NMP National Mortgage Professional August 2020

AUGUST 2020

nmp

Volume 12, Issue 8

ACCELERATING YOUR DIGITAL SHIFT

FRAUD FALLING FAST

MORTGAGE FIRMS GO PPP-ING UNQUALIFIED ADVISORS ELBOW OUT LOS

LEWD, CRUDE & SHREWD

HOW ‘BRO CULTURE’ IS FAILING MORTGAGE WOMEN AND THE BROKER COMMUNITY

BACK COVER

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AUGUST 2020

FRONT COVER

Volume 12, Issue 8

ACCELERATING YOUR DIGITAL SHIFT

FRAUD FALLING FAST

MORTGAGE FIRMS GO PPP-ING UNQUALIFIED ADVISORS ELBOW OUT LOS

LEWD, CRUDE & SHREWD

HOW ‘BRO CULTURE’ IS FAILING MORTGAGE WOMEN AND THE BROKER COMMUNITY

Experience The Difference MORE Expertise MORE Service MORE Technology Experience the Biggest and Best Originator of Non-QM1 Visit AngelOakMS.com | 855.631.9943 Š Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC NMLS #1160240, Corporate office, 980 Hammond Drive, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA, 30328. This communication is sent only by Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC and is not intended to imply that any of our loan products will be offered by or in conjunction with HUD, FHA, VA, the U.S. government or any federal, state or local governmental body. This is a business-to-business communication and is intended for licensed mortgage professionals only and is not intended to be distributed to the consumer or the general public. Each application is reviewed independently for approval and not all applicants will qualify for the program. Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC is an Equal Opportunity Lender and does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of race, gender, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, other classifications protected under Fair Housing Act of 1968. 1Inside Nonconforming Markets, August 30, 2019. Based on Google reviews of comparable lenders. MS_A052_0520

The Leader in Non-QM 2

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2020

Volume 12 Number 8

CONTENTS

nationalmortgageprofessional.com

6 Stop The Bad Advice Real estate agents should stay in their lane and not offer loan advice.

8 The Beckwith Blog: Lessons Golf Teaches Us Work on your “short” and “long” games for success.

10 Training Needs Financing Included Without financial literacy instruction, training is incomplete.

13 Get Your Clients Mortgage Ready Loan originators can’t ignore the need to help their clients.

14 The Mortgage Godfather: Make That Call People want to hear from you if you have something they want.

17 People On The Move See who the movers and shakers are in the mortgage industry.

COVER STORY PAGE 42

18 Build-A-Broker: SWOT Sure Sounds Strange …

But it’s an analysis tool that can bolster your brokerage.

20 Build-A-Broker: Artificial & Human Intelligence Homebuyers are fine with both automation and human engagement.

22 Your First Million Dollars: Thriving In A Digital Arena Pivot and profit before you are disrupted and displaced.

24 Yoda, Love, Sharks & Victory Steps to learn to have a successful career.

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26 New To Market The new products impacting your dayto-day work.

29 Special Section: Stay Connected Visually Webinars and videos keep you face first with clients.

32 Special Section: Onboard In A Remote Universe The right steps to bringing new hires into your organization in a pandemic.

SUCCESS! PAGE 24

Navigating sharkinfested waters and learning how to swim with the sharks.

Fighting A Culture War Anthony Casa not the leader the mortgage industry needs.

34 Special Section: Inclusive While Working From Home How brokers can create an in-office feel for at-home workers.

36 Special Section: We Need A Youth Movement A graying mortgage industry needs to recruit and train its younger replacements.

38 Special Section: A Half Dozen Support Tips Use them to create happy, educated loan originators.

41 Heard on NMP Words to remember from our broadcasts and website.

55 My Best Deal: Thanks For Your Service James Barnes is most proud of helping a disabled vet find a home post-9/11.

57 NMP News Flash Mortgagors Are Being More Honest 65 NMP News Flash The Signs Of A Recovering Non-QM Market 66 NMP Calendar of Events 74 Facebook Thoughts: Careful With Your Noggin In A Pandemic!

48 Who Scored PPP Funds?

NMP lists the 725 mortgage companies that took in pandemic relief.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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AUGUST 2020

nmp

AUGUST 2020

N AT I O N A L M O RTG AG E PR O F E S S I O N A L M AG A Z I N E

Volume 12, Issue 8

ACCELERATING YOUR DIGITAL SHIFT

FRAUD FALLING FAST

UNQUALIFIED ADVISORS ELBOW OUT LOS

LEWD, CRUDE & SHREWD

HOW ‘BRO CULTURE’ IS FAILING MORTGAGE WOMEN AND THE BROKER COMMUNITY

AUGUST 2020

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

Cautionary Tales: Some Swear

By Them

A

good magazine doesn’t parrot back to readers what they already know or want to hear.

Its job is to be insightful, to be thoughtful and to present readers with ideas and information they might otherwise miss.

But in these divided days of reactionary politics, where so many believe anything that doesn’t conform to their personal orthodoxy must be baseless lies and conspiracies, it’s dangerous to put out thoughtful pieces readers might not want to read.

Real estate agents, for example, might take exception to NMP Contributing Writer Lew Sichelman’s piece in this issue where he suggests they inappropriately give financial advice better served by a loan originator. But that doesn’t make the article any less true in assessing the situation.

SURVEY SAYS

In mid-July, amidst industry hullabaloo about the chairman of AIME being sued for slander, having disseminated a pair of unhinged, salacious and sexual video rants (followed by equally gutter-quality texts), National Mortgage Professional reached out to the mortgage community to see what it thinks is the state of mortgage women being treated equally and fairly. We invited over 100,000 mortgage pros to participate. The responses were anonymous. And eyeopening.

Perhaps we’d all like to believe we’re beyond the days when men were treated as superior and women disregarded in the profession. Clearly, we’re not. The dichotomy between the answers from men and women is striking. Our industry needs to be better. Our leaders need to be better. Our commitment to professionalism needs to be better.

What’s not included in the story you’ll find later in this issue are some of the worst comments that came back – all from men. When we asked for thoughts on what can be done to improve sexism in the mortgage industry, we received many thoughtful ideas from women. From the men, the responses were more like these actual answers: “What is being said is more a reflection of them than you. Grow up and stop being such a whiner.”

“Stop sending out surveys about stuff like this just because of one stupid isolated incident.”

“GET THE C**TS OUT!” There were some men who made considered, rational replies, and we applaud them because only by thinking through the problems we face (even if we don’t realize they are problems), can we improve the professionalism in this industry for everyone. That’s why we’re willing to print not just the stories everyone wants to see, but those we all need to see as well.

VIN CE N T M. VALVO Publisher, Editor & CEO 4

MORTGAGE FIRMS GO PPP-ING

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Volume 12, Number 8

STAFF CEO, PUBLISHER & EDITOR Vincent M. Valvo ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Beverly Bolnick MANAGING EDITOR Keith Griffin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christine Beckwith, Lew Sichelman, Ralph LoVuolo, Harvey Mackay, Nick Roberson, Pam Marron GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGER Stacy Murray INTERACTIVE DESIGN DIRECTOR Alison Valvo USER EXPERIENCE DESIGNER Billy Valvo ONLINE CONTENT DIRECTOR Navindra Persaud MARKETING & EVENT ASSOCIATE Melissa Pianin HEAD OF ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH Andrew Berman FOUNDING PUBLISHER Joel Berman

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

www.ambizmedia.com

© 2020 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 345 North Main St., Suite 313 West Hartford, CT 06117 Phone: (860) 719-1991 info@ambizmedia.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

5

LEW SICHELMAN

THE MORTGAGE SCENE

Agents Of Ill Advice Real estate agents are dispensing loan advice.

It’s time they stopped.

BY LEW SICHELMAN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

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ore wanna-be home buyers than not start the process with a call to their favorite real estate agent as opposed to the loan officer or mortgage broker who is going to handle their financing.

Of course, that’s just plain wrong.

The first stop for anyone who intends to purchase a house should be with a lender. That’s the point when they can lay their finances bare, find out how much house they can afford and get pre-approved – or rejected – so they can start the process armed with the knowledge that once their realty agent finds them the property of their dreams, they can proceed quickly to tie down the deal.

But lately, realty agents have been moving in on what it says here is rightfully the mortgage sector’s turf. Many have become financing “experts,” advising their clients about stuff they don’t really know enough about, if they know anything at all.

This topic was brought to mind on the last day of June when Inman News, a web-based news service aimed at real estate agents and brokers, published a piece about what its audience should know about today’s mortgage market.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote extensively for the site until this year.)

UNQUALIFIED ADVISORS The story gave me chills, as it should every mortgage professional.

Sure, agents should be well versed in what’s occurring in the financing field; i.e., that lenders are moving away from more risky loans, as the piece suggests, or that qualification standards have tightened considerably. And yes, agents should, as many do, advise wouldbe clients to see a lender first, then hunt for a house.

But asking them if they have enough savings if the economy continues to falter, if they have any kind of job security, how strong is their credit score or if they’ve gathered all the necessary documentation to support their loan applications? That’s what the author, Salomon Chong, CEO of The Mortgage Hub in Southern California, suggests.

To be fair, Chong writes under the supposition that COVID-19 will linger into next year, so “it’s prudent for agents to set expectations and explain to buyers that getting a mortgage during the coronavirus can be a little challenging.”

But aren’t those questions the lender’s bailiwick? Agents should

help buyers and sellers buy and sell houses and leave the financing stuff to the folks who work that key part of the process, day-in and day-out.

After all, mortgage professionals don’t help buyers find their ideal homes, do they?

BECOMING DISCUSSION OBSTACLES Take the aforementioned issue of how much house a buyer can afford, for example. Realty agents aren’t equipped to review their clients’ financial situation to come up with that figure, but mortgage professionals are.

There’s good reason for a buyer to know the max they can offer and still be able to secure funding and slide to the closing table without a hitch. For one thing, they will be able to shop in a price range they know they can afford as opposed to looking around in a realm for which they can’t possibly win approval.

That, alone, is reason enough for a real estate agent to send a new client to a lender before running the client from house to house to house, either in person or virtually on the Internet. To do otherwise could mean both client and agent could be wasting each other’s time.

For another thing, when a buyer is armed with a lender’s preapproval – not pre-qualification, but preapproval – he is telling sellers he’s gold. There’s not likely to be any glitches with financing, which, after problematic inspections, is a major reason deals fall through.

But how many realty agents will warn borrowers that they might

Photo credit: iStockphoto / Eitan Ricon Editions

How many realty agents will warn borrowers that they might not want to bite off more than they can chew?

not want to bite off more than they can chew? Or, in other words, go to the limit of their buying power? To do so could leave them house poor, so much so that if they don’t have anything left in the tank after settlement, they could lose the place they’ve worked so hard for should they be hit with any kind of financial setback. I suspect more loan agents than realty agents would offer such a warning, especially if the loan could wind up back in their lap.

Lenders also can help buyers put their finances in order, especially their all-important credit scores. Scores are now the Holy Grail of housing finance, and poor advice from a well-meaning, yet unknowing realty agent can set people back rather than propel them forward.

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. He also has been the real estate editor at two major Washington, D.C., dailies and spent 30 years on the staff of National Mortgage News, formerly National Thrift News.

MISDIRECTION AWAY FROM LOs

I

'm not picking on Inman, believe me, but another June 30 article on the site offered five credit myths agents should explain to rookie home buyers. Here, I take exception with Myth No. 4, “Paying off a collection or debt removes it from my credit report.” Not because it’s wrong, but because it doesn’t go far enough.

The story by Vance Kellogg, director of marketing and communications with Red Door Agency in Kingsport, Tenn., correctly points out that there’s no way to remove a derogatory item from a person’s credit file unless it is incorrect.

It remains there for seven years before simply fading away.

But he fails to note that the older the collection or missed payment is, the less it counts against your overall score. And he doesn’t mention at all that if an old derog is paid off, it becomes a new entry and counts far more than if you just leave it alone. So, yes, leave it alone, but for the right reasons.

Kellogg also points out, again correctly, that lenders look at how long an applicant’s credit accounts have been open. Thus, he advises keeping an old account open, even if it is no longer used, is better than closing it out. But he doesn’t mention that having only three to seven credit accounts is ideal.

Nor does he even reference the fact that more important than the age of the account is how much of the allowable credit is being used.

It’s better to keep balances at 30 percent of the credit. That shows buyers use their credit allocation responsibly, which is what lenders are really looking for.

And do you really want someone other than yourself trying to explain the intricacies of the various products from which your clients can choose? Can you count on a realty agent to know where your borrowers can find assistance if they are a tad short on cash for a downpayment?

Who do you trust with that kind of information? And who do you think a buyer who has a poor experience will come back on if things don’t go smoothly?

This is why lending professionals should be out there beating the bushes, telling their prized realty agents and brokers to work their side of the transaction and let you handle the financing end. To cede even a portion of the financing side to your realty agent partners could prove to be disastrous.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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CHRISTINE BECKWITH

BECKWITH BLOG

Playing The Green

BY CHRISTINE BECKWITH | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

T

he mortgage industry is cyclical. What goes up must come down.

We all know this if you have spent a minute in this field.

That is hard to imagine right now when we see everyone shoveling the mountain of refinance business that has landed at our feet.

Yes, there are so many cycles of yester years that left us refinance rich. I know because I watched the same young guys who bought the million-dollar homes and filled the yards like a scene out of “MTV Cribs” lose their shirts, literally and figuratively when it was all said and done.

I do not want to be the naysayer of broken records and happy people.

I don’t want to rain the parade we’ve waited in the streets to see come for a over a decade, not after we sat looking out the proverbial window for so long for the rainy day to be over. But I do want to warn and prepare people and if I can do that much and see

this advice taken heed I will feel as though I did my part.

Following the interest rate and real estate markets journey this past year has been the tale of ten lives. All wrapped around a historic Pandemic one thing has never been truer and that is the grit of the mortgage industry to show up, deliver and continue to thrive despite so many obstacles. Never in the history of our lives has this volume of work been done literally across the nation from living rooms and dining rooms of mortgage professionals, proving that our mobility has finally reached its pinnacle.

REFINANCE RICH: THE SHORT GAME Is there such a term as “Refinance Rich?” Sure. We coined it long ago.

When the rate winds blew in our favor, the sails would take flight and the seas would be our oyster.

The surge of the 2020 refinance bubble has reached its fever pitch this summer and stacking Benjamins is an actual thing.

But will you save? Will you recognize or have the context of the market that the elder age range of our originator pool has?

Many mortgage forecasters predict

this surge to continue well into 2021 and possibly last the entire year so with this in mind staying cool headed seems to be an immediate threat.

REMEMBERING REALTORS: THE LONG GAME Our business for the past decade by and large derived from Realtors. We cultivated long-term relationships from every mortgage seat that could be found. But many have lost focus on Realtor relationships when in pandemic for several reasons.

THE DISTRACTION There are many reasons that caused a neglect of our real estate partners.

However, the one threatening us right now is our lost focus due to the sheer refinance volume.

1. Refinance Volume Distraction.

2. Pandemic: Being quarantined with real estate offices closed has limited abilities for loan officer to realtor interaction.

3. Realtors could not show homes during the pandemic, leaving open houses virtual.

4. Loan officers could not meet their realtors for lunch/dinner.

5. Closings became virtual and/or e-sign.

6. Conventions were shut down.

Yes, for us to not lose sight of the long-term core of all our businesses it is going to take a concerted effort.

Of course we should try to help every American homeowner at a time that rates are at an incredible all-time low.

But that needs to be peppered with time spent connecting with our real estate partners.

NURTURING REAL ESTATE PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS! Realtors have relied heavily during Covid-19 on the mortgage professionals’ economic updates, to their lead in this fight to survive. Loan Officers and Mortgage companies, banks and brokers have continued to try to educate their R.E. partners. But that challenge has become daunting considering the mobility issues.

Some of the suggested best ways now to reconnect are: • Holding valuable Zoom education: Realtors could benefit from pertinent and timely education like time management or organizational tips. Great loan originators have educational content to share and know that showing up matters.

• Great industry reading: Articles like this can become valuable to shoot out with CRMs or just deliver by personal email.

• Offering to solve problems: Helping them connect to mobility or sharing what top real estate firms are doing to become completely virtual and mobile can help trailing firms get up to speed or even help older Realtors adapt.

• Staying Connected: At the very base of what mortgage pros should do is make a valiant effort to stay connected, blocking a few hours a

week to focus on this is key right now, or it might otherwise not be done.

while still making a real effort to serve their purchase partners.

So, the sweet spot in my mind is

I use a lot of metaphoric training for mortgage pros. That visual you create to help them look at their own careers or lives in a different way connects. So my analogy for this market right now is the difference between refinance volume and purchase volume is whether the LO picks up the field of apples on the ground or continues to walk past some of it to climb the tree and continue to pick the really rich apples (Purchase business).

Years ago, I helped recruit a purchased focused branch and they had been a purchased focus team for two decades, richly woven in real estate relationship they would boast of not losing sight during refinance booms. Today the same team remains #1 in a national firm their historical analytics siting down volume during refi months as opposed to their competition and up volume during the down refinance months. The result = Being #1 due to steady business and not riding an incredible rollercoaster that winds up dumping you out at the end by purely doing refinance.

Even with this knowledge I asked them what their focus and numbers looked like this month and they said they too were unable to avoid the obvious windfall of refinance opportunity and that many of those folks are their past clients from previous purchase business so they have brought on younger and greener loan originators and hired many loan officer assistants to help assist with the incredible volume of refinance,

that. Staying somehow focused on both. If you take your eye off the ball right now some other competitor is going to swoop in and grab that market share and how that plays out in the long game is yet to be seen.

Of course, golfers will tell you that your short game makes you a winner but if you ask a pro, they will tell you that your long game in the end is vital. In fact, it is the staple of what sets you apart from the amateurs.

Because without the long game, there can be no short game wins.

TIME TO GET IT RIGHT We hope this round, people get it right. And even more important than the business aspect is the work/life balance challenges we see emerging.

People working distracted for 12-14 hours a day from home, not present of mind due to this incredible obligation.

Professionals need to learn to balance their workload, to be efficient, to be the controller of their business highways and to guard their times intelligently. Something even veterans are challenged with on a normal day. As a certified time management coach I see that struggle and the price professionals pay when they don’t have control of it play out in the lives of each of them.

A three-time best-selling author, Christine Beckwith is president & COO of 20/20 Vision for Success Coaching.

“Without the long game, there can be no short game wins.”

Photo credit: iStockphoto / zhaojiankang

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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DAVE HERSHMAN

MENTORING CORNER

The Keys To An Effective Training Program Loan origination is an industry that needs financial expertise

BY DAVE HERSHMAN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

T

he mortgage industry is not known for excellence in training. Before nationwide licensing requirements, there was little-or-no training required in most states. And even now, the only required training is the 20-hour pre-licensing course -in which the curriculum is in no way designed to help originators perform their job. It is almost totally focused upon industry laws and ethics, very important topics, but not helpful for originators’ quest to assist others with one of the most important financial decision they will make in a lifetime.

To become trusted mortgage advisors, loan officers must become experts in an entire field.

To become a Certified Financial Planner, the average time that is required to finish the

coursework is 12 to 18 months and a college degree is required as well. A CPA? A college degree in accounting and 150 hours of additional coursework.

For loan officers? No college degree required and 20 hours studying the law. If you go to work for a federally chartered bank, the 20 hours is waived. Though, most banks have a pretty rigorous legal training requirement. Expert training? That is another story.

Of course, many major lenders have in-house “universities” and there are schools such as OriginationPro Mortgage School, which offer courses to individuals and smaller and mid-sized companies. But coursework is not enough. Moving on from the required licensing curriculum, an effective educational program must have many facets.

For one thing, it should be individualized. A novice with no experience would need more training than someone with 10 years of experience. But do not assume that experience obviates the need for training. For example,

if someone has worked inside a bank branch for a decade and now is becoming a “street” loan officer, there would be much to learn. If a broker comes to work for a banker, again, the curriculum would been to be individualized.

It would need to be diversified.

Classroom training would not be enough. There would be needs for on-line segments, classroom training and field training. Beyond that there would be a need for mentoring.

WHAT SHOULD TRAINING COVER Orientation.

Welcoming someone to the company is not enough. A formal orientation program would include everything from signing up for benefits to learning the company systems. For example, training on the loan origination system (LOS) and company specific products and programs. There may be four to 10 technologies an originator should learn—from the LOS to a companyprovided customer relation management (CRM) system.

Financing a home is just an important decision in someone’s life as purchasing an investment.

The basics.

For novices, basic financial training is a must. Here they would learn the basics of qualification, various types of mortgage loans such as ARMs, sources of mortgages such as FHA/VA and how to take a loan application.

Advanced topics.

For OriginationPro Mortgage School, these topics include the economics of homeownership, introduction to secondary marketing, refinances, comparing mortgage options and delivering great customer service by mastering the loan process. You can’t build a referral base without delivering great customer service. And that is not so easy in our business.

Mentorship.

Training without mentorship would be incomplete. Mentorship might include anything from role-playing to coaching to reviewing loan files.

It is important to have a formal mentorship program, especially if you are integrating in-experienced originators.

ONGOING NEEDS Keep in mind that education should also be ongoing. And we are not just talking about covering industry changes or new products. For example, you might get introduced to social media marketing in a course, but an originator could take a complete course on the topic. If the loan officer is serving real estate agents, perhaps they should take a real estate licensing course so that

they know more about those they are serving.

When you individualize the training plan, you must decide in which areas the originator would need to go deeper. Certain training might be added each year. One should never stop learning.

Does putting together a complete and diverse individualized marketing plan take a lot of thought and work?

Absolutely. On the other hand, let’s go back to becoming a CPA or CFP. I would argue that financing a home is just an important decision in someone’s life as purchasing an investment. Or filing taxes. Actually, their home is even more important. It is a position that requires expertise.

Dave Hershman, senior vice-president of sales for Weichert Financial Services, is an author with seven books published.

Photo credit: iStockphoto / ucpage

Sales and Marketing training.

The emphasis on these topics would again vary depending upon the needs of the individual and institution.

For example, an inside loan officer converting leads would need more

focused sales training, while a street loan officer would need more help on the marketing side.

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| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

CREDIT PREP

Laser Focus On Details To Get Clients Mortgage Ready Credit help is still the greatest need

BY PAMELA M. MARRON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

O

WHO DOES WHAT? There are some client issues where the loan originator can do the work to get the client ready for a mortgage.

But most loan originators prefer to have the client get help elsewhere and come back when they are ready for a mortgage.

A prime objective of this pilot is to show mortgage loan originators how to refer challenged clients to the right housing and credit counselors.

The value of HUD approved housing and credit counselors is that they can stay connected to the client until needed help is done.

LOAN ORIGINATORS CAN HELP Short Term Credit Help (Maximumone year): Loan originators who want to help clients improve credit scores can use CreditXpert tools such as the Wayfinder and the What If Simulator.

Knowledge of how to use these tools and attention to sensitive timeframes of steps to be done needs to be the focus. Contact your credit reporting agency to get training.

Long Term Credit Help: There are clients who have credit that is so difficult to untangle that long-term help (1-5 years) is needed. This is where I’d suggest working with indepth HUD certified credit counselors.

Counselors may work on debt management (but not debt settlement, which hurts credit even further), debt consolidation, student loan refinancing even when delinquent, and bankruptcy, modification and foreclosure counseling.

This is not credit repair but help where the credit counselor works directly with the client and their creditors to correct and rebuild credit.

Contacting a HUD approved agency under the National Foundation For Credit Counselling (www.nfcc. org) or Navicore Solutions (www. navicoresolutions.org) to help with long-term credit is a first suggestion.

COVID-19 Credit Issues: We are experiencing an increase in clients who own a home and have been

affected with job layoffs. Many of them have found other work or are working reduced hours and are looking to tap into existing equity in their homes to get through hard times. A national emergency proclamation was made on March 1, 2020 prior to the forbearance directives and seems to have suppressed negative credit normally seen with a forbearance.

I’ve already run and rerun two clients with forbearance applied to a mortgage even though they didn’t end up being delinquent. Results were approvals through both Fannie Mae Desktop Originator and Freddie Mac Loan Product Advisor automated underwriting systems. Don’t assume that forbearance credit affected clients must wait. Run these loans through both systems. For qualified clients who are up to date on payments, getting a refinance may be possible.

A DOWN PAYMENT RESOURCE

PAM MARRON

ne month ago, a webinar that showed loan originators how to connect with HUD approved housing and credit counselors to get clients “mortgage ready” was presented on the NMP TV platform. I’ve been told often that loan originators have little interest in this type of business, but that wasn’t evident with the 711 people signed up.

Maybe it’s the time we are in, but I’ve heard from many colleagues in the mortgage business who are looking for a solution for clients who want a home but aren’t ready yet.

Let’s discuss what is working for clients.

Credit help is still the greatest need, followed closely by down payment assistance and rounded out with home budgeting.

Calls and emails came in after the webinar offering defined services.

Even an intake platform is being examined that could be used by loan originators to keep track of where clients are sent and their ongoing progress. The goal is to have options available that are simple to follow and that can be housed at my site: www.

Clients2Homeowners.com.

Help for down payment assistance has grown to be almost as important as the need for credit help.

DownPaymentResource.com was introduced during the webinar. The site provides a comprehensive list of down payment assistance programs and recently added wholesaler down payment assistance was presented.

This is an incredible tool for loan originators who struggle to match up guidelines of secondary down payment assistance financing and first mortgage financing correctly.

Stay tuned.

Pamela M. Marron is a senior loan originator with Innovative Mortgage Services Inc.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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ALPH LOVUOLO

THE MORTGAGE GODFATHER

Solving The ‘Call Reluctance’ Issue Give what people want and you’ll get what you want

BY RALPH LOVUOLO, SR. | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

I

t is not an exaggeration to say that the answer to this question has been a lifelong quest that has consumed every competent coach or trainer. It is not just in the mortgage business that this situation exists. But since this is my home, I’ll address it here.

It starts with the concept that has been postulated by every past and present motivational speaker. I heard it first from a video I saw 3540 years ago that had the speaker Zig Ziglar addressing a group. He spoke to me and it struck a chord; “Give people what they want, and they will give you what you want.”

I practiced it to some extent when I started as a loan officer (then known as Mortgage Solicitortake notice of the capitalizations).

In the ‘70’s and ‘80’s when I visited a real estate office, it was my practice to inquire as to whether or not they had any new listings.

When they said yes, I asked if they wanted me to visit the property, acting as if I was a potential buyer.

The potential buyer act was if the property was occupied. If the property was vacant, I’d just ask for the key and take a ride over.

The real purpose was to see if I noticed anything that might not pass muster when the appraiser was there. Although most real estate brokers had some experience at that time, they were reluctant to tell the seller of faults they saw. For the most part they were so happy to get the listing, they hardly spent any time in looking the property over.

HOW TO MEET GREAT REALTORS Helping real estate people make money outside of the basic reason for my wanting to do business with them was accomplished through this slight subterfuge. It was a given that doing as instructed, I would approach most real estate people and discuss my extensive knowledge. (I spent years studying and learning the basics of the rate/bond market, processing and underwriting and closing mortgages, the secondary market, the functions of the FHA and VA and every intricate detail I could learn.)

Let me address some of the highlights of the entire concept of selling the most powerful thing in the world: An idea!!

As an MLO, you struggle

with the oldest two questions in the mortgage industry, “Who am I supposed to see?” - and if you’re lucky enough to be directed to anyone who actually does business, the next thing you ask is “What am I supposed to say?”

The answer to the first question is almost always the same, “Go see Realtors.” The answer to the second question is, “Tell them about our service, our programs and our rates.” But these don’t help very much. In fact, they are negatives to establishing that you are knowledgeable, interested in helping people get good advice, service oriented, and serious about making what you do a career.

Think of this. The Realtors you want to do business with are struggling with all the complexities of the real estate transaction. They are trying to find clients who they can convince to list their house with them. They are trying to find people who want to buy a house. What I’ve always believed is that you, the MLO, have an obligation to speak with the Realtor/salesperson with a voice of encouragement and to help them think of ways to market their services. Remember, all of your competition has been told the answers above. But this will lead you to the secret I have discovered.

HELPFUL TEXTS ARE THE ANSWER The answer is so simple, many people will pass it off as too

mundane, not fancy enough, not in line with the marketing courses taught in universities. The regular, direct texting of positive and interesting content is the best way, by far. It is worlds above any other way to accomplish all of the basic goals the MLO is tasked to do.

Before you even have a conversation with a Realtor, send ideas that will be helpful. Ideas their managers are too busy to remind them of. The concepts that will change their entire prospective of their chosen craft.

Long ago, I discovered that there are three things every salesperson should do to create a long lasting, deep relationship with a referral source. They are: 1. Give away information to the referral source you are pursuing (i.e. help that person succeed), 2. Have the person you’re trying to help, understand that you will help them freely and that what you expect in return is a referral of someone that needs financing to buy a home, and, 3. Be persistent, be consistent, be actively and helpfully tenacious in your desire to be helpful.

Photo credit: iStock.com/andresr

“The regular, direct texting of positive and interesting content is the best way, by far.”

BE INSTANTLY PRODUCTIVE The long unanswered question is, “What is an easy way to meet the referral source when given the fact that they are consistently being harassed by MLO’s who preach the gospel of rates, points, programs, service and competition?” The answer is seriously simple: send them messages via text that remind them of ways that will help them be more productive, more focused, more direct, more excited, more interesting, more knowledgeable about marketing their business.

Texts are read more readily than emails. Texts are more difficult to

skip over. Texts are harmless, but by using the texts I have for you, texts will get you noticed. And that is the crux of this concept. You are no longer someone who bothers a referral source. You are a person who helps Realtors think, and they are thinking about your ideas and you.

In a practical way, texts should be sent on the same day and at the same time every week. It is difficult for a Realtor to reject short phrases that help them to think and act proactively, both about themselves and also about their buyers and sellers.

After four weeks of texting positive ideas, the MLO is now ready to have a conversation with a Realtor. All they need to do is discuss the texts they have been sending.

The actual procedure is simple. The first text should be sent on a Friday afternoon, and it should say exactly these words: Hi----------, I’m hoping that you’ve had a great week.

I just want you to know that if you need me this weekend to do a pre-

qual or pre-approval, or just speak to a buyer or seller, I’ll be available.

It would be great to hear from you.

Thank you (Your Name and phone).

This text should be sent to every single Realtor you know. It doesn’t matter if you have done business with them or not. Eliminate no one.

Then for three consecutive weeks you need to send them a text at the same day and time as the first. Now you are probably wondering what the composition of the next texts should be. Send me a request and I’ll send them to you. Four weeks after the first text and subsequently every fourth week, you must repeat the first text. What comes in between is what I’ll send you if you ask via themortgagegodfather.com.

Ralph LoVuolo creates a daily video @ www.oneideaaday.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

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

BUILD-A-BROKER: Think SWOT To Grow Your Brokerage Mix The Artificial And Human Touch To Win For Years YOUR FIRST MILLION DOLLARS: Being A Winner At Digital Doesn’t Require Sacrificing Your Humanity CAREER TICKER: People On The Move

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE //

> Nationwide

Mortgage Bankers announced that Brad Robinson has been hired as its chief financial officer.

Robinson brings over 18 years’ mortgage industry experience to the job.

> BayCoast

Mortgage Co. hired Daniel Kirschner as a mortgage loan officer.

Kirschner joins the company from Worcester County, Massachusetts, a new market area for the company.

> Tim Von

Kaenel assumed the newly created role of chief innovation officer for Sagent, a mortgage fintech company based in Pennsylvania.

> Planet Home

Lending, a national lender and servicer, promoted Stephanie Gibbons to vice president, national underwriting manager, distributed retail.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

17

BUILD-A-BROKER

How To Conduct A SWOT Analysis For Your Brokerage

BY ADAM ENFROY | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

I

n a nutshell, doing a SWOT analysis is vital, because it helps you know where your business stands. And performing a SWOT Analysis is one of the major ways you can know exactly where your business stands and avoid said pitfalls so your business doesn’t become another statistic.

In this article, we will define SWOT Analysis, explain why you need to conduct one, and show you how to do it. Plus, there will be plenty of examples along the way.

WHAT IS A SWOT ANALYSIS? SWOT Analysis stands for: Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats It’s an approach you use to evaluate your business and know whether it is on track to reach its growth projections and its performance reflects that. Use it to assess individual projects, a department, or an entire organization.

WHY DO YOU HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE SWOT OF YOUR BROKERAGE? Since you started your brokerage, you probably know everything about it right? Wrong. While you might

think you have every little detail at your fingertips, here are three valid reasons you need to conduct a SWOT analysis: 1. To identify your strengths: Once you know what your company excels in, you can do even more in those areas and consolidate your position on the market.

2. To uncover weaknesses: A SWOT Analysis lays bare all the areas where you are not doing well.

You can then draw up plans and strategies on how to improve.

3. To sharpen your focus: As an entrepreneur, it’s easy for you to become so absorbed in the running of your company until you get off track totally unaware. Assessing your performance helps you refocus on metrics that matter and get back in line.

HOW DO YOU CONDUCT A SWOT ANALYSIS? Let’s look at the steps you take when doing a SWOT Analysis. We will follow the four components of the process.

STRENGTHS Strengths are the internal components you have going for you which cover: • Aspects your business is good at.

• Good qualities and unique skills that

put you ahead of the competition.

• Sufficient resources like skilled manpower and technology in place like business networks to stay connected.

• Assets, e.g., buildings, capital, technology.

• Quality software and tools that can integrate with finance like mobile form data, Salesforce, and cloudbased accounting software To gauge your organization’s strengths, ask yourself these questions: • What are your standout positive brand attributes?

• Do you have extensive experience in your industry?

• What resources do you have that your competitors don’t have?

• Do you have a unique selling proposition your competitors are afraid to copy?

• What’s the one good thing customers can only get from you?

To make it even easier to identify your strengths, look at how hyperfocused you are whether it’s the product you’re selling or the market you’re targeting. The more focused your product, the more persuasive it will be.

One example is the AI-driven calendar brand Woven who position themselves as an all-

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE //

> Civic Financial

Services, an institutional private money lender, added Prateek Khokhar as the company’s chief financial officer.

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> Sagent, a

mortgage fintech company based in Pennsylvania, hired Shawn Stroud as its new director of information security.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

> Total Expert,

a fintech company specializing in fully-integrated platforms for the mortgage industry, hired Laura Theodore as vice president of customer success.

> Planet Home

Lending, a national lender and servicer, promoted Nicole Berg to vice president, national underwriting manager, retention.

“What impacts the success of your digital marketing strategy is knowing your unique selling proposition and target market.” in-one scheduling tool for smart entrepreneurs: Their key strength is providing AI in their calendar solution (technology), taking the hassle out of scheduling meetings and events.

You can also find a specific niche and position your business to become a go-to-resource for your customers.

WEAKNESSES Weaknesses are the internal issues going against you which include: • What your business doesn’t do well (e.g., team management) • What your competitors are doing better than you.

• Lack of resources, such as insufficient capital.

• Areas where you need further training and education.

To uncover your company’s weaknesses, pose these questions: • What do your customers complain about most?

• Perform a website analysis and determine if your website is user friendly?

• Which areas must you improve on to catch up with competitors?

• What skills must you gain to improve?

Weaknesses don’t spell doom for your business as long as you will invest in changing them by reassigning more resources to improve your product or service.

OPPORTUNITIES Opportunities are the growth channels which include: • Current customers who want more from you.

• A new and ready market that’s waiting for your product/service.

• Hardly any competitors in your area/ space.

• Related products and services you can provide.

To spot opportunities your business can exploit for growth, ask yourself the following questions: • How can you do more for your current customers?

• Are there any changes in the market you could take advantage of?

• Is there positive publicity you can maximize?

• Is there a tool you can afford that can explode your business? E.g., marketing automation tools and sales tools to scale your marketing strategy on autopilot.

THREATS Threats, external forces that pose a danger to your success, can include: • The emergence of a strong competitor.

• A nosedive in the economy.

• A negative shift in how customers perceive your brand.

• Poorly written legal forms to protect your business.

To see the threats that can harm your business, ask these questions: • Has your competitor released a new product that makes yours look inferior?

• Has your competitor significantly improved their product?

• Is your churn rate way above average?

Threats to your organization are external, and you don’t have control over them. But you can prepare for them or take strategic corrective measures to blunt their impact.

HOW TO GATHER SWOT ANALYSIS DATA Now that you know which questions to ask, here are different methods to use and get the answers you need: 1. Customer Reviews Scour through your customer reviews to discover both your strong points and weak areas.

2. Qualifications Audit Examine your team’s professional qualifications to see the expertise at your disposal and the knowledge gaps you must fill.

3. Brainstorming Session Convene a meeting for all your workers and have an honest discussion about your organization and its performance.

4. Focus Group Discussion Gather your best customers and have a no-holds-barred discussion about your performance and how customers at large perceive you. Or, send out a survey to your email list as part of your quarterly email marketing strategy to those who are already warm to your brand.

5. Competitor Research Research your competitors using various online tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, and SpyFu. With several dashboards to log in and out of, a password manager can be handy to protect data privacy.

SWOT ANALYSIS: START TODAY! As an originator, it’s easy to get caught up running your business and forget to take a moment to evaluate how well you’re doing. And I’m not talking about looking at your numbers. It’s about going deep and uncovering the good and bad stuff about your business to know where you stand. However strong the urge may be to keep going, resist it.

Take a moment to pause, reflect, and coursecorrect by conducting a thorough SWOT Analysis. Your business will be better for it.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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BUILD-A-BROKER

What Homebuyers Want: Automated Processes And Human Help Brokers who provide outstanding customer service now will win for years

BY DANIEL AKIVA | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

A

fter April’s 18% decline in home sales, May saw a 26% month-over-month jump in new home mortgage applications (up 10.9% from 2019). The trend accelerated in June, with a 20% month-over-month increase (up 54.1% from 2019) Pent-up demand, combined with historically low rates, means those who can buy homes are eager to do so.

But it’s not just the return to buying that’s important right now. It’s also the way people are buying. Demand is high but stock is low, meaning sales for desirable properties are happening fast. What’s more, ongoing social distancing means many buyers and sellers are reluctant to share space more than necessary, making digital

tools more important than ever.

And yet housing remains the biggest purchase many people make. So for wholesale lenders (and the brokers that offer their products), automated tech to speed and distance processes isn’t enough. They need to have human support accessible and at the ready.

If they can leverage automation to create an accelerated homebuying experience, while also providing pathways to human support when things get tricky, wholesale lenders and brokers can help borrowers feel empowered, educated, and confident in their decisions.

Automation and human support don’t have to be at odds with each other. A closer look at the specific features customers want during the mortgage process shows how the

Wholesale lenders need to equip their brokers with the tech that both empowers them to automate the origination process and enhances their legendary customer care skills.

two can work hand in hand. Here, I’ll highlight key findings about contemporary borrower expectations for the mortgage application process and explain how wholesalers can meet those expectations to win more customers.

HUMAN ENGAGEMENT: FOR THE UNEXPECTED To understand how today’s homebuyers see automation and human engagement as complementary forces, take a look at Amazon’s customer support.

Say a customer intended to order a single hand-soap dispenser but rushed the buying process and accidentally ordered 24. Rather than hoarding them all, they can instantly contact a representative through the mobile application, either over the phone or through a chat feature.

In other words: as long as everything’s going as expected, customers like digitized, automated processes. If the customer ordered what they intended to, there would be no need to contact a customer service rep.

But when something goes wrong, CONTINUED ON PAGE 61

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE //

> Narayan

Bharadwaj is the new senior vice president of automation for Indecomm Global Services.

Bharadwaj will be responsible for automation strategy and execution.

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> Mortgage

banking company Merchants Capital hired Dwayne George as executive vice president, national head of production.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

> LRES

Corporation, a real estate appraisal, valuations and asset management company, named Tina Suihkonen senior director of commercial services.

> Julie M.

Joseforsky was appointed director of fulfillment servicers for The StoneHill Group.

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YOUR FIRST MILLION DOLLARS

How To Survive And Thrive In The Digital Real Estate Shift The most successful approach in the digital age is being more human

BY GEOFF ZIMPFER, SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

T

he advent of technology has called into question the future role of real estate agents and mortgage loan originators. Well-funded tech firms are attempting to disrupt and relegate the role of agent and lender in a fashion similar to the once prominent travel agent.

The future isn’t “approaching.” The future is here! How can you pivot and profit vs. be disrupted and displaced?

If you’re going to survive the digital shift, you have to start with understanding the impact of the digital culture on consumer behavior and expectations. The following are excerpts from my recent book “Disrupt or Die.”

THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL CULTURE Remember “going to the bank?” When Amazon sold only books? In 1997, we were warned not to talk to strangers on the Internet, much less get into cars with them at night. In 2020, we use the Internet to bring strangers to

our homes and get in their cars.

People are more comfortable than ever integrating technology into all aspects of their lives and demand efficiency, speed and personalization.

COVID-19 has accelerated the pace of change in real estate. Agents and lenders are forced to rethink almost every aspect of their business — closing deals remotely, integrating technology, virtual selling and prioritizing service over sales.

THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA The average homebuyer spends nearly 14 hours a week on social, and 65% say they are influenced by online friends’ home-buying posts. After seeing that their online friends bought a home, about 33% of millennial firsttime homebuyers say they reflect on their ability to do the same, according to USA Today.

That means that it’s important for you to cultivate a strong social media presence to remain relevant to bring in new referrals and leads. Do you have a robust presence on social media? About 93% of consumers expect you to have

a social media presence, reports Cone, Inc. If not, you are fading away from consumer attention.

BECOMING KNOWN According to Fannie Mae’s 2019 National Housing Survey, fewer people are using their lender as a primary source for information. Just 47% now compared with 58% in 2015.

People are using portals and websites instead to self-educate.

Consumers are seeking information. If they don’t get it from lenders, they’ll get it from another source. You and I both know the information consumers get online is not always accurate or relevant.

Is your website or social media presence a source of education for prospects? Do you publish content, videos, articles or podcasts to help guide people in making an informed decision?

You are being evaluated by your online presence. If you’re not producing content, you basically don’t exist.

To be relevant today and get chosen, we must first become known and win the customer early.

Here is a business truth: People buy

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE //

> Ncontracts

marketing.

22

announced that Guy Weismantel joined the company as executive vice president of

> Planet Home

Lending, a national lender and servicer, promoted Michaelene Whyte from processing manager of the East to vice president, national fulfillment, distributed retail.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

> Waterstone

Mortgage Corporation promoted Rich Tucker to chief operating officer at the Pewaukeebased corporate office in Wisconsin.

> SRE Mortgage

Alliance promoted John G. Stevens to chief revenue officer. He assumes that role in addition to continuing as chief marketing officer.

“To be relevant today and get chosen, we must first become known and win the customer early.” from who they know, like, and trust.

You’re in a business that requires you to be known, be likeable and be trustworthy.

It’s not enough to just be known for getting a mortgage. That’s not unique and doesn’t create authority or human connection in and of itself, relegating you to competing on price alone.

How do you rise above the noise, become known, and get people to choose you? What will you be known for? What can you do that’s uniquely you? You can become known by going “all in” on your chosen social media platform or content type and having a unique style or point of view.

Sean Cahan, president and producing loan originator of Cornerstone Mortgage Group in San Diego branded himself as “The Mortgage Geek.” Denise Donahue branded herself as “The Mortgage Nerd.” Both are leveraging video to become known, lead with education and make it fun.

Another way to become known is to specialize in a loan product or demographic niches. Think VA, USDA, 203K, First Timers, Multigenerational, Divorce, VA, First Responders, Empty Nesters, Investors, Singles and more!

Rick Elmendorf with Caliber Home Loans always had an admiration for the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces, which has inspired him to help thousands of military personnel obtain VA financing. Rick ranks as the #1 VA lender for purchase volume in Metro

DC, funding over $80 million in VA loans in 2019.

DISRUPT PROOF YOUR BUSINESS Consumers increasingly value the role of lender as trusted advisor for their unique situation more than ever before.

The modern originator doesn’t just quote rates and fees. They are a helpful guide, assisting consumers in understanding the overwhelming barrage of information by providing meaningful interpretation and implementation of a personalized solution.

Some believe artificial intelligence will disrupt the human interaction with homebuyers and remove loan officers entirely from the equation.

However, data does not suggest this will happen anytime soon.

According to consumer research by Price Waterhouse Coopers, today’s borrowers prefer a combination of digital tools with knowledgeable advisors.

You don’t sell mortgages. That’s just the end result of creating trust.

Trust is a feeling created through a combination of personal engagement with a brand (you) and the shared experience of others with that brand (what others say about you).

Robert Cialdini is the Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and was a visiting professor of marketing, business and psychology

at Stanford University. His books, including “Influence” and “PreSuasion,” have sold more than five million copies in 41 different languages and Fortune lists his books in its “75 Smartest Business Books.”

In a recent interview, Dr. Cialdini was asked, “In this very noisy, overwhelming world, what can anybody do to stand out?” Without hesitation, he said just three words: “Be. More. Human.”

In a world of algorithms, machine learning and automation, being more human creates emotion, gives meaning and impact.

Geoff Zimpfer is the host of the podcast Mortgage Marketing Radio which just celebrated its fifth year, having reached over 350,000 downloads.

Photo credit: iStockphoto / m-imagephotography

> ESL Federal

Credit Union in Rochester, New York, announced the addition of Tony Holmes as the credit union’s vice president/director, mortgage lending.

> Planet Home

Lending, a national lender and servicer, promoted Lauren Reames from processing manager of retention to vice president, national fulfillment, retention.

> LBA Ware

tapped financial data and analytics industry expert Brian Jordan as director of product management.

> LERETA, a

national real estate tax and flood services provider, promoted Jim McGurer, a 27year mortgage industry expert, to senior vice president of tax operations.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

23

LEADERSHIP LESSONS

The ABCs Of Success Directives that will deal you a better hand

BY HARVEY MACKAY | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

Success is a journey, not a destination. You may take a few detours, hit some roadblocks and arrive at a different place than you planned.

Success comes in many forms and means different things to different people. In the working world, it is often defined as landing the perfect job, achieving a targeted income level, occupying a corner office or owning a business. However you measure it, success is sweet. And it doesn’t happen overnight.

Harvey Mackay

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE //

> Total Expert, a

fintech company specializing in fully-integrated platforms for the mortgage and financial services industries, appointed Kevin Dotzenrod as vice president of engineering.

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> Mortgage

Connect named Tim Anderson as senior vice president of digital technologies.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

> Homespire

Mortgage is building on its Southwest region operations in Colorado and Texas with the addition of industry veteran Arlin Shepard.

> Cenlar FSB, a

mortgage loan subservicer, announced the promotion of John Mezzasalma to senior vice president and chief accounting officer.

Here are my ABCs of success to help you be successful.

A IS FOR ADVERSITY.

I IS FOR I’LL TAKE CARE

I have never met a successful person who hasn’t had to overcome either a little or a lot of adversity.

OF IT. There will always be a place for the person who says, “I’ll take care of it.”

And then does it.

B IS FOR BOREDOM.

J IS FOR JOB. There is

The kiss of death for anyone who wants to get ahead in life, and even worse for anyone who truly wants to love what they do.

something unique and memorable about each one of us. It’s our job to find out what it is and let other people in on the secret.

C IS FOR COMPETITION.

K IF FOR KEEN. You must

The existence of competition is a good sign. No one ever set a world’s record competing against them self.

develop a keen sense of what your customer wants, what your company needs from you and the best way to deliver both.

D IS FOR DEMONSTRATE. Find concrete ways to demonstrate how valuable your presence is to the company, your customers and your community.

L IS FOR LOVE WHAT YOU

E IS FOR EAGERNESS.

A solid moral compass is critical to succeeding.

Anything less than stellar ethics diminishes success.

The successful people I know display an eagerness to improve and get the job done.

F IS FOR FAULTS. Few of us lead unblemished personal or professional lives. It’s the ability to overcome and learn from our faults that counts.

G IF FOR GUARANTEES. There are none in this life, but there are creative ways to better your chances. You can, however, guarantee your customers and co-workers they can depend on you to always give your best.

H IS FOR HAPPINESS. To me, happiness is the key to success, not vice versa. Only you can draw the map of the road to your happiness.

DO, do what you love and you’ll never have to work another day in your life.

M IS FOR MORALS.

N IS FOR NAVIGATING

SHARK-INFESTED WATERS and learning how to swim with the sharks.

O IS FOR OPTIMISM. Optimists are people who make the best of it when they get the worst of it.

P IS FOR PERSISTENCE. Much of what makes people successful is persistence.

Q IS FOR QUINTESSENTIAL. Successful people always strive to be the quintessential example of quality and decency.

R IS FOR RESOURCEFUL because resourceful people can see the upside in down times. They are not willing to give up just because things get complicated.

"Everyone benefits from mentors like Yoda in their quests to succeed.

Once you have achieved success, be a Yoda for those who can benefit from your guidance."

S IS FOR SUCCESS. If you want to double your success ratio, you might have to double your failure rate.

T IS FOR THINGS OTHERS DON’T LIKE TO DO.

Successful people do them so they can do the things they enjoy.

U IS FOR UNIVERSITY. Most people drive an average of 12,000 miles a year. Turn your car into a university and listen to self-help podcasts and motivational lessons.

V IS FOR VICTORY. Celebrate victories, large and small, along the road to success and be sure to thank those who helped you along the way.

W IS FOR WORK. It’s not enough to work hard or work smart. You have to work hard and smart.

There are many formulas for success, but none of them work unless you do.

X IS FOR EXCHANGE

OF IDEAS. Unless you are able to communicate in a forceful, polite, effective way, the day is going to come when what you’ve learned won’t be enough.

Y IS FOR YODA. Yes, the Jedi master.

Everyone benefits from mentors like Yoda in their quests to succeed. Once you have achieved success, be a Yoda for those who can benefit from your guidance.

Z IS FOR ZONE. When you are in the zone, things just click. Success is all but guaranteed.

Mackay’s Moral: Some people succeed because they are destined to, but most people succeed because they are determined to.

Harvey Mackay is an entrepreneur and internationally recognized sales expert.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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NEW TO MARKET

complete a full mortgage application and deliver it, with the accompanying documentation, to a wholesale lender.

AUGUST 2020

Wipro Gallagher Solutions Partners With EXOS Technologies Wipro Gallagher Solutions, a provider of loan origination software solutions, announced its partnership with EXOS Technologies, a division of ServiceLink.

EXOS’ platform provides tech-enabled mortgage services throughout the lending life cycle.

Nexsys Joins With Lemonade To Simplify Insurance Verification Nexsys Technologies partnered with Lemonade, an insurance company, to simplify the homeowners insurance verification process with Clear HOI. It digitizes the previously manual communication between mortgage lenders and homeowners insurance companies.

Orchard Launches New Mortgage Product The home buying marketplace Orchard now offers Orchard Home Loans, a fullyintegrated real estate platform for buying and selling a home. It allows homebuyers to choose from various rate options while outlining all of the steps and costs associated with their choices.

Calyx Introduces Cloud-Based Zenly Platform Calyx announced its new, cloud-based origination platform for brokers, Zenly, that handles the steps needed to

26

Mortgage Cadence Offers Free Software Mortgage Cadence is offering its Collaboration Center software free to mortgage lenders for a limited time, due to the increasing number of employees working remotely. To qualify for the free 90-day offer, lenders must sign up by July 31 and implement the software by Dec. 31, 2020.

ARMCO Enhances Audit Tech ACES Risk Management (ARMCO) announced several enhancements to its ACES Audit Technology platform to aid lenders’ loan defect categorization and post-closing quality control efforts. Users can now order, track and receive credit reports from Data Facts and field reviews from Service1st without leaving the ACES system.

Tavant Launches FinDecision Tavant, a provider of AI-powered digital lending technologies, launched its FinDecision product for Ellie Mae’s Encompass. FinDecision provides an automated, single-click approach to achieving loan fungibility across agency automated underwriting systems, as well as private investors.

Beeline links directly to a user’s personal bank, employment and pay information, and tax history, using machine learning to create a purchase-ready or refi-ready approval, retrieving actual numbers directly from the third-party source as opposed to the user’s estimated information.

JetClosing Offers Digital Refi Solution JetClosing launched JetClosing Refinance, a digital mortgage refinancing solution. It is available in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Washington.

Maxwell Introduces New Fulfillment Platform Digital mortgage provider Maxwell unveiled the Maxwell Fulfillment Platform to help small and mid-sized lenders scale processing capacity. It will serve as an extension to Maxwell’s existing digital mortgage platform as an outsourced solution for lenders looking to scale their business, with access to teams of onshore providers.

IDS Expands Its eClosing Platform, Rebrands as Solitude Solution International Document Services Inc. (IDS) expanded the capabilities of its eClose platform to include eNotes.

Recently branded as Solitude Solution, the platform’s eClosing capabilities allow lenders and borrowers to execute loans digitally.

YOUR TURN New Digital Home Lender “Beeline” Launches A new digital home loan lender, Beeline, launched in six states and the District of Columbia, modernizing the homebuying process directly from users’ phones and providing approvals in as little as 15 minutes. Beeline uses both artificial intelligence and personal “loan guides” in its initial markets of Washington, D.C.; Florida; Maryland; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Texas; and Virginia.

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National Mortgage Professional invites you to submit any information promoting new “niche” loans programs, new products or any other announcements related to the introduction of a new program to the attention of: New To Market column E-mail: editorial@ambizmedia.com Note: Submissions must be sent via e-mail.

The deadline for consideration of submissions for possible publication is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

V E RT I C A L LY

I N T E G R AT E D

NON-QM L E N D I N G

FLEXIBLE

Lending Options

FAST

Turnaround Times

EXCELLENT Service

THE NATION’S LEADING NON-QM LENDER (949) 900-6630 | sales@citadelservicing.com | www.citadelservicing.com Citadel Servicing Corporation NMLS ID# 144549, Licensed under Division of Business Oversight Under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act license #41DBO-74196, Finance Lenders License # 60DB094450, and CA-DRE #01799059. For mortgage professionals only. This information is intended for the exclusive use of licensed real estate and mortgage lending professionals in accordance with local laws and regulations. Distribution to the general public is prohibited. CSC is an equal opportunity lender. Rates, terms, and programs subject to change without notice. Offer of credit subject to credit approval per applicable underwriting and program guidelines, applicant eligibility, and market conditions.

Not all applicants may qualify. Not valid in the following states: AK, HI, IA, MA, MS, MO, NM, NY, ND, OH, RI, SD, and WV.

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SPECIAL SECTION: EDUCATION

Educating Clients And Employees After The Pandemic It’s hard to beat a quality live webinar or pre-recorded video

BY MICHAEL FARACI | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

F

or the last 15 years, I’ve been developing and administering educational programs within the mortgage industry. Program topics have ranged from simple pricing overviews to full-blown, multi-day new-hire orientation programs that touch on the whole of a company’s policy, procedure and product offering. In that time, one thing has become clear: most companies view employee and/or client education as a necessary evil, not as an opportunity.

“Make it mandatory” is a good way to get info out to everyone who needs it, but there is a big difference between distributing information and educating. If you want that information to be retained, you must go the extra mile.

Below, we will explore the most popular forms of corporate education, and how this “new norm” we find ourselves in actually presents an opportunity to improve your educational strategy.

Our “new norm” seems to be phasing this option out. Thank goodness for that!

Let’s focus on the next option as an alternative.

LIVE CLASSES AND ‘LUNCH AND LEARNS’

1. Keep it short and sweet. Stick to high-level overviews. Fine details will put people to sleep.

2. Engage your audience. Don’t demand their attention … earn it.

Make your webinar the single most entertaining thing going on.

3. The presenter must be authentic and not take themselves too seriously. Fake energy levels and robotic speech also will turn people off quickly.

4. Time management is huge. Keep topic-specific webinars to 45 minutes max, with a 20-minute presentation and a 15-25 minute

Let’s be completely honest - once the free food is consumed, nobody wants to be here.

Many people believe in-person training is the most effective way to get their message across to a target audience. I challenge them to take a close look at what they are presenting. If the best way to get your point across is by traveling from place to place (or flying your audience to you) so you can hold people captive, then your presentation is probably lacking.

WEBINARS AND LIVE STREAMS This is one of my favorite ways to educate. It’s live, so it allows you to relate to your audience in real time.

Plus, you don’t have to give up the Q&A session at the end, which usually ends up being the most valuable part of the entire session. Webinars are also a much more effective use of your time, as you can reach anyone, in any location, unlike in-person classes.

Plus, the cost to hold one is almost nonexistent.

5 TIPS FOR CONDUCTING THE MOST EFFECTIVE WEBINARS AND LIVE STREAMS:

Michael Faraci is senior manager of specialty products at American Financial Network, Inc.

interactive Q&A session. Attention spans are short, so use that to your advantage.

5. Record the webinar for distribution after it’s over. Attendees will appreciate having the option to re-watch the parts they missed or want to dive more into.

It’s hard to beat a quality live webinar, especially if you have a stream that allows your audience to see you while you’re speaking to them. Just don’t forget this isn’t simply for informational purposes.

If you make a legitimate effort to entertain your audience, you message will be received (and retained) much more effectively.

PRE-RECORDED VIDEO This is the next best thing to a webinar or live stream. It may not educate your audience as effectively, but it can come close. It’s more convenient, as your audience can watch at any time. Personally, I’ve CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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SPECIAL SECTION: EDUCATION

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

gained a lot of traction with prerecorded video and it can be used for many different things, if done right.

Unlike a webinar, you aren’t engaging with your audience in real time. But you lose the Q&A session at the end. You will need to make up for those losses in other ways.

5 TIPS FOR CREATING THE BEST EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS: 1. Entertain. Let your personality show. Be as authentic, relatable and entertaining as possible. The goal is to have everyone who clicks “play” to stay for the entire video.

2. Over-simplify as much as possible.

Pretend you are making this video for people who know absolutely nothing about your industry. If they would understand it, you audience will find it a breeze.

3. Edit out the fluff. Taking the time to edit your video goes a long way.

I even edit out louder breaths and pauses between sentences. This results in a faster pace, which draws your audience in and keeps them there. Also, it makes the overall video shorter, which is always a good thing.

4. Audio quality is key. It sounds

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If the best way to get your point across is by traveling from place to place, so you can hold people captive, then your presentation is probably lacking. odd, but the visual aspect of a video doesn’t matter much. Use your smartphone to record. As long as people can see you, it will suffice.

However, if people can’t hear you, they are gone. You don’t need fancy equipment. Just make sure you come across loudly and clearly.

5. Get creative - really creative.

Most people click on educational videos expecting the same boring PowerPoint presentation they saw at the lunch-and-learn. Surprise them. It will pay off.

If you don’t have much experience with this and want to give it a shot; start with topics that don’t change often, like a company policy or procedure. You’re going to put a lot of effort into creating a great piece of video content and this will ensure that it’s accurate and useable for a long time to come.

AUDIO RECORDINGS AND PODCASTS This is something that most don’t even think about as an option for educating their staff, but there are huge benefits here.

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Your audience can listen to this while at the gym, walking their dog, cooking dinner, during their commute, etc. It doesn’t get more convenient than this. The more convenient it is to consume, the better the odds are that your message gets across effectively.

These are recorded as audio-only, with no camera necessary. This cuts down on your production time, allowing you to get the info out more quickly.

Plus, you may already have a podcast and don’t even know it. If you have a recording of a live webinar, or a completed educational video, simply save an audio-only version of it. Voila! You have a podcast episode to upload or an audio recording to distribute.

ONE IMPORTANT TAKEAWAY The most important message I can share doesn’t actually have anything to do with pandemics, the “new norm” or any other current event.

You’ve probably picked up on this by now, but I refer to the group we are trying to educate as our “audience.” This is not a coincidence.

These beautiful people we’re trying to reach are not our “class.” They are (usually) not obligated to attend our sessions and we are not doing them a favor by sharing the information we have to share.

These people are our audience, and they should be treated as such.

While there will always be a certain amount of necessary information to convey, let’s prioritize that down the list a little bit. Our audience was kind enough to give us some valuable time out of their day. Let’s start by entertaining them. You just might be surprised at how much you’re able to educate them in the process.

Coronavirus.org

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Artwork by Shepard Fairey | Amplifier.org NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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SPECIAL SECTION: EDUCATION

Employee Onboarding In A Remote Work Environment How to acclimate new hires who have never been to your office

BY GARY CULBRETH | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

O

ur daily lives changed significantly about five months ago with the rapid spread of COVID-19.

In days, many of us went from working in our offices to trying to replicate a productive work environment at home, not knowing when we would return.

As leaders, our critical thinking skills and innovative spirits were tested. As an industry, we all held tight as we wondered what impact the pandemic would have on our market and our businesses. Fortunately, even after months of COVID-19, many of us are busier than ever; however, these circumstances require us not to proceed with a “business as usual” approach, but rather to rethink and adapt the way we recruit, onboard, and train new employees.

Until recently, many companies in the mortgage industry had only a handful of remote employees. Most businesses had the capacity for virtual onboarding/training, but never the need to rely on it exclusively. From a teaching perspective, it is likely that trainers are either not inclined or experienced in providing virtual instruction only.

Similarly, learners who imaged having the support of peer trainees or in-person coaching have also needed to make adjustments to ensure their own readiness for their new roles.

So, how do we acclimate new hires to our company when it is the case that those new employees have never physically been to our offices?

WORK WITH THE IT TEAM The first step is to assess your organization’s capabilities.

Most companies have access to technology that allows them to meet virtually to some degree via screensharing, camera capabilities, etc. Understanding what those capabilities are and your own team’s capacity is paramount in moving forward. Partnering closely with your company’s IT department will be a game-changer in terms of how smoothly this process will go.

The IT department can guide recruiters and trainers through the new terrain of virtual hiring and onboarding employees. Are any of your processes dependent upon printed forms or physical signatures?

If so, change them!

Your staff may also need assistance in setting up and conducting remote interviews and training sessions.

Remember to consider whether a potential employee has their office phones transferred home or if they are using personal cell phones.

Information security and personal privacy are important factors and need to comply with your company policies.

Err on the side of too much information.

Without the chance to ask questions over the cubicle wall, everything needs to be documented for new employees.”

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Gary Culbreth is senior director corporate training and recruiting for NewRez.

For those leading the recruiting and hiring, understanding the technological logistics of a job may be a new consideration. Until very recently, many employers have not typically had to take into account whether a candidate has reliable internet access and enough bandwidth to complete job functions.

Those are critical factors.

Once you know a new hire can do the job, then you need to get them set up correctly. Normally, IT would have the opportunity to set up a new employee’s equipment. Remotely, these tasks are a much bigger lift.

Providing detailed set-up instructions is imperative in ensuring that their do-it-yourself office spaces get up and running efficiently. IT may need to modify what they have been using, and detailed input will help.

BE PROACTIVE The next step is to deliver a smooth, comfortable, and welcoming

onboarding process. This involves the combined effort of recruiting/HR and the business unit team members.

Review and revamp your onboarding and training paperwork, including instructions, job aids, guides and forms. Enhance the content to be applicable to the current work environment - from the onepage sheet that teaches a new hire how to log in on their first day to any supplementary cheat sheets for work processes. Err on the side of too much information. Without the chance to ask questions over the cubicle wall, everything needs to be documented for new employees.

Forming a team whose responsibility it is to check in with a new hire prior to their start date benefits everyone in terms of preparedness on Day One. The recruiting/HR team should confirm the new hire completed all paperwork and received all equipment and training materials.

The hiring manager should offer to answer any questions that may still be open. Making sure that new hires preemptively have answers to their questions is going to help ease everybody’s first day anxieties.

COMMUNICATE Because today’s new hires likely will not have the opportunity to meet their colleagues face-to-face for quite some time, encouraging managers and department members to frequently interact will help to form some of the camaraderie that would occur in a non-socially distant environment. It is important for managers to engage early and often to ensure their new team member has every opportunity to ask questions and gain clarity on their roles and responsibilities.

Keep the connection and the conversations going beyond the initial training. Encourage managers to frequently engage with their new team members during regularly scheduled team meetings, preferably using video to allow for face to face

interaction. Offer time designated for Q&A, discuss the week’s to-do list, and evaluate the new team structure.

Consider polling department members (both new and veteran) for feedback on how the new processes are working.

Ask more experienced employees to volunteer as a welcoming committee.

Partnering your new hire with a longer tenured employee for posttraining support effectively extends the duration of your training and monitors progress. The new employee will benefit from the mentorship model and feel more connected.

Having a dedicated employee assigned to assist will also help free up some of the manager’s time to focus on dayto-day responsibilities.

Keep in mind that what works for one person may not be as effective for another. Try a combination or variety of these ideas and remain flexible to adjust along the way.

MANAGE EXPECTATIONS Laying the foundation for your company’s “new normal” is one of the most difficult parts of this process. None of us had the luxury of taking our time in rolling out these

new procedures or training our own staff on how to move forward. We are all adapting on the fly.

Because learning is not being done in person, adjust your company’s expectations around learning curves and the time it should take to pick up a new skill or learn a new program.

Be patient. As some locations open back up, it may be helpful to modify onboarding and training programs where possible to allow at least some of the experience to take place at an office. Even a small portion of onboarding and training taking place in person can go a long way in establishing relationships and forming connections.

Of course, this may not be possible everywhere and companies have to respect that new employees may not feel comfortable going into an office.

These days we need to be flexible on a national, state and local level, dependent on mandates and laws.

It is important to remain flexible in harnessing virtual hiring, onboarding, and training stratagem. By focusing on the safety and cohesion of internal stakeholders, we work to strengthen our organizations to weather future changes – whatever conditions we may all face!

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SPECIAL SECTION: EDUCATION

SILENT LEARNING:

What Employees May Be Missing While Working From Home

Make consuming this info as simple as overhearing a conversation

BY MARY KAY SCULLY | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

O

ver the past few months, most of us can probably agree that remote work presents a learning curve for both employees and employers. With an entire workforce scattered across their various homes, there are many adjustments that have to be made to ensure their success.

In the current COVID-19 world, employers have had to be flexible in ensuring that each employee can balance their responsibilities while away from their usual workspace.

With many children taking part in remote learning, parents have had to help educate their kids while maintaining close to normal production levels at work, which now might consist of extra steps or meetings that may not have been as necessary when in a face-to-face environment.

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In addition to these learning curves, a few unexpected consequences of company-wide remote work have come to the surface. In the office, there are so many nuggets of information that employees pick up on, but since they’re isolated in their homes, they miss out on this nuance. While most employee training can be done remotely with almost no problem, these subtle things employees pick up on in the office are a bit trickier to teach.

WHAT IS MISSING? In the mortgage industry, it feels like new rules, guidelines and updates are coming down the line at every turn. Recently, in response to the economic impact of the pandemic, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been making more updates than usual

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– as many as one or two per week.

Most employees do not have the time or patience to sit down and comb through these new rules multiple times weekly.

Typically, one employee might find this out when they have a loan returned with conditions because of something that has changed. Once they learn of the issue, the employee might vent to a coworker, that coworker might share with someone else or the conversation is overheard and the news spreads.

However, news can’t easily travel among coworkers as it once did.

With team members working out of their homes, conversations are not overheard or as easily spread. It’s much easier to mention something to a coworker in passing than taking the time to send a message.

Another element of work that

employees pick up on in the office is best practices. This can be tips for getting the best results or workarounds to help save time or cut out tedious extra steps. In the office, it is easy for employees to overhear a coworker’s frustration about a certain task and offer assistance, but this is not so easily done at home.

Best practices like these are ones not included in formal training but are still important to know.

WHAT CAN COMPANIES DO TO HELP? As it relates to new rules, it is important that employees are still able to get the new information necessary to successfully complete their jobs at home. Even though the information is already out there, it must be easy to consume and compelling enough to draw attention and encourage people to stop what they’re doing in order to learn. The trick is to make consuming this information as simple as it was when all they had to do was overhear a conversation.

Though it can be challenging, there must be an outlet for the organization to share this information in a way that ensures it will be read and acknowledged. Employees do not have the time or energy to find and read long articles on their own.

Mary Kay Scully is director of customer education at Genworth Mortgage Insurance.

chooses to share the information, check in and make sure that employees are learning. A callto-action of some sort can help employees demonstrate they are engaging with the news and ultimately retaining important information that helps them reach success within their own roles.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE? Many companies are embracing remote work and have decided to be more flexible in the future, even post-pandemic. With more employees working from home than ever before, it’s important that companies are setting expectations while remote

The small things employees are not able to pick up on in the office can make a big impact on productivity.

When sharing critical information with employees, consider the differences in how people learn and be flexible. Some are more visual or auditory, so a video might be best. Others learn best by having a conversation, so a quick weekly meeting might work better. Some may be booked solid with meetings all day and might prefer to check a company message board or newsletter on their own time.

However your organization

work is in full swing.

Though there are certain learning curves or challenges to working from home, employees should demonstrate their ability to continue the level of work the company expects.

Employees must also still be able to work in teams and communicate critical information. Just because they are isolated at home, does not mean they no longer have to communicate with their broader teams.

While setting clear expectations,

companies should be flexible in how employees will work remotely. If it is easier to maintain a certain level of work by starting earlier in the day, or finishing later, companies should allow for this. Many employees might want to complete important projects before their kids wake up or after their spouse or roommate has finished important calls for the day. The main priority should be that work gets done on time and gets done well, even if that means employees have to take some time during the day for their family or work later in the evening than usual.

As companies assess what remote work looks like in the future, they must also consider who needs to come back to the office once it reopens and who can continue working from home. Since leaders have seen that it is possible to work from home, it may be tempting to want to continue. This cuts down on overhead and also brings other benefits to the company.

However, some employees may not be able to work remotely for the long-term. Some need a certain level of security that they cannot get at home. Others might need a specific machine or physical tool to complete their work. With that being said, a split of in-person and remote employees may affect things like cross-training or cross-functional teams. Organizations should keep this in mind as they decide how their company communicates from home and who should maintain their workfrom-home status, while always keeping the safety of their employees paramount.

Businesses are far from having all the answers when it comes to what remote work should look like moving forward. However, there are many factors to consider. The small things employees are not able to pick up on in the office can make a big impact on productivity. It’s important that companies begin developing the best ways to communicate to ensure no employee is missing out on important information.

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SPECIAL SECTION: EDUCATION

Educating Next Gen Operations Industry has a responsibility to recruit, train and promote

BY LAURA BRANDAO | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

T

he mortgage industry is evolving, including the growth of the largest market share for independent brokers the industry has seen since the financial crisis. There has been an exponential increase in the mortgage broker business, with the market share more than doubling in the last two years.

But what about the operations segment of the business supporting the growth? One of the side effects of the pandemic was the noticeable need for experienced, educated processors and underwriters and other operations team members to handle the epic swell in business driven by the historic low rate environment.

Unsolicited recruiting also saw a swell, as lenders mobilized to process the volume. Not a new phenomenon for operations professionals, in fact, according to Stratmor’s Compensation Connection annual study, more than 90% of lenders pay incentives to processors. Although bank/credit union lenders are less likely to have processor incentives, more than 75% of them offer incentive plans.

The average age of mortgage professionals is currently 54-59. As these professionals move closer to retirement, an enormous gap will be left when they leave the workforce.

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Compounding this problem is the lack of younger people interested in pursuing a career in the mortgage industry. But with a large number of operations staff reaching retirement age by 2030, who is going to process all the loans being generated?

Fortunately, some leaders in the industry are already working to address the need for operational education.

The National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America is doing its part in trying to inject youth and diversity into an aging industry through its Mission 2025 campaign. Through Mission 2025, NAMMBA aims to connect 50,000 students to careers in the mortgage industry by the year 2025.

“We are launching a hyperintensive version of Mission 2025 called the Student Challenge this month, because four million college students graduated in May and over two million of those do not have a job given the current economic environment,” explained J. Tony Thompson, CMB, NAMMBA founder and CEO, in a recent Mortgage Leadership Outlook interview with Andrew Berman. “We want to let them know that there are entry-level careers in servicing right now.

The Mortgage Collaborative provides TMCConnect to its

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Laura Brandao is president at American Financial Resources, Inc.

members, an educational networking platform centered around the content and topics of the most real-time relevance to lenders.

And then there is Jackie Dunlap, of Next Generation Home Loans. As if being a broker/owner during the current low-rate market did not keep her busy enough, Jackie seized the quarantine opportunity to start posting a “Processor Training” series on her own YouTube channel to generate interest in the profession.

She answers basic questions like “What is it?” and “Can I do it from home?” and dives in to start explaining in detail what mortgage processing entails and why it may present a viable career opportunity.

Straddling the line between education and entertaining with her signature “Maybe Swearing Will Help” sign, she may be on to something.

We all have a responsibility to recruit, train and promote more mortgage processors. This is not a 2020 problem, but the spotlight is shining brighter because of the increased volume straining staff and igniting hiring frenzies.

Fortunately, every year after the subprime crash provides a step in a more positive direction. Students graduating college now didn’t have their own mortgages in 2008, and don’t have any negativity associated with the industry.

Just as there are many different levels of client-facing positions, the same is true behind the scenes. As employers, we need to do a better job of providing opportunities to be exposed to the industry as a whole,

We do a fantastic job selling loans, but we don’t sell our industry well enough to attract top talent. and the many directions a mortgage career could take, so the youngest in our workforce can determine where they will succeed, in the best position for them. We do a fantastic job selling loans, but we don’t sell our industry well enough to attract top talent.

We need to show new graduates this is a valued industry, with life-long career opportunities. And we need to train them well enough to help them progress in their careers.

Millennials comprise roughly 40% of the employment force. Taking the time to recruit, attract, train, and nurture this resource should be a priority. Many millennials looking for employment may lack “real world” work experience but are willing to

learn. An effective paid training program paired with coaching and mentoring will not only help develop new hires into reliable and educated employees, it will also help greatly in employee retention.

Every industry needs a next gen, to challenge the status quo, bring fresh ideas and perspectives from which an aging industry can listen, learn and grow. It is the responsibility of every owner, lender and leader to recruit and train, beyond the loan originator path. Collectively, we need to do more to educate the next gen of operations professionals to strengthen the future of our industry, and support the families relying on us.

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SPECIAL SECTION: EDUCATION

Six Daily Branch Supports To Succeed in Today’s Market How to use these tools to create educated, happy, originators

BY ROBERT TYLER COOK | SPECIAL TO NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

A

logical pro forma may lay the foundation for a great retail branch business plan, but the numbers alone will not guarantee success. Other issues play a critical role in mortgage company growth.

Moving to a new company is not something top originators frequently do. According to the 2019 Originations Consensus Study by Stratmor, the most productive originators (top 20%) stayed at their jobs for an average of 5.3 years.

Originators in the top 20 to 40% stayed at their companies for 4.5 years, and originators in the 40 to 60% stayed put for 3.2 years.

As the data show, originators who generate the most revenue for a company are likely to stick with their company longer. It would be safe to say that they are given privileges and support, which helps them decide to stay.

the entire relationship with your company. It is essential to have the offer, application, background and other processes laid out in an understandable format. The more of those tasks a company does for you, the more you can focus on the ongoing operations with your team.

At a minimum, companies should have a department that coordinates onboarding and a dedicated person to support new branches. Good onboarding teams set expectations early on and make sure key management leaders stay in the loop. They discuss issues proactively to make sure the onboarding candidates do not feel any pain.

Recruits should be seen as family members you want to impress and keep happy. That process does not stop once they join the company.

With the right mindset and support, a company can have confidence that new employees will become seasoned

Too many managers forget about new employees as soon as the branch opens.

During my decades in the business, I have learned exactly which supports you need – in addition to a great pro forma – to achieve extraordinary results in today’s competitive mortgage market. Finding a company that delivers on all six items on the list below will give you the backing required to bring your business vision to life.

1. ONBOARDING SUPPORT Proper onboarding of the branch and infill hires set the tone for

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originators who attract more people to the company.

2. TRAINING SUPPORT After the initial onboarding activities are completed and you have your direct deposit set up, branch personnel need training. I believe that in-person training is the best when it is safe to travel. If you think that this costs money, I agree.

A company that views a branch as a long-term investment will acknowledge that in-person

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Robert Tyler Cook is senior vice president and Western division manager for Planet Home Lending.

training is best. You can board employees with consistency and quality. You can make sure their technology works and minimize distractions. Most importantly, you can buy your new partners dinner after a hard day of work.

In this extraordinary time, we created a comprehensive virtual training process. Instead of flying each new sales employee to our corporate training facility, we utilize video conferencing. We now spread out the curriculum that was three days of in-person training on our company and our systems across five days of virtual learning. It lays a good foundation for our field managers to build on as they continue to support their new branch employees.

3. SALES LEADERSHIP SUPPORT Recruits will know if they have their manager’s support in just a few weeks. Before you started at the company, you were a potential customer. Now, you are an actual customer and you should get the same amount of, if not more, attention.

Here is a test: Does your manager still pick up your calls as fast as when you were being recruited?

Unfortunately, the opposite is true in many cases.

Too many managers forget about new employees as soon as the branch opens. Managers must view recruits as customers who continue to need customer service. In addition to picking up the phone when new recruits call, managers need to solve problems when they arise.

4. OPERATIONS SUPPORT Operations support is crucial. Fundamentally, sales drive revenue. Great operations partners understand that and provide the customer experience recruits expect and deserve. They understand the importance of a solid relationship with sales. Wonderful operations partners make a world of difference.

A competent and skilled team of professional operations folks give the sales team confidence new loans can be brought in and closed on time.

5. FINANCIAL SUPPORT In the most well-run companies and during the upswings in the mortgage industry, the financial backing and executive-level prowess typically do not come under scrutiny. In times like we face today, there’s far more focus on financial stability, including the cash to make margin calls.

The financial backing of the mortgage industry, as well as the funding of any one company, can go in and out of style depending on the times. The revenues a company earns during a refinance boom can hide operational inefficiencies. You have to really dig into a company’s financials to gain the confidence it can last through the next down cycle.

6. SMART EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP Having a C-suite filled with people who know how to navigate a company through any challenges, especially the ones we face and will face as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, may mean the difference between success and failure.

Executive leadership with experience and a steady hand is invaluable in hard times. Leaders who can correctly predict where the market is headed and pivot to take advantage of inflections are a bonus.

LONG-TERM SUCCESS Like any relationship, business or personal, the one between a branch and the mortgage company partner needs to be built on respect. Otherwise, it simply will not last. Insist on a partner who is invested in your long-term success — your hard work deserves it.

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nl@lockelaw.us

All inquiries will be kept strictly confidential. This is not an offer for legal services, but rather for his expert review and opinion about your particular compliance situation. All fact patterns are different so the results will vary. No guarantees are expressed or implied. Licensed by California and Federal Bar. NMLS 149450.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

39

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER WHEN IT COMES TO GROWTH

BY PATRICK WELBERG

Y

ou know the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? Coming from a mortgage professional with more than 20 years of experience under my belt, I disagree—especially when it comes to personal and professional development.

Various industry reports place the average age of a mortgage originator between 50–55 years old. At this point in a career, an originator likely has survived the hard knocks of starting out in this business and has settled into routines and best practices—the key word here being “settled.” In fact, some may stubbornly insist they’re too old to change their ways! Leave the professional development programs to the rookies!

and passion, identify your talents and strengths, and set goals with concrete action plans. The findings may surprise you! You may learn something about yourself you didn’t know before.

A sustainable personal growth plan includes setting realistic milestones to hit along the way. Real growth doesn’t happen overnight, but you will start to see change quickly when you make a genuine commitment and investment in improving yourself.

How Can You Grow Professionally?

Occupational behavior study after study shows that if you are living your personal life with greater purpose, inevitably you

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO SET ANOTHER GOAL OR TO DREAM A NEW DREAM. –C.S. LEWIS But the truth is, you are never too old or too young to learn and become better.

Mortgage employers have become more focused on cultivating a culture that encourages personal as well as professional growth. At a minimum, originators must complete their required eight hours of NMLS-approved continuing education (CE) every year to keep their license current.

Make no mistake, there is a definite need for these formal requirements to ensure our industry knowledge is up to date.

However, completing our CE credits only scratches the surface of opportunities for new learning and growth.

No matter where you are in your career, personal and professional growth can take many forms.

How Can You Grow Personally?

Personal development is not one-sizefits-all; it must be driven by you and your interests—whether building a new skill, pursuing a passion, improving physical and mental well-being, allocating more time for volunteer service, or making some sort of change in day-to-day behaviors.

Creating a personal growth plan is a great place to start. To facilitate this process, utilize any analytical and assessment tools your company may offer—like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and CliftonStrengths Assessment—to help define your purpose

will be more engaged and passionate about advancing your career.

Make a plan to achieve your professional goals that complements your personal growth plan. We are much more likely to reach our goals if we write them down.

There are numerous job aids available, either from your employer or online, to assist you with time-blocking and setting daily/weekly/monthly production benchmarks, not to mention playbooks on how to effectively use the CRM, technology, and marketing tools at your disposal to build your pipeline.

Recruit an accountability partner to hold you to your goals, personal and professional. Don’t hesitate to ask your manager or a company executive to step into this role. They know the benefits that come—for all—from supporting, coaching, motivating, and inspiring you to achieve both your personal and professional goals.

Take advantage of opportunities to attend industry courses, workshops, or conventions. If your company has a training program geared specifically toward increasing your production, join it.

For some originators—experienced and inexperienced—registering for a new course or development program is outside their comfort zone. It’s true that participating in a solid program designed to advance your career may be timeconsuming, require travel, have homework, SPONSORED EDITORIAL

etc., but it’s all worth it in the end. Casebased learning modules, field workshops, and experiential team projects included in such a curriculum plant and nurture the seeds for significant professional and personal growth.

Academy Mortgage offers a program to develop the mortgage leaders of tomorrow, with participants of all ages.

The Leadership Academy requires a firm 12-month commitment, but the lessons learned and experience gained last a lifetime. Three classes of strong leaders have participated in the program, which is designed to help improve how they personally and professionally influence and effectively lead people and teams. Many graduates move on to assume advisory and mentoring roles in the company.

Don’t underestimate the power of mentoring and collaboration for both the person giving the advice and the one accepting it. We can all learn from each other when we share our stories and experiences. Don’t hesitate to connect with your peers, ask questions, explain best practices, etc. With social media, text, Zoom, and all of the technology at our fingertips today, you don’t even need to schedule a time to meet face to face!

Impart your wisdom and pick up a new trick or two while doing so.

Whether you’re a rookie loan officer or a 12-time President’s Club pro, there is always room—and time—to grow both personally and professionally.

Patrick Welberg is the executive vice president of production at Academy Mortgage, a leading independent lender that offers originators career growth, unique benefits, and access to leadership. Patrick leads the company’s sales leadership team, which oversees all sales, recruiting, market expansion, and business development. He is an industry veteran, with more than 23 years of experience in the mortgage business. Patrick may be reached at patrick. welberg@academymortgage.com. Visit join. academymortgage.com for more information.

heard on

National Mortgage Professional hosts a regular Mortgage Leadership Outlook series live on Facebook and YouTube. The industry’s best share their views. Here are some of their observations from the past few weeks, as well as quotables from NationalMortgageProfessional.com To see these full interviews and more, just go to to www.nmptv.com.

“I think the world was heading this way anyway and COVID just kind of made it happen faster. Even buyers are forced to trust you more because there is no option to meet in person anymore.”

—Nomi Smith, co-founder of PMI Rate Pro

“The future is really all about generating instant decisions, instant commitment letters and automated loan estimates. That doesn’t mean the loan officer is going away. The loan officer is really valuable now because now we’re using the best part of their brains. The loan officer now can use their cerebral way to help and provide advice and experienced advice to clients making these big decisions in their life.”

—Joe Dahleen, senior vice president of strategy and sales, FirstClose

“Can AI replace humans? I don’t know. But based on what I’ve seen, there’s a strong chance it could. Can that actually eliminate loan officers? If it can eliminate all of the other functions it probably could. The question is should it, and I don’t think it should.”

—Tim Nguyen, co-founder and CEO of BeSmartee

“There is always going to be cycles. Ups and downs, ins and outs, compliance, and changes in rates that’s never changing. That’s what we signed up for, that’s the mortgage business, it’s not changing.”

—Laura Brandao, president of American Financial Resources Wholesale

“As an industry, we just start tightening to make sure we’re only capturing the very, very best, and the most likely to succeed.” Thirty years “is a long time to be in partnership with someone, and you’re not sure they’re going to have the same income earnings as they do today.”

—Jeff Ruben, president of WSFS Mortgage

“[Loan originator] commissions paid out during the three-month period are up 59% over 2019. I just hope some of that hard-earned money gets set aside for the rainy days that are bound to follow expected increases in unemployment and loan defaults.”

—LBA Ware founder and CEO Lori Brewer

“Many buyers still think they can make lowball offers and score a great deal in the midst of today’s economic turbulence, but sellers are holding firm on list prices.”

Jeff Tucker, an economist at Zillow

Joe Dahleen

Laura Brandao Nomi Smith

Jeff Ruben

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nmp

COVER STORY MISOGYNY AND MORTGAGES

COCKY AND CALCULATING CASA REVELS IN A CULTURE WAR Anthony Casa led AIME, while spewing lewd epithets and slandering women. This isn’t the leadership this industry needs, and women in mortgages say it’s time for a change across the board.

A NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL NEWS ANALYSIS

Anthony Casa is being sued for defaming the wife of a mortgage industry exec, claiming she had sexual relations with the CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, allegedly when she was 11 years old.

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TIMELINE OF A SCANDAL

F

or Anthony Casa, chairman of

the

Association

Independent Experts,

of

Mortgage

leadership

means

JULY

2

one thing: strike at anyone you oppose and strike as

July 2: AIME Chairman Anthony Casa sends a video to Quicken Loans wholesale chief Austin Niemec, taunting Niemec and asserting that his wife had engaged in oral sexual relations with UWM CEO Mat Ishbia when Ishbia was in college. Mrs. Niemec would have been 11 years old at that time.

Casa sends another video moments later threatening to “fuck up” Niemec, among a string of other profanities.

Casa sends follow up texts repeating his pornographic claims and includes on the text chain other mortgage industry leaders. He subsequently sends other mortgage industry leaders the videos he sent to Niemec.

crudely and viciously as possible. After all, he explains in a Facebook video that went viral in mid-July but has since been made private, he’s from New Jersey, and that’s how people from New Jersey get things done.

Casa is responsible for helping to create AIME, a construct devised as a cheerleader for

mortgage

originators

–

but

only

originators who share his particular views of who should or shouldn’t be industry participants. He has been successful in making the group an active force in the

July 6: Lawyers for Mrs. Niemec demand a retraction and apology from Casa.

July 7: Casa sends a text message to Austin Niemec. “Good Morning Little Buddy, I saw the letter from your attorney. I’m really sorry I hurt your feelings! Give everyone my best!

Can’t wait to see you soon.

JULY

6

JULY

7

mortgage world, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t continue to be a major force.

But AIME isn’t a private company; it’s an organization purporting to serve as the face of the origination industry. And that’s

JULY

8

the point in this story where leadership and lasciviousness should diverge, but they don’t.

Casa, who is currently on a leave of absence from AIME, is being sued for defamation by Theresa Niemec, the wife of

Quicken

Loans’

Mortgage

Services

Executive Vice President Austin Niemec.

Casa’s actions are the kind that, in any other professional

organization

or

company,

would have led to immediate dismissal. But he has built a cult of personality around himself, such that his Facebook account is filled with well wishes from brokers who see no foul when their association CEO

JULY

10

July 12: Casa posts an eight-minute video to his personal Facebook page saying he understood media accounts would be coming out about his actions.

He says he made a “big mistake” but asserts he was just a passionate person. He does not offer an apology or retraction.

July 13: Various media outlets including The Mortgage Note, NMP, Housing Wire and MPA reveal details of the encounter and lawsuit.

July 8: Casa sends a text message to Austin Niemec and other mortgage industry executives. “How’s Teresa. Give her my best.” Followed by a string of emojis, including eggplants, poo, peaches and more.

July 10: Mrs. Niemec files a lawsuit against Casa for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false light and invasion of privacy.

JULY

12

JULY

13

asserts, on video, that a woman he doesn’t even know has engaged in sexual relations with the owner of Quicken’s chief rival, United Wholesale Mortgage.

Nor is there any uproar when, as

JULY

14-15

July 14-15: AIME sponsors begin retracting their support, asserting that while they back the broker community, they don’t support Casa’s actions.

Casa is threatened with legal action, he doubles down on the crude behavior, sending suggestive texts and pornographic messages making further untrue claims about sexual activity. It’s only when Casa learns that his actions, and the lawsuit, are being disclosed by the media that he posts the now-hidden video, claiming he acted

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

July 16: Casa announces he’s taking a leave of absence from his role as AIME chairman for an undeclared period of time but does not resign. (As of Aug. 6, he was still on leave.)

Aug 3: Casa changes the profile picture of his personal Facebook page to an image of him on stage, before a presentation that says“FUCK THESE GUYS. Attack, Attack, Attack.” His followers post supportive messages welcoming him back “from vacation.”

JULY

16

AUG

3

43

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

rashly and only in a fit of passion for the brokerage community.

FOSTERING ‘BRO’ CULTURE

T

his isn’t a tale of one man making one mistake. This is a tale of one person leading thousands of originators in his quest to win at all costs, and setting an insidious tone that’s being applauded and followed by that community. It’s a tale of “bro” culture masquerading as professionalism. But there’s nothing professional about a man who has been known to take the stage at a national mortgage conference and yell out vulgarities to incite the crowd. And in a community that sees its mission as helping families finance their dream of home ownership, the approval of a “leader” slandering a woman to win a point undermines support for all women in the industry.

“It is the epitome of old boy’s club bully tactics in the boardroom and toxic masculinity in a leadership role,” said Laura Martin, COO of Matrix

“I have been saddened by the willingness of too many in our industry to excuse the behavior and instead try to sweep his actions under the rug. Our industry needs to be better than this.”

–Marcia Davies, COO, Mortgage Bankers Association

Mortgage Global. “It is categorically misogynistic.”

Martin added that Casa “is weaponizing the objectification of women against his competitor. It’s so disgusting on so many levels. It was not an attack on [Niemiec’s] character.

It shows [Casa] is a misogynist and has disdain for women.”

ASSOCIATION IMPERATIVES

O

ne of the fundamental things any professional association must do is make its members feel they are all part of a unified group.

But while Casa’s insulting actions might have fired up some of his base who don’t mind base behavior, it also served to reinforce that the mortgage industry treats women poorly, even while AIME alleges that it’s a proponent of making the profession more accepting of women.

In July, National Mortgage Professional conducted a survey distributed to more than 100,000 industry participants. The results show a stark contrast between men, who don’t see discrimination or an unlevel playing field for women, and women in the industry, who say they’ve seen so much of it that it’s become just one more thing they have to deal with every day. Where nearly 80% of women say they think sexist behavior is a problem in the mortgage industry, only 33% of men do.

Said one female respondent: “There is a total bro culture where your sex is more valuable than experience or education.”

More than 75% of the men who responded were in managerial or executive/ownership positions. Only 15% of male respondents said gender had played a role in their missing out on a raise, promotion, key assignment,

or chance to get ahead. Less than 40% of men said they’d ever heard insulting remarks about gender in the workplace. And only about 10% said they ever felt excluded because of their gender or felt like they were employed for the way they look rather than their skills, knowledge or abilities.

Women, on the other hand, see a much less egalitarian landscape. More than 70% said gender had played a role in missing out on a raise, promotion, key assignment, or chance to get ahead. Over 81% of women said they’d experienced sexist or crude remarks or insults in the workplace.

More than 70% felt excluded because of their gender, roughly the same number who said they’d been subjected to comments about their looks, shape or body weight. And nearly 50% had, at some time, been told they were employed for the way they look rather than their skills, knowledge or abilities.

LACK OF LEADERSHIP

I

t is up to the senior executives of the industry associations to not only promote equality in theory, but to do so in practice. That doesn’t happen without a foundational belief that everyone deserves to be treated with respect.

Casa’s actions, including his continued attacks after his first indecent video, fell far short of that.

Marcia Davies, COO of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, felt compelled to issue a message to members of the organization’s MPower women’s group.

“A purported ‘leader’ in the industry did and said some truly despicable and misogynistic things about the wife of one of our colleagues,” she wrote. But Davies was forced to point CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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WHAT MORTGAGE WOMEN SAY: Q: What can

Q:

Have you personally witnessed or experienced sexist behavior in our industry? If so, how did it impact you?

Yes. Personally. Multiple men, underneath me in the company show no respect and make lewd comments about women straight to my face. Sweetie, honey and other derogatory terms used often.

Yes. Both to myself and others. Was enraged.

When I personally addressed, was blackballed at company by males.

I found out I was paid over 50k less than a male in a similar back of house support position with less experience and less overall contribution to the financial success of the company.

Yes. It has disgusted me. I’ve had people personally tell me that I’m successful because I’m pretty.

Yes. I was fired from a position after I would not date my boss. I was required to sign NDA in order to get a small severance.

I was told since I am female I don’t need to make as much money as my male counterpart.

Absolutely. First hand. Everything from making jokes about spanking me in front of peers and co-workers (not kidding and not just on one occasion) to comments about men showing up to hear me speak because of my “two greatest assets” to straight up solicitation requests.

be done to address sexism in the mortgage profession?

Identify and eliminate misogynistic men from the industry, LISTEN and BELIEVE women’s testimonies about the men (even though they may be very senior in position), don’t try to silence the women that speak out thru industry relationships, and finally recognize and promote women equally!

I think people need to keep their hands to themselves and be mindful of the things they say. We’re adults and need to behave in a manner that is appropriate and respectful of others.

Hold people accountable for their words and actions. Don’t downplay it by saying, that’s just the mortgage business.

More diversity in leadership positions. Male leaders calling out other male leaders when they are being sexist.

It’s such a boys club that it will take a lot for a difference to be made. Little steps like making sure there is as much diversity as possible helps. Also, being willing to call out bad behavior when you witness it.

Lenders need to support women and not associate with any organizations that do not support women or are led by an individual who does not support women. Lenders should also remove leaders who don’t actively support this objective. No amount of apologies will make up for this type of behavior.

Source: NMP National Survey, July 2020

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COCKY AND CALCULATING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 44

In early August, Anthony Casa updated his personal Facebook account with this as his profile pic.

out that “while he has been rightfully castigated by some and ultimately forced to step away from his position, I have been saddened by the willingness of too many in our industry to excuse the behavior and instead try to sweep his actions under the rug.”

“Our industry needs to be better than this,” Davies said. “We cannot wax poetically about the nobility of our industry’s mission and then turn a blind eye when someone in a position of power and leadership demonstrates such a vile and disgusting behavior.”

Casa’s plea to AIME members was that he was simply passionate in his zeal, and he should be forgiven a momentary mistake. But he didn’t send just one defamatory video. He sent at least two, then deliberately distributed them to brokers throughout the country, then sent additional text messages over several days compounding the insults.

He had no qualms about his handiwork until he realized that his behavior was going to be publicized.

In a public post on LinkedIn, David Stevens — a former FHA chair, the MBA’s former CEO and now CEO at Mountain Lake Consulting Inc. — was blunt. “All the excuses about being passionate is offensive to all who actually are passionate but also responsible. Had someone posted a video like that about any of our spouses, significant others … had it been a school bully against any one of our children with the chiming in of other classmates … it would have infuriated us and drawn our outrage.”

Stevens’ denunciation was echoed by 46

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industry guru Rob Chrisman, who in his popular Chrisman Report daily email, issued a rare rebuke: “There is no place in mortgage banking for childish and/or vulgar bullying among competitors, and it certainly does not help our industry.”

Stevens says he “had personally advised (Casa) to control his behavior about a year ago, advising him that you do not win in business by tearing apart the competition. Clearly that did not take hold. I agree with the comment made by a fellow trade association, ‘brokers are better than this’.”

WHAT NEXT?

T

he question now becomes, how can the origination community be better than this? In the NMP survey, women were direct: “Hold people accountable for their words and actions. Don’t downplay it by saying, that’s just the mortgage business,” said one. Another was direct in her chagrin that the situation wasn’t being seen correctly. “The Anthony Casa situation and the response of brokers in support of him shows that there is a major problem. I am so embarrassed that folks in our industry are supporting this man and giving him a pass,” she wrote. Even male respondents seem to understand the basic change that needs to happen: “Any association with Anthony Casa and AIME is support for this disgusting behavior,” said one.

It’s important to note that there is the organization, AIME, and then there is its chairman, Casa. In announcing

Casa’s leave, AIME pointed out in a statement that “the continued work of AIME on the behalf of the broker community will not lapse ... AIME is focused on serving our 40,000 members, the growth of the channel and opening the dialogue to have candid conversations about how we can be better together.” But will it be better together if its pugnacious principal returns, especially if he shows only superficial signs of reform, if any?

Casa, by his own admission, is a fighter. Even as some sponsors of AIME pulled back their support for the organization as long as he was at its helm, he issued no further remorse or evidence that he realized how his actions reflected dismally on the industry.

And AIME as an organization has also failed to take true responsibility. Casa has neither been removed as its chair nor formally relinquished the role.

One critical factor: AIME is not a true association. It has no board of directors, and no election of officers. There is no one to police Anthony Casa’s action except Casa himself. Many of the organization’s sponsors decried his action, but only one – Flagstar Bank – said it would withdraw its sponsorship as long as he remained connected to the group.

Instead, Casa has taken a “leave of absence” of unknown duration.

Shrewdly, this leaves the door open for him to return to the group’s helm after letting the situation cool down. But it does nothing to show that anything has actually changed.

In fact, in early August, Casa apparently decided it was time to show that he was ready to begin the trip back to forefront of the association.

Was it with humility, a message that in the two weeks he had been on leave he had reflected on his approach and resolved to be a better man? Was it with a compelling assertion of values, a promise to uphold the notion that “Brokers Are Better” not just as a consumer choice, but as a statement of ethical standards?

No. It was by updating his Facebook profile pic with him on a stage, with the screen behind him urging the audience to “FUCK THESE GUYS. Attack, Attack, Attack.”

His Facebook followers congratulated him.

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GETTING A HELPING HAND

Mortgage Industry Took Full Advantage Of PPP Loans

W

hen Congress passed legislation this spring to help fund small businesses hobbled by the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of thousands of companies nationally applied and received emergency SBA loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.

These loans were granted with limited documentation, based on a company’s stated declaration that it had been adversely affected by the pandemic and that the loans would be used primarily to avoid job losses. If the companies can show that they spent at least 60% of the loan proceeds on salaries and that

they retained the jobs they promised, the loan will likely be forgiven by the government.

Nearly 87% of all PPP loans made were to companies borrowing less than $150,000.

Now, the U.S. Small Business Administration has released aggregate loan-level data for that cohort. But it also released data on the 661,000 companies whose loans were greater than $150,000, including borrower names.

There were at least 725 mortgage industry companies who received PPP loans. Our chart, on the following pages, provides information on which companies received the government assistance, what range their loan was in, and how many jobs were funded by the loans.

87% of all PPP loans

made were to companies borrowing less than $150,000.

661,000 company loans

were greater than $150,000

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The following 725 mortgage industry companies received PPP loans.

Business Loan Range City State Jobs Business NameName Loan Range City State JobsRetained 1ST 2ND MORTGAGE CO. OF NJ, INC. $350,000-1 million CRESSKILL NJ 69 1ST ALLIANCE MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 COLLEGE STATION TX 28 1ST NATIONWIDE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 ALISO VIEJO CA 14 1ST PREFERENCE MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million BALTIMORE MD 41 1ST RATE HOME MORTGAGE, INC $350,000-1 million TEMPE AZ 32 1ST SIGNATURE LENDING LLC $1-2 million INDIANAPOLIS IN 72 A AND N MORTGAGE SERVICES INC $350,000-1 million CHICAGO IL 54 A MORTGAGE BOUTIQUE LLC $150,000-350,000 MURFREESBORO TN 22 A&D MORTGAGE LLC $1-2 million HOLLYWOOD FL 162 A.S.A.P. MORTGAGE CORP. $150,000-350,000 CORTLANDT MANOR NY 29 A+ MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. $350,000-1 million MUSKEGO WI 33 A1 MORTGAGE GROUP LLC $350,000-1 million LEES SUMMIT MO 20 ABC MORTGAGE CORP. $150,000-350,000 BROOKLYN NY 0 ABSOLUTE HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATIO $2-5 million FAIRFIELD NJ 268 ACADEMY MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million FARMINGDALE NY 34 ACCELERATE MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million NEWARK DE 67 ACCEPTANCE HOME MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 EVANSVILLE IN 16 ACCESS FINANCIAL MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 FULTON MD 15 ACCUNET MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million WAUKESHA WI 37 ACE MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 COVINGTON LA 21 ACRE MORTGAGE & FINANCIAL, INC. $1-2 million MARLTON NJ 79 ACT APPRAISAL, INC. $350,000-1 million EAST DUNDEE IL 58 ADVANAGEFIRST LENDING INC. $350,000-1 million RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA CA 48 ADVANCE MORTGAGE & INVESTMENT COMPANY $350,000-1 LLC million DAPHNE AL 52 ADVANCED BLENDING SOLUTIONS, LLC $1-2 million WALLACE MI 0 ADVANCED FUNDING HOME MORTGAGE LOANS $150,000-350,000 SALT LAKE CITY UT 21 ADVANTAGE LENDING LLC $350,000-1 million RALEIGH NC 0 ADVANTAGE PLUS MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 DUBLIN OH 15 ADVISORS MORTGAGE GROUP LLC $2-5 million OCEAN NJ 274 AFFINITY HOME LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 MARIETTA GA 21 AFFORDABLE MORTGAGE ADVISORS $350,000-1 million PITTSBURGH PA 48 AGAMERICA LENDING LLC $1-2 million LAKELAND FL 81 AGING MEDIA NETWORK INC DBA REVERSE MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 DAILY OR SENIOR CHICAGO HOU IL 22 ALAMEDA MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million WALNUT CREEK CA 150 ALCOVA MORTGAGE LLC $2-5 million ROANOKE VA 320 ALEXANDER REALTY AND MORTGAGE SERVICES, $150,000-350,000 INC. SAINT CHARLES MO 0 ALKAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million LAKE MARY FL 95 ALL AMERICAN LENDING INC $1-2 million NEWPORT BEACH CA ALL CREDIT CONSIDERED MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million ROCKVILLE MD 50 ALL SQUARE MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 LAKE STEVENS WA 17 ALL WESTERN MORTGAGE, INC. $2-5 million LAS VEGAS NV ALLIED LENDING GROUP INC. $150,000-350,000 GLENDALE CA 28 ALLIED MORTGAGE GROUP, INC. $2-5 million BALA CYNWYD PA 203 ALLSTATE LENDING GROUP, INC $150,000-350,000 MONTEREY PARK CA 11 ALPHA MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million WILMINGTON NC 112 ALTIUS MORTGAGE, LC. $350,000-1 million DRAPER UT 83 AMERICA TRUST FUNDING MORTGAGE BANKERS $150,000-350,000 LLC ROCKVILLE MD 11 AMERICAN BANCSHARES MORTGAGE, LLC $1-2 million MIAMI LAKES FL 153 AMERICAN FEDERAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million CHESTER NJ 44 AMERICAN FIDELITY MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. $350,000-1 million WHEATON IL 44 AMERICAN HOME LENDING USA LLC $150,000-350,000 EDWARDSVILLE IL 17 AMERICAN HOME MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 ATLANTA GA 13 AMERICAN LIBERTY MORTGAGE INCO $350,000-1 million DENVER CO 67 AMERICAN MIDWEST MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million CLEVELAND OH 50 AMERICAN MORTGAGE AND EQUITY CONSULTANTS, $5-10 million INC. EDINA MN 436 AMERICAN MORTGAGE BANK LLC $150,000-350,000 OKLAHOMA CITY OK 24 AMERICAN MORTGAGE INVESTMENT PARTNERS $1-2MANAGEMENT, million LLC SEAL BEACH CA 54 AMERICAN MORTGAGE LOAN SERVICES LLC $150,000-350,000 ORLANDO FL 20 AMERICAN MORTGAGE SERVICE CO $2-5 million CINCINNATI OH 212 AMERICAN MORTGAGE SERVICES INC $150,000-350,000 TAMPA FL 18 AMERICAN NATIONWIDE MORTGAGE COMPANY, $350,000-1 INC. million TAMPA FL 88 AMERICAN NEIGHBORHOOD MORTGAGE ACCEPTANCE $5-10 million COMPANY LLCMOUNT LAUREL NJ 471 AMERICAN PORTFOLIO MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million PALATINE IL 104 AMERICAN SECURITY MORTGAGE CORP $2-5 million CHARLOTTE NC 139 AMERICANA MORTGAGE GROUP, INC. $150,000-350,000 MANHASSET NY 13 AMERICANS MORTGAGE LENDING INC $150,000-350,000 WHIPPANY NJ 22 AMERICANS MORTGAGE LENDING INC $150,000-350,000 WHIPPANY NJ 22 AMERICAS MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS, LLC$150,000-350,000 FORT LAUDERDALE FL 21 AMERICA'S MORTGAGE RESOURCE, INC $150,000-350,000 METAIRIE LA 16 AMERIDREAM MORTGAGE GROUP, LP $150,000-350,000 THE COLONY TX 17 AMLA MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 BOULDER CO 18 AMS MORTGAGE SERVICES INC $350,000-1 million NEWARK NJ 20 ANGEL OAK MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LLC $2-5 million ATLANTA GA 87 APEX MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 COLUMBIA MD 25 APPRAISAL ECONOMICS INC. $350,000-1 million PARAMUS NJ 18 APPRAISAL LINKS INC $150,000-350,000 HAZLET NJ APPRAISAL NATION LLC $350,000-1 million CARY NC 74 APPROVED MORTGAGE CORPORATION DBA $350,000-1 APPROVED FINANCIAL million ACCEPTANCE GREENWOOD IN 35 ARBOR LENDING GROUP, L.L.C. $150,000-350,000 COVINGTON LA 13 AREA HOME LENDING INC $150,000-350,000 BATON ROUGE LA 11 ARIZONA WHOLESALE MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 PHOENIX AZ 23 ARK MORTGAGE INC $350,000-1 million SPRING VALLEY NY 60 ASSET BASED LENDING CONSULTANT $150,000-350,000 HOLLYWOOD FL 15 ASSET MUTUAL MORTGAGE INC. AN ILLINOIS$150,000-350,000 CORPORATION LOMBARD IL 15 ASSOCIATED MORTGAGE BANKERS, INC $350,000-1 million RONKONKOMA NY 30 ASSOCIATED MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million TULSA OK 122 ASSOCIATED MORTGAGE GROUP, INC. $150,000-350,000 PORTLAND OR 9 ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE$150,000-350,000 EXPERTS CLARKSTON MI 15 ASURITY MORTGAGE GROUP, LLC $2-5 million WASHINGTON DC 138 ATLANTIC COAST MORTGAGE, LLC $2-5 million FAIRFAX VA 189 ATLANTIC TRUST MORTGAGE CORPORATION$150,000-350,000 PONTE VEDRA FL 0 ATLAS MORTGAGE & INSURANCE CO INC $350,000-1 million SARASOTA FL 41 ATLAS MORTGAGE LENDING LLC $5-10 million SAN FRANCISCO CA

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ATLAS MORTGAGE LENDING LLC $5-10 million SAN FRANCISCO AUGUSTA MORTGAGE CO. $150,000-350,000 AUGUSTA AUSTIN CAPITAL MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 AUSTIN AVALON MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 SAN DIEGO AX MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million MALDEN AXIS APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS$350,000-1 million SAN RAFAEL AZ LENDING EXPERTS, LLC $150,000-350,000 TEMPE AZ LENDING, LLC DBA : E & E MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 CHANDLER AZ LENDING, LLC DBA : E & E MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 CHANDLER BALTIMORE COMMUNITY LENDING, INC $150,000-350,000 BALTIMORE BANCSTAR MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 BETHESDA BANKERS MORTGAGE LENDING, INC. $350,000-1 million SUNRISE BANKERS MORTGAGE LENDING, INC. $350,000-1 million SUNRISE BARRY S. SLATT MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million BURLINGAME BARTON CREEK LENDING GROUP INC $350,000-1 million AUSTIN BAY CAPITAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million ANNAPOLIS BAY TO BAY LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 TAMPA BAY VALLEY MORTGAGE GROUP $2-5 million GARDEN GROVE BAYSHORE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC $1-2 million TIMONIUM BEACH LENDING INC $150,000-350,000 REDONDO BEACH BEAM LENDING, LLC $350,000-1 million LAYTON BELEM SERVICING LLC DBA PATRIOT HOME MORTGAGE $350,000-1 million ST GEORGE BESTWAY MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 WOLCOTT BEVERLY-HANKS MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC $150,000-350,000 ASHEVILLE BIG RIG LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 CLEVELAND BISMARK MORTGAGE COMPANY $150,000-350,000 BELLEVUE BLUE WATER MORTGAGE $350,000-1 million HAMPTON BOND MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 FRANKLIN BOND STREET MORTGAGE $350,000-1 million PARAMUS BONNEVILLE MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million SALT LAKE CITY BRIGHTSIDE MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 PHOENIX BUCKHEAD MORTGAGE ASSOCIATES INC $150,000-350,000 ROSWELL BUSINESSES UNITED IN INVESTING LENDING $350,000-1 AND DEVELOPMENT, million INC. REDWOOD CITY C CAPITAL MORTGAGE REALTY INC $150,000-350,000 SAN DIEGO C&R MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 NILES CADENCE LENDING GROUP INC $350,000-1 million EL PASO CALCON MUTUAL MORTGAGE LLC $2-5 million SAN DIEGO CALICO VETERINARY LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 CONSHOHOCKEN CAMELBACK MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 PHOENIX CANOPY MORTGAGE, LLC $1-2 million LINDON CANYON MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million NEW HYDE PARK CAPITAL MORTGAGE SERVICES CORP. $150,000-350,000 SAN JUAN CAPSTAR LENDING, LLC $350,000-1 million AUSTIN CAROLINA HOME MORTGAGE $350,000-1 million CHAPEL HILL CASTLE & COOKE MORTGAGE, LLC $5-10 million DRAPER CASTLE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 SAN DIEGO CASTLE ROCK MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 CLARKSVILLE CATALYST MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 ROSEVILLE CBC MORTGAGE AGENCY $350,000-1 million SOUTH JORDAN CBM MORTGAGE INC. $350,000-1 million FRONT ROYAL CENTENNIAL LENDING, LLC $350,000-1 million LONGMONT CENTENNIAL MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million SOUTH BEND CENTER STREET LENDING CORPORATION $350,000-1 million IRVINE CENTRAL COAST LENDING, INC. $350,000-1 million MORRO BAY CENTRAL MORTGAGE FUNDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 SOUTHFIELD CENTURY MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million LOUISVILLE CERTAIN LENDING, INC. $150,000-350,000 SAN FRANCISCO CHAMPIONS MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 MELBOURNE CHICAGO MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS, LLC $150,000-350,000 DES PLAINES CHOICE LENDING CORP $150,000-350,000 VICTORVILLE CHURCHILL MORTGAGE CORPORATION $5-10 million BRENTWOOD CITIZENS CHOICE MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 LAS VEGAS CITY CREEK MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million DRAPER CITY FIRST MORTGAGE, LLC $1-2 million BOUNTIFUL CITY LENDING INC. $1-2 million VIENNA CITYWORTH MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million FAIRFAX CLASSIC MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 MAYWOOD CLEAR MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 KANSAS CITY CLEVELAND MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 STRONGSVILLE CLM MORTGAGE, INC $350,000-1 million HOUSTON CME LENDING GROUP, LLC $150,000-350,000 CHESTERTON COAST2COAST MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million JACKSONVILLE COGNITION LENDING CORPORATION $350,000-1 million BOSTON COLTEN MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million ENGLEWOOD COLUMBUS CAPITAL LENDING INC. $1-2 million MIAMI COMMERCE HOME MORTGAGE, LLC $5-10 million IRVINE COMMONFUND MORTGAGE CORP. $150,000-350,000 SYRACUSE COMMUNITY LENDING GROUP, INC $150,000-350,000 RIVERTON COMMUNITY MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million CORDOVA COMMUNITY MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million INDEPENDENCE COMPASS BLENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 LAKELAND COMPASS MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 LAKELAND COMPASS MORTGAGE, INC $2-5 million WARRENVILLE CONCIERGE MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 HUNT VALLEY CONTINENTAL MORTGAGE BANKERS, INC. DBA $350,000-1 FINANCIAL million EQUITIES WESTBURY CONTOUR MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million GARDEN CITY CORNERSTONE FIRST MORTGAGE, INC. $1-2 million SAN DIEGO CORNERSTONE MORTGAGE GROUP, LLC $350,000-1 million ATLANTA CORNERSTONE MORTGAGE PARTNERS OF TEXAS, $150,000-350,000 L.P. SAN ANTONIO CORNERSTONE MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million DE PERE CORPORATE INVESTORS MORTGAGE GROUP,$350,000-1 INC. million CHAPEL HILL COUNTRY CLUB MORTGAGE, INC. $1-2 million VISALIA CREDIT LENDING SERVICES, INC. $150,000-350,000 BURBANK CREDIT UNION LENDING SYSTEMS LLC $150,000-350,000 SAINT LOUIS

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CREEKSIDE MORTGAGE INCORPORATED $150,000-350,000 VANCOUVER WA CREST MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million SCOTTSDALE AZ CROWD LENDING, INC. $150,000-350,000 BOSTON MA CROWN MORTGAGE COMPANY $150,000-350,000 OAK LAWN IL CUSTOMER SERVICE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million WESTLAKE VILLAGE CA DART APPRAISAL COM INC $350,000-1 million TROY MI DASFC, INC. DBA SECURE MORTGAGE PROCESSING $150,000-350,000 TEMECULA CA DATA MORTGAGE, INC. $1-2 million ORANGE CA DATACOMP APPRAISAL SYSTEMS INC $150,000-350,000 GRAND RAPIDS MI DAVID CRONHEIM MORTGAGE CORP. $150,000-350,000 CHATHAM NJ DAVIS-PENN MORTGAGE CO. $150,000-350,000 HOUSTON TX DESTINY MORTGAGE GROUP, INC $150,000-350,000 TOWSON MD DEVELOPER'S MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million COLUMBUS OH DIAMOND RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE CORP $2-5 million LAKE FOREST IL DIRECT MORTGAGE LOANS, LLC $1-2 million HUNT VALLEY MD DIRECT MORTGAGE, CORP $1-2 million MIDVALE UT DML MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 YORKTOWN HEIGHTS NY DOLAN GADDI LENDING, INC. $150,000-350,000 CARLSBAD CA DOMINION CAPITAL MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 RICHMOND VA DRAWBRIDGE LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 CHICAGO IL DREW MORTGAGE ASSOCIATES, INC. $350,000-1 million SHREWSBURY MA DSLD MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million BATON ROUGE LA DSW MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 BOULDER CO DYNAMIC BLENDING SPECIALISTS, INC. $150,000-350,000 VINEYARD UT E LOANS MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 SPRING HILL FL EASTERN MORTGAGE CAPITAL LLC $150,000-350,000 BURLINGTON MA ECENTURY MORTGAGE & REALTY INC. $150,000-350,000 RANCHO CUCAMONGA CA EDGE MORTGAGE ADVISORY CO LLC $350,000-1 million ANAHEIM CA EMERALD MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 FOX RIVER GROVE IL EMI EQUITY MORTGAGE INC $350,000-1 million SAN JUAN PR EMORTGAGE FUNDING LLC $350,000-1 million TROY MI ENCOMPASS LENDING GROUP, LP. $350,000-1 million KATY TX ENCORE MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 WHITTIER CA EPOCH LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 PHILADELPHIA PA EQUILANE LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 LAKEWOOD CO EQUIMAX MORTGAGE & LOAN $350,000-1 million LOS ANGELES CA EQUITABLE HOME MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 SCOTTSDALE AZ EQUITY PRIME MORTGAGE LLC $2-5 million ATLANTA GA EQUITY WAVE LENDING, INC. $150,000-350,000 IRVINE CA ESSENTIAL LENDING, INC $150,000-350,000 FORT WORTH TX ETON LENDING, INC $150,000-350,000 SCOTTSDALE AZ EUSTIS MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million NEW ORLEANS LA EVESHAM MORTGAGE INC $350,000-1 million MARLTON NJ EVOLVE MORTGAGE SERVICES LLC $1-2 million FRISCO TX EXCEL MORTGAGE NETWORK $150,000-350,000 SAINT PETERSBURG FL EXCLUSIVE MORTGAGE SERVICES INC. $150,000-350,000 RCH CUCAMONGA CA EXECUTIVE HOME LENDING $150,000-350,000 CHARLOTTE NC EXECUTIVE MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 GREEN BAY WI FAIR WAY LENDING LLC $350,000-1 million LOUISVILLE KY FAIRFAX MORTGAGE INVESTMENTS INC $150,000-350,000 FAIRFAX VA FAMILY FINANCE MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 ARNOLD MO FAMILY MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 LAS VEGAS NV FBT MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million NEW ORLEANS LA FC LENDING, LTD $150,000-350,000 HOUSTON TX FEDERATED MORTGAGE CORP. $150,000-350,000 PITTSBURGH PA FIDELIS MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 LANCASTER PA FIDELITY DIRECT MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million GAITHERSBURG MD FIDELITY FIRST HOME MORTGAGE COMPANY$150,000-350,000 ANNAPOLIS MD FIDELITY FUNDING MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million MAITLAND FL FIDELITY MORTGAGE LENDERS, INC. $150,000-350,000 LOS ANGELES CA FIDELITY MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 PALM BCH GDNS FL FINANCIAL CONCEPTS MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 EDMOND OK FINANCIAL FREEDOM MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million MOUNT LAUREL NJ FINTECH MORTGAGE ASSOCIAITON LLC $150,000-350,000 SAINT PETERSBURG FL FIRST ALLIANCE HOME MORTGAGE, LLC $1-2 million CRANFORD NJ FIRST AMERICAN MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 YUKON OK FIRST AMERICAN TITLE LENDING OF GA LLC $350,000-1 million CLEVELAND TN FIRST CENTENNIAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million AURORA IL FIRST CHOICE APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT, INC. $150,000-350,000 BEAVERTON OR FIRST CHOICE LENDING GROUP, LP $150,000-350,000 HOUSTON TX FIRST CHOICE LENDING SERVICES, LLC $350,000-1 million KNOXVILLE TN FIRST CHOICE MORTGAGE ADVISORS LLC $150,000-350,000 LINCOLN UNIVERSITY PA FIRST CHOICE MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 AUGUSTA GA FIRST CLASS MORTGAGE V, INC. $150,000-350,000 MAPLE GROVE MN FIRST CLASS MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 SOUTH JORDAN UT FIRST COLONY MORTGAGE CORP. $1-2 million OREM UT FIRST COMMONWEALTH MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million LOUISVILLE KY FIRST CONTINENTAL MORTGAGE, LTD $1-2 million HOUSTON TX FIRST COUNTY MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 ALEXANDRIA VA FIRST EQUITY MORTGAGE BANKERS INC $1-2 million MIAMI FL FIRST FIDELITY FUNDING AND MORTGAGE COR $150,000-350,000 ATLANTA GA FIRST HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION $5-10 million BALTIMORE MD FIRST INTEGRITY MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. $150,000-350,000 SAINT LOUIS MO FIRST MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS, LLC $350,000-1 million KANSAS CITY MO FIRST OPTION MORTGAGE LLC $1-2 million ATLANTA GA FIRST SAVINGS MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million MC LEAN VA FIRST SECURITY MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC $150,000-350,000 TAMPA FL FIRST SOUTHERN MORTGAGE CORP. OF TENNESSEE $150,000-350,000 KNOXVILLE TN FIRST UNION LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 ORLANDO FL FIRST WASHINGTON MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 WASHINGTON DC FIRST WORLD MORTGAGE CORP $1-2 million HARTFORD CT FIVE BROTHERS MORTGAGE COMPANY SERVICES $2-5 million AND SECURING INC.WARREN MI FL MORTGAGE RESOLUTIONS CO. $150,000-350,000 ROCKLEDGE FL FLAT BRANCH MORTGAGE, INC. $5-10 million COLUMBIA MO

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FLEXPOINT MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million FLORIDA MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS GROUP, INC $150,000-350,000 FORTUNE MORTGAGE COMPANY $150,000-350,000 FOUNDATION MORTGAGE COMPANY LLC $150,000-350,000 FOUNDATION MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 FRAMEWORK MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 FRANKLIN MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LLC $150,000-350,000 FUNDING RESOURCES MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million GABRIEL J CICCONE DBA MORTGAGECUBE $150,000-350,000 GATEWAY MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million GENERAL MORTGAGE CAPITAL CORPORATION $1-2 million GFL CAPITAL MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 GLENDENNING MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 GLOBAL MORTGAGE NETWORK INC $150,000-350,000 GOLD CAR LENDING INC $150,000-350,000 GOLD STAR MORTGAGE FINANCIAL GROUP, CORPORATION $2-5 million GOLDEN EMPIRE MORTGAGE, INC. $5-10 million GOOI MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 GOPRIME MORTGAGE, INC. $2-5 million GRAND LENDING GROUP LLC $150,000-350,000 GRANDVIEW LENDING INC $150,000-350,000 GREAT LAKES HOME MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 GREAT MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million GREAT NORTHERN MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 GREENTREE MORTGAGE COMPANY, L.P. $2-5 million GREENWAY MORTGAGE FUNDING CORP. $350,000-1 million GREYTREE MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 GROUP MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million GROUP ONE MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million GSF MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million GUARANTY HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million GUIDANCE MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 GUM TREE MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million GVC MORTGAGE INC $2-5 million HALLMARK HOME MORTGAGE LLC $2-5 million HAMILTON MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million HANCOCK MORTGAGE PARTNERS LLC $1-2 million HEARTLAND HOME MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million HERITAGE MORTGAGE BANKING CORP. $150,000-350,000 HIGHLAND COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million HIGHLANDS RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE, LTD. $5-10 million HIGHTECHLENDING, INC. $2-5 million HI-TECH MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 HOME MORTGAGE ALLIANCE CORPORATION$350,000-1 (HMAC) million HOME MORTGAGE BANKERS CORP $150,000-350,000 HOME MORTGAGE EXPERTS INC. $150,000-350,000 HOME TRUST MORTGAGE COMPANY $1-2 million

COSTA MESA WESTON LISLE KNOXVILLE MIAMI BEACH ST LOUIS SPRINGBORO CLIFTON HUNTINGTON PLEASANT PRAIRIE BURLINGAME SACRAMENTO TOMS RIVER WARMINSTER COLUMBUS ANN ARBOR BAKERSFIELD DES MOINES APEX HENDERSON INDIANAPOLIS LIBERTYVILLE NAPERVILLE NEW YORK GIBBSBORO MIDDLETOWN BERLIN FORT COLLINS JUPITER BROOKFIELD MURFREESBORO BROOKFIELD TUPELO PENDLETON FORT WAYNE BIRMINGHAM SUGAR LAND GRAND RAPIDS MORRISTOWN BIRMINGHAM DALLAS IRVINE LAKE HAVASU CITY SANTA ANA CAROLINA OCEANSIDE HOUSTON

CA FL IL TN FL MO OH NJ NY WI CA CA NJ PA GA MI CA IA NC NV IN IL IL NY NJ NJ CT CO FL WI TN WI MS IN IN AL TX MI NJ AL TX CA AZ CA PR CA TX

HOME1ST LENDING LLC $350,000-1 million HOMELAND MORTGAGE COMPANY $150,000-350,000 HOMELINK MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 HOMESITE MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million HOMESPIRE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million HOMESTAR MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million HOMESTEAD III LLC DBA TABOR MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 HOMESTEAD MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million HOMETOWN EQUITY MORTGAGE $2-5 million HOMETRUST MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 HOMEXPRESS MORTGAGE CORP $2-5 million HR MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 HUDSON UNITED MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million HUNT MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million IAPPROVE LENDING $150,000-350,000 ICONIC MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million ILLINOIS LENDING $150,000-350,000 INFINITY FINANCIAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 INLANTA MORTGAGE, INC. $2-5 million INLINE FINANCIAL CORPORATION DBA INLINE$350,000-1 LENDING million INSIGHT MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 INTEGRATED LENDING TECHNOLOGIES, LLC $150,000-350,000 INTEGRITY FIRST LENDING LLC $350,000-1 million INTEGRITY HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million INTEGRITY MORTGAGE & FINANCIAL INC. $150,000-350,000 INTEGRITY MORTGAGE CORPORATION OF TEXAS $350,000-1 million INTEGRITY MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million INTER CAP LENDING INC $2-5 million INTERLINC MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC $5-10 million INTERNATIONAL CITY MORTGAGE, INC. $1-2 million ISERVE RESIDENTIAL LENDING, LLC $1-2 million IVY MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 JERSEY MORTGAGE COMPANY OF NEW JERSEY $350,000-1 , INC. million JFQ LENDING, INC $5-10 million JMAC LENDING, INC. $2-5 million JOHN FLORES REALTY AND REAL ESTATE LENDING $150,000-350,000 JOHNSON FARMS BLENDING DIVISION OF IOWA, $150,000-350,000 INC. JOHNSON MORTGAGE COMPANY, LLC $150,000-350,000 JR BLENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 K&G CAPITAL MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 KARPE MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 KEYSTONE LENDING ALLIANCE, LLC $150,000-350,000 KEYSTONE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 KIND LENDING, LLC $350,000-1 million KINGS MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. $350,000-1 million KTL PERFORMANCE MORTGAGE, LTD $150,000-350,000 KWIK MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million

ORLANDO WESTMONT BELLEVUE SHELBY TOWNSHIP GAITHERSBURG PROVIDENCE CHARLESTON CENTERVILLE SAINT PETERS SCHAUMBURG SANTA ANA CAGUAS NANUET LANCASTER SANTA ANA MIAMI DES PLAINES PEORIA PEWAUKEE SCOTTSDALE MANCHESTER SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH JORDAN WINCHESTER COLORADO SPRINGS DALLAS PORTLAND DRAPER HOUSTON SANTA ANA SAN DIEGO GAITHERSBURG CRANFORD SCOTTSDALE SANTA ANA DANVILLE LIME SPRINGS NEWPORT NEWS SPRINGVILLE CONROE BAKERSFIELD WEXFORD ALISO VIEJO SANTA ANA VISALIA GREENVILLE PARSIPPANY

FL IL WA MI MD RI SC MA MO IL CA PR NY NY CA FL IL AZ WI AZ NH UT UT VA CO TX ME UT TX CA CA MD NJ AZ CA CA IA VA UT TX CA PA CA CA CA OH NJ

41 0 20 15 15 11 11 3 27 85 12 9 30 356 489 22 0 18 9 15 64 0 167 66 10 22 55 158 0 12 26 228 181 36 126 16 12 19 375 175 17 214 37 13 156 65 21 24 29 323 21 0 25 125 18 166 41 25 73 16 41 35 0 0 20 13 10 40 0 16 29 20 325 371 158 0 59 305 145 0 48 18 11 18 19 23 12 22 0 28 37

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LADERA LENDING INC $1-2 million LADERA RANCH LAKE MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC. $150,000-350,000 MERRILLVILLE LAKEVIEW MORTGAGE BANKERS CORP $350,000-1 million MASSAPEQUA LANCASTER MORTGAGE COMPANY $150,000-350,000 LANCASTER LATITUDE LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 SALT LAKE CITY LEGACY MORTGAGE LLC $1-2 million ALBUQUERQUE LEGEND LENDING CORPORATION $350,000-1 million HOUSTON LEND SMART MORTGAGE, LLC $2-5 million SHOREVIEW LENDING 3, INC. $350,000-1 million FOUNTAIN VALLEY LENDING BUG INC $150,000-350,000 SOUTHFIELD LENDING CAPITAL GROUP INC $150,000-350,000 SOUTHAMPTON LENDING HANDS, INC. $150,000-350,000 HUNTSVILLE LENDING HEIGHTS, LLC $150,000-350,000 SARVER LENDING SCIENCE DM, INC. $350,000-1 million ATLANTA LENDING SOLUTIONS CONSULTING, INC. $150,000-350,000 ELGIN LENDING SOLUTIONS, INC. $5-10 million ELGIN LENDINGONE, LLC $1-2 million BOCA RATON LENDINGPOINT LLC $2-5 million KENNESAW LENDINGSTANDARD INC $150,000-350,000 KANSAS CITY LENDINGUSA, LLC $1-2 million SHERMAN OAKS LENDMARK MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 WALTHAM LENDSURE MORTGAGE CORP $2-5 million SAN DIEGO LENNOX FINANCIAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million SANTA ANA LIBERTY HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million INDEPENDENCE LIFESTONE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 PINGREE GROVE LINCOLN LENDING GROUP, INC. $150,000-350,000 TAMPA LITTON MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 SHREVEPORT LOANFLIGHT LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 TAMPA LONE TREE MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC $150,000-350,000 CENTENNIAL LYNX MORTGAGE BANK LLC $150,000-350,000 WESTBURY LYONS MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC. $150,000-350,000 ASTORIA M2 LENDING SOLUTIONS LLC $150,000-350,000 DENVER MADISON MORTGAGE SERVICES INC. $150,000-350,000 VALLEY STREAM MANN MORTGAGE, LLC $5-10 million KALISPELL MARKET PLACE MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million LOMBARD MASON MCDUFFIE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million SAN RAMON MAVERICK MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 ENCINITAS MBA MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million QUINCY MCGOWIN KING MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 MOUNTAIN BRK MCLEAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million FAIRFAX MEADOWBROOK FINANCIAL MORTGAGE BANKERS $1-2 million CORP. WESTBURY MEADOWBROOK FINANCIAL MORTGAGE BANKERS $1-2 million CORP. WESTBURY MEMBER BUSINESS LENDING, LLC $350,000-1 million DRAPER MEMBERS MORTGAGE COMPANY INC $150,000-350,000 STONEHAM MERCHANTS MORTGAGE & TRUST CORP LLC$350,000-1 million GREENWOOD VILLAGE MERIDIAN HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION$1-2 million WESTMINSTER MERIT LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 LAS VEGAS METRO ISLAND MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 SAN JUAN METROPOLITAN FINANCIAL MORTGAGE COMPANY $150,000-350,000 EDINA METROPOLITAN HOME MORTGAGE, INC. $1-2 million COSTA MESA METRO-WEST APPRAISAL CO., LLC $2-5 million DETROIT MID AMERICA MORTGAGE, INC $5-10 million ADDISON MID-ISLAND MORTGAGE CORP $1-2 million WESTBURY MIDLAND MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million COLUMBIA MIDWEST EQUITY MORTGAGE LLC $2-5 million OAKBROOK TERRACE MIDWEST FAMILY LENDING CORPORATION $350,000-1 million URBANDALE MIDWEST LENDING CORPORATION $350,000-1 million CHICAGO MIDWEST MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION CORPORATION $350,000-1 million ASHLAND MIDWEST MORTGAGE INVESTMENTS, LTD. $150,000-350,000 TOLEDO MILESTONE MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS INC $150,000-350,000 SOUTHINGTON MILESTONE MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 LAFAYETTE MILLENIUM HOME MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million PARSIPPANY MILLER MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 PEABODY MINNTRUST MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 EDINA MK LENDING, CORP $350,000-1 million NORTH HOLLYWOOD ML MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million RCH CUCAMONGA MLB RESIDENTIAL LENDING LLC $1-2 million SPRINGFIELD MLD MORTGAGE INC. $2-5 million FLORHAM PARK MMS MORTGAGE SERVICES, LTD. DBA MEMBER $350,000-1 MORTGAGE million SERVICES, FARMINGTON LTD. HILLS MONUMENT MORTGAGE COMPANY HOLDING $150,000-350,000 LEXINGTON MORTGAGE 1, INC. $2-5 million STERLING HEIGHTS MORTGAGE 2000 INC $150,000-350,000 REDONDO BEACH MORTGAGE ADVISORY SERVICES, INC $350,000-1 million ATLANTA MORTGAGE BANK OF CALIFORNIA $150,000-350,000 MANHATTAN BEACH MORTGAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS, INC. $1-2 million LOS ANGELES MORTGAGE CAPITAL TRADING INC. $1-2 million SAN DIEGO MORTGAGE CLEARING CORPORATION $350,000-1 million TULSA MORTGAGE CONNEXTIIONS, LP $350,000-1 million CONROE MORTGAGE EDUCATORS AND COMPLIANCE $150,000-350,000 , INC. AMERICAN FORK MORTGAGE EQUITY PARTNERS, LLC $1-2 million LYNNFIELD MORTGAGE FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. $150,000-350,000 TAVARES MORTGAGE FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC $2-5 million BATON ROUGE MORTGAGE FIRST CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 SALEM MORTGAGE INDUSTRY ADVISORY CORPORATIONO $2-5 million NEW YORK MORTGAGE INFORMATION SERVICES, INC $1-2 million CLEVELAND MORTGAGE INVESTMENT CORPORATION $350,000-1 million GREENSBORO MORTGAGE INVESTMENT SERVICES CORPORATION $350,000-1 million SHAWNEE MORTGAGE INVESTMENTS ENTERPRISES $150,000-350,000 CENTENNIAL MORTGAGE INVESTORS GROUP INC $5-10 million KNOXVILLE MORTGAGE LENDERS INVESTMENT TRADING$1-2 CORPORATION million LAKE MARY MORTGAGE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS, $350,000-1 INC. million PALMDALE MORTGAGE MASTER SERVICE CORPORATION$350,000-1 million KENT MORTGAGE MASTERS OF INDIANA, INC. $350,000-1 million EVANSVILLE MORTGAGE NETWORK INC $5-10 million DANVERS

CA IN NY PA UT NM TX MN CA MI PA AL PA GA IL IL FL GA KS CA MA CA CA OH IL FL LA FL CO NY NY CO NY MT IL CA CA MA AL VA NY NY UT MA CO MD NV PR MN CA MI TX NY SC IL IA IL MO OH CT LA NJ MA MN CA CA NJ NJ MI MA MI CA GA CA CA CA OK TX UT MA FL LA OR NY OH NC KS CO TN FL CA WA IN MA

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MORTGAGE NETWORK SOLUTIONS LLC $350,000-1 million MORTGAGE NOW INC $150,000-350,000 MORTGAGE ONE SOLUTIONS, INC. $350,000-1 million MORTGAGE OPTIONS, INC $350,000-1 million MORTGAGE PRO USA LLC $150,000-350,000 MORTGAGE PROCESSING GROUP, LLC $150,000-350,000 MORTGAGE QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH, $350,000-1 LLC million MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS FCS INC $350,000-1 million MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS OF COLORADO LLC $5-10 million MORTGAGE SPECIALISTS INTERNATIONAL LLC$1-2 million MORTGAGE UNLIMITED LLC $350,000-1 million MORTGAGE WORLD BANKERS INC $350,000-1 million MORTGAGEFLEX SYSTEMS, INC. $350,000-1 million MORTGAGEHIPPO, INC. $350,000-1 million MORTGAGEONE, INC. $150,000-350,000 MORTGAGES UNLIMITED INC. $1-2 million MOTHER & SON INTERNATIONAL MORTGAGE $350,000-1 million MOTION MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 MSA MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million MY MORTGAGE INC $350,000-1 million MY MOVE MORTGAGE LLC $1-2 million NATION ONE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million NATIONAL APPRAISAL PARTNERS, LLP $350,000-1 million NATIONAL BLENDING COMPANY, LLC $2-5 million NATIONAL LENDING ASSOCIATES, INC. $150,000-350,000 NATIONAL MORTGAGE & FINANCE CO. LTD. $2-5 million NATIONAL MORTGAGE CO. $150,000-350,000 NATIONS DIRECT MORTGAGE, LLC $2-5 million NATIONS RELIABLE LENDING LLC $5-10 million NATIONS TRUST MORTGAGE INC $350,000-1 million NATIONWIDE APPRAISAL NETWORK, LLC $150,000-350,000 NATIONWIDE MORTGAGE BANKERS $5-10 million NAVESINK MORTGAGE SERVICES LLC $350,000-1 million NEIGHBORHOOD LENDING PARTNERS $150,000-350,000 NEIGHBORHOOD MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 NEIGHBORHOOD MORTGAGE INC $350,000-1 million NEIGHBORHOOD MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million NEST HOME LENDING, LLC $350,000-1 million NEW CITY MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 NEW EXECUTIVE MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 NEW FED MORTGAGE, CORP. $1-2 million NEW WAVE LENDING GROUP INC $150,000-350,000 NEW WEST LENDING, INC $350,000-1 million NEWLAND MORTGAGE INC. $150,000-350,000 NEXT LEVEL BLENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 NEXTGEN MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 NOBLE MORTGAGE & INVESTMENTS LLC $150,000-350,000

WILMINGTON SHREWSBURY VIENNA COLUMBIA CAVE CREEK MESA SHERMAN OAKS WALNUT CREEK COLORADO SPRINGS FORT WORTH GARFIELD ASTORIA JACKSONVILLE CHICAGO CARLSBAD MAPLE GROVE NORTH MIAMI BEACH STAFFORD WINTHROP CROFTON SANDY MARLTON HOUSTON NEWPORT BEACH SAN DIEGO HONOLULU PORTLAND SANTA ANA HOUSTON MIAMI OLDSMAR LEBANON ADDISON TAMPA BELLINGHAM ALPHARETTA FRANKENMUTH LONGMONT HOUSTON BAY CITY DANVERS CITY OF INDUSTRY PHOENIX LAKE OSWEGO ABILENE NASHUA HOUSTON

DE NJ VA SC AZ AZ CA CA CO TX NJ NY FL IL CA MN FL VA MA MD UT NJ TX CA CA HI OR CA TX FL FL NJ TX FL WA GA MI CO TX MI MA CA AZ OR TX NH TX

0 18 54 22 0 36 23 63 0 101 52 0 23 12 26 68 10 10 39 145 90

NORTHEAST EQUITABLE MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 NORTHPOINT MORTGAGE, INC $1-2 million OCEAN LENDING HOME LOANS, INC. $350,000-1 million OCEANSIDE MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million OMEGA LENDING GROUP PLLC $150,000-350,000 ON THE ROAD LENDING $150,000-350,000 ONTO MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 OPEN MORTGAGE $2-5 million OPENROAD LENDING $1-2 million ORANGE-SOL BLENDING AND PACKAGING INC $150,000-350,000 OWNERSHIP MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 PACIFIC LENDING LLC $1-2 million PACIFIC RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE, LLC $2-5 million PACOR MORTGAGE CORP. $350,000-1 million PANORAMA MORTGAGE GROUP, LLC $5-10 million PARAGON MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 PARK SQUARE HOME MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 PARTNERS LENDING AUTO GROUP, L.L.C. $350,000-1 million PATCH OF LAND LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 PATRIOT LENDING SERVICES, INC. $350,000-1 million PATRIOT MORTGAGE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY $150,000-350,000 PATRIOT ONE MORTGAGE BANKERS LLC $150,000-350,000 PEOPLES DISCOUNT MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 PHILADELPHIA MORTGAGE ADVISORS, INC $350,000-1 million PIKE CREEK MORTGAGE SERVICES, INC $350,000-1 million PILGRIM MORTGAGE LLC $1-2 million PINNACLE LENDING GROUP, INC. $350,000-1 million PINNACLE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 PINNACLE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC $150,000-350,000 PLANT CITY MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million PLATINUM HOME MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million PLATINUM MORTGAGE INC. $350,000-1 million PMG HOME LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 POINT EQUITY RESIDENTIAL LENDING $150,000-350,000 POINT MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million POLI MORTGAGE GROUP INC. $150,000-350,000 POWER MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 PR MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 PRECISION BLENDING OF IDAHO LLC $150,000-350,000 PREFERRED MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million PREFERRED MORTGAGE SERVICES INC $150,000-350,000 PREMIER LENDING SERVICES, INC. $350,000-1 million PREMIER LENDING, INC. $350,000-1 million PREMIER LENDING, L.L.C. $150,000-350,000 PREMIER MORTGAGE ADVISORS, LLC $150,000-350,000 PREMIER MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 PREMIER MORTGAGE RESOURCES, LLC $2-5 million

BLUE BELL PA STURBRIDGE MA MISSION VIEJO CA TOMS RIVER NJ ROYAL OAK MI IRVING TX FRAMINGHAM MA AUSTIN TX FORT WORTH TX GILBERT AZ DENVER CO ONTARIO CA LAKE OSWEGO OR OAK FOREST IL LAS VEGAS NV PHOENIX AZ ORLANDO FL HOUSTON TX SHERMAN OAKS CA PITTSBURGH PA FREEHOLD NJ MINEOLA NY RANCHO CUCAMONGA CA PLYMOUTH MEETING PA NEWARK DE SAN ANTONIO TX LAS VEGAS NV MANCHESTER NH PALATINE IL PLANT CITY FL ROLLING MEADOWS IL STATEN ISLAND NY BREMEN GA ROSEVILLE CA CHULA VISTA CA WALPOLE MA LA PLACE LA AUSTIN TX SPEARFISH SD SAN JUAN PR HENDERSON NV FRESNO CA CHARLOTTE NC KENNER LA ALBUQUERQUE NM SOUTHFIELD MI PORTLAND OR

12 74 45 39 15 13 17 360 149 20 16 30 187 68 411 12 0 0 12

24 0 11 20 174 458 35 40 348 40 9 0 30 57 48 15 26 101 30 45 15 40 21 11

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FULL ADVANTAGE CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Business Name

Loan Range

PREMIER MORTGAGE SERVICES INC $150,000-350,000 PREMIUM MORTGAGE CORP. $2-5 million PRESTIGE HOME MORTGAGE L.L.C. $150,000-350,000 PRINCETON MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million PRIORITY 1 LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 PRIORITY HOME LENDING, LLC $350,000-1 million PRIORITY LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 PRIORITY MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million PROPR LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 PROVINCE MORTGAGE ASSOCIATES INC $350,000-1 million PRYSMA LENDING GROUP LLC $150,000-350,000 QC LENDING LLC $350,000-1 million QUALITY MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS LLC $150,000-350,000 QUINTESSENTIAL MORTGAGE GROUP LLC $150,000-350,000 RALEIGH MORTGAGE GROUP INC $150,000-350,000 RAM MORTGAGE PARTNERS LLC $150,000-350,000 RAPID MORTGAGE COMPANY $1-2 million RCN CAPITAL, LLC $1-2 million READY MORTGAGE LENDERS LLC $350,000-1 million REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL SOLUTIONS, LLC $350,000-1 million REALTY & MORTGAGE BUILDING SERVICES CO. $1-2 million REALTY & MORTGAGE CO. $350,000-1 million RECOVCO MORTGAGE MANAGEMENT, LLC $350,000-1 million REDWOOD MORTGAGE CORP $350,000-1 million RELIANT MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 RENEW LENDING INC $150,000-350,000 REPUBLIC STATE MORTGAGE CO $2-5 million RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS, INC. $150,000-350,000 RESIDENTIAL SAVINGS MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 RESIDENTIAL WHOLESALE MORTGAGE, INC. $1-2 million RF MORTGAGE & INVESTMENT CORP $150,000-350,000 RIGHT KEY MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 RIGHT START MORTGAGE, INC. $1-2 million RIVER CITY MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million RLM MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 RLM MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million ROCKY MOUNTAIN MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million ROOST LENDING, INC $150,000-350,000 ROSS MORTGAGE COMPANY INC $350,000-1 million ROSS MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million SAIL MORTGAGE CORP $150,000-350,000 SAMMAMISH MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million SAXTON MORTGAGE, LLC $150,000-350,000 SCL MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 SCRUGGS BLENDING AND PACKAGING LLC $150,000-350,000 SEA COUNTRY MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 SEATTLE PACIFIC MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 SECURED INVESTMENT LENDING CORP. $150,000-350,000 SECURED LENDING INC. $150,000-350,000 SECURITY AMERICA MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 SECURITY HOME MORTGAGE $1-2 million SECURITY MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 SELECT LENDING SERVICES INC $5-10 million SENTE MORTGAGE INC $1-2 million SHARPE MORTGAGE LENDING SERVICE OF GEORGIA $150,000-350,000 INC SHARPE MORTGAGE LENDING SERVICE OF GEORGIA $150,000-350,000 INC SHARPERLENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 SHOP YOUR OWN CORP DBA SHOP YOUR OWN $350,000-1 MORTGAGE million SI MORTGAGE CO $350,000-1 million SIGNATURE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million SILVER LEAF MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 SIMPLE HOME LENDING LLC $150,000-350,000 SMART MORTGAGE CENTERS, INC. $150,000-350,000 SOLUTIONS FINANCIAL MORTGAGE CO $150,000-350,000 SOUTHERN FIDELITY MORTGAGE GROUP OF $150,000-350,000 HUNTSVILLE, LLC SOUTHERN MORTGAGE GROUP, LLC $150,000-350,000 SOUTHERN TRUST MORTGAGE LLC $2-5 million SOVEREIGN LENDING GROUP $2-5 million SPROUT MORTGAGE, LLC $5-10 million STANDARD MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million STATEWIDE MORTGAGE, LLC $350,000-1 million STEEL FOREST LENDING, CORP $150,000-350,000 STERLING PACIFIC LENDING, INC $150,000-350,000 STEWARDSHIP MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 STOCKTON MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million STONEGATE MORTGAGE ASSOCIATES $150,000-350,000 STONEHAVEN MORTGAGE INCORPORATED $150,000-350,000 STRATEGIC MORTGAGE RECOVERIES, INC. $150,000-350,000 STRONG HOME MORTGAGE, LLC $1-2 million SUCCESS MORTGAGE PARTNERS INC $5-10 million SUMMIT MORTGAGE BANKERS INC $1-2 million SUMMIT MORTGAGE CORPORATION $1-2 million SUMMIT MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million SUN AMERICAN MORTGAGE COMPANY $350,000-1 million SUNRISE MORTGAGE AND INVESTMENT COMPANY $350,000-1 million SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC $2-5 million SUPERIOR MORTGAGE LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 SUPERIOR MORTGAGE LENDING, LLC $150,000-350,000 SUPERIOR RATE MORTGAGE OF NEW ENGLAND, $150,000-350,000 LLC SYMMETRY LENDING, LLC $1-2 million SYNERGY ONE LENDING, INC. $1-2 million TAM LENDING CENTER INC $150,000-350,000 TEAM USA MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000

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PUEBLO CO ROCHESTER NY NORTHBOROUGH MA EWING NJ LIVONIA MI BOTHELL WA TUCSON AZ WORTHINGTON OH KEIZER OR EAST PROVIDENCE RI DANBURY CT CHARLOTTE NC MIAMI FL WHITE PLAINS NY RALEIGH NC SOMERSET NJ CINCINNATI OH SOUTH WINDSOR CT MIAMI FL CENTENNIAL CO CHICAGO IL CHICAGO IL EAST MEADOW NY SAN MATEO CA BATON ROUGE LA RENO NV HOUSTON TX FAYETTEVILLE NC BALTIMORE MD CORAL SPRINGS FL SAN DIEGO CA SAN JUAN PR SOUTH EASTON MA CITY OF INDUSTRY CA CINCINNATI OH PLANO TX PLANO TX EL PASO TX BARTOW FL WESTBOROUGH MA TROY MI WEXFORD PA BELLEVUE WA SAN DIEGO CA LONE TREE CO HAHIRA GA SAN JUAN CAPISTRANOCA BELLEVUE WA ALTAMONTE SPRINGS FL CLEVELAND OH HOUSTON TX OREM UT FARMINGTON HILLS MI NORTH HOLLYWOOD CA AUSTIN TX ATLANTA GA ATLANTA GA SPOKANE WA IRVINE CA STERLING HEIGHTS MI CANTON OH HIGHLANDS RANCH CO UTICA MI NAPERVILLE IL GLENVIEW IL HUNTSVILLE AL SOUTHLAKE TX VIRGINIA BEACH VA COSTA MESA CA EAST MEADOW NY NEW ORLEANS LA LOUISVILLE KY BRONX NY WATSONVILLE CA GILBERT AZ FRANKFORT KY SOUTH DARTMOUTH MA ELMHURST IL GLENDALE CA MANASSAS VA PLYMOUTH MI FLUSHING NY PORTLAND OR MINNEAPOLIS MN MESA AZ SCOTTSDALE AZ TUCSON AZ LAS VEGAS NV LAS VEGAS NV NORTH ANDOVER MA ATLANTA GA SAN DIEGO CA CHERRY HILL NJ QUINCY IL

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Loan Range

City

TEXAS BLENDING AND WAREHOUSING CORPORATI $150,000-350,000 HOUSTON THE APPRAISAL FOUNDATION $150,000-350,000 WASHINGTON THE EQUITABLE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million COLUMBUS THE HOME LENDING GROUP, LLC. $350,000-1 million FLOWOOD THE LENDING HUB INC $150,000-350,000 WEST PALM BEACH THE MCCUE MORTGAGE COMPANY $150,000-350,000 NEW BRITAIN THE MORTGAGE COLLABORATIVE LLC $150,000-350,000 SAN DIEGO THE MORTGAGE CONNECTION LLC $150,000-350,000 DORCHESTER THE MORTGAGE LAW FIRM, PLC $350,000-1 million TEMECULA THE MORTGAGE LINK, INC $350,000-1 million ROCKVILLE THE MORTGAGE WAREHOUSE LLC $150,000-350,000 LOUISVILLE THRIVE MORTGAGE LLC $2-5 million GEORGETOWN TIO RICO TE AYUDA OF ARIZONA INC., CONSUMER $350,000-1 LENDING, million S-CORP PHOENIX TITAN MUTUAL LENDING, INC. $1-2 million IRVINE TITLE MORTGAGE SOLUTION, LLC $150,000-350,000 HANOVER TJC MORTGAGE, INC. $2-5 million BIRMINGHAM TODAY'S MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 ANNANDALE TOP ONE MORTGAGE, L.L.C.DBA 247 MORTGAGE $150,000-350,000 HOUSTON TOPONE MORTGAGE INC $150,000-350,000 ROCKVILLE TOTAL MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC $2-5 million MILFORD TOWER MORTGAGE CORPORATION, INC $150,000-350,000 COLUMBUS TOWN SQUARE MORTGAGE & INVESTMENTS$2-5 INC million DALLAS TRADITION MORTGAGE, LLC $1-2 million MINNEAPOLIS TRADITIONAL MORTGAGE ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million BELLEVUE TRINITY OAKS MORTGAGE LLC $350,000-1 million RED OAK TRUST MORTGAGE CORP. $150,000-350,000 SAN JUAN TRUST MORTGAGE LENDING CORP $350,000-1 million DORAL TRUST MORTGAGE LENDING CORP $350,000-1 million DORAL TRUSTWORTHY MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 VIENNA U.S. MORTGAGE FUNDING INC $150,000-350,000 IL UNIFY HOME LENDING, INC $150,000-350,000 RAPID CITY UNITED AMERICAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million COSTA MESA UNITED MORTGAGE CORP. $5-10 million MELVILLE UNITED MORTGAGE FUND, INC. $150,000-350,000 ONTARIO UNITED MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 OVERLAND PARK UNITED NORTHERN MORTGAGE BANKERS LIMITED $1-2 million LEVITTOWN UNIVERSAL LENDING CORPORATION $2-5 million DENVER UNIVERSAL MORTGAGE & FINANCE, INC. $350,000-1 million EDGEWATER UPSTATE PREMIER MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million BALDWINSVILLE UPWELL MORTGAGE, INC. $150,000-350,000 BELLEVUE US MORTGAGE CORPORATION $2-5 million MELVILLE USA MORTGAGE NETWORK INC $150,000-350,000 SPRINGFIELD UTAH CAPITAL MORTGAGE LLC $150,000-350,000 MIDVALE UTAH MORTGAGE LOAN CORP $350,000-1 million SALT LAKE CITY UTAH MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million BOUNTIFUL V.I.P. MORTGAGE, INC. $5-10 million SCOTTSDALE VALLEY MORTGAGE, INC $150,000-350,000 FARGO VANDYK MORTGAGE CORP $5-10 million GRAND RAPIDS VELLUM MORTGAGE, INC. $350,000-1 million FAIRFAX VENTURE MORTGAGE CORPORATION $150,000-350,000 MINNEAPOLIS VISION ONE MORTGAGE INC $350,000-1 million NEWPORT BEACH VISTA HOME LENDING, INC. $150,000-350,000 WESTMINSTER VULCAN LENDING I, LLC $150,000-350,000 MEMPHIS WALL STREET MORTGAGE BANKERS, LTD. $350,000-1 million GREAT NECK WASHINGTON FIRST MORTGAGE LOAN CORPORATION $350,000-1 million KIRKLAND WATSON MORTGAGE CORP. $350,000-1 million JACKSONVILLE WESTCOAST MORTGAGE GROUP AND REALTY $150,000-350,000 SACRAMENTO WESTERN EXPRESS LENDING, INC. $1-2 million LAKE FOREST WESTERN OHIO MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million SIDNEY WESTSTAR MORTGAGE CORPORATION $350,000-1 million ALBUQUERQUE WHOLESALE MORTGAGE SERVICES, LLC $150,000-350,000 RENO WM MORTGAGEWARE LLC $150,000-350,000 BLACKWOOD XANDER MORTGAGE & REAL ESTATE, INC. $150,000-350,000 FRESNO YALE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC $150,000-350,000 MIAMI BEACH ZEUS MORTGAGE, LTD. $150,000-350,000 HOUSTON

State Jobs TX DC OH MS FL CT CA MA CA MD KY TX AZ CA NH AL VA TX MD CT OH TX MN WA TX PR FL FL VA IL SD CA NY CA KS NY CO MD NY WA NY MA UT UT UT AZ ND MI VA MN CA CA TN NY WA FL CA CA OH NM NV NJ CA FL TX

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INFO DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX.

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43 16 303 41 99 10 201 21 22 0 276 13 168 79 30 56 26 68 68 29 23 19 33 354 18 27 109 236 37 31 15 169 16 31 32 33 441 14 38 10 98 5 48 0 35 45 75 30 70 18 6 30 19 0

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California’s Premier Direct Private Money Lender

Providing Equity-Based Lending For Real Estate Properties Investors | rehabbers | CorporatIons | probate estates | brIdge FInanCIng Stated Business Purpose Loans on Resident Properties (SFR, condo, PUD, 1-4 units) • Stated on O/O, N/O/O & Invest.

• Refinances up to 60% LTV, $50K to $5 million • Purchases up to 60-65% LTV, min loan amount $50k to $5 million • Loan terms from 6 months to 10 years, fixed or amortized options available • Rates from 7.99% and up • 2nd position loans on O/O and N/O/O properties up to 50-55% CLTV • 5-7 day closing available • No appraisal options available

Stated Apartments and Units (5+ residential units) • Up to 60-65% LTV on refinance and purchases • Loan limits $50K to $5 million • Stated & No Doc options available • Loan terms: 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, 7 year and 10 year, fixed IO or fully amortized • 2nd position loan available for commercial products up to 50-60% CLTV • 5-7 day closing available • No appraisal programs available

Commercial (industrial, retail, warehouse, mix-use, gas station, auto related, manufacturing and etc) • Up to 50% LTV on refinances • Up to 50-60% LTV on purchases • Terms from 1 to 5 years, fixed or amortized

Land Loan (max ltv 25-35% refinance, 50% purchase) CALL FOR DETAILS

866-318-4471 Direct Fax • www.CalHardMoney.com • info@CalHardMoney.com PB Financial Group Corp NMLS #357614 / PB Financial Group Corp DRE # 01522495 Disclosures: **Per FDIC Regulations Section 6500, Part 226, Subpart C, 226.24. The amount of each payment that will apply over the term of the loan is based on simple annual interest applied to the unpaid balance.

Loans range from 1 day to 60 months, are interest only and include a balloon payment due at term. Finance charges apply. Payments do not include amounts for property taxes or insurance premiums.

This is not a commitment to lend. Rates and points are subject to change without notice.

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1-800-581-5678 54

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MY BEST DEAL

Giving Back To A Vet Who Gave It All Name: James Barnes Job Title: Branch Manager Business: PRMG, Austin, Texas Photo credit: iStockphoto / SteveDF

How much was your best deal?

It was a VA Loan for $190,000 for a severely disabled veteran.

What made it your best deal?

James was able to get the veteran into a home that was three times the size of an apartment he was sharing with his wife and young daughter. All for $50 more than the rent he was paying with nothing out of his pocket.

What else?

Back in the fall of 2001, patriotic Americans rushed to join the military to avenge the attack on United States’ soil. James’ borrower was among them. He enrolled but his service to our country would be cut tragically short when he broke his neck in basic training. Suddenly, the soldier was paralyzed and unable to work.

When James met him, the man and his family were living in what

WIN a $100 Amazon gift card

was charitably described as a very small apartment. The soldier’s credit was horrible. Daily, collectors from student loan companies and the hospital where he was flown to harangued him. James realized after talking to him that his student loans could be struck from his credit due to the accident and got them removed.

He then called the hospital and asked why they thought he should be paying the bill for all of his surgery since he was hurt in basic training. James sent them the paperwork to prove the date of service was that date he had his accident in basic.

for the basically the same price as his apartment. He was so happy his family would have decent place to grow up.

What else?

“Sadly, he passed away from cancer about 10 years later but I know I made a huge difference in that family’s life,” James said.

At the end, James got all of those bills removed and collectors stopped calling. That took his credit score from low 500’s to 695. The county waived the soldier’s taxes and a local veterans hall volunteers built him a wheelchair ramp to his front door.

The soldier went from a 700 sq. ft. apartment to a 1900 sq. ft. house

Contributed photo

Have a great story about your best deal? We’re not talking about your biggest deal. We want to hear about your best deal – the one that resonates with you personally, the one that became the story you’ve told again and again about why you’re in this business. Head over to bit.ly/MyBestDeal and tell us the details. You can win a $100 Amazon gift card if your story is selected for publication.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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Why choose MBS Highway?

BARRY HABIB— THE ORIGINATOR OF THE MARKET ADVISORY SERVICE Daily guidance and insights from Mortgage Market expert Barry Habib. He closed over $2 Billion in production as a Loan Originator, called the bottom of the Housing Market and currently provides sales and market training to thousands of Loan Originators across the country.

STATE OF THE ART, USER FRIENDLY WEBSITE We've taken great pride in building a website that uses new technology, and enhances the user experience. No matter where you are on our site, you'll always have market data in sight. Never miss a lock alert with our real time market news and alert system.

MOBILE WEB APP Always stay in touch with the market when on the go with our Mobile Web App. It's fast and easy to use. Whether you have an iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, you'll always have access to MBS Highway. No downloads, no annoying updates, just visit m.mbshighway.com in your phone or tablet's browser.

CALCULATORS AND TOOLS Powerful and unique calculators to help you when presenting to customers. Buy vs.

Rent, ARM vs. Fixed, Paying Points, and Amortization calculator are a few examples. You can save and share the results to beat your competition.

EASILY SHAREABLE CONTENT With a touch of a button members are able to share charts showing the latest economic and housing data.

REAL ESTATE DATA & INSIDER CONTENT Show the housing opportunity in your local market to customers and real estate agents. We will provide you with affordability levels, appreciation, resale volume, new construction, and job growth…updated monthly and easily shared. There is also additional content from Art Cashin, Kiplinger letters, and much more.

What you're getting with your MBS Highway trial l Bond Quotes l Daily Video and Transcript l Interactive Charts l Lock/Float Advice l SMS Updates l Real Time Market News l Cashin's Corner l The Kiplinger Letters l Real Estate Market Data l By The Number$ l MBS TrendTRAKR l Social Share

Try it FREE for 14 days at MBSHighway.com/MNN 56

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NEWS FLASH

Mortgage Fraud Hits Lowest Level In A Decade Things could change quickly depending on the economy

M

ortgage fraud is at its lowest levels in almost 10 years. That doesn’t mean more of the same lies ahead. The CoreLogic National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index decreased by 8.7% in the second quarter of 2020. The year-over-year trend is down 22.6% from the second quarter of 2019. The risk level is similar to the third quarter of 2010, when national fraud risk levels were first measured.

The share and volume of refinances continued to increase in Q2 as recordlow interest rates swell the pool of loans that benefit from refinancing.

Refinances accounted for 61.4% of all applications, up from 59.9% last quarter.

“We continue to see slightly increased risk in conventional purchases and much greater risk in the investment purchase segment this quarter, but the lower risks in refinances and high refinance volumes keep the national index low,” CoreLogic said in its report (registration https://www.corelogic. com/insights/mortgage-fraud-trendsreport.aspx required to read).

While investment purchases have

been increasing in risk, they have been decreasing in relative volume.

Many lenders are tightening credit parameters due to the uncertain economy. This seems evident in the decrease we have seen in volumes of investment purchase applications, the report said, adding they are at their lowest level since the inception of the index: currently at 0.9% compared to 1.9% one year ago.

CHANGING DYNAMICS Bridget Berg, principal, industry solutions, property intelligence at CoreLogic, told National Mortgage Press in an interview that it is likely fraud risk levels will increase if purchases become a larger share of the financing activity.

“Fraud risk is definitely a function of the health and stability of the real estate market. Volatile prices, supply and demand that are far out of balance, and people or properties in distress all create upward pressure on fraud risk,” she said.

Berg added, “What lies ahead is hard to predict. There are conflicting signs: buyer bidding wars are being reported in some areas; delinquencies are at

If the economic impacts are severe, as we saw after the financial crisis, high delinquencies and foreclosures could fuel fraud in loan modifications, short sales, property preservation, and REO sales.

their highest levels in years; and interest rates are at all-time lows. Many lenders CoreLogic works with are planning for increased fraud activity by tightening credit parameters and increasing controls.”

She said the majority of real estate investors are conducting business in an honest way. “However, investment purchasers have a profit motive whereas other borrowers want a place to call home, so the dynamics change,” she said to explain why more fraud potentially exists among investors.

Berg further clarified, “The more an investor can leverage the cash put into a property, the more money they can make. When building a portfolio of properties, they often purchase multiple properties in a short period of time. Some may hide their activity from the lender in order to qualify and/ or avoid limits on numbers of loans.

Some collude with the seller to show an inflated sales price to maximize the financed amount, or falsely claim a property will be owner-occupied to get better terms.”

The core base stastical areas, or CBSAs, with the highest rates of investment purchase applications include Memphis, Oklahoma City Syracuse, Buffalo, Provo, Cleveland, Springfield (Massachusetts), and Dayton.

Most areas of the country are reflecting the risk decrease seen at the national level. However, the Springfield CBSA shows a 37% increase. This is CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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NEWSFLASH CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Source: CoreLogic National Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index

driven by a higher share of purchases overall, a higher level of investor purchases, and an increase in income red flags in the second quarter. It’s a smaller CBSA, which makes it more subject to volatility in the index.

Of course, the investor is sometimes a victim and not the perpetrator.

“Some investors fall victim to investment property schemes, where they unknowingly pay more than the property is worth, are duped about the rents they can collect, or are sold many properties at once,” she explained.

Fraud might increase among non-

58

investors if employment numbers don’t change. Berg said, “The immediate and direct impact of spiking unemployment is seen in one of the more common frauds today. It is the situation where a borrower loses a job during the refinance process and doesn’t tell the lender. The borrower signs the final loan application at closing attesting they are still employed. While we are all sympathetic to the borrower’s position, it creates a problem for the new lender, who now has a defective loan.”

If employment consists long-term,

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

the fraud becomes a different beast.

Berg said, “Longer-term, high levels of unemployment impact housing markets and heighten certain types of fraud. Credit cleaning, synthetic identities, straw buyers, and illegal flips are more likely after a market area becomes distressed with delinquencies and foreclosures. If the economic impacts are severe, as we saw after the financial crisis, high delinquencies and foreclosures could fuel fraud in loan modifications, short sales, property preservation, and REO sales.”

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WHAT HOMEBUYERS WANT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

they want a human to hear their concerns, answer their questions, and make sure they get to an outcome they’re happy with.

This is the new standard for shopping and buying experiences – including shopping for and buying a home.

Consider these findings: · Half of all borrowers choose their lender based on whether they offer an online application or portal. Borrower demand for online options increased 18% between 2017 and 2019. · 70% of borrowers want a more digital closing process – and 81% want to handle that process in person. · Millennial borrowers are 30% more likely than those in the Boomer generation to meet frequently with their lenders in person, meaning that even “digital native” borrowers want human support during the complex mortgage application process. · Among members of Gen Z (those born after millennials), 79% expect that they’ll want to work with someone face to face when buying a home, again showing that comfort with technology doesn’t supersede the desire for human support.

These findings suggest that the ideal mortgage application process is one that makes the paperwork portion of the application available digitally and also provides ready access to a broker who can answer questions, make recommendations, and offer wisdom about the larger homebuying journey.

That’s good news for wholesale lenders: today’s homebuyers want experienced mortgage brokers with access to digital tools that let them automate as much of the process as possible.

HOW TO DELIVER THE RIGHT PRODUCTS AND TECH Getting the mortgage application process right matters a lot to today’s homebuyers. But I won’t pretend that it’s become more important than the actual products you make available. No one wants to pay a steep delivery fee for a restaurant they can carry out from right down the block.

Similarly, even the most impatient homebuyer will likely understand the value of jumping through a few extra hoops if it means a significantly better interest rate.

Still, we live in the age of customer experience. About three-quarters of banks have accepted this reality and named improving customer experience as their top strategic priority. The companies that provide a stellar customer experience during these times of uncertainty will win customers for years to come.

Wholesale lenders that want to stay competitive in the long term must accept this reality as well. In most

57%

of consumers admit that they’ve stopped working with a business to go to a competitor that offered a better experience.

cases, creating the kind of customer experience today’s homebuyers expect means investing in technology that facilitates automation so brokers can combine their inperson expertise with lightning-fast online tools.

The difference automation makes is significant: despite innovations from recent years, it still takes about 30 days to close a new mortgage. By investing in online tools, the New York Fed calculates that lenders could cut that process down by nine days for new loans and 14 for refinance loans.

That time savings happens because automation allows each step of the process to move more quickly, thanks to features like automated initial disclosure generation, e-signatures, and intelligent borrower needs lists. These features only become more important as borrowers are forced to navigate social distancing requirements, travel restrictions, and increased economic uncertainty.

For wholesale lenders, it’s important to recognize that it’s not just a matter of considering what customers will experience as brokers offer them your products. It’s also important to consider how your process compares with the process of every other lender your broker works with.

It’s also important to note that borrowers aren’t the only ones who benefit from increased automation. Brokers can work faster and more efficiently when they have access to mortgage automation tools.

Remember that your brokers are your first line of contact with borrowers. To ensure borrowers understand the benefits that mortgage automation tools offer them, be sure to educate your brokers on “distance lending,” or how they can continue to provide top-tier customer service in a postCOVID world.

Mortgage automation benefits everyone in the process; making sure that message gets communicated and brokers are fully aware of all the available functionality ensures all the benefits are fully realized.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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We Have Mortgage Jobs.

• Branch Manager • Business Development Manager • Client Relationship Manager • Client Relationship Specialist • Collateral Asset Manager • Commercial Loan Officer • Credit Analyst • Licensing Assistant • Loan Officer • Loan Mitigation • Post Closing QC Expert • Loan Administration Manager • Processor • Regional Vice President • REO Closer • Retail Branch Manager • Reverse Mortgage Specialist • Sales Manager • Underwriter • Wholesale Account Exec • And MORE! Resposes are from highly-qualified candidates. Your ad can also be [osted on Indeed and SimplyHired as a FEATURED JOB, on Craigslist in most cities, Googlebase, Oodle, Juju, CareerMetaSearch, TopUSAJobs, Jobalot and MORE! Pay-per-use RESUME BANK.

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WHAT HOMEBUYERS WANT CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

THE FUTURE IS TECH-POWERED HUMANS Statistics about mortgage borrowing from the last few years show us that borrower expectations are changing, but human nature is not. Extended periods of lockdown only solidified these expectations.

We expect more than ever from the technology available to us, yes, but we still want guidance and reassurance when we take on unfamiliar projects with high stakes.

More than ever, today’s borrowers are willing to shop around if they don’t get that blend of automation and human support: 57% of consumers admit that they’ve stopped working with a business to go to a competitor that offered a better experience.

Wholesale lenders need to equip their brokers with the tech that both empowers them to automate the origination process and enhances their legendary customer care skills. If they can do that, they’ll deliver the tech-forward, human-enabled experience homeowners want.

Daniel Akiva is the chief technology officer at Cloudvirga.

In today’s mortgage banking industry, you have a choice: you can play “follow the leader” or you can be a leader ...

Lykken on Lending

With a 43-year career in mortgage lending, David Lykken is one of the most respected business leaders in the industry. He created Lykken on Lending in 2009 to offer his mortgage industry professionals an insider’s view of the trends, issues and personalities that impact mortgage banking and the wider economy.

Give your customers assurance of your professionalism and integrity.

Become a Certified Reverse Mortgage Professional The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association developed this rigorous certification for industry professionals who want to give customers the confidence to know they are working with thoroughly knowledgeable and devoted individuals.

Earning the CRMP* designation requires validating your experience, continuing your education annually, participating in our ethics workshop and passing an exam.

Created by a mortgage professional for mortgage professionals, Lykken on veteran Lending is a weekly 60-minute radio program hosted by mortgage veteran, David Lykken. Joining the program each week is Joe Farr with a MARKET UPDATE, Alice Alvey providing a LEGISLATIVE UPDATE and Andy Schell (a/k/a "The Profit Doctor") providing tips on FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT along with other regulars and featured guests.

Lykken on Lending brings forth the major players in mortgage banking for provocative and insightful conversation. This is the only mortgage banking indust leaders speak directly without being edited or media outlet where industry filtered by agenda-driven third parties.

Covering Topics from Main Street to Wall Street and Capitol Hill

Listen LIVE Coast to Coast Mondays at 1:00pm Eastern/10:00am Pacific, or dial in and listen at (646) 716-4972 or (877) 666-9318

For for more information, visit nrmlaonline.org

Download the Podcasts of Previous episodes any time at *The CRMP designation is available to members and non-members of NRMLA. David Lykken

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MORTGAGE NEWS NETWORK is now others cover the world ...we cover yours!

Visit MortgageNewsNetwork.com for the industry's latest topics...

Visit nmptv.com for the industry’s latest topics ... on-demand, 24/7and andsign signupupfor foryour yourcomplimentary complimentary in-demand, 24/7 DailynmpTV MNN Show Daily Show Alerts. alerts.

Day MONDAY

Show Title

Description

Day/Time Airing

Master the Markets with Barry Habib

Recap of key economic events that took place over the past week and a look ahead to events that will potentially impact interest rates in the housing market.

Mondays at 7 a.m.

Military Spouse Monday

Military experts answer questions about VA loans from veterans and their spouses.

Mondays at 11 a.m.

TUESDAY

The Mortgage Godfather

Ralph LuVuolo Sr., “The Mortgage Godfather,” shares his unique and innovative approach to mortgage origination. You better become a follower or else. It’s an offer you can’t refuse!

Tuesdays at 7 a.m.

WEDNESDAY

Under Construction

Construction loans made easy.

Wednesdays at 7 a.m.

THURSDAY

Quick Hits

Carl White’s simple strategies for a quick boost in your productivity.

Thursdays at 7 a.m.

FRIDAY

Inside the MBA

Your bi-weekly window into what’s happening at the MBA.

Fridays at 7 a.m. bi-weekly

Sponsor

Beyond Print Authors and advertisers can enhance the impact of their industry trade publication content through this professionally produced 3-4 minute video interview. The Beyond Print product includes pre-production planning, a recording scheduled at a mutually convenient time either on-location, in our studio or done remotely, and post-production editing. The interview can be linked to select digital publications, the client's website, and any other digital or print asset deemed appropriate.

If you have a product or service for mortgage professionals you can be a sponsor for these shows.

For more information about these sponsorships or Mortgage News Network custom video productions please send an email to Info@MortgageNewsNetwork.com or call/text Andrew Berman at 516-784-4840.

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NEWS FLASH

Non-QMs Opening Up Again More lenders returning as capital starts to loosen for the segment

S

lowly but surely the non-QM credit continues to claw its way back. Their volume at one point had dropped almost 60% from February but loosening of capital is turning things around.

As Mitch Ohlbaum, real estate broker and president of Macoy Capital in Beverly Hills, California, told Bankrate “There was no secondary market to purchase these loans and the banks can only hold so many on their balance sheets. In fact, there was no secondary market for jumbo loans, non-QM loans, private loans or much of anything to be honest.”

Citadel Servicing Corporation resumed its origination of non-QM loans in late July. They were suspended in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keith Lind, Citadel’s executive chairman and president, told National Mortgage Professional, “We recognized there was a need for non-QM programs in the market, especially in uncertain times like these, and as we have seen the key sources of capital such as our capital partners and the securitization market restart, we decided it was the right time to resume originations.”

Quontic re-launched its non-qualified mortgage products for one-to-four family owner-occupied home loans, as

well as non-QM loans for one-to-four family investors using a non-traditional debt service coverage ratio. These products are available through Quontic’s wholesale lending division.

In mid-July Bankrate reported jumbo mortgages plunged 57% from February 2020 until now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As unemployment numbers increased, lenders became worried about borrowers’ ability to repay their loans.

However, despite tightened requirements in the market, Joel Kan, assistant vice president of the Mortgage Bankers Association, revealed that a segment of the population is receiving jumbo loans. “Those who are creditworthy (who have high credit scores) and meet the larger loan balance are still able to find some jumbo loans out there,” said Kan, according to the report.

NON-QM ALTERNATIVES

LTV’s to 80%, credit scores down to 640 and loans of up to $3 million.

“We were one of the first to provide financing back in 2013. We continue to be committed to the non-QM space,” said LoanStream’s CEO Rabi Aziz.

“Things have changed; that’s for sure.

The number of loans in forbearance, companies stuck with old product, and challenges related to warehouse financing will plague the space for a while.”

HOUSE CLEANING Citadel said it used the pause in origination operations to accelerate planned investments and improvements in key areas. These include better technology on both the origination and servicing side of the business as well as upgraded guidelines and processes, which in many cases have been modified to better suit the current market and the changes in many customers’ financial situations.

Observing the void (which is not yet entirely filled), some lenders offered alternatives. LoanStream Mortgage expanded its product offerings to provide an alternative for non-QM borrowers. The company increased some of its programs including Loan to Value up 85%, Debt Service Coverage Rate

“As we have seen the key sources of capital such as our capital partners and the securitization market restart, we decided it was the right time to resume originations.”

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

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NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

Calendar of Events

WED

SEPT 02

THUR

SEPT 10

WED–SAT

SEPT 16-19

THUR

SEPT 17

THUR

OCT 01

SUN–THUR

OCT 04–08

WED

OCT 21

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SEPTEMBER 2020 Wednesday, Sept. 2 2020 Arizona Mortgage Expo Wild Horse Pass Casino & Resort 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd.

Chandler, Arizona AZMortgageExpo.com Thursday, Sept. 10 2020 Texas Mortgage Roundup—Dallas DoubleTree by Hilton Dallas 4099 Valley View Lane Dallas, Texas TXMortgageRoundup.com Wednesday-Saturday, Sept. 16-19 NAMMBA CONNECT 2020 The Westin Buckhead Atlanta 3391 Peachtree Road NE Atlanta, Georgia NAMMBACONNECT.org Thursday, Sept. 24 2020 Chicago Mortgage Originators Expo Holiday Inn Chicago SW 6201 Jollet Road Countryside, Illinois For more information, visit ChicagoOriginators.com OCTOBER 2020 Thursday, Oct. 1 2020 Colorado Mortgage Summit Embassy Suites by Hilton Denver Tech Center North 7525 East Hampden Ave. Denver, Colorado COMortgageSummit.com Sunday-Thursday, Oct. 4-8 37th Annual Regional Conference of MBAs Hard Rock Casino Hotel 1000 Boardwalk Atlantic City, New Jersey MBANJ.com Wednesday, Oct. 21 2020 Suncoast Mortgage Expo Embassy Suites Tampa—USF 3705 Spectrum Blvd.

Tampa, Florida SuncoastMortgageExpo.com

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THUR

NOV 05

WED

NOV 11

TUES

DEC 08

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JAN 14–15

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THUR

APR 15

NOVEMBER 2020 Thursday, Nov. 5 2020 Utah Mortgage Expo & Show Park City Marriott 1895 Sidewinder Drive Park City, Utah UtahMortgageShow.com Wednesday, Nov. 11 2020 New York Mortgage Expo Crowne Plaza Suffern 63 Executive Blvd.

Suffern, New York NYMortgageExpo.com DECEMBER 2020 Tuesday, Dec. 8 2020 Great Northwest Mortgage Expo— Portland Edition Holiday Inn Portland South 25425 SW 95th Ave. Wilsonville, Oregon GreatNorthwestExpo.com Wednesday, Dec. 16 2020 California Mortgage Expo—Irvine & OCN Mortgage Holiday Party Hilton Irvine/Orange County Airport 18800 MacArthur Blvd.

Irvine, California CAMortgageExpo.com JANUARY 2021 Thursday-Friday, Jan. 14-15 2021 New England Mortgage Expo Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd.

Uncasville, Connecticut NEMortgageExpo.com MARCH 2021 Sunday-Thursday, March 21-25 2021 Regional Conference of MBAs Hard Rock Casino Hotel 1000 Boardwalk Atlantic City, New Jersey MBANJ.com APRIL 2021 Thursday, April 15 2020 Carolinas Connect Mortgage Expo Embassy Suites Hilton Charlotte 4800 South Tryon St. Charlotte, North Carolina CarolinasConnectMortgage.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL

Calendar of Events

TUES–THUR Tuesday-Thursday, April 27-29

APR 27–29

TUES

MAY 11

Maryland Mortgage Bankers and Brokers Association 2021 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference MGM National Harbor 101 MGM National Ave. Oxon Hill, Maryland MARCMBA.org MAY 2021 Tuesday, May 11 2021 Motor City Mortgage Expo DoubleTree by Hilton Detroit—Dearborn 5801 Southfield Expressway Dearborn, Michigan MotorCityMortgageExpo.com

To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage Professional Calendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with contact information, to editorial@ambizmedia.com.

All events are as of Aug. 3, 2020 and are subject to change.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE |

67

FACEBOOK THOUGHTS

NICK ROBERSON

Nobody Wins With A Head-butt

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Nick Roberson

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:

Quarantine Lesson #55: Remember, your pants never get too tight if you don't wear any.

Quarantine Lesson #56: Those times with

family and friends, where something strikes everyone funny at the same time and all begin laughing so hard they can barely breathe, are far more valuable times than I ever realized. I will never take them for granted again.

Quarantine Lesson #51: Selecting Brussel

sprouts and garlic fries with lunch is not a good idea when you have to wear a face mask afterward. The carbonated beverage was a poor decision as well.

I admire women with the restraint to draw on their eyebrows. I wouldn’t be able to stop until I added glasses and a moustache.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

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

Quarantine Lesson #50: While cooking dinner

Quarantine Lesson #53: In these crazy times

after a long tiring day, it is unwise to set the clear plastic bottle of water you are drinking out next to a bottle of distilled white vinegar. Just take my word for it on this one.

Quarantine Lesson #52: Do not be so hungry

Quarantine Lesson #49: No matter how much you sound like Darth Vader with your face mask on, you must still carefully choose your virtual lightsaber when visiting your local Farmer's Market. It is all fun and games until someone who picks an eggplant gets a zucchini in their eye.

where handshakes, high-fives, and fist bumps are no longer acceptable social greetings, it is also important to add head-butts to that list. Because in the words of the great Paul Blart, "Nobody wins with a head-butt." for a cultural experience that you follow the sound of what you believe to be someone practicing the Didgeridoo, only to find it was simply the wind gently blowing across your neighbor, Jim's, exposed butt crack while he was weeding his lawn.

People will stop asking you questions … if you answer back in interpretive dance.

| NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Quarantine Lesson #47: When I am properly motivated, my swear jar seriously outperforms my 401(k).

Quarantine Lesson #46: It is nearly impossible to lose weight in quarantine when your gym is closed, and your daughter is "Bakerina Bakesalot from Bakerstown."

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