NMP MEDIA CORP. 1220 WANTAGH AVENUE WANTAGH, NEW YORK 11793
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NMP MEDIA CORP.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID NMP MEDIA CORP 11431 PRESORTED STAN-
LOUISIANA EDITION
Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association 2561 CitiPlace Court, Suite 750-177 Baton Rouge, LA 70808 Phone #: (225) 218-9746, ext. 27 v Fax #: (225) 612-6357 Web site: www. lmla.com
2014 LMLA Board of Governors Kevin Morgan Lanie Boudreaux David Talbert Belinda Janecke
President President-Elect Treasurer Immediate Past President
Phone # (985) 867-8334 (337) 593-9689 (225) 490-4996 (985) 727-0755
E-mail kmorgan@arborlending.net lanie_boudreaux@stmartinbank.com dtalbert@uscapitalgroup.net bjanecke@mortgagebypinnacle.com
Van Bush Aimia “Mimi� Doucet Benjamin Leonards Patrick Michaelson Janean Wood
Governor Governor Governor Governor Governor
(225) 810-3752 (337) 684-3645 (337) 993-5626 ( 225) 614-9411 (337) 408-5103
vbush@lendtheway.com aimiadoucet@louisianaresidentiallending.com bleonards@familyfirstloan.com pmichaelson@primelending.com jwood@intertrustmortgage.com
Jason Dupree Jeanne Spell Shy Tittlebaum Terry LeBlanc
Affiliate Member Representative Affiliate Member Representative Affiliate Member Representative Legislative Chairman
(225) 751-9101 (504) 232-7596 (225) 810-6085 (225) 766-1236
jason@cypresstitle.com jeannespell@freedommortgage.com st@crescentmortgage.net terry.leblanc@bxs.com
Liz Peri
LMLA/LMLF Association Coordinator
(225) 590-5722
office@lmla.com
LA 1
continued from page MO1
Twitter.com/ntlmortgagepro
LinkedIn.com (search National Mortgage Professional Magazine)
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
facebook.com/mortgageprofessional
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
mamp visits d.c.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n NationalMortgageProfessional.com
LA 2
1
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
table o
34
N A T I O N A L
Lykken on Leadership: How to Provide the Best Education to Your Employees By David Lykken
S E P T E M B E R
50 NMP’s Legends of Lending: Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG) By Phil Hall
M O R T
2 0 1 4
l
V
A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “CERTIFICATION, EDUCATION & INDUSTRY COMPLIANCE”
Certified or Qualified: Who Are You Hiring? By Michael McNulty ............................................................................66 Seven Steps to Achieving Great Results From Your Presentations By Jack Kauffman ............................................67 A Classy Guy By Eric Weinstein ........................................................69 The CFPB’s Deep Impact: Raising Standards for Everyone By Michael Lewis ........................................................70 Industry Education: Compliance or Knowledge? By Andy Thaw..72
54 Housing’s Color of Tomorrow: Green By Phil Hall
FEATURES The Rise of Regional Settlement Firms By Andrew Liput ................8 The Elite Performer: Back to School By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ....8 How Strong Is Your Corporate Security Policy? (Part I) By Laura Burke ..................................................................................10 Direct Mail Marketing is Back for Good ........................................16 Eight Tips to Writing Great Copy for Direct Mail By K. Justin Restaino..........................................................................18 NAMB Perspective ............................................................................20 Creating a Balanced Attack: How Good Defense Helps Fuel Mortgage Sales By David Williams ................................30 HECM Loan Gains Market Momentum By Ralph Rosynek ............36
78 NMP Mortgage Professional of the Month: Michael McHugh, President and CEO of Continental Home Loans By Phil Hall
80 Maverick Funding Hosts Business-Enhancing Mortgage Mastermind Event
Why Continued Debt Relief for Short Sellers Makes Sense By Peter Miller ....................................................................................38 NMP’s Economic Commentary: The Best of All Worlds? By Dave Hershman ............................................................................40
V I S I T Company
Web Site
O U R
A Page
AMPA................................................................ www.almba.org..............................................................62 AllRegs.............................................................. www.allregs.com ..........................................................70 American Financial Resources ............................ www.afrwholesale.com ......................................Back Cover BetterLoanOfficers.com ...................................... www.betterloanofficers.com ..........................................35 Boomerang........................................................ www.boomerangprospecting.com ..................................55 Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................88 CallFurst.com ...................................................... www.callfurst.com ............................................................75 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................39 & 77 Continental Home Loans, Inc. ............................ www.continentalhomeloans.com ......................................5 Credit Plus, Inc. ................................................ www.creditplus.com ......................................................61 Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ................................................7 & 57 Easy Mortgage Apps............................................ www.easymortgageapps.com ..........................................62 Fast Forward Stories .......................................... www.fastforwardstories.com ..........................................15 First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmc.com ..............................Inside Front Cover & 84 Flagstar Bank .................................................... www.flagstar.com/ae ....................................................13 HomeBridge Wholesale ...................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................37 JMAC Lending .................................................... www.jmaclending.com ..................................................53 Listing Booster .................................................. www.listingbooster.com ................................................85 Lykken On Lending ............................................ www.lykkenonlending.com ............................................77 Matchbox, LLC .................................................. www.matchboxllc.com ..................................................76 Maverick Funding Corp....................................... www.maverickfunding.com ............................................19
f contents
T G A G E
O L U M E
P R O F E S S I O N A L
6
l
N U M B E R
FALLING FORWARD
9
Tales From the Closing Table By Andrew Liput ..............................42 Mortgage Marketing: Data, Data, Data By Matthew Dunn Ph.D. ..46 Are You Leaving Money on the Table? By Michael Stone ............48 DocMagic’s Legal Updates By Melanie A. Feliciano Esq. ..............52 CFPB Cautions Mortgage Brokers When Transitioning to Mini-Correspondent By Ray Hagan ............................................56 PRMG Gets Creative With National Advertising Campaign By Paul Lucido ....................................................................................58 The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales By Pam Marron 58
Are Home Improvement Projects on the Rise? By Paul Kazlov ....60 NAPMW Report: September 2014 ..................................................62 Taking the Lead: How to Maximize Production Opportunities With Data By Jonathan Blackwell ............................63 Personal Branding: The Critical Piece to Content Marketing By Brian Karoff....................................................................................64 Just Ask Eric & Laura By Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke..................74 JP Morgan and Others Bolsters Account Safety After Malicious Hacking By Robert Ottone......................................84
OCTOBER 2014 The Future of Mortgage Banking Special Feature: Featured MBA Convention Exhibitors
The Three Must-Know Rules to Convert Online Leads By Bubba Mills ....................................................................................85
COLUMNS New to Market..............................................................................12 News Flash: September 2014 ....................................................14 Heard on the Street ....................................................................32 NMP Resource Registry..............................................................82 NMP Calendar of Events ............................................................87
D V E R T I S E R S Company
Web Site
Page
NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................65 NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ..........................................................79 NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................86 Normandy Corporation ...................................... www.normandy.com ......................................................67 Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................11, 47 & Inside Back Cover Path2Buy .......................................................... www.path2buy.com ................................................1 & 59 PB Financial Group Corp..................................... www.pbfinancialgrp.com ..............................................76 Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. ................................ www.plazahomemortgage.com ......................................17 Radian Guaranty ................................................ www.radian.biz ............................................................73 REMN (Real Estate Mortgage Network) ................ www.remnwholesale.com ................................LA1, 44 & 45 Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. ........................ www.rmsnav.com ..........................................................66 Ridgewood Savings Bank .................................. www.ridgewoodbank.com ..............................................25 Secure Settlements Inc. ...................................... www.securesettlements.com ..........................................31 Simple Nexus .................................................... www.simplenexus.com ..................................................33 Streetlinks LLC .................................................. www.streetlinks.com ......................................................41 TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................43 The Bond Exchange............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................40 The National Real Estate Post.............................. www.thenationalrealestatepost.com ..........................34, 72 Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. ........................ www.titanlists.com ..........................................................9 United Wholesale Mortgage ................................ www.uwm.com ......................................................48 & 49 WAMB .............................................................. www.mywamp.org ........................................................59
NOVEMBER 2014 The Mortgage Technology of Today Special Feature: Mortgage Technology Provider Directory THE SOURCE FOR TODAY’S TOP ORIGINATORS PRINT MAGAZINE • ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE • DAILY NEWSLETTERS BREAKING INDUSTRY NEWS WEB SITE • SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT EDITORIAL SERVICES • WEBINARS • VIDEO • EVENTS
CALL 516-409-5555 EXT 4 TO LEARN ABOUT CUSTOMIZED MARKETING PROGRAMS
SEPTEMBER 2014 Volume 6 • Number 9
FROM THE
Does education and certification really make a difference?
1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-5555 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com
This month, we focus on school being back in session with our special look at “Education, Certification & Industry Compliance.” Unlike the days of our youth, education in the mortgage profession can either be a regulatory requirement and/or an optional course. With the economy and compliance concurrently impacting the mortgage profession, there are multiple factors placing greater importance on validation of skills. Companies today are looking to hire individuals for their teams who have an increased knowledge base, leading to a better reputation, higher-quality work, and ultimately, more customers. Those who seek to increase their knowledge on an ongoing basis beyond regulatory requirements will find that consumers will both embrace them more than others and the resulting referrals developed from that extra effort will more than compensate them for their added time. Equally as important as a professional credentials is a certification. It provides mortgage professionals with a designation that stands out from the masses and proclaims to consumers an assurance of competency and expertise. NAMB– The Association of Mortgage Professionals offers three levels of certification: The General Mortgage Associate (GMA), Certified Residential Mortgage Specialist (CRMS) and the Certified Mortgage Consultant (CMC). The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) offers the Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation. All of these professional designations garner respect, credibility and reflect an achievement that consumers recognize. It has been over 20 years since I personally originated a residential mortgage, and I know that the current landscape is filled with underwriting and compliance hurdles that are far greater than my ancient experience can imagine and the mortgage professional of today is just that: Professional. If you think you can thrive moving forward with just the required education and continuing education, you will soon find out you are wrong. Those in the industry who have thrived have a thirst for knowledge and a passion to earn certifications. The educated consumer, when involved in what is the largest financial transaction in their lives, is looking for more answers and guidance. If you are not ready to take that seat in the class to move into that spot, move over! There are mortgage professionals who will take that spot and thrive well into the future. In closing, I want to congratulate NAMB on their 40th anniversary. The association is celebrating this momentous occasion this month in Las Vegas during their NAMB National event. Every day, the membership of NAMB can trust that their leadership is working toward a better and more complete mortgage professional, whether it be through lobbying trips to D.C. for face-to-face meetings with our elected officials, to increasing professionalism through education initiatives, to enhancing member benefits via discounts with vendors that will make your business run more smoothly and save you money. NAMB is there for you, the mortgage professional looking to survive in today’s tumultuous regulatory environment, and for all the hard work and tireless hours spent by the members and board members to this end, they should be applauded. Happy anniversary NAMB, and I salute you for many more to come.
STAFF Eric C. Peck Editor-in-Chief (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 ericp@nmpmediacorp.com
Joel M. Berman Publisher - CEO (516) 409-5555, ext. 310 joel@nmpmediacorp.com
Joey Arendt Art Director (516) 409-5555, ext. 307 joeya@nmpmediacorp.com
Beverly Bolnick National Sales Manager (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 beverlyk@nmpmediacorp.com
Scott Koondel Operations Manager (516) 409-5555, ext. 324 scottk@nmpmediacorp.com
Phil Hall Managing Editor (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 philh@nmpmediacorp.com
Richard Zyta Social Media Ambassador (516) 409-5555 richardz@nmpmediacorp.com
Robert Peter Ottone Executive Editor (516) 409-5555, ext. 314 robertpo@nmpmediacorp.com Francine Miller Advertising Coordinator (516) 409-5555, ext. 301 francinem@nmpmediacorp.com
ADVERTISING To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and requirements, please contact National Account Executive Beverly Koondel at (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyk@nmpmediacorp.com.
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS/PRESS RELEASES To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please contact Editor-in-Chief Eric C. Peck at (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 or e-mail ericp@nmpmediacorp.com. The deadline for submissions is the first of the month prior to the target issue.
SUBSCRIPTIONS To receive subscription information, please call (516) 409-5555, ext. 301; e-mail orders@nmpmediacorp.com or visit www.nationalmortgageprofessional.com. Any subscription changes may be made to the attention of “Circulation” via fax to (516) 409-4600.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
4
publisher’s desk
Statements, articles and opinions in National Mortgage Professional Magazine are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply the opinion or endorsement of NMP Media Corp., or the officers or members of National Association of Mortgage Brokers and its State Affiliates (NAMB), National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW), National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) and/or other state mortgage trade associations. Participation in NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage trade associations events, activities and/or publications is available on a non-discriminatory basis and does not reflect the endorsement of the product and/or services by NMP Media Corp., NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and other state mortgage trade associations. National Mortgage Professional Magazine, NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage trade associations do not make any misrepresentations or warranties concerning the regulatory and/or compliance aspects of advertisers, products or services and/or the editorial content contained in NMP Media Corp. publications. National Mortgage Professional Magazine and NMP Media Corp. reserve the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.
Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEO NMP Media Corp. • joel@nmpmediacorp.com National Mortgage Professional Magazine is published monthly by NMP Media Corp. • Copyright © 2014 NMP Media Corp.
NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Featured Editorial Contributors Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS
Pam Marron
Ray Hagan
Michael McNulty
Andy Thaw
Robert Ottone
Brian Karoff
Peter Miller
Eric Weinstein
Jack Kauffman
Bubba Mills
David Williams
Paul Kazlov
K. Justin Restaino
Michael Lewis
Ralph Rosynek
Paul Lucido
Michael Stone
Phil Hall
Andy W. Harris, CRMS
Editorial Contributors Jonathan Blackwell
Dave Hershman
Laura Burke
Andrew Liput
Matthew Dunn Ph.D.
David Lykken
Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.
5
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
NAMB The Association of Mortgage Professionals
National Association of Professional Mortgage Women
2701 West 15th Street, Suite 536 l Plano, TX 75075 Phone: (972) 758-1151 l Fax: (530) 484-2906 Web site: www.namb.org
2014-2015 NAPMW National Board of Directors
NAMB 2013-2014 Board of Directors OFFICERS Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS (t/e 2014)—President MSI, III 200 Medical Drive, Suite D l Carmel, IN 46032 Phone: (317) 575-4355 l Fax: (317) 575-4360 E-mail: dfrommeyer@amtrust.net John Councilman, CMC, CRMS (t/e 2014) President-Elect AMC Mortgage Corporation 10136 Avalon Lake Circle l Fort Myers, FL 33913 Phone: (239) 267-2400 l E-mail: jlc@amcmortgage.com Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS (t/e 2014)—Vice President Lending Arizona LLC 1996 North Kolb l Tucson, AZ 85715 Phone: (520) 886-7283 l Fax: (520) 731-3388 E-mail: randrews@lendingarizona.net Kay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS (t/e 2014)—Secretary KC Mortgage LLC 2041 North Highway 83, Unit C l P.O. Box 783 Franktown, CO 80116 Phone: (720) 670-0124 l Cell: (720) 670-0124 E-mail: kay@kcmortgagecolorado.com Andy W. Harris, CRMS (t/e 2014)—Treasurer Vantage Mortgage Group Inc 15962 SW Boones Ferry Road, Suite 100 l Lake Oswego, OR 97035 Direct: (503) 496-0431, ext. 302 l Cell: (503) 880-2427 E-mail: aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
6
Jim Pair, CMC (t/e 2014)—Immediate Past President Mortgage America Corpus Christi Inc. 22800 Bulverde Road, Apt. 1402 l San Antonio, TX 78261 Phone: (361) 774-7314 l E-mail: jlpair@aol.com
DIRECTORS Fred Kreger, CMC (t/e2016) American Family Funding 28368 Constellation Road, Ste. 398 l Santa Clarita, CA 91350 Phone: (661) 505-4311 l E-mail: fred.kreger@affloans.com Linda McCoy, CRMS (t/e 2016) Mortgage Team 1 Inc. 6336 Piccadilly Square Drive l Mobile, AL 36609 Phone: (251) 650-0805 l Fax: (251) 650-0808 E-mail: linda@mortgageteam1.com John Stevens, CRMS (t/e 2014) ENG Lending 11650 South State Street, Suite 350 l Draper, UT 84020 Phone: (801) 477-7111 l Fax: (866) 442-9937 E-mail: jstevens@englending.com Valerie Saunders (t/e 2015) RE Financial Services 13033 West Lindburgh Avenue l Tampa, FL 33626 Phone: (866) 992-0785 l Fax: (866) 992-1024 E-mail: valsaun@gmail.com Rick Bettencourt, CRMS (t/e 2014) Mortgage Network 300 Rosewood Drive l Danvers, MA 01923 Phone: (978) 777-7500 l Fax: (855) 447-4350 E-mail: rbettencourt@mortgagenetwork.com Olga Kucerak, CRMS (t/e 2016) Crown Lending 328 West Mistletoe l San Antonio, TX 78212 Phone: (210) 828-3384 l Fax: (210) 828-3332 E-mail: olga@crownlending.com
P.O. Box 451718 l Garland, TX 75045 Phone: (800) 827-3034 Web site: www.napmw.org
National President Christine Pollard (607) 226-1046 president@napmw.org
Vice President–Western Region Anna Mackovska (323) 321-2222 westernregion@napmw.org
President-Elect Kelly Hendricks (314) 398-6840 preselect@napmw.org
Secretary Cynthia Nutter (360) 258-2206 natsecretary@napmw.org
Vice President–Central Region Judy Alderson (918) 250-9080, ext. 300
Treasurer Kimberly Rozell, CME (607) 229-5008 nattreasurer@napmw.org
Vice President–Eastern Region Cathy Kantrowitz (845) 463-3011 easternregion@napmw.org
Parliamentarian Dawn Adams, GML, CMI (607) 329-4622 dawnvadams@live.com
Vice President–Northwestern Region William “Bill” Sanderson, CME, CMI (360) 713-9264
National Consumer Reporting Association 701 East Irving Park Road, Suite 306 l Roselle, IL 60172 Phone: (630) 539-1525 l Fax: (630) 539-1526 Web site: www.ncrainc.org
2013-2014 Board of Directors & Staff Maureen Devine President (413) 736-4511 mdevine@strategicinfo.com
William Bower Resident Screening Committee Liaison (888) 316-4242 wbower@cicreports.com
Mike Brown Vice President/Treasurer (801) 925-6691, ext. 3777 mike.brown@ncogroup.com
Judy Ryan Strategic Alliance Committee Chair (410) 747-9551 judy.ryan@creditplus.com
Daphne Large Ex-Officio (901) 259-5105 daphnel@datafacts.com
Sharon Bieszk Director (262) 542-1700 sbieszk@wititle.com
Nancy Fedich Conference Committee Chair (908) 813-8555, ext. 3010 nancy@cisinfo.net
Mary Campbell Director (701) 239-9977 mary@advantagecreditbureau.com
Julie Wink Education Committee Liaison (901) 259-5105 julie@datafacts.com
Dean Wangsgard Director (801) 487-8781 dean@nacmint.com
Tom Conwell Legislative Committee Liaison (800) 445-4922, ext. 1010 tconwell@credittechnologies.com
Terry Clemans Executive Director (630) 539-1525 tclemans@ncrainc.org
Renee Erickson Membership & Elections Chair (866) 932-2715 renee.erickson@acranet.com
Jan Gerber Office Manager & Member Services (630) 539-1525 jgerber@ncrainc.org
7
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
The Rise of Regional Settlement Firms By Andrew Liput
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
8
One of the consequences of the movement towards greater risk management and accountability in the mortgage settlement industry, as has been true for mortgage lenders, is the rising cost of compliance. The Best Practices initiatives from the American Land Title Association (ALTA), as well as third-party vendor management programs being rolled out nationwide are creating new obligations and concurrently new financial burdens on title and settlement shops. For an industry that has not been accustomed to uniform rules, independent scrutiny and ongoing monitoring, the consequences are shaping up to be costly and transformative. Today, small title agencies, notary and closing businesses—as well as solo practice attorneys specializing in real estate closings—are discovering that they may not be able to continue to compete with larger, well-funded, more established firms that have the resources to demonstrate compliance and to embrace the ALTA Best Practices model. Consequently, we are seeing consolidation, closures, and more significantly, an increase in the growth of regional settlement firms. These firms, whether they are attorney-, notary- or title agency-centric, are carving a niche as a preferred vendor for many banks and mortgage lenders. The reasons for this growth and the likelihood that these firms will see even greater success in the next 12-18 months are simple. These firms have the desire, the financial resources and professional infrastructure to meet, and even exceed, regulatory risk management standards. Conversely, small shops, who have historically objected to the mortgage industry’s vendor management initiative, may be facing a tough decision whether to remain in business and pay the cost of compliance, become absorbed into a regional firm, switch to a direct-managed office model or find other work. At the end of the day, it is clear that the title and settlement industry has finally embraced the notion that risk evaluation and monitoring does indeed cover them and has developed an admirable set of uniform best practices to establish a baseline for professionalism. Vendor management firms are carving their own place in the market as reliable outsourcing partners for banks and lenders who do not wish to try and manage this issue internally. It is ultimately up to those thousands of small firms nationwide to determine whether they will also accept these new risk management rules. One thing is for certain … the regional settlement firms know where they are going, and so far, that appears to be towards a greater market share based on a closer relationship with banks and lenders. That is, a relationship acknowledging that a partnership in vendor risk management is much better for business for everyone. Andrew Liput is president and CEO of Secure Settlements Inc., a company he founded after nearly 10 years studying the problem of escrow and closing fraud and the uninsured risks associated with mortgage closing professionals. He may be reached by e-mail at aliput@securesettlements.com.
THE
elite performer Back to School By Andy W. Harris, CRMS
Summer is coming to an end and the kiddos are heading back to school. Hopefully you had a great summer and enjoyed some extra time with your family and taking advantage of the good weather. If you’re like me in the Pacific Northwest, we certainly need to enjoy the sun before the rain comes. It’s hard to believe it’s already September, but we usually find ourselves saying that every year. With how busy life and work can be, time simply passes by much faster than we realize. Back to school time makes us remember the importance of education. With such limited time we have in our schedules, do you ever seek continuing education and training for career advancement? If you want to EARN more, you need to add an “L” and LEARN more. Education and training can be defined through many different activities. Whether you read physical books or listen to audio books, attend conferences, study industryrelated materials, work with a mentor or coach or simply get up to speed with changes and regulatory agencies, these activities will certainly accelerate your earning potential. You have to consistently allow time for continuing education in order to sustain the benefits. It’s not always easy to invest on making this part of your schedule since no immediate return, but the longterm results can be priceless. How are you different from others in your industry? What activities do you do to ensure you are not just a commodity? Are you doing the mini—Sydney J. Harris mum education required by a regulator or employer, or are you stepping up and proactively seeking advancement through self-built knowledge? I think the mortgage industry has taken a saying a little too seriously: “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Having contacts is great and many feel special about their thousands of “connected” social media friends as we call them, but unfortunately many don’t really have the knowledge base they should in our industry. They put more focus on contacts than content. What you know certainly is important, so when the kids head back to school you might consider joining them.
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431, e-mail aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com or visit www.vantagemortgagegroup.com.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
9
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
How Strong Is Your Corp Security Policy? (Part I)
By Laura Burke What makes a good security policy? What exactly is a security policy? Who in the corporate sector is responsible for maintaining, modifying and updating the corporate policy? What involvement is required of both management and employees, if any? A good security policy is one that outlays a company’s overall security plans. It gives all levels of employees’ proper guidelines, steps and procedures to adhere to and follow. The policy requires support from the highest level of the company down through all levels. It also provides the IT department information as to what types of defense systems are required to adequately protect the company’s security and assets. A good policy is comprehensive and should be reviewed periodically. It is a living document that needs continual review, enhancement, and upgrading. The old acronym “KISS” comes to mind here: Keep It Simple & Short. If the policy becomes cumbersome, long and com-
plex, fewer employees will take the time to read it and comprehend it. A clear and concise policy is what is needed and may be obtained by bringing a representation from all areas of the company together to speak openly and freely about concerns or issues they may have, or have, dealt with. By allowing the voice of all levels to participate, it will provide a deeper, more detailed look at the security that is needed. It also allows all who participate to feel “ownership” into the developing plan. Once someone is allowed to take ownership in something, they feel a sense of accomplishment and pride. They will want to uphold the policy as they helped create it. The time to develop a policy is now, not after a breach or issue has occurred. In addition to a security plan, a crisis management policy should also be put into place. With recent news headlines of bombings, shootings, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods and more, we need to look at how volatile your company is if such an occurrence should happen. No one is ever prepared for a disaster, but having a plan is a start.
Having a crisis management policy is as crucial as having a security policy–the way to be prepared is to be proactive. A crisis management policy outlines leadership, plans and appropriate procedures. It will also detail a protocol, and a list of contacts/partners to reach out to, in times of need. Even if the disaster plan is not followed to a T, it is the best to have a plan to use when needed. It should correlate with the corporate security policy and work together. As we all hope to never have to implement a disaster plan, having one will reduce fear, calm a chaotic situation, and lend guidance in the most difficult of times. Having a complete and comprehensive security policy along with a crisis management policy is imperative for all companies. As we never know when our security or physical well-being may be threatened or at-risk. The policies are essential from the beginning, not after a breach of security or act of violence has occurred. In today’s workplace, this has become a vital necessity. The directives of both policies must comply with current applicable laws.
The first step in preparing a security policy is assessment. A company will need to identify what assets need to be protected, and assess potential threats they may encounter. Determine the probability of those threats; propose implementation and guidelines on how to respond to incidents. Define what are the repercussions of not following the policy? Summarize steps and procedures for handling violations of the policy. Outlay what form of punishment will be implemented, what penalties will be enforced, and by whom. If a criminal offense is committed, who is the first to be notified, explain when and how to notify police and other proper authorities? The policy must be upheld in order to be effective or it becomes a useless stack of papers. A security policy in today’s standards needs to encompass the protection of a company’s physical assets, proper usage of social media, digital security and usage regulations, access privileges, authentication of corporate equipment (hardware and software) at work and away from the worksite, even globally.
porate
been given an opportunity to ask whatever questions they may have relating to the policy. Have them sign off that they have asked their questions, or have no questions relating to the policy. This will create a tight, and written paper trail that each and every employee is treated in the same manner, has the opportunity to ask questions, and have read the policy. If hiring at a distance, then the new hire must read the policy, take the same quiz, and attest to doing so in front of a witness. The witness must sign the attestation that the employee has read the policy and has no further questions, and the employee signs below attester’s signature. This will add legal strength to those not able to come into corporate office.
This should reduce the amount of, selective amnesia, on an employee’s response of “I didn’t know I couldn’t do that” or “No one told me that was in appropriate.” The company will have written documented proof that they were informed, and it was their choice to choose to go against the corporate security policy. If a company utilizes the Internet to communicate, market and sell, and gather private information from your clients; they deserve a commitment honoring the privacy of visitors to your corporate and affiliate Web sites. A key point here is, we cannot control our affiliate or partnering sites and a disclaimer is great here. continued on page 46
11
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Cyber threats constantly evolve with increasing intensity and complexity. Organizations will face a host of cyber threats, some with sever impacts that will require security measures that go beyond compliance (Homeland Security, 2012). The threat of cyber security breaches; such as deadly virus attacks on computer systems, from either the inside (a disgruntled employee) to an outsider; either of malicious intent to destroy companies’ profits, vengeance, or by hack attack! According to Webroot, AVTest, an independent IT security institute, more than 55,000 new malicious software programs are registered daily. In today’s world of cyber breaches, intrusions, corporate and employee fraud, it is determined a well-designed security policy is a must have. You need to separate the nice to have from the need to have, and a corporate security policy ranks at the top of the list in the “need to haves.” Information security is no longer only a technology issue; it is an inherent part of day-to-day business activities. Small- to mid-sized businesses should have adequate security systems in place along with a technical support staff to assist in implementing the necessary safe guards. Defining corporate security policies, utilizing industry standards best practice procedures, adhering to compliance and company personalization are initial steps in planning a security policy. The policy is to guide to lead users into knowing what is acceptable, unacceptable and reasons for discipline, or termination. Addressing each topic makes it clear and concise for everyone, so no is slighted or elevated. Be in tune to employees, ask management to listen for underlying tip offs to disgruntled employees, or employees letting proprietary information leak out. By having a security plan in place for questionable activities makes it easy for anyone to report a potential issue, without making it a big deal. If it ends up being nothing, no one is the wiser and work goes on naturally. If it is a potential issue, it can be investigated, examined, confirmed and handled appropriately. There is no need to start from scratch. Before analyzing every risk, look at what others are doing. Symantec suggests that you meet standards of due care by using existing standards and industry “best practices.” “Best Practice” procedures are often used for multiple industries to reduce corporate risk. The rule of thumb for any policy should be “whatever should not be accessed is prohibited.” Pay attention to regulations and requirements from government, industry and partners. The best security policies for small- to medium-sized businesses go from the top down. When going from the top
down, we incorporate the CEO, president and other officers, all managers, all supervisors, and all employees. The best term I can recommend to use here is ALL. All are covered by the security policy. You may need to add addendums for those higher up in the hierarchy, but all should have the same standard policy, with additions. A clear, precise “read only” copy of the policy should always be available to all employees. All new hire employees should be asked to meet with human resource personnel to read the policy in front of HR employee, answer a five question quiz afterwards in writing, and sign off that they have read the policy and understand the policy. That they have
JMAC Launches NonDelegated Correspondent Program
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
12
JMAC Lending has launched its nondelegated correspondent program which establishes another JMAC lending channel for mortgage bankers and other financial institutions to grow their business. The JMAC non-delegated correspondent lending channel is focused on serving lenders who currently have the resources to fund their own loans but prefer the security of having those loans underwritten by the purchasing investor before the loan closes. The lender originates closes and funds in their own name while JMAC Lending performs the underwriting, purchase review and loan purchasing activities. JMAC Lending offers the most comprehensive non-delegated correspondent platform in the industry ensuring their clients become successful correspondent lenders. For the JMAC Direct programs, all refinancing will be referred back to the lender and no cross-selling will occur. “Correspondent lending is the next logical expansion since it leverages our strengths in pricing, operations and compliance expertise in wholesale to assist our clients in growing volume and revenue without incurring substantial risk,” said Christina Pham, CEO of JMAC. “The non-delegated correspondent platform provides execution flexibility for our customers and additional growth opportunities.”
Mortgage lending business technological productivity and regulatory compliance are of the highest importance. Docs on Demand’s addition to the Calyx Network gives Point users a helpful and trusted loan document solution that addresses both of these needs. Docs on Demand is a nationwide solution for loan document preparation and has been offered since 2001. It is used by mortgage lenders and other service providers including law firms, and private labeling is available. “Working with Calyx to create the MISMO handshake was great. Our direct line of communication is what relationship is all about,” said Bill Zindler, president of Docs on Demand Inc. Docs on Demand is an all-in-one mortgage loan document preparation and smart compliance system. It interfaces with loan origination systems and imports standard MISMO closing data files. Docs on Demand is offered to mortgage lenders and service providers including law firms, and private labeling is available. It automatically performs extensive regulatory compliance audits and custom loan data validations may be added. Docs on Demand includes a secure document image archive, on-screen compliance reports, automatic software updates, a tracking screen with audit trail, secure document forwarding with e-mail notification, and customizable documents.
Key features include: Available to those who currently do not own a home, even if they have owned in the past; discounted rates for all products; limited downpayment of one to three percent, depending upon grants or gifts; three percent downpayment can be grant or gift, as long as FICO score is 740 or higher; if 95 percent financing or less, credit score can go down to 620; maximum loan amount of $417,000 for all property types; income limits according to area; and available for a variety of terms, including 15- and 30-year fixed-rate loans and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs). “There was a strong demand for the Affordable Mortgage Product that we offered in the past,” said Arthur Saitta, assistant vice president and residential business development officer at Ridgewood Savings Bank. “Now we have made it even more attractive and affordable, with terms that allow more people to qualify. Prospective homeowners do not need excellent credit to qualify—their score can go as low as 620 and we may still be able to help them fulfill their dream of homeownership.” Saitta adds, “A unique feature of this product is that it provides such favorable options not just for first-time buyers, but also for those who previously owned—even if they just sold their former home the same day.”
Ridgewood Savings Announces Expansion of Affordable Mortgage Product
New Penn Launches Non-QM Product
Calyx Adds Docs on Demand Docs on Demand has joined Calyx Software’s Calyx Network with a bi-directional loan data interface for Closing Docs. With Calyx Software’s August 2014 interface update, Docs on Demand is accessible through the Closing Doc Interfaces in Calyx Software’s Point loan origination system. The interface facilitates the receiving of loan data from Docs on Demand when closing documents are requested and, upon delivery of closing documents, the sending of updated loan data back into Point.
Ridgewood Savings Bank has announced the introduction of a newly expanded affordable mortgage product at all of its 35 branches throughout the New York metropolitan area. Designed for both first-time homebuyers and those who have owned in the past, this product features discounted fixed rates and lower downpayments which enable more homebuyers to qualify.
New Penn Financial LLC has introduced Home Buyer Power, an innovative non-QM loan product that opens up lending opportunities for buyers who may not be the right fit for Qualified Mortgage (QM) loans. The launch makes New Penn one of the first major non-bank lenders to enter this specialized market, which has emerged since stringent new QM requirements went into effect in January 2014.
“Home Buyer Power creates mortgage lending opportunities for customers with strong credit who fall outside the very specific criteria required for QM loans,” said Brian Simon of New Penn Financial. “These are solid buyers with strong income who may have a high debt-to-income ratio.” While the non-QM loans broaden the pool of customers eligible for a mortgage, the designation doesn’t mean that borrowers are unvetted or underqualified. Buyers will need to provide full income documentation, demonstrate strong credit scores, and meet additional guidelines that indicate their ability to repay. New Penn anticipates that Home Buyer Power will be the first in a series of non-QM loan offerings designed to serve a wider range of buyers. The product features an interest-only option, and buyers with debt-toincome ratios as high as 55 percent at 80 percent loan-to-value may qualify for loans. Eligible property types include primary residences, second homes, and both warrantable and nonwarrantable condos. “We expect Home Buyer Power to appeal to high-end customers who may be paying expensive metro-area rents. They have the income to support a home purchase, but they may also have higher than average debt obligations,” said Simon. “We are excited to offer our customers new and non-traditional products like Home Buyer Power that meet their very specific and individual needs.”
Quality Mortgage Services Launches New QC Tool
Quality Mortgage Services (QMS), a provider of mortgage quality control (QC) and auditing technology solutions, has announced the release of an updated version of its proprietary MARS (Mortgage Analyst Review Software) offering, a tool that provides
continued on page 18
13
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
EWSFLASH l SEPTEMBER 2014 l NMP NEWSFLASH l SEPTEMBER 2014 l NMP N Lenders One Study Finds Productive LOs Forego Money for Future Development
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
14
J.D. Power Finds Quicken Loans Tops in Servicing
Mortgage servicers are making substanLenders One has tial progress in announced the improving the overresults of a new all customer bornational survey on rowing experiloan officer reten- ence—specifically for “at-risk” custion conducted by tomers—with technology helping to Majestic Consulting. According to simplify and streamline the experience, the survey results, productive loan according to the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. officers are willing to leave higher Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction paying positions to move to a com- Study. The Study measures satisfaction pany where management has a firm in four factors of the mortgage servicing grasp on fulfillment and business experience: Billing and payment development. Findings from the sur- process; escrow account administravey were unveiled at the Lenders tion; Web site; and phone contact. One 2014 Summer Member Quicken Loans was ranked highest in Conference in Nashville. More than customer satisfaction among home loan 450 independent mortgage bankers, servicers included in the Study by J.D. investors and vendors are attending Power with a score of 835. The award is the conference. Quicken Loans’ first for mortgage servic“The assumption that loan officers ing. This recognition comes in the comalways leave for a better compensa- pany’s first year of being eligible for the tion structure somewhere else is honor. Chase Mortgage ranks second false,” Tom Ward, CEO of Majestic with a score of 782, followed by Regions Consulting told Lenders One mem- Mortgage at 777. bers during one of the educational Overall satisfaction averages 754 (on sessions at the conference. “Issues a 1,000-point scale) in 2014, up from like a short-term missed closing have 733 in 2013. Improvements in satisfaca phenomenally long-term impact on tion are even more pronounced among a loan officer’s book of business and at-risk customers—those who are curcan be just as or more important rently behind with mortgage payments than compensation to a decision to or concerned about keeping current change employment. The shift from a with their payments during the next less-time sensitive refi, to an intri- year—increasing by 42 points year over cately coordinated purchase transac- year to 703 in 2014. tion exposes a lot of inefficiency in “Satisfaction is improving, specificalthe process. Now there is a real dead- ly among those customers having a line, the ‘I have a borrower with their hard time paying their bills, primarily belongings in a truck and nowhere to because lenders are improving the go’ deadline. If you miss that dead- experience by making it easier for them line, that borrower is unlikely to to use the Web site or their smartphone come back, and that Realtor is to make payments, resolve problems or unlikely to refer again.” get answers to their questions,” said The survey also found that it takes Craig Martin, director of the mortgage almost seven months from the time a practice at J.D. Power. “As more conloan officer decides to leave a com- sumers use smartphones and tablets pany and when it actually happens, and younger tech-savvy borrowers Ward said. “That’s a remarkable begin to buy homes, the desire to use amount of loyalty,” he commented. online and mobile channels will “What’s more, we found that the company that may initially start loan officers thinking about leaving is not usually the company they end up joining.”
inevitably increase.” The study finds that customers who have concerns about making payments closely monitor their account. This atrisk group uses the mobile channel to review statements more than twice as often as the industry average (eight percent vs. three percent, respectively). Those using a mobile device to review statements on their mortgage servicer’s Web site do so much more frequently as well, an average of 28 times in the past 12 months, compared with an industry average of 13 times. Martin noted that the ever-increasing use of technology may require mortgage lenders to reconsider their current approach and message to different segments. For example, at-risk customers most frequently use their lender’s website to view monthly billing information, while “performing lowrisk” customers—those with good or excellent credit and have not made a late payment—most often use the site to review their payment/transaction history. Notably, customers with poor credit find website features harder to find more often than those with better credit.
Carrington Partners With Gary Sinise Foundation on Homes for Wounded Veterans The Gary Sinise Foundation (GSF) has announced that it has formed a partnership with The Carrington Companies to provide donations and operational support for GSF’s R.I.S.E. (Restoring Independence & Supporting Empowerment) program. As part of the program, GSF is building Smart Homes for America’s most severely wounded service members and their families. “The Carrington Companies is the perfect partner to help the Gary Sinise Foundation build our Smart Homes and I’m very grateful for their support,” said
Sinise, founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation. “Each project is a tremendous undertaking involving custom construction and cutting edge technologies tailored to the needs of these wounded service members and with the excellent Carrington team, we’ll continue to restore independence and improve the lives of these American heroes and their families.” Carrington’s non-profit organization, Carrington Charitable Foundation (CCF), will be supporting the Gary Sinise Foundation and the R.I.S.E. program through its various fundraising endeavors, including its flagship event, the Annual Golf Classic, held at the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, California on Oct. 6, 2014. Along with benefitting the Veterans Airlift Command, CCF’s event will raise funds for GSF’s custom home projects. In addition to fundraising support from CCF, Carrington will be donating the expertise of its real estate development group, Carrington Development Company LLC (CDC) and real estate services group, Carrington Home Solutions LP (CHS). CDC will be managing all aspects of the custom, Smart Home development, including land selection and purchasing, design management, permitting and approval, construction management, home automation, budgeting and reporting, and the coordination of the many material donations from vendors. CHS will be providing renovation services on properties donated from major financial institutions that are then sold upon completion of the renovations. Funds from the sales are donated to the construction of Veteran’s homes. “We are honored to have the privilege of working with the Gary Sinise Foundation to support this important program,” said Carrington Holding Company CEO Bruce Rose. “The Carrington Companies will bring forth all of our capabilities in securing and developing these custom homes for our country’s Veterans. We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to America’s service members, and are thrilled to be able to contribute to such a worthy cause.”
MISMO Announces Schedule for Residential Data Standard
compare Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) from at least three different lenders.”
Q2 Commercial and Multifamily Originations Dip Year-Over-Year According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations, second quarter 2014 commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations were two percent lower than during the same period last year, but 34 percent higher than the first quarter of 2014. “Year-to-date borrowing by commer-
cial and multifamily real estate owners is running at the same pace as last year,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s vice president of commercial real estate research. “Low interest rates and improving property fundamentals are prompting borrowers to act, but the relatively low volume of loans hitting maturity is checking overall demand.” The two percent overall decrease in commercial/multifamily lending volumes, when compared to the second quarter of 2013, was driven by a decrease in originations for retail and multifamily properties. The decrease included a 10 percent decrease in the dollar volume of loans for retail proper-
15
(888) 618-9088 www.FastForwardStories.com/Mortgage
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Regs Hike Up Closing Costs Nationwide Mortgage closing costs rose six percent over the past year and now average $2,539 on a $200,000 loan, according to a study by Bankrate.com. Origination fees increased nine percent
continued on page 16
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
The MISMO Residential Standards Governance Committee has announced the schedule for the next two releases of the MISMO Residential Data Standard. Updates to the Standard, which supports data exchange transactions and corporate data models across the residential mortgage lifecycle, are expected to be released for Public Comment in November 2014 and July 2015, respectively. “MISMO recognizes that industry participants are increasingly dependent upon MISMO to execute on their business plans, including compliance with new regulations,” said Randy Gilster, senior vice president at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and chairman of the MISMO Residential Data Standards Governance Committee. ”As a result, MISMO has taken action to assess industry needs and develop a schedule of updates that allows for predictable and proactive planning in order to meet milestone events. With the release of this schedule, lenders, servicers, investors, service providers, and government entities will be able to better sequence their activities around the MISMO timeline.” The November 2014 release, referred to as Version 3.3.1, will be backwardly compatible. Backwardly compatible means that technical processes that work for Version 3.3 will continue to work if applied to Version 3.3.1. To assist with planning, MISMO is providing the following list of key dates for this release: A draft version of the Version 3.3.1 model is expected to be available for review at the MISMO Fall Summit scheduled for the week of Sept. 22-26. The MISMO Architecture Workgroup (AWG) will review the recommended changes at the MISMO Fall Summit. At that time, the AWG is expected to vote to elevate the model to Public Comment Status. The July 2015 release will be either a non-backwardly compatible release, referred to as Version 3.4, or a backwardly compatible release, referred to as Version 3.3.2. This decision on backward compatibility will be made at a later date and will be based on the type of changes included in the release. To assist with planning, MISMO is providing the following key dates for the release:
to $1,877 and third-party fees rose one percent to $662. Texas’ average closing costs of $3,046 are the highest in the nation. Alaska ($2,897), New York ($2,892), Hawaii ($2,808) and Wisconsin ($2,706) round out the top five. The cheapest closing costs are in Nevada (an average of $2,265). Tennessee ($2,366), Missouri ($2,387), Ohio ($2,392) and Washington, D.C. ($2,402) comprise the rest of the bottom five. “New mortgage regulations are the biggest reasons why closing costs went up over the past year,” said Holden Lewis, senior mortgage analyst with Bankrate.com. “The good news is that some lenders have not increased fees. To get the best deal, consumers should
Direct Mail Marketing is Back for Good
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
16
Everyone knows direct mail works, and it’s no secret that it has been in a slump for the last few years. But it’s now back as the number one positioned marketing method in the mortgage industry ahead of any other marketing method today. Better than leads, live transfers, or online SEO and social media, direct mail is quietly taking the nation by storm. More loans are being funded today from direct mail than any other form of marketing. In today’s mortgage business, there’s no time to shop around for marketing products and services in hopes of finding one that works. Your time needs to be spent with prospects and customers closing loans. Finding a marketing campaign that can fulfill all of your needs consistently is more important than ever. What’s going to bring you the highest return on investment (ROI)? A campaign you can track and get reports that will keep you ahead of the trends. Lead management tools that will allow you to work five to 10 times more prospects in the same amount of time. There are hundreds of online solutions out there to help increase your ROI by tracking calls, tracking leads and tracking ROI. Direct mail incorporates all of these. This is why this method has risen back to the number one position. Mail needs to be dropped consistently in order for it to work properly. Companies that drop mail three to four times per year or less usually see varied results, while those who drop mail weekly or bi-weekly all yearround seem to have much more consistent, scalable and profitable results. People on vacation don’t always leave their homes. For this reason, direct mail has been a consistent provider of inbound qualified interested leads all summer long, and response rates have risen above the previous three years. Most importantly, now that kids are back in school and everyone is back to work, what are you doing to grow your business? While some wait for new loan products to come out or interest rates to drop, closing no new business, others are using direct mail and funding three to four times more loans. TagQuest Inc. client spotlight … Simon S., a Georgia mortgage lender Each month, we like to talk with our clients and find out how their campaigns are going. Here’s what we heard from one of our mortgage professionals, Simon S. in Georgia. Direct mail campaign targeting refis … l 5,000 pieces sent out per month (2,500 bi-weekly) l Response rate: 1.5 to two percent l 85 calls per month l 17 applications l 10 closed loans (a 12 percent close ratio) Highlights of the campaign that work well for Simon … “The mailing company takes care of everything” Highlights that could appeal to other loan officers or offices … “Get a list with phone numbers where available for the younger reps to call out on.” Medford, Ore.-based TagQuest is a full-service marketing firm created specifically for the ever-changing business world. TagQuest assists companies with their direct marketing, advertising and branding needs, and knows what it takes to generate quality customers and, most importantly, how to retain those customers for years to come. TagQuest brings forth a unique opportunity to utilize our experience and expertise in varying consumer sales and marketing environments. For more information, call (866) 376-5540 or visit Tagquest.com. VIEW OUR MOST RECENT WEBINAR ON YOUTUBE Online readers please click on the link below, readers of the print edition, please copy the link and paste it into your browser. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coBEsmEVOgo
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
nmp news flash continued from page 15
ties, a 10 percent decrease for multifamily properties, a six percent decrease for office properties, a 20 percent increase for industrial properties, a 45 percent increase in hotel property loans, and a 95 percent increase in healthcare property loans. Among investor types, the dollar volume of loans originated for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) decreased by 13 percent from last year’s second quarter. There was a 13 percent decrease for life insurance company loans, a 19 percent increase for commercial bank portfolio loans and a 45 percent increase in dollar volume for CMBS loans. Second quarter 2014 commercial and multifamily mortgage originations were 34 percent higher than in the first quarter. Compared to the first quarter of 2014, second quarter originations for hotel properties increased 91 percent. There was a 78 percent increase in originations for health care properties, a 64 percent increase for retail properties, a 44 percent increase for office properties, a 32 percent increase for multifamily properties, and a 13 percent increase for industrial properties from the first quarter. Among investor types, between the first and second quarters of 2014, the dollar volume of loans for CMBS increased 132 percent, loans for GSEs increased 99 percent, originations for life insurance companies increased 47 percent, and loans for commercial bank portfolios decreased by 12 percent.
NAWRB Co-Hosts Financial Fitness Road Show The National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB) in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Santa Ana District Office presented the Women in Housing Financial Fitness Road Show recently at the Lutron Experience Center in Irvine, Calif. NAWRB’s Inaugural Women in Housing Financial Fitness Road Show is a first-of-its-kind, breakthrough program for women in all industries within the housing economy. More than just tools to navigate women’s existing business through the changing terrain, NAWRB’s Women in Housing Financial Fitness Road Show reached a whole new level. Utilizing a specialized hybrid of women in housing and women in government outreach, women can take advantage of the fast track niche. By connecting women with federal and local programs, set-asides, funding options and contracting opportunities available to grow their businesses both vertically and horizontally, women in housing will have the awareness to sustainable growth and live beyond com-
mission to commission. Hosted by Morgan Stanley, Vivian Afriyie—a Morgan Stanley financial advisor—opened the event showcasing asset-based loans vs. traditional income and credit-based loans. Recently, Morgan Stanley closed a 150 million dollar commercial real estate loan in six weeks. “Bringing the shock treatment with our takeaways from $25,000 SBA business loans to the $200 million dollar Morgan Stanley Diversified Securitiesbased loans for clients, really ignited the awareness in the room,” said Desiree Patno, CEO and founder of NAWRB.
Homeownership Rate Falls in Q2, Expected to Plummet Further The national homeownership rate fell in the second quarter, and a majority of experts said they expect it to fall further in coming years as the Millennial generation delays home purchases and the age of typical first-time homebuyers rises, according to the latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey. The panel also said they expect U.S. median home values to end 2014 up 4.6 percent, on average, and to exceed their 2007 peak levels by the end of 2017, roughly a decade after the housing bust and ensuing recession began. The survey of 104 economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists asked panelists to predict the path of the U.S. Zillow Home Value Index through 2018, and solicited opinions on the age of homeowners, the homeownership rate and the impact of rising mortgage interest rates on home sales volume. The survey was sponsored by leading real estate information marketplace Zillow and is conducted quarterly by Pulsenomics LLC. In 2013, the typical first-time homebuyer was 31-years-old, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Panelists were asked for their expectations regarding the median first-time homebuyer age over the next decade as Millennials reach their prime home-buying years. Among those expressing an opinion, 61 percent said they thought the median first-time homebuyer age would rise marginally, to 32 or 33, with another 24 percent saying they expected the median age would rise to 34 or older. “Because of its huge size and great diversity of housing preferences and opinions, the Millennial generation will have enormous influence in coming years, especially as they hold off on getting married and having children, the continued on page 33
Wholesale lending is just easier when…
We find the common ground needed to make your loan a success. Securing a loan for each client requires support from a partner that is truly on your side. Since our founding, Plaza Home Mortgage has focused on the wholesale channel, developing deep experience, expertise and understanding that we leverage to support our clients. Drawing on similar backgrounds and experiences, our team members and clients work together in an environment of understanding and collaboration. Because we better understand the challenges our partners face, we can offer the right support to make their jobs easier. Working on this common ground, with fully aligned interests, Plaza is completely focused on the success of your business.
17
Wide range of products
• USDA Rural Housing
• VA Fixed and ARM
• Conventional ARM
• FHA Fixed and ARM
• Reverse Mortgage
• Jumbo
• 203(k) Streamline
• HARP Programs
To learn more, visit us at www.plazahomemortgage.com.
Corporate Headquarters: (866) 260-2529
www.plazahomemortgage.com Plaza Home Mortgage, Inc. is an Equal Housing Opportunity Lender. This is not a commitment to lend. Information is intended for mortgage professionals only and not intended for public use or distribution. Terms and conditions of programs are subject to change at any time. Refer to Plaza’s underwriting and program guidelines for loan specific details and all eligibility requirements. © 2014 Plaza Home Mortgage, Inc. All rights reserved. Company NMLS #2113. 6/2014.
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
• Conventional Fixed Rate
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
We understand that every client is unique and requires a product that meets their specific needs. That’s why we offer a diverse range of purchase and refinance conventional and government loan programs, all under one roof. Our programs include:
Eight Tips to Writing Great Copy for Direct Mail By K. Justin Restaino When utilizing direct mail, you have the ability to land your marketing piece directly in the hands of your ideal prospect. The physical look has to be eye catching enough to catch their attention, but remember “content is king” for a reason. Below are some tips to remember when writing the copy for your direct mail marketing. If you cannot engage your reader, you won’t see the return you are anticipating. 1. Keep it short and sweet: Long messaging discourages people from investing their time in your direct mail piece. If you keep your message brief and to the point, your reader can quickly determine the importance of your message and choose to read further or take action. 2. Make it easy to take action: No matter what you are asking your reader to do—call, buy, request more information—make sure they can take action easily. Include clear contact information, such as Web sites, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. If you want them to request more information, make sure you have an easy-to-use return form or landing page online. 3. Be active, not passive: Relationships form with personal touches. Whenever possible, use active verbs instead of passive. For example, “I’ll send you the details of your pending contract” instead of “Your pending contract will be sent later this week.” These small details will help you build the trust with your prospects before you even meet or speak with them.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
18
4. Use acronyms and short forms sparingly, if at all: Most industries, especially the mortgage industry, are filled with daily uses of acronyms or short forms such as Ginnie Mae, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) and mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Unless you know your reader understands these terms in their abbreviated form, it’s always best, and safe, to spell everything out or provide the complete definition of the term. 5. Create a personal tone: Your direct mail piece may be sent out to hundreds of people at a time, but your message should be created as if you are only writing to one person. Determine the best “voice” to fit your audience. 6. Use short sentences: Keeping in-sync with our first tip, your content should be composed of shorter sentences for easier reading. Try to keep each sentence under 15 words. 7. Cross your T’s and dot your I’s: It may seem like an obvious step, but it’s critical to check your spelling and grammar in all content that is sent out. Readers will be turned off if they feel you didn’t put the effort into making your direct mail a worthwhile piece for their time. Having multiple people review the content will help prevent these errors. 8. Write with a purpose: Why are you putting together this direct mail piece? Are you promoting a new rate? Providing education? Purpose should be the backbone of your writing. Once you determine your end goal, the content should be easier to put on paper. In conclusion, keep your mail piece’s message, direct, easy to read and with a call to action the borrower can easily find will improve the results of your mail efforts. K. Justin Restaino is vice president of Titan List & Mailing Services Inc. For more than 13 years, he has led Titan’s Mortgage Division, helping lenders of all capacities grow their businesses utilizing targeted direct mail. With a specialized focus in refinance and purchase markets, Restaino has the insight for proper data and mail application for success. He may be reached by phone at (800) 544-8060, ext. 204 or e-mail justin@titanlists.com.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
new to market continued from page 12
the mortgage banking industry with an intuitive and comprehensive audit experience, complete with analytical tools and reporting capabilities. The new version allows QC professionals to comply with Fannie Mae’s latest category requirements for defects and findings. “This is the next step in the evolution of a product that has become missioncritical software in our industry,” said Tommy Duncan, CMT, Quality Mortgage Services CEO. “We were the first MARS users and we use it to this day, so when we release an upgrade it’s because our QC personnel confirmed the need. We are now ready to support the mortgage banking industry by making this technology available to a market ready for the MARS experience.” The improved MARS platform offers the latest agency QC requirements, as well as ATQ (Audit the QC), a tool that allows lenders to audit the quality control functions performed by QMS. MARS offers many reporting capabilities and analytical tools that empower QC professionals in making smart management decisions. The technology provides many industry reports: Defect rate, Compare/contrast reports, Risk associations, Fraud pattern, Trend charts, and more. The software supports Post-Closing, Pre-Funding and MERS audits. The MARS Portal allows users to interact through the Management Response pages.
Global DMS and Platinum Data Solutions Integrate Appraisal Products
Global DMS and Platinum Data Solutions have integrated Platinum Data’s RealView appraisal quality software into Global DMS’ eTrac appraisal management platform, allowing for quick and easy access to appraisal quality and compliance analytics. Organizations that are using Global DMS’ eTrac Enterprise platform to automate their valuation process now have seamless access to Platinum Data’s RealView collateral valuation business intelligence technology directly from within eTrac. RealView uses sophisticated configurable business rules to quickly analyze each appraisal’s quality and compliance. As a result, joint clients are able to manage the valuation process and analyze all appraisals for the thousands of different factors that can compromise appraisal quality. “The combination of these two bestof-breed solutions provides the highest level of quality and efficiency in collateral valuation process,” said Vladimir Bien-Aime, president and CEO of Global DMS. “The integration of Platinum Data’s RealView product into our eTrac
platform facilitates the thorough assessment of collateral to allow mortgage lenders to make better business decisions. Put simply, this collaboration reduces fraud, lending costs and overall risk.” Platinum Data’s RealView solution takes only a few seconds to review, analyze and score appraisals according to standard and user-defined business rules. Scores range from 0 to 1,000 and cover four factors: The appraisal’s overall quality, as well as its compliance, credibility, and complexity. Users may configure an unlimited number of custom business rules, which can be implemented in a matter of hours or days, not weeks or months, thus empowering companies to swiftly respond to marketplace changes.
Equifax and D+H Partner on Real-Time Credit Info for Prospective Borrowers
Equifax Inc. has announced that Credit*Hi-Lite, the company’s tri-merge consumer credit report, is now integrated with D+H’s LaserPro, a compliant lending and documentation solution. Integrating Credit*Hi-Lite with the LaserPro Consumer Origination & Processing and Mortgage Origination & Processing modules enables mortgage loan originators to optimize their sales workflow, provide borrowers with immediate eligibility feedback, and present loan options that are appropriate for the borrower. Upon request, lenders using the LaserPro Consumer and Mortgage Origination & Processing modules are able to access tri-merged credit reports directly from within their LaserPro transactions. This capability automatically populates liability, credit score and key factor data into LaserPro which further streamlines data entry tasks. Applications are automatically populated with credit report liability data so that lenders can quickly determine an applicant’s ability to repay. In addition, credit scores and related key factors populate Credit Score Disclosures, Risk-Based Pricing and Adverse Action Notices and Credit Approval Worksheets in LaserPro. “Reducing workflow timelines and eliminating issues associated with manual data entry is pivotal to lenders’ success,” said Craig Crabtree, SVP of Equifax Mortgage Services. “Delays are costly and can quickly pile up, so it is important to have a means of preventing those headaches altogether. Combining D+H’s expertise and proven technology with our leading data insights provides lenders with the strongest possible defense in the fight against challenges in loan processes.” continued on page 47
The The Move that Puts Buyers to the front of the Competition
Just One More Reason to Choose Maverick Funding Corp. as Your Lender of Choice.
Real Answers, Real Fast, backed by Real Underwriting! and it’ it’s s FREE.
With the pre-application starting in underwriting, Your closing time will be drastically reduced. RealQual is designed to make sure sellers know that a buyer is truly qualified to purchase their property. Learn more about our RealQual Program
866.574.FUND Corporate Headquarters: 9 Entin Rd., Parsippany NJ, 07054
www.MaverickFunding.com
Maverick Funding Corp. NMLS#7706, Executive Offices, 9 Entin Road, Suite 200, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Toll Free 888-616-6866. Licensed by the California Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, License #4131048. Licensed by the California Department of Corporations under the California Finance Lenders Law, License #603H799. Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee, License #MB.6760891, Massachusetts Lender License #ML3257; Michigan 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant #FR0018028; Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department; Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance; Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; Rhode Island Licensed Lender; Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, License #MC5352; Oregon Mortgage Lending License ML-4961; Licensed Lender SC; Texas Mortgage Banker Registration; Washington Consumer Loan License #CL7706, Licensed Wisconsin Mortgage Banker, also Licensed in AL, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IN, KY, ME, MD, MN, NC, OH, TN, VT, WV. Equal Housing Lender. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
G et the Peace of Mind that Y Get Your our o Loan will Close On Ti T ime i , Everytime Time, Everytime,,
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
RealQUAL R
19
NAMB PERSPECTIVE The President’s Corner: September 2014 ell, the time has actually come that I am writing my last article as president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. I have to tell you, this has been the thrill of my life to represent you, the membership of NAMB. I never thought that I would be president, let alone president for the past three years. It has truly been an honor, and I have to tell you, I will miss it dearly. But , I am looking forward to what comes next. As you have probably heard, the NAMB Board of Directors has created a new position, chief executive officer, and have asked me to take on this position. This, along with my board position as NAMB immediate past president, will keep me very involved. This position will keep me heavily involved with the mortgage industry, and I will continue to keep the face of NAMB out there in the public, representing NAMB at industry functions and working hard with the Government Affairs Committee and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) Industry Panel. This will also allow me to spend more time doing my real job of mortgage origination and making some money. I also want to thank my employer for allowing me to do this job. They have been wonderful and behind me 100 percent. I have a lot of people to thank for the fantastic opportunity to be in this position. First, the person who really got me started on this wild ride is Joe Salpietra from Evansville, Ind. He called me and asked if I would take a position on the board of NAMB’s Indiana state affiliate. He told me that it would last one year and I could
W
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
20
leave after that year. That was 13 years ago in 2001. I became hooked. It meant so much to progress through the state ranks and become the Indiana association’s statewide president in 2005. I also won the Indiana Broker of the Year that year. In addition, I was becoming more involved in the national arena on committees and on the NAMB Delegate Council. Joe Falk was my first Committee chair. I was sitting outside the room, returning phone calls and he walked out and saw me sitting there. He asked if I wanted to come in and hear the committee. I said yes and walked into the room. There were just six people there all sitting at the table. I took a seat against the wall, and Mr. Falk said I might as well sit at the table since it was a small gathering. After I sat down and introduced myself to everyone, he congratulated me and told me that I was now a member of the Model State Statute Committee … that was my start on NAMB’s Committees. It was meeting Jim Nabors at a Delegate Council Meeting that intrigued my interest in joining the National Board. Jim Parsons from Indiana and I were the delegates from our state, and we went up to Jim to talk about getting the National Convention to come to Indianapolis. Mr. Nabors, at this time, was the real expert in this department and he told us that we frankly had no chance. That was a challenge to both of us. Indianapolis played host to NAMB’s National Conference in 2008, and I was asked to serve as Committee Chair for this event. It turned out to be, at that time, the last NAMB national conference. Working with Mr. Nabors on this event in 2005 and 2006 was the reason I joined the NAMB Board in 2007. What a thrill to be elected at this
Why Do I Need NAMB? l l l l l l l l
NAMB Testifies Before Congress NAMB Works With the CFPB NAMB Participates in Multiple Regulatory/CFPB Panels NAMB Webinars Full-Time NAMB Lobbyist on Capitol Hill NAMB Protects Your Business NAMB Forms Industry Coalitions NAMB Education
For detailed information, visit www.namb.org.
time. George Hanzimanolis was the president. I also met a lot of great people at my first Board Meeting. Harry Dinham was the immediate past president, John Porter was treasurer, and Kate Crawford was the secretary, just to name a few. But the person who made the biggest impression on me that day was Denise Leonard. Those of you who know Denise know what I mean. This young lady had lost her husband a few years back and here she is fighting for the rights of mortgage brokers. Her strength was something that I admired and respected. She gave endless hours to the association and to Government Affairs. She and Jim Nabors got me involved in the Political Action Committee (PAC). I became her PAC co-chair and the rest is history. I remember Jim asking people to try on articles of clothing to show to the members. He threw me a jacket, I tried it on and then he said those famous PAC Committee words, “Looks good on you. You just bought it for $200.” He always had his way. I traveled to a lot of functions, and Denise and I made a great team for the NAMB PAC. We had some great functions and raised a lot of money. Because of her huge involvement as the Government Affairs Committee chair, she slowly turned over the PAC functions to me, but she was always there to help. We became great friends and still are to this day. I remember the day that we were sworn in as members of the NAMB Board. Her daughter Nicole was there in Seattle, and she sat with my wife Barb as we were sworn in. They were both proud and excited to be there. Back then, board members were at a lot of functions together. We had four or five conferences that we attended annually. The Western Regional, Southeastern Conference, Leadership Conference, Legislative and Regulatory Conference … my wife started calling Denise “My NAMB Wife” since we were everywhere together. I can tell you that she became a large part of my family that when my middle daughter got married on Oct. 31, 2009, she was there to help decorate and party at this event. What a Halloween party it was. As I progressed up the NAMB ladder, becoming president in 2011, there have been many people that have been there along the way. Way too many to mention, but I can tell you that you all have been near and dear to me. Last year, I came up with a quirky award to let this one special person know just what she means to our organization. Every board has that someone who is always asking ques-
tions, checking to make sure that we are on our toes, and looking at every aspect of all ideas and functions. And she does an excellent job of making me look at all of the angles to make sure that we stay member-oriented. I came up with the PITA Award, and it was given to Olga Kucerak, who also was honored with the Mortgage Professional of the Year Award. PITA stands for “Pain in the Ass,” but as everyone knows, it was given with the utmost tender love and care … after all, Olga is one of us! As I begin the new chapter of my life with NAMB as your new CEO, I am again honored for your belief in me and what I stand for as a member of this great organization. I will never forget meeting all the members of our association as I traveled across the nation attending your state conferences. I have always believed that I am not any more special than my membership. I am one of you, and it has been a true honor to represent the greatest association fighting for you each and every day. I am going to continue to write my Monday Morning Messenger, only I may only do it every two or three weeks. Incoming NAMB President John Councilman will have his own newsletter dedicated to the membership. And to Harry Dinham, our chief of operations and past president of the association, thanks for being there every day for me. You made being president of this association easy, and I am very proud to call you my friend. And one final thank you … Jim Pair, you have been a rock. Five years as the immediate past president was a great undertaking. Some may think this was just a sit around job, but for you, it was not. You did anything that I asked, and did it with passion and gave it your all. I think NAMB is on a great path now, and no one will ever have to serve a fiveyear stint as immediate past president, but you did it professionally and did it well. I thank you for sticking with it and am truly honored to have had you with me for my three years as association president. You helped make my job easy. Now you can enjoy your retirement. If you are at NAMB National in Las Vegas, don’t be surprised to see me thanking you, the NAMB membership. It has been a true honor! Sincerely,
Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS NAMB President president@namb.org www.joinnamb.com
NAMB PERSPECTIVE Will Big Banks Stay in Mortgages By John Councilman, CMC, CRMS It was somewhat shocking to me that in our long list of exhibitors at NAMB National, only one bank was listed as of late August. The lone bank, U.S. Bank, will be on hand to promote its Prime+ portfolio loan division, not Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA. Clearly, banks don’t seem to be interested in wholesale lending. Recently, Jamie Dimon of Chase hinted that Chase may no longer offer FHA mortgages. Chase was still smarting from the $13 billion mortgage payout which will drag down their balance sheet until Dec. 31, 2017. To have to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars to the FHA on top of that was a little much to take. Bank of America has agreed to an even larger settlement. Banks have found that credit cards and auto loans are more profitable than mortgages. Since banks normally lend out of portfolio for those loans, there is no secondary market risk. Sub-prime mortgages are gone, but sub-prime car
loans and high-interest credit cards are very much alive. Big banks have hundreds of options that may be more attractive than mortgage lending or aggregating. The bigger question than whether the big banks will stay in mortgages is “Will it matter if the big banks leave the mortgage space?” Consumers are becoming increasingly aware that you don’t necessarily go to your bank for your mortgage. In fact, they may not even offer the best deal. Now, that has moved to wholesale lending. Non-bank mortgage companies are beginning to bypass the behemoth banks and sell their loans directly to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. Some are even developing other conduits for their loans. If private mortgage-backed securities (MBS) revive, non-banks will be in an excellent position to market them or even create them, if they are large enough. Despite the FHFA’s recent comments about non-banks, my experience is that they understand the mortgage business better than the big banks. I was always amazed how banks like Washington
As football season returns, so does the requirement for continuing education for mortgage loan originators. The SAFE Act requires a minimum of eight hours of approved education each year following your initial licensing year. The class must be approved by the NMLS and be from an NMLS-approved course provider. All licensed and registered MLOs must meet the continuing education requirement. The class may be taken online or in the traditional classroom format. Once the course is completed, the course provider will upload the credits to the NMLS system, and it will be reflected on your dashboard usually in a day or so. You will then receive a certificate also from the course provider. This
certificate, or a printout from the NMLS site, is what you will need to give your state licensing authority, along with the other requirements prior to Dec. 31 in order to renew your license. If you do not complete this process by Dec. 31, your license may be suspended, you may perform no MLO activities, and you have until Jan. 31 to complete a late renewal along with paying penalty fees. You may also take late education credits in the month of January if you have not completed the education classes. States have become very busy as the year ends, so it is best to get it in early. Most states begin accepting renewals beginning Nov. 1. So now that you have decided to get the requirement out of the way early on, how do you proceed? If you go to the NMLS Web site (www.mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org)
and go to the “Resource Center,” you can click on “MLO Annual CE” in the box in the bottom right corner. This will take you to the Education Page where you can click on regular PE or CE Courses, or if making up previous year’s education requirements, click on “Late CE Courses.” This will open up a new page titled “Master Course Catalog” where you will click on “Browse the Continuing Education Courses” which will then open up another page with all of the courses available. You will then be able to select all or a specific format, such as classroom or online. If your state has specific state requirements that differ from the national eight-hour requirement make sure you select one that meets your needs. If you click on a specific provider their information comes up along with any classes they currently have scheduled. You can also click on search the catalog which will bring up a page where you can search by location, date or specific state or agency–specific course listings. It is very convenient if you have no idea where to start. It is also a good idea to ask your local state association, which usually puts on their own courses or utilizes NAMB’s courses. I have found that lots
of LOs prefer these. You have a classroom of other originators and the instructor is usually an originator themselves. Their understanding of the material comes from actual use and the experience of all the originators in the class from various companies adds a great deal to the overall experience. Instead of the boring drudgery of a timed online class, it is usually a more enjoyable and valuable educational experience. Not everyone may have access to a classroom provider or may prefer an online experience. Maybe you missed a recent class and want to take it online. Discounts are available from providers on the NAMB Web site (www.namb.org) through the Members-Only access. Click through from the Web site and your discount will be applied at registration. So get your education, get it early and benefit from a requirement that hopefully makes us all better originators.
John Councilman, CMC, CRMS of AMC Mortgage Corporation in Ft. Myers, Fla. is president-elect of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (239) 267-2400 or email jlc@amcmortgage.com.
Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS of Lending Arizona LLC in Tucson, Ariz. is vice president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (520) 886-7283 or email randrews@lendingarizona.net.
21
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
It’s Education Time Again
thus assuming the risk. The bank can participate with little liability and risk by providing warehouse lines and entering into more exotic forms of lending, such as reverse repurchase agreements. This is a particularly good area for smaller banks. There may come a time when regulation fervor dies down and banks will want to portfolio adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) or even jumbos. That may provide the rationale for them to return to originating and purchasing mortgages. For now, I foresee banks continuing to lessen their exposure to the mortgage market by ceding market share to nonbanks. The only reason I could see for the big banks keeping a fairly large mortgage presence would be regulatory and political pressure. So far, the exit of the biggest banks from wholesale lending has been a non-event. Non-banks have filled that role very nicely. I believe the same could be said of consumers as well. They are already catching on to the idea that going to their bank may not be the best place to look for a mortgage.
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
A Message From NAMB Vice President Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS
Mutual could lose money on mortgages in the height of the sub-prime feeding frenzy. Chase seemed unable to effectively work with mortgage brokers. Even when it comes to knowing underwriting guidelines and developing new technology, non-banks are often superior. A prime reason banks are so fond of mortgages is that it keeps them in close touch with potential clients for their other services. But, this means servicing mortgages in an environment that is becoming increasingly expensive with tight margins. If the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) complaint database is an indicator, servicers are facing a long road of legal issues. Origination no longer provides net income comparable to other types of lending due to stiff competition from non-banks. Finally, banks must consider the liability they assume when they originate, purchase or service mortgages. Class-action lawsuits, regulatory settlements and fines can bring huge damages. Bank balance sheets will continue to suffer for at least several more years as they pay out multi-billion dollar settlements. Even if they win, legal expenses for the big banks have begun to climb into the tens of billions of dollars. Big banks are just too tempting of a target. I believe the smart big bank will let more and more non-banks perform the origination and servicing functions,
NAMB PERSPECTIVE Go Above and Beyond and Get Your Lending Integrity Seal Today! will need your NAMB User ID and Password in order to enter the NAMB Lending Integrity site. If you don’t We need your help to get have your information, simply call the word out! Obtaining (972) 758-1151 or e-mail us at meman NAMB Lending bership@namb.org. If you are a Integrity Seal shows that you value member of NAMB, you need to apply. The requirements in order to receive your business and your relationships, and that you have gone above the Seal? and beyond what others have done to be in our mortgage business. The l You must be a NAMB member. Join at www.namb.org and click on the Seal is only available to members of “Membership” tab. NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professional. Log on to www.lending- l Meet the requirements of the SAFE Act. integrity.org and apply today. You By Kay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS
NAMB Finance and Bylaws Committee Update
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
22
By Andy W. Harris, CRMS As treasurer and chair of the Finance and Bylaws Committees of NAMB— The Association of Mortgage Professionals, I wanted to give you a brief update with what is going on. Hopefully, you’re reading this at NAMB National 2014, but more importantly, are celebrating the 40th anniversary of NAMB! NAMB was established before I was even born, which certainly puts its history into perspective for me person-
ally. I am thankful to everyone who has stepped up and volunteered their time over the last 40 years to improve our industry and this trade in which we all share a passion for. I can certainly say through experience that it does take time and commitment, but the significant results and friends made are certainly worth every minute of effort. The Finance Committee is currently working on a new budget moving into our new fiscal year, and we continue to remain profitable and liquid. Our primary revenue has been derived through new and renewing membership dues,
How Do You Respond to Calls to Action? Writing effective comment letters By Fred Kreger, CMC Over the past few years, mortgage loan originators and the mortgage industry as a whole have seen unprecedented regulatory changes from both the state and federal side. The pace and scope of new legislation and regulations has put a continuous strain on the industry’s compliance functions. I am constantly
telling my clients that I have a Ph.D. in lending because of the ever-changing regulatory environment. Add to this mix, our new Über Regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which now has power over consumer regulations. Even though the CFPB is also mandated to consider the impact of its regulations on small institutions, it is imperative that we share our own opinion of the potential impacts. Now, more than ever, is the
l Pass a national criminal background check. l Attend eight hours (or equivalent) of professional development education each year. l Attend two hours (or equivalent) of ethics training every other year or each license renewal cycle. l Provide professional references. l Subscribe to NAMB’s Best Business Practices. l Agree to abide by NAMB’s Code of Ethics. l Must be renewed annually. Once you receive your Lending Integrity Seal, you can use the Press Releases, CDs and other items to market yourself as a Lending Integrity Seal Holder, an expert in the business who has gone above and beyond. Help us get the word out. If you know a mortgage originator who has
not received their Seal and is a member of NAMB, get them to take action today. In addition, if you know originators who are not members of NAMB, invite them to join the association. Let them experience all of the amazing benefits that NAMB offers. The more originators who receive the Seal, the more the reputation of NAMB will grow, and the more consumers will want to work with a Lending Integrity Seal-holding originator. Only you can make it happen. Thank you for supporting the association that supports you. Kay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS of KC Mortgage LLC in Franktown, Colo. is secretary of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. She may be reached by phone at (720) 670-0124 or email kay@kcmortgagecolorado.com.
as well as successful trade shows and events resulting in solid profits. Our reserves are comfortable, and I certainly look forward to seeing these grow even more over time. We have consolidated accounts and have simplified the accounting for easy view, tracking and accountability for now and in the future, and we will continue to ensure spending is responsible and beneficial to members. The Bylaws Committee, as many may know, has been working on revising and approving by vote a number of significant revisions. As expected, many of these revisions take a lot of discussion and debate which results in some stagnation, but the ideas are quite simple. We wish to utilize the NMLS system to better track and define members, while providing voting authority to those that don’t pay higher dues, but simply fit the
definition of a professional employed in the primary mortgage market we have set forth. We will continue to talk and discuss with delegate council in conference calls and live meetings and hopefully have some improvements for membership in the near future. If anyone has any questions, as always please feel free to reach out to me directly any time at aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com. I hope to see you at NAMB National and the 40th anniversary of NAMB!
time to carefully analyze proposed rules for their impact and communicate any concerns to regulators. We have seen proposed rules on appraisals, loan originator (LO) compensation, servicing, record retention, etc. All of these proposed rules need comments from the stakeholders … this is YOU!
last at least 30 days and any person or entity can comment on the proposed rule. The regulator is required to read every comment letter that is received and consider the concerns of those commenting when it finalizes the regulation. After considering the comments, the regulator must publish a final rule in the Federal Register with an explanation of the comments received and the regulators response. Even if a regulator does not agree with your comments, forcing the regulator to clarify its position (such as indicating that it did not intend its rule to cover a certain product) can be effective. Additionally, the final rule includes an effective date when financial institutions must comply
The rule-making process All federal regulators, including the CFPB, must follow the same notice and comment rule-making procedure. This process requires the regulator to propose a regulation and solicit comments on the proposal prior to finalizing a new regulation (or amending an existing regulation). The open comment period must
Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431, e-mail aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com or visit www.vantagemortgagegroup.com.
NAMB PERSPECTIVE
By Linda McCoy, CRMS I was sitting in my recliner thinking about this article that was due on NAMB Membership. Last year, I secretly set a goal for myself to try and increase the membership total by at least 25 percent for NAMB. We need to be able to spread a contagious feeling to all the members of the association so that they want to become more involved. We need to be more than just members of NAMB.
We should be involved. Join a committee as a leader to help support our organization. NAMB needs help and support from each of you! You know when someone yawns; many other people start to yawn. Why can’t we just start something that can spread so we can increase our numbers? We all know there is power in numbers. Not long ago, a movement was started to help make people more aware of a disease called ALS. Some friends challenged some other friends to either donate money or have some-
The road ahead working with NAMB on proposals Regulators have been working overtime trying to implement the numerous provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. NAMB has been offered seat at the table to talk to regulators to ensure that they protect the consumer, but not at the cost of the consumer. The CFPB might also be willing to utilize its new authority by strengthening existing consumer regulations. NAMB will want to review these proposals and use the comment process to ease the regulatory impact of these new regulations. Your NAMB Government Affairs team has been working around the clock continuously analyzing bills and regulations. Trying to move forward with positions that allow you, as an LO, to serve your clients to the best of your talents without having to suffer any further harmful laws and regulations that would stop you from helping your clients and make a good living to provide for your families and communities. We thank you for spreading the word to all your legislative members and your business partners. Let’s face it, everyone is affected at some level with all our new laws and regulations. We cannot kid ourselves and believe we are the only ones affected.
Our fight must not wane We need to continue our efforts in
one pour a bucket of ice water on their head. Watching the #IceBucketChallenge became contagious. It has spread across the country bringing in over $88,000,000 for the ALS Association to date. I would like to challenge each of you to write a quick e-mail or make a short video on how NAMB has helped you over the years. I am sure there will be some great stories and testimonies. Make it interesting or outrageous! We should get excited when we think of all the things that our association could do if they had more members and more money to support the industry. People voluntarily join associations because they want to work together on a common cause or interest. NAMB members want to stay in business, help their clients buy, build, refinance or just
order for NAMB to continue to be a thought leader for you, our legislators and regulators. That last sentence may have confused you, but indeed, our members of Congress look to NAMB as a thought leader in housing and lending. When I was in Washington, D.C. and at my home state capital in Sacramento, Calif. this past spring, the message that resonated with each meeting was, “Tell us what we can do to help our constituents.” These are your clients. Members of the U.S. Congress and the California legislature are reaching out to us this year. We have been given a great opportunity to shape our lending environment by rebuilding it with our input. When was then last time you heard that from D.C.? We must also take responsibility amongst our companies, our industry and ourselves. We have driven out those bad apples in our industry, but as history as told us repeatedly, we are doomed to repeat it if we have not learned its lessons. Please respond to all “Calls to Action” and preserve our integrity and professionalism, which allows us to serve our clients to the best of our abilities. Fred Kreger is branch manager at American Family Funding, a Division of American Pacific Mortgage. He is also immediate past president of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP) and currently sits on CAMP’s Board of Directors, and serves as Government Affairs vice chairman for NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He can be reached by e-mail at fred.kreger@affloans.com or call (661) 505-4311.
use their equity to have a better quality of life. We as members of NAMB want a better life as well. We would like to be able to improve the mortgage business. If the members of NAMB worked together on a common goal, we can make things happen. Let’s get involved, give me a call at (251) 650-0805. I am ready to get you started. We can meet at the membership meeting in Vegas during NAMB National. Now, I am excited! Linda McCoy, CRMS is broker/owner of Mortgage Team 1 Inc. in Mobile, Ala., a member of the NAMB Board of Directors and serves as NAMB Membership Committee Chair for the South East Region. She may be reached by phone at (251) 650-0805 or e-mail Linda@mortgageteam1.com.
23
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
NAMB Membership Committee Update
intact. This could include the unintended consequences that regulators do not see because we as boots and heels on the ground who are talking to consumers daily.
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
NAMB is open-minded about workable solutions consistent with sound public policy. These are great tips from the NCUA, but I will add that a quality comment letter must to be specific. It is not sufficient to generally oppose an idea because of the additional regulatory burden. While regulators Tips for writing are cognizant of the impact of regulations, they rarely go outside of a effective comment particular proposal when analyzing letters NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz issued arguments for regulatory burden. In a press release in April 2011 that other words, regulators tend to anaoutlined four tips to writing effective lyze each burden separately when comment letters, and thought I proposing and finalizing regulations. would share them: There been cases where we have been urged to rally together and 1. Read proposed rules and other send in form comment letters. This comments. Visit www.campga.org; raises the question of the effectivewww.ca-amp.org; or www.namb.org ness of form letters. The regulators to find information about each pro- have not addressed this issue directposed rule and the deadline for ly, but they have indicated they note comments. the quantity of comment letters and 2. Decide whether you support or the arguments presented. However, oppose. Consider whether to sup- regulators do notice when letters are port or oppose each provision of a the same, and NAMB has indicated proposed rule. Commenters may that detailed comment letters can choose to support certain provi- have a greater impact when they are sions and oppose others, or able to demonstrate how a proposal choose to support or oppose the would impact a particular mortgage entire proposal. You will receive loan originator’s operations. Take industry position from NAMB on the time to add personal details each one of these proposed rules. about how the proposal would affect 3. Consider unintended conse- you and your clients. quences. Read the preamble of each proposed rule to understand Data-driven the intent. Think about changes comment letters that mortgage loan originators The most effective comment letters might have to implement in order contain hard data on how a proposal to comply with the proposal. will affect a “CONSUMER.” 4. Propose alternative solutions. Remember, the CFBP and other reguCommenters who oppose a pro- lators were put into place to protect posed rule, whether in whole or the consumer. We need to frame in part, are encouraged to pro- each comment to ensure that the pose reasonable alternatives. consumer best interests are kept with the new requirements. This effective date must be at least 30 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register, except in the rare case where the rule is needed immediately or in the similarly rare case when a regulation relieves the compliance burden.
NAMB PERSPECTIVE Importance of Being Earnest in State and National Membership By Valerie Saunders
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
24
As a two-time president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP) and a board member of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals since 2012, I have learned, intimately, the importance of being earnest in maintaining individual membership in a state and national trade organization that supports my goals as a state-licensed loan originator. Without the ongoing support and diligent actions of a trade organization working to protect my interests, my business life would be much different. This past year, I served as president of FAMP for the second time. My state trade organization needed someone to step up and take a leadership role and I wholeheartedly agreed to take on that challenge. Little did I know that the majority of my year would be spent working on appropriate revisions to Florida’s lending law that would benefit
Florida’s consumers as well as my state’s mortgage industry. The process for state statutory revisions can sometimes be a long one and this process was no different … dating back to July 2013 when the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) informed us that they would be reopening FS494, our state’s Mortgage Brokerage and Lending Law, during the upcoming legislative session. Knowing that there were soon-to-be-enacted federal lending law changes that would go into effect in January 2014 and the potential effect that these changes would have on the mortgage industry, FAMP quickly got to work. In August 2013, FAMP created an Ad-Hoc Committee comprised of 10 interested board members who spent the next 30 days reviewing FS494 line by line. Each week, the committee held hour-long conference calls where we would review each section of the statute, discuss revisions that we would like to see, as well as addi-
NAMB Government Affairs Update: NAMB National is Finally Here! By Richard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHS
By the time you read this brief article, many of you will be at NAMB National in Vegas helping us celebrate NAMB’s 40th Anniversary! Pretty amazing that we’ve been around 40 years advocating for consumers, mortgage originators and small businesses! The success and duration of a non-profit is directly tied to the participation of its members! At our height, we had close to 30,000 members, but due to obvious regulatory and compliance hurdles, market fluctuations and misguided perceptions of our industry, we’ve dwindled to just around 5,000 members. But, the good news is that we’re growing! So, to all of those who took time away from their businesses, origination activities and family lives to be with us here at NAMB National, I want to say “Thank you from the bottom of my heart!” People like you and those that attended want to make a difference and return the
licensed mortgage originator and mortgage broker to the forefront of residential financing opportunities. NAMB National 2014 is gearing up to be our best trade show yet! We’ve lined up some impressive speakers, programs, vendors and educational opportunities to help each of you grow, develop and enhance your business. The Government Affairs team has been busy working on our follow up meeting with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). A date and time have yet to be locked down, but this meeting is sure to be more than just a general “Hey … how are you doing, this is what’s going on, and what are you going to do to help?” We’ve been asked to dive deeper into the more finite problems of our industry and when this meeting opportunity presents itself, I give you my word that our team will be more than prepared to do all we can to erase the unintended perceptions of the broker model, provide evidence to support our position, and hopefully change the mindset of our regulator. This year, the CFPB has agreed to attend NAMB National and has assured
tions that we felt would help the mortgage brokerage community. Next step … meetings with the OFR and the Governor’s Office starting in September 2013; reaching out to bill sponsors in November 2013; meeting with staff from the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee in January 2014; attending and speaking to legislators at various House and Senate committees as the bill worked its way through its required committee stops in February and March 2014; lobbying in Tallahassee with fellow FAMP members in April 2014; and finally, working with our bill sponsors as our bill language became inserted into another bill during the last days of the legislative session so that all of our hard work was for naught. Finally, in the summer of 2014, Florida Senate Bill 1012 was signed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott on June 13, 2014 and went into effect on July 1, 2014. The process for change on a national level can be longer and even more harrowing as I have learned as a board member of NAMB and, now, as vice chair of the Government Affairs Committee. Support from like-minded loan originators throughout the country is critical in helping a trade organization succeed.
If you ever find yourself asking, “What has my state and national trade organization done for me lately as a mortgage professional?” please take the time to read this article again or, more importantly, ask someone—whether it’s state or national leadership, or a fellow NAMB member. As I am now past president of FAMP again, I can honestly say the achievement of goals are sometimes fought by traveling long roads with many twists and turns. However, the ultimate goal of all state mortgage associations and, of course, NAMB is to do work that benefits statelicensed loan originators, mortgage broker and mortgage lender businesses and, most importantly, consumers. If you’re not a member of NAMB, what are you waiting for? We need your support and, if you’re wondering who has your back, look no further than the NAMB–The Association of Mortgage Professionals. Take a moment to join or renew today.
us they are going to help alleviate any concerns and potentially provide clearer guidance on their recent announcement on their position of the mini-correspondent conduit. Since our last meeting with the CFPB, I have fielded a few e-mails and phone calls regarding some members concerns or beliefs that NAMB is an organization that is antimini-correspondent. I want to set the record straight once and for all on this belief … NAMB is not against the minicorrespondent, in fact, we support the mini-correspondent model for those companies and brokers operating as mini-correspondents, provided those entities fully understand the responsibilities and potential consequences of their origination actions. The mini-correspondent has been around for years, but it wasn’t until we saw the proposed and final versions of the Qualified Mortgage (QM) Rule did we see what I call an active and aggressive predation of mortgage brokers by certain creditors which used unfair and deceptive scare tactics to persuade the broker to make the “switch.” We want to make sure that our members and all brokers operating as mini-correspondents do so in a manner that does not jeopardize their ability to operate a business. Come August of 2015, the mortgage broker will no longer need to disclose their lender paid premiums on the new Loan Estimate Form. If we as an industry lobby
and use our professional voices to express the facts surrounding the unnecessary inclusion of lender to broker premiums in the three percent points and fees cap, we have the potential to create the perfect housing industry. Coming together as an industry en masse is the only way to professional and amicably educate our regulators, and show them that mortgage brokers are being unfairly treated. The elimination of broker premium from the three percent points and fees cap has been my goal since taking over as the Government Affairs Chairman, and I honestly believe we’re knocking on the door of accomplishing that goal! Like I said, this is a short article, and I encourage all of you to join me, Fred Kreger, Valerie Saunders, and NAMB President Don Frommeyer on Monday at NAMB National for our Government Affairs Panel! Again, I want to thank each and every one of you for attending NAMB National! Remember, the louder our voices are across the country the better the opportunity Washington, D.C. and our regulators will hear what we have to say! See you in Vegas!
Valerie Saunders in past president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP), and director and vice chair of the Government Affairs Committee for NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. She may be reached by phone at (904) 992-0785 or email valsaun@gmail.com.
Richard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHS of Danvers, Mass.-based Mortgage Network is Government Affairs Committee Chair of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (978) 777-7500 or e-mail rbettencourt@mortgagenetwork.com.
NAMB PERSPECTIVE NAMB Wants to Hear From You! By John H.P. Hudson, CRMS In order for the NAMB Communications Committee to be effective, we must know what is happening within the NAMB community. For this reason, my Call to Action for you will be ongoing. I want to hear your success stories, your accolades and awards, your community service efforts ‌ and even your concerns. One of my goals is to create a page within the NAMB Web site to publish to positive stories, testimonials, stories, etc. In addition, NAMB will take the great news from our members and post them on the NAMB Facebook Page. Not only will you receive some free press as an NAMB member, but the entire NAMB and mortgage professional community will have an opportunity to pound our chest a little bit about the positive news and stories about our industry. So, who is with me on this?
The major news outlets still want to talk about all the wrongs of the industry ‌ and many of you are still paying the price for the wrongs and/or perceived wrongs of the past. So let’s work together to make sure the media, consumers, regulators and consumer groups know that us mortgage professionals do the right thing and help those in our own communities across this country every day. And remember, I don’t care if you are a mortgage broker or a mortgage banker ‌ you are a mortgage professional. Send your stories to communications@namb.org John H.P. Hudson is a retail and wholesale production manager for Premier Nationwide Lending and serves NAMB— The Association of Mortgage Professionals as Communications Committee chair. He may be reached by phone at (817) 247-4766, e-mail jhudson@pnlending.com or follow him on Twitter at @premier_hudson.
Visit Us Online at
www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com 25
Markets may be volatile, but there’s one thing you can always count on, the total commitment of our Mor tgage Team. Loyalty, continuity of ser vice and our dedication to protecting the integrity of our relationships are just a few of the things that set us apar t. Ridgewood understands the needs of its communities
# #5//? 0 5)?&5853357?57? ( " ,("'
5//? 0 5)?&5853357?57? ( " ,(" '
: :8?4<50/?; 5853357 80!64 ::!;5) + :< 8?4<50/?; 5853357 80!64 ::!;5) + :< 9 9 ? ? ' *' ? ? ' *'
#5//? 035?#:)375)7?57?*( " ' " , * #5//? 035?#:)375)7?57?*( " ' " , * :8?4<50/?/ :)375)7 80!64 ::!;5) + :< :8?4<50/?/ :)375)7 80!64 ::!;5) + :< 9 9 ? ? ' ** ? ? ' **
4810)6 ? 8:) ?@? 8:: /%)?@?95) 5775)?@? =44)3?@? 7574)? 3/5)!?@? 4810)6 ? 8:) ?@? 8:: /%)?@?95) 5775)?@? =44)3?@? 7574)? 3/5)!?@? 5335= 5335= ? ????? 5 5335=?@? = :/ ?@? 437 43748?@? =7)5<?@? : /5)!?@?&508 4/!$?# 335=?@? = :/ ?@? 437 43748?@? =7)5<?@? : /5)!?@?&508 4/!$?#
*LTVs apply.
www.ridgewoodbank.com www .rridgewoo id db k dbank.com
Member FDIC
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
:.3?5)!?#:)!:3 @?>=<;:?9:8765643?2150/5;/4?=.?7:?-,+*?90//0:)?:)?(?7:?'?&5<0/%$?#:": @? :?2!!? )?7:? )748437? 574?=.?7:?- ?90//0:) @? :5)3?95!4?7:? 5) "2..8:14!? #3?5)!? 8=373 @? )/%? )4?2..85035/? :?957748? 57?7 4? :5)?2<:=)7?:8? 8:.487%? 5/=4 @? .?7:?-(+*?90//0:)?#53 ? =7?:)? 80<58%? 430!4) 43
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
W
NAMB PERSPECTIVE NAMB NATIONAL 2014 AGENDA (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
SATURDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-15 h THE LUXOR h LAS VEGAS
Saturday, September 13 9:00 a.m.-Noon NAMB Delegate Council Meeting 9:00 a.m.-Noon Exhibitor Setup 1:00 p.m. Exhibit Hall Opens Concurrent Sessions 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Doing the Deed: Real Estate Agents’ Perspective (Egyptian Room) We’ve convened a panel of top producing real estate agents to speak about their insights and predictions for how agents and loan originators can best work together. If you want to find out what motivates a real estate agent to do business with you, this is the session to attend. Panelists include Taylor Oldroyd, CEO of the Utah County Association of Realtors; Chris Nichols, chair of NAR’s Social Media Advisory Board; Tamara Larisa Tyrbouslu, vice chair of the Nevada Association of Realtors’ Global Business Committee; and Scott Beaudry, member of the board of directors of the Las Vegas Association of Realtors. Moderated by John Stevens, Utah manager for Bank of England DBA ENG Lending.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
26
Compliance Track Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Building Your CFPB Compliance Management System (Nile Room C) Are you struggling with the enormity of the requirements surrounding what you must have in place for your Compliance Management System? To help wade through the requirements, we will provide a deep dive into the ways and means to build your own CMS. Growing complexity and uncertainty regarding regulations have left many companies straining to implement the CMS. The stakes have increased as well, as enforcement agencies become more aggressive and penalties more severe. Understanding the CMS requirements is critical to your company’s ability to adapt to new regulatory demands! Presented by Jonathan Foxx, founder, president and managing director of Lenders Compliance Group, Brokers Compliance Group and Servicers Compliance Group. 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Secrets to Running a Successful Mortgage Company (Nile Room B) In a competitive industry, attracting and retaining top talent is as important as dazzling your clients and referral partners. In this session, you will gain ideas and insight on how you can transform and elevate your business from the inside out, no matter what your role or office size. United Wholesale Mortgage, named a national best place to work, has created a culture and service model that has the industry buzzing. Hear directly from UWM’s senior managers how creatively investing in people, training, and technology has led them to become one of the nation’s top wholesale lenders. Join UWM as they share their internal secrets of how they went from a top 100 lender to the number one wholesale lender in the country. Presented by Allen Beydoun, executive vice president of sales; Justin Glass, chief digital officer and Laura Lawson, senior vice president of marketing. Innovation Track Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Opportunities in the Non-QM Mortgage Market (Nile Room A) This program will address opportunities for brokers in the non-QM mortgage market (including loans that are not eligible to be purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac). We will discuss risks in the non-QM market, and how a combination of strict compliance with the rules, great credit decisions, and world-
class customer service can lead to prospects for brokers in a growing new market. Presented by Chris Haspel, partner and head of capital markets of Ethos Lending and Fenway Summer. Concurrent Sessions Compliance Track Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Top Problems in Appraisal Compliance (Nile Room C) This program will help you improve your ability to comply with current appraisal regulations, especially in light of the recent changes in Appraisal Guidelines. Appraisal compliance issues cannot be solved with a “one size fits all” approach. In fact, appraisal regulations and compliance are much more about safety and soundness than they are about detailed and specific mandates often required by other regulations. Presented by Michael Tedesco, president of Appraisal Nation. Innovation Track Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Adapting to the New Metrics of Selling (Egyptian Room) We will address common myths in sales; new marketing approaches and why; identification of your true customer and how to get the most out of each relationship you have; managing to expectations to drive profitability; and finally, executing the plan to achieve maximum market penetration. Speaker for this session will be Dennis Black, president of Dennis Black & Associates. 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Market Right: Institutional Advertising vs. Call-to-Action (Nile Room A) Inspired by design and motivated by imagination, PRMG National Marketing Director Paul Lucido shares insight and some of the basic fundamental differences between institutional advertising versus call-to-action. In today’s economy, we all need to explore new ideas and take a fresh approach in order to stand out in front of our customers. Learn what it takes to build brand awareness and brand trust leading to market visibility and business growth. Marketing Track Sponsored by Paramount Residential Mortgage Group 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Demystifying the Business Opportunities of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (Nile Room B) Baby Boomers are advancing to retirement age at a rate of 10,000 per day and looking for creative solutions to funding not only 30 years or more of life but also lifestyle choices. Join us for a look at how a conversion mortgage can make it possible for Boomers to purchase a new retirement or vacation home, hedge the value of their real estate against rising interest rates, protect the value of their investment portfolios against stock market volatility, or supplement their income for any purpose they chose. We will take a look at the basic functions of a home equity conversion mortgage and show how it can be applied to these and other financial management strategies, and in turn create a whole new business and marketing opportunity for you. Presented by Steve Resch of Generation Mortgage. General Session 4:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. The Psychology of Trust in a Digital World (Egyptian Room) We’ve heard it before, that trust is the most important part of any business relationship. So what does that mean to the way you sell, present and communicate who you are and what you are selling? The way we used to go about creating trust doesn’t always work in the digital world. Consumers and referral partners now have access to any information they want within seconds and if they want information about you, they will find it. The question is, “what will they find?” Will the information they find about you represent the brand you
NAMB PERSPECTIVE NAMB NATIONAL 2014 AGENDA (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
SATURDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-15 h THE LUXOR h LAS VEGAS want? The tried and true methods of securing a trusted, solid relationship with a genuine handshake, impeccable follow through and great service is being challenged by how much people trust what they read online. A personal referral means nothing if you have a negative presence online or even worse, no online presence at all. Join BetterLoanOfficers.com CEO/Founder Rene Rodriguez as he guides us through the neuroscience of trust and how it applies to creating trust in today’s digital world. 5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. PAC Auction in the Exhibit Hall Exhibit Hall Reception, sponsored by Radian Guaranty.
Sunday, September 14 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. NAMB Industry Partners Breakfast Breakfast by invitation only. 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. NAMB Board Meeting 11:30 a.m. Exhibit Hall Opens 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Luncheon Available in Exhibit Hall Luncheon ticket is necessary.
Concurrent Sessions Compliance Track Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Dispelling Common Credit Misconceptions (Nile Room C) It is amazing what has become common credit knowledge these days. The major problem is that most are very common credit misconceptions. Come join James Charlet, head of credit education for NACSO (National Association of Credit Services Organization), as he sets us straight. He will explain revolving credit algorithms and how it affects credit scores positively and negatively. James will also cover credit inquiries and the wide range of points (zero to 42 points) each inquiry could possibly cost a consumer. Finally James will explain the date of last activity versus the original date of delinquency. What does each actually mean? We will uncover the misunderstanding of what Fair Credit Reporting Act states. When do derogatory items come off the credit report and what scenarios can keep items on a credit report? Presented by CRE Credit Services.
Concurrent Sessions 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Secrets of Top Originators (Egyptian Room) We’ve brought together a panel of top originators to discuss their secrets for success. How do they market, how are they motivated, and what works for them to propel them to the top of the list. Panelists include Brandon Abidin, owner and lead originator for Intelligent Mortgage & Consulting Services; Stanley Wang, founder of Advantage Mortgage Group; Aubrey Washington, top originator for Cornerstone Mortgage; and Patty Marquez Valenzuela, branch manager and senior loan consultant at Mid-America Mortgage in Odessa, Texas. Moderated by Erik Janeczko, CEO and head coach at Maximum Acceleration. Innovation Track Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Private Lending Solutions (Nile Room A) Stop throwing money in the trash! You now have funding options for your deals that don’t fit traditional guidelines. Jeffrey Tesch, managing director of Rehab Cash Now, and Brian LaBua, Rehab Cash Now’s chief loan officer, will tell you how establishing a relationship with a direct private lender will allow you to make money on deals you would have previously turned away. Learn how private lending can offer profitable solutions for you and your clients. Find out how to best present yourself and your borrower to a private lender. See real life scenarios of brokers that have earned more money by working with a private lender. If you want to master the art of private origination, don’t miss this session! Compliance Track Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. Reverse Mortgage Sales & Marketing Opportunities (Nile Room C) More originators are getting involved with reverse mortgages and adding this product to their marketing strategy. The HECM is a specialty product with some very different rules and disclosures you may not be familiar with. Join Ralph Rosynek, senior vice president of production for Reverse Mortgage Solutions (RMS), in a detailed discussion of compliance, origination and processing requirements to make sure borrower and lender safeguards are satisfied at the end of the day.
27
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
1:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Business Session Swearing in of the NAMB Board.
Innovation Track Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Three New Ways to Improve the Borrower and Realtor Experience (Nile Room A) Join Gibran Nicholas, chairman and CEO of the CMPS Institute, to learn what it means to truly “create value,” and three specific ways to do so in the current regulatory environment! Discover how to present and communicate your unique value proposition in a compelling way that sets you apart with borrowers, real estate agents and financial advisors!
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
1:00 p.m.-1:45 p.m. Keynote Presenter: Dr. David Crowe, Chief Economist, National Association of Homebuilders (Egyptian Room) Join us for an outlook on real estate from one of the industry’s most important sectors. David Crowe is chief economist and senior vice president at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Dr. Crowe is responsible for NAHB’s forecast of housing and economic trends, survey research and analysis of the home building industry and consumer preferences, as well as microeconomic analysis of government policies that affect housing. Dr. Crowe is also responsible for the development and implementation of an innovative model of the local economic impact and fiscal cost of new home construction, which has estimated the net impact of new housing in over 500 local markets.
Marketing Track Sponsored By Paramount Residential Mortgage Group 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. The Art of Commercial Loans: Increase Your Income, Referrals and Reputation (Nile Room B) Are you closing commercial loans yet? In this session, you’ll learn how to add a new vertical to your lending portfolio that sells itself and will increase your revenue this year. In particular, you’ll learn all about how the challenges in the residential lending market are creating enormous opportunity for loan officers to expand their business into commercial. Joe Mardesich, vice president of lending operations for M5 Commercial Funding, will explain the upside to commercial loans, and why it makes sense to supplement your business in this great vertical. Joe will explain the synergies between residential and commercial, and how real estate investors can benefit working with you to find commercial financing for their projects. In this session, you’ll discover the banking gaps that are out there, and how you can capitalize on them, and where to create commercial loan opportunities.
NAMB PERSPECTIVE NAMB NATIONAL 2014 AGENDA (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
SATURDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-15 h THE LUXOR h LAS VEGAS Concurrent Sessions Marketing Track Sponsored by Paramount Residential Mortgage Group 4:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. Success Secrets for Online Loan Origination (Nile Room B) Join presenter Adam Stein, president of LoanTek, to learn about: Sourcing site visitors and the importance of exclusivity; meeting the value proposition of today’s Internet consumer; Internet Honey: The fine art of being ‘Sticky’ (targeting and integrating your CRM and landing pages); scalable sales structure for online consumer-direct marketing; and measuring success. 4:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. Serving the Underserved Borrower in America (Nile Room C) A discussion of financial solutions on how to empower mortgage brokers to approach markets with borrowers who may not have been eligible for traditional loans in the past. An overview of loan programs and tools that can help you turn that credit-challenged borrower into customers for life. Take your business to new heights by expanding your market with customers and potentially new referrals that you never had before. Presented by Rey Maninang, SVP, national sales director for Carrington Mortgage Services Wholesale Lending.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
28
Innovation Track Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage 4:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. People Don’t Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It (Nile Room A) Inspiring leaders, movements and organization know why they do what they do. Whether you are trying to inspire a real estate agent or borrower to choose you as their source for financing or you are trying to convince a loan officer to come and work for your business, the simple truth of the matter is that in order to inspire action, you need to start with WHY. Based on the author Simon Sinek’s, Start With Why, learn from Darius John Mirshahzadeh, president of Endeavor America Loan Services, how that company has used their “Why” to “Grow Happiness,” to inspire their team to do the same and how you can use these same principles in your business to align your organization and grow the bottom line in ways you never thought possible. 4:45 p.m.-5:15 p.m. Exhibit Hall Raffles, Prizes Announced Exhibit hall closes at 5:15 p.m. 6:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Mortgage Professionals of the Year Gala Dinner This is a separately ticketed event. Join NAMB as the association celebrates its 40th anniversary, and as NAMB recognizes the best in the industry. Semi-formal or cocktail attire requested.
Monday, September 15 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Complete Eight-Hour NMLS Course (Egyptian Room) Fulfill your complete eight-hour continuing education requirements for your NMLS license renewal! This is a separately-ticketed bonus offering. Make the most of your time in Vegas by getting all your federally-required CE in addition to a conference full of networking, education, opportunities and prizes. Continuing Education course provided by Mortgage Educators & Compliance. You must take the entire eight-hour class to qualify for credit. We cannot give partial credit. Taught by industry expert David Luna. 10:00 a.m.-Noon LO One-on-One (Exhibit Hall) Join us for multiple roundtable discussions about topics critical to your success. Each roundtable topic last just 20 minutes, and features a knowledgeable discussion leader and no more than a dozen participants. 1:00 p.m.-2:15 p.m. NAMB Legislative Update (Nile Rooms) Join NAMB’s legislative leadership team for an in-depth look at what legislative and regulatory issues are facing mortgage professionals, and what NAMB is doing to address those concerns. Panelists include NAMB Government Affairs Chairman Rick Bettencourt; Government Affairs Vice Chair Fred Kreger; NAMB Lobbyist Roy DeLoach and NAMB Director Valerie Saunders. 2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m. The ABC’s of Mini-Correspondents With the CFPB (Nile Rooms) The ABC’s of Mini-Correspondents With the CFPB Mini-Correspondents—one of the fastest-growing business models of the mortgage industry—is designed to provide a transitional period for brokers to emerge into being a correspondent. Recent guidance from the CFPB lays the foundation for conducting business as a mini-correspondent. In this session, expert panelists—Brian Webster, originations program manager at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Jim Dunkerley, president of FirstFunding; and Ginger Bell, education and compliance specialist for Go2Comply, will walk attendees through conducting business as a mini-correspondent, supported by the fundamentals, but looking to the future and new technologies. From e-mortgages to warehouse lines to baked-in compliance, meet the future of the mini-correspondent market. 6:00 p.m. NAMB National 2014 Adjourns
Don Frommeyer Named CEO of NAMB The Board of Directors of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals has elected current NAMB President Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS, as its new chief executive officer of NAMB, effective at the end of his current term as president. In creating this new position, the NAMB Board felt that the association had reached a time in which they need an individual out there constantly representing the membership and a consistent face of the association. “The time is right to promote the association nationwide,” said NAMB Board Member Olga Kucerak, CRMS. “We selected Don because of his tireless efforts and dedication to protect consumers’ choice and his efforts in fighting the good fight.” Frommeyer’s responsibility will be primarily geared toward the association’s external/public relations and he will also assist the new president with special projects and other tasks. Frommeyer’s primary undertaking will be building the public NAMB brand and image of the association. He will continue to represent NAMB in National Industry Panels. He will also hold the position of immediate past president on the new Board of Directors. NAMB’s new president will be John Councilman, CMC, CRMS of AMC Mortgage Corporation in Fort Myers, Fla., who will be sworn is as NAMB president on Sept. 14 during NAMB National in Las Vegas.
NAMB PERSPECTIVE NAMB NATIONAL 2014 FLOOR PLAN & LIST OF EXHIBITORS
SATURDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-15 h THE LUXOR h LAS VEGAS
List of Exhibitors (as of 08/25/14)
Lenders Compliance Group Inc. Liberty Mutual LoanBeam LoanTek M5 Commercial Funding Maximum Acceleration Mortgage Educators and Compliance Mortgage Information Services Inc. MySMARTblog LLC National 1 Source National Mortgage Professional Magazine Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. Peoples Processing Planet Home Lending LLC Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. Premier Mortgage Referrals Premier Nationwide Lending
111 265 250 480 520 430 345 501 117 340 101 205 355 580 240 225 530
Quicken Loans Mortgage Services Radian Rehab Cash Now REMN Wholesale Resource Title LLC Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. Rising Point Solutions LLC Rushmore Home Loans SimpleNexus LLC Sourcemedia Total Mortgage Services, Wholesale
540 360 103 107 460 560 385 420 370 115 465
U.S. Bank Home Mortgage-Wholesale Prime Plus United Guaranty Inc. United Wholesale Mortgage Urban Financial of America
455 445 325 208
NILE C
NILE B
NILE A 29
ENTRANCE 101 NMP
201 Calyx
EGYPTIAN 103 RCN 105 CRE Credit
107 REMN
205 PRMG
115 Source Media 117 MySmart Blog
210 Endeavor America
220 Franklin American 225 260 Premier Homes. Refer. com 230 Credit Plus
111 Brokers Comp. Group
208 Urban Financial
265 Liberty Mutual
240 280 Plaza Banc Home Home Mortgage Loans 250 Loan Beam
285 Apprsl. Nation
355 320 GOT Peoples Privo Apprsl. Process 360 325 Radian United Whole. 365 Mort. Ethos Lending 335 370 CMPS Simple Institute Nexus 340 National One 375 Source 345 Carrington Mort. Educ. 350 385 CMG Rising Financial Point
445 U.S. Bank 460 Resource Title 430 465 Max. TMS Accel. Funding 420 Rushmore
440 475 AFR Freedom Wholesle Mtge. 445 480 United Guaranty Loantek 450 485 AMX Impac Land Mtge. Home
580 570 530 520 560 550 540 Planet Better Reverse Caliber Quicken Premier M5 Home Loan Nation- Commâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;l Loans Lending Officers Mtg.Sol. wide Funding
501 MIS 503 Generation Mtge.
510 B2R Finance
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
210 365 220 475 503 320 260 450
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Endeavor America Ethos Lending Franklin American Mortgage Company Freedom Mortgage Generation Mortgage Company Got Appraisal Management Services Homes.com Impac Mortgage Corporation
PATIO
FOOD SERVICE
Booth # 440 485 285 510 280 570 550 201 375 350 335 105 230
REGISTRATION
Company Name AFR Wholesale AMX LandHome Financial Services Inc. Appraisal Nation B2R Finance Banc of California BetterLoanOfficers.com Caliber Home Loans Calyx Software Carrington Mortgage Services CMG Financial CMPS Institute CRE Credit Services Credit Plus
Floor Plan
Creating a Balanced Attack: How Good Defense Helps Fuel Mortgage Sales By David Williams
T
here’s a saying in most major professional sports: “Defense wins championships.” It’s safe to assume that the team that reaches football’s Super Bowl, or basketball’s World Series, hockey’s Stanley Cup or basketball’s Finals knows how to score and put a lot of “points on the board.” But it’s the team that is better able to stop the other team from scoring that takes home the trophy. In other words, your defense better be good. In my view, the mortgage banking business is no different. Sure, a lender’s goal is not to win any championships– not that that a lender wouldn’t like to. But mortgage companies that grow consistently year after year are usually those that know how to sell loans and protect themselves from getting in trouble. And with scrutiny increasing over loan quality, borrower qualifications and so-called qualified mortgages, it’s more important than ever for lenders to have a good defense. But how does this happen without sacrificing production? Every company is different and must decide for itself. After
more than 25 years in business, however, I can tell you what works for us:
Automate the disclosure process It’s hard to be in the mortgage business these days and not feel as though there are too many hoops to jump through. The level of documentation and steps required to sell just a single loan were already high before the housing crisis hit. If we are to be totally honest, however— and if we really care about doing things the right way—would realize and be grateful that technological innovations have far outpaced the increase of new regulations and guidelines. In other words, the work is harder, but the technology is actually making it easier. And if that’s not true for you, you may not be using technology correctly. For example, we frequently hear how complicated it is for lenders to handle the disclosure process. When do you do it? Who does it? How do you know if it’s been done? As a result, we frequently hear of borrowers receiving no disclosures or being asked to sign the same disclosure twice or even three times. These stories always puzzle me, because there is a plethora of cloud-based software
available that can automate the entire disclosure process. In our case, we built our own system, but there are many other solutions available that are affordable and can do the trick. Today’s technology can do everything from determining which forms to give each individual borrower—based on the unique characteristics of the applicant and type of loan—to sending documents, allowing borrowers to sign them electronically, and following up with borrowers within a certain time frame to make sure they don’t forget. Having this level of automation in place frees up loan officers to spend more time selling or coaching borrowers through the process, which is where they bring the most value. My company uses automated technology for everything we possibly can. By doing so, we’re able to ensure that all the proper forms are sent out early in the application process, signed and tracked properly. This ensures that nothing gets missed and keeps our sales force focused on selling. I would like to add that it’s not just disclosures that can be automated. The mortgage process is filled with tasks that can be streamlined by automation, such as preclose reviews and borrower checklists. No single company has a monopoly on these
tools, as they are available to anyone to buy or create. We can worry all we want about how many new steps our elected officials and regulatory agencies give us to handle. But the fact remains that today’s software is capable of handling ten times as many steps as we currently face today and continues to improve.
Take your training online It ought to go without saying that training is not only critical for every lender, but a duty as well. Fortunately, technology makes a mortgage company’s training responsibilities much easier, too. Several years ago, we made the decision to take our training online, where loan officers, managers and production staff can go to learn in a team environment or seek help with any particular issue at any time. We’re all able to access online training courses which cover everything from our compliance policies and procedures to working with various loan products and protocols for when certain issues develop. All of our training material is provided via Web-based meeting environments that are combined with conference calls and through online training modules that are accessible through our Intranet on a 24/7 basis.
Whether training is done online or offline in a classroom environment doesn’t matter too much. Surely online training is more efficient, especially for a retail lender of our size with branch offices in multiple states. When training is done online, it’s much more convenient for everyone’s schedules. It also makes it easier to incorporate and share government bulletins about new financial services rules and procedures, and to use companies that are caught operating outside of the law as examples of what not to do. But live training is certainly better than no training at all. Amazingly, many lenders don’t provide much training to their staff, even as compliance risks continue to grow and as lenders are beginning to get punished for things such as failing to make proper disclosures and poor record keeping. Talk about a recipe for disaster! Of course, not all training has to be about compliance and doing your job properly, either. Smart lenders educate their teams on the latest sales strategies and how to increase production, and are generous about sharing success stories from within the company and around the industry. It is true that mortgage sales professionals do not need to be told to sell more loans, but any salesperson has the potential to improve his or her game. Training should include techniques on how to educate borrowers on the latest changes in the housing market or interest rates, which is another way for loan officers to demonstrate value.
Build a support team
Post-game recap I’ve relayed why I think great defense and great offense is so important in both sports and the mortgage business. But these two areas differ in one very important respect. In every professional team sport, there are only a limited number of teams and a limited number of players allowed on every team. That means not every team will have a great offense and a great defense; some teams are going to have a
great offense and a mediocre defense, or a great defense and a horrible offense. Some teams won’t be able to score or defend. Just as one team must finish on top, another team will finish at the bottom. This isn’t so in the mortgage banking game. While we all must play by the same rules, we’re not limited by how big our team is, or who we’re able to hire. We all get to define success pretty much any way we want. At the same time, no mortgage banker can make it today without some sort of balanced attack–a strategy to produce business and stay out of crosshairs of investors and regulators. With the housing outlook improving every day, and with the opportunities for growth increasing into 2015 and beyond, there will be plenty of chances for
lenders and mortgage professionals to put points on the board. But you won’t be able to truly win if you can’t protect yourself from attack. The best in our business have built a solid defensive strategy or sought out companies that provide training, compliance and support, so they can take full advantage of the market recovery. Have you? David Williams is vice president of RightStart Mortgage, a mortgage lender based in Pasadena, Calif. that provides a range of conforming, non-conforming, FHA, VA and USDA products. Williams has 17 years of experience in all aspects of the mortgage business. He can be reached by e-mail at dwilliams@rightstartmortgage.com.
31
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has already shown in its short history, the penalties of non-compliance are no joke. The government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and private investors have their own rules and guidelines, too, as do many state governments. Even many cities and counties have ordinances that could impact mortgage loans. For example, some cities require certain property repairs prior to sale that could affect an investor’s requirements for the loan. Other times, there’s a question about how and where a borrower received the funds for a down payment that could trip up the underwriting process and keep the property sale from closing on time, which isn’t fun for anybody. Several years ago, we made the commitment to create our own in-house compliance team and “scenario desk” to help answer questions from our loan officers. Members of our compliance team are accessible long past business hours, so that questions that are routed from borrowers are answered quickly. This way, loan officers can help borrowers through the decision-making process fast and easily. It’s a little bit of an investment, sure. However, it’s cheaper than outsourced legal help, as attorneys are frequently dealing with multiple clients and as such are not always up to speed on the specifics of your business. The payoff is tremendous, too. If you’re a loan officer, there are always going to be questions that you cannot answer or that you couldn’t even imagine. The ability not
just to have answers but to get the answers is critical. Borrowers deeply appreciate lenders that respond quickly with answers, as such service reduces the natural anxiety they have about buying or refinancing their homes.
heard street ON THE
Our Heard on the Street column is a chronicle of events, changes and passages in the lives of the people and companies shaping the mortgage industry.
SSI Partners With E.R. Munro & Company, Maverick Funding, CIS Information Services and Closeline Settlements
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
32
Secure Settlements Inc. (SSI) has announced a partnership with E.R. Munro & Company to offer SSI vetted low risk title agents access to competitively priced surety and fidelity bonds offered by a nationally known Best’s rated A+ carrier in recognition of their vetted and monitored status. The announcement comes after several months of discussions and negotiations to find better pricing for surety and fidelity coverage for title agents who are screened and vetted and achieve a low risk rating under the SSI risk analytics model. SSI’s vetting process, developed after nearly seven years of consultations in London, Bermuda and New York with insurance industry risk professionals, will help to underwrite the discounted surety and fidelity bond program. The national carrier will require a closing agent rating of “low risk” by SSI for a title agent to be eligible for coverage. The program will be marketed and administered by prominent bond broker E.R. Munro & Company of Pittsburgh, Pa. “This announcement is more confirmation that independent risk analysis and ongoing monitoring can and will offer significant benefits to the mortgage industry generally, while at the same time offering strong support for consumer protections mandated by federal and state regulators,” said SSI’s CEO Andrew Liput. “We are proud and honored to partner with a major national carrier and E.R. Munro to bring this benefit to SSI low risk agents. I have always lobbied for competitive surety pricing for those who are committed to best practices and independent monitoring. It just makes sense.” SSI has also announced that it has entered into a multi-year exclusive
agreement with Maverick Funding Corp. for the SSI Closing Guard and Vendor Check vendor management and risk monitoring products and services. The SSI and Maverick Funding relationship will encompass comprehensive risk evaluation, reporting and ongoing monitoring for all closing agents handling Maverick’s residential mortgage loans nationwide. The program is being rolled out by region beginning this month following several months of discussions, negotiations, vendor management approvals, and onboarding. Maverick will also use the SSI tools to evaluate and monitor all of their third party relationships. The contract is the latest in a series of written service agreements reached by SSI with mortgage lenders, credit unions, national and community banks around the country. “We are committed to compliance and good risk management when it comes to third party service providers,” said Ralph Vitiello, CEO of Maverick Funding. “Settlement agent quality control means greater loan quality assurance to our investors and the GSEs. We also care about our borrowers and know that consumer protection is a critical part of every lender’s enterprise risk management platform. After careful consideration, we found the SSI program to be the most comprehensive and efficient tool to enhance our operational needs.” SSI has also concluded a strategic joint venture agreement with CIS Information Services (CIS), a credit reporting and business risk assessment firm to streamline and enhance the SSI’s suite of vendor management and risk monitoring products and services. “We are excited to partner with CIS, as they are recognized as a national leader in delivering services and solutions for business success,” said Liput. “Their credit and marketing tools pro-
vide lenders with resources that complement the SSI product line and support both our company’s goals to help lenders improve overall loan quality assurance through greater risk management. We are proud to be their partner in that endeavor and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.” CIS will provide technology integration and access to critical public data to improve the SSI risk reports and will also offer the SSI suite of mortgage industry data intelligence products to its existing client base of more than 2,000 businesses nationwide. SSI has completed the vetting of national title company Closeline Settlements of Rockville, Md. The company approached SSI to submit their ownership and key staff to the SSI vetting process voluntarily, without a lender requirement, because they viewed the vetting standard as a supplement to best practices and a credential to help grow their businesses. Closeline passed the rigorous 110 point background evaluation process with a “low risk” rating and is now subject to ongoing monitoring in the SSI nationwide vendor database. Liput stated, “We are pleased to have had the opportunity to perform comprehensive background evaluation services for Closeline Settlements because it represents a shift in industry perspective regarding the value of independent risk analysis for consumer protection and lender regulatory and compliance obligations. When I founded SSI I envisioned the company as offering a service to enhance the safety and credibility of the settlement industry through objective risk evaluation and reporting. Lenders and consumers want that and we are seeing more and more title, escrow and settlement firms embracing the process. In the long run this is good for the
mortgage industry and the settlement industry.”
REMN Wholesale to Host Free Renovation Lending Seminars
REMN Wholesale is conducting a free renovation lending seminar for real estate industry professionals in Arizona. Taking place Sept. 18 in Scottsdale, Ariz., the seminar will educate attendees on how renovation lending can help make pre-owned homes in these states’ aging housing inventories more appealing to potential buyers. While renovation mortgages are typically seen as products for older and more distraught housing markets, REMN Wholesale is seeing an increase in interest with first-time homebuyers in Western states as homes in these areas become dated in terms of design and décor. The intricacies involved with renovation mortgages open opportunities for delay, which cause many mortgage professionals not to offer them to their customers. To prevent any potential issues, REMN Wholesale developed its internal Renovation Concierge Service department, which manages the details of the process and stays in communication with the home buyer, contractors and other parties involved, so everything stays on track. “Renovation lending products represent an incredible opportunity for preowned homes on the market that need a little fine tuning to make them desirable for a new buyer,” said Carl Markman, director of national sales for REMN Wholesale. “Traditionally, renovation mortgages are looked at for homes that need major repair work, but what people don’t realize is these
continued on page 36
nmp news flash continued from page 16
two biggest reasons for first-time home purchases,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “A lower homeownership rate because of these demographic shifts will have a ripple effect, keeping rents high and potentially impacting the broader economy if substantially fewer people pay property taxes and buy fewer home goods. But while the age of first-time homebuyers may rise, it is dangerous to assume Millennials don’t want to buy at all. Recent Zillow research concluded that millions of current renters do want to buy soon, despite headwinds that may end up delaying their purchase. And when they do, policymakers, planners and developers will need to ensure that housing is accessible, affordable and desirable to this new generation of homeowners.” Panelists were asked what they thought the homeownership rate would be in five years. Among those expressing an opinion, 57 percent said they thought the rate would be lower than the first quarter 2014 seasonally adjusted rate of 64.8 percent. After the survey was completed, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the seasonally adjusted U.S. homeownership rate fell to 64.7 percent in the second quarter, the lowest rate since the second quarter of 1995.
whether or not we can maintain this pace of improvement as the foreclosure inventory becomes more concentrated in judicial states with lengthier, more complex processes and timeto 2.5 percent in June 2013. The fore- lines.” closure inventory was down 3.9 per“The national inventory of forecent from May 2014, representing 32 closed homes fell for the 32nd months of consecutive year-over-year straight month to just under 650,000 declines. in June. Most of the U.S. has reduced “While 32 straight months of year- its shadow inventory to pre-recession over-year decline in the foreclosure levels, but the Northeast, Florida and rate is cause for celebration, the total the Pacific Northwest remain elevatnumber of homes still in the foreclo- ed,” said Anand Nallathambi, presisure process remains almost four dent and CEO of CoreLogic. “The times as high as the average in the great news here is that the basic early 2000s,” said Mark Fleming, underpinnings of the housing market chief economist for CoreLogic. are strengthening, but there is still “Additionally, there is concern over work to do.”
CFPB Launches Consumer Financial Education Initiative
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has announced that it is partnering with national and local organizations across the country to train social services staff to provide financial education and tools to clients with low-to-moderate incomes. As part of that partnership, the CFPB unveiled a new online toolkit called Your Money, Your Goals, a comprehensive guide to empowered financial decision-making continued on page 52
Branded Branded Mobile Apps ffor or Mortgage P Professionals rofessionals
We We want to help y you ou get ALL y your our R Realtor ealtor®'s pu purchase rchase business: business: p t t Give Give each Realtor Realtor their own own version version of yyour our ap app
CoreLogic has released its June National Foreclosure Report, which provides data on completed U.S. foreclosures and foreclosure inventory. According to CoreLogic, for the month of June 2014, there were 49,000 completed foreclosures nationally, down from 54,000 in June 2013, a yearover-year decrease of 9.9 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures were up by 2.7 percent from the 48,000 reported in May 2014. As a basis of comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006. Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 5.1 million completed foreclosures across the country. As of June 2014, approximately 648,000 homes in the United States were in some stage of foreclosure, known as the foreclosure inventory, compared to one million in June 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 35 percent. The foreclosure inventory as of June 2014 made up 1.7 percent of all homes with a mortgage, compared
tt Know Know when clients clients and Realtors Realtors are are H OT HOT
tt Let Let R ealtors help your your app go viral viral Realtors
tt PUSH Notifications that improve process efficiency, client loyalty, and lead referrals ter-than-fax better-than-fax tt M ake unde LOVE you Make underwriters rwriters LOVE you with bet document docume nt imaging imaging
Letter from from Rodney Rodney Tumbleston Tumbleston to to — Letter Don Frommeyer, Frommeyer, President President of NAMB NAMB Don
$20 2
Works wit h your LOS with and DRIVES leads /mo. /mo. m
SEE A DEMO AT mtgpro.co/fairway mtgpro.co/fairway
ï 1.855.MTG.APPS ï 1 .855.M TG .APP S ï support@simplenexus.com s u p p o r t @ si mpl en ex u s . c o m simplenexus.cR s i mpl en ex u s . c RP ï
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
tt Avoid Avoid CFPB action action by by showing showing APRs APRs
33
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Foreclosures for Month of June Down Year-Over-Year
my most tech tech ssavvy avvy RE “I pulled my referral partners partners in to to test test it, it, and referral viral in m the damn thing is going viral myy community.” community.
LYKKEN ON
leadership
How to Provide the Best Education for Your Employees By David Lykken
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
34
In an industry as complex and important to society as the mortgage industry is, a discussion on education can go in all sorts of directions. We
could talk about the necessities of proper education and certifications in order to be in compliance with regulatory agencies. We could talk about the “do”s and “don’t”s of selecting a highcaliber education provider. We could talk about how education can differ-
entiator in the minds of customers purchasing mortgages, as well as employees choosing to work for your organization over a competitor’s. In this article, I would like to discuss all of these things under the umbrella of one single question: “How can we provide the best education for our employees in the mortgage industry?” First and foremost, you must ask yourself how encouraged your employees feel to educate themselves. Do you push additional education in your organization, or do you just skate by with the bare minimum? Do you have incentives for employees to get certifications or to take courses? If you really want to encourage your employees to do anything, offer to pay for it. Or, at the very least, pay for a portion of it. I know, I know … that just gives them license to take the education you paid for and use it in another organization. So, offer it as an incentive for employees who have been with you a set amount of time. But, even if a few employees take the education and run, which kind of organization do you think is going to attract the best employees—one that provides the best quality education or one that doesn’t seem to care? If you want to provide the best education for your employees, put your money where your mouth is and invest in their development. Another key point in choosing the best education for your employees is to seek out certifications, degrees, courses and distinctions that make your employees and your organizations marketable. At the end of the day, if the letters after the name don’t mean anything to buyers, they don’t mean anything at all. Survey your customers and find out what distinctions
are important to them. Do they even know about the most important certifications currently being offered in the industry? Maybe you’ll have to educate your customers on the most important certifications and why they matter. But, whatever the case, if there’s a disconnect between what the certification means and how the customer perceives, you are wasting your resources. Knowledge is power … but only part of it. Giving your employees knowledge is like giving them ammunition. But relevance is the weapon that enables them to use it. Having knowledge that doesn’t mean anything to your customers is like having bullets without a gun. Make your education relevant. A third important element of giving your employees the best education possible is to make it relevant to their everyday work. And what exactly do I mean by this? Well, every educational program is going to teach your employees what they need to know about the industry. However, none of them are going to teach them a thing about your company. Obviously, you will have to outsource a good deal of your education because third-party certification legitimizes your employees as industry professionals. But internal education and certification programs are essential as well, because they make direct application to your organization. Do your employees know your company values? Do you have internal certification programs that your employees can engage in? In addition to external education, I would recommend providing internal education. You don’t just want to create great employees for the industry. You want to create great employees for the company.
tion and make us less equipped for making the best of our lives. It’s the same way within your organization. The way you choose to educate your employees is not some abstract idea separate from the rest of your business. Education will define your organization, for better or for worse. Your employees will become who they are educated to be. If you teach your employees that education is merely something to “keep the regulators off your back,” it isn’t going to do much for them. If you teach your employees that education is all about bettering themselves professionally and giving your company the competitive edge, it is going to completely revolutionize their
work and your business. So, take education seriously and give your employees the education they deserve—the education that enables them to be successful in helping you thrive in the mortgage industry. David Lykken is 40-year mortgage industry veteran who has been an owner operator in three mortgage banking companies and a software company. As a former business owner/operator, today David loves helping C-Level executives and business owners achieve extraordinary results via consulting, coaching and communications, with the objective of eliminat-
ing corporate dysfunction, establishing and communicating a clear corporate strategy while focusing on process improvement and operational efficiencies resulting in increased profitability. David has been a regular contributor on CNBC and Fox Business News and currently hosts a successful weekly radio program, “Lykken on Lending,” that is heard each Monday at noon (Central Standard Time) by thousands of mortgage professionals. He produces a daily one-minute video called “Today’s Mortgage Minute” that appears on hundreds of television, radio and newspaper Web sites across America. He may be reached by phone at (512) 501-2810 or by e-mail at dlykken@mbs-team.com.
WHY SHOULD ANYONE
TRUST YOU?
Build TRUST with verified online reviews. “I believe the most powerful tool we have to propel our business forward is a testimonial from our valued client or referral partner.
35
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
This is what truly creates a sustainable referral network.” Cindy Ertman EVP | National Sales Manager RPM Mortgage, Inc. NMLS#330850 Cal BRE #00772133
Claim your profile now and start managing your reputation at:
www.betterloanofficers.com/NMPM
NAMB National 2014 Las Vegas, NV | Booth 570
E THOS
#ethos570
The Nation’s Largest Conference & Tradeshow For Mortgage Professionals | Sept. 13-15, 2014
VE
RIFIE
D
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
After all, that’s an education no other company can provide. And, if it’s good enough, your best employees will never want to leave. A fourth way to provide the best education for your employees is to choose the appropriate setting. More specifically, should you educate your employees virtually through online courses and certifications, or should you have them attend in-person seminars and classes? For most organizations, it’s about finding the right mix. Online education has the advantage of being efficient. You can get more people trained on more material in a smaller amount of time and at less of an expense. Additionally, many employees may find it easier to juggle virtual education with their work. On the other hand, being in a live class captures the synergy of a group and the nuances of interpersonal interaction that an online course never could. People learn differently, and some would argue better, when they’re around other people. The important thing is to find the right balance of inperson and online education that matches the values of your organization. One final piece of advice in providing the best possible education for your employees is to build a culture within your company that values ongoing education and continual learning. Education should never end with the certification, degree, or conclusion of the course. In fact, that’s when education should begin. To get the most out of the educational experiences you are giving your employees, you should provide a forum for ongoing discussion within your organization. A forum could mean many things. You could set up a group chat in your company’s intranet for your employees to discuss various issues and best practices in the industry. You could set aside an hour a week (or whatever works for you) for brainstorming sessions that allow employees to discuss the things they’ve been learning. Whatever specific program you implement, the point is that you are sending a signal to your employees that education is an integral part of your company ethos. The best companies great cultures that foster collaboration, communication and interdependence. As I mentioned in the previous point, people often learn better when they are learning together. Providing opportunities for employees to share their education experiences with one another will help their expertise grow exponentially through the synergies that are created in the discussion. “Education is not preparation for life,” writes the great 20th century philosopher John Dewey. “Education is life itself.” What he meant by this is that life is all about learning. We don’t learn and then, after we’re finished, start living. We learn as we live and live as we learn. Education and life are inextricably connected to one another. Separating the two and making education something “to get over with” will only devalue the worth of the educa-
HECM Loan Gains Market Momentum By Ralph Rosynek
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
36
The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), an FHA-insured mortgage alternative for eligible borrowers age 62 and older, continues to gain support and interest from a wide variety of resources. This “new” reverse mortgage is becoming a prominent component of retirement planning, as it is estimated that in excess of 8,000 Baby Boomers reach the age of 62-years-old daily. Financial planners, home builders, real estate agents and other financial longevity providers are promoting the use of the reverse mortgage in a variety of scenarios for the retirement-minded borrower. Today’s HECM loan, available in both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate offerings, provides a variety of features and benefit options to allow for creating a “right fit” loan transaction for each borrower based upon their specific needs. While the fixed-rate HECM provides the comfort of a stable interest rate for loan accrual and the ability to draw funds in a lump sum, the adjustable rate HECM also provides for several other payment plan options including term and tenure payments, depending upon proceeds available, in additional to the most popular payment option, the line of credit. The HECM adjustable-rate product also provides for line-of-credit growth based upon the unused facility available. At borrower option, providing funds are available, the ability to restructure the payment options at any time for a nominal servicing fee is also a borrower loan feature available. The reverse mortgage loan also provides increased borrower and lender protections and safeguards. Mandated borrower HECM counseling provided by U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)authorized counseling agencies is a foundation requirement for all HECM loan products. This counseling is delivered based upon a detailed protocol which includes taking the potential borrowers through various alternative scenario discussions to applying for a HECM. In seeking retirement solutions, the HECM discussion choice by financial planners adds value to building a retirement strategy for many clients, especially in cases where a small mortgage is remaining on the property or the use of home equity will support maintenance of financial goals and objectives. The HECM loan does not require monthly payments. Additionally, the option to downsize for some and utilize HECM resources to purchase a new home adds a great flexibility option to this consideration. Loan originators are realizing increased borrower prospects by adding the reverse mortgage discussion to realtor and homebuilder networking relationships. The ability to offer the HECM for Purchase option increases the ability for networking partners to move more inventory. Your market entry can be very scalable to your structure and requires an initial sales commitment to product education for both you and the prospective borrower. Most importantly, efficient market entry should be partnered with the strengths of a recognized HECM lender support and training program for the guidance and assistance needed to achieve your business plan success. Ralph Rosynek is senior vice president and director of marketing and communications and a seasoned HECM Direct Endorsement Underwriter. For additional information, he can be reached at rrosynek@rmsnav.com or call (281) 404-7970.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
heard on the street continued from page 32
loans can also be used for other things, such as sprucing up a bathroom or redoing a kitchen that hasn’t been remodeled in more than 10 years.” In Scottsdale, Ariz., the Sept. 18 seminar will take place from 9:00 a.m.11:00 a.m. at the Orange Tree Golf Resort, located at 10601 North 56th Street, and with a continental breakfast served at 8:30 a.m.
Ellie Mae Set to Acquire AllRegs
Ellie Mae, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based provider of on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire AllRegs, an Eagan, Minn.-based information provider for the mortgage industry, for $30 million. The acquisition of AllRegs is Ellie Mae’s sixth corporate purchase in six years. “It’s a great company,” said Jonathan Corr, Ellie Mae’s president and chief operating officer, in an interview with National Mortgage Professional Magazine. “It is a strategic acquisition for us, as AllRegs expands our position as the market leader in mortgage technology.” AllRegs’ information management solutions are used by more than 3,000 companies representing every facet of mortgage banking: Major lenders and investors, regulators, federal and state agencies, brokers, mortgage services vendors and law firms. AllRegs’ product offerings include education and training, loan product and guideline data and analytics, and the AllRegs online reference library that includes investor underwriting and insuring guidelines, federal and state statutes and regulations, Mortgage Mentor “how to” guides and plain language interpretation and analysis. “This acquisition perfectly complements what we do,” Corr continued, stating that Ellie Mae will retain the AllRegs brand name in offering the AllRegs products and services to the Ellie Mae customer base. In the past six years, Ellie Mae has acquired the assets of Online Document Systems Inc. from Stewart Lender Services Inc. (in 2008), Mavent Inc. (in 2009), Del Mar DataTrac (in 2011), Mortgage Pricing Systems (in 2011), MortgageCEO (in 2013). “We’ve been a busy bunch of beavers,” said Corr. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Ellie Mae added that because of the anticipated timing of closing, the acquisition is expected to have a minimal impact on its third quarter results.
FGMC Makes Prestigious Inc. 5000 List
First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation (FGMC) has announced that the firm has been named to Inc. Magazine’s 2014 Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastestgrowing privately-held companies. “First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation is honored to have made Inc. Magazine’s prestigious list of the nation’s fastest-growing privately-held companies for the very first time.” said Andrew Peters, chief executive officer of FGMC. “Our incredible growth is a testament to our very loyal clients and more than 420 devoted employees. I am incredibly proud of FGMC’s accomplishments to date, and look forward to continued growth across all business channels.”
New Penn Approves Doc Magic eSign Platform for Correspondents
DocMagic Inc. has announced that its eSign and eDelivery process has been approved by New Penn Financial to deliver compliant initial disclosures for approved correspondent lenders who sell their production to the mortgage company. “Helping correspondent lenders grow their businesses while reducing their compliance risk is something we do well,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “We’re very pleased to introduce our existing customers to New Penn Financial as an investor for their loans and look forward to providing our services to their existing correspondents, including our secure eSign, electronic document technology and industry-leading legal compliance services.” As part of the relationship, DocMagic will provide New Penn’s investor initial disclosure packages with DocMagic’s secure eSign service. “The majority of our correspondents already use DocMagic, so it was a natural decision to have them maintain our investor docs. Their ability to keep our documents correct and help our third party originators stay current and compliant is well proven,” said Brian Simon, COO of New Penn. “With the amount and velocity of compliance changes occurring in our industry, now more than ever we needed a partner who could keep pace with our growing institution and ensure full compliance in a fast-changing regulatory landscape. DocMagic exceeds those expectations continued on page 53
HomeBridge WHOLESALE 203( k Renovation Loans (
37
products. We are committed to providing the highest value to our clients through competitive pricing, unique product offerings, superior customer service, and state-of-the-art technology.
n Minimum 620 FICO Approve/Eligible n Primary Residences - Purchase/Rate & Term
n Minimum Repair amount $5,000; No Maximum Repair Amount n 1-4 Units Allowed n Structural & Non-Structural Repairs Allowed n Work Must be Completed within 5 months of Closing n Building Additions & Foundation Work Allowed n HUD Consultant Required
STREAMLINED n No Minimum Repair Amount ; Maximum Rehabilitation Costs $35,000 n 1 Unit Only n Non-Structural Repairs Allowed n Work Must be Completed within 4 Months of Closing n Building Additions & Foundation Work Not Allowed n HUD Consultant Not Required
To learn more about the HomeBridge advantage, please contact us at 855-729-2885.
www.HomeBridgeWholesale.com This is a business-to-business communication provided for use by mortgage professionals only and is not intended for distribution to consumers or other third parties. It is not an advertisement; as such term is defined in Section 2 26.24 of Regulation Z. Product information is subject to change without notice. HomeBridge Wholesale is a division of HomeBridge Financial Services, Inc. NMLS #6521 Š HomeBridge Financial Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
FULL CONSULTANT
n 30 & 15 Year Fixed Rate Available n Conforming & High Balance Loan Amounts
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
HomeBridge Wholesale is a national wholesale lender offering Conventional, Government, and Jumbo
Why Continued Debt Relief fo By Peter Miller It’s getting tough to find distressed homes, those single-family properties routinely sold at discount. Both foreclosure and short sale activity are down, but not for the same reasons, a problem that could haunt home values in some metro areas. In terms of foreclosure activity its down, down, and more down. The latest figures from RealtyTrac show that foreclosures are now at levels last seen in 2006. “Foreclosures are no longer a widespread contagion threatening to derail
the housing market’s return to full health,” says RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist, a perspective supported by three important marketplace changes. First, home prices are rising in most markets. Higher values mean more real estate equity so owners who run into financial problems can more readily sell instead of triggering a foreclosure or other credit-demolishing event. Second, we’re running out of mortgages originated before 2009. That’s important because most foreclosures
actually involve loans issued more than five years ago. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), more than 90 percent of all current delinquencies stem from loans made before 2009. “Loans originated in 2007 and earlier accounted for 75 percent of the seriously delinquent loans, while loans originated in 2008 and 2009 accounted for another 16 percent,” according to MBA Chief Economist Michael Fratantoni. Third, we’re not making loans like we used to—and that’s a good thing. Today, it’s virtually impossible to get a no-doc loan or financing with an option-ARM. One result is that default rates under new federal
rules have fallen through the floor. “The total balance of first mortgages 90 or more days past due or in foreclosure is less than $230 billion, a six-year low and a decrease of 30 percent from same time a year ago,” according to Equifax.
Short sales The three factors which have pushed foreclosure rates lower also impact short sales, transactions where an owner attempts to sell a property which is worth less than the debt. To make such transactions work the seller needs approval from the lender. Lenders, of course, are not thrilled to sign-off on deals which will result in a loss to them. While foreclosures are fairly straight forward—such properties can be bought at auction or from a lender in the form of REOs (real estate-owned by a lender)— that’s not the case with short sales. Short sales are convoluted transactions that start when a buyer and seller agree to a price. The price, however, is less than is owed to the lender so to make the transaction work the seller needs to either bring cash to closing or get approval from the lender to do the deal. The lender—if it will do a short sale at all—wants to be certain that it’s not getting a dime less than fair market value. Toward that end, it will do everything possible to check the value of the property and wring money out of the seller, including perhaps seeking a deficiency judgment if it can.
Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Complicating matters further has been the failure in Washington, D.C. to renew the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, legislation which ended Dec. 31., 2013. Unpaid mortgage debt has long been regarded as “imputed income” under federal tax rules. This means if you owe a
“The big problem with unpaid mortgage debt is very simple … it’s largely uncollectible because the taxpayer has not actually received any cash.”
or Short Sellers Makes Sense lender $250,000 and pay back $200,000 then the unpaid $50,000 is seen by Uncle Sam as taxable income. The big problem with unpaid mortgage debt is very simple … it’s largely uncollectible because the taxpayer has not actually received any cash. To avoid the tax many taxpayers go bankrupt or declare themselves insolvent. In 2007, the government passed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act as part of an effort to re-start local real estate markets. With the relief rule in place, borrowers were more willing to deal with lenders because the threat of massive tax bills was removed. In effect, there was an incentive to move properties from the distressed column to something better. The relief law was supposed to last five years, but was extended until the end of 2013. And now, despite repeated attempts to continue the 2007 rule, nothing has happened and as a result, we’re back to the old imputed income standard. “Uncertainty over its renewal has made it increasingly difficult for lenders and borrowers alike to take actions that will be beneficial to both parties,” said a report from the Urban Institute. “We calculate this uncertainty will affect up to two million borrowers who are seriously delinquent or in foreclosure, many of whom will lose their homes, and as many as 1.4 million more who could potentially benefit from loan modifications that include principal reductions.”
Act and make it sure it’s retroactive back to 2013. This will help a fragile real estate market where both existing and new home sales remain down from a year ago. l Third, do nothing and wait for the backlash. This could come in the form of renewed industry regulation; say a movement to define all mortgages as “non-recourse” loans and therefore ending any possibility of an imputed income to tax.
Peter G. Miller is a nationally-syndicated real estate columnist and the author of six books published originally by Harper & Row. He is a regular contributor at www.realtytrac.com. Follow him on Google+ and on Twitter at @OurBroker.
REDUCED TO
550 FHA,VA & USDA PROGRAMS
YOUR GO -TO LENDER FOR THE
TOUGHEST
LOANS
www.CarringtonWholesale.com/toughloans
866-453-2400
OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR BROKERS IS UNSURPASSED. WE OFFER:
On-Time Closing Promise for FHA loans – 15 Day Clear to Close on qualifying purchase or refinance loans, or your borrower receives a $500 closing cost credit.* Plus, get a prequalification letter and enjoy our early disclosure service. Submit with no AUS. Restrictions apply. FICO minimums to 550 on government programs and expanded FHA guidelines that include manufactured housing and use of non-traditional credit. Expanded Operations Support. Multiple operations centers offering support across all time zones provides outstanding service and fast turn times.
*Carrington will process any qualifying loan from the time a loan file is submitted to underwriting to the time it funds within 15 business days of appraisal receipt or the company will apply a closing cost credit of $500 to the loan once the loan closes. In order to receive the closing cost credit, any delay that causes the loan to close more than 15 days after appraisal receipt must be due to Carrington’s independent processes. If the delay is due to the broker, borrower’s or third party’s action or inaction or any other circumstances outside of Carrington’s control, the closing cost offer will be void. This offer excludes some loan programs, such as VA loans, USDA loans, 203K Loans Short Sales, New Construction loans, loans requiring property repairs, inspection, or re-inspection prior to closing, loans requiring condo approvals and flips. Offer is subject to revision or cancellation at any time. The appraisal received date is recorded in Pipeline Manager for all qualifying loans. Some loans may require additional information and be returned. Exclusions apply; contact your Account Executive for details. © Copyright 2007-2014 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC headquartered at 1610 E. Saint Andrew Place, Suite B150, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Toll Free (800)561-4567. NMLS ID 2600. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access Web Site: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. AZ: Mortgage Banker BK-0910745; 2159 McCulloch Blvd 4, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, File No. 413 0904. CO: Check the license status of your mortgage loan originator at http://www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm. GA: Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee 22721. IL: Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee. MN: This is not an offer to enter into an interest rate lock agreement under Minnesota Law. MO: Residential Mortgage Broker License 09-1746-S. NH: Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department. NJ: Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance. NY: Licensed Mortgage Banker—NYS Department of Financial Services. New York Mortgage Banker License B500980/107664. OH: Ohio Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption MBMB.850208.000 (FHA DE & VA Automatic loans only) OR: Mortgage Lender License ML-4886. PA: Licensed by the Department of Banking. RI: Rhode Island Licensed Lender, Lender License 20112809LL. VA: Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission MC-5382. WA: Consumer Loan License CL-2600. Also licensed in AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, ID, IN, ME, MD, MI, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, WV and WI. NOTICE: All loans are subject to credit, underwriting, and property approval guidelines. Offered loan products may vary by state. There is no guarantee that all borrowers will qualify. Restrictions may apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Terms, conditions, and programs are subject to change without notice. This information is for mortgage professionals only and is not intended for distribution to consumers. Carrington Mortgage Services is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of HUD/FHA or any office of the federal government. All rights reserved.
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Growing your business with the right partner has never been easier. Get started today with Carrington Mortgage Services.
At Carrington Mortgage Services, we are committed to meeting the financing needs of those who are underserved throughout America. We have loan programs specifically tailored to credit-challenged borrowers, so there’s no need to turn away those borrowers with low FICO scores. We are your government lender of choice with loan programs, service, technology and national support to grow your business today, tomorrow and beyond.
39
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Debt relief options The greater point is this: Why are we trying to tax people who face tough times? Isn’t it enough that with a foreclosure or short sale they will lose their homes and see their credit standing blighted? Why do we want to see bigger lender losses from delayed distress sales, sales fought because owners do not want to face massive federal income taxes? There are three options: l First, continue doing what we’re doing, which is nothing. l Second, pass an extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief
bill but not citizens with the same problems in other states? For distressed homeowners in many states, that’s the key question which now needs to be answered.
FICO
Non-recourse loans Those facing foreclosure can sometimes get around the imputed income rule by claiming bankruptcy or insolvency. Others avoid the tax issue because they have a “non-recourse” loan, financing where the lender’s claims are limited to the value of the property and therefore there is no unpaid debt. These tax avoidance options, however, may not apply to many potential short sellers, people who may well be current on their mortgage but have a need to move because of a new job or for personal reasons. Their problem is often not a lack of income; it’s a lack of equity.
Could the third option really happen? You bet. Just consider that this is now the fourth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank legislation which many in the lending community said could never pass and did everything possible to stop. No less important, the Urban Institute says 14.4 million of the 40.8 million mortgages outstanding today are already in states which allow nonrecourse loans. Why should some troubled borrowers face a huge federal tax
N A T I O N A L
M O R T G A G E
P R O F E S S I O N A L
M A G A Z I N E ’ S
economic commentary
THE By Dave Hershman he past several years have been anything but ideal with regard to the economy and lifestyle of Americans. We started with a deep recession, which included a collapse of home values which were increasing at an unsustainable pace. The way out of the recession was anything but painless. It
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
T
BEST
OF
was slow and tedious at best, as the recovery has felt like we were running in slow motion. However, as slow as the recovery has been, it has proceeded over all obstacles and there were plenty of obstacles from natural disasters to political issues and world conflicts. Steadily the recovery plowed ahead. The two bright spots of the recovery have been stocks and interest rates. We have experienced record
ALL
WORLDS?
low rates for years, while the stock market has continued to advance from the depths of the recession. One reason for the success of stocks has been the existence of low rates. For many investors, the returns of leaving money in cash made little sense since there was little or no rate of return with rates so low. Meanwhile, it was assumed that rates, as well as oil prices, would increase as the recovery started “heating up.” Thus far, this
We have them! Do you? Because we bond thousands of mortgage companies across the country we use our buying power and leveraged competition among multiple surety companies to offer underwriting parameters and lower rates that other bond agencies only wish they had. Don’t wait for your bond’s expiration. Trade in your overpriced bond for a new bond – And start saving money today!
has not happened. Rates and oil prices have not risen in 2014, even as we have recovered from our latest natural event—the harsh winter of earlier this year. As we move into the last phase of 2014, does this mean that we could actually enjoy better times than we thought as the economy moves to the next phase? Experiencing continued advances in the stock market while we still enjoy low rates and oil price stability at the same time that unemployment is dropping towards normal levels might be too much to ask for. But it is possible as long as the economy does not heat up too fast. The key is economic growth. If the recovery does not roar ahead, but advances at a moderate level for the foreseeable future, perhaps inflation does not become a problem and rates will stay low. So the best of all worlds could be possible and would be a welcome break from the malaise we have experienced for the past several years. Even if only for a short period of time, that would be a nice thought. Dave Hershman is a top author in the mortgage industry with seven books published. He is also the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System, and currently the director of branch support for McLean Mortgage. He may be reached by e-mail at dave@hershmangroup.com or visit www.originationpro.com.
41
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Š StreetLinks, LLC | P2014-1
TALES FROM THE CLOSING TABLE By Andrew Liput The mortgage closing transaction is the single largest financial transaction in the lives of most consumers, and it is also the riskiest stage of the mortgage process for lenders. While the vast majority of lawyers and notaries and title agents are experienced, ethical and diligent professionals, for a few the role of closing agent is too tempting a lure for selfish criminal intent. This monthly column addresses the good, the bad and the ugly …
Top industry news … CFPB fines Amerisave and its CEO $20 million The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has found that Atlanta-based Internet lender Amerisave harmed consumers by advertising misleading interest rates, locking them in with costly upfront fees, failing to honor advertised interest rates, and also for illegally overcharged borrowers for affiliated “third-party” services. CFPB Director Richard Cordray remarked, “This action puts an end to Amerisave’s unacceptable bait-and-switch scheme, and holds Patrick Markert personally responsible for his illegal actions.” When the CFPB said it was going to focus on consumer protection, they meant it. Every month, it seems there is yet another enforcement action, consent order or fine and penalty announced. Lenders are scrambling to evaluate policies and procedures, looking to separate from improper affiliations and referral arrangements, and spending more money than ever on compliance tools and services. With owners and managers also being targeted personally for bad acts, the heat is on.
You can’t make this stuff up! l An Oklahoma credit union manager was sentenced to serve 27 months for bank fraud and tax evasion for creating three false loans using stolen identities. She apparently used the entities and individuals without their knowledge and authorization. l Two California men have been indicted for a conspiracy together with a third man in New York to create fake law firms and thereby dupe consumers out of more than $18 million dollars for loan modification services that were never provided. l A former FNMA official has been imprisoned for soliciting kickbacks from a foreclosure broker. As a “real estate-owned (REO) foreclosure specialist” for Fannie Mae, the man reviewed applications submitted by real estate brokers who wanted to list Fannie Mae foreclosure properties, and he had the authority to approve sale offers presented by the brokers. Sometime in 2012, the FNMA employee asked a real estate broker in Arizona to pay a percentage of the commissions the broker earned for selling Fannie Mae foreclosure properties. The broker brought the matter to the attention of federal law enforcement officials and assisting in the investigation. l A Connecticut paralegal was indicted for stealing mortgage proceeds and was sentenced by a U.S. District Judge to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. The woman owned and operated various companies that specialized in preparing real estate closing documents and conducting real estate closings for attorneys. She kept the loan proceeds for at least six transactions instead of disbursing the proceeds to pay off the pre-existing mortgage loans on the properties. l A New York City police sergeant and owner of real estate investment company was sentenced to 58 months in prison for obtaining approximately $4.7 million from investors for a real estate development project he claimed to be constructing and then misappropriated those funds. The real estate project was never developed and investors lost all of their money. continued on page 59
43
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
info@tagquest.com
www.TagQuest.com
44
45
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
2
Mortgage Marketing: Data, Data, Data By Matthew Dunn Ph.D. Have you watched a video on a Web page, LinkedIn or some other site lately? If so, a knowledgeable marketer with business-grade video hosting now knows this about you: l How much of the video you watched or re-watched, and when you clicked away. l Where you were, down to at least the city. l Which device, browser and screen you were using. l What other videos you’ve watched, on what other sites. l The URL of the page(s) where you watched.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
46
If they sent you the video link, they may also have tied your name and e-mail to your viewing activity. It’s just a short step from there to behavior-pattern marketing—“Looks like the Smith Family is considering a qualified mortgage.” Wow! Video yields more data, better insight and broader correlation than other forms of media. That’s a result of two things: The nature of video content and the attributes of video-delivery technology. Video content is chronological and sequential—images and sound— over time. Web video generally runs between 15 and 30 frames per second. So, for data purposes, a 60-second video has 900-1,800 measurable entry/exit points. When you review a video, a business-grade video platform records the start, stop and rewind points. Some video marketing platforms use the term “engagement” to describe viewing patterns on one or more videos. Do people usually start at the beginning? Do they exit early or do they watch nearly to the end? This is boiled down to a percentage measure. In our service, if every single viewer watched every second of a video, it would get a 100 percent engagement measure (generally, engagement above 60 percent is considered good). The technology attributes that power all this data-gathering are somewhat accidental because online video is a relative latecomer format. Images and text are usually copied, while video, in general, is usually embedded. That seems like a tiny difference, but it’s a profound difference. If you’ve got a marketing infographic, and I want to put it on my blog, I can just right-click and download the file. That new copy is disconnected from its source and you get no data from that copy. By contrast, if your company has a video, and someone clicks the LinkedIn “Share” button to pass it along to their contacts, they’re actually putting your hosted video on LinkedIn. Technically, they are actually putting a bit of software (your video player) and a specific piece of content for that player—your video. That’s what “embedding” means. Because of that, the player and video content are coming from your video hosting platform. So you get all that rich data, which your video platform should correlate and summarize for you. Properly managed and deployed, a video library (custom video or contentas-a-service) can give you unmatched customer insight. If you’re just starting to grapple with video content, download our free white paper, “Video Strategy: Content Meets Technology” at http://fastforwardstories.com/video-strategy. Matthew Dunn Ph.D. is CEO of Fast Forward Stories, a video content service for the mortgage and real estate industries. He may be reached by phone at (888) 618-9088 or e-mail matthew@fastforwardstories.com.
VIDEO CONTENT SERVICE
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
corporate security policy continued from page 11
with which you do business–it can be used to take over all your accounts. l Don’t share passwords on the phone, in texts or by e-mail. Legitimate companies will not send you messages asking for your password. If you get such a message, it’s probably a scam. l Keep your passwords in a secure place, out of plain sight.
It is very important to notify customers of who has access to their information. By acknowledging who has permission to access to their information is important to them. Stating upfront who will have this type of access and for what reason should always be disclosed. If any entity or person(s) other than the company itself will have access it is important to state for what purpose and use. Keeping the customer informed, and letting them know that you are taking their privacy and security seriously. This speaks volumes to them. The company has addressees their unvoiced fears and concerns, and put in writing who would access their information and for what purpose it would be used. When gathering personal information and data, use only encrypted Web sites, if your customers will be shopping or banking online, stick to sites that use encryption to protect their information as it travels from your computer to their server. A point to tell consumers is to determine if a site is encrypted, look for “https” at the beginning of the URL (the “s” stands for “secure”). Some Web sites use encryption only on the sign-in page, but if any part of your session isn’t encrypted, the entire account could be vulnerable. Look for https on every page of your corporate site, not only where the consumer will sign in (FTC, 2013). A major aspect of a security policy is the use of passwords to protect the company’s data systems, routers, confidential plans and processes, trade secrets and corporate officers to office employees. All of these are and should be protected through a multi-tiered password system. It is often common place to use written communication to communicate with employees, vendors, business partners, and amongst top officers of the company as well. This mandates a secure system, for e-mail, intranet usage, video conferencing and Word document storage. The password rule is always instituted in the corporate security policy. One of the rules the policy should address is safe keeping and secure places to keep passwords. Employees should always protect their passwords, not leave them on a desk on a sticky note in a drawer or anywhere in the open where a passerby may notice them. The whole purpose of a password is to protect both the employee and the company. A weak password is useless and adds no value to your security. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers information for creating strong passwords and keeping them safe:
All users should adhere to using strong passwords, keeping passwords hidden and protected, and most passwords should be changed every six months. Those that are of strong concern could be changed more frequently. The use of prior passwords should not be allowed. An administrator rule is also included in the policy. Determine who will give out the passwords, secure the passwords, and have access in the case of absent employees and/or emergency issues. System administrators should be responsible for implementing access controls to directories, databases, and password policies (SANS Institute, 2001). System administrators should work together with security administrators; by working hand in hand they know what each one is handling. E-mail rules are also added. Understanding e-mail security and how it works; in order to send or receive e-mail, a computer must be connected to a mail server, a machine connected to the Internet that runs software allowing it to process e-mail. When you send an e-mail message from a secure server, software in one part of the mail server checks that you’re listed as a user within your organization. If you are, it sends out your mail. When someone sends you an e-mail, software in another part of the server confirms that you’re an authorized user and then accepts and delivers the e-mail to you. Another aspect of the Internet and email is considered a network rule. This rule will outline how employees can access and use the Internet, Intranet, email and other network programs. The policy should prohibit personal broadcasting of e-mails; limit access to certain sites, specify what programs if any are allowed to be downloaded without permission, what amount time is allowed daily for personal e-mail, Facebook, Twitter. Company regulations should also set forth as to what employees are allowed to post on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks in relation to the company and its employees. What repercussions might they face for inappropriate behavior, ex: bullying a coworker?
l The longer the password, the tougher it is to crack. Use at least 10 characters; 12 are ideal for most home users. l Mix letters, numbers and special characters. Try to be unpredictable–don’t use your name, birthdate or common words. l Don’t use the same password for many accounts. If it’s stolen from you–or from one of the companies
Laura Burke, CFE, EA, MBA, MS MIS (2015) is an author and trainer with 20plus years of experience in the mortgage arena. As a Certified Fraud Examiner, Laura uses her expertise in the mortgage arena, combined with special forensic knowledge to assist corporations with their security policies and forensic audits. She may be reached by e-mail at lauralynnburke@gmail.com.
Zillow Makes Pre-Approval Available on Apps
new to market continued from page 18
Mortech Adds Dialer Support to Its Marksman Lead Management Solution
Zillow Inc. has announced that home shoppers now have a mobile edge to securing the home of their dreams, with mortgage pre-approval now available on Zillow mortgage and real estate apps on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Mortgage pre-approval on Zillow Mobile allows home shoppers to secure pre-approval for a home loan, from start to finish, in minutes. Shoppers start by filling out a simple questionnaire. Once they receive initial quotes
continued on page 77
47
National MI Announces Integration With MortgagebotLOS
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
National Mortgage Insurance Corporation, a subsidiary of NMI Holdings, Inc., announced that National MI’s mortgage insurance products have been directly integrated with D+H’s MortgagebotLOS, an all-in-one loan origination system (LOS) that supports retail, wholesale and correspondent mortgage lending. “As a result of this integration, lenders who use MortgagebotLOS can now order National MI policies from within the loan origination system, saving time and streamlining the process for lenders,” said Pete Pannes, chief sales officer of National MI. Through its signature product, National MI SafeGuard, National MI is currently the only private mortgage
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Mortech has announced that it has added sophisticated dialing support to its Marksman product and pricing engine and lead management solution. Now available for beta use, the new dialer provides click-to-dial functionality and direct lead calling within Marksman. “Mortech recognizes that to be successful, borrower experience and speed to contact are critical in the online lending space,” said Doug Foral, general manager of Mortech, a Zillow business. “Our new dialer functionality provides a sleek, easy-to-use solution to connect lenders to potential borrowers quickly and efficiently.” When new borrower contact information is made available by a lender’s lead provider, the Marksman dialer generates a call to the lender’s loan officers in accordance with the lender’s preferences and notifies them that they have a new lead. The Marksman dialer also allows the loan officer to quickly and easily dial the lead in order to connect them. Lenders may also select optional group dialing so that, as a new lead comes in, an entire group of loan officers may be notified, allowing the first loan officer to pick up and accept the call. A full integration with Marksman ensures that all existing leads in the system are accessible to the dialer and call dispositions that occur through the dialer are instantly updated within Marksman’s lead management solution.
insurer to provide lenders with rescission relief on every loan after 12 months of timely payments, for both delegated and non-delegated loans. “We understand how important it is for our clients to create a seamless experience for their customers,” said Scott Hansen, senior vice president of marketing, D+H. “By integrating National MI’s insurance products into MortgagebotLOS, we are expanding how our clients can use the platform to streamline their processes, while satisfying customer needs.”
from lenders, the user can elect to have the lender pull their credit report information. If the home shopper meets guidelines, they will receive a mortgage pre-approval letter directly on their mobile device, which they can save, print, e-mail or share with their agent and home sellers. “Homebuying can be extremely competitive today due to inventory shortages. Having the ability to get a preapproval letter instantly can make the difference between getting the home or losing it to a buyer who is better prepared,” said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages for Zillow. “With this tool, we are able to streamline the pre-
Are You Leaving Money on
Your commercial real estate strategy is muc By Michael Stone
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
For numerous reasons, it has become increasingly expensive to originate a mortgage loan. Regulatory and market demands have increased compliance costs for lenders and brokers of all sizes. To compound matters, origination volume has receded, thus forcing originators to fight for market share. The volatility of market demand (spikes and dips) has made it difficult to maintain adequate staffing as well. As a result, mortgage originators are, now more than ever, forced to pay attention to their margins and profitability. That means containing costs everywhere possible. Although the traditional approach to such market conditions is to employ cost-saving technology, staffing strategy and vendor consolidation, these solutions aren’t always adequate. One avenue not often considered (especially by small- to mid-sized lenders and brokers) is a company’s commercial real estate strategy. A brokerage or lender can save thousands—even millions in
some cases—with a sound commercial real estate strategy. A solid plan for your office space can affect your compliance efforts, optimize productivity, and ultimately, reduce expenditures. But it all starts with the strategy.
Is your office working for (rather than against) your margins? Your firm’s office is much more than a place to meet clients and produce loans. It is a conduit for your company’s overall productivity. Believe it or not, your office’s location, layout and even furnishings can have a significant impact upon your margins. A solid commercial real estate strategy answers the following questions: 1. Is the office in an ideal location? Even if your business (or particular office) isn’t retail-oriented, its location will affect a number of factors having an impact on productivity. Does the location require long commutes for the staff? Is the location in a high-traffic section of your locale? 2. Is the office situated for optimum
workflow? The smallest of details can lead to significant changes in productivity. Are the printers located within easy reach of the employees using them most often? Are offices or cubicles positioned for maximum productivity and collaboration? 3. Is your office “right-sized?” Unfortunately, market volatility has led to a cycle of ramping up and cutting back on staff for many in our industry. The ideal office will accommodate new additions in times of increased volume (and staff), while minimizing wasted space in the event of personnel cutbacks. The impact upon productivity and efficiency cannot be understated.
Is your lease the best it can be? If your lease wasn’t negotiated by a seasoned professional with commercial real estate experience, chances are that you left money on the table in one fashion or another. Many owners or executives taking commercial real estate (CRE) negotiations into their own hands simply aren’t aware of their options and rights when working with a potential landlord. Let’s
begin with the obvious: The inexperienced tenant negotiator is far less likely to get the best rate and terms than a seasoned CRE professional. This comes down to understanding of that particular CRE market; previous experience with the landlord and even a basic understanding of how the traditional CRE negotiation plays out. Often, the landlord offers an initial lease with terms favorable to him or her. For those with little to no experience in the CRE world, it can be difficult to know which terms are negotiable and which aren’t. Additionally, chances are that the inexperienced negotiator is unaware of current regional market conditions in the commercial real estate world. This can make all the difference in what a landlord is—and isn’t—willing to negotiate. Similarly, is now a good time to renegotiate your lease? Should the landlord bear the costs of a build-out or renovation the space might need to accommodate your business? How much input should your business have in such construction? An experienced CRE professional will know the answer to these questions, which can lead to very real savings.
YO
the Table?
ch more important than you might think Is your real estate an asset or a liability when it comes to quality control and compliance? Increasingly, enforcement agencies and regulators are scrutinizing your ability to protect the non-public information (NPI) of your borrowers. Your office and how it is set up can have a very real effect upon this. Floor-to-ceiling windows bordering the cubicles or offices of your production team will undoubtedly affect your clean desk policy. The location of your servers (if they’re located in your office), and more importantly, access to them (both “who” and “how”) will also be of interest to an auditor. Simply the way in which your office is situated can impact your compliance plan. For example, is your underwriting team located in a hightraffic area with easy access, increasing the likelihood of unauthorized access to sensitive data? These are things that the experienced CRE negotiator does not overlook when planning a client’s office space strategy. Most in the mortgage industry spend a great deal of time planning for suc-
cess. We establish business plans. We undertake market research and analysis as we build our marketing strategies. We recruit our management teams and sales personnel carefully. Today, we spend a great deal of time scrutinizing our compliance plans and policies. We cannot afford haphazard quality control procedures. And, now more than ever, we seek to reduce expenditures everywhere we can. That’s why the business which lacks a well-planned commercial real estate strategy, or which simply delegates the CRE function to an executive or employee for whom the responsibility is simply in addition to his or her primary role, is leaving money on the table. The investment in a seasoned consultant or firm is well worth it in the long run. In fact, your business won’t even be charged for negotiating your corporate lease by most tenant representatives in
the CRE industry—your landlord will! Your office or offices can be the source of great expenditure … or great savings. It all depends on your strategy and its execution. Michael Stone is chief executive officer of
The Stone Group, based in Austin, Texas, a commercial real estate services firm which manages multiple real estate portfolios for mid-sized and Fortune 500 companies nationwide. He may be reached by e-mail at mstone@thestonegroupcre.com.
At UWM we focus on YOU, not the transaction. When you’re Younited, you have the fastest turn times in the industry. You have direct access to your AE, underwriters and support teams. You have Instant M.I. to prevent frustration and get to closing fast! You have Instant Funding that guarantees money at the table instantly. Being Younited is having a partner that has your back 24/7 — no matter what. It means we’re a success only when you are. That’s why more brokers choose UWM than any other lender. Join our network, and unite with us at uwm.com/younited
800-981-8898 | UWM.COM/YOUNITED
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
IS YOU AND UWM
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
OUNITED
legendsoflending
$
$
BY PHIL HALL
PARAMOUNT RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE GRO hirteen years ago, Corona, Calif.-based Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG) first opened its doors for business. Or, to be more precise, it opened a single door to a small office where a three-person staff worked long and hard to build the business it has grown to become. Today, the company operates in 46 states and employs more than 700 nationwide. Needless to say, the company appears to be doing something right! For this month’s National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s Legends of Lending profile, the PRMG leadership team offered their insight on the state of the industry and the strategies that keep PRMG at the forefront of the mortgage world. The company’s Chief Executive Officer and President Paul Rozo, and Chief Operating Officer Robert Holliday, were joined in this interview by Chief Production Officer Phil Deol, and National Marketing Director Paul Lucido.
T
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
50
What makes PRMG different from its competitors? Paul Rozo: We like to say that we are “built by originators for originators.” PRMG was born from a vision of creating a company with a unique culture focused on the success of the producer. As originators ourselves and being in the trenches early on, we clearly understood the requirements, and more importantly, what truly needed to be accomplished in order to achieve that success. PRMG grew since being established in 2001, from just three people in a single office to well more than 700 in over 40 offices across the U.S. What kind of people do you look for to become part of the PRMG team? Robert Holliday: It all starts by hiring great people and some of the best tal-
PRMG Chief Executive Officer Paul Rozo
PRMG Chief Operating Officer Robert Holliday
ent in the industry. We have an exceptional operations staff that knows how to meet and support the daily demands of our sales teams. We also provide continued training at the PRMG Campus by instituting a program that effectively allows the branches and their sales teams to maintain a consistent level of service to all our customers across the country … ultimately delivering what we call the “PRMG experience.” What does this company look for in potential employees? Phil Deol: We like to hire winners in this organization. We look for people with a fire in their belly—those who are driven and have their own thermostats set on high. We like to help foster those qualities and make them even greater. The mortgage industry has been blanketed with a surplus of new federal and state regulations over the past few years, with more regulations on the horizon for 2015. How has this new regulatory regimen impacted PRMG’s day-to-day operations? Robert Holliday: Without question, many of the new federal and state regulations have had a significant impact on how lenders remain compliant. For example, PRMG has seen an increase in the costs associated with obtaining legal counsel and internal support in helping us, not only understand the new regulations, but in determining
PRMG Chief Production Officer Phil Deol
PRMG National Marketing Director Paul Lucido
how we properly disclose and how the laws associated with these regulatory changes and restrictions will affect our operations. This includes implementing policy and training procedures in order to align ourselves and remain compliant with new regulatory laws and restrictions. What is your opinion of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new mini-correspondent policy guidance, and how will this impact the industry? Paul Rozo: Since early 2013, PRMG has been proactive in developing a correspondent program well in anticipation of the recent regulatory changes that took effect in January 2014. This program was developed along with policy and procedures that are in alignment with the current CFPB guidelines in helping mortgage brokers interested in transitioning to becoming a banker. The vision for the correspondent platform has always been to assist brokers with the transitioning from broker to banker—including providing guidance for them to begin closing their own loans and establishing criteria for “delegated underwriting.” That being said, PRMG has established rigorous requirements for correspondent approval. Many of our correspondent customers have already gone the minicorrespondent route. Therefore, because we are ahead of the curve the impact for us is minimal.
What is your forecast for the industry once interest rates finally begin to rise? Phil Deol: As a result of rising interest rates, we should typically see an immediate surge in purchase business … which is a good thing. However, with rising interest rates, housing affordability, over time, will certainly become an issue, perhaps limiting some borrower’s ability to buy or buy up; most likely causing home prices to eventually stabilize and return to a normal market. There has been data from around the country suggesting that affordable
$
$
$
?
are you
nominated coming in december 2014
OUP INC. (PRMG)
How does PRMG approach social media? Paul Lucido: Over the last three years, PRMG has learned to embrace social media as a viable business channel.
What are the best marketing channels for your company? Paul Lucido: From a B2B perspective, we have found e-mail marketing to be one of the best delivery platforms, particularly with our brokers. Depending upon which customer relationship management (CRM) system you use; email is hard to beat. The e-mail platform offers many advantages. In our case, it allows us to reach out directly to our broker database and dynamically tie in the PRMG representative associated with that particular broker. This allows us the flexibility to promote a very specific tailored message with relative ease and speed to our customers. This includes product updates, midday announcements and events, and more importantly, regular daily rate sheets, which we find to be perhaps the most effective form of advertising to our customers, which ultimately creates a callto-action. If PRMG could be described in a single word, what would that word be? Paul Rozo: If you were to ask any employee in the company to describe PRMG in a single word, you will find that they will ultimately respond by saying “Family” as the cultural term we have fostered throughout the company. Phil Hall is senior editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at philh@nmpmediacorp.com.
51
We are seeking nominations from our readers for National Mortgage Professional Magazine's "40 Under 40" feature, slated to appear in our December 2014 edition. Anyone who is under the age of 40 and has had a major impact on the industry can qualify for this feature. This could be through innovation, association participation, sales force automation, community activism, management techniques, technology or any other significant method that has influenced our industry. We would need a short, three-line bio on the nominee, along with a color photo and company contact info to complete the profile. To nominate yourself or someone else, visit https://nmpmag.wufoo.com/forms/nmps-40-under-40-2014/.
NMP Media Corp. 1220 Wantagh Avenue Wantagh, New York 11793-2202 p 516.409.5555 f 516.409.4600 e advertise@NMPMediaCorp.com w www.NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
What are some of PRMG’s current marketing strategies? Paul Lucido: Our plan is to continue with an aggressive national advertising campaign geared toward speaking to PRMG’s recent growth and expansion. This includes, print media, e-mail marketing, and leveraging our social media channels for recruiting purposes, special events, product announcements and rankings. In addition, we are completely revamping PRMG’s entire online presence, which will play a significant part in helping to serve our customers. All of these initiatives will contribute toward expanding our national footprint in unique and expressive way—conveying strength, size and stability. Again, PRMG continues to set itself apart by being “different,” and we are okay with that.
We currently maintain a solid online presence for all our branches on the Web through various search engines and local directories. Activities include regular postings of product updates, customer surveys, company rankings and videos for recruiting efforts–all of which generate an influx of comments and positive feedback posted by our customers.
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
housing is becoming more elusive to locate. In your opinion, what can be done to ensure greater affordability in the housing market across the country? Phil Deol: We would recommend a strategy that would continue to widen the USDA footprint, while offering additional DPA downpayment assistance programs in conjunction with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to potential first-time homebuyers. Also, we need to consider the possibility of reducing FHA Monthly Mortgage Insurance, which would greatly increase the buying power for qualified borrowers.
2
nmp news flash continued from page 33
DocMagic’s Legal Updates By Melanie A. Feliciano Esq. New Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac MERS Rider (Form 3158) Required in Three States As a result of recent judicial decisions regarding Mortgage Electronic Registration System Inc. (MERS) and its role as the nominee for the mortgagee, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are requiring the use of a MERS Rider (Form 3158) that modifies the standard security instruments in the states of Montana, Oregon and Washington. The MERS Rider must be used in these three states for newly originated loans that will be registered with MERS. Consequently, post-closing assignments into MERS are prohibited in these states. In addition to using the MERS Rider in Montana, Oregon and Washington, changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s standard security instruments for these states are required. Lenders may begin using the MERS Rider immediately in the three designated states, but use of the MERS Rider is mandatory for all mortgage loans with notes dated on or after Oct. 15, 2014. Updated Form: Ohio Notice of Escrow of Taxes and Regular Monthly Payment The Ohio Division of Financial Institutions has combined the Notice of Escrow of Taxes and Regular Monthly Payment forms required under both the Ohio Mortgage Loan Act (OMLA) and Ohio Mortgage Broker Act (OMBA) into one form for ease of use. The new combined form has a mandatory effective date of Sept. 15, 2014. However, the combined form may be used immediately.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
52
Implementation of USDA’s 7 CFR 3555 Rule Delayed Until Dec.1, 2014 On Dec. 9, 2013, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development published in the Federal Register a new interim final rule in 7 CFR Part 3555. The interim final rule replaces the existing rule found in 7 CFR Part 1980, Subpart D, and the associated Administrative Notices (ANs) issued by Rural Development. With the adoption of this interim final rule, Rural Development is attempting to combine the better features of conventional loan programs and other Government loan programs to make the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) as effective as possible. The objective of the rule is to establish a comprehensive framework that will streamline processes, reduce regulations, improve customer service, and strengthen the Agency’s ability to manage the SFHGLP. A technical handbook (the Handbook) that supplements the interim final rule will be used to administer the program efficiently and ensure that legal requirements are met. The Handbook will contain administrative procedures currently in the existing rule as well as guidance published through multiple ANs. The interim final rule and Handbook were supposed to become effective for complete loan applications received on or after Sept. 1, 2014. However, on Aug. 19, 2014, the USDA announced that the effective date has been delayed until Dec. 1, 2014, to allow stakeholders in the mortgage industry to better incorporate procedural changes and receive more extensive training. Melanie A. Feliciano Esq. is DocMagic Inc.’s chief legal officer and currently serves as editor-in-chief of DocMagic’s electronic compliance newsletter, The Compliance Wizard. She received her JD from the Georgetown University Law Center, and is licensed in California and Texas. She may be reached by phone at (800) 649-1362 or e-mail melanie@docmagic.com.
that covers topics like budgeting daily expenses, managing debt, and avoiding financial tricks and traps. “Since we opened our doors, we’ve worked to equip consumers to make informed decisions that will help them reach their personal financial goals,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Your Money, Your Goals opens a new channel for connecting consumers with low-tomoderate incomes to the Bureau’s information, tools, and resources through the people they know and trust.” Staff of non-profit and public social services programs are in a unique position to help the people with low-to-moderate incomes that they serve navigate complex and sometimes overwhelming financial situations. Their clients already know and trust them, and in many cases, they are sharing their financial information. The financial stresses consumers with low-to-moderate incomes face may interfere with their progress toward other goals, like finding and keeping secure housing, staying in school, or even landing a job. Your Money, Your Goals trains social services staff to help their clients learn financial decision-making skills and to help them avoid the kinds of financial missteps that can erase hard-fought gains. It includes information, checklists, and worksheets consumers can use in their everyday lives. For example, clients in job placement programs who secure a job are often required to receive their pay via direct deposit. The information and tools in Your Money, Your Goals can help the newly employed worker weigh the benefits and risks of various payment methods.
Number of Active U.S. Appraisers Declines Slightly The number of active real estate appraisers in the U.S. fell less than one percent in the first half of 2014, the Appraisal Institute announced lower than the average
annual decrease of 2.6 percent over the past six years. Research conducted by the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers found that as of June 30, the total number of active real estate appraisers in the U.S. stood at 80,500, down from 81,050 on Dec. 31, 2013. A broader analysis suggests the rate of decrease could rise sharply over the next five to 10 years due to retirements, reduced numbers of new people entering the appraisal profession, economic factors and greater use of data analysis technologies, Appraisal Institute research found. “As appraisers leave the profession, the Appraisal Institute is preparing the next generation through its education, publications and other training,” said Appraisal Institute President Ken P. Wilson, MAI, SRA. “As the real estate valuation profession’s leader, we will continue to ensure that we are preparing tomorrow’s appraisers today.” The Appraisal Institute’s research also found that the proportion of licensed appraisers in the U.S. continues to decrease and stands at 11.3 percent as of June 30. The proportions of certified residential appraisers (56.7 percent) and general/commercial appraisers (32 percent) increased slightly from year-end 2013. Also, 18.5 percent of appraisers held a license or certification in one or more states outside their home state. That number increased slightly from 18.2 percent in 2013 and 17.2 percent in 2012.
Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites you to submit any information on regulatory changes, legislative updates, human interest stories or any other newsworthy items pertaining to the mortgage industry to the attention of: NMP News Flash column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.
TILA vs. TILA: Rescission by Notice or Lawsuit Do you think that only a written notice is required to effectuate a right of rescission? Think again! The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether a lawsuit must be filed to exercise the right of rescission within three years of a residential mortgage loan’s consummation in order to make the rescission effective. In the article “TILA Versus TILA: Rescission by Notice or Lawsuit,” written by Jonathan Foxx and posted on NationalMortgageProfessional.com, you will read an analysis of the startling maze of conflicting court findings that must now be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Are the courts about to be inundated with a huge number of lawsuits by borrowers seeking rescission? Only time will tell … Log on to http://goo.gl/MvG2VU to view the article and learn more.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
heard on the street continued from page 36
and criteria. We’re proud to be working with them.”
Carrington Mortgage Services Opens Four New Locations
DocMagic Inc. has announced that its strategic alliance with Pavaso will be expanded to allow the two firms to serve Franklin First Financial of Melville, N.Y. in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) eClosing pilot program. “Lenders are now ready for a completely paperless loan closing process,”
Norcom Mortgage has continued to expand its footprint into new states, by opening four new branches in the Mid-Atlantic region. With two new offices in each Pennsylvania and Maryland, Norcom now has seven locations serving communities from Pennsylvania to Virginia. The newest Maryland locations are open in College Park and Columbia; and the two Pennsylvania offices are located in Indiana and Lancaster. Norcom Mortgage is proud to announce that Jay Welsh has been appointed the regional manager responsible for the four new locations. Included as part of the expansion, Norcom has hired Kim Keller to head up the operational support in processing, closing and underwriting dedicated to this region. “Our expansion comes at an exciting time within the mortgage banking industry,” said Norcom Mortgage Senior continued on page 56
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
CFPB Approves DocMagic for eClosing Pilots
Norcom Mortgage Adds Four Branches in Mid-Atlantic Region
53
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Carrington Mortgage Services LLC has announced the opening of four new branches in Warrenton, Va.; Plano, Texas; Houston, Texas; and Fishers, Ind., along with the appointment of Jeff Scannicchio as senior vice president of mortgage lending operations. Carrington’s branch expansion initiatives and management appointments provide business development opportunities in each of these regions, while extending a wide range of product offerings and faster turn times to meet market demands. The company’s managers named to lead the new branches include: Jessica Furr in Warrenton; Mike Denton in Plano; Oliver de Boer in Houston; and Ryan Higley in Fishers. Scannicchio will manage national operations for the Mortgage Lending Division and support the organization’s objectives in continuing to grow the operation’s functional capacity, efficiency and market share. “We are pleased to announce that we’ve expanded into these additional markets, and welcome Jeff Scannicchio to our exceptional team of highly skilled financial services professionals,” said Ray Brousseau, executive vice president of Carrington Mortgage Services’ Mortgage Lending Division. “As we continue our trajectory of growth, we want to ensure that we are effectively meeting the needs of consumers in many markets throughout the U.S., as well as maturing our processes and systems to keep pace while maintaining our loan quality, and remaining sharply focused on servicing the underserved market. We are confident that our plans for continued branch expansion, and appointments like Jeff Scannicchio will effectively contribute to accomplishing these goals.”
said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “Digital Close from Pavaso is designed to be a neutral technology platform that seamlessly integrates with other systems. That, along with DocMagic’s eSign, eVault and eDelivery offerings, provides a fully supported, shrink-wrapped solution for anyone to do an eClosing. This partnership will show the industry and the CFPB that any lender can make the closing process better for consumers through the use of a completely electronic process without incurring the time and cost of creating or maintaining their own systems.” Pavaso and its Digital Close platform have been approved by the CFPB for participation in the eClosing pilot program. “One of the prior issues with getting adoption for eClosing was providing the title and closing agents with a simple solution they could use to support their part of the closing process,” said Tim Anderson, director of eServices for DocMagic. “Pavaso has developed a system that can easily be implemented as a Web service, allowing all participants involved in the transaction to sign up, log on and use it.” On its Web site, the CFPB says it expects its new pilot program to make it easier for borrowers to understand the closing process, and give borrowers more time to review the closing documents while providing them time to find and fix errors in documents prior to closing. All of these goals relate to complaints the agency has received from consumers.
Housing’s Colo
Green
62% of firms building new single family homes report that they are doing more than 15% of their projects green. By 2018, 84% of them expect this level of green activity. 54% of firms building new multifamily projects report that they are doing more than 15% of their projects green. There is also growth expected—with 79% reporting the same level of activity anticipated by 2018. In the single family market, the most striking shift is in those firms dedicated to green building (doing more than 90% of their projects green). That percentage is already at 19%, and by 2018, it is expected to double (to 38%). The study finds that builders and remodelers in both the single family and multifamily sectors report that the market is recognizing the value of green: 73% of single family builders (up from 61% since the last report) and 68% of multifamily builders say consumers will pay more for green homes.
By Phil Hall new report is looking into real estate’s nearfuture, and it finds a predominant color: Green. According to the study, “Green Multifamily & Single Family Homes: Growth in a Recovering Market,” published by McGraw Hill Construction, builder and remodeler members of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) are reporting a strong increase in the volume of green building for single-family homes. The study finds that builders and remodelers in both the single family and multifamily sectors recognize the value of going
A
green: 73 percent of single family builders and 68 percent of multifamily builders say consumers will pay more for green homes. Furthermore, the study found the most striking shift in the single-family market involves firms dedicated to green building (defined by the study as “doing more than 90 percent of their projects green”). The current percentage is already at 19 percent and it is expected to double to 38 percent in four years. “Greater consumer interest in green homes has contributed to the ongoing growth, leading us to anticipate that by 2016, the green single family housing market alone will represent approximately 26 percent to 33 per-
cent of the market, translating to an $80 billion to $101 billion opportunity based on current forecasts,” said Harvey Bernstein, vice president of industry insights and alliances for McGraw Hill Construction. “The findings also suggest that lenders and appraisers may be starting to recognize the value of green homes, making it a factor that could help encourage the market to grow if there is more widespread awareness across the U.S.” However, some parts of the country have not yet caught the full whoosh of the green housing trend. “I don’t know if New York has a big area of green houses available,” said Heidi Frigano, executive vice president of marketing and business development
for Levittown, N.Y.-based United Northern Mortgage Bankers Ltd. “I don’t know if we’ve experienced that yet.” Jim Simcoe, CEO of Encinitas, Calif.based Simcoe Green Homes, acknowledged that the trend is only now rolling out on a wider basis. “Five years ago, I would have said it was more of a California and Seattle/Northwest trend,” Simcoe said. “As people become more educated on green housing and green building, the question becomes how valuable they think it is.” Simcoe stated that the growing interest in green housing could have a strong influence in stabilizing the housing market. “Without a doubt– there is too much opportunity and the
r of Tomorrow: offering incentives for mortgages on these homes.” Sorensen added that this development represents a win-win situation for builders, lenders and homeowners. “Anything we can do to make a home more energy efficient and use landscaping that will reduce water usage while maintaining an optically pleasing view will find few detractors,” Sorensen said. However, Brian Coester, chief exec-
utive officer of Rockville, Md.-based Coester Valuation Management Services, cautioned that the study’s definition of “green” could be a bit vague and broad. “They are not talking about ‘super green’ improvements, like solar panels,” Coester said. “It is more about using materials that are environmentally friendly and energy efficient. This is a natural next step, but it is not that 25 percent of homes will
soon be off the grid.” Still, Coester believed that the nearfuture of housing will have a greener hue. “We are heading in the right direction and getting close,” he added. “The fact they are talking about it is important.” Phil Hall is senior editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at philh@nmpmediacorp.com.
55
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
economics of it make too much sense right now,” Simcoe said. “It is a trend that people are definitely interest in. And there is no need to buy new homes–this can be done with existing housing.” Dr. John Beldock, executive director of the Association of Energy and Environmental Real Estate Professionals and CEO of EcoBroker International, both based in Evergreen, Colo., is supportive of the NAHB’s assertions on the power of the green housing market. “Depending on how one defines green housing market, that is not an unreasonable statement,” Dr. Beldock said. “It would not be unreasonable to suggest by that date, one-third of new construction would have some element of energy efficiency and/or renewable energy technologies or benefits–something as simple as Energy Star appliances or an energy efficient HVAC system. At the other end of the spectrum, might be more difficult to see one-third of houses produced by that have an energy rating on them by any one of a dozen home energy rating systems. Still, when lenders are lending on better assets to better buyers with better loans, it will improve the quality of housing market.” Kevin Kelly, chairman of the NAHB, and a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del., pointed out that green building trends differ between single-family and multifamily projects. “While growth in green in the single family market is driven more by high quality and customer demand, the multifamily market is more driven by cost factors, such as the availability of government or utility incentives, as well as enhancing their competitive position and corporate image,” Kelly said. “All are compelling reasons for the industry to engage with this continuously growing market.” “When one unveils the fact that this increased percentage in the green market represents an $80 to over $100 billion dollar opportunity, it is no great epiphany that builders would choose to jump on the green bandwagon,” said Chris Sorensen, director of mergers and acquisitions at Corona, Calif.-based Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG) and author of Financial Sense to White Picket Fence. “I believe the projections and I believe they will only increase. As the first-time homebuyer market takes off, this group will be lured to the builders who can afford to create a green image, others will quickly follow suit. What will be interesting is to see how long it will be before the FHFA is pressured into
2
CFPB Cautions Mortgage Brokers When Transitioning to Mini-Correspondent By Ray Hagan
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
56
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued supervisory and enforcement guidance regarding concerns that some mortgage brokers may be transitioning, or restructuring their business, to a mini-correspondent lender model under the belief that doing so would automatically alter or exempt them from important consumer protections affecting mortgage broker compensation. According to the CFPB, these “consumer protections” include provisions, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and the Truth-in-Lending Act (Regulation Z). In response to these concerns, the CFPB issued guidance of how it evaluates mortgage transactions involving mini-correspondent lenders and who must comply with broker compensation rules. Regulations X and Z apply certain requirements to mortgage broker compensation including compensation being disclosed on the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 Settlement Statement; inclusion of “points and fees” as compensation paid to a mortgage broker; restrictions on mortgage broker compensation; and the prevention of steering to increase mortgage broker compensation. A correspondent lender, according to the CFPB, performs the activities necessary to originate a mortgage loan such as processing an application, providing disclosures, underwriting loans, making the final credit decision, and closing and funding loans in its name and selling them to an investor. The CFPB states that it understands that “some entities may transition from being a mortgage broker to being a correspondent lender and, in so doing, may begin as a small correspondent with agreements with only a few investors” and “may start by obtaining a warehouse line of credit, typically from a thirdparty warehouse bank.” However, the issue here is mortgage brokers who may have not made the transition to a mini-correspondent lender model/rule and may be still operating as mortgage brokers. Since issuing the mandatory changes to Regulation X and Z as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB asserts that some mortgage brokers may be creating arrangements with wholesale lenders in which they appear to act as mini-correspondent lenders, but in essence are continuing to serve as the facilitator between a borrower and a wholesale lender. Under these arrangements, the CFPB states that the mortgage broker may appear to be the lender in each transaction by engaging in an activity as outlined in the “correspondent lender” definition described above. The CFPB says it will closely monitor the practices of mini-correspondents, including former mortgage brokers that have switched to this form, to ensure that the protections afforded to consumers are not being circumvented. “Before the financial crisis, consumers seeking mortgages were steered toward high-cost and risky loans that were not in the consumer’s interest,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said. “The CFPB’s rules on mortgage broker compensation are intended to protect consumers from this type of abuse. Today we are putting companies on notice that they cannot avoid those rules by calling themselves by a different name.” Ray Hagan is senior regulatory compliance analyst at AllRegs. First introduced in 1989, AllRegs is used by virtually all of the top 100 lenders as well as throughout numerous governmental agencies, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHLBs, FHA, VA, RHS, Ginnie Mae, and more. AllRegs is the exclusive electronic publisher of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Single and Multi-Family Seller/Servicer Guides and the Federal Home Loan Banks’ MPF Program Guidelines. Products include single and multifamily underwriting and insuring guidelines as well as federal compliance laws and regulations, state compliance laws and regulations with plain-language analyses, contract publishing services, and a library of historical guidelines. The educational division, AllRegs Academy, offers virtual and live training, as well as designation and online guides. The Professional Services Group develops custom guides, policy manuals, and other documents on a contract basis. For more information, call (800) 848-4904 or visit www.allregs.com.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
heard on the street continued from page 53
Vice President of Retail James Morin. “We have recognized that consumers and realtors need a local partner that offers a broad spectrum of products and common sense underwriting. The MidAtlantic market represents a great opportunity for Norcom Mortgage to grow so I am very pleased to have Jay Welsh and Kim Keller join our team.”
ReverseVision Bolsters RV Exchange With 700-Plus New Brokers
Reverse mortgage lending solutions provider ReverseVision has added 733 mortgage brokers to its RV Exchange (RVX) loan origination software between July 2013 and June 2014, including 379 brokers added in the first half of 2014. RVX is the leading independent reverse loan origination system and lending system of record for the majority of reverse lenders. “RV Exchange is the lending system of record for a majority of reverse lenders, so we monitor its privacy-protected aggregate data as a useful indicator for industry trends,” says Rob Katz, ReverseVision executive vice president. “Where these trends and data-backed insights are useful, we are pleased to share them with the industry in the interest of continuous improvement.” According to Katz, for example, although first half 2014 applications (approx. 32,000) through RV Exchange were 22 percent lower than in 2013 (approx. 41,000), loan closings for the same periods (approx. 14,000 and 18,500, respectively), were at a similar rate between 43 percent and 45 percent. “This is useful information for lenders and investors, since it shows that operationally and programmatically, the reverse mortgage is a stable, lowrisk product in origination,” said Katz. “At the same time, this kind of data help us better understand where the industry needs to focus its resources, which for now clearly is in the areas of education and marketing.”
Stewart Completes Acquisition of DataQuick Lending Solutions
Stewart has announced that it has completed the acquisition of DataQuick Lending Solutions’ collateral valuation assets. The transaction represents a significant expansion of Stewart’s mortgage services offerings to include valuation services. The completion of this transaction adds a robust suite of collateral valuation products to Stewart’s bundle of
mortgage services offerings. “We are thrilled to have DataQuick Lending Solutions’ team of industry experts officially join the Stewart family. Their breadth and depth of knowledge will help Stewart continue to become the leading mortgage services provider,” said Jason Nadeau, group president of Stewart. “These valuation products will complement Stewart’s existing product lines in support of home equity and first mortgage lending, as well as default and capital markets activities.”
LRES Expands Client Relations Division LRES has announced the expansion of its client relations division to increase client care and process efficiency to accommodate the influx of new client accounts. As part of the expansion, LRES has allocated additional resources toward the client relations division, adding more budget and personnel to support increased customer communications and additional client visits, calls and clientfacing promotional activities. Under the expanded client relations division, a new initiative was developed called the LRES 360 Program, which involves an increased and more strategic focus within the first 360 hours a new client comes on board. During this time, the client relations division works heavily with the operations and management divisions to ensure a smooth client onboarding process, tracking all new orders for appraisals to ensure they are processed and placed in time, following up with appropriate vendors to ensure they are fulfilling their duties, checking in on an hourly basis with operations to ensure all deadlines are met and confirming with clients that all completed orders have been seamlessly delivered. On an ongoing long-term basis, the expanded client relations division will place its additional resources toward more opportunities to connect with existing clients, increasing number of phone calls, visits, meetings, etc. The restructured approach has allowed the department to handle additional inventory and give more undivided attention toward all clients, no matter the size. “In order to accommodate our growth while ensuring that each and every client is getting the proper attention deserved, we added the strategy and the infrastructure in place that supports improved client relations,” said Roger Beane, CEO of LRES. “LRES is committed to its goal of being the business partner of choice, and our expanded client relations division greatly increases efficiency to better serve our new and existing clients.” continued on page 64
57
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
2
PRMG Gets Creative With National Advertising Campaign
The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales
By Paul Lucido
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
58
In their most recent national advertising campaign, Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG) uses Emerald Cup Championship bodybuilder Casey Bunce to leverage the company’s motto: “Built by originators for originators” by showcasing the company’s strengths, demonstrating that hard work, dedication and commitment can result in growth across the country in more ways than one. PRMG Chief Executive Officer Paul Rozo indicated that he wanted to set the company apart and stand out from the competition. Paul did not want the company to get lost in the somewhat overused advertising commonly seen throughout the mortgage industry. It is true the mortgage industry is typically littered with run-of-mill advertising lacking originality and freshness. A general rule of thumb is you only have about three seconds to get the reader’s attention. Therefore, you need something eye-catching to captivate the reader for that brief moment. It was then through a series of casual conversations and spinning “off the wall” ideas that both Paul Rozo and Paul Lucido, PRMG’s national marketing director, began to entertain the thought of using bodybuilding as a unique and expressive way of conveying strength, size and stability to speak to PRMG’s recent growth and expansion. Then the question came up: Would something of this nature be offensive to the company’s customers? Would they find it slightly inappropriate or provocative? Would they appreciate it for what it is? Hard to say perhaps? If you understand industry advertising, more often than not, its wide open to subjectivity and exercising measures of creative license. After much contemplation, it was becoming quite clear that adding a little “shock value” to their industry display ads might just prove to be a good thing, and more importantly, a great way to capture the reader’s attention amongst the repetitive and everyday ploys commonly used in advertising. The defining moment was when Rozo called upon his very close friend Casey Bunce, Emerald Cup Championship bodybuilder. Rozo explained to Casey the concept of having him represent PRMG in a series of mortgage industry ads. It was at this point that Casey agreed, no-holds-barred, to be the appointed showman, adding the captivating factor that Rozo was looking for! PRMG literally got pumped up on the idea and Lucido began to collaborate with his marketing department in developing a unique campaign that ultimately would showcase the company’s strengths in a fun and creative fashion—all while conveying the hardcore virtues of what it takes to being dedicated and committed toward building something successful. Again, sometimes you have to think outside of the box to set yourself apart from the humdrum. PRMG knew going into this campaign that it wasn’t for everybody. However, even if you do not have a sense of appreciation for the sport of bodybuilding itself—or if the idea of a super muscular human is not your thing—you’re going to stop and look. Whether you love it or hate it, you’re most likely going to remember it, and perhaps even talk about. “Good grief! Did you see that crazy bodybuilding building campaign that PRMG ran—what were they thinking?” PRMG continues to set itself apart from its competition by being “different”—we at PRMG are okay with that. Paul Lucido is national marketing director for Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG). He may be reached by phone at (951) 5476311 or e-mail plucido@prmg.net.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
Cross Your Fingers ... the New Fannie Mae “Fix” in Desktop Originator Appears to be Working! By Pam Marron Desktop Originator is now providing Approve/Eligible results1 for past short sellers where the short sale credit was coded as “FORECLOSURE.” A few details to be aware of for loan originators inputting these loans: 1. Run the file through Desktop Underwriter/Originator first. You may get an Approve/Eligible right away without having to go in for corrections. 2. If you are re-running a past submission, make sure to clear out the old case file ID# for cases run prior to 08/16/14. This is done in your loan operating system. 3. If you have just run the file through DU/DO Fannie Mae and are getting Refer with Caution: a. Within DU/Fannie Mae, go into “Edit Loan,” then “Full 1003” and then “Declarations.” b. Change answer to Question C to “Yes.” c. Click on the “Explanation” button at bottom right on “Declarations” page. 4. On the “Declarations Explanation” page in DU/Fannie Mae: a. If you are strictly trying to correct a FORECLOSURE code noted on findings for a short sale, enter on Line C: Confirmed CR FC Incorrect. b. If you have “Extenuating Circumstances” and are trying to get DU/Fannie Mae approval at two years after the short sale (and yes, DU can provide this, does not require manual underwrite!), enter on Line C: Confirmed CR FC EC. 5. Extenuating Circumstances2 can be found in the Fannie Mae Selling Guide under B3-5.3-08: Extenuating Circumstances for Derogatory Credit: Updated 07/29/14
B3-5.3-08, Extenuating Circumstances for Derogatory Credit (04/01/09) Introduction This topic provides information on extenuating circumstances for derogatory credit information.
Extenuating Circumstances Extenuating circumstances are non-recurring events that are beyond the borrower’s control that result in a sudden, significant and prolonged reduction in income or a catastrophic increase in financial obligations. If a borrower claims that derogatory information is the result of extenuating circumstances, the lender must substantiate the borrower’s claim. Examples of documentation that can be used to support extenuating circumstances include documents that confirm the event (such as a copy of a divorce decree, medical reports or bills, notice of job layoff, severance papers, etc.) and documents that illustrate factors that contributed to the borrower’s inability to resolve the problems that resulted from the event (such as a copy of insurance papers or claim settlements, property listing agreements, lease agreements, tax returns [covering the periods prior to, during, and after a loss of employment], etc.). The lender must obtain a letter from the borrower explaining the relevance of the documentation. The letter must support the claims of extenuating circumstances, confirm the nature of the event that led to the bankruptcy or foreclosure-related action, and illustrate the borrower had no reasonable options other than to default on their financial obligations.
Clarification needed in writing
Discrimination still exists towards past FNMA SEL docs and directives3 wait short sellers timeframe if home included in a bankruptcy is four years from bankruptcy discharge date. However, further directive given for minimum two-year wait after a short sale. If short sold property was included in the bankruptcy, but then later sold as a short sale, which wait timeframe guidelines apply? Discrepancy between underwriting opinion exists, even though this scenario results in Approve/Eligible.
Distinguishing the difference between â&#x20AC;&#x153;Extenuating Circumstanceâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hardshipâ&#x20AC;? l Hardship must be present to receive short sale approval from lender. l Past short seller must often prove hardship again to lender upon applying for new mortgage. l Extenuating circumstances are nonrecurring events that are beyond the borrowerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s control that result in a sudden, significant, and prolonged reduction in income or a catastrophic increase in financial obligation. l Extenuating circumstance can be the hardship.
Underwriters, especially those who have not seen a good number of these case files, often question hardship, especially when there was a bankruptcy prior or payments were made until the short sale. The perception is â&#x20AC;&#x153;if they were making payments, they must have had the resources. Therefore, when they stopped, it must have been strategic default.â&#x20AC;? Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the reality: Good credit is of utmost importance to the vast majority of consumers. The vast majority of underwater homeowners who have short sold have borrowed from retirement assets, other available credit and others just to stay afloat and to stay current on their mortgage to try and keep intact good credit they know will be detrimentally affected. Now if we could just get Freddie Mac to do the same â&#x20AC;Ś Visit http://goo.gl/NXNZ47 for loan officer directions and more details. Pam Marron is senior loan officer with Innovative Mortgage Services Inc. She may be reached by phone at (727) 375-8986 or e-mail pmarron@tampabay.rr.com.
Footnotes 1â&#x20AC;&#x201D;https://www.fanniemae.com/content/release_notes/du-do-release-notes-08162014.pdf. 2â&#x20AC;&#x201D;https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide/selling/b3/5.3/08.html. 3â&#x20AC;&#x201D;https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide/selling/b3/5.3/09.html.
59
tales from the closing table
Regulatory updates â&#x20AC;Ś
tant process of choosing a loan that is right for them.
On the lighter side â&#x20AC;Ś A mortgage branch manager was standing by the desk of a new mortgage loan originator when the telephone rang. The junior salesman answered, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, no, no, no, yes, no,â&#x20AC;? and hung up. The branch manager questioned him immediately. What had he said â&#x20AC;&#x153;yesâ&#x20AC;? to? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t worry,â&#x20AC;? said the new man reassuringly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; only when he asked me if I was still listening.â&#x20AC;?
And then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s this from the late Johnny Carson â&#x20AC;Ś â&#x20AC;&#x153;Any time four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place.â&#x20AC;? Andrew Liput is president and CEO of Secure Settlements Inc., a company he founded after nearly 10 years studying the problem of escrow and closing fraud and the uninsured risks associated with mortgage closing professionals. He may be reached by e-mail at aliput@securesettlements.com.
"! !
+*)('&%)$#"!) ) *'%"& ) " )& !") % ) $')% ") " ! ! ! $*) !" % * ) )&%!" )$ ) !&%)% " $ ") ' "!&)% %)*"#"!)"#"*) *" )% " ) $' ' $!) &$ "
! ! !
N ) $ $*) ! $'%) " $ * ) ' "!& $' !") $ * )%$) ")& $ " )% &) &%
N ) %)%$)& ) "*)%$)& ) % ) * ) ) ) )+ ) N ) $ )%$) $!) $'!)%$ )!" )"&% %") "*%& N ) $ ) !")#"! ) "!"*%)% *) ))))
FREE INSTANT WEBINAR
38 MINUTES TO MORE PURCHASE DEALS!
nmpwebinar.lifeafterreďŹ .com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
The American Land Title Association (ALTA) has a clever countdown clock on its Web site home page marking the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the integrated mortgage disclosure rule goes into effect. Last I checked, it was 345 days and counting. The rule integrates forms required under the Truthin-Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA). The two new forms, one which consumers will receive shortly after applying for a loan and one which they will receive shortly before closing, use plain language and design to make it easier for consumers to locate key information such as the interest rate, monthly payments, and the costs to close the loan. And they make it easier to compare the initial estimate to the final costs. Starting Aug. 1, 2015, mortgage lenders must use the new forms and homebuyers will be able to more clearly understand what they are getting intoâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;the terms of the loan, their obligations, and what could possibly change. The CFPB believes that consumers will be more empowered to take a more informed and active role in the impor-
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
continued from page 42
Are Home Improvement Projects on the Rise?
appeared to be dispelled when the Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) of Harvard University released their forecast on Jan. 16, 2014. According to the JCHS forecast, home remodeling projects will continue to rise “at double-digit pace.” The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) also predicted $153.8 billion worth of expenditure on major remodeling projects well into the third quarter of 2014.
The optimistic 2014 outlook
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
60
By Paul Kazlov The home improvement industry is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. Dedicated to providing superior home or residential renovation, those in the home improvement industry offer a myriad of services that include remodeling, repair, replacement and other home improvement projects that will increase the comfort level of every homeowner’s living space.
The Recession With the advent of various recessions that started back in December of 2007, the U.S. economy has suffered some serious setbacks. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 8.7 million jobs were shed from February 2008 to February 2010, and the unemployment rate skyrocketed from 4.7 percent to 10 percent by October 2009. In the meantime, the burst of the housing bubble also caused a sudden collapse in home valuations, forcing the nation’s mortgage, home building and construction, and real estate markets to experience further setbacks.
Optimistic public opinion about home improvement trend Despite the nationwide economic plummet,
the home improvement industry seemed to experience a fast comeback. As the February 2012 Houzz & Home Survey reported, efforts to recover the collapsed housing market have been met with a renewed public interest in home remodeling and improvement projects over the next two years. In an interview with Forbes.com, Brian Lucas of Bloc architecture also claimed to have witnessed an increase in the number of home renovation inquiries over the past few years. When recounting his meeting with a group of 20 architects and designers from the American Institute of Architects chapter CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network) in Orlando, Lucas shared that there is a general consensus about the potential steady return of the housing market and an increase demand in home improvement projects. Although Lucas has said that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the future, Mark Demerly, an Indianapolis architect, is more than happy to voice his optimism. According to Demerly, the strong growth in his business has made him believe that the worst is over. At the time of the interview, Demerly’s fourperson firm was working on 50 home improvement projects. Feeling encouraged by the substantial project growth, Demerly went as far as to calling the setback in past years a “hiccup” that will
not be an issue anymore. Regardless whether the outlook is cautiously optimistic or extremely positive, the public seems to hold an overall optimistic outlook to the future of the home improvement industries. Results collected by the more credible institutions seem to agree with popular opinions.
Home improvement on the rise A study published by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies in July of 2013 has confirmed the strengthening of the housing market over the past 18 months has led to increased spending on home improvement projects. As Eric S. Belsky, the Center’s managing director shared, “Consumer confidence scores are back to pre-recession levels … the growth in sales of existing homes is providing more opportunities for these improvement projects.” In the same study, Kermit Baker, the director of the Remodeling Futures Program also agreed that the growth for home improvement projects is imminent. However, adding a word of caution, Baker also suggested that, as housing starts to level off in the second quarter and financial costs began to edge off, the frequency of home improvement projects may decrease. However, even the slightest pessimism
When the 2014 housing market experienced a slight slowdown after a strong start, those in the home improvement industry also felt slight frustrations in attaining their double-digit growth. While the updated report from the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) continued to confirm a solid growth in the home remodeling market, sluggishness in the housing market may induce “a deceleration of home improvement spending from double-digit annual growth through the third quarter to a year-over-year gain in the high single digits by the end of the year.” In addressing the public concern, Eric S. Belsky, the managing director of Joint Center, did not see the momentary sluggishness as a big problem in the future. Calling the slowdown a temporary phenomenon, Belsky and many others remain optimistic that the home improvement industry will continue to experience steady growth with the double-digit growth tailing off to its longer-term average in the higher end of single-digit range. Nonetheless, even with the initial weak first quarter, many are not buying into the moderate momentum proposition. About a month after LIRA released the revision of their forecast, the Hanley Wood Economists delivered their opinion by arguing for a speedup, instead of a slowdown, in the growth rate of home improvement projects. Basing their claims on the Residential Remodeling Index (RRI), chief economists are calling the economic sluggishness in Quarter 1 insignificant. The fact that the RRI came in just a tenth of a point behind its forecast was the mere result of various labor and material delays experienced in the home improvement industry. The Home Improvement Research Institute echoed a similar sentiment by also forecasting acceleration in home improvement product/service sales. According to researchers, “We expect total home improvement sales to increase by 6.5 percent in 2014.”
The future of home improvement projects Even with the volatile economy, homeowners are making home upkeep a priority in their lives. As the economy recovers, it is no surprise for those in the home improvement/remodeling industry to experience strong growth well into the future. Paul Kazlov is a “green” home remodeling enthusiast and an industry pioneer for innovation in home renovation. Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulKazlov or e-mail paulk@globalhomeinc.com.
61
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
REDUCED RISK FOR WHOLESALE AND CORRESPONDENT LENDERS
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
NAPMW REPORT S E P T E M B E R
2 0 1 4
ALABAMA MORTGAGE PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION
TAKING CHARGE OF CHANGE WITH AMPA
2014 ANNUAL CONVENTION September 24th and 25th, 2014
The Embassy Suites Hotel, 2960 John Hawkins Parkway, Hoover AL 35244
A note from the NAPMW Eastern Region Does your business need a boost? Are you looking for an avenue to get recharged? If so, the NAPMW Eastern Region has just the thing for you! The Eastern Region is excited to announce its Eastern Region Fall Conference, set for Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 2-4 at the Hilton Dulles Airport in Herndon, Va. The Conference has been designed to bring industry professionals education that will have a positive impact on their personal and professional lives. The event will kick-off with a Networking Reception on Thursday evening, and then launch into a day of high-profile, high-energy speakers, including:
Join us for Golf Tournament with lunch, President’s Buffett Reception, Casino Night, NMLS 8-hour CE Class with guest speakers and lunch
For info or questions Contact Tammy Kirkland: tammykirkland@bellsouth.net 205-663-9696
www.almba.org
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
62
l Steve Richman of Genworth Mortgage Insurance will be entertaining, while delivering creative selling and marketing techniques. l Jan Fox, an award-winning author and speaker will be the keynote speaker at lunch and will bring her TweakSpeaks to an afternoon breakout session. This session is one you will not want to miss! Jan will give her industry insights on how to tweak your “sales pitch” on the spot and in front of a large group, as well as being packed with other insightful tips for a graceful delivery. l Leonard Kiefer, chief economist for Freddie Mac, will give an industry update on the economy and how it will impact your business currently and for the future. Conference participation is open to both NAPMW members and non-members who have an interest in elevating their career through powerful education, networking and leadership. You are encouraged to register early and may do so online at http://goo.gl/06U7N1. For additional information, contact Nikki Gilbert-Bell by phone at (678) 298-2100 or e-mail ngilbert@closingsource.net.
taking the lead How to Maximize Production Opportunities With Data
By Jonathan Blackwell
It’s 2014 and you are still managing your pipeline via an ordinary Excel spreadsheet … why? While you are dutifully logging your contact attempts in your spreadsheet, the originator down the road is clicking a button in his CRM to auto-dial a prospect. He’s capturing more than just contact attempts, he’s capturing the exact time called, how long the con-
Another head-scratcher has always been the database e-mail blast. Your database does not need or want your 4th of July email blast. Seriously, why? There’s no value for anyone and all it does is to illustrate that you send unimportant e-mails. Sending useless mass e-mails encourages database apathy. It shows them that you send unimportant e-mails, and therefore, they don’t have to open them. Send enough useless garbage and you get the dreaded “Unsubscribe.” If you want to wish your database a Happy 4th of July, send them a handwrit-
Get social (even if you automate it) I don’t have time to play around on social media. Yeah, neither did I, but that didn’t stop me from building a huge Facebook Fan Page following. It didn’t stop me from collecting a bunch of Twitter followers despite NOT ONCE ever posting or reading anything on Twitter itself. The goal is to use technology to stay in contact with past customers, potential leads, referral partners and referral partner targets. Most CRMs include social data, and services like Rappaportive allow you to collect ALL of targets social channels with their email. From there, setting up simple monitoring of Facebook status changes, Twitter #hashtags, new boards on Pinterest, or my favorite, job change announcements on LinkedIn. To stay engaged and provide a traffic boost for your content, you can use one of the many social scheduling tools– Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout, etc.–to preschedule three to four weeks of postings in less than an hour.
Break out big and little data Using big and little data correctly will boost your sales. Employing data-driven marketing campaigns and setting up “instance” triggered communications are two logical starting points, but don’t stop there. Apply data technologies to lead and pipeline management to monitor resources, discover weak links and bottlenecks in the production chain. Use data to project profitability and manage operations resources too. Most importantly, use data to provide value to your customers and prospects. Creating data-driven, visual content about your local housing market or even hyper-local environments like a single neighborhood or street builds your authority. Visual content is consumed and shared more frequently than traditional written content. It expands the reach of your marketing message, establishes expertise and builds both authority and trust (if done correctly). Big data, once restricted to big enterprise, is now accessible and affordable for small business owners, sales teams and even individual mortgage originators. The Data Renaissance is in full swing. You have two choices: Ignore the data revolution or embrace it. If you choose the latter, you will be well on your way to taking the lead. Jonathan Blackwell is chief engagement officer for BoldCopy.net. Jonathan may be reached by phone at (404) 551-3845 or email jonathan.blackwell@gmail.com.
63
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Retire the Excel Spreadsheet
Kill, with prejudice, the database mass e-mail
ten note with a bottle of their favorite wine. The latter is dually noted in your CRM right? CRM, social and e-mail marketing technologies have driven database communication to a micro level. Your database should be more than a collection of names and numbers. It should be a crystal ball into what future communications your segmented database will find MOST valuable.
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
The proverbial noose is tightening across the mortgage industry. Profit-perloan is down dramatically, hovering near a range where the word “profit” can be removed from the description. Originations are sitting at 2009 levels, despite the continuation of low interest rates. More importantly, over one-third of homes with a mortgage now have rates below four percent, according to CoreLogic estimates. The purchase market has arrived and will not be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. With refinance origination volume on its death bed, profit-per-loan down and purchase originations plodding along, it is imperative that you seize opportunity when it presents itself. Not only do you need to maximize each and every customer and referral partner interaction, you also need to carefully manage your production resources and pipeline. Luckily, technology and data are there to help you. You just have to deploy it.
versation lasted and taking CRM notes that will help his team dominate customer service. Our tech-based originator decided to make that prospecting call because he saw that the prospect was engaging with interactive presentation sent the day before. He snagged the lead because he set-up social media monitoring for his referral partners and client database to make sure to capture any life events that may necessitate a new loan. Johnny Prospect had changed his Facebook relationship status to “Engaged” setting off one of the many automated triggers and a chain of events for our techbased loan officer. Of course, our tech-driven LO reached out to “congratulate” Johnny on getting engaged. He also casually discussed potential homebuying plans for the newly engaged prospect and moved him straight to the pre-approval stage … mission accomplished.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
64
Brian Karoff is the digital marketing manager for BetterLoanOfficers.com, a powerful and easy-to-use online loan officer review management system. Loan officers can collect, manage and promote their views in order to build trust, secure more referral relationships and close more deals. Brian is a dynamic leader and entrepreneur working with business leaders and executives from all over the world. He has worked with Chet Holmes and Tony Robbins in producing the Ultimate Business Mastery System and consults clients on business growth through marketing and technology.
SPONSORED EDITORIAL
New American to Implement Black Knight’s MSP Platform
Black Knight Financial Services announced that New American Funding has signed a five-year contract to implement MSP, Black Knight’s mortgage and consumer loan servicing platform, to support New American Funding’s growing servicing business. MSP, used by financial institutions to manage all servicing processes, including loan boarding, escrow administration, investor reporting and more, gives servicers the ability to meet all mortgage and consumer loan servicing needs for any size portfolio. New American Funding is moving its mortgage loans from its current sub-servicing provider to be serviced in-house on MSP. The MSP platform provides significant scalability that can easily support New American Funding’s planned expansion of its servicing portfolio over the next few years. New American Funding is a Fannie Mae Direct Seller/Servicer, a Freddie Mac Direct Seller/Servicer, has FHA Direct Endorsement—HUD Approved, and is a VA automatic mortgage lender. “With Black Knight’s powerful technology capabilities, we are confident that the decision to bring our servicing in-house will help us expand our mortgage busi-
Mortgage Professionals to Watch
MILLER
Personal branding is about who you are and what you stand for. When a personal brand identity is developed, it creates a story, and when developed correctly, a purposeful story that others can connect, trust, share and refer too. Personal branding has taken on a major role in marketing because of the ability to grow and nurture online communities with the purpose of building sustainable networks. These networks are critical when bridging the gap between mortgage professionals, real estate agents and consumers. When we look at content marketing that involves creating and sharing media and publishing content, we cannot just look at the company brand to accomplish it all on its own. A great way to build and align substantial brand value is to give each unique individual inside the company, no matter how big or small, a voice, program and platform to best develop their brand and tell their stories, build their audience and grow their networks. By doing this effectively and efficiently, we create a culture that we position and leverage as the backbone to our content marketing strategy. We begin by educating them on guiding principles and build training to assist them, followed up with accountability. A brand’s value is considered the sum total of all positive and negative experiences and the same is true as individuals and professionals. When we receive positive reviews from our clients, it’s a collection of stories we can amplify to grow our networks and become trusted advisors. Marketers who invest into a systematic approach that can tie the two parts together, personal branding with content marketing, can build an ecosystem of content producers and distribution channels that will ultimately drive more profitable customer action. If you’re interested in learning more about personal branding, please visit http://blog.betterloanofficers.com/personal-branding.
Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative has added Informative Research as its newest preferred provider. Lenders One Members now have additional access, at a discounted rate, to mortgage information services including tri-merge credit reports, fraud detection, credit score management tools and more. “Lenders One continuously optimizes our vendor network to ensure our Members have best-in-class options that give them the control and flexibility they need to efficiently run their operations and serve their borrowers,” said Jeff McGuiness, CEO of Lenders One. “Informative Research offers Lenders One Members a broad, compliant range of products with the exceptional service levels they and their borrowers expect.” “Informative Research is dedicated to offering Lenders One Members timely, market-desirable solutions like SoftQual which provides a ‘soft-pull’ FICO Score on a consumer based report,” commented Stan Baldwin, COO of Informative Research. As a Tier One provider of credit reports, we own and control our tri-merge logic allowing us to quickly adhere to regulatory standards and ensure our customers remain compliant, a critical standard for Lenders One Members.”
ness,” said Christy Bunce, chief operating officer for New American Funding. “The proven stability and functionality of MSP, along with Black Knight’s commitment to helping improve compliance and risk management, will help position us for greater operational success.”
l Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG) has announced the hiring of Julia Miller as retail branch manager for Las Vegas.
LANAGAN
By Brian Karoff
Informative Research Joins Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative
SMITH
The critical piece to content marketing
continued from page 56
l HomeBridge Wholesale announced that Kim Lanagan has joined the company as regional sales manager for the Midwest/New England territory, and Brad Smith has joined the company as the regional sales manager of the Southeast territory.
FITZGERALD
2
Personal Branding
heard on the street
l National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI), a subsidiary of NMI Holdings Inc., has announced the appointment of William Leatherberry as general counsel. National MI has also announced the hiring of Norm Fitzgerald as senior vice president of field sales. l HomeBridge Financial Services Inc. has added eight new mortgage loan originators to its California operations: Carolyn Ente’ in Stockton, Calif.; Celina Toscano in Los Angeles, Calif.; Hratch Kirikian in Los Angeles, Calif.; Kim Stromberg in San Diego, Calif.; Linda Holman in Fresno, Calif.; Michael Gilmore in Fresno, Calif.; Valentino Kim in Los Angeles, Calif.; and Yvonne Ybarra in Irvine, Calif.
COOKE JR. DUNLEAVY
l Nikhil Kanodia has joined Greystone as a managing director. l Pro Teck Valuation Services has named Matt Jenkins executive vice president of client relations. Pro Teck has also announced that Todd Gerspach has joined the company as chief operating officer. l Stonegate Mortgage Corporation has announced that Jennifer Pressley has been appointed to the role of vice president of internal audits to formulate and execute the internal audit plan and long-term strategy related to financial and operational compliance. l Caliber Home Loans has announced the appointment of Michael Brown as senior vice president of its national builder division.
Dear Mortgage Professional, I have some very exciting news for members of NAMB— The Association of Mortgage Professionals … NAMBPLUS.COM is now open! The NAMB+ Board has been working very hard on this project, and I am pleased to announce that you can now access this fantastic, NAMB members only* benefit for you to use. This newly launched Web site includes all of the companies that are giving some type of benefit to our members with cost savings for their products (see summaries of NAMB+ Endorsed Providers below). Yes, you might not need for all of these services, but one of the things that I had in mind when NAMB+ was created was to give members some type of benefit that can help you as an originator or you as an owner. Now, this site is a secured site and is available for use by members of NAMB. Here are the instructions for you to be able to access the NAMB+ Web site. Your User Name to get in is your first initial and last name. Example,
Agility Media offers NAMB members 20% off account setup or social media setup.
Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites its readers to submit any information, events, passages, promotions, personal or professional occurrences that seem appropriate and/or other pertinent data to the attention of: Heard on the Street/Mortgage Professionals to Watch column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.
Don Frommeyer as a member would enter in “dfrommeyer.” The Password is your member number (example: 3452654). So what if you do not know your Member Number? You will need to sign into the NAMB.org Web site and go into the “Membership” section to get your membership number. That is all you have to do. All of the contact information is there for you to begin using this new member benefit. Let us know how you like it!
Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS, President NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals president@namb.org www.joinnamb.com See below for a complete listing of the current NAMB+ Endorsed Providers and visit NAMBPLUS.COM for more information.
NAMB members receive a 19% discount for CopyTalk services.
If you want a social and mobile marketing strategy that gets noticed contact Social5 today for a FREE consultation and demo and to receive your NAMB member discount pricing.
NAMB members receive a 15% discount on all Custom Canvas Prints products and services! BetterLoanOfficers.com is free to get started with the option to upgrade if you’d like. As an NAMB member optional upgrades are discounted by 10%.
NAMB members get special pricing plus 1 month FREE.
As an NAMB member, Birchwood Credit Services will waive the sign up fees! It’s a “NO RISK” way to experience the Birchwood difference firsthand!
NAMB members receive a discount off Brokers Compliance Group compliance support programs.
BusinessETouchCRM provides a Cloud based CRM for only $29.95 a month for NAMB members.
NAMB Members receive a 10% discount off regular prices for all CallFurst.com products and services.
The Bond Exchange is a national surety agency specializing in providing mortgage license bonds to thousands of mortgage professionals across the country.
LoanTek’s platform is designed to save time, create better leads, and convert leads into new business. USA Business Lending is the nation’s premier brokerage firm representing over 3500 lenders. NAMB members get a $300 discount on coaching. NAMB members receive exclusive discounts training events, including live seminars and internet-based web shops
NAMB members receive a 10% discount on Path2Buy’s one-on-one coaching service.
NAMB Members will receive a Twenty-Five Percent (25%) discount off of the regular price with their NAMB Membership.
*If you are not a NAMB member please visit NAMB.org and join today to gain access to NAMBPLUS.com and the many benefits NAMB members receive!
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
LoanSquatch allows NAMB members to reduce their monthly pricing from $19.99 per month to $9.99 per month and the first month is just 99 cents!
65
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
l Kevin Cooke Jr. has joined LenderLive Network Inc. as senior vice president of business development of the company’s Loan Servicing Division. LenderLive has also announced that Jim Dunleavy has joined the firm as regional account executive in the Midwest region for the company’s correspondent lending division. LenderLive has also announced that Larry Hudnall has joined the firm as senior vice president, national sales manager of the company’s Settlement Services Division. l 360 Mortgage Group has announced that it has hired Shane O’Dell as its new Western regional manager. l DocuTech Corp. has promoted Ben Cornett to the role of lead sales and marketing engineer. l GSF Mortgage has added Robert Scolnick as branch manager in the company’s Boynton Beach, Fla. location. GSF has also opened its first branch in Casper, Wyo., and the new branch will be led by Brenda Sanders. l Supreme Lending has announced the opening of a branch in Sacramento, Calif., to be led by industry veteran Scott Bruns as branch manager for the new location. l Churchill Mortgage has added Laura Fellman as its newest senior vice president of operations. l LRES has promoted Susheel Mantha to the position of chief financial officer, where she will be responsible for overseeing the financial activities and accounting practices of the company. LRES has also named Don Mask, formerly LRES’ chief financial officer, to the position of chief administration officer. l Earle Thompson has been promoted to the position of senior vice president, agency division with WFG National Title Insurance Company. l Inlanta Mortgage has added several new loan officers and supporting staff members to its growing team, including Loan Officer Jack LeRose to its Brookfield, Wis. office; Loan Officer Ann Becker in Madison, Wis.; Loan Officer Kurt Waltenberger in the Hales Corners, Wis. office; Niramith Kwanruck joins the Inlanta Mortgage office in Madison, Wis. as a loan processor and Christina Festa, also a loan processor, joins the Janesville, Wis. branch office. The Grand Rapids, Mich. branch welcomes Marketing
Director Katrina Cole, and Ericka Puzia recently began with the Brookfield, Wis. office as an administrative assistant. Jamie Porto joined the Sarasota, Fla. office as an administrative assistant. l Capsilon announced that V.J. Anand has joined the firm’s leadership team as chief technology officer. l Ernst Publishing Company announced that Chris Dufault, an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience, will join the company as director of product management. l Informative Research has announced the appointment of Jane House as director of portfolio solutions to lead a nationwide portfolio risk and retention department.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Publicly available information published by the NMLS indicates that the overall pass rate for the national SAFE Act test was 64 percent for the period of April 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, a period that encompassed over 40,000 test events.â&#x20AC;?
Certified or Qualified: Who Are You Hiring? By Michael McNulty Since its passage in July 2008, the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing (SAFE) Act has forever changed the mortgage industry for loan originators not employed by exempt organizations, such as financial institutions regulated by the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). To maintain compliance with the regulation, loan originators at both depository and non-depository institutions are required to register with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
66
A TEAM IS BEHIND EVERY WINNER We Offer Wholesale Lending, Correspondent Lending and Aggregation Partnering. t 8F IFMQ ZPV TFS WF ZPVS DVTUPNFST BOE FBSO NPSF SFWFOVF t :PVS øFYJCMF QBS UOFS GSPN PSJHJOBUJPOT TFS WJDJOH TFDVSJUJ[BUJPO UP 3&0 BTTFU NBOBHFNFOU t 'BTUFTU DMPTJOH MPBOT JO UIF JOEVTUS Z t .BSLFU MFBEJOH QSJDJOH t "EWBODFE ZFU øFYJCMF UFDIOPMPHZ t $POUJOVFE FEVDBUJPO USBJOJOH BOE NBSLFUJOH TVQQPS U
System and Registry (NMLS). From there, all similarities between the requirements applied to these two types of originators end. Non-depository originators are initially required to satisfactorily complete a minimum of twenty hours of pre-licensing education, pass a national examination created specifically to ensure a level of minimum competency is achieved, and to further complete a minimum of eight hours of continuing education annually. The vast majority of the industry utilizes one of the 125 independent NMLS-approved providers, such as TrainingPro or ProSchools, for this training, while the testing is securely administered through a third-party provider. Since implementation, this outside, unbiased validation has played a crucial role in establishing and maintaining a credible process to satisfy the requirements of the SAFE Act. In 2010, Congress adopted an additional provision as part of DoddFrank that requires all loan originators to meet a standard of being â&#x20AC;&#x153;qualified.â&#x20AC;? The regulations the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) adopted to implement this provision do not specifically require the training and testing of depository institution loan originators. Instead, they merely impose general training requirements on said loan originators commensurate with their responsibilities as determined by in-house compliance advisors. It is important to note that this lack of scrutiny as it applies to certification is not the norm at depository institutions. In fact, individuals engaged in the sale and disposition of
investment and insurance products at these same financial institutions are required to successfully complete a licensing examination and undergo an annual or bi-annual continuing education program. Further, every other significant step in the homebuying process is serviced by a licensed individual, to include the real estate agent, the home appraiser, and the home inspector. Only the largest investment many Americans will ever make is left to an individual that may not possess the ability to demonstrate the competency that a non-depository loan originator accepts as a vital part of establishing themselves in the industry. Publicly available information published by the NMLS indicates that the overall pass rate for the national SAFE Act test was 64 percent for the period of April 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, a period that encompassed over 40,000 test events. The 2013 annual report issued by the State Regulatory Registry LLC indicates that there are more than 400,000 loan originators at depository institutions, compared to only 125,000 at nondepository institutions. Applying the available pass rate to depository loan originators indicates that there may be as many as 150,000 loan originators practicing in the industry that would never pass an examination designed to establish minimum competency. Michael McNulty is executive vice president of financial services for Hunt Valley, Md.-based OnCourse Learning Corporation. He may be reached by phone at (410) 628-1060, ext. 7202 or email mmcnulty@oncourselearning.com
Become a Partner
888-471-7191 partners.rmsnav.com NMLS Unique Identifier: 107636
www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com
“Establish a level of trust by setting the expectation at the end of the presentation that you will be following up, and then doing it.”
Seven Steps to Achieving Great Results From Your Presentations By Jack Kauffman The shift from a refi market to purchase market has loan originators out in the marketplace more than ever. As a result, they are making more presentations … or at least they should be! When it comes to getting the most out of this opportunity, there are seven important tips LOs will want to keep in
mind when presenting to groups of real estate agents.
1. Know your audience Do this by taking the time to research. Google those who will be attending and check out their personal Web pages, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. Gather
information that will help you better relate to your audience on a personal level, as well as a professional one as well. This research will also help you present pertinent information that matters more to those in attendance. Don’t leave anything to chance by only relying on your memory. Create a spreadsheet to help track the information gleaned from your research Some pieces to track are if they have kids, their hometown, alma mater, hobbies, interests, pets, etc.
2. Know the value of the meeting During your research, you’ll find out the
amount of business each person in the audience has generated in the past. Once you see the incredible business potential in one room alone you will be less likely to “wing it” and more likely to have a plan in place.
3. Look the part We all know that confidence sells and your appearance can have a lot to do with this. Even more so, how you feel about your appearance matters even more! Be sure that you overdress for the occasion. Wear your best suit and continued on page 68
67
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
See Website for details @ www.normandy.com
seven steps to achieve great results continued from page 67
polish your shoes. If needed, get your hair done before the presentation. Don’t let the way you look take away from how you come across while in front of the group. Use this as an opportunity to impress them.
4. Open the presentation effectively
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
68
Most people approach this very important piece in a way that could actually be their “kiss of death.” Don’t make the mistake of using your opening only as an opportunity to share your resume. Instead, your goal should be to quickly share a few personal pieces about yourself that will help people connect. This is even more effective when you leverage information from your research and reference what you have in common with the audience. Top off your opening by communicating why you are there. Again, the purpose is not to talk about yourself or give your resume. Your goal is to help them get more business, educate them and make them better at what they do. It also enables you to get their buy-in. This approach gives you the chance
to differentiate yourself from the competition.
5. Provide educational pieces that are short, informative and to the point There is a fine balance between delving too far into the details and not far enough. Your goal is to give enough detail so they know you’re competent and are comfortable asking you questions. If you get too detailed, they might be reluctant to ask any questions due to fear of the presentation running longer. We also recommend you create a one-page handout to distribute at the beginning of your presentation for the audience to use as a reference. Incorporate a “fill in the blanks” style for the document. This reinforces the key pieces you want to drive home, while keeping everyone focused on what you are saying so they don’t miss anything.
their presentations by simply thanking everyone for their time. There is so much opportunity being left on the table if you finish that way. Add one more piece to the equation that allows you to continue building off of the momentum created during the presentation. Close your presentation by announcing that you will be following up with them to schedule breakfast, lunch, or a 10-minute appointment and then take a moment to “unplug” the audience. This “unplugging” is an acknowledgment that they all most likely have relationships with an LO already. Let them know you respect this relationship, but would be honored to be an alternative or a back-up if their current LO is out of town or unavailable.
7. Actually follow up
Within 24 hours, you need to have contacted each individual from the audience in an effort to schedule an appointment. Establish a level of trust by setting the expectation at the end of the presentation that you will be following up, and then doing it. Whether you actually speak to them or reach their voicemail begin by referencing 6. Announce your you are following up as promised. follow up People choose to do business with othThis tip is by far the most important. ers for three reasons … they know you, The vast majority of LOs wrap up like you and trust you. During your
presentation, the audience has a chance to get to know you. When you leverage the information learned during your research and mention things you have in common with the audience they are more likely to begin liking you. Trust begins to form during the presentation and is further reinforced when you deliver on your word and follow up. All three reasons are further reinforced when you have the opportunity to sit down with each individual as those appointments begin to take place. By incorporating these seven tips into your presentations, you will make a more solid first impression that opens doors. Through your follow up activities, you’ll establish a reputation by proving you do what you say you’re going to do. Jack Kauffman is a program manager at XINNIX, the Mortgage Academy, based in Alpharetta, Ga. Jack relies on his 15 years in mortgage and commercial finance experience to deliver training programs that elevate our client’s results through the training of new loan officers, developing the skills of seasoned loan officers and providing leadership strategies for managers. He can be reached by e-mail at jkauffman@xinnix.com.
NMP Daily is the mortgage industry's source for news, insights, trends and tips. It keeps subscribers informed of the regulatory and legislative updates, latest industry happenings and breaking news about the mortgage technologies and services.
WWW.NATIONALMORTGAGEPROFESSIONAL.COM
“For a guy with no class, I sure do have to take a lot of classes.”
A Classy Guy By Eric Weinstein
Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. In 1995, he started a small mortgage company in his basement called Carteret Mortgage Corporation, which in 2003, grew to one of the largest mortgage broker companies in the United States. These days, Eric is semi-retired, doing mortgages by referral only. As he likes to put it, “He is either saving people money per month or helping them buy a new home. What a great job!” He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or email eweinstein4u@gmail.com.
69
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
to know. They really don’t want to get to know you personally and maybe send you all their business in the future. Get over yourself. That is the only reason they agree to talk to you. To impress her, I told her all about the borrower’s finances, credit score and how it would be a hard deal, but I was a very good loan officer and could probably get the deal done. I took 15 minutes, but the selling agent eventually called me to yell for divulging the borrower’s personal financial information. He was absolutely right. When speaking to a listing agent, the title company or anyone for that matter, be very vague and do not talk about your borrower’s personal information. I had a very good friend whose wife passed away. I was a little late and had to sit at the back of the church service. There was a lot of crying going on and my friend was visibly shaken. Just then, my phone rings and it was set to loud. The ring tone was “Another One Bites the Dust.” I quickly turned it off as everyone started looking around for the culprit. After the service, my friend comes up to me and he talks about the insensitivity of some people. I agreed wholeheartedly. After that, I changed my ringtone to an old-fashioned telephone. The last thing a loan officer needs during a loan application is for his phone to go off singing “I like big butts …” When I was first starting out, I was very desperate for business. I had a real estate agent who started sending me business, but she was a bit of a holy roller. She was demanding, kind of terse, and basically, a pain in the butt, but, hey … I needed the business. She called me on Halloween as my wife and I were getting the kids dressed to go trick or treating. As was our tradition, my wife would hand out the candy as I walked around the neighborhood with my four kids. The agent called and wanted me to stop what I was doing and immediately go to pre-qualify two young buyers at their home. I explained that I was about to go trick-or-treating with my kids, but would be happy to do it the next evening, or whenever they were
company who the lender was, called the head of underwriting a demanded to know what was taking so long. Of course, she found out it wasn’t approved yet. Although the loan did eventually close and she made her fat commission, I had lost credibility and she never used me again. Never lie, no matter how small. Industry education is great and you learn a lot, but it is through life’s lessons that make you who you are and determine your level of success. Being a good loan officer is the same criteria as being a good person. Don’t lie, cheat or steal from your fellow man … be humble, respectful and courteous. Do what is right, not what will get you the most money for short-term gain. Learn from other people’s mistakes. Learn from my mistakes. And never dip a girl’s pony tail in an inkwell … they just don’t like that.
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
When I was in elementary school, I can remember taking the pigtails of the girl sitting in front of me and dipping them in my inkwell. Just kidding … I am not really that old, but I do remember having a black and white TV and life before Desktop Underwriter came into my life. It wasn’t too long ago that, as the CEO of a nationwide mortgage company, I had to travel from state to state taking mortgage licensing classes and state exams. You younger kids don’t realize how lucky you are. If there is a way to take the SAFE Act test on your iPhone, that will be out soon for sure. The last class I took in bed wearing nothing but my boxer shorts. It took some doing getting the mattress in the classroom, but … For a guy with no class, I sure do have to take a lot of classes. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the fact that loan officers now have to take continuing education and need to have a modicum of knowledge and intelligence. It keeps out the used car salesmen from the industry. Still, I wonder if my doctor, lawyer and banker have to take classes as well to further their professional education. Maybe their services are not as vital to the public as ours. Or maybe they just have a better lobbying group. The only thing I really have against SAFE classes is that they don’t teach you all the stuff you really need to know as a loan officer. Here are some examples that happened to me when I was just starting out as a loan officer … Once, I was taking a loan application for a policeman. He made the normal government salary for that type of job, but he had more than $500,000 in his savings account. “Wow,” I said, “Where did you get all that money?” “This interview is over,” he said, and kicked me out of his house. I learned that is none of our business and a highly inappropriate question. Whenever I got a purchase deal, I would call the listing agent to introduce myself. The conversation naturally veered toward my borrower’s financial capability. Obviously, that is all a listing agent wants
available. “You would rather celebrate the Devil’s birthday than help a nice Christian couple buy a home?” she screamed at me. After that, I never got any more business from her. When you are first staring out, you have to create boundaries on how much of your business will interfere with your personal life. I love money, but I love my family more. As a loan officer, there are years when you make $50,000 and years when you make $300,000. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the mortgage industry is very cyclical like a financial roller-coaster. I have never been this way, but I have seen other loan officers buy big homes, get addicted to cocaine and generally live like a rock star when things are good, never thinking of the future. I budget myself a certain lifestyle and bank the extra money when times are good, knowing I will need it later when times are bad. If you don’t do that, and times get slow, I have seen many good loan officers slip into temptation and start taking part in fraudulent activity to keep the money coming in. I once had a real estate agent who gave me a very tough deal. It was a $1 million purchase for her and the stress was on. Stress tends to roll downhill, so her stress became my stress. She kept asking if the loan was approved yet, if not, why not and maybe she should give it to another loan officer. Finally, I gave into temptation and told her it was approved, even though I was sure it would be, but it wasn’t. Later, she found out from the title
“While many links in the mortgage finance chain already have some level of education or licensing requirements, higher standards across the industry will benefit everyone in the long run.”
The CFPB’s Deep Impact: Raising Standards for Everyone By Michael Lewis During the last few years, we’ve witnessed the rapid transformation of the mortgage finance industry–and more changes are on the horizon as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues its work. The CFPB is shining a light into every corner, exposing every link in the mort-
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
70
gage finance chain from the highly visible lenders all the way to the often overlooked notaries who witness borrowers signing their loan package documents. While change is typically difficult, evolution is inevitable. While many links in the mortgage finance chain already have some level
of education or licensing requirements, higher standards across the industry will benefit everyone in the long run.
Lenders taking charge These environmental challenges have prompted lenders to review the entire mortgage origination process and adopt new policies that better protect consumers. The bar is clearly being raised for everyone regardless of their role in the process, and it’s particularly evident with the new standards for notary signing agents–the independent contractors who handle loan signings. Lenders recognize the impact notary signing agents have because, more often than not, they are the only people a borrower actually sees in the lending process. That realization was the catalyst behind establishing the Signing Professionals Workgroup (SPW)–an industry committee formed to create, maintain and promote recommended best practices for notary signing agents. The SPW includes mortgage lenders, title companies, signing services, trade associations, and companies that provide education, background screenings or supportive services to signing agents. Serving as an advisor, the National Notary Association (NNA) also hosts meetings for SPW members, which include executives from Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, CitiMortgage, U.S. Bank, Title Source Inc., LSI Corporation and First American Mortgage Services. Together, the SPW members created the Certified Signing Specialist Standards–the first set of recommended best practices for notary signing agents–and a new designation, the “Certified Signing Specialist,” for the notaries who qualify. These standards are intended to streamline the various qualifications and requirements notary signing agents need to meet in order to work with the widest variety of lenders, title companies and signing services. Currently, notaries who conduct loan signings for multiple com-
panies must meet redundant requirements and jump through numerous hoops to demonstrate that they are qualified to handle the task. “These standards provide a set of qualifications and best practices for everyone concerned with what happens at the signing table while helping to reduce inconsistencies,” said National Notary Association President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Heymann. Another important consideration for the SPW and for the CFPB is improving the borrower’s overall experience with lenders and title companies. Jim Sloan, vice president of vendor management for JPMorgan Chase, emphasized this consideration during the NNA annual conference in June. Apart from gathering information from mortgage officers and branch personnel, Sloan said, “We review our performance from our vendors on a weekly basis. We also survey every borrower. We direct our vendors to direct more business to those signing agents with the positive results.” That sentiment was echoed by vice president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Sally Freudenberg. “Today, the regulators have made it very, very clear that the lender is accountable for anything that a thirdparty service provider is utilized to perform within the entire end-to-end life of the loan process,” said Freudenberg. “The spotlight has been turned up a little bit and just the expectations and the importance of us all partnering together to deliver that quality product that helps us all succeed with the customers and ultimately with the regulators is really critical.”
Explaining the new standards The Certified Signing Specialist Standards are divided into five categories: l The Certified Signing Specialist Code Conduct; l A standardized signing script; l An annual background screening;
l An annual exam; and l Notary errors-and-omissions insurance.
The Certified Signing Specialist Code of Conduct The Code of Conduct is organized into 10 guiding principles that cover more than 100 separate best practices. The Code addresses everything from protecting signers’ privacy and acting in a professional manner to not providing unauthorized legal advice or services and reporting illegal or suspicious activity. Notaries will be required sign an acknowledgement stating that they will abide by the code as a part of this new certification process.
convicted felons. We require background checks of all our vendors so we stand behind the effort.” This element of the standards should also reduce a significant amount of redundant qualifications and costs for signing specialists who do business with multiple lenders, title companies and signing services.
Annual exam
71
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
notary signing agents are in line with requirements for other professionals working in the real estate finance industry. For example, mortgage originators are required under federal law to complete a minimum of eight hours of continuing education annually. Now signing agents are under the microscope and will need to evolve to survive in the industry. When the SPW first met in the fall of 2012, the committee discovered the lack of nationwide standards for commissioning notaries. Only two states require background checks and more than 30 states do not have any kind of training or testing requirements. The SPW spent the following year
developing the Certified Signing Specialist Standards so companies of all sizes will be able to carry out mortgage signings that protect consumers and comply with the flood of new regulations. Every notary who becomes a Certified Signing Specialist—and every company that relies on them—will operate under the same rules and will have the same quality of service expectations for every mortgage signing. Michael Lewis is the managing editor of member publications with the National Notary Association (NNA), headquartered in Chatsworth, Calif. He can be reached by e-mail at mlewis@nationalnotary.org.
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
An annual exam is being created to ensure notaries know the best practices outlined in the code of conduct, the Standardized signing script details and signing script Although every signing is different, that they have a working the script outlines how a signing knowledge of standard should be conducted. The script pro- loan documents. Novides brief document descriptions taries will need to score and notes when the signer should be a minimum of 80 perasked to contact the lender as well as cent to pass. The SPW will make when the signing specialist should call the title company representa- revisions as regulatory tive. The goal is to establish a consis- and market conditions tent and positive experience at the change, which makes annual testing necessary signing table. to ensure that Certified Signing Specialists know Annual background the updates. Training screening The SPW chose an annual background courses will be provided screening because signing specialists by SPW-approved venare invited into borrowers’ homes dors to help notaries and they handle documents with sen- prepare for the annual sitive financial information. While exam but are not annual background screenings have required in order to take become a common request, not all the exam. screenings are as thorough as the one the SPW supports. SPW-approved Notary errors-and-omisbackground screening providers will sions insurance be required to search state, local and Requiring notary signing agents to federal records and to follow a point carry notary errors-and-omissions system for specific offenses when cal- (E&O) insurance is a common request made by lenders and title companies culating the pass/fail result. Shawn Murphy, ValuAmerica’s but the amounts vary widely. The SPW executive vice president, expressed spent a lot of time debating an approcomplete support for background priate coverage level with some particscreenings to hundreds of notaries ipants suggesting a minimum of $100,000. Given that notary E&O during the NNA’s June conference. “We are sending you often to a bor- insurance only covers notarial acts, rower’s house,” said Murphy. “That is they decided a minimum $25,000 poltheir private domain, that’s their icy would be sufficient. pride and joy, that’s where they’re most comfortable in their life. It’s Evolving to survive very important that we’re not sending Many of these new standards for
â&#x20AC;&#x153;As more and more states are defining their own originatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education requirements, it would only be a matter of time before we found common ground amongst them.â&#x20AC;?
Industry Education: Compliance or Knowledge? By Andy Thaw Since the beginning of mortgage banking, or at least as long as I can remember, our industry has always focused its efforts and produced new trends and new ways to further our business development via new products to further homeownership opportunities and through new tech-
nologies to enable lenders to process and close more volume than ever before. As markets grew and property values seemingly enjoyed never-ending advances, both regional and national lenders grew their production and management staff to handle their market share and morphed into
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
72
whatever personality of lending ruled the day. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and government lending, while always deemed mainstays in the industry, gave way to a generation of secondary investors looking to capitalize on the mortgage markets. No income, no asset â&#x20AC;Ś no kidding loans were born. Alt-A and sub-prime ruled the industry, along with AUS technologies through DU and LP (whichever worked!). Through it all and at the end of the day, a whole new generation of loan originators and management has evolved to take us into the post meltdown dawn of Dodd-Frank mortgage lending. We now dial ahead to present day 2014 and look at two trends dictating policy, as well as immense attention from the lending community; the first one being Compliance. Now thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a new one to consider. Obviously I make light of the attention given to one of the single-most defining requirements to the lending community. Compliance has not merely dictated lending policy, but more importantly, compliance has prescribed requirements and defined how lenders would collect and report the data to insure that they were indeed compliant. And has done so since the beginning of time. And second, education requirements for loan originators, which is where Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to take this article. The education component to me is as important as any topic defining our industry today. There is absolutely no substitute for a well-educated originator. Not because the industry now requires it of us to be compliant, but because the consumer always has; always! When I meet with a borrower looking for a mortgage to purchase a new home, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe they are wondering, is this guy compliant. That is and must be a given. They want to know that the person
sitting at the other side of the desk is knowledgeable in all facets of their business and that the single largest financial decision they are making is met with an educated professional. Period. And our borrowers are becoming more educated themselves than ever before. With smartphone apps and Google searches at their fingertips, knowledgeable consumers are armed with more and more questions and quite frankly, are expecting the right answers â&#x20AC;Ś and they should. As more and more states are defining their own originatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education requirements, it would only be a matter of time before we found common ground amongst them. After all, we have been defining â&#x20AC;&#x153;best practicesâ&#x20AC;? since the beginning. Moving forward, as the definitions of the SAFE Act are evolving, originators are finding a number of ways to satisfy their CE education requirements, whether originating per state or nationally. Again, this is compliance. But in entertaining the best approach for meaningful industry education, to actually learn, I suppose it is as individual as the originator. There are many choices for education and it is growing at such a fast pace. As an industry educator and considered an old-timer, I am beyond happy to see this. So what is the best approach, in-class or online?
Ask yourself, are you working fulltime and can’t attend live classes? Online classes are available for all basic and CE requirements, as well as for pretty much any industry topic desired. They also offer online forums and blogs to help with a more complete education experience. Learning at home at your own pace is a great alternative. If you have the time, you may choose from a large amount of live classes nationally, which again, cover all the basic CE requirements, as well as all industry topics. Whether you choose live or online classes, I think is merely a matter of preference. What I find more important from a pure education standpoint, is to look for courses that are being taught by professionals who are cur-
rently active originators and/or management and who are specialists in the type of class you are taking. There is an old saying that you cannot teach what you do not do. I have been a 203k specialist for about 20 years now and have been an industry educator for just as long. I know that when I conduct a 203k course, I am able to teach not only guidelines, but I can truly teach from 20 years of living through these loans. We have become an industry of specialization, therefore you need to choose from specialists as teachers. Whether you’re looking for VA, new construction, co-ops, or good solid underwriting knowledge, are sure to search out instructors that specialize in these areas and who can bring real life experience to the table. If you do 50
deals … you’ve seen it all. One hundred deals … you’ve seen it all twice, and so on. In my sincerest opinion, I cannot stress enough for all originators to become as knowledgeable in the industry as possible, not to be compliant which is a given, but to be a true professional. As a final thought, I would like to share the very basics of the Japanese business philosophy of Kaizen, which was greatly responsible for building the Japanese economy after World War II. It is founded on the very basic principles of “continuous and neverending improvement.” As an originator, by searching out education and constantly improving your skills, you will only rise to the top of the industry, both professionally and finan-
cially. Lenders will search you out, referral sources will call you to “get it done,” and your borrowers will refer you for years to come. There just is no substitute. Andy Thaw is vice president of renovation lending at Mid-Island Mortgage Bankers and brings 30 years of mortgage banking experience to the firm. He has widely been considered an industry leader in 203k financing for the last 20 years, and has been an industry educator for about as long. He is the author of Understanding 203k Financing, and has been a featured FHA speaker and trainer at countless industry events throughout the country. He may be reached by phone at (516) 348-0639 or e-mail athaw@mortgagecorp.com. 73
Because for us, being an MI partner isn’t just about doing business.
It’s in our DNA. radian.biz | 877.723.4261
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
It’s about being a team.
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Helping you tackle any challenge.
For more than 30 years, Radian has been helping our customers be more successful. Whether it’s designing a new program to help make their job easier, or offering training to help them expand their skills – we’re committed to bringing value to our customers.
Just Ask
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
74
By
Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke nowledge is power. Power translates to success, whether it is dollars in your pocket, stronger leadership, increased bottom lines or peace of mind, we are here for you. This month, we are introducing a new column for questions relating to starting a business, managing a business, training, networking, tax-related issues, corporate security policy, fraud alerts and compliance. All answers are for informational purpose only, and are not intended to practice law, or are meant to provide tax advice or tax opinions. After reviewing our information, we both recommend seeking legal
K
counsel or the advice of a tax professional. Please e-mail us at JustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com to voice any questions or problems. We are here for you!
Roger that!!! Roger in St. Louis, Mo. asks … What do you do when your client is rate shopping you and you may not be able to beat or match the lowest price, do you always lose them? Eric’s reply to Roger … First up, I give them my lowest price and inform them that the best price I can do. Many times, potential borrow-
ers make up a ridiculously low rate thinking they can bargain you down. If their rate is made up, they will come back to you. If the other loan officer is misquoting or using a “bait and switch” tactic, they will come back to you. Honesty is always the best policy. I tell them, “If you can get that rate, lock it in immediately. That is a good rate.” Let’s face it … we are all selling the same bananas. There should be no outrageously low rate you cannot match if you are willing to make a little less. I will tell you one thing I don’t do is try to talk down the competition. In times like that, it is very easy to go on
the negative attack and try to make the other person sound incompetent, a sleazy ball or dishonest. All that does is make you sound incompetent, a sleaze ball and dishonest. Don’t do it. If the client was referred to me, I try to stress that the person sending them to me has used me and thought enough of my capabilities to feel confidence in me. It is the “better the devil you know” strategy. If the client catches the other loan officer in a lie, then they will come back to you. Lastly, I realize I cannot get every deal in the world. Sometimes, you are the hammer, and sometimes, you are
k Eric & Laura the nail. If you are consistently the nail, then you are working at the wrong place. You can be the greatest salesman in the world, but if management has you priced too high all the time, it is not you, it is them. Everyone gets a deal once in a while they cannot do, and if it is happening a lot, then you know what it is.
Laura’s reply to Roger … Roger, it is often a tough situation to be in. As many lending institutions have taken away the latitude we once had as brokers, it isn’t the same in the industry as it once was. I think, relatively speaking, most rates are going to be similar. If I am off by more than a quarter point, I do as Eric suggests, I tell them to take the rate, but I also give them some food for thought as well. I tell them to ask for a written Good Faith Estimate (GFE), and make sure there aren’t any hidden costs being used for buy downs. I recently had that happen and on the GFE they charged them a 0.25 percent origination fee. In doing so, our fees were identical. Borrowers are often nervous, or can be distracted with a multitude of
other things going on in their lives. I let my borrowers know I am with them from beginning to end, and I will stand by them. If I need to fight for an underwriter’s decision or to explain an extenuating circumstance, I will. On the flip side, I had a really good builder of custom homes; High dollar mortgages of $350,000-plus for construction to end loan program at the time. He referred me a few deals, and called me for his own deal. This was back in the days when lenders would raise rates to control the amount business coming in. If their underwriters were on overload, they slightly raised the rates for a short time. At least the bank I was at did. I was honest with him and said, “Larry, I appreciate your business and I cannot beat the rate that he quoted.” But I also knew who had even a better rate. They were beating the pants off of me that week. I told him where to go, I offered my assistance with reviewing his paperwork and answering any questions he may have along the road. He did not need a construction loan, he needed an end loan. I explained what was happening and why we weren’t the lowest. He appre-
ciated my candor, and I saved the relationship, and lost the transaction. I am a relationship selling person, not a transactional one. What if I had tried to smooth talk Larry into staying with me? Ultimately, he would have gone with the best rate for him, and I would have lost my credibility with him. Instead, I still looked like a hero in his eyes because I offered him the knowledge of where to go with the best rate for him, in his need. Kind of like in Miracle of 34th Street … imagine Macy’s Santa Claus sending customers to Gimbels? Larry became one of my best sources for referrals, introduced me to numerous other builders, as he also owned the subdivision. He also invited me into his models for the Cavalcade of Homes Show and more. Our business relationship thrived for many years. I believe that being honest with your clients will work in the same manner.
We got Spammed! Mike in Tulsa, Okla. asks … I would like to discuss the use of a “Targeted Industry E-mail List 2014,” and I am the source of the list. We can provide lists from any industry, according to
your requirement for your marketing purposes, which includes complete contact detail fields of your targeted audience: Company Name, Contact Name, Address, State, Country, Phone #, Fax #, Web site, Title and Verified E-mail Addresses, etc. Eric’s reply to Mike … As a monthly contributing columnist, I took a sacred blood oath to answer all questions that come across our e-mail justaskericandlaura@gmail.com. I know this is an automated electronic question sent out to millions of people a day, but here goes. No, I would not like to discuss your spam program. I have been on this horse before. I am not saying it might not be a fruitful endeavor. Heaven knows, enough businesses do it, so it must work for some, it just does not fit my particular business model. Obviously, there must be some upfront costs, and no offense, but I only have your particular word as a commission based salesman that it will work. Not exactly a credible witness, if you know what I mean. Consider this, if you had continued on page 76
75
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
just ask eric & laura continued from page 75
the formula for making straw into gold, would you immediately start selling the formula? No, I would think you would get licensed and start doing the loans yourself. Making $5,000 off a lead would be much better that selling that lead for $0.25, right? Maybe it is just me. I don’t like getting spam, so I sure don’t like the concept of being the one creating the spam. Of course, if I made a ton of money from the purchased leads, my morals are not that strong … As a loan officer, it is my job to get loans wherever I can. I have tried multiple venues of advertising. I have had my ad on grocery carts, billboards, prescription bags you get at the drug store, flyers, door hangers, TV advertising, pens handed out at county fairs, and yes, spam e-mails. I just cannot seem to generate the rate of return I need. And, if it does work for a while, then I tend to put more into it just as rates go up, and I am left with a huge monthly bill just as business slows down. I do send e-mails to my past customers who know and like me. That is a whole different story than paying to send unsolicited e-mails to the public. I have nothing against prostitution, but why pay for milk when I have a cow at home?
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
76
We ar Califor e Premie nia’s r Private Direct M and Br oney idg Lender e
Stated Business Purpose Loans on Residential Properties • Refinances up to 65% LTV, min loan amount 50K to 5 million • Purchases up to 70% min. loan amount 50K to 5 million • Loan term, 6 months, 3 year, 5 year, interest only or fully amortized available • Programs with no PP available • Rates from 8.50% and up depending on LTV term and prepayment penalty • We have 2nd position loans available for n/o/o and investment properties up to 55%-60% CLTV • 5-7 days closing available
Apartments and units (5+ residential units) • Up to 70% on refinance and purchases • Stated but verified rental income of property • Loan terms: 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, 7 year and 10 year; fixed IO or fully amortized • Rates from 8.00% and up • Programs with no PP available depending on LTV, term and prepayment penalty • We have 2nd position loans available for our commercial products up to 60% CLTV • 5-7 days closing available
Commercial (industrial, retail, church, mixed-use, gas station, auto related, manufacturing, etc.) • Up to 55% on refinances • Up to 60%-65% on purchases • Term 1 to 5 years Land loan (max LTV 35%, refinance, 50% purchase) call for details
877-700-3703 Office 866-318-4471 Direct Fax
www.pbfinancialgrp.com • e-mail scenarios to: info@pbfinancialgrp.com
Laura’s reply to Mike … Wow Eric, you have surely put more time into an electronic spam than I would. I hate getting spammed, and yes, I did also tried it early on in my career. I believe that companies that send out e-mail blasts now have an opt-in, and an opt-out option that helps eliminate the spam persona. I was once told that if someone gives your their business card, it is an invitation to send one e-mail. If they don’t like it and you have the opt-out button, no harm done. I too have spent my time and money on these types of lists and got nothing in return. I have paid telemarketers to call on these “good quality lists” and still nothing. The one thing I did do a couple of times was a TV commercial and the phone rang off the wall. But it was in the heyday of sub-prime lending, and we had phenomenal programs to offer. I do prefer “high touch” marketing vs. “high tech” marketing. However, both play significant roles in today’s marketing toolbox. On the flip side, in Mike’s defense, he was doing his job, and we hope Mike gets lots of responses from automated, electronic marketing system. All the best to Mike!
PB Financial Group Corp. NMLS #357614/PB Financial Group Corp BRE #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 per property taxes or insurance premiums. This is not a commitment to lend. Rates and points are subject to change without notice. NMLS #357614
Getting back in the business Pamela from Philly asks … I spoke with you a few weeks ago about
wanting to get back in to being an LO. I worked under you at Carteret, my LO license was with Carteret before the industry all went bad. Can you advise me on how to get back in and get my license back? Eric’s reply to Pamela … You start of by going to http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org. Pull down the checklist of what is required in your state to get licensed. You will need, among other things, continuing education and to take your state and the SAFE Exam. Google “Online Mortgage Schools,” as there is no shortage of them. You will need to be sponsored by a mortgage company. Many companies are licensed in multiple states. Mine is licensed in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Penn-sylvania and Florida. If you live in one of those states, I can talk to you about employment opportunities. If not, I don’t think you will have trouble finding a mortgage broker that will hire you. Let’s face it, you cost them nothing, but might one day trip over a loan. The hardest part about getting back into the business is generating loans. Start thinking about that now and really be truthful with yourself about the chances of generating new business. I say that because getting a mortgage loan origination license is not as easy nor as cheap as it used to be. It will be silly to spend all that time and money just to sit around hoping the phone rings. Be careful, however, you are not allowed to advertise until you are legally licensed. If you will be working out of your home, you will need some basic tools. I have given up my fax machine for an online fax service. I bought an HP combination Wi-Fi-scanner-printer-coffee machine. With my laptop, that is all I need to work from home in my pajamas. Most importantly, you will need a mentor in the business to bring you back up to speed. When interviewing, since everyone will want to hire you, look for the most patient, kind and knowledgeable person you can find. You will have a lot of dumb questions in the beginning. You need to find that person who will nurture you and help you to become successful again. Laura’s reply to Pamela … I agree with almost all of Eric’s detailed information, with the exception that everyone will want to hire you. Many lenders are being more selective when hiring loan officers, since they are now paid a minimum hourly wage. They want to be sure you will produce. Many have monthly requirements or quotas, so starting back in after a three to five year sab-
batical will be difficult … not impossible, just difficult. But I believe that “difficult” makes it worth it. If it was “easy,” everyone would want to become a loan originator. Being a loan originator has many benefits, including flexible hours, working from home, and a good, strong income. The difficult part is building your clientele base back up. Do you have an old database of past clients that may work with you again? That could be a good start. Making sales calls to real estate agents, building a relationship with them and other business partners will be essential to you. The tests and exams are easy if you study, and then take them. Keeping up with the continued education is also easy. Building your new business will take some time, so be patient and keep
planting seeds. They will grow into the rewards you are looking for. Eric & Laura welcome your questions, please send your inquiries to JustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com. Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. In 1995, he started a small mortgage company in his basement called Carteret Mortgage Corporation, which in 2003, grew to one of the largest mortgage broker companies in the United States. He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail eweinstein4u@gmail.com. Laura Burke is an author and trainer with 20-plus years of experience in the mortgage arena. She may be reached by e-mail at lauralynnburke@gmail.com.
Disclaimer: All answers are for informational purpose only, and are not intended to practice law, or provide tax advice or tax opinions. After reviewing our information we recommend seeking legal counsel or the advice of a tax professional.
new to market continued from page 47
77 approval process from days to minutes. Securing pre-approval shows real estate agents that a buyer is serious, and it provides our users an enormous advantage when searching for a home.”
JOIN A
GROWING TEAM
Carrington Mortgage Services is adding retail branches today. IT’S TIME TO MAKE YOUR MOVE. Carrington is expanding nationwide and we need experienced managers and teams to join our organization.
Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites you to submit any information promoting new “niche” loan programs, new products or any other announcement related to the introduction of a new program, to the attention of:
Find out more about Carrington today and make the move to expand your business and career.
Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.
t t t t t t
CONTACT:
John Cervantes | RECRUITER John.Cervantes@CarringtonMH.com
New to Market column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com
WE OFFER: Great compensation and benefits Operations focused on quality and speed of closing Marketing support and lead generation Licensing and compliance support Agent co-marketing programs Government loan programs from FICO of 550
949-517-7127
Join our career webinars, posted on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/CarringtonHomeLoans www.Carringtonhomeloans/CareerWebinar
© Copyright 2007-2014 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC headquartered at 1610 E. Saint Andrew Place, Suite B150, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Toll Free (800)561-4567. NMLS ID 2600. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access Web Site: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. AZ: Mortgage Banker BK-0910745; 2159 McCulloch Blvd 4, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, File No. 413 0904. CO: Check the license status of your mortgage loan originator at http://www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm. GA: Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee 22721. IL: Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee. MN: This is not an offer to enter into an interest rate lock agreement under Minnesota Law. MO: Residential Mortgage Broker License 09-1746-S. NH: Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department. NJ: Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance. NY: Licensed Mortgage Banker—NYS Department of Financial Services. New York Mortgage Banker License B500980/107664. OH: Ohio Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption MBMB.850208.000 (FHA DE & VA Automatic loans only) OR: Mortgage Lender License ML-4886. PA: Licensed by the Department of Banking. RI: Rhode Island Licensed Lender, Lender License 20112809LL. VA: Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission MC-5382. WA: Consumer Loan License CL-2600. Also licensed in AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, ID, IN, ME, MD, MI, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, WV and WI. All rights reserved.
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Roostify has announced several enhancements for its platform, designed to accelerate and simplify the mortgage experience for all parties involved. The new features will help loan officers to ensure that realtors stay up-to-date over the course of each transaction. Roostify provides step-by-step guidance in the mortgage closing process, including loan application completion, qualification document submission, and tracking of the loan closing. Borrowers provide information in a streamlined manner and will always know where they stand in the process and what comes next, eliminating potential roadblocks along the way. Lenders get to settlement faster and improve responsiveness to clients and partners. “As our platform continues to get wonderful reviews from our customers and their borrowers, we continue to listen to their feedback and add functionalities that further
Loan Officers, Branch Managers and Teams, NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Roostify Announces Several Platform Upgrades
enhance their experiences with Roostify,” said Roostify CEO and cofounder Rajesh Bhat. The platform’s new “Connections” feature allows loan officers to create relationships with real estate agents within Roostify and establish a unique joint referral link for each one. Real estate agents can then share the loan officer’s referral link with their clients and in turn be notified of all major events of the mortgage process – from application start to close. In addition to improved responsiveness to their real estate partners, loan officers can benefit from analytics informing them of the productivity of these relationships.
NMP M O R T G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L
Michael McHugh
President and CEO of Continental Home Loans Inc.
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
78
T
his year marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of the company that became Continental Home Loans Inc. (CHL). Originally founded as the mortgage brokerage firm Continental Capital, the company received its New York banking license in 1986. That year, it also welcomed Michael McHugh as its president. In 1999, Continental was acquired by to Puerto Rico-based RG Premier Bank, and its operations were folded into Orlando, Fla.-based Crown Bank, which was also purchased by RG Premier. In 2005, McHugh brought Continental back from RG Premier, and it is now headquartered in Melville, N.Y., with McHugh as president and CEO. In choosing McHugh as the September 2014 Mortgage Professional of the Month, we pay tribute to his indefatigable dedication to the mortgage profession and his success in building his company into one of the industry’s most respected financial institutions in the nation. What makes Continental Home Loans different from the other companies in today’s mortgage marketplace? McHugh: For one thing, CHL has been true to its roots. We’re a retail origina-
BY PHIL HALL
“…CHL HAS BEEN TRUE TO ITS ROOTS. WE’RE A RETAIL ORIGINATION SHOP FOCUSED ON REAL ESTATE AGENT, ATTORNEY AND FINANCIAL PLANNER RELATIONSHIPS, AND WE’VE NEVER VARIED FROM THAT MODEL SINCE THE BEGINNING.”
tion shop focused on real estate agent, attorney and financial planner relationships, and we’ve never varied from that model since the beginning. We know our markets, we work in them daily, and we’ve been able to attract quality that has stayed with us throughout the years. We have 25 people here at CHL who have been with us over 20 years. How many employees are currently working for CHL? McHugh: We have about 315 people in 13 offices—nine offices are in New York, three in New Jersey and one in Florida. We are licensed in 28 states, but most of our business comes out of the metro New York region.
Let’s say I wanted to become a loan officer with CHL. What are you looking for in potential LOs? McHugh: At CHL, we are looking for bright, outgoing, sales-oriented individuals who have an entrepreneurial nature about them. Many of our people are out in the field working on a daily basis without direct supervision. We have managers overseeing them, but we expect them to go out in the field, make their own connections and grow their business with our help. We provide our originators with a high level of sales and marketing tools to support their growth and referral relationships. What are your current product lines? McHugh: We’re one of the largest FHA
and VA lenders in the metro New York area. We’re a full Ginnie Mae/Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac shop, so we offer all agency products. We offer jumbo products as well, which is about five to 10 percent of our business. We are also a reverse mortgage-approved lender with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). We have done purchase money reverses, where seniors will go out and buy their new home with a reverse mortgage. We also have a secondary marketing team–we do our own hedging and pooling, and we deliver securities to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. How are you marketing CHL? McHugh: We advertise with our real estate agent partners. We are not in newspapers–we find that newspaper ads are very poor in producing results. We’d much rather target market to those who are in the homebuying process, and most of them seem to go through real estate agents. So, we advertise with real estate agents, co-market with them, and we try to get the borrower earlier in the process to come to us for pre-qualification and to discuss products with them.
OF THE MONTH “AT CHL, WE ARE LOOKING FOR BRIGHT, OUTGOING, SALES-ORIENTED INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE AN ENTREPRENEURIAL NATURE ABOUT THEM.”
I would imagine the state regulatory environment is different between the
This all keeps you quite busy. How do you spend your off-work time? McHugh: I play a little golf, go to the beach. I have a boat, a Tiara 3500 Open, and I take it out along Long Island, stopping at a few different places. How did you get into boating? McHugh: As a kid on Long Island, I was a clammer. In high school and college, I made my living as a clammer. I bought my first boat at 16, and I’ve always been on the water. Perhaps you can answer the question about the meaning of being “happy as a clam?” After all, what do clams have to be happy about? McHugh: I think they are happy because they are not disturbed … just laying there all alone. Definitely not like being a mortgage banker! Phil Hall is senior editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at philh@nmpmediacorp.com.
79
If yyou ou believe iin n helping helping to to elev ate the the elevate educ ational standards standards of of this industry, industry, oorr educational aassisting ssisting in developing developing the the most most competent competent indu stry work work fforce, orce, tthen hen NAPMW NAPMW is for for industry Y OU! YOU! ommunity ooff m NAPM MW is a ccommunity ortgage and NAPMW mortgage banking iindustry ndustry professionals professionals across across the banking the Country; men men aand nd w omen from from all Country; women all backgrounds have have joined backgrounds joined NAPMW NAPMW because because want to eexcel xcel at what what they do. do . they want NAPM MW membership membership ggives ives you you exclusive exclusive NAPMW aaccess ccess to ttimely imely education education regarding regarding the the rregulations egulations affecting affecting your your career career such su as as a FREE T OM EMBERS webinars TO MEMBERS webinars on on industry industry upd ates. updates. Too JJoin oin NA NAPMW PMW vvisit isit www.napmw.org www.napmw.org or or call 11.800.827.3034 .800.827.3034
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Speaking of being smacked by the regulators, how has the company been keeping up with the federal and state regulatory changes that have come down on the industry over the past few years? McHugh: It’s been difficult, and we think we do the best we can. The bottom line is that regulations and compliance have increased our costs dramatically … we’ve gone from a compliance department of two to three people, to a department of 10 with a full-time attorney on staff. Hiring an outside firm to do a mock Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) audit … that can cost anywhere from $80,000-$100,000. It has become very expensive. You try to do the best you can, but the regulators aren’t always forthcoming–they kind of hold back and don’t answer all of your questions, so it is very hard to work in an environment where you don’t have all of the answers right at your fingertips.
In January of this year, you became chairman of the Community Mortgage Lenders of America (CMLA). Not to start a fight with David Stevens, but why is there a CMLA working separately from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)? McHugh: Over the years, community lenders have felt disenfranchised by the MBA. We do not want to battle with the MBA on every issue – we think the MBA does a great job. But when it comes to small community lenders and large lenders, there is going to be a divergence on how you see the world. We don’t believe the MBA can represent everybody in that picture. The CMLA is there to protect small community lenders. One change in the rules can impact and put us out of business, so we want to make sure we have a voice at the table.
Helping Y You oou G Get et Plugged Into Into Y Your Business oour Bus iness
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Are you active in social media as well? McHugh: I would say we are not very active in that world. Regulations from the New York State Banking Department are still rather undefined, and they are changing constantly, which creates an issue. The regulatory environment has been a tough one to begin with, but you want to make sure you dot your I’s, cross your T’s, and don’t step out of the box because somebody will be there to smack you if they can find a problem. We are responsible for all social media, which is a very, very tough thing to do if you have 150 loan officers who have Facebook pages and are on LinkedIn. We have company pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., where we post CHL events and educational articles for the homebuying public.
three states where you have offices. Among those states, which one is, for lack of a better phrase, the least “business friendly?” McHugh: New York has been known to be the toughest, by far. Obviously, we’ve come through some very rough times in the mortgage business, and I understand they are trying to protect New York consumers. But, trying to grow a business in that environment can be very difficult. Some states are much easier to work with. However, we have a fairly good working relationship with New York, but we’ve been in the New York banking system for almost 30 years, we are a known quantity and we’ve always done a good job for them.
Maverick Funding Hosts BusinessEnhancing Mortgage Mastermind Event Top industry minds gather to exchange ideas and tips on enhancing business in today’s marketplace
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Maverick Funding recently hosted a Mortgage Mastermind Breakfast in Atlantic City, N.J., a forum which provided the grounds for generating ideas and concepts for the mortgage industry. The event presented an opportunity for industry professionals to address some common issues faced on a day-to-day basis, and what strategies have been used to combat these issues. On hand from Maverick Funding moderating the event 80 were Sales Manager Bob Ketler and Regional Vice President of Mortgage Lending LeeAnn Casanova. The duo hosted a variety of individuals with years of industry experience, including Barbara Gallagher (McDonald), president of Almost Home Mortgage LLC; Nathan Baram, president of Best Rate Capital; Philip Russo, owner/broker of record from H&R Funding; Sal Tomaselli, president of Professional Mortgage Solutions; and Tony Croft, a mortgage advisor of NorthStar Funding. A special thank you goes out to Maverick Funding for providing such a fascinating and frank forum for the exchange of ideas.
Nathan Baram, President, Best Rate Capital
Philip Russo, Owner/Broker of Record, H&R Funding
Tony Croft, Mortgage Advisor, NorthStar Funding
Sal Tomaselli, President, Professional Mortgage Solutions
Barbara Gallagher (McDonald), President, Almost Home Mortgage LLC
What has helped you survive the ups and down of the industry? Nathan Baram: Being honest and detailoriented. It’s all about the service. Always deliver what you promise. Tony Croft: That’s easy … my clients. Fortunately, I have a lot of previous clients I keep in touch with every year. By keeping in touch and maintaining relationships with them, I get to help them when they need to purchase another property or refinance. Barbara Gallagher (McDonald): After a while, you learn that this is an industry that changes constantly in terms of regulations. There’s always something you think is the end of the world and it never is. You adjust and do what you have to do. If you’re good to your customer and honest, you’ll be fine. Make the customer happy and the rest falls into place. Save during the good times so you’re not starving during the bad. Philip Russo: Having an established network of real estate agents, attorneys, CPAs and financial advisors keeps referrals coming in through a bear market. In a bull market when refinancing comprises the majority of the deals being closed, we try to stick to mass-mailing for the majority of our business because with direct mail, you can generate quality leads by adding the filters of the clients you are trying to target. This is very important in a bear or bull market, especially when private lending/non-government mortgagebacked securities are scarce. Sal Tomaselli: When the market began to fall apart, and major players such as Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, etc. began to exit the wholesale arena, my initial reaction was to panic and I began to look for affiliations with
mortgage bankers. After some careful thought, I began to evaluate the various possibilities available to me. Slowly, new wholesalers entered the marketplace, and I realized that new opportunities were emerging as the market redefined itself. I was still able to operate my business, not give up control, and provide my clients with viable financing options. My company was able to compete with larger lenders and I was still able to provide a “boutique” experience for my clientele. Pricing, service or speed … what’s most important to you? Nathan Baram: Service and speed are the same to me. Both are more important than price. It’s all about driving referrals. Turnaround times and being able to stick to them are important factors as well. Tony Croft: All three are very important, but service is the most important to me. By that, I mean good communication and follow up. Barbara Gallagher (McDonald): Service is most important to me … without question. I’ve never had an issue with speed, so I pay attention to timeframes. Time is of the essence. No matter what it takes, you need to perform when given the opportunity. I can deal with an underwriting problem. How you perform a closing is a whole different issue. Philip Russo: In the market we are in today, I would rate pricing as the most important because the majority of lenders are running on thin margins to bring up their volume and build up servicing. Second, I would rate service. In the end of the process, you always want a satisfied client that will refer business to you in the future. I would rate speed third because as long as you present your timelines to your borrower in the right way and stay on top of the process and conditions, you should not run into time issues.
B u s i n e s s - E n h a n c i n g
Sal Tomaselli: Service is by far the most important factor when dealing with a wholesale lender. Speed and pricing are both important as well. Managing my client’s expectations is important, so service is the most important component to a satisfied client. Why do you feel the mortgage broker is the best model to handle consumers? Tony Croft: Client service and product customization. The mortgage broker has the ability to answer questions, get the loan approved, and stay in touch with updates, both before and after the loan closes. A mortgage broker also has the ability to assess and determine a borrower’s unique situation (credit, financial situation, and short- and long-term plans, etc.) so we can find a mortgage product that is perfectly customized for the borrower’s needs.
Sal Tomaselli: The brokerage model gives clients a great deal of variety. The safeguards that have been put in place by the federal government have
What do you look for when selecting a wholesaler? Nathan Baram: Niche products and aggressive pricing are two major keys to me. If I can’t get it done with them, I have backup that’ll get it done, so, lenders are interchangeable to a point. Tony Croft: Service, speed and price are very important.
Tony Croft: We usually deal with six to eight different wholesalers, but I have access to more than 50. Philip Russo: We are currently approved with 28 lenders. We try to use only five or six over and over, but we have the other lenders for expanded guidelines when working with lower credit scores, higher debt ratios and higher LTVs. Sal Tomaselli: We are currently on board with more than 20 lenders, but we actively send business to six wholesalers at present. Tell us about the most memorable loan you’ve closed?
Barbara Gallagher (McDonald): I focus primarily on their closing function. How they close and how successful the closing team are what remain keys to me choosing a particular wholesaler. Philip Russo: When looking for a new wholesaler, we are always looking for aggressive pricing and minimal overlays so there are no surprises when taking a loan application. Sal Tomaselli: I look for a long-term relationship and common sense underwriting. A good suite of products is very important. The ideal wholesaler will have niches in their FHA, conventional and jumbo product lines. Above all else, a great account executive always differentiates an average wholesaler from one that we will direct most of our business to. How many wholesalers do you actively send loans to? Nathan Baram: We deal primarily with three wholesalers.
Tony Croft: I recently closed a reverse mortgage for a senior who was in foreclosure and about to lose their home. We were able to save the house from foreclosure. With the new reverse mortgage, we were able pay off two mortgages and it gave her a line of credit to help in case of an emergency. Both the client and her family were so happy at closing. Barbara Gallagher (McDonald): It happens every day. I’m a very high-stressed person and issues always arise. It genuinely happens all the time. There’s high reward, too. When you sit with someone and see how nervous and excited they are, telling them they’re approved, you go to the closing … it’s all extremely rewarding. Philip Russo: There are many memorable loans I have closed over the years, but the one that stands out in my mind was a client of mine from 2011. The client had a daughter who was in a bad car accident in 2003, and was in between the hospital, rehab and multiple surgeries for the better part of eight years. Her father, my client, was trying to purchase a home so when his daughter was released
E v e n t
from the hospital, projected one month after closing, she could go to a place that she calls home. My client was declined from multiple lenders for having over a 45 percent debt-to-income ratio. His attorney finally gave him my number and we were able to help him get the mortgage without a bump in the road and the client was in tears when he finally obtained the mortgage commitment from the lender. This loan was one of the most touching through my experience of being a mortgage loan originator and reminds me of just how great my job is being in the mortgage industry. Do you plan on ever retiring from the business? Nathan Baram: Maybe I’ll tone it down or scale back, but who knows? When I’m 70 … who knows? Tony Croft: No plans of retirement in sight!
Barbara Gallagher (McDonald): Even if I had $20 million, I wouldn’t quit the business. If I became wealthy, I wouldn’t retire either. I wouldn’t have much to worry about, really. But if I did retire and had a nice beach house and a bunch of grandkids, I’d consider it. Philip Russo: I would hope to believe that one day later in life, I can retire from this industry. I never plan on leaving it prior to retirement. There is no rush to retire just because my love for my company and the industry itself. Sal Tomaselli: I am looking forward to eventually retiring from the business, but right now, I am focused on creating a leadership core within my company so that my hard efforts will not be wasted. I have a great team of professionals ready to take the wheel once I decide to move on.
81
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
Philip Russo: I feel that the broker model is the only way to go with being a mortgage loan originator nowadays. I feel this way because when acting as a mortgage broker in today’s tight lending environment, you have the flexibility to work with multiple lenders to avoid overlays that other lenders and correspondent lenders have and need. This gives you the flexibility to offer almost every loan product with being able to access lower credit scores, higher debt ratios and higher LTVs.
afforded the consumer the ability to really make informed decisions. Hiring a good mortgage broker enables the customer to be made aware of each individual lender’s nuances so that you can differentiate them and identify their strengths.
M a s t e r m i n d
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Barbara Gallagher (McDonald): Flexibility. I have multiple choices when it comes to lenders. If something goes wrong, I can switch lenders. Lenders are always changing and going away, so you can change with them, depending on your needs. If something goes wrong, you can easily fix it.
M o r t g a g e
APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY
BONDS & LICENSING
COMPLIANCE/CONTINUING EDUCATION
The Bond Exchange www.bondedwithnamb.org (501) 224-8895
AllRegs—Your Source for Fast, Reliable Answers 2600 Eagan Woods Drive, Suite 220 Eagan, MN 55121 (800) 848-4904 www.allregs.com
LOWEST-COST STATE MORTGAGE LICENSE BONDS Support NAMB in supporting you! Online surety bond applications, instant underwriting approval, and credit card payments administered through The Bond Exchange NAMB's exclusive partner provider for state license surety bonds. The Bond Exchange is a national surety agency specializing in servicing mortgage license bonds for thousands of mortgage professionals across the country. Low prices and fantastic service. You really can have them both at the same time!
AllRegs offers mortgage professionals fast, reliable answers needed to conduct their day-to-day business. From research and reference to business intelligence, from education and training to professional services, we are your definitive source for mortgage industry information. With tools for originators like NMLSapproved CE training, regulatory content libraries for compliance staff, guidelines for underwriters, policy manuals for operations, and business intelligence for business development – we have you covered as the leading information provider for the mortgage industry. If you have a specific need, our professional services team can help with thing like policy, procedure or guideline development, as well as custom training or publishing resources. Contact us to learn how we can help you – visit www.allregs.com today.
CONTINUING EDUCATION COMPLIANCE CONSULTANTS
StreetLinks Lender Solutions (800) 778-4920 www.streetlinks.com sales@streetlinks.com
SEPTEMBER 2014 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
82
StreetLinks Lender Solutions provides an innovative and comprehensive suite of valuation and service solutions used by lenders, servicers and appraisers nationwide to improve everyday business operations. StreetLinks industry-leading products include LenderPlus™ full-service appraisal management, LenderX™ lender-executed appraisal management software and SCORe™ appraisal reviews and a series of valuation analysis tools for services. Our commitment to quality and service, embodied by our partnership approach to clients and appraisers, continues to set us apart as the nation’s premier lending solutions partner. For more information, visit www.streetlinks.com.
BROKERS COMPLIANCE GROUP 167 West Hudson Street – Suite 200 Long Beach | NY | 11561 members@brokerscompliancegroup.com www.BrokersComplianceGroup.com Division of Lenders Compliance Group, BCG is the first and only mortgage risk management firm in the U.S. devoted to supporting the unique compliance needs of residential mortgage brokers. Leveling the Playing Field for Mortgage Brokers Low Cost Monthly Membership Includes: • Free Weekly Hotline • Access to Subject Matter Experts • Policies and Procedures • Webinars *Special Pricing* • Quality Control • Exam Readiness • Licensing • Legal Reviews
Mortgage Seminars MortgageSeminars.com 248-403-8181 Cost: Only $19.95 per month per physical office location Jeff Mifsud, a former FHA Direct Endorsed Underwriter trained by HUD and an FHA Originator for over 15 years, is publisher of The FHA Originator, a monthly marketing newsletter which gives you… • • • •
FHA guideline news to keep you updated FHA Marketing tips and downloads that are easily customized Personal development tips to help you develop your character Full access to all previous FHA marketing downloads!
No contracts so sign up today and give yourself the tools to brand yourself as The FHA Expert in your marketplace. Cost: Only $19.95 per month per physical office location.
AUDIT/COMPLIANCE/EDUCATION
DIRECT MAIL
LENDERS COMPLIANCE GROUP 167 West Hudson Street - Suite 200 Long Beach | NY | 11561 | (516) 442-3456 www.LendersComplianceGroup.com The first full-service, mortgage risk management firm in the country, specializing exclusively in mortgage compliance. Pioneers in outsourcing solutions for mortgage compliance. Our Compliance Team Will: Leverage your existing employees. Improve your productivity. Collaborate on projects. Make the most of your current technology. Bring innovation to your company. Be a strong cultural fit. Free you to focus on your core competencies. Give you access to world-class expertise. Lower your total operational costs.
Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. 1020 NW 6th St Suite D, Deerfield Beach, FL. 33442 (800) 544-8060 www.TitanLists.com Titan List and Mailing Services, Inc. is a direct marketing agency that offers a complete range of advertising and design services. The firm specializes in data lists (mail/phone), printing, direct mail, graphic and website design as well as internet and SEO marketing. Starting in 1998, the company has, since then employed highly skilled individuals who have considerable experience regarding marketing trends. The company manages the complete in-house campaign themselves including Design, Data Lists, Printing, Postage, and Mailing.
LOAN ORIGINATION SYSTEMS
PRIVATE FINANCING
WHOLESALE LENDERS
Count on Calyx: Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ready to help you do more 800.362.2599 sales@calyxsoftware.com www.calyxsoftware.com Calyx Software is the leading provider of affordable mortgage solutions for banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers. We design products that enable smooth bi-directional flow of data from beginning to end. Our solid, yet flexible, LOS gives you: â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘
5 Park Plaza, 10th Floor Irvine, CA 92614 www.HomeBridgeWholesale.com
Underwriting and secondary marketing Strong security Remote access Ubiquitous productivity with optional mobile apps Configurable business rules engine for workflow and compliance Convenient interfaces with over 200 vendors providing PPE, closing documents, compliance services and more
HomeBridge Wholesale is a national wholesale lender offering Conventional, Government, Jumbo, and Renovation Loans. We are committed to providing the highest value to our clients through competitive pricing, unique product offerings, superior customer service, and state-of-the-art technology.
Lenders can take advantage of Calyxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fully integrated automated underwriting and pricing products to help them determine loan eligibility, pricing against investor or FHA guidelines while staying compliant in 2014.
MARKETING
Now Hiring Wholesale Sales Managers/Account Executives Nationwide Please send resumes to Marketing@HomeBridge.com
RETAIL BRANCH
Real Estate Mortgage Network, Inc. www.remnwholesale.com 866-933-6342
TagQuest is a full service marketing firm created specifically for the ever changing mortgage business. We have tested and proven campaigns for FHA -VA - HARP - CONVENTIONAL loan types. TagQuest knows what it takes to generate quality leads whether through direct mail marketing, telemarketing, internet leads, data lists, tracking systems, or any combination thereof. TagQuest will brand your company, prepare targeted marketing campaigns that generate interest in your company, and most importantly, show you how to turn sales leads into repeat customers.
Maaverick Funding Corp. is a direct mortgage lender licensed in 30 states across the country. Haavving obttained FHA, VA A, USDA and Fannie Mae appro ovals, Maaverick is growing and seeking top talent for their expanding nationwide footprint.
Interested in joining our Wholesale Division? Send your resume to aerecruiting@remn.com
Phone: 855.422.5917 ny NJ NJ,, 07054 9 Entin Rd., Parsippany Visit us at www w.Ma . averickFundingg.com Maverick Fundingg Corp. NMLS# 7706
WHOLESALE/CORRESPONDENT LENDERS
â&#x20AC;&#x153;The year I started their Lender Letter and Week e klly Economic Update, my business the eW DOUBLED. Thank you, Right Side Marketing, for your excellent products and service.â&#x20AC;? Steve Peterson Sierra Pacific Mortgage
United Wholesale Mortgage 800-981-8898 www.uwm.com Contac t: info@afr wholesale.com
888.664.2101
AFR Wholesale ranked #1 with the most Sponsor Originated FHA 203(k) closed loans.*
CLOSE MORE LOANS WITH:
FREE PROCESSING - NO LENDER FEES **
C Creating reating inf informative ormative and wellwellwritt written en prin printt and e e-newsletters -ne ne ewsletters ffor or mor mortgage tgage pr professionals offession essionals sinc since e 1985.
SSee ee for yyourself ourself rrightsidemarketing.com ightsidemarke eting.com 800.456.4395
â&#x20AC;˘Co nvent io nal â&#x20AC;˘USDA â&#x20AC;˘Manufac tured Housing â&#x20AC;˘One -Time Close Construc tion â&#x20AC;˘Freddi e Mac Open Acces s and Fannie Mae D U R P â&#x20AC;˘VA and FHA, FHA 203(k) and 203(h) Rehab loans â&#x20AC;˘Jumbo loans up to $2,000.000 Lender NMLS:2826 - 9 Sylvan Way, Parsippany - NJ, 07054 - *See website for details: www.afrwholesale.com Equal Housing Lender. Equal Opportunity Employer. **No Lender fees by AFR. Third party fees may apply. AB071114
UWM has a full set of mortgage products to meet all of your lending needs with Conventional, FHA, USDA (Rural Development), VA, Jumbo, HARP 2.0 and DU Refi Plus. With UWMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ELITE program, you will receive the most aggressive conventional rates and pricing in the industry for your elite borrowers! Discover Lending Made Easy with United Wholesale Mortgage!
n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
MARKETING/NEWSLETTERS
83
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
TagQuest www.myharpleads.com TagQuest.com 888-717-8980
REMN has FHA, USDA, 203k, VA and Conventional solutions to fit the needs of your customers. But, at REMN, our most valuable product is our people. The REMN Sales and Operations Teams give you - and your loans - the time and attention that you deserve. Even better, at REMN, same-day approvals are guaranteed.* You can rely on us to get the little, yet vital, things taken care of on time.
JP Morgan and Others Bolsters Account Safety After Malicious Hacking By Robert Ottone 84
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
FIRST
GUARANTY
YOUR
SUCCESS
THE
CHANGE AGENT fgmcwholesale.com fgmccorrespondent.com fgmcwarehouse.com
888.295.7899 800.296.2275 888.637.0102
OF THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY.
W e a r e F i r s t G u a r a n t y M o r t g a g e C o r p o r a t i o n ® (F G M C) , a n d w e a r e 1 0 0 % c o m m i t t e d t o o u r Correspondent, Wholesale and Retail origination channels. Together with our Capital Markets and Warehouse Lending Divisions, we provide a full spectrum of lending products and services nationwide. First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation ® is an Approved Single Family Issuer for Ginnie Mae; an Approved FNMA MBS Issuer; Approved by HUD; an FHA Approved Lending Institution; Approved for VA; and Approved by USDA.
R
First Guaranty Guaranty Mortgage M tgage Corporation Corporation isis an an FHA FHA Approved Approved Lending Lending Institution, Institution, and and isis not not acting acting on on behalf behalf ofof or or atat the the direction direction ofof HUD/FHA HUD/FHA or or the the federal federal government. government. First First Guaranty Guaranty Mortgage Mortgage Corporation Corporation Headquarters Headquarters isis located located atat 1900 1900 Gallows Gallows RRoad, Suite Suite 800, 8 Tysons ons Corner, Corner, VA VA 22182 22182 (800) (800) 296-2275. 296-2275. Company Company NMLS# NMLS# 2917 2917 This This information information isis solely solely for for mortgage mortgage professionals professionals aand nd sshould hould nnot ot bbee pprovided rovided ttoo cconsumers onsumers oorr tthird hird pparties. arties. IInformation nformation iiss ssubject ubject ttoo cchange hange wwithout ithout nnotice. otice. First First Guaranty nty Mortgage Mortgage Corporation Corporation (Company (Company NMLS NMLS ID ID 2917) 2917) isis licensed licensed by by the the Department Department ofof Business Business Oversight Oversight under under the the California California Residential Residential Mortgage Mortgage Lending Lending Act; Act; Regulated Regulated by by the the Division Division ofof Real Real Estate Estate inin the the State State ofof Colorado; Colorado; Licensed Licensed by by tthe he DDelaware elaware SState tate Bank Bank Commissioner Commissioner to to engage engage inin business business inin this this State State under under License License No. No. 2403 2403 (renewed (renewed through through 2014); 2014); Georgia Georgia Residential Residential Mortgage Mortgage Licensee; Licensee; Illinois Illinois Residential Residential Mortgage Mortgage Licensee; Licensee; Kansas-Licensed Kansas-Licensed M Mortgage ortgage CCompany; ompany; Licensed Licensed by by the the Mississippi Mississippi Department Department ofof Banking Banking and and Consumer Consumer Finance; Finance; Licensed Licensed by by the the Nevada Nevada Division Division ofof Mortgage Mortgage Lending Lending to to make make loans loans secured secured by by liens liens on on real real property; property; Licensed Licensed by by the the New New Jersey Jersey N.Y.S. Banking Department Department ooff BBanking anking aand nd IInsurance; nsurance; Licensed Licensed Mortgage Mortgage Banker Banker - N.Y.S. Banking Department, Department, Licensee Licensee No. No. B500800 B500800 (d/b/a (d/b/a FGMC FGMC In In Lieu Lieu ofof True True Corporate Corporate NName ame First First Guaranty Guaranty Mortgage Mortgage CCorporation). orporation). FFor or complete complete corporate corporate and and branch branch licensing licensing information, information, visit visit www.fgmc.com www.fgmc.com orr www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Follow us on:
JP Morgan Chase, often referred to as one of the “Big Four” banks, recently came under attack from hackers, who were able to make off with gigabytes worth of data, including bank account information and credit card information. While JP Morgan hasn’t specifically announced that their mortgage division had been attacked, the general idea is that once a hacker or group of hackers finds their way into a system, they can access just about any part of that system. “The fact that even these companies can experience a successful attack should definitely raise eyebrows because they spend the most money and have the most sophisticated defenses,” Jacob Olcott, a cybersecurity expert at Good Harbor Security Risk Management, told The Huffington Post. JP Morgan’s response was relatively swift, as they took strides to increase users’ account security. Bloomberg’s Anna Edwards stated in an interview that the company is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to sort out exactly what types of information, in addition to the credit numbers, employee information and bank account numbers, had been lifted. Annual letters from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon have indicated that hackers’ attempts to get into JP Morgan’s systems have grown more and more frequent. With over 1,000 JP Morgan workers dedicated solely to
cybersecurity and with a quarter billion-dollar budget at their disposal, having one’s system successfully hacked by reported Russian hackers is a bit of a black eye, even if nothing comes of the hijacked information. The indication, as mentioned, is that the hackers themselves are Russian, as most Russian hacking crimes are motivated by financial gain, whereas Chinese hacking crimes are often associated with intellectual property theft. Some see this being potential retaliation by Russian forces, associated with recent geopolitical events. “Companies of our size unfortunately experience cyberattacks nearly every day,” said JPMorgan spokeswoman Trish Wexler in a statement. “We have multiple layers of defense to counteract any threats and constantly monitor fraud levels.” “The attacks are not new, they’ve been going on for years,” said John Gunn, vice president of corporate communications for VASCO, which provides security to the banking industry to USA Today. “The fact that we don’t see this type of story every day underscores that banks are very successful in stopping almost all of them.” Not long after initial reports surfaced regarding the amount of time the hackers spent inside JP Morgan’s systems, Bloomberg’s Jordan Robertson mentioned during a live interview that the hackers had most likely been inside for roughly three continued on page 86
The Three Must-Know Rules to Convert Online Leads By Bubba Mills f you’re a mortgage lender and you’re not converting leads, do yourself a favor right now–change occupations today! Daylight is burning and you need to eat. That’s precisely how important leads (and converting them to paying customers) are in the world of mortgage lending. If you’re not converting leads, you’re dead in the water. And today, more than ever, leads are coming in via the Internet, the new power behind the mortgage industry. Email, Web sites, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. … online is where leads are found. Even those old-fashioned phone calls you get are likely related to something consumers saw online. So the big question is: How do you handle online leads and turn them into paying clients?
I
to the important items without wasting valuable time: l Location: Where is the buyer is interested in living? l Price: What range can they buyer afford? l Motivation: How motivated are they to buy a home? l Agency: Do they have an agent they are working with? l Mortgage: Are they approved and for how much? l Appointment: Set up an appointment!
“A lost lead is a lost sale. And lost sales lead to another career.” 3. Think delivery, as in delivering what you learned the lead wants Okay, so far you’ve responded quickly, you’ve listened and now the final step: Deliver. Here’s where you demonstrate that you did, in fact, listen and can deliver. It’s the essence of why you’re in this business—to help people. Customize your services to meet the specific needs
you learned from leads via LP-MAMA. And use some of the same language that the leads used as they described their situation to you. This will serve to strengthen their faith in you that you can deliver. Bubba Mills is executive vice president of Corcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 9578353 or visit www.corcorancoaching.com.
1. Think speed
The first words out of your mouth to an online lead better be something worth listening to because if you, and if I know anything it’s that today’s consumers have options … plenty of options to do business with and find what they’re seeking elsewhere. So put yourself in the shoes of a lead. What do you want? You want understanding. You immediately want someone to listen so they understand what you want. Lenders call it qualifying a lead. Consumers call it being understood. Bottom line … you have to learn who they are, where they are and what’s happening with them. Here’s where the acronym “LPMAMA” comes in. It takes you straight
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
2. Think value for the prospect
85
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
You need to establish contact within 15 minutes. Trust me, the younger, newer mortgage lenders are jumping all over leads instantaneously because they know the stakes are high. A lost lead is a lost sale. And lost sales lead to another career. Salesforce.com has reported that salespeople who respond immediately and consistently to online leads see a 340 percent increase in sales results. Potential customers who are contacted within an hour are 60 percent more likely to convert than those contacted after 24 hours. What’s more, consumers who initiate contact with a mortgage company (or any business for that matter) via an online tool expect their dealings to go more smoothly and quickly than in any other form of contact. What does this tell you? You better have your ducks in a row when you respond to online leads.
malicious hacking
Our specialized hybrid of Women in Housing and Women in Government
S tem
ber 15 th
Early B
R
ation En r t s i ds eg
ep
ird
Awareness, Opportunities, and Access
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
86
First date with a personal Financial Fitness Mentor
Accelerating Women in the Housing Economy HYATT REGENCY LONG BEACH 200 South Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802, USA
continued from page 84
months. Having access to multiple streams of data is scary enough. However, having more than 90 days of access to that data while going relatively undetected is another story. “Ultimately, acquiring gigabytes of customer data from the corporate network … it seems like they knew what they were looking for,” said Robertson. “The information we’re getting is that they have layer upon layer of custom-built malware designed specifically for the JP Morgan systems, so they wanted to be in there a while and they wanted to acquire a lot of data. They knew the network inside and out. It’s been suggested that there may have been an insider element, as well, but we don’t know for sure.” Knowing a system inside and out and having custom-built malware designed specifically for that system means either a current or former employee, right? Emilian Papadopoulos of Good Harbor mentioned in that same Bloomberg interview that if this was the Russian government, we most likely would never have figured out they were inside JP Morgan’s systems at all, considering how highly-skilled and technologically advanced Russia is. Ars Technica confirmed these suspicions, highlighting that the Chinese attacks on The New York Times and other media outlets lacked the level of sophistication currently used by various Eastern European hacker collectives. “We’ve learned from a number of incidents and companies in the past that you need to collect the data first,” Papadopoulos said. “It’s worth looking inside the organization.” JP Morgan has one of the more highly-advanced security systems in modern banking. Google, for example, employs less than half the amount of security personnel. “This is an organization that knows what it’s doing and cares about this issue,” Papadopoulos said. “What we can take from this is, consider the fact that all the big banks are under attacked every day. The reality is, they stop attacks on a regular basis. Community banks, regional banks, every company, most CEOs don’t have a quarter of a million dollars to spend on cyber security like JP Morgan does.” Ars Technica recently published a fascinating piece regarding the attack, highlighting the fact that the recent JP Morgan hack has “fingerprints” similar to those in other Eastern-European jobs. The attack is consistent with a number of attacks on European banks earlier this year,
utilizing an exploit in one of the company’s Web sites to gain access. From there, the hackers were able to gain a foothold to rafts of information, making their attack successful. There’s a school of thought that references a Zero-Day code exploit as being primarily responsible for allowing the hackers into the system. Based on information courtesy of Symantec, Zero-Day is essentially when a Web site hasn’t received any kind of updates or patches since its release. It’d be almost impossible to look at the different JP Morgan sites and know for sure which one the hackers used to infiltrate the overall system, however; it is believed that the guilty parties utilized this exploit (or one like it) to gain access. It was originally thought that the hackers gained access using an employee’s personal computer, however; if the hackers had firsthand knowledge and access through a “Zero-Day” exploit, they most likely would have been able to engage the system from anywhere in the world. The Wall Street Journal highlights the similarities between this recent attack on a company’s supposedly-secure systems and the attacks on chain store Target last year, where 40 million payment-related accounts and lines of information were lifted from their systems. Dimon puts an emphasis on the security of JP Morgan, and is keenly aware of the difficulties that arise when dealing with the ever-changing world of Internet security. While it would be impossible to protect every single customer, identifying and locating a hacker once they enter a company’s systems or sub-systems is a first step in providing the user with a safer experience in general. Robert Ottone is executive editor with National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by phone at (516) 409-5555, ext. 314 or by e-mail at robertpo@nmpmediacorp.com.
calendar of events N A T I O N A L
M O R T G A G E
SEPTEMBER 2014
Thursday-Friday, September 11-12 Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Human Resources Symposium 2014 Agenda Mortgage Bankers Association Headquarters 1919 M Street NW Washington, D.C. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
Saturday-Monday, September 13-15 NAMB National 2014 Luxor Resort and Casino 3900 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas For more information, call (860) 922-3441, e-mail vvalvo@agilityresourcesgroup.com or visit www.nambnational.com.
Wednesday, September 24 2014 Northwest Real Estate Summit & Mortgage Expo Tulalip Resort & Casino 10200 Quil Ceda Boulevard Marysville, Wash. For more information, call (206) 484-6442 or visit www.mywamp.net.
Alabama Mortgage Professionals Association 2014 Annual Convention The Embassy Suites Hotel 2960 John Hawkins Parkway Hoover, Ala. For more information, call (205) 663-9696 or visit www.almba.org.
Sunday-Tuesday, September 28-30 Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Regulatory Compliance Conference 2014 Grand Hyatt 1000 H Street NW Washington, D.C. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org. OCTOBER 2014
Friday-Saturday, October 3-4 Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals Lenders Fair & Education Event Phoenix Convention Center 100 North 3rd Street Phoenix, Ariz. For more information, call (623) 972-6180 or visit www.azamp.org.
Tuesday-Thursday, October 14-16 2014 Northeast Conference of Mortgage Brokers Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort 1000 Boardwalk Atlantic City, N.J. For more information, call (732) 596-1619 or visit www.mbanj.com.
2014 Mortgage Professionals of Iowa Annual Convention Stony Creek Inn 5291 Stoney Creek Court Johnston, Iowa For information, call (800) 462-0077 or visit www.impoi.wildapricot.org.
Wednesday-Saturday, October 15-18 American Land Title Association (ALTA) 2014 Annual Convention The Westin Seattle 1900 5th Avenue Seattle, Wash. For more information, call (202) 296-3671 or visit www.alta.org.
Thursday-Friday, October 16-17 Virginia Association of Mortgage Brokers (VAMB) 26th Annual Convention Hilton Garden Inn Richmond Innsbrook 4050 Cox Road Glen Allen, Va. For information, call (804) 285-7557 or visit www.vamb.org.
Sunday-Wednesday, October 19-22 MBA’s 101st Annual Convention & Expo Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino 3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage Professional Calendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with contact information, to newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com. * Looking for additional exposure at key industry events? Call 516.409.5555, ext. 4 to discover how to maximize your event coverage.
Monday-Wednesday, October 27-29
National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB) 2014 Inaugural Conference Hyatt Regency Long Beach 200 South Pine Avenue Long Beach, Calif. For more information, call (949) 559-9800 or e-mail info@nawrb.com. NOVEMBER 2014
Wednesday-Friday, November 19-21 Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Accounting and Financial Management Conference 2014 Westin St. Francis 335 Powell Street San Francisco, Calif. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org. FEBRUARY 2015
Tuesday, February 17 Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP) Broward Chapter 2015 Annual Trade Show Bonaventure Resort Conference Center and Spa 250 Racquet Club Road Weston, Fla. For more information, call (954) 986-0808 or e-mail admin@browardfamp.org. MARCH 2015
Sunday-Thursday, March 8-12 32nd Annual Regional Conference of MBAs Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort 1000 Boardwalk Atlantic City, N.J. For more information, call (732) 5961619 or visit www.mbanj.com.
87
n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n SEPTEMBER 2014
National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW) Central Region Fall Education Conference Courtyard by Marriott 2 West Reno Avenue Oklahoma City, Okla. For more information, visit www.napmw.org.
Wednesday, October 15
Wednesday-Thursday, September 24-25
NationalMortgageProfessional.com
Thursday-Saturday, September 18-20
P R O F E S S I O N A L
SEPTEMBER 2014 n Louisiana Mortgage Professional Magazine n NationalMortgageProfessional.com
88
www.BrokersComplianceGroup.com
FOLLOW FO LLO W
A AFR WHOLESALE HO H FOR R
Ranked #1 in 203(k) lending for sponsored originations and is a top choice in the broker community for manufactured housing loans. More programs and more ways to increase your business with better operational processes that speed the transaction.
877.552.8737 www.afrwholesale.com
Lender NMLS 2826. AFR Wholesale is a division of American Financial Resources, Inc. - AFR is a nationwide wholesale and correspondent lender and an approved lending institution. This information is provided to assist business professionals only and is not an advertisement extended to the consumer as defined by Section 226.2 Regulation Z. - EHL/EOE - 9 Sylval Way, Parsippany, NJ 07054 - www.afrwholesale.com AB092014