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.
