washington
Convention Center
801 Mt. Vernon Place
Washington, D.C.
call (800) 793-6222 or visit
www.mortgagebankers.org.
SEPTEMBER 2013
Sunday-Tuesday,
September 29-October 1
MBA Regulatory Compliance
Conference
Renaissance Washington DC
Downtown Hotel
999 9th Street NW
Washington, D.C.
call (800) 793-6222 or visit
www.mortgagebankers.org.
To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage Professional
Calendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with
contact information, to [email protected].
LOOKING FOR A
COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP?
While some of our competitors were trying to get rid of you,
AFR was figuring out ways to close more of your loans.
Conventional
- Conventional Fixed
- Freddie Mac Open Access
- Fannie Mae DU Refi Plus
(Unlimited LTV/CLTV on HARP loans)
- Manufactured Housing
VA
- Purchases and Refinances
- VA IRRRL Refinances
FHA
- FHA Streamline
- FHA Premium Plus
- FHA $100 Down
- FHA One Time Close
- FHA 203(k) and 203(k) Streamline
AFR DOES NOT CHARGE
ANY LENDER FEES!
To sign up as a TPO or Table Funded Broker,
Correspondent or Correspondent with
Delegated Underwriting Authority, call us at
888-913-3912
or online at
AFRWholesale.com
USDA
- Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan
American Financial Resources’ Wholesale Division ranked #1 in total sponsored FHA loans closed
and #1 in total sponsored 203k loans closed for all Non-Bank Lenders
AFR is a nationwide, direct FHA lender and approved GNMA issuer. Our corporate office is located at 9 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054 • 1-888-664-2101
*AFR Wholesale Division ranked 1st in total sponsored FHA loans closed with a beginning amortization date between March 1, 2011, and February 28, 2013,
for all non-bank lenders; ranked #4 overall as reported by HUD’s Neighborhood Watch (excludes streamlines). Intended for mortgage professionals only.

MAY 2013 - National Mortgage Professional Magazine

Transcription

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