NMP National Mortgage Professional February 2024

FEBRUARY 2024

Vol. 16, Issue 2 $20.00

SAGE TIPS FROM 5 TOP COACHES INFLUENCER'S CROSS-COUNTRY TOUR OF EDUCATION AI: REDEFINING MORTGAGE JOBS

OPTIMISM IN OVERDRIVE Turn Problems Into Paychecks

FIND SUCCESS IN CRITICAL THINKING 2024 DIVERSITY LEADERS

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Blades OF GlORy From Figure Skating Fame To Loan Finesse

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FEBRUARY 2024

Vol. 16, Issue 2 $20.00

SAGE TIPS FROM 5 TOP COACHES INFLUENCER'S CROSS-COUNTRY TOUR OF EDUCATION AI: REDEFINING MORTGAGE JOBS

OPTIMISM IN OVERDRIVE Turn Problems Into Paychecks

FIND SUCCESS IN CRITICAL THINKING 2024 DIVERSITY LEADERS

> Matthew Blackmer, director of partnerships, Sonar

Blades OF GlORy From Figure Skating Fame To Loan Finesse

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FEBRUARY 2024

Volume 16 Issue 2

CONTENTS

nationalmortgageprofessional.com

4 Love Is In The Air

17 People on the Move

Love stories abound professionally and personally in the mortgage industry.

See who the movers and shakers are in the mortgage industry.

6 How To Grasp Market Psychology

8 Don’t Burn Your Bridges

10 AI Job Elimination

Welcome to the wonderful world of artificial intelligence, which allows companies to maintain their bottom lines — or even boost them — with fewer employees.

15 Non-QM Resource Guide AMC Resource Guide

Jordan Nutter’s traveling the country in an RV to bring education to firsttime homebuyers.

18 Build-A-Broker: Right State Of Mind

Markets are all about psychology, and a change in psych can happen at any time for any reason.

When a professional partnership starts to sour, the first thought may be, how do you salvage this?

28 Influencer Crossing The Country To Meet Her People

COVER STORY PAGE 42 FROM TRIPLE AXELS TO MORTGAGE METRICS

Environment — not talent — is the biggest factor for success, for both figure skaters and originators.

It's important to train your new managers focused on staff, not just the nuts and bolts.

35 Originator Tech Resource Guide

22 Your First Million Dollars: See The Opportunities In Difficulties

Wholesale Lender Resource Guide

A negative person sees the difficulty in every opportunity, while a positive person sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

24 Benchmarks and Best Practices: Find Success In Critical Thinking

NMP talked to five top industry coaches about their one piece of advice for LOs going forward in 2024.

52 Non-QM Lender Directory

Critical thinking is a tool everyone needs, regardless of industry or job function.

26 Data Bank

36 Tackle 2024 With This Top 5 Advice

53 Wholesale Lender Directory Originator Tech Directory AMC Directory 54 Facebook Thoughts: It's Time To Freeze Out Alexa

SPECIAL AWA R D S SECTION PAGE 47 2024 DIVERSITY LEADERS

Recognizing the companies leading the way for the mortgage industry to become more inclusive and reflective. nationalmortgageprofessional.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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FEBRUARY 2024

STAFF Vincent M. Valvo CEO, PUBLISHER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Beverly Bolnick ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Volume 16 Issue 2

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

That’s Amoré

N

o matter that the songs sing of the lusty month of May, it's February when love finds itself moonstruck. And as those Spring months are closing in, it's important now to realize why originators are in love with the jobs they do.

Success comes when we are enthralled by our work, uplifted by the service we provide, thrilled by the hunt and chase and, finally, satisfied that we have done our jobs. But as anyone truly in love knows, it's not the fleeting moments of culmination that define the goal, but the thrill of the pursuit, the intricate dance of success.

Loan originators need to love their work. Clearly, it sometimes doesn't love them back — but isn't that true periodically for us all, that the prize that makes it all worthwhile is sometimes difficult? LOs want to woo borrowers, they want to guide and help them achieve their dreams, like a matchmaker. They want to see the joy that comes when someone realizes that the home they've pined for is now theirs for keeps. They want to know that they have built lasting relationships.

For a mortgage originator, then, it is a love of what they do that makes them stay in the game, even when rejection has been their main companion. They must love the excitement of finding their pygmalion, building trust, and guiding these ingenue borrowers to the altar of home ownership.

LENDING FROM THE HEART This issue, it turns out, is just brimming with tales of folks who love what they do.

We've got, for example, five of the top coaches in the mortgage industry chiming in with their advice on how to love your origination strategy — and how to get it to love you back. And we hope you'll enjoy our heartwarming tale of someone in love with figure skating, who's turned that love towards people in his community who need to break the ice on financing their homes.

Love isn't always requited. And love's labors are indeed sometimes lost. But doesn't that make the kiss of success so much sweeter? In February, we remember why we love what we do. And, with any luck, in May is when we put a ring on it.

VIN CEN T M. VALVO Publisher, Editor-in-Chief

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| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

Christine Stuart NEWS DIRECTOR Keith Griffin SENIOR EDITOR Erica Drzewiecki, Katie Jensen, Ryan Kingsley, Sarah Wolak STAFF WRITERS Dave Hershman, Erica LaCentra, Harvey Mackay, Lew Sichelman, Mary Kay Scully CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Regina Morgan ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE Nicole Coughlin ADVERTISING ASSOCIATE Alison Valvo DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC GROWTH Julie Carmichael PROJECT MANAGER Meghan Hogan DESIGN MANAGER Stacy Murray, Christopher Wallace GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGERS Navindra Persaud DIRECTOR OF EVENTS William Valvo UX DESIGN DIRECTOR Andrew Berman HEAD OF CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT Krystina Coffey, Matthew Mullins, Alan Nero MULTIMEDIA SPECIALIST Melissa Pianin MARKETING & EVENTS ASSOCIATE Kristie Woods-Lindig ONLINE ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST Joel Berman FOUNDING PUBLISHER

Submit your news to editors@ambizmedia.com If you would like additional copies of National Mortgage Professional Call (860) 719-1991 or email subscriptions@ambizmedia.com

www.ambizmedia.com

© 2024 American Business Media LLC. All rights reserved. National Mortgage Professional magazine is a trademark of American Business Media LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Advertising, editorial and production inquiries should be directed to: American Business Media LLC 88 Hopmeadow St. Simsbury, CT 06089 Phone: (860) 719-1991 info@ambizmedia.com

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DAVE HERSHMAN

RECRUITING, TRAINING, AND MENTORING CORNER

The Unexpected Pitfalls Of Getting Exactly What You Want Market psychology: the only mystery more elusive than Bigfoot

A

BY DAVE HERSHMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

s a follow-up to my overcapacity discussion last month, I don’t know how many times I have heard the phrase “higher for longer” from market analysts in the past six months, but I can tell you that the number has exceeded single digits by plenty. Everyone is accepting the fact that it is going to be a long, cold winter in the mortgage and real estate business. Or is it? The Fed held rates steady at the start of November despite a steady stream of strong economic news, and a few days later, we had a “weaker” jobs report.

Interest rates reacted like the sun was shining, moving down approximately one-half of 1% in a matter of a few days. Was this: • An overreaction to the Fed decision and the jobs report?

• A technical bounce-back since rates had moved up so quickly the previous weeks?

• The start of a turn for the better?

If I knew the answer to these questions, it would be easier to plan for 2024. In essence, all of these scenarios are plausible — at the same time. It was likely a technical bounce that stemmed from an overreaction, which still could be signaling a change in direction. Confused? I did not say that predicting the future was all that easy.

The point is that markets are all about psychology, and a change in psych can happen at any time for any reason. In reality, one moderate (it was not weak) jobs report does not make a trend. If we see two or three of these, that means the economy is finally slowing down. So, I would advise waiting a few more months before forming a conclusion. Certainly, Fed Chairman Powell was not giving up any ground in his fight against inflation as indicated by his speeches on the topic.

But even if the jobs market picks up again, that does not mean the psych has not changed.

Certainly, there has been a sour mood hovering around the bond markets for months and it has gotten worse, not better over time.

We need that sour mood to change for interest rates to come down. And as we have seen by the early November

rally, the Fed does not have to lower rates for mortgage rates to come down. All they need to do is not sound so pessimistic.

On the other hand, be careful regarding what you wish for. If rates do bounce back down fairly quickly — let’s say in the high 5s or low 6s — there is a lot of latent homebuyer demand out there. If buyers pounce quickly and there is no pickup in inventory, housing prices could start rising quickly again. What does that cause? Inflation! Housing inflation is a big part of the inflation picture — much more important than energy prices. Think about it — how much of your budget goes toward rent/mortgage payments and how much to gas and electricity? If this spike were to happen, that could

Perhaps a slow and steady rate decline would be better. cause the Fed to sound pessimistic again and even raise short-term rates higher. Catch-22. Perhaps a slow and steady rate decline would be better.

Back to planning. Predicting for the future is tough.

Together with my last month’s article on overcapacity, we can see how this uncertain future can make an owner or manager of a mortgage company skittish when rolling out their business plan for 2024. I have always favored three plans instead of one: • The worst-case scenario • The medium-case scenario • The best-case scenario This provides a range of possibilities. In other words, you need to be ready for anything that can happen in 2024. And based on my 40 years of experience, anything can happen! n Dave Hershman is the top author in this industry with six books published as well as the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and the OriginationPro’s on-line comprehensive mortgage school. Dave is also Senior VP of Sales for Weichert Financial Services. His site is www.

OriginationPro.com and he can be reached at dave@ hershmangroup.com.

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NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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ERICA LACENTRA

THE XX FACTOR

Good Riddance Or Heartache? Unpacking The Bittersweet Farewell Deciding when to stay and when to go

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BY ERICA LACENTRA, CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

ith Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, the month of February often conjures images of love, happy couples, and flourishing partnerships. But not every relationship is sunshine and roses, and sometimes a breakup is inevitable.

The same rings true in professional relationships

8 | NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

and business partnerships. When a professional partnership starts to sour, the first thought may be, how do I salvage this? However, sometimes a strategic relationship may have simply run its course and it’s in everyone’s best interest to part ways. So, when does it make sense to try to mend a struggling partnership, and when is it best to cut your losses and move on?

SHOULD I STAY?

When you have put in time and effort to develop a professional strategic partnership with another company, it can be very frustrating when it’s not working out as planned. Your first instinct will likely be to think of ways to try to fix it, and often, even a failing strategic partnership can be saved.

However, in order to avoid expending a ton of effort into something that may eventually not pan out, there are key steps you should

need to scale back what they can provide because they don’t have the necessary resources? Do you need to adjust the timelines that were first laid out because

You never want to burn bridges as you never know what could happen in the future. they were unrealistic? Maybe the initial objectives that were laid out just no longer fit either of your business needs and need to be re-evaluated. Whatever the case may be, this discussion can be extremely helpful to determine where the breakdown is and if it can be resolved.

A good strategic partnership can often be salvaged as long as each side is open to working together to make shared business objectives happen. take to try to get a partnership up to snuff before calling it quits.

First, review your partnership agreement with your strategic relationship. If you don’t have a partnership agreement, it’s time for you to meet with your strategic partner and hash one out. Not having a clear agreement in place with deliverables that identify who is doing what is often why a partnership isn’t working. Without delegating responsibilities and having clear deliverables and objectives for each partner, there is nothing to determine the success of the partnership, and you will have no ability to hold your partner accountable when work isn’t being done.

If you do have a partnership agreement in place, take some time with your strategic partner to revisit the deliverables that have been outlined and discuss why expectations aren’t being met. Do they

out, or you feel like you’re putting in all of the work without the other side reciprocating. If you feel like you have exhausted all of your options, it’s likely

From there, you can set new objectives and deliverables or adjust the ones you already have. Set new timelines to be able to accomplish those new objectives and also set planned check-ins along the way to ensure things are staying on track or if they aren’t, the lines of communication can at least be open to make sure both sides are apprised of what’s going on. A good strategic partnership can often be salvaged as long as each side is open to working together to make shared business objectives happen.

OR SHOULD I GO?

If you have taken all the steps to try to get a strategic partnership back on track and things still aren’t clicking, it may be best to professionally part ways. It can be extremely frustrating putting effort into a strategic relationship that isn’t panning

better to cut your losses and call it quits.

When ending a strategic partnership, make sure you are handling it professionally. While it may not be working out now, you never want to burn bridges, as you never know what could happen in the future. Another thing to keep in mind is you want to make sure you aren’t violating the terms of any agreement you may have entered into with the other company. Review your partnership agreement, specifically clauses regarding termination, so that you can take care of things properly, provide the proper amount of notice, and make sure you aren’t in violation of your contract.

End things cordially where you can always leave the door open should there be opportunities for your companies to work together in the future. Just because it didn’t work out this time doesn’t mean that will always be the case.

GETTING BACK OUT THERE

Forging strategic partnerships can provide numerous benefits for your company. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that not all partnerships will pan out and provide the results you had hoped for. Even in those cases, partnerships that fizzle out can be a great learning experience and help you avoid making similar mistakes with future partners and also help you determine what will provide a better partnership in the future. Don’t let one failed partnership deter you from moving forward. You will ultimately find the right strategic partners to form mutually beneficial long-term relationships. n Erica LaCentra is chief marketing officer for RCN Capital.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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LEW SICHELMAN

THE MORTGAGE SCENE

AI’s Threat To Mortgage Jobs: Automation’s Impact On Your Future

Generative AI holds the promise of flattening the hiring-firing-hiring cycle

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BY LEW SICHELMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

ent to the grocery store the other day, where all the check-out lanes were manned (or womened) by real live human cashiers. Went back maybe a week later to find just one person checking people out. In what seemed like an instant, the other lanes had been converted to lines where customers had to check out themselves.

And it’s happening not just in the grocery business, it’s happening it seems in practically every line of business. Retail establishments are cutting back, and so are restaurants, some of which make you order electronically at your table and then pay the server right there, too, with her (or his) handheld gizmo that wants you to add a tip right in front of her (and almost forces you to leave more) and then spits out your receipt.

Welcome to the wonderful world of artificial intelligence, which allows companies to maintain their bottom lines — or even boost them — with fewer

employees. Remember when ATMs became all the rage?

The idea was to replace expensive humans with their paid holidays, vacations, and health care coverage with less expensive machines, electronic marvels that only asked for electricity to survive and could not join unions. Now, those same ATMs are profit centers for many institutions.

And remember when automated underwriting was touted as a less expensive way to make sure a mortgage application dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s? The premise was much the same as it is now: If it cost less to manufacture a loan, the savings would be passed on to borrowers in the form of lower interest rates. But no consumer has ever seen a rate even a single basis point lower because AI underwrote his loan.

WHAT’S AHEAD?

All that begs the question, what lies ahead for the mortgage business? Will, for example, the processor position eventually merge with loan officer duties? Who else’s job in the mortgage production food chain can be incorporated into

No consumer has ever seen a rate even a single basis point lower because AI underwrote his loan.

10 | NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

that of another’s? Or extinguished completely and forever?

There’s already enough software floating around out there so that some jobs can be eliminated altogether. The originator, if he is so inclined, can pre-approve the borrower at the point of sale, obtain the verifications of employment and incomes at the push of a button, and request an appraisal or an automated valuation simply by lifting that finger again. Ditto for ordering proof of the borrower’s homeowners and flood insurance and contacting the title agency. All by using automation, the entire package can be deposited on the underwriter’s desk or, more accurately, on his computer screen.

More specifically — but not to single out any one program as better or worse than any others that do the same — lenders can pre-approve a borrower using Blue Sage’s digital platform, snag the VOE and VOI with TRUV, order and receive the appraisal through Opeteon, a consumer-direct portal, and nail an electronic closing, perhaps even remotely, with Snapdocs. Then, the last human standing, the underwriter, could turn to LoanLogics for quality assurance before sending it to the closer and the settlement table.

You could perform all these services on an a la carte basis, or you could use a platform like Blue Sage’s to send an order through in its entirety, from start to closing. Either way, you name the task, and there’s an AI application for it. If there’s not, there likely soon will be.

There are so many automated solutions out there that they’re a dime a dozen. Well, not exactly a dime, but you get the point. Plunk has an AI-powered analytics platform for real estate investors. Bonzo offers a relationship management program that reduces the time loan agents spend communicating with prospects. Valigent has a data collection suite that supports both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s requirements.

ReadyPrice has a shop, lock, and deliver loan exchange platform. There’s even technology from Talk’uments that provides compliant transactional clarity on mortgage disclosure documents in four different languages — Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog — for borrowers with limited proficiency in English.

The list goes on and on and on. Which ones will survive is anyone’s guess. But they and many others are out there, and they have to be at least considered. That what’s members of the National Association of Realtors did at their annual confab in California in November, where realty agents and brokers discussed what lies ahead for their portion of the production line. Mortgage needs to do the same.

NO ONE JOB IN DANGER

Let’s start by thinking about who’s job is destined for the cutting room floor. I put this question and others to a handful of professionals at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in Philadelphia this fall, and almost to a person, they agreed: No one’s job is in any sort of danger. Eventually, perhaps, some positions could become extinct. But for now and the immediate future, AI won’t eliminate anyone. Rather, it will allow the same number of people to be more efficient and to do more with less.

Mortgage coach Ron Vaimberg sees AI as a ‘moving target.”

So many new programs are coming out every month that it’s difficult to comprehend.” But, the Jefferson Valley, N.Y., consultant added, it’s “not going to end the business as we know it. Rather, it creates an opportunity to get things done faster and better.”

“AI (won’t) replace humans has much as improving their ability to do their jobs,” Michael Sachdev, CEO of Snapdocs, told me. “Everyone’s job will still exist, but they’ll be able to do more much faster.” At the same time, he added, it will “go a long way” toward eliminating the hiring and firing boom-andbust cycle that plagues the mortgage business.

Sachdev noted that so many people have left the field so far in the current down cycle that many jobs have already changed. And when the market picks up again, as it always does,

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

> Michael Sachdev, CEO of Snapdocs

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THE MORTGAGE SCENE

companies will have to rehire former workers if they are still available and train new ones to replace those who have gone on to other lines of work.

PREDICTIVE VS. GENERATIVE

> Casey Cunningham, founder and CEO, Xinnix

The San Francisco-based executive pointed out that the difference between predictive and generative AI holds the promise. The former is a type of machine learning that uses advanced algorithms to analyze large datasets to identify hidden patterns and relationships between variables. With the latter, algorithms automatically produce content in the form of text, images, audio and video. These systems have been trained on massive amounts of data, and work by predicting the next word or pixel to produce a creation.

It’s generative AI that holds the > Carmine Cacciavillani, Blue Sage promise of flattening out the hiringfiring-hiring cycle because it allows humans to do more with less, Sachdev said. In other words, with AI, you won’t need as many people when the market is running on all cylinders, so you won’t need to let as many people — maybe not anyone — go when the market sags.

“All things being equal,” Sachdev said, “we’re going to need fewer people; that’s just a reality. But right now, it’s incredibly difficult to run a business through hiring-and-firing cycles, one after another. AI will make the business much more sustainable, provide a great borrower experience, and lower costs.”

Sameer Ahluwalia, the new CEO of Firstsource LTD, the parent of Sourcepoint Mortgage in Palm Bay, Fla., agreed with the thinking that lenders should not be thinking about hiring more people to handle what’s in their pipelines but “how do I build my pipeline with fewer people?”

“It costs a lot of money to hire and train people every time the market picks up steam after a downturn,” Kirill Klokov of Truv also pointed out. “And lenders do that after every down cycle.”

Not everyone is on board with this kind of thinking, though. Casey Cunningham, founder and CEO of Xinnix, a sales, operations, and leadership performance company, sees a “complete shift” on the horizon. Loan officers who embrace AI will likely need fewer assistants, she said. And those same loan officers will become less like salespeople and more like advisors who helped build the company brand.

There are so many automated solutions out there that they’re a dime a dozen.

Well, not exactly a dime, but you get the point.

OBSOLETE UNDERWRITERS

The processor’s role will change, too, and “radically so,” the Atlanta-based Cunningham predicted. “The position will be much more customer service oriented than it has been. Processors won’t

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| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

> Kirill Klokov, Truv

just be pushing papers and hunting down documents. There will be much more direct focus on clients services.”

And let’s not forget underwriters, who hold perhaps the most critical role in the lending assembly line. “AI is going eliminate them,” the consultant ventures.

In the underwriting role, she said, “AI will have so much functionality that it possibly could approve a loan instantaneously without even having a screening process.”

Klokov of Truv also thinks loan processors could one day become unnecessary. Technology, he said, “can eliminate all manual processing so your staff can be more sales focused.”

Of course, one of the problems with AI is not AI itself but the adoption of the same. And on that score, Firstsource’s Ahluwalia said the mortgage sector is woefully lagging. “Extremely slow to adapt,” agreed Vaimberg, the New orkbased sales trainer. In many cases, older originators are not even willing to give technology a try.

“The mortgage business is 10-20 years behind the banking industry,” said Ahluwalia. “Not just in technology but practically everything. The power of AI has increased immeasurably, but adoption is still slow.”

Eventually, though, the mortgage workforce will “age out,” said Vaimberg.

The old guard will die off, replaced by younger folk who have grown up with technology and are “more inclined to accept AI and what it can do to

> Ron Vaimberg, Mortgage coach

“The mortgage business is 10-20 years behind the banking industry. Not just in technology but practically everything. The power of AI has increased immeasurably, but adoption is still slow.” > Sameer Ahluwalia, CEO, Firstsource LTD

measure your outcomes. Nobody has a silver bullet, but you have to move ahead. Work with people you trust. But keep them honest. If what they commit to doesn’t work, don’t pay them.”

And here, Carmine Cacciavillani of Blue Sage in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., gets the last words. “Don’t try to build your own programs. Rather, make use of what’s already available. Use someone else’s (system) and incorporate it into your own systems,” he said. “You’ll be able to double your productivity.”

But don’t wait until the market gets back on its feet, Cacciavillani also advised. “Now is the time to invest, not when so many leads are coming through the door that you don’t have time to even think about technology.”

Finally, let’s roll back to my local grocery store, where I suggested that the company’s motive was profit, pure and simple. But to the contrary, the clerk at the register told me, electronic checkout stations allowed her to do more of the other chores required of her. “There’s so much work to be done that we need more employees,” she assured me, “not less.” n

make their jobs easier and be more productive,” he added. “The question is, how long will it take?”

Moving forward, Ahluwalia offered this advice: Lenders “need not be first with everything. But you have to be a fast follower. Have some patience and

Lew Sichelman is a contributing writer to National Mortgage Professional magazine. He has been covering the housing and mortgage sectors for 52 years. His syndicated column appears in major newspapers throughout the country.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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Focused on speed to closing (in days, not weeks), smooth processes, and user-friendly access to our underwriting and support teams, we offer modern, flexible, and responsible non-traditional lending solutions. champstpo.com (949) 763-9494 Wholesale@ChampsTPO.com

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DSCR, Bank Statement, 1099, Asset Depletion, Buydowns, Full Doc Non-QM No one knows Non-QM like us. Newfi Wholesale is an exception-based Non-QM lender dedicated to helping brokers find success. We offer a full Non-QM product suite including: Full-Doc, Bank Statement, 1099, Asset Depletion, Interest Only, Non-QM ITIN, Non-QM Buydown, DSCR 1-4 & 5-8 Units, DSCR Condotels, Graduated Payment Mortgages, and more. At Newfi about 1/3 of our funded deals have exceptions that we make in-house! newfiwholesale.com (888) 415-1620 support@newfi.com LICENSED IN: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

LICENSED IN: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IA, MD, MI, NJ, NC, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA

Find the full list of Non-QM Lenders on page 52

A M C RE SOU RC E GU IDE

PCV Murcor Pomona, CA

pcvmurcor.com sales@pcvmurcor.com (855) 819-2828

AREA OF FOCUS: Nationwide Real Estate Valuations Management — Appraisal Management Company DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES: Licensed in all 50 states, plus D.C., PCV Murcor provides nationwide appraisal management and valuation advisory for residential and commercial

real estate. An industry leader with over 40 years of experience managing valuation needs for mortgage lending, financial institutions, estate and litigation, real estate investors, and mortgage servicers.

Find the full AMC list on page 53 NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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Learn more about Fairway at www.fairwayindependentmc.com!

Copyright©2023 Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation. NMLS#2289. 4750 S. Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718, 1-866-912-4800. Restrictions and limitations may apply. All rights reserved. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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HOW NMP’S MONTHLY SECTION OF HANDS-ON PRACTICAL ADVICE

BUILD A BROKER Make Sure New Managers Can Manage

YOUR FIRST MILLION DOLLARS Make Lemonade From Lemons

BENCHMARKS & BEST PRACTICES Use Your Critical Superpower

CAREER TICKER People On The Move

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE // > President of

Marketplace Eric Wu has resigned from residential real estate ecommerce platform Opendoor Technologies Inc.

> Vision VMC,

an innovator in real estate valuation analytics and services, announced the appointment of Nick Roberson as the new managing director, national business development.

> Guild

Mortgage announced the appointment of Adam O’Daniel as senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

> First

Community Mortgage (FCM) has named Jeff Pancer to the new position of executive vice president, capital markets.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

17

BUILD-A-BROKER: HANDS ON PRACTICAL ADVICE BUILD-A-BROKER

How To Train New Managers So They Don't Lose Their Minds ure gers s ke na Ma ma the newus on nd foc ple a o pe just ss e t no proc the

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE // > Cenlar FSB, a national

mortgage loan subservicer, announced that Kelly O’Donnell has joined Cenlar, and Darrin Borell has been promoted. The trio will be directors of enterprise portfolio management and be responsible for driving and implementing strategic programs across the enterprise.

18

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

> The Conference of State

Bank Supervisors appointed Brandon Milhorn to succeed current President and CEO James Cooper, who has served in the role since May 2022 and leaves CSBS for a long-planned retirement.

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N

BY RIEVA LESONSKY, SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

ow that you’ve promoted a new manager, you can relax knowing they will take charge of the department and let you get back to big-picture strategizing for your mortgage business, right? Not necessarily. New managers, even if they excelled at their previous jobs, need guidance and training.

Once the congratulations are finished, the real work for managers Rieva Lesonsky begins. Without proper training, those managers are being set up for failure. So it’s not surprising that a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) survey found that 84% of U.S. workers say poorly-trained managers create unnecessary work and stress.

START WITH THE BASICS

If you want your new manager to succeed, they can’t operate in the dark.

They must be prepared when employees ask questions or seek general guidance about company policies and procedures.

Support your new manager by making sure they are well-informed regarding the following: • HR policies: Ensure new managers are familiar with the workplace policies they need to enforce.

Provide an employee handbook and

> Cornerstone

Home Lending, a division of Cornerstone Capital Bank, announced that Neil Merritt has been hired as its new senior vice president of product strategy & development.

If you want your new manager to succeed, they can’t operate in the dark. They must be prepared when employees ask questions or seek general guidance. other reference materials to help answer employees’ questions.

• Management systems: Teach the new manager your company’s procedures for handling performance reviews, disciplinary issues, onboarding new employees, etc.

• Technical systems: While most new managers are not co-trained as IT experts, they should have at least a cursory understanding of your tech systems, how they work, and whom to call in case something goes wrong.

• The “Big Picture”: Managers must understand how their department fits into the overall functions of the company, each department’s functions and goals, and the company’s overall objectives. Share

> The

Mortgage Bankers Association appointed Rachel Kelley as its vice president of legislative affairs.

information that helps the new manager grasp the big picture.

And while all employees should know your company’s mission, it is especially important for new managers to know it, be able to explain it and live it.

• Problem-solving: What’s the chain of command at your business? How much latitude are you giving the manager to solve problems? Will there be an interim period where they need to run issues by you until you know they’re equipped to handle them independently? It’s critical that you and your managers communicate often and honestly.

• Quality control: A manager should be well-informed of quality control processes and make sure the staff follows established guidelines.

• Time management: Because there are frequent interruptions, questions that need addressing and meetings to attend, time management challenges are different for managers than non-managers. Suggest ways the new manager can manage time effectively in the new role and ensure they have the right tools and training.

THE PEOPLE FACTOR

Nearly six in 10 U.S. workers (57%) believe the managers in their workplace could benefit from training on how to be better people managers, according to SHRM’s report The High Cost of a Toxic Workplace Culture. SHRM’s president and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., believes “There is no relationship in the

> Cenlar FSB appointed Jay Hackney as vice president of transfer operations and promoted Allyson Kiesel to vice president of issues and enterprise change management.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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BUILD-A-BROKER: HANDS ON PRACTICAL ADVICE BUILD-A-BROKER

workplace more powerful than the one between managers and employees.”

Most managers’ primary responsibility should be managing people, not processes.

Indeed, their ability to motivate and inspire a team is crucial to the company’s success. But unfortunately, not all new managers have the people skills you might think they do and that you need to run your business smoothly.

What you consider outspoken honesty, some employees may interpret as abrasive and condescending. Or, although you know your manager is a planner and needs time to process new information, employees might think the manager isn’t listening or taking them seriously.

Here are some tips for training your new manager on how to deal with people: • Communication skills: Good communication is essential up and down the management chain.

Emphasize the importance of listening to employees, considering their ideas and suggestions, and providing feedback regularly.

Communicate your expectations to the new manager to model how they should communicate with their staff.

• Personality and work styles: Managers must motivate different types of people. Discuss what you know about each employee with the manager, their strengths and weaknesses, what motivates them, and what their skill sets and goals are.

Understanding what makes each individual tick helps the new manager delegate more effectively.

• Conflict resolution: Most people don’t enjoy conflict, so resolving it is a common challenge for new managers. Suggest conflict resolution

Emphasize the importance of listening to employees, considering their ideas and suggestions, and providing feedback regularly. strategies that have worked for you in various situations. Let new managers know they can always come to you for help if needed.

• Empathy: Empathetic leaders know that the more employees feel their managers care and understand them, the more engaged the employee becomes. Empathy builds trust between managers and workers, improving attitudes and productivity.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

You may have delegated some of your responsibilities to your new manager, but that doesn’t mean you can be hands-off. Just as your new manager’s responsibility is to guide their team, yours is to train and guide your new managers to carry out your vision.

The following practices will help you groom your managers for success: • Mentoring: All new managers will

benefit from mentoring, so let them know your door is always open for questions and feedback. If there are more senior managers in place at your company, it’s a good idea to have them mentor the new ones.

• Monitoring: Don’t expect a new manager to become a seasoned pro overnight. Meet with them regularly to monitor the progress made toward company goals and the individual goals you’ve set for them. You need to offer them honest feedback and encourage them to be truthful with you.

• Training courses: There are numerous offline and online training courses new managers can take to learn organizational and people skills. They may have their own suggestions. You should check with other business owners or contact your industry association to see what they provide. Udemy and SkillPath offer numerous online manager training courses. The American Management Association provides online and in-person training. Check for classes at your local college and SCORE Workshops in your area.

Learning to be a good manager takes time. But experience is often the best teacher, so give your new managers the latitude and time to learn. And make sure your staff knows you support the manager on their new journey.

Rieva Lesonsky is president and CEO of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBusinessCurrents.com. This article originally appeared on Score.org.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE // > MFA

Financial Inc. announced that it has appointed Bryan Doran to the position of chief accounting officer.

20

> Blue Sage

Solutions announced Dee Khullar has joined the company as head of marketing.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

> Floify

announced that Courtney Dodd has joined its team as head of marketing.

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Submit the information to Keith Griffin at

kgriffin@ambizmedia.com

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BUILD-A-BROKER: HANDS ON PRACTICAL ADVICE

YOUR FIRST MILLION DOLLARS

Thinking Negative Has No Positive A positive person sees the opportunity in every difficulty

A

BY HARVEY MACKAY, CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

farmer’s plow broke, and he thought he would ask his neighbor Murphy if he could borrow his plow. As he was walking to the Murphy farm, he thought to himself, “I hope Murphy has finished all his own plowing. He’s kind of lazy, and he might not have done it yet.”

After a few more minutes, he thought, “What if Murphy’s plow is old? He won’t want to lend it to me then.” Then he thought, “Murphy was never a very helpful fellow. He might not lend

me his plow, even if it’s in perfect condition, and he finished his own plowing weeks ago.”

As he arrived at Murphy’s farm, he thought, “Murphy can be a mean old fellow. I bet he won’t lend me his plow just to watch me go to ruin.”

Finally, the farmer knocked on Murphy’s front door.

“Good morning!” Murphy said. “What can I do for you?”

The farmer blurted out, “You can keep your bloody plow!”

Thinking negative has no positive. Negativity makes a person look at the land of milk and honey and see only calories and cholesterol.

22 | NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

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in every difficulty. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health, and success.

Herbert H. Clark, a psychologist from Johns Hopkins University, discovered that it takes the average person about 48% longer to understand a sentence using a negative than it does to understand a positive or affirmative sentence.

Norman Vincent Peale wrote a book a few decades ago, which I reread and study every now and then, titled “The Power of Positive Thinking.” I recommend this little gem to everyone.

THOUGHTS BECOME ACTIONS

One of my favorite aphorisms goes like this: Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

This gives you a choice, a positive or negative path. Clearly, the positive path will lead to a more rewarding, more

“There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept from fear and apprehension.

“One of these days is Yesterday with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone.

“The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.

Tomorrow’s sun will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

“This leaves only one day — Today.

Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities — Yesterday and Tomorrow — that we break down.

“It is not the experience of Today that drives men mad. It is remorse or

Negativity makes a person look at the land of milk and honey and see only calories and cholesterol.

I constantly preach: “Never say no for the other person.” People go around all their lives and say — I can’t sell him or her. He or she won’t mentor me. Or, in this case, Murphy won’t lend me his plow.

Maya Angelou, one of my favorite poets and authors, said: “I am convinced that the negative has power, and if you allow it to perch in your house, in your mind, in your life, it can take you over.”

That is why I don’t hang around with negative people. A negative person brings you down. A negative person sees the difficulty in every opportunity, while a positive person sees the opportunity

contented life.

If you think positively, you will be more inclined to speak positively.

Positive words will spur positive actions.

If you behave in a positive way, you will form good habits. That will lead you to your destiny: what you will eventually become as a person.

Years ago, I came across an essay that really solidified my commitment to positive thinking. It has been credited to several people, most often Robert J. Burdette or the ubiquitous “unknown.”

Regardless of whoever authored it, here is the message for you to contemplate:

bitterness for something that happened Yesterday and the dread of what will happen Tomorrow.”

That’s a difficult formula to improve upon, and perhaps even more challenging to practice. But I promise you, I’m positive you will be better off for trying!

Mackay’s Moral: Whatever the mind expects, it finds. n Harvey Mackay is a seven-time New York Times best-selling author with 15 books.

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MARY KAY SCULLY

BUILD-A-BROKER: HANDS ON PRACTICAL ADVICE BENCHMARKS & BEST PRACTICES

Unlocking Success: Why Critical Thinking Reigns As The Ultimate Superpower

Collecting information, asking thoughtful questions, and analyzing possible solutions are key

C

BY MARY KAY SCULLY, CONTRIBUTOR, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

ritical thinking is a tool everyone needs, regardless of their industry or job function. Defined as the act of analyzing facts and understanding the need, topic, or problem thoroughly in order to arrive at an informed solution, critical thinking is crucial.

It’s more than a business skill, it’s also a life skill, but let’s stay focused on business.

Speaking of loan officers, many have been getting out of the business, as many report facing financial hardship and lacking business, per a study by payroll tech company Everee. According to the MBA, 12% of loan officers left the business in 2022, and 31% were planning to leave in 2023. This mass exodus leaves a gap

24 | NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

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we explored the importance of a SWOT analysis. Once the SWOT is done, loan officers will have a better picture of what they do best and where they need to focus their time to grow.

Critical thinking requires steps like collecting information, asking thoughtful questions, and analyzing possible solutions — and these steps can be used for any problem-solving scenario.

ASK QUESTIONS

The first step of critical thinking involves asking questions. No matter what problem you are solving, you need to understand it. Before you do anything else, gather as much data as you can. You need to have all the facts behind you in order to make an informed decision or recommendation. This is true for your borrowers and your business partners.

Albert Einstein reminds us that “the important thing is not to stop questioning.

Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

In the case of finding where to focus your business, ask: Who am I serving?

What are their needs? What are the most common types of transactions in my area?

Ask yourself if any buyer groups may be underserved. Why? Are there loan products that could help them? Maybe there is someone else who is already serving a particular group or offering

information, start thinking. This step is where you should start to make sense of the data you have. Consider all the information and how it may work together. When looking for where to grow your business, you can begin thinking about ways that your business can fit in with who you serve and what they need.

As you are analyzing, you may notice that some pieces of information don’t line up or work against each other. It may take time to make sense of all your data but don’t gloss over anything that is inconsistent or doesn’t make sense.

Taking the time to understand all the facts ensures that you will end up with a well-informed decision at the end of the critical thinking process.

Once all the information is organized and you understand it, then you can move on to the final step.

PROBLEM SOLVE

Problem-solving is the final step where you can begin strategizing. Once you’ve analyzed where your business fits, you can start creating a game plan for how you will reach a new set of borrowers or begin marketing a new loan product.

Whether you’re growing your business in a new area or simply working to improve your current offerings, critical thinking is a skill that will pay

Being able to think critically can help you find where it makes the most sense to focus your business this year. for those who are left, but not every loan officer can fill every gap.

Being able to think critically can help you find where it makes the most sense to focus your business this year. Filling this gap in the industry is more than just picking a new loan product or group of buyers and spending all your time and effort there. In order to grow efficiently, loan officers need to understand their own unique situation and where they best fit in the big picture. Last month,

a specific product. Look into how they are doing it. Find out if there are any lessons you can learn from them. This may include downpayment assistance programs or renovation programs to help with the ugly inventory.

Gathering all the data upfront is the most important step of critical thinking — no matter the issue.

ANALYZE

Now that you’ve gathered all the

dividends. Asking questions, analyzing and problem-solving will ensure your decisions are based on facts rather than opinions or feelings. This year, I challenge you to use critical thinking across your business and beyond. n Mary Kay Scully is the Director of

Customer Education at Enact, leading the development of the company’s customer education curriculum.

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DATABANK

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The

Mobile

Mortgage Mom Survive till ‘25? Not Jordan Nutter.

She plans to soar in ‘24

BY RYAN KINGSLEY, STAFF WRITER FOR NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

F

rom medical marijuana and funeral caskets to baskets of puppies on Valentine’s Day, almost anything can be delivered to people’s front doors. Jordan Nutter (@ANutterHomeLoan), mortgage loan originator and vice president of the Influencer Division at the Baltimore-based NFM Lending, asks: Why not financial literacy?

Better yet, why not financial literacy with a pair of large dogs?

After a damaging 2023, many loan originators

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| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

across the industry are licking their wounds and muttering apotropaically, “Survive till ‘25. Survive till ‘25. Survive till ‘25.” (Those who aren’t will Google a definition for “apotropaically”.) Others, like Nutter, refuse to write off 2024; she doesn’t have the time or inclination to lay low. Author, coach, mother, wife, influencer, saleswoman, and cookies n’ cream fanatic, Nutter’s a mortgage multi-tool who knows how to leverage her looks, likes, and expertise to cultivate a following and bank future business.

In this down market, she’s seizing the opportunity to grow her business and her brand,

>J ordan Nutter will leave from Los Angeles on February 11, making her way across the southern U.S. through the spring and early summer.

Her first stop will

preparing for the rebound as the industry recovers. “I don’t feel like there’s enough education around how to be an adult in general,” laughs Nutter, who turned 31 on New Year’s Eve. “But, home buying?

They just don’t teach that in school.”

So, she's cramming her husband, Zach, 11-monthold daughter, Charlotte ("Charlie"), and two dogs — Oliver, a pitbull; and Mia, a rottweiler — into a 38-foot camper to spend 2024 traveling across America, educating borrowers and real estate agents on the pluses and minuses of housing

be in Tempe, AZ, on February 15.

finance. As a mortgage influencer, borrowers usually come to her (online). Now, she’s flipping the script: “That is the main goal: to bring it directly to individuals.”

A WILD IDEA

E

ager for the road, yet anxious about the trip, Nutter’s the first to confess that the project she has planned is “kinda crazy.” Encased in

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NFM-branded vinyl wrap, the camper looks more like a tour bus or billboard than a home on wheels. And yet, Nutter’s no stranger to life on the road and knows that creature comforts take the back seat (or a booth in the dinette kitchen) when you embark on adventures that no one has ever embarked on before.

Having had to temporarily move to California last year, Nutter initially envisioned the trip as a way to simultaneously relocate her family back to Georgia and connect in-person with borrowers and real estate agents she had worked with before, but only online — more of an extended cross-country move than a 7-9 month, ‘round-the-country business trip. “It was a wild idea that has now snowballed into this very big thing,” she admits.

Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta — even China — are all places Nutter has called home at different times in her life. Except for China, she’s driven the highways linking all these places: Chicago to Los Angeles, New York to Chicago, New York to Atlanta, Atlanta to Chicago. Compared to most Americans, Nutter’s seen more of the country before turning 31 than many see in a lifetime.

It’s exactly this broader perspective, enhanced by her role as a mortgage influencer, that has helped Nutter excel as a newcomer in the industry. With an extensive background in sales and customer service, Nutter entered the mortgage industry on somewhat of a whim in 2020 after a close friend and industry veteran mentioned needing help processing high loan volumes. Nutter landed the leap of faith and “married the industry” in her first year. She was “Rookie of the Year” at her former company, Homestar Financial, and made branch manager the following year.

Though a handful of nomadic originators exist, Nutter believes never before has anyone taken mortgage education on the road like she is, making her mission all the more exciting yet daunting. Then again, as an incarnation of the 21st-century mortgage market, “mortgage influencers” have never existed before, either.

A LEAD-GEN MACHINE

D

espite Facebook celebrating its 20th anniversary in February, using social media to court and nurture borrowers still feels unfamiliar to many industry old-timers raised on old-school methods like cold calling and classifieds. Graduating from Facebook posts to TikTok videos could be its own badge on LinkedIn. To borrowers, however, and in particular younger Millennials and Gen-Zers seeking financial guidance as first-time homebuyers, influencers like Nutter make mortgage education accessible to all, for free, in a fun, flexible, and familiar format.

An ever-increasing segment of borrowers are “digital natives,” meaning they have spent nearly their entire lives surrounded by digital devices and the world of social media. This happens to be the same segment of borrowers that Nutter says never learned the basics of financial literacy in school.

In January 2022, NFM Lending launched its Influencer Division with the understanding that, in the past decade, social media influencers in every industry have revolutionized how companies reach their target audiences. The ease and ubiquity of screens and Wifi have spawned a generation of consumers too savvy for traditional marketing methods. So as not to fall behind, NFM has spun a digital web for younger generations

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and each that follows, to stick to.

Consider the fact that from 2021 to 2022 the average age of a first-time homebuyer increased from 33 to 36 years old and one realizes that the number of first-time homebuyers nursed by NFM’s influencers is only set to increase. The average age of a first-time homebuyer only declined slightly in 2023, to 35 years old, according to the National Association of Realtors’s annual “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers” report.

Through a combination of luck, timing, and foresight, Greg Sher, managing director at NFM Lending and progenitor of the Division, says NFM has an “enormous head start.” There just aren’t that many mortgage influencers; NFM stables 16, including Scott Betley (@ThatMortgageGuy) who has more than one million followers across all platforms. “We’ve lapped the field 10 times over,” Sher says, “and I’m not saying that out of arrogance.”

A report NFM published in November reveals some of the data behind how a video viewed on TikTok translates to closed loans. Ultimately, educational content baits borrowers into a funnel that “narrows as it nurtures users deeper into the mortgage landscape.” When visiting an influencer’s profile, a user can complete an optional intake form through which they can share their financial status, contact information, and timeframe to purchase. In July alone, NFM’s influencers garnered 30.7 million TikTok views from Gen-Z users, up 21.8% from June. The 1,401 leads generated from those views became 24 prequalification applications, and finally, 20 mortgage originations.

As for added value, 941 of those 1,401 leads asked for an introduction to a real estate agent.

ROCKING THE CRADLE

A

dded value underlies Nutter’s rapid success as an originator and influencer. But, she picks her priorities: “I’m an originator. That’s how I make my money, support my family, and that’s my career.” While others use the verb “influencing” to describe Nutter’s origination strategy, the essence of her outreach is “educating,” she says.

Across the many platforms where Nutter answers borrowers’ questions, coaches loan officers and real estate agents, dances in her kitchen, or else, opines on the perfect time to decorate for Christmas, Nutter’s appeal is her balance — a knack for walking the tightrope between coach and confidant, originator and educator. As much as her channels are used to drive originations for NFM, her platforms also provide a forum for public discussions about home buying generally.

Many of her best-known videos are satirical, in which she reenacts sometimes nonsensical and sometimes uproarious reallife conversations with her clients. In one viral video, Nutter tells the story of a borrower who spent her down payment and closing funds going to a psychic for readings about whether the home was “right” for her. The story was picked up by media outlets and podcasters across the country and the world — even Robert Kiyosaki, the author of international bestseller, Rich Dad Poor Dad. By teaching her followers — which include not only consumers, but other originators, real estate agents, and industry-adjacent content creators — about financial literacy, social media strategies, and brand building, Nutter doesn’t worry about where the next

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

> Jordan is looking to educate borrowers and real estate agents on the pluses and minuses of housing finance by traveling across America in her branded 38-foot camper.

The main goal is to bring education directly to the borrowers because my platform on social media is geared towards homebuyer education, and anything and everything in between. > Jordan Nutter, loan originator and vice president of the Influencer Division at NFM Lending NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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In 2024, some industry old-timers can’t differentiate the toy from the tool that is social media. >J ordan Nutter

loan will come from. She trusts the process because her followers trust her; for consumers, engaging with originator-influencers is tantamount to white glove service. Because people retain information more effectively and make more connections when they engage with information through multiple touch-points, Nutter believes her followers are better educated through her content than, say, written articles.

“In this online world, you can ask a question or engage over the topic, which you can’t get in a written article,” Nutter explains. “I get a lot of good feedback when I work with my borrowers that say, ‘I’ve listened to you for a year; I think I’m ready now. Can you help me?’”

At that point, the lead and the loan are Nutter’s to lose, the referral hers to leverage.

It’s a give-and-take that Nutter feeds and is fed by. Engaging with followers provides Nutter with the inside scoop on what’s bothering borrowers, from basic questions about different loan products to common sticking points prior to closing to complicated guidelines that need parsing. Even more valuably, perhaps, Nutter is able to discern which borrower needs are going unmet — and continue going unmet when the same questions come up time and again.

No crystal ball is needed when the very people that Nutter hopes to close in the future are telling her the specific hurdles they face to making that happen.

A NUTTER HOME LOAN (.COM)

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> Jordan and her husband, Zach, hiking the John Muir Trail last August.

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ike “literally,” “hero,” or “unprecedented,” “authentic” is a word that people overuse, robbing the word of its sense and spirit and people of their desire to describe themselves as such.

Not Nutter, though, who earns the label she owns by insisting on being more person than persona.

“It’s all about being authentic,” says Nutter. “If that’s the only thing they take away from my channel, that’s enough. Many of those viewers will return for that very reason.”

Everyone wears the label “authentic” differently, which is also the point that Nutter wants to hammer home. “We’re selling a product and that product is ourselves. We can all close you, to some extent, at the end of the day. But, the loan officer who helps you matters.” Her followers become borrowers because they recognize the added value of her educational content, her accessibility, and her sense of humor. And yet, as any of her quarterof-a-million followers know — this one included — by being herself Nutter defies classification.

Visitors to Nutter’s page on Linktree, a social media landing platform, have the option to follow her on TikTok, submit loan estimates for second opinions, shop her favorite loungewear brand (Lunya, with 15% discount codes), open a highyield savings account to start accruing funds for a down payment, read blog posts about boosting

> From Left to Right: Jordan with her infant daughter, Charlotte; her pitbull, Oliver; and with her husband, Zach, daughter, and best friend attending a Chicago Cubs game last April.

curb appeal, or start a conversation. Her Amazon Storefront includes commission-earning shopping links for work essentials, clothes, baby toys, beauty must-haves, and favorite reads, which include such notable authors and personalities as Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad), Tim Grover (Relentless), and Chris Voss (Never Split The Difference). She even lists her height and pre-maternity clothing sizes.

Some knock Nutter’s approach. Others underestimate the power of a 250,000-strong follower base which functions as an active archive of potential borrowers — a self-generating pipeline of nationally sourced leads and referrals. “I want to meet real estate agents in person so they know I’m not just another girl on the internet,” she says in defiance and acknowledgement of the value she provides to both her borrowers and her real estate partners.

THE ROAD AHEAD

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utter remains incredulous that, in 2024, some industry old-timers can’t differentiate the toy from the tool that is social media, and therefore discount the market opportunity where originating intersects with influencing. Not all borrowers want to shop their mortgage by way of silk pajama sets and trick-or-treating fun facts, but it turns out, many do!

This year, amidst one of the most challenging mortgage markets in decades, Nutter and her team have closed $38 million worth of mortgages over 124 units. Leaving from Los Angeles in early February, Nutter plans the first stop of her mortgage road trip to be in Tempe, Arizona. From there, Phoenix and Tucson. From there, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas,

and Houston. Then Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. By the end of May, she hopes to be in Boston. By the end of June, Chicago.

By the end of August, Colorado.

Many of the borrowers and real estate teams Nutter will meet she’s worked with for years and on multiple transactions, but has never actually met face-to-face. Some of the agents are Madison Lawrence in Nashville, Tenn.; Emily McAllister in Greenville, NC; and Michelle Humes in Peachtree City, Georgia. The educational programming isn’t set in stone, but will include mortgage seminars at real estate offices, presentations on school campuses, and interviews with borrowers and agents in her camper’s mobile studio.

Those wanting to follow Nutter’s journey — and learn something along the way — can search her handles across her usual platforms like TikTok and YouTube: @mobilemortgagemom and @anutterhomeloan.

Nutter will be sharing behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, RV tours, and updates on daily life at the website: www.mobilemortgagemom.com. Her mortgageforward content will still be produced and perusable at www.anutterhomeloan.com, as well as across her socials.

“The main goal,” she says, “is to bring education directly to the borrowers because my platform on social media is geared towards homebuyer education, and anything and everything in between.” Nutter plans on adding stops along the way depending on the feedback she receives from followers and partners. On her website, there will be an interactive map for tracking her progress across the country and suggesting additional stops.

The door to her office — or camper — or rather, chat room — is always open. n

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5

Hot Takes From 5 Top Coaches Great minds think alike but offer different perspectives

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BY SARAH WOLAK, STAFF WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

tepping into an uncertain market like that expected in 2024 means trying to gauge the “what-ifs” of the market and the “how-tos” of winning market share. Last year was a toughie for originators and beyond; A long list of layoffs, mergers & acquisitions, and closures looms over the industry like A Christmas Carol’s ghosts of Past, Present, and Yet To Come.

When in doubt, great minds in the financial services industry swap ideas and try to emulate the ideas of industry top dogs. But one person’s yuck is another’s yum.

In other words, not all advice transcends from LO to LO. To combat this, NMP talked to five top industry coaches about their one piece of advice for LOs going forward in 2024. Here’s what they had to say.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

CARL WHITE: EMBRACE TRADITION

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or Carl White, founder and CEO of Mortgage Marketing Animals, there’s a reason that the “oldtimers” of the industry are the top producers: they stick to tradition. New LOs, White says, blame the current market as the sole reason for their career or income woes. “The market isn’t responsible for our success or our failure,” he said. “Our activities are. And to say it was a tough year, well, it wasn’t for all of us.”

To White, blaming the market is a crutch for originators and hinders their ability to be successful. White says that the beginning of 2024 presents the perfect opportunity to stop blaming and step up to the plate. “We need to be held accountable for our activities or lack thereof. I think what happened was when things were going so well a couple of years ago, we

stopped our prospecting and marketing,” White mused, and offered an analogy: “We got too lazy and forgot to learn how to pedal a bike. And when there wasn’t that tailwind to send us and we actually had to pedal the bike to move, well a lot of us forgot how to pedal and our muscles weren’t used to it.”

White says that everyone in the industry is looking for what he calls “magic beans,” meaning immediate recipes for

success. “These LOs think they need to have the latest and greatest ways to market and always need a new way to draw in customers, but I have a saying that goes ‘stop buying more cows until you milk the cows you have,’ ” he said.

What White means is that originators he speaks to across the country know what they need to do to accomplish their business goals, but a small fraction of them execute a plan and take inventory of who and what they can utilize.

So what’s White’s recipe for success?

Research what works before investing time and money into new marketing or social media strategies. He cited NextGen’s 2021 homebuyer study that asked consumers where they found their loan officer; only 3.2% of the 1,000 surveyed said they found an LO through social media. “There’s no need to run to TikTok or preach social media. Because it doesn’t actually work. What you should do is figure out the number one thing — the number one single activity — that made you the most money within the last six months. Something had to have happened to get people to contact you for a deal,” he said. “What did you do that brought in those leads or loans?

And then simply do more of that and less of everything else.”

There’s no need to run to TikTok or preach social media. Because it doesn’t actually work.

What you should do is figure out the number one thing — the number one single activity — that made you the most money within the last six months. > Carl White, founder and CEO of Mortgage Marketing Animals NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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CINDY ERTMAN: CASTING A WIDER NET

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or other coaches, the market is a viable blame for poor business.

“I’ve been through many tough markets over the couple of decades I originated and I’ve seen all sides of mortgage, but this was the toughest market I’ve ever seen in terms of actually getting traction,” Cindy Ertman, the CEO and founder of The Defining Difference, says bluntly. “My coaching business revolves around doing things with intention. So now is the time to make new, bolder, intentional decisions … we need to cast a wider net, create partnerships with new realtor partners and financial planners and divorce attorneys. Now’s the time to get into other states where the market isn’t as compressed as the state they live in.”

As much as the market presents conundrums to originators, Ertman says that it’s time to get as educated as possible about the current market — don’t just assume it’s going away.

“Where are you getting your news and how are you communicating that to your client base?” Ertman prods. “Because some of my top clients spend an hour every morning getting themselves educated about the market, and they’re conveying it with such confidence that they’re getting their clients to say yes in a challenging market. There’s a trust element that develops.”

For Ertman, casting a wider net doesn’t just mean basic outreach and education: it’s separating your struggles from others and offering yourself as a resource. Her advice? Hosting “lunch and learn” events with real estate agents and making it a point to coach and support others besides yourself. “Everybody needs help, whether

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Some of my top clients spend an hour every morning getting themselves educated about the market, and they’re conveying it with such confidence that they’re getting their clients to say yes in a challenging market. There’s a trust element that develops. > Cindy Ertman, CEO and founder of The Defining Difference

it’s a talk about how to do social media in a better way or bring in a local appraiser to talk about the local market,” she said. “Set yourself apart as the expert, and it gets you in front of your audience in a big way.”

SEAN ZALMANOFF: ACTIONS THAT MATTER

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ean Zalmanoff is a big proponent of acknowledging weaknesses. The Next Level LO coach co-founder says his best advice for the unsure LO heading into 2024 is to identify their “ATM,” or “actions that matter.”

So what is an ATM? Zalmanoff says that

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

ATMs are strengths that help you move the needle in your career and activities that drive income. And not one size fits all. “Know your strengths: do you crush it in big groups, one-on-one interactions, marketing, or social presence? And then after identifying those incomedriving activities, you make an effort to proactively plan your calendar around those activities,” he said. “Some people do not know what their ATM is, so we advise them to track what they do every day in 15-minute increments and see which activities brought them the most success.”

Zalmanoff says that proactively planning around ATMs helps LOs to stay on the grind. “It’s so easy to start work on Monday and clock out on Friday and feel like you do so much and at the same time you did nothing at all,” he explained.

“I know that my ATMs are social media and communication, so I follow a monthly

RON VAIMBERG: TAKE NOTES FROM BASKETBALL

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on Vaimberg says that between 2010 and early 2022, originators just had to simply answer their phones, point blank. “You didn’t have to be a good marketer,” Vaimberg said.

“Today, the only way you succeed is by knowing how to market and knowing how to sell. Very few people are looking to put in the effort to learn.”

Vaimberg says that his top advice stems from basketball, and he referenced a quote from the late, theatrical, zero-tolerance coach Bob Knight: “Everybody wants to be on a championship team, but nobody wants to come to practice.” For Vaimberg, the same goes for loans. “Everybody wants loans, but not everyone will work hard enough or develop the skills needed in today’s market to succeed, and that leaves a large door open for those who are willing to do it,” he said. “You have to look at game film of your opponents: what are they doing to eke out success?”

The first steps to looking at the game film, Vaimberg advised, is to change your mindset. “Everybody should be thinking ‘How do I let more people know what I do for a living and if they have any questions or need help that they should reach out to me?’ If you think about

plan where I keep track of what to post, I hold realtor masterminds monthly, I strategically communicate with my very large database of realtors and past clients and send things of value to them every week.”

Zalmanoff explained that communicating value for him means facilitating information to his referral partners. “I send a rate email and market commentary on Mondays, and on Friday they get something about a new program or something that can help their business, [as well as] market data to use in conversations, talk about how they can effectively communicate wrong data from talking heads,” he shared. “[The commentary] helps realtors to put things into perspective for buyers, and as a result, you become a sort of talking head they trust.”

expanding your network, business will come,” he said. “It’s already proven that the individuals with the biggest network in our business are the most successful.”

And when you expand your

network, Vaimberg says, stop pleading for business. “If you want to win relationships, you have to do 1 of 2 things for a referral partner: solve a problem for them or create an opportunity. Put the spotlight on them, not on yourself,” he advised.

“And then, do homework on your real estate referral partners. What are their listings? Any open houses planned?”

During that phone call, Vaimberg recommends a psychological approach.

“Take complete control: don’t ask ‘How are you?’ immediately on the phone call, it interrupts the flow of conversation,” he instructed. “Offer what you can bring to the table: suggest a neighbor’s only open house … it’s a psychological shift, neighbors will actually talk to prospective buyers [about the neighborhood] if they are included.”

KHAI MCBRIDE: PLAY THE LONG GAME

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hai McBride, CEO and head coach of KM Performance Coaching, is challenging the status quo of short-term solutions by shifting focus from immediate sales to a more holistic, long-term approach.

Breaking away from conventional methods that rely heavily on scripts and quick appointments, McBride

advocates for evaluating business systems and emphasizing brandbuilding and marketing. “I think the reason why we’re in trouble is because all we ever do is sell so we’re dependent on the market to give us our business,” he said. “Nobody’s done

a good job of establishing their brand or good marketing, all we ever do is go after the next appointment.”

McBride says to scale your business, marketing is the solution because it’s a one-to-many approach. “It’s branding, content, creating loyalty and brand recognition, as well as leadership,” McBride explained. “In the long term that allows you to create further exposure and further connection. And if you wanting to originate on a wider scale, part of that is recognizing that you can’t perform one-on-ones with realtors. You have to learn how to market to different regions and make connections without being in-person.”

Acknowledging the need for immediate results, McBride introduces the concept of “engagement” as the middle ground between marketing and sales. “Engagement means having conversations with the people you market to without the conversation being too sales-y,” McBride said. “For instance, if you do a marketing video, that period of engagement is reaching out to your network to ask what they liked about the video and what you can do to help them. It shouldn’t be all about you and why they should send you business.” n

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DENVER | OCT. 11, 2023

Events for mortgage brokers & originators Connecting you to the story of your success.

We want every broker and originator to feel empowered, informed, and connected to the resources needed to develop your career. The Originator Connect Network, the nation's largest producer of mortgage events, is about fostering a community founded on professionalism, collaboration, and personal and professional growth.

To find the next event nearest you, visit: ORI GI NATORCONNECTN E TWO R K.CO M

PASADENA | NOV. 7, 2023

TEXAS

MORTGAGE ROUNDUP

HOUSTON | NOV. 14, 2023

COVER STORY

From

Figure Eights Mortgage To

Rates

From Team USA’s grace to financial services’ embrace, Matthew Blackmer draws parallels from his past to the future

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BY SARAH WOLAK, STAFF WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

hen Matthew Blackmer graduated high school, he got the phone call he had been waiting over five long years for: an invitation to come to train with Team USA athletes at an Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

This was the plan that Blackmer and his parents had been developing since he was nine years old when his knack for figure skating was discovered.

Recognizing his gift, the Blackmer family — parents with four children in tow

— packed up from their Findlay, Ohio homestead and headed to Detroit, Michigan in search of the perfect skating facility for their eldest son.

Today, Blackmer is still in Michigan but his skates have long been unlaced and tucked away.

He’s triple-axled into the mortgage industry, recently undertaking the role of director of partnerships for mortgage tech startup Sonar, trading in the flashy costumes for a subdued air.

Cue the record scratch; how did barely-in-his30s Blackmer end up a retired Team USA standout and a well-known Michigan mortgage mogul? Blackmer simply attributes it to having lived several lives. “There’s NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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> Blackmer got his stat with countless mortgage professionals hosting and leading numerous Rocket Pro TPO events.

> Blackmer and skating partner, Britney Simpson, at the 2012 U.S

my figure skating and Team USA life, and now my life as a buyers agent turned financial services career,” he said. “But I’ve been able to draw parallels between the two. For one, both professions are providing a need for someone.”

Blackmer also says that the principles he learned from figure skating are ingrained in how he approaches his work. After all, figure skating and Blackmer had a quarter-century love affair. “In figure skating, you can be great, but you always have so much further to go and a lot to learn, a lot more to develop in yourself and your skill set. No matter how talented you are, perseverance and hard work always win,” he said. “I’ve watched so many mortgage and sales professionals come in and out, especially this year. But

Championships.

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the ones that have always been most impressive are those who can put their head down and nose to the grindstone and work and make it happen.”

ENVIRONMENT IS EVERYTHING

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n every industry, there are standouts and underdogs. Blackmer called out a few standouts who inspired him in his career, most notably Rocket’s Mike Fawaz and Austin Niemiec. “Some people have born talent but it’s easy to spot the people that push themselves to keep learning, really pay attention to their coaches, they get the right environment around them,” Blackmer explained.

“The same goes for the [mortgage] industry.”

So what is the secret sauce for success? Blackmer mused that environment — not talent — is the biggest factor, for both figure skaters and originators.

“I’ve seen figure skaters who didn’t thrive as much with one specific coach or in a certain training facility change up their coach or place and blossom,” he said. “And that’s true when you look at the mortgage industry; no matter where you are or what you’re doing, a little change makes all the difference.”

Blackmer learned this to be true at a young age.

Between moving to Michigan and eventually to Colorado Springs in pursuit of skating success, Blackmer knows that environment and the people partaking in that environment propelled him to where he is today.

For starters, if Blackmer hadn’t met Craig Joeright, he probably wouldn’t have a passion for financial services. After the pair met at a skating camp in Blackmer’s native Findlay, Joeright was asked to become a full-time skating coach. “I had been coaching about four years before I met Matthew. The poor kid probably fell seven times during our first practice together,” Joeright laughed. “But when you’re

“Some people have born talent but it’s easy to spot the people that push themselves to keep learning.” > Matthew Blackmer, director of partnerships, Sonar competing like Matthew, you’re with your coaches more than you’re with your own family. I became like his second father figure and, later, like his brother.”

Joeright and Blackmer bonded over both being from Ohio and having the shared experience of being a male figure skater. After coaching Blackmer up until he left for Colorado, Joeright says he stayed in touch with the family, and when Blackmer came back to Michigan, he turned to Joeright for guidance. “When you stop a sport, you lose yourself for a while after spending so much time dedicating yourself to that one focus,” Joeright explained.

“And when you get out of [skating], it’s a very unusual space to be in without direction.”

Blackmer agreed. “When I was training in Colorado, I was on my own for six years, and I was under a lot of pressure between my finances and my performance,” he said. “You can only practice so much because it’s a high-impact sport, so every day, I knew that the 4-5 hours spent on the ice had to count.

“I bartended and waited tables to pay for everything, and I didn’t have time to socialize. Every day, it was bed at 8 p.m. and then up at 5 a.m. for a run and a workout.”

Living in a pressure cooker environment coupled with his skating partner, Britney Simpson, tearing shoulder cartilage and ousting the duo from competing, Blackmer retired from skating in 2016 feeling burnt out and lost.

Meanwhile, Joeright was working in real estate and offered to bring on Blackmer as an assistant and a buyer’s agent for about two years. “It was a great fit for him. He has a great personality and isn’t shy. And when he wants to get something done, he’s a force,” Joeright said. “For example, one time he was paired with a Russian skating partner, and he was so determined to be her friend that he learned enough Russian over the course of a few months to be able to hold conversations with her.”

THRIVING UNDER PRESSURE

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or Blackmer, stepping into the financial services world was the transition he needed to keep him disciplined. “I thrive under pressure with high stakes and high expectations,” he said. ‘I wasn’t necessarily raised that way. I come from a charismatic family, but I feel like skating gave me my work ethic and my attention to detail.”

Blackmer, working under Joeright, managed to make a connection with a niche group: divorce attorneys. “I had some strong transactions through

that line of work. However, it was an incredibly contentious line of work and emotionally charged,” Blackmer admitted. “I like to be the good news guy. I knew I wasn’t suited for those emotional transactions. I wanted to be less in the transaction and more managing the transaction.”

Stuck at a crossroads, he debated lacing up the skates again or trying a different avenue in the housing industry. So in 2019, after a lengthy interview process, Blackmer saddled up as a mortgage loan officer at Rocket Mortgage, then Quicken Loans.

Over the next nine months, Blackmer closed over 30 units, totaling over six million dollars. That October, he shifted gears and took on a role with Rocket’s commercial real estate development arm, Bedrock, as a tenant experience associate working in helping local Detroit businesses. “I stayed in that role for about six months, but I learned that it wasn’t a right fit,” Blackmer said. “And, I had dragged my then-boyfriend onboard to Rocket’s QLMS [now Rocket Pro TPO] division, and I asked if I would be

> Blackmer, now settled with Sonar, can be found throughout 2024's tradeshow circuits.

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able to move over there. I was given the go-ahead.”

Blackmer’s alluding to his now husband, Vincent “Vinnie” Roncelli, who works as Rocket Pro TPO’s senior partner development manager. “Matt is the reason that I entered the mortgage industry. I come from a background in renewable energy and was nervous about making a career transition,” Roncelli

“I come from a charismatic family, but I feel like skating gave me my work ethic and my attention to detail.” > Matthew Blackmer said. “I cannot think of anyone more dedicated to the mortgage industry than Matt. While we were both at Rocket Pro TPO, we worked on separate things that made an impact on the broker community. He had a pivotal role in building out Rocket’s All Access program.”

Which made leaving Rocket that much harder.

ONE DOOR CLOSES

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fter serving as the senior director for partner events in the TPO channel, Blackmer was hit with the harsh reality that he was hitting the

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pinnacle of his career at Rocket. “I’m not going to be the EVP of Rocket Pro TPO, Fawaz is the best leader for that channel,” he explained. “[Mike] Fawaz and Austin Niemiec asked me to build out Rocket events and trainings and partnerships and focus on the broker experience, and I realized it wasn’t enough to build successful brokers.”

Blackmer took inventory of the work he wanted to do, narrowing in on his vendor partners. One, a new company called Sonar, stuck out. “Sonar was on my radar because they started as Simplist Mortgage, and they were one of our largest accounts. I had a good relationship with the brokerowner, Anthony Sherman,” Blackmer explained.

“When I was still at Rocket, [Mike] Fawaz pushed me to form more relationships and follow Sonar’s progress. I’m lucky that I happened to be in the right place at the right time when Anthony asked me to come on board and help scale the product.”

Blackmer bid farewell to Rocket this past July.

“It was a hard decision to leave; it was an incredibly uncomfortable decision to get out of an incredible ecosystem, but I’m excited in the sense that I have so much room to grow. If there’s anything I can say about my time at Rocket, I’ve worked with some of the most extraordinary people,” Blackmer gushed. “While I am a huge fan of Rocket, I decided that I wanted to work with the entire broker community. And I’m hoping that we [Sonar] get to support a lot of their brokers and their technology initiatives.”

As one door closes, another opens. Sonar successfully transitioned from its beta phase, launching early in 2023. The company touts itself as a “mortgage experience platform” designed to provide a fully digital mortgage experience for customers and originators. In simpler terms, it’s meant to streamline processes and prevent originators from bouncing between different platforms.

Sherman, Sonar’s co-founder and CEO, is the driving force behind the project, boasting two decades of experience in the mortgage industry.

“Matthew saw my vision with Sonar because we both identified the pain points that originators face. Originators spend hundreds of dollars on different mortgage tech products, and we thought, why not incorporate it all into one platform?” said Sherman. “Matt was one of the first people I called because he’s genuinely excited about new tech, and he knew, looking inside and outside of Rocket, what originators were struggling with.”

Sherman also admired Blackmer’s charisma and presence on stage. “He was always the emcee at Rocket’s all-access events, and he knows how to perform and draw a room in,” he said. “He’s basically got the ability to bond and build rapport with everyone but can hang with the best of the best. He’s smart and results-driven.” n

SPECIAL AWARDS SECTION

2024

DIVERSITY LEADERS

HONORING THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY’S 2024 DIVERSITY LEADERS Recognizing the companies leading the way for the mortgage industry to become more inclusive and reflective of the communities that they serve

D

iversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or as they are commonly known, DEI, have become an essential part of the discussion in the mortgage industry.

There’s a need to diversify the workforce and reach out to a more diverse marketplace.

That’s why now is an important

time to look for and honor leaders in diversity. The Diversity Leader Awards aim to recognize the companies leading the way for the mortgage industry to become more inclusive and reflective of the communities that they serve.

See how these companies have addressed the root causes of discrimination and sought to be more inclusive and equitable. n

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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DIVERSITY LEADERS

2024

FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATION Madison, Wisconsin Company CEO/ President: Steve Jacobson fairwayindependentmc.com

W

hat contributions is this company making to promote diversity, equality, and inclusion within the mortgage community?

Through community engagement: “Fairway is committed to engaging with our local communities. We support a variety of community organizations that promote diversity and inclusion.

Fairway is a national member of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and has several loan officers who have been recognized as the top 50 Latino mortgage originators. Under our Multicultural ERG, we are promoting teammates to join these DEI associations on a local level,” said Steve Jacobsen, CEO and founder of Fairway Independent Mortgage Co. D&I Program Giving: “Fairway makes various charitable contributions to numerous organizations. Our employee resource groups and employees have donated to various nonprofits. For example, our Women’s Empowerment ERG features a non-profit of the month and we’ve contributed over $4,000 in the past year to non-profit organizations that supported women-related causes. Our FairwayPride group highlights a non-profit every Pride Month in June to donate funds to. In addition, we highlight non-profits related to special heritage months for teammates to help promote and contribute,” said Julie Fry, Fairway’s chief people and engagement officer.

Fair Lending: Our Fair Lending Department provides our sales and operations (“The Street”) teammates in identifying community opportunities to expand Fairway’s business among underserved borrowers. The pillars include: 1. CREATE awareness of Fairway’s commitment to fair lending through partnerships, communication, outreach, and education.

2. CULTIVATE relationships with national, regional, state, and local organizations focused on homeownership for the underserved.

3. CONNECT “The Street” with HUD-approved nonprofits and fair lending advocates to increase community engagement.

Can you give an example of what makes this company a

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Every morning, our entire company receives a daily written #KeepPlaying inspirational story from an employee. … This promotes the value of our employees’ voices and helps inspire others with perspective in overcoming adversities. leader in diversity?

All employees are required to take our Anti-Harassment Training. Fairway also offers six recommended D&I Training Certificates to all employees.

Our commitment has been instilled in our culture and acknowledged through various awards we have earned recently: • 2023 Top Workplaces Culture of Excellence National Awards in 5 categories: 1. DE&I Practices 2. Employee Appreciation 3. Employee Well-Being 4. Professional Development 5. Women-Led Organizations • 2023 Inclusive Workplace by Best Companies Group • 2023 PRISM Award by National Mortgage Professional Magazine • 2023 Diversity Leaders Award by National Mortgage Professional Magazine • 2022 Top Employers for Women by Mortgage Women Magazine • 2022 Diversity in Leadership Award by Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association (CMLA) Daily #KeepPlaying Messages from employees: Every morning, our entire company receives a daily written #KeepPlaying inspirational story from an employee. We invite all employees to participate in this daily ritual we have instilled as part of our culture. One of our executive team members responds to each #KeepPlaying with their own thoughts of inspiration and encouragement, including our CEO. This promotes the value of our employee’s voice and helps inspire others with perspective in overcoming adversities. n

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

DIVERSITY LEADERS

LOANDEPOT INC. Irvine, California Company CEO/ President: Frank Martell loandepot.com

W

hat does this company do to promote diversity within your workplace?

In July of 2022, loanDepot President and CEO Frank Martell introduced Vision 2025, a strategic program developed to address both the near-term changes in the market and our longer-term vision to be a purpose-driven lender.

Understanding the importance of the “tone at the top,” Frank has consistently and publicly made our commitment to inclusive lending a core part of his message to all stakeholders.

Aligned with that broader mission of creating a more inclusive path to homeownership is promoting diversity within our organization.

We recognize the importance of having a team that reflects the increasingly diverse communities we serve, and we spend considerable time and energy recruiting and retaining a

Our focus on making homeownership more accessible and affordable for more families, particularly the increasingly diverse communities of firsttime homebuyers, has led to tangible results.

2024

diverse workforce. We’re proud that our team of mortgage professionals is made up of 42% minorities, which plays a crucial role in supporting the needs of minority and other traditionally underserved homebuyers.

“In the office,” we celebrate our rich diversity with educational content, employee profiles and special cultural celebrations in conjunction with months such as Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

What contributions is this company making to promote diversity, equality, and inclusion within the mortgage community?

Members of Team loanDepot are highly active in organizations such as the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA), and others. We actively support the missions of these organizations through our financial contributions, participation, volunteer leadership, and advocacy. Our team serves on numerous local chapter boards, and in 2025, loanDepot loan consultant Gary Lai will become the national secretary of AREAA. Our leaders are sought-after experts who, in the last year alone, have shared their insights through keynote speeches and panel discussions around diversity and inclusive housing policy at conferences, including NHC’s National Housing Conference, the National Black and Latino Economic Summit, NAHREP’s L’Attitude, the MBA Annual Convention, HousingWire Annual, and National Mortgage News’ Digital Mortgage Conference.

For three consecutive years, loanDepot has been among the top lenders with the highest number of loan originators on the NAHREP’s “Top 250 Latino Mortgage Originators” list, signifying the difference we’re making in Hispanic communities.

Can you give an example of what makes this company a leader in diversity?

Our focus on making homeownership more accessible and affordable for more families, particularly the increasingly diverse communities of first-time homebuyers, has led to tangible results.

According to 2022 HMDA data loanDepot is the country’s: • No. 3 lender serving minorities overall • No. 3 lender serving Hispanics/Latinos • No. 4 lender serving Blacks/African Americans • No. 4 lender serving American Indians • No. 6 lender serving Asian American/Pacific Islanders n

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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DIVERSITY LEADERS

2024

NAN (NATIONWIDE APPRAISAL NETWORK) Oldsmar, Florida Company CEO/ President: Joni Pilgrim nan-amc.com

W

hat does this company do to promote diversity within your workplace?

NAN’s diversity initiatives allow us to be inclusive of different cultures and lifestyles, establish a sense of belonging among team members, which fosters different ideas and innovations, leading to improved corporate culture and ultimately boosting productivity. Our approach to BIED (Bias, Inclusion, Equity, Diversity) is multi-pronged. We feel that the best way to tackle these issues and work towards resolutions, as well as continue to be a resource to our lender and appraiser partners, is to strengthen awareness and prioritize education and training within our internal teams and external partners. Internally, NAN established the BIED Committee, which is made up of team members and leadership from every department that meet regularly to review company policy and procedures and develop education/training opportunities. NAN also has mandatory training for every single employee to create a real focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

What steps is this company taking to promote diversity within the communities it does business in?

NAN collaborates with industry organizations like Fannie Mae’s Appraiser Diversity Initiative (ADI) to continue the discussion and remain a resource. ADI was launched to raise awareness of real estate appraisal career options through outreach events and to facilitate opportunities for overcoming barriers to entry in the field, and NAN is proud to support this important initiative focusing on scholarships, mentoring, and introduction to job opportunities for new appraisers from all walks of life.

What contributions is this company making to promote diversity, equality and inclusion within the mortgage community?

Stacy Caprioli, NAN Chief Appraiser, is our external BIED Committee Chairperson. Each quarter, we invite appraisers

50

and lender partners to join her, along with special guests and industry experts, to discuss relevant industry topics as part of our BIED program. Past session topics include “Fair Housing and What it Means to Appraisers” and “Ensuring Equitable Treatment and Rebuilding Public Trust”.

Can you give an example of what makes this company a leader in diversity?

As a woman-owned company, NAN is a member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and works hard to educate, promote, and train on equity and diversity both within the organization and the mortgage and finance industry. Through the implementation of the NAN BIED Committee, which promotes diversity and inclusion within our own corporate culture and hosts quarterly discussions with appraisers across the country, we feel we are pioneering the platform for such discussions and idea sharing. NAN has also implemented a Spanish-speaking division made up of Spanish-speaking professionals from all departments to assist our Spanish-speaking clients and their clients in better understanding the appraisal process. n

As a woman-owned company, NAN … works hard to educate, promote, and train on equity and diversity both within the organization and the mortgage and finance industry.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

DIVERSITY LEADERS

PENNYMAC

vision, strategies, and priorities across the Company. The DEI Council oversees our six active business resource groups: BOLD, HOLA, InspirASIAN, PRIDE, SERVE, and wEMRG.

Westlake Village, California Company CEO/ President: David Spector pennymac.com

C

2024

an you give an example of what makes this company a leader in diversity?

Pennymac’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council expands and elevates the level of direct accountability for DEI initiatives to support Pennymac’s efforts to leverage diverse thinking, generate innovative ideas, and advance community projects that align with our company culture.

Our Vendor Diversity Outreach initiative was launched to promote vendor participation that is reflective of the diverse communities where we live and operate.

Pennymac’s outreach efforts we launched to help us identify vendors that are at least 51% owned, operated and managed by individuals who are disabled; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ); minorities; service-disabled veterans; and/or women. We believe that creating a sustainable, diverse vendor base and an inclusive vendor process could improve quality, efficiency, and innovation, as well as support business development in our communities.

Our Chairman and CEO is the executive sponsor of the DEI Council and is charged with driving accountability of the DEI Council, setting the tone at the top, and providing strategic influence and oversight to ensure organizational alignment and business impact. Other members include executive leaders from diverse backgrounds and various departments across the organization. The DEI Council expands and elevates the level of direct accountability for DEI initiatives among our executive leaders, allowing us to efficiently connect and embrace our DEI

What does this company do to promote diversity within your workplace?

Pennymac’s continued growth and success are a direct reflection of the talent and diversity of our people. We’re committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture through initiatives designed to attract, develop, and engage a highly talented and performance-focused workplace.

Succession planning is a strategic priority for our company, and it is critical to ensure continuity in our operations. With our succession planning strategy, we take a targeted approach to ensure we cultivate a strong pipeline of diverse executives who will deliver on future business growth.

We’ve also established leadership key performance indicators (KPIs) around the representation of women and underrepresented minorities in management positions. This leadership KPI is a critical component that supports our goal of being an employer of choice so that we continue to retain the very best talent. As of Aug. 31, 2023, women and underrepresented racial and ethnic groups made up 75.2% of the workforce at Pennymac.

Additionally, we enhanced our Enterprise Mentor Program.

We launched two new ones: one for individuals in our Pennymac Corporate University rotational analyst program and another for our six active Business Resource Groups (BRGs) — BOLD, HOLA, InspirASIAN, PRIDE, SERVE, and wEMRG — where team members are empowered to network, build connections, broaden their perspectives and develop their leadership skills. The BRG mentor program expands opportunities to all organizational tier levels and focuses on individuals with aspirations for personal and professional growth. n

With our succession planning strategy, we take a targeted approach to ensure we cultivate a strong pipeline of diverse executives who will deliver on future business growth.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N : NO N- Q M LE ND E R D I R ECTO RY

COM PA N Y

A R E A O F FO C US

STAT ES L I CENSCED

WEB SI T E

Acra Lending

Non-QM / Jumbo

AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NC, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WY

acralending.com

Champions Funding

Mission Driven Non-QM + CDFI Wholesale Lender

AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IA, MD, MI, NJ, NC, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA

champstpo.com

LoanStream Mortgage

AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KY, Home Loans

LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM,

loanstreamwholesale.com

NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI,

Newfi Wholesale

DSCR, Bank Statement, 1099, Asset Depletion, Buydowns, Full Doc Non-QM

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

newfiwholesale.com

Quontic Bank

Quontic specializes in nontraditional borrowers.

All 50 U.S. States

quonticwholesale.com

Open and operate your brokerage with confidence.

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WWW.BUILDABROKER.COM

52

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G SSPEECCTI A I OL NA: DWHO D IOL R ECTO V E R T LE I S ISA N GLE S ELE C T ND I O NE: RWH E SALRY E L E N DE R DIRECTORY

CO MPA N Y

SP EC I A LT Y/ N I C H E

STAT ES L I CENSCED

WEB SI T E

ACC Mortgage

Non-QM

AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MD, MI, NV, NJ, NC, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA

ACCMortgage.com

First National Bank of America

Non-QM

All 50 U.S. States

fnba.com/mortgage-brokers

Newfi Wholesale

DSCR, Bank Statement, 1099, Asset Depletion, Buydowns, Full Doc Non-QM

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

newfiwholesale.com

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N : OR I GI NATO R TEC H D I R ECTO RY CO MPA N Y

A RE A O F FO C US

WEB SI T E

LendingPad

Loan Origination System

lendingpad.com

wemlo

Loan Processing

wemlo.io

Zero 1 Solution LLC

Software

1smtg.com

S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N : AMC D I R ECTO RY

CO MPANY

AR E A OF FOCU S

WE B S ITE

ACT Appraisal, Inc.

ACT Appraisal is a nationwide AMC focusing on residential appraisals

actappraisal.com

Class Valuation

AMC

classvaluation.com

PCV Murcor

Nationwide Real Estate Valuations Management — Appraisal Management Company

pcvmurcor.com

SingleSource Property Solutions LLC

Appraisals, BPOs, AVMs, Hybrid Valuations, and Value Reconciliations

singlesourceproperty.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024 |

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FACEBOOK THOUGHTS

Alexa, Why Do You Mock Me?

I

Nick Roberson is a long-time mortgage industry veteran and a board member of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals. He’s a forthcoming and giving guy, who shares his … unique … perspective on work and life on his Facebook account. Here are some of Nick’s FB thoughts this month:

NICK ROBERSON

Nick Roberson

54

’m convinced that when people walk into Costco, they immediately lose their peripheral vision.

••• A bear and a fox were fighting over a fish they had just caught.

The fish told them she would give each of them three wishes if they let her go.

So, they let her go.

The bear’s first wish was: “I want all bears in the forest to be female.”

Then, the fox said: “I want a motorcycle.”

The bear’s second wish was: “I want all bears in the country to be female.”

Then fox wished for a helmet.

The bear’s final wish was: “I want all bears on Earth to be female, with me the only male bear.”

The fox got on his motorcycle, put on his helmet, started the engine and took off, yelling: “I wish this bear was only into male bears.”

••• 30-day Challenge • No burgers.

• No chocolate.

• No cakes • No chips.

• No white or donuts.

• No fast food. bread.

• No cookies • No ice cream.

• No soda. or candy.

Go ahead. Challenge someone.

••• Well, I have officially lost my mind! I was putting groceries away and asked my Alexa device to close the refrigerator door. Asking her firmly twice didn’t make it magically happen. Yeah, she doesn’t do that. Apparently, she also doesn’t appreciate my tone. I am curious if a night in the freezer will improve her attitude.

••• I came across this banana peel on my walk this morning.

I’ve played this video game before and I’m not falling for it!

Not today, Bowser, not today!

I run like the winded.

•••

••• Don’t believe everything you read in public toilets. Sharon is not up for a good time. What an awkward phone call that was.

••• Where does a Snowman keep his money?

In a snowbank, of course.

Which is a really bad place to keep your money. The interest rates are frozen, and the funds liquidate every spring.

••• When I was little, my mom used to feed me alphabet soup, claiming I loved it. Actually, I didn’t. She was putting words in my mouth.

••• Dad buys a lie detector robot that slaps people when they lie. He decides to test it at dinner. “Son, where were you today? “ The son says, “At school, dad.” Robot slaps the son! “OK, I watched a DVD at my friend’s house!” “What DVD?” “Toy Story” Robot slaps the son again! “Ok, it was a porno,” cries the son. Dad yells, “What! When I was your age, I didn’t know what porn was!” Robot then slaps the dad! Mom laughs “HaHaHa! He’s certainly YOUR son “ Robot then slaps the mom.

••• Being positive doesn’t mean you’re happy 24/7. It means that even on your worst days, you understand that better days are coming.

••• PSA, no matter how good the sandwich smells or how hungry you are, it’s best not to attempt to eat a meatball sub while driving home from the sandwich shop. Also, if you happen to lose one of the meatballs, keep the seat warmers on to keep it from getting cold while you look for it. n

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2024

To see more by Nick, just go to www.facebook.com/nickroberson.

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