ALPH LOVUOLO
THE MORTGAGE GODFATHER
Get Ready To Pivot … Or Else Good things come to an end when there is no plan to pivot to a workable solution BY RALPH LOVUOLO, SR. | CONTRIBUTING WRITER, NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL
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f I had discipline in my life, I would be much happier. And so, it comes to pass that all good things must end. But is that really the truth? Must it always be that there is an end to those things that we have come to embrace, that we value, that we enjoy? No, not always, for always has no end, and we’re nowhere near the end. The aphorism that is credited to author and poet, Geoffrey Chaucer is an oft used adage. Supposedly the “Father of English Literature” who lived and wrote in the 14th. century used the adage in his poem “Troilus and Criseyde,” a story of two lovers. However, I am distracting you from the main theme that needs to be addressed here. Is the pandemic over? Are interest rates going up? Will there continue to be a glut of purchases? Is the refi market dead? To wit: all good things do not have to come to an end if you adapt, pivot and become that which you have sought for your
entire career, disciplined in all aspects of your life. I recently read an article where Rob Chrisman posited, and I’m paraphrasing: If you’re a loan officer right now and not making more money than you’ve ever made, you’re in the wrong business. These words are so true that I’ve repeated them over and over to all my clients.
MARKET FOR MORE BUSINESS! The people I coach would more than likely tell you they are sick and tired of hearing me talk about all the additional marketing they could be doing that would produce so much more business, that there are so many more people who need to refinance and only a nudge, just a little nudge from them and the client could save enough money, they would be so much happier knowing they are saving money and they could stop calling themselves procrastinators. If you don’t want the party to end, you have to do things that you didn’t do before all this business fell in your lap. Pivot. Become more disciplined. Somewhere in the early ‘80s, there was an incredible need to refinance as rates fell from a high of at least 17% to somewhere near 9%10% in just a couple of years. I took advantage
of that market buying a house for $55K with a 15.5% rate that I kept for one-and-a-half years and sold for $200K. In addition, having started my own business originating a serious passel of refinances, I was as guilty as mortal sin to have just about abandoned many of my Realtors, seeking the quick buck and not being disappointed. There was a particular Realtor, a first-class professional salesperson, who had an excellent reputation and had come up on my radar screen early in that recession, somewhere about 1982-1983. I had visited her office a number of times but to no avail. I gave up, mostly because I was doing so well with other Realtors and my office was booming with refinances.
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? What a mistake that was. Give up? Didn’t I preach it even back then? Yes, I did! But justification is an easy teacher. My pipeline was full for a couple of years. Then the end came. Rates didn’t drop much anymore, and sales were slowing down. It was time to revisit people who could and would, boost my effectiveness. When I walked in her office, dressed in a silk jacket, custom tailored shirt with French cuffs, $150 tie, Italian leather loafers, driving a Mercedes, boy I was something else. She turned her eyes toward me, with the devil himself
