National Mortgage Professional Magazine July 2016 by United Sports Publications

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NMP Next: The Impact of Social Networks ... It’s What’s Next By Rick Grant

J U L Y

The 50 Most Connected Mortgage Professionals

2 0 1 6

V O L U M

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “SOCIAL MEDIA” Measuring Your ROI Through Social Media By Doug Perry ............66 Surviving the Social Media Sphere By Tom Pasckvale ....................68 The Balancing Act By Ericka Smith ..................................................70 The Radical Shift in Recruiting You Should Know By Casey Cunningham ......................................................................72 One Billion-Plus Reasons Why You Should Be Active on Facebook By Bubba Mills ............................................................73 The Power of Social Media By Tiffany Hade ....................................74 The Electronic Yenta By Eric Weinstein............................................75 How to Create a Facebook Fan Page … The Right Way By Maureen Cioni ..............................................................................76

Why Loan Officers Leave: Recruiting and Retention in the Mortgage Industry By Mike Querrey

How Using Social Media Live Streaming Can Generate More Leads By Cindy Medrano ........................................................78 Don’t Let Fear Impede Your Social Business Strategy By Amy Malloy....................................................................................80 Videos. Why? By Elizabeth Morales ..................................................82

FEATURES ARMCP Begins Rounding Out Steering Committee ........................6 New Mortgage Products Cater to Investment Properties By Tom Hutchens ................................................................................8 The Elite Performer: The Time Machine Exercise By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ....................................................................8

NMP Mortgage Professional of the Month: Rob Saunders, Divisional Vice President, Caliber Home Loans Inc. By Phil Hall

Recruiting, Training and Mentoring Corner: Social Media and Recruiting By Dave Hershman ..........................................................10 A Message From FAMP President David Kane ..............................16

V I S I T Company

Web Site

O U R

A D Page

Agility Resources Group ...................................... www.agilityresourcesgroup.com ......................................24 Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions ............................ www.angeloakms.com ......................................Back Cover Assurance Financial............................................ www.lendtheway.com ....................................................69 Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ................................104 Caliber Home Loans.............................................. www.caliberwholesale.com ..............................................19 CallFurst.com ...................................................... www.callfurst.com ............................................................81 CAMP .................................................................. www.thecampsite.org ......................................................78 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................15 & 66 Citadel Servicing Corporation .............................. www.citadelservicing.com ..............................................27

MBA’s Secondary market Conference Survey: A Report of Findings By Tom LaMalfa

Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ......................................................11 FAMP ................................................................ www.myfamp.org ..........................................................71 First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmccorrespondent.com ..........Inside Front Cover & 73 Flagstar Bank .................................................... www.flagstar.com/ae ......................................................7

Freddie Mac ...................................................... www.freddiemac.com/loanadvisorsuite ............................9

Freedom Mortgage Corporation .......................... www.freedomwholesale.com ..........................................67

HomeBridge Wholesale ...................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................47

Lykken On Lending ............................................ www.lykkenonlending.com ............................................76 MBS Highway .................................................... www.mbshighway.com/MNN ..........................................61

R T G A G E

U M E

P R O F E S S I O N A L

N U M B E R

The Commercial Corner: Small Balance Q&A By Michael Boggiano..........................................................................18 NAMB Perspective: July 2016 ..........................................................20 NAMB National By Nathan Pierce ....................................................26 What I Learned About Originating From My Doctor By Brian Sacks ..................................................................................28 Implementing New Technologies to Speed Up the Process and Retain Customers By Alice Alvey ..............................................30 The Financial Choice Act Means Big Changes at the CFPB By Andrew Liput ................................................................................32 The Mortgage Godfather: How to Get Out of Your Mess! It’s Really Easy! By Ralph LoVuolo Sr. ..............................................34 Industry Updates: July 2016 By Melanie A. Feliciano Esq. ..............48 Lykken on Leadership By David Lykken ..........................................58 The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales By Pam Marron ..62 Nearly 75 Percent of Originators Have Increased Staffing ............63 UWM Releases Results of Consumer Preference Study ................83 Upgrading Your Web Site to Meet the Needs of Today’s Wholesale Mortgage Clients By Keith Bilodeau ..............................88 Valuation Workflow Automation and Reporting By Vladimir Bien-Aimé ........................................................................90 MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance ....................................................91 Steady Customer Relations Is Key to Growing Your Business......92 OrigiNation: Appraisal Woes By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ..................93 The Upfront Close By Kerry Johnson, Ph.D. ....................................94 Too Much of a Good Thing? By Sue Woodard ................................96 Security Breaches, Identity Theft and Compliance: Are You Prepared? By Laura Burke, MBA, MS, MIS, CFE, EA ........100

The only thing better than a closed loan is a FREE party! ™

A D V E R T I S E R S Company

Web Site

Page

Moneyhouse U.S. .............................................. www.moneyhouseus.com ..............................................79 Mortgage News Network (MNN) .......................... www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com ............................36 & 37 NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................25 NAMB National .................................................. www.nambnational.com ................................................33 NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ....................................................60 & 80 NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................63 NMP University .................................................. www.nmpmag.com/nmpu ................................................1 NRMLA.............................................................. www.nrmlaonline.org ....................................................77 Originator Connect ............................................ www.originatorconnect.com ..........................................46 Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................13, 59 & Inside Back Cover REMN Wholesale ................................................ www.remnwholesale.com ..............................................17 Secure Insight.................................................... www.secureinsight.com ..................................................39 TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................49 Texas Mortgage Roundup.................................... www.txmortgageroundup.com ........................................68 The Bond Exchange............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................75 The Mortgage Collaborative ................................ www.mortgagecollaborative.com ....................................57

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JULY 2016 Volume 8 • Number 7

FROM THE

Staying Connected in a Fully Connected World Technology is everywhere and the youngest mortgage borrowers have never lived in a world without it. It allows us to be everywhere, too, if we know how to use social media. These are the online destinations that have redefined how we all stay connected with each other. Those that master these tools, especially if they are on the sales side of the business, will be much more successful. Need some examples? We have them

1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-5555 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com 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 VP-Sales & Marketing (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 beverlyb@nmpmediacorp.com

Scott Koondel VP of Operations (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

Francine Miller Advertising Coordinator (516) 409-5555, ext. 301 francinem@nmpmediacorp.com

Rick Grant Special Reports Editor (570) 497-1026 (direct) (516) 409-555, ext. 311 rickg@nmpmediacorp.com

Dylan Pollock Administrative Assistant (516) 409-5555, ext. 314 dylanp@nmpmediacorp.com

publisher’s desk

for you. The 50 industry professionals featured in our “50 Most Connected Mortgage Professionals” feature know how to leverage social media very well. So well, in fact, that it has landed them this distinction and we are proud to highlight them in this issue. Every year about this time, we look out across our social networks—Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others—in search of executives who really “get” these new technologies. And you can do it, too. In this issue, we’re bringing you the stories that will show you how. We suggest you start simple, with a new Facebook Fan Page. Maureen Cioni of Mortgage Network shows you how in her excellent story on Facebook. Not sure you even need to be on Facebook? Think again. Flip over to Bubba Mills of Corcoran Consulting and Coaching’s article on rethinking your approach to Facebook. Maybe LinkedIn is your network of preference. If so, read “The Radical Shift in Recruiting You Should Know” by Casey Cunningham of XINNIX. Getting your company’s social media strategy right will take time and a lot of work. Read “The Balancing Act” by Ericka Smith of Waterstone Mortgage Corporation, to find out how one of the fastest growing retail mortgage lenders is managing their online presence for growth. Check out “Surviving the Social Media Sphere” by Tom Pasckvale of Top Vine Mortgage Services for some advice on not losing your head as you dive into these new tools. Doug Perry of Wallick & Volk looks at the impact of social media on your bottom line in his submission. Tiffany Hade of Mountain West Financial looks deeper at the impact of social media on your bottom line in her article. Cindy Medrano of the National Notary Association looks at the connection between live video streaming via various social media outlets, while Elizabeth Morales of Applied Business Software Inc. further details the power of video in her article. Amy Malloy of RPM Mortgage eases any and all hesitation of dipping your toes into the social media world in her article and wrapping things up is a humorous look at the social media universe from Eric Weinstein. We hope you’re having a great summer and have time, between trips to the beach and the clubs, to share some social media status updates with the rest of us.

ADVERTISING To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and requirements, please contact VP-Sales & Marketing Beverly Bolnick at (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyb@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. 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.

Sincerely, Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEO • NMP Media Corp. • Joel@NMPMediaCorp.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Featured Editorial Contributors Rick Grant

Andy W. Harris, CRMS

Nathan Pierce

Editorial Contributors Alice Alvey

Dave Hershman

Michael Boggiano

Ralph LoVuolo Sr.

Laura Burke, MBA, MS,

Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.

Amy Malloy

Mike Querrey

Tiffany Hade

Cindy Medrano

Brian Sacks

Tom Hutchens

Bubba Mills

Ericka Smith

Kerry Johnson, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Morales

Eric Weinstein

David Kane

Tom Pasckvale

Fowler Williams

Andrew Liput

Doug Perry

Sue Woodard

MIS, CFE, EA

David Lykken

Maureen Cioni

Pam Marron

Casey Cunningham

UWM IS TH HE #1 WHOLES SALE LENDER IN THE NA AT T TION And you are the reason why y..

success to you. From the e technology and tools we develop to our constant drive to make lending with United Wholesale Mortgage. And thank you for making us the #1 wholesale lender in the nation.

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This information is provided to mortgage and real estate pro ofessionals only and is not intended nor is it authorized for consumer distribution. NMLS #3038.

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easy, the team at UWM is dedicated to help ping you build your business. Thank you for partnering

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At UWM, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re driven by one purpose: to champion the success s of brokers nationwide. We owe our

NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals 2701 West 15th Street, Suite 536 l Plano, Texas 75075 l Phone: (972) 758-1151 l Fax: (530) 484-2906 l Web site: www.namb.org

NAMB 2015-2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS O F F I C E R S

Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS President Lending Arizona LLC 3531 North Pantano Road Tucson, AZ 85750 (520) 886-7283 randrews@lendingarizona.net

Fred Kreger, CMC President-Elect American Family Funding 28368 Constellation Road, Suite 398 Santa Clarita, CA 91350 (661) 505-4311 fred.kreger@affloans.com

John Stevens, CRMS Vice President Mountain West Financial 380 North 600 East Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 (801) 427-7111 johngstevens@gmail.com

Rick Bettencourt, CRMS Secretary Mortgage Network 300 Rosewood Drive Danvers, MA 01923 (978) 777-7500 rbettencourt@mortgagenetwork.com

Andy W. Harris, CRMS Treasurer Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. 16325 Boones Ferry Road, #100 Lake Oswego, OR 97035 (503) 496-0431, ext. 302 aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com

John Councilman, CMC, CRMS Immediate Past President AMC Mortgage Corporation 10136 Avalon Lake Circle Fort Myers, FL 33913 (239) 267-2400 jlc@amcmortgage.com

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS NAMB CEO American Midwest Bank 200 Medical Drive, Suite C-2A Carmel, IN 46032 (317) 575-4355 donald.frommeyer@gmail.com

D I R E C T O R S

Kimber White RE Financial Services Inc. 1620 West Oakland Park Blvd. #201 Oakland Park, FL 33311 (954) 306-3553 kimber.lmt@gmail.com

Olga Kucerak, CRMS Crown Lending 328 West Mistletoe San Antonio, TX 78212 (210) 828-3384 olga@crownlending.com

Valerie Saunders RE Financial Services 13033 West Lindburgh Avenue Tampa, FL 33626 (866) 992-0785 valsaun@gmail.com

David Luna, CRMS Mortgage Educators and Compliance 947 South 500 E, Suite 105 American Fork, UT 84003 (877) 403-1428 david@mortgageeducators.com

Robert Sweeney, CRMS 600 East Carmel Drive Carmel, IN 46032 (317) 625-3287 bob.sweeney46@yahoo.com

Linda McCoy, CRMS Mortgage Team 1 Inc. 6336 Piccadilly Square Drive Mobile, AL 36609 (251) 650-0805 linda@mortgageteam1.com

Michele Velez, CMC 1300 South El Camino Real, Suite 505 San Mateo, CA 94402 (650) 409-2850 shellvelez@gmail.com

Nathan Pierce, CRMS Advanced Funding Home Mortgage Loans 6589 South 1300 East, Suite 200 Salt Lake City, UT 84121 (801) 272-0600 npierce@advfund.com

Mike Anderson, CRMS Mortgage Financial Services 11940 Bricksome Ave., Suite B Baton Rouge, LA 70816 (504) 451-3339 manderson@mfsus.com

National Association of Professional Mortgage Women 1851 South Lakeline Boulevard, Suite 104, Box 303 l Phone: (800) 827-3034 l E-mail: napmw2napmw.org l Web site: www.napmw.org

2015-2016 NAPMW NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS 6

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National President Kelly Hendricks (314) 398-6840 president@napmw.org

President-Elect Nikki Bell (678) 442-3966 preselect@napmw.org

Vice President Cathy Kantrowitz (845) 463-3011 nvp1@napmw.org

Vice President Laurel Knight (425) 412-6787 nvp2@napmw.org

Secretary Windee Falla (281) 556-9182 natsecretary@napmw.org

Treasurer Judy Alderson (918) 250-9080, ext. 300 nattreasurer@napmw.org

Parliamentarian Frances Reinhardt (678) 331-1384 freinhardt@firstservicetitle.net

National Consumer Reporting Association 701 East Irving Park Road, Suite 306 l Roselle, IL 60172 l Phone: (630) 539-1525 l Fax: (630) 539-1526 l Web site: www.ncrainc.org

2015-2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

William Bower President (800) 288-4757 WBower@continfo.com

Julie Wink Vice President/Treasurer (901) 259-5105 Julie@DataFacts.com

Mike Brown Ex-Officio (908) 813-8555, ext. 3020 MBrown@CISinfo.net

Mary Campbell Director (701) 239-9977 Mary@AdvantageCreditBureau.com

Matthew Carpenter Director MCarpenter@Sarma.com

Maureen Devine Director (413) 736-4511 MDevine@StrategicInfo.com

Mike Thomas Director (615) 386-2285, ext. 285 MThomas@CICCredit.com

Dean Wangsgard Director (801) 487-8781 Dean@nacmint.com

Delia Zuniga Director Delia@AdvantagePlusCredit.com

Terry Clemans Executive Director (630) 539-1525 TClemans@NCRAInc.org

Jan Gerber Office Manager/Member Services (630) 539-1525 JGerber@ NCRAInc.org

Scott Ledbetter Director (214) 783-3315

ARMCP Begins Rounding Out Steering Committee he Association of Residential Mortgage Compliance Professionals (ARMCP), a not-for-profit, professional organization devoted to residential mortgage compliance professionals, has added another member to its seven-member Steering Committee. ARMCP is in need of two additional residential mortgage compliance and/or regulatory compliance professionals to join President and Founder Jonathan Foxx on the Steering Committee. “This is a leadership position,” said Foxx. “We ask that you be a member who is actually involved in residential mortgage compliance or provide regulatory compliance guidance to such persons.” The purpose of ARMCP’s Steering Committee is to: Draft and review the association’s by-laws; determine a nominating process for officers; discuss the association’s first conference; decide on subcommittees and the process for appointing committee chairs; set forth a Mission Statement; and other business relating to the association’s mission. Interested parties may contact ARMCP at Info@ARMCP.org.

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• TAIL A ORED FLEXIBILIT FLEXIBILIT Y—YOU DEC CIDE

New Mortgage Products Cater to Investment Properties By Tom Hutchens ne of the clearest indicators of illiquidity in mortgage credit has been the high percentage of all-cash home purchases. In fact, all-cash transactions accounted for over 35 percent of total home sales in February of this year. This speaks volumes about the credit crunch that the mortgage market is currently experiencing, particularly in the agency lending space. After the housing crisis, income properties presented an investment opportunity to those with the liquidity and cash flow to get in the game. Unfortunately, financing for those that can’t afford an outright cash purchase has been exceedingly difficult to come by, and to an investor, leverage is extremely important. Further, while Fannie Mae restricts the number of properties an investor can hold for income purchases to 10, the big banks typically limit it to just four. Government-backed loans for these non-owner occupied investment properties have been scarce, but a strong economy and attractive rental market have investors looking to alternative lending sources for financing. Many entrepreneurs would like to expand into rental properties, as the payoff can be incredibly lucrative. However, those who need to get financing in order to take advantage of the investment real estate market will need to look beyond traditional channels. Fortunately, investment properties are no longer exclusive to the extremely wealthy. The emergence of non-agency products allows more borrowers to qualify for financing on investment properties and has opened the door to a wider swath of potential investors. Today, there are products on the market that allow borrowers to receive a non-agency loan for investment properties using projected cash flow received from the property itself instead of W-2 income (provided they have a credit score higher than 660 and a 25 percent downpayment). They simply need to have a qualified appraiser perform an estimated cash flow assessment of the property to show that it can cover monthly mortgage payments and carrying costs. Unlike agency loans, there is no limit on the number of properties that can be financed. Ultimately, these innovative products will allow brokers and lenders to expand their mortgage offerings and access more borrowers. Perhaps more importantly, these products bridge the gap between agency guidelines and investor demand by bringing a little bit of liquidity back to the world of mortgage credit.

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Tom Hutchens is senior vice president of sales and marketing at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, an Atlanta-based wholesale lender currently licensed in 27 states. Tom has been in the real estate lending business for nearly 20 years. He may be reached by phone at (855) 539-4910 or email Info@AngelOakMS.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

the

elite performer The Time Machine Exercise BY ANDY W. HARRIS, CRMS

ave you ever wondered what your business will look like in the future? Why wonder if you can vision it? Setting goals is a standard practice for most of us, but we also have to strategically plan in order to hit those goals. We should then predict what our future will look like if we do hit the goals we set. Close your eyes and imagine you step into a time machine and fast forward five, 10 or even more years into the future. What would your business look like? What would the people look like in your business? Write down what you see in your vision of the future business.

Five years What has changed in your business? What people have you added and how have you evolved or expanded? Were you disciplined to overcome challenges, but also take advantage and expose opportunities? What makes you stand out from competitors and have you increased market share? Are you happy with what you see? Look inside and ask yourself these questions and more. What do you need to do today in order to hit your goals and be in the best position in the future? 10 years or longer Even more has changed with technology and your industry. How has your company adapted and grown as a result? Have you cruised along conservatively or have you taken calculated risks for new opportunities? How has your team developed and grown and how has this impacted your work and life balance? What role do you see yourself in and what have you learned to delegate? What is your exit strategy with retirement and when will you retire? Obviously you can do this vision planning at any stage of your life or career. It’s a good practice to write down what you see and be honest with yourself. Predicting the future means you have an understanding of what must happen today in order to get there. Have a positive outlook and strategic goals, but look up at the finish line for your motivation rather than down at your feet during your journey.

“A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.” —Denis Waitley Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and past president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 4960431, e-mail AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com or visit VantageMortgageGroup.com.

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A Brighter Idea in Loan Production

Recruiting, Training and Mentoring Corner

Social Media and Recruiting BY DAVE HERSHMAN

here is no doubt that social media can be a great tool for producers. However, it is also an effective tool to facilitate the recruiting process as well. We need to start with the fact that networking is the most effective tool a manager can utilize in the recruiting process. Social media provides the medium to accomplish social networking. The most important social media site which has as a primary objective of facilitating social networking is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is so effective because it is site for business contacts, as opposed to a site such as Facebook which is focused upon personal information. Yes, there are Facebook business pages, but the purpose of these pages typically is to attract consumers. On LinkedIn, the users are more focused upon business connections and even the company pages on LinkedIn are more likely to focus upon the delivery of business-to-business value. How can social media be used to facilitate the recruitment process? Because of its “business” focus, we will use LinkedIn as the prime example this activity.

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1. Accomplish research on candidates or potential candidates Before you meet with a candidate, or even to help you decide whether you would want to meet with someone, a visit to their LinkedIn profile is a must.

What are you looking for? l Certainly, their work history is all-important in this regard. If they have been working at five companies in the past five years, this is not evidence of a stable work history. Stability, length of experience and also production focus can all be extrapolated from a robust LinkedIn profile. l Even the types of companies they have worked for can be very important information. What is the reputation of these companies? Do they have a similar business model as your company? For example, if you represent a large bank with a strict structure in place and their work history is with small entities in which the loan officers are fiercely independent, this might not be a match. l Even the professionalism and extent of their profile is important. This can tell you whether they are serious about using social media and also may be a reflection of how they approach other aspects of their business. Would their present profile even pass compliance tests within your company? l The testimonials posted on their site would also supply you with pertinent information. What their customers and referral sources say will speak volumes about the way they go about their business. If they have no testimonials published, this raises questions. Are they not using this tool the way it should be used, or are they not providing great customer service?

2. A look at their work background and connections can also give rise to potential references Perhaps you know one of their connections well. These references might be checked after interviews or before a potential interview to determine whether you should meet with this candidate. In this regard, a call to a connection may prevent you from wasting your time. 3. The search feature on LinkedIn can also give you information about those you with whom you might have experiences or backgrounds in common These commonalities could facilitate connections with potential candidates. Perhaps you went to the same school, came from the same home town or worked at the same company as a potential candidate? Your request for a connection should cite that commonality with statements such as–I see we both went to the University of ABC—do you remember “so and so?” These commonalities can also give you more to talk about when you meet with candidates. Remember, recruiting is about developing relationships and trust. Remember, the key to successful use of social media is

to deliver value to your connections and potential connections. That means posting statements such as “come work here” is not effective as compared to posting valuable articles which will help your connections do more business. Going back to our initial premise regarding networking providing the best basis for recruiting–we will acknowledge that LinkedIn is often used by recruiters to facilitate cold calling. I have received calls from recruiters who quite obviously did not read my profile carefully before making the call. This is a scattergun approach and is not likely to be effective. Good quality producers don’t have time to take a cold call and, if they do, they are not going to be swayed by a cold call. Therefore, those you would attract would trigger a process of adverse selection by attracting lower quality candidates who are not likely to stick at your company as well. The same concept applies to advertising for candidates on LinkedIn. What good loan officer is going to respond to an advertisement? Great loan officers have plenty of choices without searching. Again, your best vehicle for finding quality candidates is through the networking process and social media provides a great tool for social networking–if you go about it in the right way.

Dave Hershman is a top author in this industry with seven books published, as well as the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and the OriginationPro’s online comprehensive mortgage school. Dave is also director of Branch Support for McLean Mortgage. He may be reached by e-mail at Dave@HershmanGroup.com or visit OriginationPro.com.

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UWM Launches New Settlement Agent Portal

Carrington Offering Conventional Loans Via Its Wholesale Lending Channel

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has introduced a new proprietary Settlement Agent Portal, which enables settlement agents to submit their closing changes electronically to UWM. The new portal will streamline the closing process and speed up the response time for UWM clients and their settlement agents. “Electronic capabilities in the closing process are the next wave of innovations that will define how successful lenders and mortgage brokers will be moving forward,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of UWM. “The speed and simplicity that the Settlement Agent Portal adds to the closing process will give mortgage brokers a major competitive advantage in the marketplace. Similar to our UClose technology that allows same-day and nextday closings to be completed by brokers, even in the post-TRID world, the new Settlement Agent Portal is another example of UWM making lending easy for our clients. We designed it with the goal of making the closing process so easy that settlement agents will be encouraging mortgage brokers to use UWM for all of their loans.” The portal will enable settlement agents to review the preliminary closing documents and submit their changes electronically, placing the file directly into the closing queue. This process eliminates the need for multiple emails and waiting for a Closing Specialist to reply to an e-mail. UWM produced a tutorial video to highlight the increased efficiencies the portal makes possible.

Carrington Mortgage Services LLC’s Wholesale Mortgage Lending Division has added conventional loans to its portfolio of products, adding to the organization’s government lending experience—providing more choices for Carrington’s broker customers, agent partners and clients. “Together with our government product line and expertise, Carrington is the go-to lender for both government and conventional lending, ensuring we’re able to provide loan choices across the entire market to enable brokers to serve a more diverse range of customers in Bringing Their Loans Home,” said Ray Brousseau, EVP of Carrington’s Mortgage Lending Division. Carrington’s new conventional products include: Conforming Fixed-Rate Loans (purchase/refinance available); Conforming, High Balance (higher loan amounts, purchase/refinance); Freddie Open Access (refinance); DU Refi Plus (refinance); Lender Paid Mortgage Insurance (LPMI); and Texas Home Equity. “With the addition of our wholesale lending conventional loan products, Carrington can now offer even more purchase loan options for borrowers with great credit, first-time homebuyers, those needing a low down payment and the underserved,” said Patrick

Flanagan, EVP of Carrington’s Wholesale Lending Division. “Combined with our great service and fast turn-times, that makes it possible for us to better serve brokers and consumers— putting more people, and more families, in the home they want.” Secure Insight’s Closing Guard Adopted by East Coast Capital

East Coast Capital Corporation has announced that it has enhanced its risk management policies and procedures governing its retail mortgage lending business by requiring independent screening and risk monitoring for all settlement agents having access to a borrower’s loan documents and mortgage proceeds, to be managed by Secure Insight, the first vendor management firm to specialize in closing table risk. The company chose Secure Insight’s Closing Guard tool to evaluate the backgrounds, licensing, insurance and trust accounts of agents as a method to identify potential threats before a closing takes place. “We are honored to have been chosen by East Coast Capital for these critical risk management services and are proud to be their partner in this important endeavor,” said Secure Insight CEO Andrew Liput. Closing Guard is the mortgage banking industry’s only tool that evaluates, rates, monitors and reports settlement gent risk in real-time in the only nationwide database of mortgage closing

professionals. The Secure Insight proprietary evaluation process combines automated data analysis with live reviews by trained analysts for the most accurate and informative risk analytics in the industry. “We take the management of third-party service providers seriously, both for operational risk but also for investor confidence and consumer protection,” said Seth B. Fass, president of East Coast Capital. “We spent many months evaluating various solutions to manage settlement agent risk, and were impressed with what Secure Insight has to offer in its Closing Guard product.” CoesterVMS Files for Patent for Customary and Reasonable Fee Calculator

CoesterVMS has filed for a U.S. patent for its customary and reasonable fee appraisal fee disclosure calculator. The calculator provides an accurate fee rate quote for an appraisal saving lenders time and money and assisting in compliance with Customary and Reasonable fee calculation. CoesterVMS developed the calculator to help loan officers meet TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) requirements as well as the DoddFrank Customary and Reasonable fee payment requirements under federal and state law. It helps eliminate the back and forth on appraiser fee data. The quote estimate includes multiple factors including the customary and reasonable appraiser fee for a selected valuation product in a property market, finished square footage, lot size and complexity of the file. “We are confident that our fee calculator improves the valuation

process and is the way forward for the industry. We have several data service providers that use our calculator already for customary and reasonable fee calculation and that is the reason why we are filing for a patent,” said Brian Coester, chief executive officer of CoesterVMS. “The industry needs tools such as our disclosure calculator for compliance and to ensure that valuation fees are not a surprise. Ultimately, every lender and appraisal management company will need the ability to quote an exact fee and we are glad to be the first company to offer this to the industry.” The proprietary application has features such as direct information population and the ability to save quotes for later use creating efficiencies in addition to maintaining compliance.

Velocify LoanEngage Announces New Sales and Marketing Solution

Velocify has launched Velocify LoanEngage, a mortgage

marketing and sales platform designed to help retail lenders grow their business and close more purchase loans. Velocify LoanEngage brings together automated marketing, lead management and referral partner management features into a single platform, bridging the gap most lenders experience between their marketing and sales efforts, while enhancing visibility, compliance and productivity in the mortgage process. “For years, retail mortgage lenders have struggled to create harmony between their sales and

marketing activities because they were using disparate systems that couldn’t talk to each other,” said Nick Hedges, president and chief executive office of Velocify. “Velocify LoanEngage solves this problem by placing each of these critical functions in one place, allowing loan officers to focus on their most precious asset– relationships with referral partners, new borrowers, and existing clients.” Due to inefficiencies and lack of coordination between sales continued on page 18

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Applied Business Software Releases Upgrade to The Mortgage Office Applied Business Software Inc. (ABS), developers of The Mortgage Office and The Loan Office software, has announced a major update to its signature software, The Mortgage Office. The extensive update features dozens of enhanced features to its worldwide customer base. Some of the new features of Version 2.1.7 include: Online payments that allow borrowers to make payments using their credit/debit cards or bank account information with instant confirmations; electronic payments over the phone for real time credit card and EFT payments; added enhancements to the QuickBooks and PeopleSoft Integration which allows posting of company funds to the general ledger; Excel import to easily import loans, coborrowers, lenders, vendors, funding and more via the powerful import wizard; and CDFI Certification from the U.S. Department of Treasury for the 2016 reporting year. “We are very excited about this release that continues to support our customers’ needs and demands in an ever changing regulatory business and fast paced environment,” said Jerry Delgado, CEO and co-founder of ABS. “I proudly stand behind our development team that produces world-class software to provide a

notable ROI to our customers. The new feature set is consistent with prior releases, where enhancements to compliance, reporting, efficiency, versatility and scalability are the ultimate objectives.”

NEWSFLASH y JULY 2016 y NMP NEWSFLASH y JULY 2016 y NMP NEWSFLASH y JULY 2016 y NMP N

NAMB Seeks G-Fee and LLPA Clarification in “Know Before You Owe” Disclosure

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NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals has called upon both the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to further clarify the “Know Before You Owe” real estate disclosure forms. NAMB is asking the CFPB and FHFA to include a new line item that clearly states the guaranteed-fees (G-fees) from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs). NAMB is seeking further transparency in the mortgage process as both the G-fees and LLPAs are currently incorporated into underlying rates paid by borrowers at the closing table. “NAMB supports the removal of LLPAs going forward because of the increase in mortgage credit quality and improved industry risk management practices,” said NAMB President Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS in the letter. “We ask the agencies to go a step further and require disclosure of these fees to consumers. In the alternative, provide mortgage market participants a regulatory safe harbor framework to voluntarily disclose these fees to consumers.” In a letter dated April 28, 2016, CFPB Director Richard Cordray acknowledged complaints and concerns relating to its “Know Before You Owe” rule, also

known as the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, and stated its plans to seek input from industry trade groups on making updates to this federal policy. “The CFPB should use this opportunity to disclose to the consumer the hidden tax Gfees represent,” said Andrews. “Such disclosure will help consumers understand, in certain cases, why their rate is higher than normal and help consumers make better decisions. Consumers deserve to know that a portion of the cost of financing a new home will be used to finance federal spending not directly related to homeownership.” Survey: Trump Presidency Would Be Better for Housing

A new survey released by Trulia has determined that most voters believe having Donald Trump in the White House instead of Hillary Clinton would prove more beneficial to home prices. The survey, which was conducted by Harris Poll, polled more than 2,000 adults from June 7-9. When asked which candidate would have an

upward impact on home prices, 39 percent said prices would rise under a President Trump while 29 percent said prices would go up under a President Clinton. The former Secretary of State had little favor among her own party members: 24 percent of Democrats predicted increased home prices if Clinton was elected, compared to 47 percent saying housing prices would likely rise if Trump were elected. Trump also bested Clinton among Independents (34 percent to 28 percent) and Republicans (38 percent to 33 percent). As for Millennials—yes, they keep turning up in these surveys—Trump outpaced Clinton 49 percent to 26 percent. Ralph McLaughlin, Trulia’s chief economist, insisted that this survey should not be seen as an endorsement or rejection of either candidate. “Voters shouldn’t necessarily be surprised by the little attention that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have paid to housing this election cycle,” McLaughlin said. “Eight years ago, housing and the economy were the main talking points of Obama and Romney because millions of homeowners were going through foreclosure and the economy was in shambles. Today, the housing market and U.S. economy look much healthier, and as such, candidates have turned their attention to more popular issues such as immigration, gun control, and national security.”

Loan Defect Index on the Decline

The quality of mortgage originations appears to be reaching a new standard of excellence, as the First American Loan Application Defect Index registered a 73 level rating in May, a 2.7 percent dip as compared with April and a 9.9 percent plummet from May 2015. Last month, the Defect Index for refinance transactions declined 3.1 percent month-overmonth, and was 10 percent lower than a year ago. The Defect Index for purchase transactions dropped 2.4 percent month-overmonth and 11.4 percent yearover-year. “The Defect Index continues to decline, reaching a historically measured low point,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, who noted that May’s index reading was down 28.4 percent from the high point of risk in October 2013. “Apart from the increases in risk in 2013 and early 2015, the Defect Index has been consistently trending lower since inception.” The five states with the highest year-over-year increase in defect frequency for May were North Dakota (19.3 percent), Maine and Missouri (tied at 10 percent), Utah (5.2 percent), and Oklahoma (4.7 percent). St. Louis had the

highest metro area year-overyear defect frequency increase at 15.9 percent, with Salt Lake City coming in second at a distant four percent. “When rates begin to rise consistently higher, which is now less likely in 2016 given Britain’s decision to exit the European Union, there should be less refinance activity relative to purchase loan applications,” said Fleming. “We expect this relative shift away from lower risk refinancing to higher risk purchase loans will put upward pressure on the overall risk indices. More generally, because the indices don’t hold the ‘mix’ of refinance and purchase applications constant, the overall index measures the underlying risk trend, but also any change in the mix.”

credit risk into the private market with a greater focus on front-end risk transfers and continuing to wind-down the investment portfolios, which were used by the GSEs as hedge funds generating large profits,” the senators added. “These two steps both lessen the risks posed by the GSEs and will help facilitate housing finance reform down the road.” The letter was authored by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Dean Heller (R-NV), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mark Warner (D-VA).

FHFA Takes Step Forward to CSP Goal The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is shifting the plan for a Common Securitization Platform (CSP) from an abstract theory to a reality. The agency has released “An Update on Implementation of the Single Security and the Common Securitization Platform,” a report that details the efforts to migrate

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to a CSP system. The FHFA is also setting a timeline of targeted dates for the completion of this task, and later in the year the agency will offer advance notice of at least one year for its CSP launch. “This update reflects our ongoing commitment to transparency,” said FHFA Director Mel Watt. “It also reflects the outstanding public and industry input and support we have already received and that we look forward to continued on page 16

Senators Warn Watt on Future of GSEs

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© Copyr o y ight i 2007-2016 Carringt a oon Mortga gagge Services, LLC headquartereed at 1600 South Douglasss Roaad, Suites e 110 & 200A, Anaheim, CA 92806. 800 -561-4567. NM MLS ID 2600. Nationwide Mortgage g Licensing Syst ys eem (NMLS) Coonsumer Access ce websit e ee: www.nmlsc . o onsume erac a cess.org. AZ: Mortggage Bankeer BK-0910745. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the Califor a o nia n Reesidential Mortgage Lending Act,, Fiile 413 0904. CO: Check h license status of yoour mortgage g loan origina i toor at www.dor . a.sta a te.co.us/reale estate/index.htm. e GA: Georgia g a Residential Mortggage Licensee 22721. IL: Illinois Residential e Mortggage Licensee. KS: Supervised Loan License SL.0000313. KY:: Mortgage Loan Company o y Liceense MC211112. MN: This h is not an offer e too enteer into an interest e e rate lock agreement a e under Miinnesota Law. MS: Licensed by the Mississipppi Department of Banking i and Consumer o Financ i e. Mortgage g Lender License 2600. MO: Missouri Compan o y Registration 14 -1746-A. In-State Office: Missouri Residentiall Mortgage g Loan Brok o er e License e 14-1746-A1. 251 SW Noel, Lees e Summit, MO 64063. NV: Mortgage g Brok o er e License e 4068 (Residential Mortgage Lending). NH: Licensedd by the New Hampshire Bankiing Department. NJ:: Licensed by the t N.J. Department of Banking i and Insuranc a e. NY: Licensed Moortggage Banker—NY e — S Department of Financ i ial Services. New Yor o k Mortggage Banker e License B500980/1076664. OH: Ohio Mortgage g Brok o eer Act Cer e tificatee of Registr e ation MB.804213.000; M Ohio Mortggage Loan Act Cer e tificatee of Registr e ation SM.501517.000. OR: Mortggage Lender License ML4886. PA: Licensed by the Department of Banking. RI: Rhode Island s Liceensed Lender, Lender Liceense 20112809LL. VA: Licensed by the Viri gginia State Cor o poration Coommission MC--5382. NMLS ID 2600 (www.nmlsc . onsumerac a cess e .org). g WA: Coonsumer Loan Liceense CL2600. Also licensed in i AL, AR, CT, DE, DC,, FL, ID, IN, IA, LA, ME,, MD, MI, MT,, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, UT, WV, WI and WY. NOTICE: All loans suubject to credit e , underwriting i and prop o erty approval guidelines. Offered e e loan products may vary by state. The here is no guarant a ee that all borrroweers will qualify. Restricitionss may apply.. This h is not a commitment o too lend.. Terms e m , conditio o ons and programs a are subject too change without notice. This h infor o ma m tion is foor mortgage g prof o eessionals only ly and is not intended e for o distribution i to consumers. Carringt a ri on on Mortggage Servicees is not acting on behalf of or at the direc e tioon of HUD/FHA or any government en agency.y. All rights i reser e ved e.

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n JULY 2016

A F U L L R A N G E O F LOA N S O LU T I O N S

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A bipartisan group of senators have written to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Mel Watt with a warning over unilaterally releasing the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) from conservatorship without enacting reforms on how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate. “Over the long run, we all agree changes will be needed to the existing structure. However, we firmly believe those changes should come through housing finance reform legislation, not unilateral action by this or any future Administration,” the senators wrote. “That is why Congress included a provision in the 2016 omnibus legislation which restricted the release of Treasury’s shares in the GSEs. The passage of this provision reasserted the desire of Congress to have a say in determining the fate of Fannie and Freddie.” The senators stated that efforts to recreate the pre-2008 operational model for the GSEs would be a major mistake, adding that it was crucial for Watt’s agency to continue on the path to upgrade the GSE model to avoid taxpayer risks. “Those changes include laying off additional mortgage

nmp news flash

A Message From Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals Statewide President David Kane s I write what may be my last message as the president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP), I reflect on what an honor it has been to serve as president of this great association over the past two years. To those who have served on the state level as the associations' Committee chairpersons, members of the board of directors, on the Executive Committee during my terms as president, and all of the members who served their individual chapters, my sincerest thank you for all of the work and time you have given to the association. It is through your hard work and efforts that our association continues to thrive. I would be especially remiss without a thank you to all of our members who financially support our association through your dues. Although we had hoped that changes in our industry would have abated, they keep coming. We now have trended credit on its way and proposed changes from CFPB to "Know Before You Owe" (aka the TRID Rule). You have noticed changes to credit reports regarding how revolving credit is shown. Now you will now see 24 months of payment and balance history, plus other new data, all which is part of trended credit. FAMP’s Chapters have held informational events, and will continue to host speakers at their local meetings to provide information about relevant topics such as trended credit data. We will continue to keep our members informed about these changes and much more. As the CFPB releases its proposed changes and the comment period opening is announced for "Know Before You Owe,” we will keep you informed, provide all of the information we can garner, and help you meet the deadline for making comments to the CFPB. With all of that in mind, the FAMP Annual Convention and Trade Show is fast-approaching and kicks off on Wednesday, Aug. 17 with our Annual Golf Outing. Attend our outstanding breakout sessions covering a myriad of topics to keep you upto-date on products and keep you compliant; complete your eight-hour CE requirement at one of our live classes offered during the convention; and attend our two-day trade show. This is our largest show in a decade, and it is sold out of booth spaces and will be jam-packed with exhibitors, many who are new to our event. Come to meet them and grow your business! This year FAMP honors the "Red White and Blue.” Attend our "Homes for Our Troops" Breakfast, our Annual OFR Luncheon, and our "Star-Spangled Celebration and Awards.” For more information and to register, visit MyFAMP.org. If you are not a member of FAMP, visit MyFAMP.org and join today. Our association and your industry needs your support.

FAMP

David Kane is a regional manager at Security National Mortgage Company and statewide president of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP). He may be reached by phone at (239) 851-7671 or e-mail Kanejrdj@aol.com.

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continuing to have as we move toward the goal of launching the CSP. The CSP and the Single Security are ambitious projects that we are confident should improve the overall efficiency and liquidity of the mortgage market and result in tremendous savings to taxpayers.” Foreclosure Inventory Hits Nine-Year Low

The U.S. foreclosure inventory took a dramatic 24.5 percent year-over-year plummet in May, reaching its lowest level since October 2007, while the number of completed foreclosures declined by 6.9 percent from 41,000 in May 2015 to 38,000 in May 2016, according to new data from CoreLogic. As of May 2016, the national foreclosure inventory consisted of approximately 390,000 mortgaged properties, or one percent of all homes with a mortgage, versus 517,000 homes, or 1.3 percent, one year earlier. Also in decline during May was the number of mortgages in serious delinquency: a 21.6 percent year-over-year fall with 1.1 million mortgages, or 2.8 percent, in this category. The serious delinquency rate for May was the lowest since October 2007. The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures—Florida (63,000), Michigan (45,000), Texas (27,000), Ohio (23,000) and California (23,000)—represented nearly half of all completed foreclosures nationally, while the District of Columbia had the lowest number of completed foreclosures in May with 139. “Delinquency and foreclosure rates continue to drop as we experience the benefits of a combination of tight underwriting, job and income growth and a steady rise in home prices,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “We expect these factors to remain in place for

the remainder of this year and for delinquency and foreclosure rates to decline even further. As we finally move past the housing crisis, we need to increase our focus on expanding the supply of affordable housing and access to credit for first-time homebuyers in sustainable ways to ensure the long-term health of the U.S. housing market.” New Bill Seeks to Stop Zombie Foreclosures

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is planning to introduce the Preventing Abandoned Foreclosures and Preserving Communities Act of 2016, which is designed to address the issue of so-called zombie foreclosures. In introducing the bill, the senator admitted that its inspiration came from his state’s dismal housing environment— New Jersey had the highest foreclosure rate last year more than 35,000 filings and the most vacant zombie foreclosures, impacting more than 4,000 properties. The legislation would requires mortgage servicers to tell borrowers at the beginning of the foreclosure process they can remain in the home until state law requires them to leave, while also making it clear that the borrower is responsible for the payment of any taxes, assessments, and other fees during the foreclosure process. The bill would also mandate the Government Accountability Office and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to publish a report on the prevalence and impact of abandoned foreclosures. “Zombie foreclosures threaten our communities and scare away new homebuyers and investors, which leads to neighborhood blight and plummeting values of surrounding properties,” said Sen. Menendez, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate’s Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development. “We need to do all we can to keep families in their homes and continued on page 26

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cocia rn l er

Asking Three Crucial Mid-Year Commercial Questions

Are you positioned to diversify your business in the second half of 2016? By Michael Boggiano

JULY 2016 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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uly 1 marked the halfway point of 2016, making this a great time to reflect on the performance of your business so far.

If you’ve noticed a dip in residential closings this year or you’re simply looking to add an additional revenue stream to your business, you could consider diversifying with smallbalance commercial mortgages in the second half of 2016. No transition can take place overnight, but you may be closer to the commercial arena than you may think. Take a look back at your year so far and ask yourself the following 3 questions to see if you’re in a position to diversify. Are you passing on all commercial deals, regardless of size and/or complexity? If you’ve been turning down all commercial deals as a matter of policy, you could be missing out on deals that closely resemble residential mortgage loans. For instance, the only difference between a residential and commercial multifamily deal is the property’s unit number. If you’ve closed a residential multifamily deal with one to four units in 2016, you should be well-prepared to handle five or more on the commercial side. Can you get more out of your referral network? Re-examine the deals you’ve closed this year and see if you can determine the source of each relationship. Did you rely on the referral business of long-time friends or colleagues? Or did you establish new connections this year through conferences or social media services like LinkedIn? Believe it or not, both groups are potential sources for commercial opportunities. Your long-time referral network may not currently send you attractive commercial deals because they’ve always known you to work on the residential side. And your new connections simply haven’t had enough time to understand your skillset. Talk to your network about commercial mortgages and then wait to see if any new opportunities come trickling in. Are you meeting all of your clients’ needs? Many residential borrowers have commercial needs as well. Check the real estate-owned (REO) section of your 2016 closed 1003s to see if any of your happy clients also own commercial property. You can also check their occupation to see if you’ve recently worked with any professionals or small-business owners who could potentially be interested in purchasing or refinancing a commercial property. If you’ve originated fewer residential mortgage loans in 2016, creating a new revenue stream could make a big difference to your bottom line. If you answered “Yes” to any of the three questions above, you could already be positioned to seamlessly add small-balance commercial mortgages to your business in the back half of 2016.

Michael Boggiano is national sales manager for Silver Hill Funding, a small-balance commercial mortgage lender offering nationwide financing from $250,000 to $1 million. He may be reached by phone at (888) 988-8843 or e-mail MikeB@SilverHillFunding.com.

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new to market

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and marketing efforts, most retail lenders have trouble converting borrower leads—even leads from their existing client databases. Velocify LoanEngage eliminates this gap by providing automated marketing solutions with lead management, and then integrating both into a lender’s loan origination system (LOS). “We’ve been waiting for a platform like Velocify LoanEngage for some time. There is nothing in the market like it,” said Jeff Richard, Midwest regional marketing manager with MCS Mortgage Bankers. “With Velocify LoanEngage our loan officers will be able to manage and leverage their most productive referral sources. In addition, the automated marketing materials and new visibility into the sales process will help us ensure compliance, close more loans, and operate with far greater efficiency.” Key features of Velocify LoanEngage include: Marketing automation; referral management; sales lifecycle management; and reporting and analytics. In addition, Velocify LoanEngage can be integrated with leading loan origination systems (LOS) such as Ellie Mae’s Encompass, allowing loan offers to import borrower and loan data into the LOS, as well as automatically retrieve LOS data to communicate changes in loan status to borrowers and real estate agents.

reduce turn-times and shorten closing windows,” said Timothy R. Smith, chief revenue officer of First Lenders Data (FirstClose). “Our FirstClose Report offers lenders who are proactively reviewing their loan portfolios with an eye toward refinancing those HELOCS a way to reduce closing times from 40-plus days to less than 10 days by delivering an instant report that includes everything lenders need, while reducing costs by an average of 40 percent, and decreasing risk with $500,000 of A+ XIII rated lien protection insurance per loan.” The unique solution enables lenders to offer their customers a better “application to closing” experience by virtue of its shortened length, improved accuracy and increased efficiency. At the same time, the drastic reductions in time, money, and risk improves the lender’s ability to better serve their customers and compete more successfully in an industry filled with compliance hurdles and increased costs. Specifically, the FirstClose Report instantly provides lenders with: Instant owners and encumbrance/property reports, including $500,000 of lien protection insurance; instant property valuations including quarterly AVM validation; and instant flood certifications– including life of loan monitoring and a copy of the flood map. Lenders can choose from a myriad of property valuation providers and any of the top flood First Lenders Data Launches certification companies in the Bundled FirstClose Report industry. In addition, lenders can customize the report to include add-on services including property condition reports, desktop The FirstClose Report, an valuations, 2055 drive-by instantaneous, bundled report appraisals, 1004 full appraisals, developed by First Lenders Data and full ALTA Title insurance for Inc. (FirstClose) that delivers a larger loan amounts and lower title search, flood certification, FICO scores. By design, The valuation, and property FirstClose Report satisfies all the information with $500,000 of lien risk and compliance requirements protection insurance on every placed on lenders. loan, is helping loan officers “Our FirstClose Report is an effectively address the steady effective way for lenders to stream of Home Equity Lines of address the resetting HELOCs in Credit (HELOCS) that are resetting their loan portfolios,” Smith said. through 2018. The patent-pending “By delivering everything their FirstClose Report enables lenders lending operations need within 30 to order the documents they need seconds and for significantly less to quickly and effectively than what they pay today, we’re refinance resetting HELOCS—all achieving our goal of helping delivered within 30 seconds, lenders reduce their closing times, within one report. increase their efficiencies, and “When considering the sheer drastically reduce their cost and number of resetting HELOCs, we risk.” saw a real need to help mortgage lending operations lower costs, continued on page 60

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Caliber Home Loans, Inc., 3701 Regent Boulevard, Irving, TX 75063 (NMLS #15622). 1-800-401-6587. Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved. Equal Housing H Lender. For real estate and lending professionals only and not for distribution to consumers. This communication may contain information that is privileged, conﬁdential, legally privileged, and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Distribution to the general public is prohibited. Caliber Home Loans iss an Equal Opportunity Employer. (NMP_ JULLY Y2016)

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Support HR 3393 HR 3393 is the House Bill to benefit smaller loan amounts, and to a larger degree, low income and minority borrowers. All too often, smaller loan amount borrowers find lenders unwilling to work on their loans due to the three percent loan originator compensation limit. This effect is magnified for small business entities that broker loans and must include the entire amount paid by the investor to the business in the three percent calculation putting them on uneven ground with banking institutions which have no such requirement. Banking institutions can earn additional funds by increasing the rate and earning more compensation in the service release/rebate portion of the transaction that is unavailable to the small business entities acting in a broker transaction. These limits on compensation make it hard for investors and originators to make enough money on these transactions to counter the substantial risk of working with small loan amounts and typically lower incomes. These low income-borrowers are forced to go to depositories where they end up paying substantially higher rates than they would in a mortgage originated by small businesses. If the borrowers do not meet the bank requirements, they often have no alternative. Borrowers with lower valued homes, even if free and clear from liens, have virtually no options available due to the strict liability on owner-occupied transactions that make these loans high risk low return due to regulations. Wholesale lenders will set minimum loan amounts, as do most private money and non-QM lenders. Many times these lower income borrowers are the ones most in need of non-traditional/non QM loan products, but are also the most severe risk to lenders for non-compliance issues. A homeowner with a free and clear home looking for a home loan to keep up the property, get a new roof or plumbing must meet traditional banking guidelines to find a loan. Often times, these borrowers are immigrants or lower-income borrowers who do not have banking relationships or credit scores to the depositories’ guidelines. HR 3393 will remove the compensation from the lender to the business from the three percent LO compensation calculation. All that will be included is the compensation earned by the individual loan originator, still meeting the intentions of the LO compensation rule. This will enable the small business company in a brokered transaction to cover more of their costs and compete with larger banking institutions on equal footing. This will make many more products available to smaller loan amounts and minority borrowers. The CFPB has agreed in principle that this probably should be done and will help these borrowers, but since it is a modification of the Dodd-Frank Act, they prefer the solution come from the legislature. NAMB is working to make the issue easily understandable how including this compensation from the lender is effectively double-counting the compensation as it is already reflected in the interest rate the consumer receives. NAMB needs you to call and write your congressional representatives and let them know to support HR 3393 and its companion bill in the Senate. This legislation will not completely correct the problems of lower loan borrowers, but is an important step to helping those who are served best by small business originators, willing to go the extra step to help these unbanked, lower income borrowers. Sincerely, Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS, President NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals RAndrews@LendingArizona.net • JOINNAMB.com

The CEO Perspective A Message From NAMB CEO Donald J. Frommeyer As we come to this time of the year, NAMB is changing and moving forward. By the time you read this, NAMB will have elected its new board of directors and will have held their planning session for the coming year, 2016-2017. Fred Kreger is going to be the new president, and Fred will be setting his sights on again moving the association forward. I do not have any inside information, but Fred will have already chosen his new Committee Chairs and will have informed the board of what items he would like to see happen this year. At the same time, we say goodbye to John Councilman who has served on the board for several years and he joins the ranks of the many presidents who have come before him and moves away from the board. Rocke Andrews will serve this year as immediate past president as he also moves away from a fun-filled and very busy year as NAMB president. All of these changes will take place in Las Vegas on Sept. 26 at NAMB National at the Luxor. So while you are reading this, get on your computer and register for the event, make you hotel reservations and get your plane ticket. You are not going to want to miss this great event. It looks like we have settled on Atlanta as the host town for NAMB East next March. More information will be forthcoming on the event over the next few months. As you all know, last year’s event was in Hilton Head and the committee has listened to your suggestions and concerns. This again will be about the originators so stay tuned to what we will have in store for you. NAMB is still looking for members to join and be part of our committees. This is the easiest way for you to get involved and help your organization succeed. That is how I started and it really opened up my eyes as to why we need an association and what it does for you as a member. It is not like it was in the past. You don’t have to fly everywhere to be at a meeting. Most of all committee meetings are held via conference call or Webinar, so there is really no excuse for you not to be involved. Yes, it may take an hour or two out of you day, but in this age of technology, you can attend by using your phone or computer. So what’s holding you back? Send an e-mail to NAMB@NAMB.org and we will get you together with the committee chair and get you involved. So do your part and become a participating member of NAMB, not a member just sitting on the sidelines. Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS is chief executive officer for NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by e-mail at NAMB.CEO@NAMB.org.

The Greatest Credit Change Since the FICO Score By Dave Luna Trended credit data reports will be going live Sept. 26, 2016. With Fannie Mae’s implementation of DU 10.0, trended credit data will now be required. I have been doing Webinars with MGIC for the past few months talking about the changes that will go into play in September. Here is a little bit of history. TransUnion started working with Fannie Mae in November of 2013 with the new formatted credit reports. The credit reports have up to nine additional data sets and can be presented in 11 different formats. TransUnion’s proprietary Trended Data (TD) Credit Vision has been in use for years, undergoing testing with Fannie Mae for almost three years, the rollout was to occur in June, but got pushed back to September due to testing. What is trended credit data? It shows what a borrower is actually paying on their debts instead of if the borrower paid on their own debt. This information would show if a borrower is trending towards being a less risky borrower. Fannie Mae uses this information to

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Q: Will FICO Scores be changing with the new TD? A: No, it does not appear so at this time.

Q: Will the process for ordering and receiving credit reports be changing? A: No, the process of ordering and receiving credit reports will not change. Q: What if a borrower disputes trended credit data, is there a vehicle for disputes? A: Yes, the credit repositories will have the capacity to accept trended data consumer disputes. These disputes like all others should be directed to your provider and they will contact the credit repositories on behalf of your consumer. Q: What if I need to take an Adverse Action based on trended data? A: Adverse Actions and the required disclosures should all remain exactly the same when taking adverse action that comes from trended data.

Q: What type of trade lines will have trended data included? A: Only revolving credit will have trended information. Q: What will the credit report look like with trended data? A: Today there are 11 different formats. Each revolving account will include an additional line of information which displays a 24-month history of balance, scheduled payment and actual payment information. Q: Will trended credit data affect FHA and/or VA loans? A: The introduction of trended data will not impact FHA or VA applications to DU, and will only include such historical data on revolving credit card accounts for the most recent 24 months of payment history. There will be other changes in DU 10.0 we only touched on Trended Data. For answers to other questions by Fannie Mae, visit FannieMae.com/Content/FAQ/DO-DU-Release-06252016-FAQs.pdf. David Luna has more than 35 years of experience in the mortgage lending industry. He is president of Mortgage Educators and Compliance, an NMLS-approved education provider, and is a member of the NAMB board of directors. He can be reached by phone at (801) 676-2520 or e-mail David@MortgageEducators.com.

Setting Goals: Reaching the Summit of Success By Linda McCoy, CRMS Setting goals and achieving them is how we succeed in life. I am proud to say my son just climbed to the top of Mount Rainier this past week. I was so proud. He had trained by himself for about six months so he would be able to make it to the top. It was just something he wanted to do. My daughter ran a full marathon in Vancouver a few years ago after months of training. They keep striving to be the best they can be at whatever they decide to do. They both said it was the hardest thing they had ever had to do. They set their goals and then figured out a way to achieve them. I have set a goal to try and make NAMB’s convention in the East the best that it can be. NAMB’s Convention Committee has spent many hours trying to plan a way for originators to attend and absorb the information needed to get them to the next level on their way to the top as an originator. NAMB tries to give you new and exciting ideas with an everchanging lineup of lenders to help you step-by-step so you can improve your business. We can plan the best convention in all the world, but if you do not attend, it will not help you. I recently did a Google search for “What could you do fun at a mortgage broker convention?” NAMB National in Las Vegas came up first after a paid advertisement. That tells me something about NAMB. We are doing something right. I have been on that committee for a few years and feel we have a winning convention there. That is what I want in the East, a happy home for NAMB EAST … one that we all look forward to attending year after year. I think the Location we have chosen for 2017 will be a surprise and exciting for many and one you will not want to miss. You need to set your goals and make NAMB EAST a part of your training to become a more successful loan originator. Be a winner! I hope it will be something you just want to do! Linda McCoy, CRMS of Mortgage Team 1 Inc. in Mobile, Ala. is a member of the NAMB board of directors. She may be reached by phone at (251) 650-0805 or e-mail Linda@MortgageTeam1.com.

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Q: How does TD look at the borrower paying down debt to qualify? A: The borrower will not be able to change what they have paid over the last 24 months. We can see what their trend is and see that the trend if for the borrower to have the debt they recently paid off.

Q: Will borrowers with no credit scores be able to get a loan through DU 10.0? A: They may if borrowers have at least two trade-lines with one being housing and the other a non-traditional trade-line with at least a 24month rating.

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underwrite a file, and the likelihood of the borrower defaulting in the future due to the borrower’s “trend.” The DU 10.0 rollout initially will only look at the last 24 months of revolving credit card debt. Trended data is available for all types of credit (installment, revolving, student loans, auto, mortgages, HELOCs), but the last 24 months of credit card history is what DU 10.0 will analyze. Could the other non-revolving debts be included in future DU releases? Perhaps, but it won’t be in 2016 and may not be in 2017. All credit reporting companies have been providing the Trended Data (TD) reports since April 1, 2016. If you do not see trended credit data on your reports, please contact your credit provider to have them “turn on” your trended credit data, that way you will see exactly what Fannie Mae will receive. This additional information will not come to you for free, please be aware that when trended credit data goes live with DU 10.0, your credit report costs will increase. As I’ve traveled the country and interviewed thousands of you, I’ve come to the consensus that the average price increase will range between $1.50 to $3 per report on top of what you are currently paying. DU 10.0 will look specifically at revolving credit cards. You may ask, what does revolving credit card information have to do with mortgages? That is why Fannie Mae is making the change. On Sept. 26, revolving credit card information could be an indicator of possible mortgage loan defaults. Something important to note, only two of the big three credit bureaus have a trended credit data product available for the Sept. 26 release. Experian, the user of FICO scores, will NOT have a trended credit data product available for the Sept. 26 release. So, will the use of Rapid Rescore products be used in the future? I’ve been asked this question countless times; the answer is, wasn’t Rapid Rescore used to correct errors in a borrower’s credit report? Rapid Rescore should NOT, unless there was an error, create 24 months of history. I’ve also been asked; what types of loans will not be affected by trended credit data. Will Freddie Mac and FHA/VA go to a trended credit data solution? For now, they won’t, however, in the future they may. Trended Data Credit reports will be for all mortgage products, even though Fannie Mae will be the only one using them in September. In the Webinars that we did with MGIC, I’d like to go over the frequently asked questions. One of the many questions we received was, if a borrower shows that they’re paying a larger than normal payment on their credit card, would that payment be used for qualification purposes. Great question, the answer? No, because the borrower is only required to make the minimum payment.

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NAMB’s Education Corner: Education Resources By Bob Sweeney, CRMS NAMB’s Summer School Webinar Series is well underway. We have completed two excellent Webinars, presented by Bayview Loan Servicing and Freedom Mortgage. The following is the schedule of Webinars for July and August: l l l l l l l l

Fannie Mae: Tuesday, July 26 Maximum Acceleration: Thursday, July 28 Guaranty Trust: Tuesday, Aug. 2 Silver Hill Funding: Thursday, Aug. 4 MobilityRE: Tuesday, Aug. 9 NAMB HR 2121 Update: Thursday, Aug. 11 First Funding: Tuesday, Aug. 23 Land Home Financial Services: Thursday, Aug. 25

Please mark your calendars for 2:00 p.m. EST on theses dates. Registration e-mails will be sent to all NAMB members well in advance of each Webinar. Remember we only have seats for the first 1,000 registrants. Mortgage education resources are everywhere. I just recently listened to a Webinar sponsored by a national wholesale lender and presented by Steve Richman of Genworth Mortgage Insurance. It was one of the most informative Webinars I have listened to in recent memory. I was so impressed that I contacted Genworth to see if Steve was available for NAMB National. Much to my surprise, he is

already on the agenda to speak at NAMB National. Now you have an opportunity to hear Steve presenting the session, “Generational Marketing and the Millennial Mindset.” Mortgage insurance companies are excellent resources for training. Arch MI, Essent, Genworth, MGIC and Radian to name a few, have extensive training sites for originators. Not only do they have printed material, but most have archived past Webinars and they have a calendar for future live Webinars and events. Please take advantage of these educational resources. We welcome any input from all mortgage professionals on suggestions for educational opportunities. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at Bob.Sweeney46@yahoo.com. If you are not a member of NAMB, now is a great time to become a member. Go to your state association Web site or visit NAMB.org to join as a Professional Member. Bob Sweeney, CRMS is senior sales manager at CrossCountry Mortgage, is director on the board of directors for NAMB–The Association of Mortgage Professionals and serves as NAMB’s Education Committee Chair. He can be reached by phone at (317) 625-3287 or e-mail Bob.Sweeney46@yahoo.com.

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news stories from around Stay most recent headlines and blogs, all Themortgage NMP Mortgage News Ticker is a daily news the feed web. that gives youinformed a snapshotof of the the hottest Stayemail. informed of the most recent headlines and blogs, all mortgage news stories fromconvenient around the web. compiled into one daily compiled into one convenient daily email. Your State Speciﬁc Digital Edition Your State Speciﬁc Digital Edition Want to stay informed on a moreon local contents of ourThe statecontents e-editions include of the content from include all of the content from Want to stay informed a level? moreThelocal level? of ourall state e-editions our national publication plus state-specific mortgage association information, including the President's Message, our highlights nationallocal publication plus state-specific mortgage association including the President's Message, which issues, such as regulatory and legislative matters, along with the state information, calendar of events. which highlights local issues, such as regulatory and legislative matters, along with the state calendar of events. Mortgage News Network (MNN) features regularly scheduled and special event video programming with industry experts sharing insights that impact your business today and in the future. MNN provides Mortgage News (MNN) features and special event video programming market forecasts, proven salesNetwork and marketing strategies, interviewsregularly with industryscheduled leaders and more.

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getting toknow MICHELLE VELEZ, CMC Director of NAMB B Y

P H I L

H A L L

How did you first get involved locally with the California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP)? I originally joined CAMP in 2001. One of my co-workers was on the board of the San Francisco Peninsula Chapter of CAMP, and she talked about all the good that the association was doing. I attended meetings for many years and finally thought that I wanted to be part of it. In late 2007, I decided I wanted to start doing something for my peers. I contacted my friend and asked if there was an opportunity to serve on the Chapter’s board of directors. The only opening was as chair of the Government Affairs Committee. I remember being told, “It’s boring, but it is one of our most important positions.” I served as the Government Affairs Chair for two years. From there, I was asked to be

“We have to remember that many Millennials saw what their parents went through during the housing crisis, either with short sales or the loss of a house in foreclosure. And there is a train of thought among many young people that getting a mortgage is not a good thing.” president of the San Francisco Peninsula Chapter. I served as president for two years. I also served as vice president of Government Affairs for CAMP for two years before becoming president of the statewide association in 2014. I served as president through June 2015 and just completed my term as immediate past president on June 30, 2016. What do you see as your most satisfying achievements in

your roles with CAMP? When I was president of CAMP’s San Francisco Peninsula Chapter, we went from being a mid-sized chapter in the state to the largest chapter in the state. As chapter president, my mantra for years was “Bringing it back to basics.” But as state president, I wanted to bring back communication. I remember attending meetings or meeting people in the association who always said they didn’t know all

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How did you get into the mortgage profession? Was this your original career choice? My original career choice was in journalism with a focus on public relations professional or

an attorney. I started working in the industry doing finance and insurance in the mid-1980s. I was working at a finance company, but I progressed from that to the mortgage industry in 1994.

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his has been a somewhat tumultuous year for Michelle Velez, CMC. She was a sales manager at W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital LLC—a position she held for slightly more than 18 months— when the company shut down in March. Mercifully, she was able to move to Supreme Lending, where she became a producing branch manager based in San Mateo, Calif. While changing jobs, she continued to be involved with NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals as a director. She is also still active in the California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP), where she served as president from 2014-2015. National Mortgage Professional Magazine recently spoke with Michelle regarding her work in this industry.

N A M B that CAMP does for them. I wrote a weekly newsletter that went out to our members in which I talked about local events, changes to guidelines and upcoming issues. I will continue this tradition on a monthly basis under our new state president. How did you first become involved with NAMB? I attended NAMB’s Legislative & Regulatory Conference in D.C. 2009, when I was Government Affairs Chair for CAMP. That was my first NAMB conference. After that, I started volunteering for various NAMB committees and joined the Membership Committee. I was later asked to join the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. What are your current duties with NAMB? As a NAMB director, I serve on the Communications Committee, Membership

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Committee and I am currently vice chair of the Government Affairs Committee. Why do you believe it is important for mortgage professionals to become involved with NAMB? I feel that NAMB and the state associations are the loan originators’ only voice, especially when dealing with federal and state legislators and regulators. A lot of times, originators feel left out, with no one helping them or working for them. They don’t feel the big companies are fulfilling their need. What can the industry do to attract more young people into mortgage careers? NAMB is working with Ginger Bell, Morf Media’s senior vice president of e-learning, to start a young professional network for the mortgage industry. Several educators are helping with the creation of live and

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Helping Mortgage Associations Grow From affordable association management services to creating vibrant and profitable conferences, Agility Resources Group can help your mortgage association achieve a stronger bottom line. Ask us about our creative approach to partnering with you. We’ll bring the help you need to achieve the results you depend on.

Conference Producers

online classes. Though, perhaps more can be done— state and national associations could attend college employment fairs to talk about the industry. We have to remember that many Millennials saw what their parents went through during the housing crisis, either with short sales or the loss of a house in foreclosure. And there is a train of thought among many young people that getting a mortgage is not a good thing. We need to get out there with education and talk about how homeownership is a great tool. For a while, our industry had bad name. We worked very hard to show that we are not the bad apples. What is the housing market like in California? It depends on what part of state you are in. I’m in San Mateo County and right now it is a hot market. There is serious overbidding on properties. But there is a growing problem with a new trend involving contracts that encourage people not to have contingencies. They should have the option for an out if want to get out of a deal. What do you see as the nearterm challenges for the mortgage profession? It is a good time to be in the industry. I don’t see a whole lot of regulation coming down right now. I think rates for all products will be increasing shortly—if I were to worry about something, I worry about that. What are the challenges facing Supreme Lending in today’s market? I’m very new with this company—I’ve only been with them for a few months. I don’t

see them having challenges. My former company, W.J. Bradley, closed, and the biggest challenge with them were structured like a hedge fund company. Supreme Lending is totally the opposite—they are working on a mortgage banking platform. The owner of the company started out as a mortgage broker and he still has that small company mentality, which is very important. It is also important to me that this company supports NAMB. Looking back on your career, what do you see as you greatest accomplishments? Being the voice of consumer is one of my greatest accomplishments. That is probably the best thing I can do. I was also honored to be voted 2012 Broker of the Year by CAMP. What are your near-term professional goals? I would like to bring in three more loan originators to my team. I had a couple of setbacks this year due to my former company closing, but things are on track now and I would like increase personal production. I am also looking forward to the learning experience of being on the NAMB board. Outside of work, how do you spend your leisure time? I perform at the Northern California Renaissance Faire and the Great Dickens Christmas Faire. One of my favorite subjects in school was history and I’m able to reenact history through performing at these events through singing and acting. I play the trumpet and I am studying sword fighting. I’m an avid reader and enjoy a great mystery novel.

Association Managers

Contact Vincent M. Valvo, CEO 860.922.3441 or info@AgilityResourcesGroup.com

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Phil Hall is managing editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at PhilH@NMPMediaCorp.com.

NAMB+ is an independent, wholly-owned, for-proﬁt marketing subsidiary of NAMB, The Association of Mortgage Professionals. Dear Mortgage Professional, July is social media month at NMP. Congratulations to the ’50 Most Connected Mortgage Professionals’ featured in this special issue! Social media has become critical to our business as mortgage professionals. Our clients and referral sources are using social media to ﬁnd us, connect with us and tell their friends and network all about their experience working with us. If you aren’t already using social media in your business, you’re falling behind your competition. NAMB+ has relationships with several excellent companies that can help you affordably and effectively with your social media. Our Endorsed Providers can help you get started, grow your following, improve your content, automate your postings, solicit and publish allimportant customer reviews and endorsements, and remain in compliance with advertising regulations – and yes, advertising regulations apply to social media posts too!

Go to BestMLOs.com to start learning from the best. NAMB members enter NAMB Member Coupon Code: NAMB15

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!

Finally, don’t forget to connect with NAMB+ on social media as well! Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. Just be sure to add the “+” when you’re searching for NAMB+. We look forward to connecting with you! Sincerely,

Nathan Pierce, CRMS, CMP, President NAMB+, Inc. npierce@advfund.com See below for a complete listing of the current NAMB+ Endorsed Providers and visit NAMBPlus.com for more information.

NAMB members get a $300 discount on coaching. NAMB members receive exclusive discounts training events, including live seminars and internet-based web shops

MBS Highway provides daily guidance and insights from Mortgage Market expert Barry Habib who predicted the bottom of the Housing Market. Exclusive NAMB Members offer to try MBS Highway FREE for 30 days. Visit MBSHighway.com/registration/namb-plus-registration

SYNCRO connects mobile salespeople to their ofﬁce website leads. NAMB Members receive a 10% discount off regular prices for monthly unlimited SYNCRO Web Chat packages.

The Bond Exchange is a national surety agency specializing in providing mortgage license bonds to thousands of mortgage professionals across the country.

NAMB members receive a discount off Brokers Compliance Group compliance support programs.

InfoSight, Inc. offers proven and affordable cyber security, risk management, IT Infrastructure and regulatory compliance solutions. Visit www.infosightinc.com or contact us at 305-8281003 / 877-577-9703.

Simplii VOIP business phone solutions include all the features and functionality of a high end business phone system without the high costs. We offer all NAMB members a 10% discount off their phone services. For more information please e-mail stevew@simplii.net

WhoHub (www.whohubapp.com) is a FREE marketing tool for local Realtors to refer their best Loan Officer. The service is FREE for the agent and their clients so it gets shared among local friends, family and neighbors who will see your profile. Each loan officer pays just $30/month for unlimited agent connections. Whether you connect to 1, 15 or 100 agents – still just $30/month. That’s right; one new borrower pays for the service for years! NAMB members get their first 90 days for just $1, month to month thereafter, cancel anytime.

NAMBPLUS Login Instructions 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.

Username = Member Number Password = First initial of your first name capitalized and your last name with the first letter of the last name capitalized (example = JStevens) *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!

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eEndorsements promotes your success by making it easy to capture customer reviews, control your content, and publish your testimonials where they matter to drive new business. Automatically share your reviews on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Easily invite your clients to share reviews to sites like Yelp and Zillow. eEndorsements will also hosts a review proﬁle page indexed and found in Google Search. eEndorsements offers a 34% discount to NAMB Members. For more info please visit http://eendorsements.com/namb.

NAMB Members will receive a Twenty-Five Percent (25%) discount off of the regular price with their NAMB Membership.

NAMB members receive a 10% discount off regular prices for Warm Welcome LLC services. For more information visit WarmWelcomeLLC.com.

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NAMB members receive a 15% discount on all Custom Canvas Prints products and services!

Morf Playbook™ by Morf Media is software that allows you to train your staff and customers. You can create your own training, add your policies and procedures or select courses from the Morf Partner Portal. Whether you are looking for CFPB compliance training, sales training or new loan ofﬁcer training, Morf can connect you with exactly the training you need. If you can write about it, record a video about it or talk about it…YOU can train on it with the Morf Playbook™! Find out more at www.morfmedia.com/namb.

USA Business Lending is the nation’s premier commercial brokerage ﬁrm representing over 3500 lenders.

NAMB National The Nation’s Largest Gathering of Mortgage Professionals

September 24-26, 2016 Luxor Hotel and Casino • Las Vegas, Nevada AMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals returns to Las Vegas for the NAMB National Conference and Trade Show for mortgage professionals, Saturday-Monday, Sept. 24-26. Mortgage professionals from across the country will convene at the fabulous Luxor Hotel and Casino for three days of excitement, education and fun. This year will feature the first NAMB National Golf Tournament, with all proceeds benefiting the NAMB Legislative Action Fund (LAF). The tournament will take place Sunday, Sept. 25 at the beautiful Royal Links Golf Club. Experience three holes played in the 2015 Open Championship, including the “Road Hole” and “Hell Bunker” from the Old Course at St. Andrews! Separate registration is required for the golf tournament. Attendees will be able to choose from multiple educational tracks, including a compliance track, an innovation track and a marketing track. Speakers will include an array of experts specifically chosen for their unique talents in helping mortgage professionals excel. In addition, those needing to complete their required NMLS continuing education courses will be able to do so at NAMB National. This year’s trade show will include more exhibitors than ever before, ranging from wholesale lenders, technology providers, sales and marketing companies, credit solutions, education providers and many more. Additional space has been added to accommodate more exhibitors and attendees. As always, exhibitors will be offering education, discounts and prizes. Many of the sponsors will also have separate gatherings and parties in surrounding venues. The conference with also host the annual Mortgage Professional of the Year Gala which recognizes elite mortgage professionals who work tirelessly to improve the mortgage industry. A Certified Residential Mortgage Specialist (CRMS) and Certified Mortgage Consultant (CMC) preparation workshop for those wishing to earn one of these distinguished professional designations will again be available. Attendees have the opportunity to register for FREE using discount codes that are being made available through the exhibitors and sponsors. Discount codes have already begun to be distributed and will continue to be available into August. If you have not received a discount code, please feel free to contact me directly. As the mortgage industry continues to gain momentum, it is increasingly more important for mortgage professionals to rise above the challenges we have faced. Understanding the effects of technology, regulation and ever-changing product offerings is what will set mortgage professionals apart from the rest. Join us at NAMB National as we tackle these topics head on. Begin planning today to attend the nation’s largest gathering of mortgage professionals. We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas! Visit NAMBNational.com for more information.

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Nathan Pierce is the chairman of NAMB National, a member of the NAMB board of directors, and NAMB+ president. He is a Certified Residential Mortgage Specialist (CRMS) and president of Advanced Funding Home Mortgage Loans in Salt Lake City, Utah. He can be reached by phone at (801) 272-0600 or e-mail NPierce@AdvFund.com.

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ensure mortgage lenders are invested in the communities they serve. This legislation stands up for New Jersey’s struggling homeowners, and prevents the banks from turning their backs on borrowers, on their neighbors, and on the community at large.”

Quicken Loans Named Top Place to Work in Technology for Fourth Consecutive Year

For the fourth-straight year, Detroit-based Quicken Loans has earned the top spot on IDG’s Computerworld 2016 ‘Best Black Knight’s Sanzone Places to Work in IT’ list. The Honored With the EY nation’s second largest retail Entrepreneur of the Year mortgage lender and largest Award online lender is the first to rank number one four consecutive years and the only company ever to take the top spot seven times total in the large company category. Computerworld’s ‘100 Best Places to Work in IT’ list is an annual ranking determined by a comprehensive questionnaire regarding company offerings in Black Knight Financial Services categories such as benefits, (BKFS) has announced that company president and CEO Tom career development, training and retention. In addition, Sanzone has won the EY Computerworld conducts Entrepreneur of The Year Florida extensive surveys of IT Award for the technology professionals, and their category. Pictured above, Black responses heavily influence the Knight Financial Services President and CEO Tom Sanzone rankings. Quicken Loans’ largest (left) accepts his honor. technology achievement of 2016 This year marks the 30th was the launch of Rocket anniversary of EY’s prestigious business award, which recognizes Mortgage, the first online and ondemand mortgage experience. entrepreneurs for demonstrating This was made possible by excellence and extraordinary Quicken Loans’ technology team, success in areas such as which spent three years innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their completely rethinking and rebuilding how consumers should businesses and communities. EY get a mortgage. is a global leader in assurance, “Our technology team is a tax, transaction and advisory shining example of the great services, and may refer to one or feats that can be achieved when more of the member firms of people work together to find a Ernst & Young Global Limited, better way,” said Bill Emerson, which offers insights and quality Quicken Loans CEO. “As the services to help build trust and confidence in the capital markets mortgage industry scrambled to and in economies the world over. meet the demands of sweeping new regulations, our technology Sanzone is part of a select group of high-achieving business team allowed us to seamlessly meet those needs and also forge leaders, who were selected as a new trail for our company and finalists by a panel of industry by launching the independent judges. “I am deeply honored to accept groundbreaking Rocket Mortgage.” this recognition on behalf of all The 1,400-member technology Black Knight employees, who team has quintupled in size since amaze me each day with Quicken Loans moved its innovative ideas and relentless headquarters to downtown commitment to support our Detroit in 2010. Since then, clients with superior technology Detroit’s technology growth has and data solutions,” Sanzone surged with more than 100 said. “Black Knight continues to startups occupying the Madison find ways to use our offerings to Block and ultra-fast Rocket Fiber, both improve the mortgage the city’s first gigabit Internet industry and provide a better provider, installed throughout borrower experience throughout Detroit. the loan lifecycle, and we deeply appreciate EY’s recognition for our accomplishments.” continued on page 32

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Wholesale Non-Prime Lending

What I Learned About Originating From My Doctor

diagnosis. I won’t tell you what it was, but I was very interested to hear what he had to say.

His office called to confirm and told me what to bring My doctor’s office called me to confirm the appointment and told me what I needed to bring (list of meds, etc.).

He gave me a prescription After about 15 to 20 minutes, he finally gave me a prescription and told me that I should be feeling better in about five days and if I wasn’t, I should call him back. Now what’s important here is that I did not question his diagnosis and immediately did as I was told and got my prescription. In fact, I am actually feeling much better.

What happened when i arrived When I arrived, I waited, and waited, and waited. But I actually expected to wait. We are trained to wait for experts when we meet them right? But what was most interesting was what was playing on the TV and the literature that was in the waiting room. Both were all about the doctor and his practice. There were testimonials from satisfied patients, as well as before and after photos of patients whose issues he had solved. Think about that for a minute … I was presented with his success stories before I even met with him. Once I was called in, his nurse took my blood pressure, weighed me, took my EKG and drew blood. Notice, that he did not do these things. Experts have staff that tend to these tasks. He came in and gave his diagnosis Finally, the doctor came in, reviewed the file and asked me some questions. Then, he examined me and gave me his

Think about how we operate What’s critical to understand here is how we operate versus how a doctor (professional) conducts

their business. It is all about positioning and time management. The doctor does not schedule appointments, take your blood pressure or do any of the other “clerical” type tasks. When you arrive, watch his testimonials so you are already impressed before you meet him. When he examines you and provides his diagnosis and prescription, don’t question it. You don’t say, “I need three more ‘quotes’” do you? You simply do what the doctor says since they are the expert. It’s critical that you take these lessons to heart so you can start being seen as an expert to your clients and not just another loan officer.

Brian Sacks is a mortgage loan originator with HomeBridge Financial Services Inc. He is a nationally renowned mortgage expert and loan officer trainer who has closed more than 5,900 transactions during his career. He has trained tens of thousands of LOs and company owners over the past 31 years on how to close more loans and make more money—and still have a life. Learn more at TopOriginatorSecrets.com. You can also watch the Top Originator Secrets show on the Mortgage News Network. He may be reached by phone at (443) 324-8424 or e-mail LoanOfficerTips@gmail.com.

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n JULY 2016

Setting up an appointment When I set up my appointment, I contacted the doctor’s office and checked on the times he would be available to see me. His office hours are from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and he does not see patients in the evenings or the weekends unless it’s an emergency. Patients come to see him and expect to wait to be seen. This gives the doctor the ultimate positioning as the expert and authority. For some reason, we as originators feel we are less important. We will often meet clients at night and on the weekend. Sometimes, we will go to their homes, or even worse, we will meet them in a Denny’s or Starbucks. This

makes us look and feel like order-takers, not trusted financial experts.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

e all hate going to the doctor and I am no different. But the last time I went for my checkup, something dawned on me that I wanted/needed to share with you. Doctors are very efficient with their time most likely because they have to be. But while I was sitting there, I noticed some correlations that we can learn from. After all, we are both service providers. But that is really where our similarities end and our differences become quite distinct.

Implementing New Technologies to Speed Up the Process and Retain Customers BY ALICE ALVEY

very step in the mortgage process is under scrutiny to get things done faster—not always better, but at least faster. And that may or may not be better for customer service and satisfaction. From the first point of contact with the borrower through loan delivery and quality control, mortgage operations managers are under pressure to identify any step that can be automated during the manufacturing process. Accelerating processing requires a significant amount of time in selecting, modifying and implementing the proper solution. Novel technologies can create knowledge and communication gaps in the business, which can prove to be very costly for the unprepared mortgage operation.

Make money, keep customers or both Establishing priorities for changes to mortgage processing sounds simple, and in principle, it should be. The technology solution must have a central goal to make money, keep customers or both. If the project doesn’t translate into one of these goals, then your project will be low on the list. Even a simple solution such as income evaluation software needs this level of thinking. If the solution is a glorified spreadsheet and implementation takes months, the organization must ask itself is this helping to make money or keep customers? If the income evaluation solution is software that finds more income on tax returns than a typical manual worksheet, it can help keep customers.

All mortgage operations technology solutions must make a case for the bottom line in a positive way. This central goal for the project will keep technology and operations working together. It will also facilitate making the correct decisions when milestones are to be met and tasks are complicated. Remove the bias in operations thinking Mortgage operations managers generally play a key role in new technology acquisitions. They hold the key to the final decision as to how they believe the process can work. Unfortunately, they have an inherent bias in their decision-making. A mortgage expert will tend to overweight what is going wrong today for the associates on the job and undervalue the benefits of finding

a new solution. The expert will tend to focus on the struggles with various screen flow or lack of the right fields rather than improving the overall design. Being excessively myopic is a common bias among the experts. They tend to focus on improving one task for one job role where there is a weakness. This leads to the strongest bias lurking behind every technology improvement— the need to find a quick solution with the least disruption to production. A good mortgage manager can identify a field or design in a new spreadsheet that appears to improve the process. This isn’t implementing automation. It’s finding a quick fix. Larger scope projects such as adding optical character recognition (OCR)enabled processes, adjusting workflow to consolidate or

separate steps require unbiased attention to a proper development and deployment process. Even out-of-the-box software solutions require some level of unbiased attention. Where the mortgage operations manager is the right person to understand the workflow, a project manager is needed to ensure implementation is successful. Allow enough time When an operations request for a change in technology reaches the top of the task list for the development team, there will be pressure to simply follow the operationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s need to solve the problem that is now months old. For larger companies, the problem could be six months to one-year-old. Operations managers must

accept that technology solutions donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen in a 30-day window. Loans closing that month will not benefit from the idea. Every solution requires a project plan and timeline that allows for deployment of critical steps for a successful outcome. These include: l Vetting the problem l Identifying upstream and downstream impact l Developing a clearly written description of the project l Review by the technology development team l Review of mock ups and demos l Edits and modifications l Quality assurance (QA) testing by the tech team l Complete User Acceptance Testing (UAT) l Sanity check

l Pilot l Adjustments based on pilot results l Phased rollout based on the scope of the change l Post rollout evaluation and adjustments Know where your company is different Most products are not a perfect fit right out of the box, just as no two mortgage operations are the same. The ability to identify the amount of customization required for any out-of-the-box solution is critical in understanding how long it will take for each step in the deployment process. To do this accurately, the operations manager must know how their manufacturing process differs from industry standards and that of their peers. The software developers will have made

decisions based on what is considered standard and then include typical customization requests based on the business channel such as retail, wholesale and correspondent, as well as depository and non-depository environments. Retail operations, in particular, have vastly different ways to move a loan from a lead to underwriting and most are very inefficiently built around the skills of various associates or teams. Tech developers have a better ability to see the process without regard to the people who will be performing the tasks. This is a good thing. It means the current manufacturing process may need to consider changing important steps to fit what has already been tested as a good process. The continued on page 57

The Financial Choice Act Means Big Changes at CFPB By Andrew Liput n late June 2016, Congress unveiled the text of the much anticipated Financial Choice Act (FCA), which has been several years in the making and aims to reform and restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Because it has bi-partisan support, it is widely expected to pass and be signed into law this year. When it does it will bring significant changes to the CFPB, most of which will be a welcome relief to the financial services industry. Although this is clearly not an effort to repeal the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2008 nor eliminate the CFPB altogether it does address many concerns that opponents raised about the nature of the CFPB, its scope, mission and method of operation. Some of the key provisions include the following:

APRIL 2016 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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l First, the CFPB would be renamed the Consumer Financial Opportunity Commission and the agency’s mission would now be two-fold: Consumer protection and creation of competitive markets. l Second, the concept of a single director bureaucracy immune from congressional oversight will be wiped away with the President’s signature. The bill would replace the single director management structure with a bi-partisan, five-member commission and also subject the CFPB financial and overall operational oversight by Congress. l Third, the FCA proposes to eliminate the ability of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to designate non-banks for systemic risk regulation by the Federal Reserve. l Fourth, the Qualified Mortgage (QM) and Ability-to-Repay (ATR) Rules would be revised to allow so-called high-risk loans (i.e. higher DTI and LTV) to be eligible under ATR for safe harbor protection assuming quality underwriting is enforced. l Fifth, small community banks and credit unions would gain some relief from oversight, specifically reporting requirements, with the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) adopting some new obligations to assist in managing and reporting CU performance. l Sixth, BASEL III requirements (meeting certain capital thresholds) would give certain qualifying institutions a pass from key rules. l Seventh, the Volcker Rule named after Paul Volcker, former Fed Chairman, would be repealed. The rule set for Dodd-Frank, was designed to restrict U.S. banks from making certain kinds of speculative investments that were deemed by Volcker as not beneficial to bank customers. Volcker argued that such speculation played a key role in the financial crisis of 20072010 and thus the law banned the use of consumer deposits to trade on the bank's own accounts, as well as bank ownership of hedge funds and private equity funds. When Dodd-Frank and the CFPB sought to change decades if not centuries of banking rules in one fell swoop it was a herculean task. It was therefore inevitable that changes, tweaks, amendments and reform would follow. FCA is not the end, but it is a welcomed beginning.

Andrew Liput is CEO of Secure Insight, a risk analytics firm offering vendor management services addressing settlement agent risk. He can be reached by e-mail at ALiput@SecureSettlements.com.

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Driven by technology, Quicken Loans ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination” in the U.S. by J.D. Power for the past six consecutive years, 2010-2015, and highest in customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers in 2014 and 2015. “I am constantly amazed at what can be accomplished when you combine passionate and talented individuals with worldclass technology and resources,” said Emerson. “Add to that a culture that asks for not only ideas, but also execution, and the net result is an excited and empowered group of professionals creating unrivaled experiences for our clients.” In the past year, the IT team helped the company manage a $200 billion mortgage servicing portfolio, making Quicken Loans one of the nation’s top-10 largest servicers. The company also unveiled its state-of-the-art technology center, a 66,000 square foot data center and office complex fully customized to meet the needs of the Quicken Loans technology team. “My biggest goal as the leader of this amazing group is to make sure our team members feel personally and professionally fulfilled every day,” said Linglong He, Quicken Loans chief information officer. “We encourage innovation and make sure that team members have the resources to create and execute on their ideas. The data center was co-designed and executed by members of our technology team. It is this ability to see dreams become reality that really sets Quicken Loans apart.”

Delinquency Bulletin. The composite ratio—used by the ABA to track delinquencies in eight closed-end installment loan categories—dropped by three basis points (bps) to 1.38 percent of all accounts. On the homeownership front, home equity line delinquencies declined three bps to 1.15 percent of all accounts and property improvement loan delinquencies dipped three bps to 0.89 percent of all accounts. Home equity loan delinquencies, however, rose six bps points to 2.74 percent of all accounts—an unexpected uptick, considering this category saw a 23 bps tumble in the previous quarter. The most dramatic upswing involved the niche category of mobile home delinquencies, which rose 25 bps to 3.41 percent. “As the housing market continues its slow and steady recovery, consumers have more valuable equity at stake, which makes their loan payments even more of a top priority,” said James Chessen, ABA’s chief economist. “Growing equity also makes new home equity loans a viable option for qualified home owners. The market for home equity loans and lines will likely continue to grow as a larger pool of qualified borrowers looks to take advantage of low rates to make property improvements or pay off higher-interest debt.” MBA Revises Commercial/Multifamily Forecast

Mixed Results on Q1 HomeRelated Delinquencies

Consumer delinquencies on home-related lending were down in two out of four categories during the first quarter of this year, according to the latest American Bankers Association’s (ABA) Consumer Credit

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has revised its 2016 commercial/multifamily forecast by changing its projected 2016 origination volume for this sector’s mortgages to $500 billion, down from $504 billion in 2015. The trade group previously forecast $511 billion in commercial/multifamily originations for this year. Furthermore, the MBA also revised its forecast calls for commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding to continue to

grow this year to $2.9 trillion, more than three percent above the level reached at the end of 2015. MBA Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Research Jamie Woodwell stated that despite the downward revision, the commercial and multifamily real estate markets are still on track for a healthy level of activity despite economic uncertainties abroad and at home. “The year has started off with more than its fair share of twists and turns,” Woodwell said. “On the demand side, strong property fundamentals and prices should continue to support an active sales market, which will drive mortgage demand. The net result will likely be 2016 originations coming in just a shade lower than 2015 levels. Global economic uncertainty and a range of regulations that could affect the availability of CRE financing remain wildcards.”

highest level of foreign buying came from Canadians, with a dollar volume of sales at $8.9 billion. More than half of all foreign buyers purchased property in five states—Florida (22 percent), California (15 percent), Texas (10 percent), Arizona and New York (each at four percent)—and half of all transactions were all-cash purchases, down from 55 percent a year ago. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted that increasing prices on residential properties may have dampened some of the appeal of U.S. real

estate on foreign buyers, but the market is still powerful when compared to other global investing vehicles. “Weaker economic growth throughout the world, devalued foreign currencies and financial market turbulence combined to present significant challenges for foreign buyers over the past year,” he said. “While these obstacles led to a cool down in sales from non-resident foreign buyers, the purchases by recent immigrant foreigners rose, resulting in the overall sales dollar volume still being the second highest since 2009.”

Capsilon Announces Capital Investment From Francisco Partners

Capsilon Corporation has announced an investment from Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm to provide Capsilon with a capital partner to support product innovation and keep pace with growing demand from mortgage lenders, investors and servicers. “We are extremely excited to continued on page 61

Fewer Foreign Purchases in U.S. Real Estate

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The U.S. continues to be an attractive destination for real estate investors, but the level of property purchasing has fallen off somewhat, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2016 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate. NAR’s measurement of U.S. residential real estate sales to international clients between April 2015 and March 2016 found that foreign buyers acquired $102.6 billion worth of residential properties, a 1.3 percent dip from the $103.9 billion of property purchases one year earlier. Nonetheless, foreign buyers bought a total of 214,885 U.S. residential properties, or 2.8 percent of all residential sales, and these properties carried a higher median price ($277,380) when compared to all U.S. existing home sales ($223,058). For the fourth year in a row, Chinese buyers commanded the highest dollar volume of sales at $27.3 billion, but that level was below last year’s $28.6 billion level. The second

The

How to Get O

Mortgage

Godfather

What the hell are you doing? In most cases, I know, for a fact, you’re doing what you’ve been doing for the past few years: Waiting for the phone to ring, fooling yourself, being afraid of everything, sitting on your hands, staring at the phone, extolling the fact that you will, very soon, get off your ass and get to work. How do you, in your right mind, expect to get business if you are just sitting there waiting for business to turn around and come to you? Do you think there are people who need you that are going to call you because you have so much to offer? Do you really believe that every one of your past clients hate you, despise you, think you are a devil, want you dead? Do you think that every real estate broker/salesperson/attorney/fin ancial advisor/insurance broker/builder is going to call you and beg for you to come to their office to take an application and then promise their undying affection for you? I preach and I preach and I preach … but it seems that most of you just want to keep the insanity definition going on infinitum. And by most of you, I mean the greater majority by far. It is difficult at best to find a salesperson who thinks and then acts in a proactive way. Sure, you’ll go to a seminar and then tell your family that you’re going to spend your last dime on some magic money making program, just to get them off your case. The sad part is that most of you really believe it. I have been saying and writing the following for many years. I will continue to do it until I either die or have a stroke and cannot talk or write any more. If you want business, go get it. If you want to be successful, there is business out there to be had. Ok, enough … enough of the criticism and enough of the hand-wringing over the past! What you want people like

t Out of Your Mess! It’s Really Easy! me to do is to tell you how to get out of this mess! I’m a coach/mentor. I help people realize their true potential. I do it with heart and mind and sense and understanding and aggression and persistence. I have clients who listen and produce numbers that would shock most of you. But I see, every day, that the overwhelming majority of salespeople have every opportunity to make real money and yet they think of ways to not exercise their brains, legs, mouth and feet. If I could just get you in the car, get you to visit someone who can refer business to you, if only. Here is the method I know, for a fact, works better than any software system, Web site connection, Internet initiative, three-ring binder system, predictable dialer or automatic mailer. I need to clarify something here. I personally stress, as the first and most necessary step in your success, that you have goals, a plan and a minimum of four marketing initiatives to help you get business. Four marketing initiatives that are working all at the same time. Four ways to generate business, both immediately and in the future. This is your profession isn’t it? You’re in this for the long haul. Right? What I’m about is how to generate leads. I believe I have the most innovative way to generate business that has ever been devised. I believe that I have the most productive way to get people to give you business that you’ve ever thought of. You need to pay attention here, absorb it and then enact it. There are three things every salesperson must do to be successful.

1. Give away information Give it away in gobs. Give away everything you’ve ever learned. Of course, it should be mostly

about your business, but does not necessarily have to be. What I stress with my clients is that they should be helpful with the people they seek to receive referrals from. They should teach, mentor, advise, inform, add value, instruct and be there! It is often asked of me what it is I’m asking you to say to your client/referral partners. What is it I’m asking that you do that is different than what others do? Such a simple concept that it requires such a simple answer. Teach them how to make money! Teach them what I teach you. Teach them how to put a database together, put out a weekly email, call the database every quarter, co-market, and explain to them how to use free reports to their best advantage.

2. Ask for business This is tricky, sometimes. But you start out by doing the following. Pick 25 people to go see. Pick the ones who actually do business. Put them in your database. When you go in the first time, tell them you’re not like any other loan officer they ever met. Tell them you’re going to show up at their office every week for four weeks in a row, on the same day, at approximately the same time. Tell them that after the fourth week and beginning the fifth week having then proved that you are trustworthy, you will ask them to begin to do business with you (for the complete script, you need to send me a request). Salespeople fail because they give up too soon.

3. Be persistent Salespeople give up too soon. More studies show this than any other informative words I could ever give. But most of you don’t get it. Living in a world of instant gratification is nice, but it doesn’t work with long-term business relationships. It is most

BY RALPH LOVUOLO SR.

“Living in a world of instant gratification is nice, but it doesn’t work with long-term business relationships.” apparent to me that even if you don’t give away information, don’t ask for business, but you do show up, every week, you’ll eventually get business. But it is getting past the “No” that you must do. Did your mommy and daddy always say “Yes” to you? If they did, they were wrong, but that’s a subject for another paper. You need to get past the answer “No” in order to get to the answer “Yes,” but it won’t happen if you don’t go back it cannot happen if you give up. Okay … I’ve given away my secrets. All of them in one place, but here is the hard part

… you actually need to do these things to be able to make money. For a very long time, I have been offering the sip of the wine of knowledge. Most of you have sought something else, you’ve been looking for the chalice that it comes in. You’re looking, as all historians know, in the wrong place. The chalice is a myth, but the wine has always been produced. Drink the wine I am offering here. Cats chase their tails, so don’t be a cat. Insanity is, according to Einstein, “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” Are you insane?

Ralph LoVuolo Sr. has more than 50 years in the mortgage Industry, with the last 30 as a coach. He is past president and founder of the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers, and long-time member of NAMB— The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He can be reached by phone at (917) 576-1230 or e-mail Ralph@MortgageMotivator.com.

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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.

Caliber Home Loans Continues Expansion With Latest Acquisition and Approved as a Vendor by Pavaso

JULY 2016 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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Caliber Home Loans Inc. has completed its acquisition of First Priority Financial, a regional residential mortgage lender with branches and originators serving California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Iowa. “We are pleased to complete this transaction and expand Caliber’s geographic footprint in the Western United States,” said Sanjiv Das, chief executive officer of Caliber. “With the addition of the talented First Priority Financial team, we are even better equipped to serve our customers across the country and meet their unique financing needs. Together, we will continue to focus on a customer-centric culture and create innovative new loan solutions. With First Priority Financial, we will be positioned to extend our successful track record as a trusted mortgage provider.” Pavaso Inc. has announced it has been approved as an eSignature vendor for digital mortgages by Caliber. As a result, Caliber will now accept loans from its correspondent lenders that were completed using Pavaso’s Digital Close platform for eSign or eClosing. According to industry volume rankings, Caliber Home Loans was the number five ranked correspondent lender in the nation in 2015, with its 850-plus correspondents originating

more than $6.6 billion. “It’s encouraging to see major industry players like Caliber understand the need to shift towards a more digital mortgage transaction and make strides to do so,” said Mark McElroy, chief executive officer and president of Pavaso. “While eSign is only one component of the eClosing process, adopting eSign into the closing process is an important first step in the path towards a fully digital closing, and one which will make it easier than ever for lenders like Caliber to make this transition.” The Digital Close platform enables lenders to conduct mortgage closings in a variety of formats, from an entirely paperbased transaction to a hybrid paper-eSign environment all the way to a fully electronic closing. The platform is designed to facilitate electronic communication and collaboration between every transaction stakeholder, creating a single electronic repository for all loan documentation and communication. With eSign and eNotarization capability, everyone signs digitally and notaries can even verify and stamp the documents digitally. Castle & Cooke Mortgage Opens Seventh New Location of 2016

Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC has announced the opening of a

new branch in Clarinda, Iowa, the company’s seventh new branch of the year that comes less than a month after the opening of the company’s Nashville, Tenn. branch, keeping it on track to reach its goal of adding 15 new branches across the country in 2016. Leading the new Clarinda office is Branch Manager Dave Sunderman. His nearly 40 years of experience in banking, working specifically with mortgages since 1999, has enabled him to develop a thorough knowledge of loan products and an ability to communicate well with his clients. “Buying a home is a big and exciting change in my clients’ lives,” said Sunderman. “Eliminating as much of the stress as possible is essential to making everything go smoothly and hopefully generating new referrals.” He knows that the competitive interest rates and fast turn times that attracted him to Castle & Cooke Mortgage will further solidify his clients’ satisfaction with their mortgage experience.” “Our company has experienced near recordbreaking production levels in the months leading up to the busy home buying season,” said Castle & Cooke President and COO Adam Thorpe. “I fully expect that trend to continue and I am happy that we are able to bring that momentum to the Clarinda market. I am confident in Dave’s ability to contribute to

our continued growth while being attentive to the needs of homebuyers in Iowa.” 1st Alliance Lending Partners With Secure Insight to Manage Closing Agent Risk

1st Alliance Lending LLC has announced that it has enhanced its risk management policies and procedures governing its retail mortgage lending business by requiring independent screening and risk monitoring for all settlement agents having access to a borrower’s loan documents and mortgage proceeds. The process will be managed for 1st Alliance by Secure Insight, a vendor management firm specializing in closing table risk. The company chose Secure Insight’s Closing Guard and Quick Check tools to evaluate the backgrounds, licensing, insurance and trust accounts of agents as a method to identify potential threats before a closing takes place. Closing Guard evaluates, rates, monitors and reports settlement agent risk in realtime in the only nationwide database of mortgage closing professionals. The Secure Insight proprietary evaluation process combines automated data analysis with live reviews by trained analysts for the most accurate and informative risk analytics in the industry. Quick Check is a comprehensive risk management evaluation report that supports a lender’s needs when an analysis must be

completed in one business day or less. “We are pleased and honored to have been chosen by 1st Alliance for these critical risk management services,” said Secure Insight Chief Operating Officer Wayne Doctor. “In our extensive dealings with their leadership team we saw firsthand their serious commitment to quality control, consumer protection and overall loan quality assurance. We are proud to be their partner in this important endeavor.” Freedom Mortgage Completes Acquisition of JPMorgan Chase’s Rural Housing Unit

Roostify has announced the completion of its integration with DocMagic. Directly from Roostify’s platform via the Web or mobile device, consumers are able to securely access, electronically receive, review and sign all initial disclosure documents at the time of application with DocMagic’s proprietary eDelivery and

eSignature system. “The integration streamlines the process of borrower receipt, execution and return of electronically signed initial disclosures, while reducing errors and documenting compliance with a complete electronic audit trail,” said Steve Ribultan, director of Business Development at DocMagic. “This process improves the borrower experience, while expediting loan closing. The ability to provide borrowers with the required initial disclosures at the time of completing an application, as well as allowing them to eSign

their documents is a key differentiator lenders are looking for in today’s regulatory environment. Roostify’s seamless connectivity to DocMagic’s sophisticated, compliancefocused loan document solutions takes their platform to the next level.” Within Roostify’s platform, loan officers can now present consumers with real-time disclosure documents and other documentation necessary to close a fully compliant home loan, complete with proof of TRID continued on page 48

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Freedom Mortgage Corporation has announced that it has acquired the origination assets of JPMorgan Chase’s Rural Housing business. After months of preparation and transition since the acquisition agreement was announced in April, the business unit is fully operational as Freedom Rural Housing as of July 1, 2016. The newly renamed unit will continue to provide funds to suit the unique requirements of USDA residential customers nationwide through the correspondent team that was in place during its ownership by JPMorgan Chase. More than 90 employees have joined Freedom Mortgage’s team in the acquisition. Affecting about 80 percent of the land area and 20 percent of the population of the United States, USDA mortgage volume totaled over $22 billion in 2015, according to government figures. “We are very appreciative of the hard work by everyone involved in making the transition process as smooth as it could be,” said Stanley C. Middleman, CEO of Freedom Mortgage. “With this acquisition, Freedom Mortgage has expanded its correspondent business to help USDA lenders across the nation through a business unit that has operated for 23 of the 25-year history of the USDA mortgage program. We believe strongly in supporting the USDA’s affordable housing mission and will continue to be its number one lender under our banner. It is a pleasure to have these lending professionals as part of the growing Freedom Mortgage Corporation team.”

DocMagic Announces eDelivery Partnership With Roostify

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July 2016 l Written and compiled by Rick Grant The Impact of Social Networks: It’s What’s Next Summertime used to mean a retreat from the world for some much needed rest and relaxation. People would disappear to some beach or forest retreat and take a paperback novel with them—printed on actual paper. There would be gaping holes in organizations across the land, as skeleton crews maintained businesses that had slowed to summertime crawls. Well, unless you worked in the U.S. housing industry, where summer vacation meant the kids were home and could be shifted to the new school that served whatever neighborhood their parents chose to move into. But even then, executives on vacation were, well … on vacation. That doesn’t happen today. I returned last week from a twoweek family vacation. We traveled across country by car, just like families used to do in the old days. People stopped doing that when it became clear that two weeks in a car, even with people you love, does not really qualify as a vacation. Again, that doesn’t happen today. While my wife drove, I was working with clients across the country, my daughter was watching The Avengers battle in Eastern Europe with a friend who was in her own bedroom in Pennsylvania and my son was in Spotifyland, wherever that is. We were on vacation, but our social networks made certain we didn’t disappear. While the nation’s top loan officers are well aware of the power of social networks, U.S. mortgage originators are still coming up to speed on what they are and how they can be used to get more business. You’ll find plenty of great information elsewhere in this issue about social media and the power it offers modern mortgage originators. For our purposes here, in the NMP Next

section, these tools haven’t really been next for more than a decade now, but the impacts they are having—and going to have—on the financial services industry will definitely be something executives here will be seeing in the days ahead. When we think of technology’s impact on banking, we usually think in terms of the business-to-consumer (B2C) market and how fintech firms are leveraging social networks to disintermediate consumers from bankers and disrupt the market. That’s very real and you can find a million stories on this with a Google search. What’s more interesting to me is the impact on the business-tobusiness (B2B) market, which is less mature, but poised to be even more powerful. A perfect case in point is the recent deal between Wells Fargo and Xero, makers of accounting software for small businesses. Wells would like more of this business, but increasingly solopreneurs are seeking banking relationships with companies that offer them better tools. You’ll find that story in this issue. Another more subtle, but no less powerful case, is the recent deal between Ernst Publishing and First American. The latter firm has been a mortgage industry giant for decades and has built its business on thousands of B2B relationships with lenders, title agents, appraisers and closing agents. Ernst’s closing cost search engine technology is in use for more than 90 percent of the loans written in the U.S. today, based on a huge network of settlement services providers, taxing authorities and county recorders. What will happen as these two B2B social networks come together? See the story below. Of course, we also bring you some forward-looking stories that are not solely focused on social media, but nothing we do today is really divorced from the online networks that connect us all. Doubt me? Just try to take a vacation. Enjoy this issue.

The Future of Corporate Storytelling

The Impact of the Unexpected on Mortgage Markets

Futurists have created file cabinets full of tools for projecting timelines out into the years ahead. Some are extremely good. Not as good as Hari Seldon’s psychohistory from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, perhaps, but capable of projecting with a high degree of certainty the most likely paths we will take into the future. Triangles, Wheels, Decision Trees and many other techniques, when applied to large data sets and fairly complete lists of short term options can yield impressive results and make it almost seem like we’re looking into a crystal ball. They would probably work perfectly if we were applying them to an unpopulated planet. People, as it turns out, play hell with prediction. Take the recent popular vote in Britain, for example. Despite the fact that a large number of voters later admitted that they didn’t really know what the European Union was, British citizens voted to leave the EU last month. This event was largely unexpected, even by British Prime Minister Cameron, who gave voters a chance to voice their wishes in a campaign promise but then campaigned against a British exit. Futurists around the world crumpled up what they were working on and pulled out fresh sheets of paper. Someone was overheard murmuring, “Finally!” It was probably France. When unexpected events like Brexit occur, they can make it very challenging to determine what will come next, though there was no shortage of opinion in the wake of the British vote. While pundits offered their points of view, stock markets around the world were rocked and U.S. mortgage interest rates, which have been poised to rise for like 10 years now, fell back to historic lows. Lenders who had finally come to grips with the fact that refis were dead and they were going to have to figure out how to originate purchase money loans and build business referral networks again jumped for ringing telephones. Borrowers wanted to refinance! Of the wave of prognosticators that visited us in the wake of Brexit, few focused on the ultimate impacts of the event exclusively on the U.S. housing market. One notable exception was Lorraine Woellert’s piece in Forbes Magazine. In her article, she posed five questions for the housing market, in the voice of the American consumer. Will the move hurt home prices? What will happen to interest rates? Can I still get a mortgage? Should I put off buying a home? Should I put off selling one? The answers she supplied are blog-worthy snippets, just big enough to get you salivating, but not meaty enough to elicit any new thinking. Her response to the home price question started with, “It depends.” Doesn’t it always? I reached out to Mark Melikian, chief valuation officer at Chicagoland-based Summit Valuations to see what he thought of our long-term prospects. Melikian, as part of his job at Summit, compiles a monthly list of leading housing indicators in order to project future business and assess upcoming market risks. He

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goes above and beyond by making his report available to subscribers. He focuses on the fundamentals and his reports are well received. In his most recent report, compiled after Brexit, he writes: Mark Melikian, Chief Valuation Officer, Summit Valuations “This month’s pending home sales data suggests a decrease in the number of homes that will actually be recorded as sold transactions over the next 30 to 60 days. This decrease in sales volume, along with housing price affordability challenges in some markets and relatively steady inventory levels in the past month, could result in a relatively stable, or even slightly lower, median sales price in the next month. Long term, home prices in the residential real estate market continue to be driven by tight inventory, investor activity and interest rates. An increase in inventory or interest rates, or a reduction in investor activity could lead to an eventual decline in prices.” Given the fundamentals, a reasonable look into the future. I asked Melikian what he thought of Woellert’s analysis. “I found her take on the stock market’s impact on the consumer’s decision to buy a new home interesting,” he said. “When we see volatility in the equity markets, as we did after Brexit, we expect investors to seek out the security of bonds and Treasuries, which they did. This depresses the market, but also tends to hold down interest rates, which it also did. Fundamentals tell us that lower rates tend to mean an increase in mortgage applications and we did see that on the refi side. Woellert counters that a depressed stock market will make consumers feel less wealthy and serve as a damper on home buying. She could be right. However, the stock market only struggled for a couple of days, so that would be a short term impact.” What will the long-term impact of Brexit be on our industry. For that, I reached out to Marx Sterbcow, Managing Attorney for the New Orleans based Sterbcow Law Group LLC. As usual for Marx, he thought through the question thoroughly through before responding. Marx Sterbcow, Managing Attorney, Sterbcow Law Group LLC “Several issues are at play and you can expect the rates to go even lower in the fall, fueling another wave of refinance activity. First, the British pound still has not fully rebounded from its historic 50year low recently, which has put pressure on the Euro and pound downward. Brexit only compounds the international financial crisis across the globe. This, coupled with an aging workforce in the U.S., fewer jobs, and a lack of a suitable job base to make up for the job losses in the U.S., is a main factor in why the economy is not rebounding but rather sinking.” Sterbcow maintains that the Fed cannot risk raising rates due to international and domestic constraints that would cause the U.S. dollar to rise in value. If that happens, it will hamper our ability to export our goods internationally at the same time it creates an influx of cheap goods from overseas, which would further acerbate the U.S. employment crisis. Sterbcow continued, “Second, with the Yuan valuation tumbling, the Chinese central bank let the Yuan fall recently to 6.8 per dollar to support their own economy, which is in an economic tailspin. In 2015, the Chinese economy dropped 4.5 percent year-over-year, and while the 2016 numbers haven’t come out yet, the NY/NJ Port Authority reported in May that imports fell over 268k units (which is continued on page 44

nmp The future of corporate storytelling Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions LLC

DocMagic

3060 Peachtree Rd NW, Suite 500B Atlanta, GA 30305 855-539-4910 www.angeloakms.com

1800 West 213th Street Torrance, CA 90501 800-649-1362 www.docmagic.com

Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is leading the way in the alternative lending space. Offering wholesale subprime and alt-doc options, Angel Oak brings safety and reliability back to the non-prime market.

Caliber Home Loans Inc.

Ernst Publishing Co., LLC

3701 Regent Blvd Irving, TX 75063 800-754-8955 CaliberWholesale.com

One Commerce Plaza 99 Washington Avenue, Suite 309, Albany, NY 12210 800-345-3822 x 0 www.ernstpublishing.com

Caliber Wholesale’s success is built on a full array of conventional, government and Portfolio loans, combined with our reputation of providing our business partners with the highest level of service.

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Celebrating over 1 billion transactions, Ernst Cost2Close solutions process guaranteed fees with unparalleled speed and accuracy, alerting the lender and the settlement agent of fee changes in real time.

Citadel Servicing Corporation

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation

15707 Rockfield Blvd, Ste 320 Irvine, CA 92618 949-900-6630 www.citadelservicing.com

1900 Gallows Road, Suite 800 Tysons Corner, VA 22182 800-296-2275 fgmcorrespondent.com

Citadel Servicing is committed to the emergence of Non-QM/Non-Prime lending. Pioneering the most innovative lending programs which include Alt Doc, life events (FC, BK, and SS), $3mil loan amounts and low fico scores.

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DocMagic delivers the best end-to-end Document Preparation, eDelivery and Compliance Solutions in the industry. Over 10,000 customers in fifty states rely on us for innovation, quality, and service.

FGMC: Correspondent, Wholesale & Retail + Warehouse Lending. Full spectrum of lending products and services nationwide.

Class Appraisal

Freedom Mortgage Wholesale Division

770 S. Adams, Suite 300 Birmingham, MI 48009 866-333-8311 www.classappraisal.com

10500 Kincaid Drive Fishers, IN 46037 844-668-3830 www.freedomwholesale.com

We’re an award winning Appraisal Management Company focused on building positive relationships with our business partners. We are revolutionizing the way business is done with our new and exciting technology.

Nationally ranked lending leader – offering competitive products and pricing (Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo & more), best-in-class service & relevant industry training. Choose Freedom to Grow.

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Don’t miss the opportunity to network and be part of history at the largest loan originator Holiday Networking Parties! Sponsorship opportunities available Soon. For Locations, see page 3!

nmp The future of corporate storytelling Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc.

United Wholesale Mortgage

1265 Corona Pointe Court Corona, CA 92879 951-278-0000 www.prmg.net

1414 E. Maple Rd. Troy, MI 48083 800-981-8898 www.uwm.com

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. (PRMG) is one of the largest privately held national mortgage bankers and residential home lenders, helping homeowners purchase homes across the U.S.!

REMN Wholesale 194 Wood Ave. S. 9th Floor 732-738-7100 www.remnwholesale.com Iselin NJ, 08830 REMN Wholesale provides same day turn times every day on new file submissions. With a commitment to the broker experience, REMN is leading the way as a preferred partner in the mortgage industry.

Secure Insight 100 Lanidex Plaza, Suite 1201 Parsippany NJ 07054 877-758-TRUST (7878) www.secureinsight.com A vendor management solution. The first settlement agent vetting firm in the industry today offers a host of reliable and affordable risk tools for banks, mortgage lenders and credit unions.

711 Medford Center # 240 Medford, OR 97504 888-717-8980 www.tagquest.com

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For more information on nmpNEXT packages, please contact Scott Koondel at 516.409.5555, ext. 324 or e-mail ScottK@NMPMediaCorp.com

HOLIDAY NETWORKING PARTY 2016

The only thing better than a closed loan is a FREE party! ™

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n JULY 2016

TagQuest Inc. is a full service marketing firm offering the most up-to-date, cutting edge marketing solutions for the ever changing Mortgage Industry. Proudly serving our clients for over a decade.

nmpNEXT is the future of corporate storytelling. It melds the sponsored content that publications depend upon with the editorial focus that lends credibility to the sponsor's most important stories. In NEXT, Rick Grant, NMP’s Special Feature Editor, will look at what's just around the curve by telling stories about the ﬁrms that are leading the way. A variety of sponsorship levels allow advertisers to balance budget with reach and puts marketing managers in control of one of the most powerful channels available for advancing their brands. nmpNEXT is a monthly feature in National Mortgage Professional Magazine. Don't miss this opportunity to brand your company, products and leaders as progressive & forward thinkers.

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TagQuest Inc.

UWM is a forward-thinking, fast-moving and innovatively inspired lender that is always working to champion mortgage brokers and change the game with the latest and greatest technology and services.

down another 4.7 percent from last year’s dismal numbers). The volume of containers passing through just the NY Port fell by 6.1 percent in May 2016. Georgia’s Port Authority reported a 7.3 percent decrease in containers in May.” So what do these foreign markets have to do with our housing industry? “Those two factors are why the Fed will probably lower interest rates even further this fall,” Sterbcow said. “I expect another interest rate cut to prevent the U.S. dollar from getting too strong in relation to other currencies as foreign investors flee to the U.S. as a safe haven for currency. The Fed will not risk U.S. businesses pulling back on investments due to an interest rate increase because that would mean consumers would buy fewer homes (already at 50 year historic lows) as well as more U.S. job cuts.” Not a pretty picture, but Sterbcow says there is a silver lining in the clouds. He warns lenders to get ready for Refinance Boom 3.0, which he says appears imminent. If homeowners return en mass to the closing table to refinance at even lower interest rates, the economic result will outweigh the negative impact of home purchase stagnation. That would be the kind of big human event that would make Hari Seldon smile.

Putting Accurate Closing Costs at Lenders’ Fingertips

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When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) decided to simplify some of the disclosures the mortgage industry is required to provide to consumers, it integrated information required by the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) into one integrated disclosure it called the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure, or TRID. The jury is still out as to whether it has actually made anything better for borrowers, but there is no question TRID has complicated matters for mortgage lenders. Under the new requirements, lenders are tasked with providing accurate closing cost information to the borrower on a Loan Estimate (LE) within a few days of receiving the complete loan application—which the CFPB was kind enough to define for the industry. Then, at least three days before the loan is scheduled to close, lenders must disclose again on a Closing Disclosure (CD). Here’s the rub, the numbers have to line up. If they don’t, the lender might have to redisclose to the borrower, possibly moving the close out to meet the statutory timing requirement. Lenders need accurate pricing information very early in the process. Unfortunately, because this was never really important before, lenders have no infrastructure in place internally to gather that information, ensure that the fees have been agreed upon by both parties and then manage those fees when things change.

What they do have is access to closing cost fee engine technology from Ernst Publishing. Ernst has been providing closing cost information to lenders for 27 years. In the beginning, the information was printed in huge volumes (thus, publishing in the company name). Carl Ernst started the company and was a driving force in the property records industry until he died and his son, who had previously been CTO, took over the company. Over the years, the company has racked up an impressive list of innovations, which you can find on its Web site, ErnstPublishing.com. Even though Ernst has been a leading player and authority on land recording requirements for more than two decades, many don’t know that the company’s recording fee, transfer tax and title data have been integrated throughout the title and lending industries for years. That’s because the company’s technology is mostly behind the scenes, integrated into the systems used by all 10 of the nation’s top banks, all five of the top title underwriters, and nine out of 10 originators nationwide. Despite competitor’s claims to the contrary, Ernst touches about 90 percent of the nation’s new loan originations and finance transactions. It processes an average of 150 million real estate transactions each year, industry-wide. Recently, Ernst has been moving out of the shadows. The recent news about its integration with First American shed more light on the company and its offerings. First American Mortgage Solutions, a part of the First American family of companies, provides comprehensive solutions for residential lenders and servicers covering the entire loan spectrum. First American Mortgage Solutions, together with First American’s broader capabilities, serves as a single source for title and settlement, data and analytics, fraud and verification, regulatory compliance, valuation and collateral risk, quality control, fulfillment services and default services. Late last month, Ernst announced the integration of First American Mortgage Solutions services into its closing cost search and fee management software. The seamless connection allows Ernst’s lender clients to quickly and accurately get title, settlement and recording fee quotes from First American Mortgage Solutions and use them to populate the loan estimate required in many residential real estate transactions. “Lenders working today need access to information from their third-party partners as if it were residing within their own systems,” said Gregory E. Teal, president and chief executive officer of Ernst Publishing. “Today’s consumers and regulators are demanding it and this new integration is another way for lenders to get it. We have a rich history of innovation at Ernst, spanning more than 26 years.” Kevin Wall, president of First American Mortgage Solutions, said, “First American’s integration with Ernst demonstrates our commitment to helping lenders deliver high-quality mortgage loans that efficiently meet today’s regulatory requirements and homebuyer expectations for superior service. Lenders now have another way to quickly access accurate title, settlement and recording fee quotes from First American.” First American Mortgage Solutions provides lenders and servicers with end-toend solutions covering the entire lifecycle of the residential loan, from origination to post-closing and from servicing to default services. Lenders now have one-button access to First American Mortgage Solutions through Ernst’s closing cost search and fee management software. Ernst uses XML requests to directly query First American Mortgage Solutions for guaranteed-accurate fees and then propagate that information throughout all of Ernst’s technology solutions, from its innovative web interface and mobile solutions to the many custom

The Future of Corporate Storytelling

fee engines deployed by lenders around the industry. Both First American and Ernst have developed huge B2B networks over the years. This integration will serve to connect those networks, making it easier for lenders anywhere to have access to the accurate information they must disclose to borrowers when they need it.

Wells Fargo Creates Relationship for Sharing Consumer Data

in order to retrieve Wells Fargo account data. While this method of granting user access may be new to our industry, many large online firms (Google, Apple, Amazon) have been using similar user authorization methods for some time. “We’re very pleased that Xero is the first major technology company to join us on the journey of creating a more secure and customer-focused model of sharing data between companies that have common customers,” said Brett Pitts, head of digital for Wells Fargo Virtual Channels. “In an era of increasing concern about the security of electronic financial data, it is time to move toward more secure and more reliable data exchange methods. As a result of this agreement, we’re creating a much better experience for our shared small-business customers, who will benefit considerably from the improved process that comes out of this innovative agreement.” The approach will certainly help mitigate the risk of consumer’s accidentally granting access to their bank accounts to nefarious parties. While the specific details of the technology were not released by the companies, it sounds very similar to OAuth, short for Open Authorization, an open standard for token-based authentication and authorization in use across the Internet. OAuth makes it possible for a user’s account information to be used by third-party services without actually exposing the user’s password. “We are delighted to integrate with Wells Fargo to connect small businesses to the financial services they need to grow and thrive,” said Rod Drury, chief executive officer of Xero. “Xero, together with Wells Fargo, will help small businesses capture a true picture of their financial standing and empower our mutual customers to better access financial services, giving them greater control over their data. We believe this will fundamentally rewire how small businesses operate, and light a fire in the engine room of our economies.” Wells Fargo is clearly interested in more business from small companies. It maintains a robust small business banking Web site, with a good library of useful content for small business owners. Providing good data security that will allow these customers to safely share their bank data with accounting software providers will likely earn them more of this business in the future.

The Era of New Technologies By Jeff Lebowitz

The mortgage industry is about to exit its Victorian era of technology use. Regulators have corseted the industry into making small-ball, prudish technology decisions. A quick assessment of the condition of technology use signals the need for a new, antithetical regime of business investment. The current technology use is uninspiring.

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The following is an excerpt from Chapter 7, Volume II of The Mortgage Professional’s Handbook. This chapter was contributed by industry veteran and technology specialist Jeff Lebowitz, and edited by Jess Lederman and Tomasz L Acosta. Reprinted with the author’s permission.

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Even if our business lives weren’t dominated by cloud-based software systems and a million smartphone apps, there would still be two massive trends leading us to a more electronic commercial life. The first is the rise of the Millennial, young people who have never known an unconnected world. The second is the rise of the solopreneur. The U.S. Commerce Department estimates that there are nearly 23 million non-employer businesses operated by a self-employed individual. These solo entrepreneurs (solopreneurs) do not have access to internal accounting departments and so rely on technology to handle the financial side of their businesses. The leader in accounting software for small business is Intuit, with its Quickbooks software. But there have been a flood of new entrants into this market over the past few years. In order to be effective, these software systems need access to the consumer’s bank account data, which they get electronically, opening everyone up to data privacy and security risks. Banks are not in a position to ignore their customer’s requests for access to their own data electronically. But neither can they afford the many expenses associated with database breaches. This has prompted some large banks to break tradition and go outside for technology development. The latest to take this path was Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo & Company, San Francisco, is one of the nation’s largest lenders. With $1.8 trillion in assets, the bank claims to serve one in three households in the United States. The bank’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Today, that means granting access to financial data to third party technologies the consumer uses to manage their businesses. Recently, Wells announced an agreement with international software firm Xero that created a business relationship between the two firms and a new data-sharing platform for Wells Fargo small business customers who use Xero’s accounting software to manage their finances. Xero claims that more than 700,000 subscribers and their advisors in more than 180 countries use its online accounting software for small business. The new method of data sharing between Wells Fargo and Xero–driven by what the two companies are calling an innovative new application-programming interface (API) – is expected to give small business owners enhanced online security and greater control over what bank information they choose to share with the accounting software firm. The software works by facilitating a tokenized “handshake” between the companies’ servers. The API will eliminate the need for Xero customers to share their Wells Fargo usernames and passwords as well as the need for Xero to store them

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The Future of Corporate Storytelling

The very near-term future is no better than desultory. In a tormented business and regulatory environment, new investments in the mortgage value chain have been made halfheartedly. The major themes enveloping the industry are: l Lenders display a diminished appetite for technology risk l Investment commitments are remedial and not particularly innovative l Technology supplier mergers sap energy from leading-edge start-up ventures l Regulators and not strategy are dictating technology priorities l Technology-based outsiders are being permitted to attack industry borders Investment capital generally has been immobilized. Risk-averse lenders are operating with legacy technology. Using traditional management practices, they cannot foresee the impending industry transformation by a new operational paradigm. Temporarily inaccessible to most mortgage lenders is a revolution in decision-making, in process engineering, and in management techniques. The financial crisis of 2007-2008, and rules promulgated by vigilante regulators have obscured lenders’ vision into and participation in the imperative to change. As the Chinese proverb instructs, “If you want to know the theory and methods of revolution, you must take part in revolution.” The revolution is spear-headed by data scientists. The new paradigm of business is being constructed on a foundation of fact-based decisions that in turn are grounded on bounteous data. Traditional decision-making formed primary by personal experience will be supplemented by and then replaced by

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management-by-model algorithms. A very new way of organizing mortgage operations is around the next corner. In 2012, the highly-regarded French management consultants Capgemini released an important study of how businesses are changing. The study found that nine out of ten business leaders “believe data is now the fourth factor of production, as fundamental to business as land, labor, and capital.” That report concludes “Big Data represents a fundamental shift in business decision making.” Facile users of data based decisioning, the “Digirati,” have significantly higher financial performance than their less digitally mature competitors. While it is unlikely that a mortgage banking company will make the Boston Consulting Group’s list of most innovative companies, innovative change has become a management imperative. A good start would be to plan for implementation of digital and data-based technologies. Technology is moving from departmental operations to becoming a foundation for business model renovation. Using detailed survey data on the business practices and information technology investments of 179 large publicly traded firms, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that firms using data-driven decision making (DDD) have productivity that is five to six percent higher than what would be expected given their other investments and information technology usage. Few lenders have integrated DDD into their businesses. Rather, for the past five years, lenders have been focusing on compliance with regulator mandates. The financial meltdown and now a pervasive regulatory regime suggest the industry operating model was seriously flawed. Assuming that is a true assessment, there is little evidence that regulators are tinkering around the edges of revolutionary change that could be needed. Regulators (i.e., CFPB) are preoccupied with an historic problem: the financial crisis of 2007–08. Keeping Fannie Mae in conservatorship limbo and promulgating MISMO 3.4 data standards are indications that plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose—the more things change the more they stay the same. “At the direction of our (Fannie Mae’s) regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) are working together on the Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP). The UMDP is a multifaceted, ongoing program in which the GSEs develop and implement mortgage data standards for the single-family loans we purchase and/or securitize …” Fungible, high quality data undoubtedly are important. Without credible scenarios for the technology platform of the future, where in the industry construct does data quality fit? Of all the industry technology requirements, what priority should be assigned to data management? How much of the industry’s technology funding should be invested in projects such as UMPD? Ultimately, the industry will be reformed not by enforcement, but by adapting to a new operating paradigm. The new paradigm will be defined by investments in both knowledge systems and integrated transaction flows. Jeff Lebowitz is the owner of MORTECH LLC, a marketing and strategy consulting firm. He is broadly known for senior level planning and corporate development in financial services and technology for financial market use. For more information about The Mortgage Professional’s Handbook and to read the rest of this chapter, find it on Amazon.com.

Rick Grant is NMP special features editor for NMP Next and National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at RickG@NMPMediacorp.com.

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Industry Updates: July 2016 By Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.

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Truth-in-Lending (Regulation Z) Annual Threshold Adjustments On June 16, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its final rule to revise, as applicable, the dollar amounts for provisions implementing amendments to TILA under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act), the Homeownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). In addition to adjusting these amounts, where appropriate, based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index in effect on June 1, 2016, the Bureau is correcting a calculation error pertaining to the 2016 subsequent violation penalty safe harbor fee. For open-end consumer credit plans under the CARD Act, the threshold that triggers requirements to disclose minimum interest charges will remain unchanged in 2017. The adjusted dollar amount for the safe harbor for a first violation penalty fee will remain unchanged at $27 in 2017; the adjusted dollar amount for the safe harbor for a subsequent violation penalty fee will remain unchanged in 2017 from the corrected amount of $38 applicable in 2016. For HOEPA loans, the adjusted total loan amount threshold for highcost mortgages in 2017 will be $20,579. The adjusted points and fees dollar trigger for high-cost mortgages will be $1,029. For the general rule to determine consumers' ability to repay mortgage loans, the maximum threshold for total points and fees for qualified mortgages in 2017 will be three percent of the total loan amount for a loan greater than or equal to $102,894; $3,087 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $61,737, but less than $102,894; five percent of the total loan amount for a loan greater than or equal to $20,579 but less than $61,737; $1,029 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $12,862 but less than $20,579; and eight percent of the total loan amount for a loan amount less than $12,862. Full EAD Portal Appraisal Submissions Required The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that the Electronic Appraisal Delivery (EAD) portal becomes mandatory for all appraisal submissions for originations with case numbers assigned on and after June 27, 2016. On and after the June 27 effective date, mortgagees will no longer be able to: 1. Use both the EAD portal and other appraisal submission methods concurrently for originations; 2. Submit appraisals for originations with case numbers assigned on and after June 27 to FHA through any method other than the EAD portal; and 3. Access the Appraisal Logging Screen in FHA Connection for case numbers that require an appraisal to be submitted through the EAD portal. Please refer to FHA INFO #16-37 for more details.

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.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

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adherence. Consumers can then access and electronically complete the forms within the Roostify platform—the same place from which they submit their mortgage application and collaborate with their real estate agent. Roostify’s platform is accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection, including from a mobile phone. “One of the most complex elements of the mortgage completion process is providing customized documents to consumers and retrieving them back in a timely fashion, particularly given the current regulatory environment for lenders,” said Rajesh Bhat, CEO of Roostify. “The integration with DocMagic offers our customers and their customers an easy way to share and sign documents more efficiently, saving time in the process. Consumers gain the convenience of viewing and signing all necessary documents from a single platform, while lenders and loan officers can be sure that they have what they need to remain compliant with evolving industry regulations.” Assurant Announces Acquisition of American Title

Assurant Inc. has announced its acquisition of American Title Inc. (ATI). American Title will operate as part of Assurant’s Mortgage Solutions business, whose capabilities include property preservation, appraisal and valuation services. ATI’s primary business lines include title services, settlement services and valuation for home equity loans, as well as conventional mortgages and refinancing. American Title, with annualized fee income of approximately $48 million, expands Assurant’s fee-based businesses, and serves the growing home-equity field. The company was acquired for $45 million in cash, with potential additional earnings based on future performance. Assurant expects the transaction to be modestly accretive to earnings in 2017. “American Title is a strong fit with our focus on risk management in the housing market,” said Michael Campbell,

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president of Global Home for Assurant. “As a leader in home equity title and valuation, ATI adds another important dimension to the expansion of our capabilities across the home and mortgage value chain, to more holistically serve our clients.” American Title’s team of approximately 400 professionals will maintain their current offices in Omaha, Neb. and Palm Bay, Fla. American Title was founded in 1994 and acquired in 2004 by Bill Mackintosh, who led the company until his death earlier this year. Co-Owners Mike Mackintosh and Ashley Horgan will continue to lead the business as part of Assurant. Assurant and the American Title team will work to ensure a seamless transition for employees, clients and customers following the acquisition. “We have the highest regard for the business the Mackintosh family and their team have built in ATI, and we welcome them to Assurant,” Campbell said. “Joining with a respected Fortune 500 leader builds on our company’s legacy and brings us greater capabilities and resources,” Mackintosh said. “We’ve always been committed to our clients, our people and the communities where we serve. That won’t change now that we’re part of the broader Assurant team.” Inlanta Mortgage Relocates Its Corporate HQ

Inlanta Mortgage has announced the relocation of its corporate office to the Jannsen Center in Pewaukee, Wis. to accommodate its expanding operations and administrative staff. “We have experienced consistent and steady growth over the last several years. This year has pushed us to capacity in our current location,” said Nicholas DelTorto, president and CEO of Inlanta Mortgage. “The new office will support our continued growth and expansion as we continue to achieve sales volume of record highs. I am extremely proud of our company continued on page 56

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GINGER BELL Facebook: Facebook.com/Ginger.Bell LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/GingerBell Twitter: @gingergbell Ginger Bell is the best-selling author of Cracking the Success Code, and Success Today, books she coauthored with Brian Tracy. She is a renowned training and education specialist in the banking and real estate industries, and has been awarded the Expy Award by the National Academy of Experts, Writers and Speakers for her commitment to bringing quality education to the industry. Ginger’s mission is to help bring quality training and education to all those she serves and to help teach others how to pass on what they have learned. RICK BETTENCOURT Facebook Personal: Facebook.com/RickBenty Facebook Business: Facebook.com/RickMortgage LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/RickBenty Twitter: Twitter.com/RickMortgage Coming from a family with a long and proud military history, it was only natural that Rick Bettencourt’s passion for helping U.S. servicemen and women would carry over into his professional career. Using a variety of social media conduits, Rick has been able to convey the benefits of the VA home loan to both veterans and industry professionals alike. More than 80 percent of Rick’s book of business is comprised of veterans or active duty servicemembers.

ROB CHRISMAN Web site: RobChrisman.com Although most of you know Rob Chrisman from his daily commentary, he began his career in mortgage banking— primarily capital markets—31 years ago in 1985. His background includes hedging pipelines, running a small subprime company, and now is on several boards and is involved in helping various companies with capital markets issues on a consulting basis.

SEAN COCHRAN Facebook: Facebook.com/SeanCochranJobs LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/SeanCCochran Twitter: @nloansjobs Web site: NeighborhoodLoans.com/Business-Development/SeanCochran Sean Cochran, a 15-plus-year mortgage industry veteran, is in the top one percent of most connected mortgage professionals on LinkedIn with more than 13,000 first degree connections and growing. With more than 10 years of his experience being in originating, this CNN featured and Scotsman Guide-published professional has a distinct advantage when it comes to recruiting. TIM DAVIS Facebook: Facebook.com/TimWDavis Instagram: Instagram.com/TheMarketingEvangelist LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/TimDavisOnline Twitter: Twitter.com/MTKGEvangelist Web site: TheMarketingEvangelist.com Tim Davis is the national sales coach for Movement Mortgage, the founder of Agent Marketing Academy and creator of Personal Branding Mastery Seminars for Agents. Tim teaches sales, marketing and leadership, and is probably best known for his paintball sports coat. Tim lives in Nashville with his wife Angie and their “petting zoo” of dogs, Landry, Petey and Sheldon. KEVIN DELORY LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Kevin-DeLory-555390a Twitter: @AEDeLory Web site: CarringtonWholesale.com Kevin DeLory has a very successful track record in the wholesale mortgage industry over 18 years. In his most recent endeavor, DeLory has built an inside team at Carrington from zero to the top producing region in the company within his first six months, and hasn’t looked back. He does this by practicing one of his favorite quotes: “Know the way, show the way, and go the way.” Just one look at his LinkedIn postings you can see he is an inspirational leader. CHRIS EASTMAN Google+: Plus.Google.com/+ChrisEastmanIllinoisLoanOfficerRollingMeadows Facebook: Facebook.com/ChrisEastmanLO LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/ChrisEastmanLending Twitter: @ChrisEastmanLO Chris Eastman of Academy Mortgage is a five-star originator and branch manager. He adeptly uses social media to establish relationships of trust and share the joy of each closing. His top-notch reviews and hundreds of followers make Chris a powerful influencer in Illinois’ mortgage industry. AMY FLORES Facebook Personal: Facebook.com/Amy.jerezflores Facebook Business: Facebook.com/LongIslandEmpressGroup Instagram: Instagram.com/AmyFlores LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/Amy-Flores-21a08973 Twitter: @amyjerezflores Amy Flores has been in the mortgage industry for more than 15 years. As corporate relationship manager for United Northern Mortgage Bankers (UNMB), her engagement on social media networks has increased brand recognition, sales volume and traffic by providing a genuine interaction with new and existing relationships. Amy has become a credible and trustworthy resource through videos, pictures, posts, tweets and events. Amy is also co-founder of Empress Group, a national women’s group dedicated towards promoting the advancement and equality for women through guest speakers, roundtable discussions, networking and the mentoring of young girls.

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MELISSA CARTER Facebook: Facebook.com/MelissaCarter.MortgageConsultant LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Melissa-Carter-3251098 App: MelissaCarter.MortgageMapp.com Zillow: Zillow.com/Profile/Melissa-Carter-NTX Web site: CaliberHomeLoans.com/MCarter Melissa Carter has 23 years of experience as a residential loan consultant and has been voted one of D Magazine’s Best Mortgage Professionals. Recognizing each customer has specific needs, Melissa will utilize her expertise, along with Caliber Home Loans’ superior “in-house-local” processing, underwriting and closing functions to meet those goals—assuring a smooth process from application to closing. Melissa works with a comprehensive list of loans, including conventional, FHA and jumbo, and is also a certified condo specialist.

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DUSTIN BLOCK LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Dustin-Block-4881504 Web site: APMortgage.com Dustin Block is director of sales and business development for American Pacific Mortgage (APM) and has been an active contributor with LinkedIn for nearly a decade. With nearly 13,000 connections, Dustin has proven to be a dynamically connected leader in the mortgage industry. Dustin has helped build area teams in new and existing markets, grow production and built strategic relationships with loan officers, managers, VPs, directors, C–Level executives and other real estate professionals utilizing these connections.

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JASON FRAZIER Blog: Medium.com/@RealEstateCIO Facebook: Facebook.com/FrazierCIO Instagram: Instagram.com/RealEstateCIO LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/RealEstateCIO Snapchat: Snapchat.com/Add/RealEstatecio Twitter: Twitter.com/RealEstateCIO Web site: RealEstateCIO.com YouTube: YouTube.com/c/Airevue Over the last 18 years, Jason Frazier has been blessed to be able to work with the top minds in venture capital, social media and fintech that have created the modern business marketplace. He has a passion to use his knowledge to help real estate and mortgage professionals shape their businesses in the information age. AMY GOLDSTEIN Facebook: Facebook.com/AmyGoldstein12 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Amy-Goldstein-724b717 Twitter: Twitter.com/AmyBMIC Web site: BMICMortgage.com Amy Goldstein is a long-time mortgage professional servicing the D.C. Metro area. Social media plays a major part in marketing, making connection and keeping up to date on the latest market trends for Amy. Amy has been a senior broker with BMIC Mortgage Inc. for 16 years.

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BARRY HABIB LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/pub/dir/Barry/Habib Web site: MBSHighway.com Barry Habib is an American entrepreneur and frequent media resource for his mortgage and housing insight. Barry has had a long tenure with monthly appearances for CNBC and FOX. Barry is the chief executive officer of MBS Highway, a company and platform created to help interpret and forecast activity in the mortgage rate and bond markets. KELLY D. HANEY Facebook: Facebook.com/KellyTheMortgageGuy LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/KellyHaney Twitter: @kelly_mortgage Web site: KellyDHaney.com Kelly D. Haney is dedicated to creating mortgage solutions that meet each client’s unique needs while providing unyielding commitment to their best interests. As a talented, experienced and trustworthy mortgage professional, Kelly has been helping individuals and families realize their dreams of homeownership since 2000. He specializes in helping homebuyers secure loans that best suit their personal circumstances and financial needs. Kelly currently serves as president of North Texas Association of Mortgage Professionals for 2016. J. SCOTT HARRIS Blog: JScottHarris.com/blog/ Facebook: Facebook.com/J.ScottH LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/JScottHarris Twitter: Twitter.com/HarrisJScott J. Scott Harris has more than 20 years of experience in helping renters become homeowners and rescuing real estate agents by approving loans that other lenders will not approve. Being “connected” to him means being recognized as the expert in your field and the person everyone recommends to call for help.

JOHN H.P. HUDSON Facebook: Facebook.com/MortgageYou Google+: Plus.Google.com/+JohnHPHudson/Posts LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/JohnHPHudson Twitter: @JHPHudson Web site: JoinMFS.com YouTube: YouTube.com/c/JohnHPHudson Self-professed mortgage and housing geek, as well as a former NAMB Government Affairs Chairman, John H. P. Hudson continues to advocate for all mortgage professionals and consumers. “I believe in the value homeownership brings to America’s families,” says Hudson. “As a #MortgagePro, it’s my duty to use my influence to promote responsible homeownership and tell our industry’s story.” MAT ISHBIA LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Mat-Ishbia-a8a09a14 Twitter: @Mishbia15 Web site: UWM.com The president and chief executive officer of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), Mat Ishbia is an entrepreneurial-minded executive who excels at blending his keen business acumen with an ability to build a unique workplace culture. As the leader of the nation’s number one wholesale lender, Mat is active in many forms of media (social, print, digital, TV and radio broadcast), serving as an industry expert and leading national advocate of mortgage brokers. RICK KOENIG Blog: AmeriFirst.com/AmeriFirst-Welcome-HomeRecruiting/Author/Rick-Koenig Facebook: Facebook.com/RickKoney LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/KoenigRick Twitter: @RickKoney Rick Koenig is a lifelong Cincinnati, Ohio native involved with the housing industry his entire adult life. As a mortgage banker the past 24 years, Rick has worked as an originator, branch manager and regional vice president in the mortgage industry. For the past eight years, Rick has been director of recruiting for AmeriFirst Home Mortgage. Rick has been very active in the housing industry, having served as past president of the Cincinnati Mortgage Bankers Association and the Greater Cincinnati Home Builders Association Associates. FRED KREGER Blog: FredKreger.com Facebook: Facebook.com/FredKreger Google+: Plus.Google.com/+FredKreger/Posts LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Fred-Kreger-9529344 Twitter: @FredKreger Fred Kreger is an active member in both the California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP) and NAMB— The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He currently sits on NAMB’s executive board of directors as president-elect and is the vice chairman of Government Affairs for NAMB.

TODD LABORWIT Facebook: Facebook.com/TopazMortgage LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/LaBorwit Radio Show: DCMetroRealEstateRadio.com Twitter: @ToddLaBorwit Web site: TopazMortgage.com/ Todd LaBorwit designed Topaz Mortgage to put integrity back into the lending business. Topaz empowers its clients, the homeowner and homebuyers by simplifying the loan process. They provide exact closing cost and lowest interest rates available, and then invite their clients to shop with other banks, lenders and brokers. Their clients consistently choose Topaz Mortgage for their low rates and personal attention.

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MELISSA LANGDALE Facebook: Facebook.com/Melissa-Langdale-at-On-Q-Financial835533359885363 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Melissa-Langdale-0286832 Twitter: Twitter.com/OnQFinancialRAL Web site: MelissaLangdale.OnQFinancial.com Vimeo: Vimeo.com/user31610159 Melissa Langdale fell in love with the mortgage industry when she quickly realized the impact that homeownership had on her community. Over the past 14 years, she has focused on adding value to those around her and social media gives her a great tool to do that.

RALPH LOVUOLO SR. Facebook: Facebook.com/Mortgage-Godfather-799046150207697 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/RalphLoVuoloSr?trk=hp-identity-name Twitter: @RLoVuoloSr Web site: MortgageGodfather.com Ralph LoVuolo Sr. “The Mortgage Godfather” is a renowned premier coach/mentor. He utilizes his extensive experience in the mortgage industry to help clients grow and thrive by setting goals, establishing a plans and then holding his clients accountable. His motto is “Do it … don’t just think about it!”

MARK MADSEN Google+: Plus.Google.com/+MarkMadsen1/Posts Google+ Community: Plus.Google.com/u/0/Communities/111167855085138616592 Twitter: @Mark_Madsen Web site: MRev.org Mark Madsen is co-founder of Mortgage Revolution, a grassroots industry networking conference that brings street level lending and real estate professionals together to share their best strategies for success. Mark’s lending career started in 1999 as a Las Vegas originator and he was an early adopter of search engine marketing, mortgage blogging and social media back when MySpace was cool and “The Facebook” was only available for Harvard students. He also started the largest mortgage professional network on Google+, which has grown to almost 2,600 members in the past year.

JESSICA MANNA Facebook: Facebook.com/MofiyaMarketing Klout: Klout.com/#/JessicaManna LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/JessicaManna Twitter: @JessicaManna Jessica Manna is founder of mortgage lead generation agency MOFIYA, a former CLevel marketing executive for three mortgage firms, a nine-time recipient of marketing awards, and has been voted “Most Likely to Tweet on Vacation.”

RENO MANUELE Facebook: Facebook.com/NeighborhoodLoans LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/RenoManuele Twitter: @RenoManuele Web site: NeighborhoodLoans.com As president of Neighborhood Loans, Reno Manuele’s primary goal is to help Chicagoland residents achieve their dream of homeownership. His commitment to serving the residential lending community has earned him distinction as one of National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s “40 Under 40 Most Influential Mortgage Professionals in the Nation,” as well as recognition in Chicago Agent Magazine’s “Who’s Who in Chicagoland Real Estate.” PAM MARRON Facebook: Facebook.com/Pam.Marron LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Pam-Marron-aab4ba36 Twitter: @MarronPam Web site: CloseWithPam.com & HousingCrisisStories.com Pam Marron continues to push for a refinance of non-Fannie Mae/non-Freddie Mac first mortgages, second mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) where no refinance exists for more than five million homeowners who still have negative equity across the U.S. and are struggling to stay in their homes. Pam was appointed to the 12-member HUD Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee (HCFAC) in Washington, D.C. on May 19, 2016. SUSAN MEITNER Blog: CLG-LLC.com/Journal Facebook: Facebook.com/CLGLLC LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Susan-Meitner Twitter: @CLGinfo Web site: CLG-LLC.com Susan Meitner is a powerful influencer and sits on the board of the Mortgage Collaborative, which offers phenomenal education and networking opportunities to its lenders. She also is a forum leader for the Entrepreneur’s Organization of Philadelphia, a global peer-to-peer network of influential business owners. When Susan has free time from being a parent plus, president and CEO of an award-winning company, Centennial Lending Group, you will find her doing what she loves– connecting with people. Through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, Susan loves to connect others personally and professionally with friends, colleagues and leaders of all industries. BUBBA MILLS Facebook: Facebook.com/Bubba.Mills.3 Instagram: Instagram.com/BubbaMills1 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Bumills Twitter: @BubbaMills1 Bubba Mills is the chief executive officer of Corcoran Consulting & Coaching, an international small business, mortgage and real estate coaching company committed to helping clients balance success in business, while building value in life. For more than 20 years, Bubba has been a respected voice in the REO world and a passionate champion for the real estate community.

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RYAN MADRID Facebook: Facebook.com/Ryan.Madrid2?fref=ts/ LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Ryan-Madrid-01546724 Ryan Madrid consistently supports business and mortgage events, always learning and growing, plus he gives back. His two major charities are Fresh Start for Women and Making Mortgages Mean More.

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DAVID LUNA Facebook: Facebook.com/MortgageEducators Google+: Plus.Google.com/u/0/+DavidLunaMEC/posts LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/David-Luna-01bb369 Twitter: @MtgEducators Web site: MortgageEducators.com Yelp: Yelp.com/biz/Mortgage-Educators-and-ComplianceAmerican-Fork David Luna is president of Mortgage Educators and Compliance. He has been in the mortgage industry for more than 30 years and has taught tens of thousands of mortgage professionals across America. He is past president of the Utah Association of Mortgage Professionals (UAMP), is Communications Committee chair of NAMB, and holds several state and national certifications. Has been a consultant to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac as well as many banks, bankers and brokers, and has been interviewed by NBC, CBS, ABC as well as industry publications.

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ERIC MITCHELL Facebook: Facebook.com/EricMitchell0513 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/EricTMitchell Twitter: @EricTMitchell Web site: Eric-Mitchell.com Eric Mitchell is helping to revolutionize the mortgage industry with innovative purchase market strategies. As executive vice president for Gold Star Mortgage, Eric is partnering loan officers with real estate agents at sales training events using cutting-edge technology platforms. Eric brings state-of-theart information to sales professionals that truly change how loan officers and real estate agents work together as a team. KEN PERRY Facebook: Facebook.com/KnowledgeCoop Google+: Plus.Google.com/u/0/+TheKnowledgeCoopVancouver/Videos Instagram: Instagram.com/TheKnowledgeCoop LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/Company/The-Knowledge-Coop Twitter: @KnowledgeCooper Web site: KnowledgeCoop.com Since diving into the industry in 1998, Ken Perry has been a relentless innovator in the mortgage and real estate world. His company was one of the nation’s first training companies to be approved by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) to provide pre-licensing and continuing education for originators, Ken has had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of thousands of professionals throughout the country on topics including mortgage and real estate compliance, title and escrow laws, economic and industry updates and forecasts, business development and strategy, and social networking and media.

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A.J. POULIN Facebook: Facebook.com/The-Mortgage-Office-359709350026 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/AJ-Poulin-2-000-Connections-a391811 Twitter: @TMOSoftware Web site: TheMortgageOffice.com A.J. Poulin has helped implement The Mortgage Office loan servicing software for hundreds of companies across the globe. His list of clients include a “Who’s Who” of private lenders in the United States. A.J. graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering with a focus on computer software. A.J. wrote software at General Electric for defense contracts, and his projects included the F-16 Fighter Jet, the Apache Attack Helicopter and the M-1 Tank. DAVID RICKETTS Facebook: Facebook.com/TeamRickettsBOE LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/RickettsDavid David Ricketts is actively involved in the community. He is a recent cancer survivor and powerful influence within the Lymphoma and Leukemia societies.

RENE RODRIGUEZ Blog: SeeReneSpeak.com Facebook: Facebook.com/SeeReneSpeak LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/SeeReneSpeak Twitter: @SeeReneSpeak Rene Rodriguez is founder and CEO of BetterLoanOfficers.com, a powerful reputation and review marketing system dedicated to the mortgage industry. As a renowned behavioral and organizational change expert, leadership coach, world-class sales trainer, and captivating, high-energy speaker, Rene is in high demand for annual events, conventions and keynote speeches.

RICK ROQUE LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/RickRoque Snapchat: DrRickR Rick Roque is the managing director of Retail who founded Menlo Company in 2009. Menlo focuses on M&A and retail production growth, and consumer growth strategies for banks.

BRIAN SACKS Facebook: Facebook.com/AgentsChaseYou LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/Groups/8225444 Web site: TopOriginatorSecrets.com YouTube: YouTube.com/Channel/UC-PtcH-8nlHUHZ3oQkk_zZA Brian Sacks is a nationally-renowned mortgage expert who has career closing of over 5,924 transactions. He has trained tens of thousands of loan officers and company owners over the past 31 years on how to close more loans, make more money, and still have a life. Brian is currently the branch manager of Homebridge Financial’s Baltimore office. DAVE SAVAGE Facebook: Facebook.com/MortgageCoach Instagram: Instagram.com/MortgageCoach LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/DaveSavage YouTube: YouTube.com/user/MortgageCoachEdge Dave Savage, founder and CEO of Mortgage Coach is passionate about using social media to help evangelize the Mortgage Coach mission of reinventing the mortgage experience for borrowers, lenders and real estate agents with mobile technology. Mortgage Coach, recently ranked one of five must have real estate apps by USA Today, allows you to connect socially with families and partners ensuring a confident mortgage decision can be made. KEVIN SEINFELD Facebook: Facebook.com/KevinSeinfeldMM Google+: Plus.Google.com/104649337804467148457 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/KevinSeinfeldMMI Twitter: @Kevin_Seinfeld Kevin Seinfeld has been in the mortgage industry for more than 15 years. Five years ago, Kevin saw the opportunity in social media and began building his online presence. Since then, he’s not only been able to establish stronger relationships with his clients and partners, but his business has also increased by 30 percent. JACQUELINE SENDRA Facebook: Facebook.com/Jacqueline.Sendra LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/JacquelineSendra Jacqueline Sendra has been a mortgage loan originator since 2004 and is licensed by New York State to teach real estate and finance education. She is passionate to help others grow, develop and achieve their dreams and goals. Jacqueline offers homeownership education classes to inspire and empower Long Island and the boroughs of New York City. Jacqueline always has a team-focused attitude which has helped her become a top originator within her company. TOM SMITH Facebook: Facebook.com/Mortgages-and-BS-101866693225282 LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Thomas-”Tom”-Smith-612-386-7672-251b6aa Podcast: Spreaker.com/Show/Mortgages-bs Twitter: @omsiguy Web site: OMSI.biz A 30-year veteran of the mortgage business, Tom Smith still has the same passion today as he did at the beginning. Making the process simple-fast and hassle-free is the key to success and having the support of family and peers is a bonus. It’s about doing what makes sense.

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BRANDON SNIDER Facebook: Facebook.com/INeedAMortgage Facebook: Facebook.com/BrandonSnider LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/BrandonSnider Twitter: @MortgageBrandon Web site: SniderMortgageTeam.com Brandon Snider has been in the mortgage business for more than 13 years and is a consistent resource for trusted information for mortgages and real estate. He has built an audience over the past few years through Facebook and other social media platforms by delivering consistent, relevant content.

VINCENT M. VALVO Facebook: Facebook.com/Vincent.Valvo LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/VincentValvo Twitter: @agilityresources Web site: AgilityResourcesGroup.com Vincent M. Valvo is CEO of Agility Resources Group LLC, a provider of conferences and events for mortgage professionals. He also serves as executive director of several prominent mortgage trade associations, including the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW), the Oregon Mortgage Association (OMA) and the Missouri Association of Mortgage Professionals (MAMP).

ADAM STEIN Blog: LoanTek.com/Blog Facebook: Facebook.com/LoanTek LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/AdamLStein Twitter: @LoanTekOnline Adam Stein has more than two decades of experience in mortgage origination and management. Beginning as a loan officer in 1992, Adam currently serves as chief executive officer of LoanTek Inc., a division of Bankrate Inc. Under his direction LoanTek’s pricing engine, lead management and CRM solutions, have grown to price and deliver two million-plus consumers facing offers every day. These offers result in efficiencies, cost savings, funded transactions and a significant return-on-investment to LoanTek’s clients.

SUE WOODARD Facebook: Facebook.com/Sue.Woodard.92?fref=ts LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/Sue-Woodard-1401b55 Sue Woodard is president and CEO of Vantage Production, following more than 25 years spent in virtually every aspect of mortgage origination, as well as serving the industry as a vendor. She is also a regular speaker, commentator and contributor for major industry events and publications in addition to mainstream media.

COREY TRUJILLO Blog: SynergyMaven.com/Blog Facebook: Facebook.com/CoreyTessTrujillo Google+: Plus.Google.com/+CoreyTessTrujillo LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/CoreyTess Twitter: @CinemaScribe YouTube: YouTube.com/user/CoreyTess Corey Trujillo is a mortgage marketing maven with more than a decade of retail banking and corporate branching experience. Corey specializes in creating robust marketing offerings for retail mortgage companies and branch networks. Her clients count on her to solve complex marketing problems for everything from lead generation to branch recruiting.

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ED STOJANCEVICH Blog: RockStarCloser.WordPress.com Facebook: FB.com/TheRockStarCloser Instagram: Instagram.com/RockStarCloser LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/EdStojancevich Twitter: @HomeFinanceNWI Web site: TheRockStarCloser.com Two of Ed Stojancevich’s favorite things are real estate and social media. “Being able to combine both of those to help my clients and business partners achieve their goals is truly an amazing feeling,” said Ed. “Through social media, I have been able to make connections with other mortgage professionals, coaches and trainers throughout the country, all of which have helped shape my business.”

ORI ZOHAR Facebook: Facebook.com/OZohar LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/OriZohar Nerdwallet Profile: Nerdwallet.com/Ask/Advisor/Ori-Zohar-3380 Twitter: @Ozohar Web site: Sindeo.com As co-founder and head of digital marketing at Sindeo, Ori Zohar is at the forefront of Sindeo’s mission to create a consumer-friendly path to home financing. As a Millennial, he is wired to be socially connected and networks constantly as Sindeo’s most vocal brand evangelist. Under his and co-founder Nick Stamos’ leadership, Sindeo is now operating in 10 states and has quickly grown to over 100 employees.

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JOHN G. STEVENS Facebook: Facebook.com/JohnGStevensUtah Google+: Plus.Google.com/u/0/+JohngStevens/Posts/p/Pub Instagram: Instagram.com/JohnGStevens LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/JohnGlenStevens Twitter: Twitter.com/JohnGlenStevens Web site: JohnGStevens.com John G. Stevens is currently vice president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. John has worked in the mortgage industry since 2003, and is currently national vice president of business development for MiMutual Mortgage and considers this to be the best career choice for the rising group of Millennials. As an individual with a deeprooted passion for service, John hopes to be able to serve and impact the industry and local community for years to come.

PAUL ZINN Blog: Annie-Mac.com/index.php?s=blog&a=category&id=39 Facebook: Facebook.com/AnnieMac-Home-Mortgage-Recruiting177602885922178/?fref=nf LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/in/PaulZinn Twitter: @ZinnPaul Web site: Partner.Annie-Mac.com Over the last six years, Paul Zinn has become a familiar face in many social streams, but more importantly, his work has led AnnieMac from a new retail player in 2010 to a top 10 lender in the nation. “Any success I have is directly related to being part of a great team and a focus on the vital few things to achieve goals,” said Paul. He and his wife Elisa have had three children in the past three years and serve on a church planting team which launched in Philadelphia and has gone from no regular attendees to more than 650 in a given weekend.

heard on the street

and the service we provide to our referral customers, consumers, and the communities we serve. This is such an exciting step for the company as we are nearing our 25-year anniversary. Plus, it is a beautiful location for our corporate headquarters. It is a wonderful testimony to the people in this company, the quality of their work, and our unique culture that has allowed us to survive during rate fluctuations, and assimilate mountains of new regulations within this industry.” Inlanta continues to expand, now operating 16 offices in the state of Wisconsin alone, and a total of 35 offices in nine states. Black Knight Financial Acquires Software Provider Motivity Solutions

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Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS) has acquired Motivity Solutions, a provider of customized mortgage business intelligence analytics. Motivity Solutions’ comprehensive business intelligence helps lenders more effectively manage and understand their data, better support regulatory compliance and increase understanding and management of their performance compared to industry peers. Motivity Solutions saves its clients considerable time and money by automating data extraction and directly integrating embedded analytics with production data to capture changes in a client’s database in near real-time. The Motivity Solutions offerings will be integrated with Black Knight’s LoanSphere Product Suite, including the LoanSphere Data Hub, to provide clients with insights into their origination and servicing operations and portfolios. These business intelligence solutions will deliver actionable information to help improve compliance, sales and operations, as well as provide executive management insights. “Acquiring the capabilities of Motivity Solutions will accelerate Black Knight’s delivery of our Active Insight platform and Data Hub initiative. For our clients, these new capabilities will offer unique views into the types of information they need to drive peak performance and more effectively assist our customers in managing their regulatory risk,” said Black Knight President and CEO Tom

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Sanzone. “This acquisition of Motivity Solutions further demonstrates our drive to accelerate our growth and deliver the additional capabilities our customers want.” “We were committed to finding a buyer that shares our passion for using business intelligence to drive superior operating results. We found what we were looking for with Black Knight,” said Tyler Sherman, CEO and co-founder of Motivity Solutions. “Together, we are going to help our customers achieve superior results with innovative solutions and unparalleled insight.”

Guardian currently operates offices in Grand Blanc and Troy, Mich.; El Paso, Plano, Dallas, Arlington, Richardson, Austin and San Antonio, Texas; and Scottsdale, Ariz. Offices in Denver are slated to open later this year.

business. Our extensive experience in mortgage and financial technology provides GTCR with a differentiated perspective on the Company and its opportunities going forward,” said Aaron Cohen, managing director at GTCR.

Optimal Blue Acquired by GTCR

National MI Partners With Cultural Outreach Solutions to Target Millennial Homebuyers

GTCR has announced that it has formed a partnership with mortgage technology executive Scott Happ to build a leading business, through the acquisition Guardian Mortgage Partners of Optimal Blue Holdings, a With First National Bank of cloud-based software as a Santa Fe services (SaaS) provider. Optimal Guardian Blue, headquartered in Plano, Mortgage Texas, provides leading Company is managed-content, enterprise expanding its lending services to mortgage footprint, this originators and investors. GTCR time with is partnering with new CEO Happ services in to recapitalize the company and Santa Fe, N.M. delivered at First further invest in Optimal Blue’s National Santa Fe branches. growth. GTCR has committed up Guardian Mortgage Company is a to $350 million of equity capital Dallas, Texas-based mortgage to the investment to pursue originator and servicer with 50growth initiatives at Optimal Blue plus years in the business. as well as complementary Guardian began providing all acquisitions to provide primary home loans for its affiliate information and other digital First National Bank of Santa Fe in services to the $14 trillion September 2015. Through the mortgage marketplace. partnership, Guardian Mortgage GTCR will work with Happ, Sue brings its resources and Baker and Optimal Blue’s existing experience to the region. management team to expand the Led by Vice President and New company’s strong network Mexico Area Sales Leader Bob offerings and further invest in its Ortega, Guardian Mortgage’s technology. Happ, founder and Santa Fe team includes several former CEO of Mortgagebot, will long-time local mortgage join the company as chief professionals, including Branch executive officer at close. Baker, Manager Michaelann Cavazos, a former senior vice president at Vice President of Sales Marita Mortgagebot will join Scott as DeVargas, Senior LO Cassandra vice president of product. Delgado, and LO Monie Blum Founders and current co-CEOs (pictured above). Larry Huff and Ivan Darius will Bob Ortega, brother of remain involved with Optimal Ortega’s grandfather, served as Blue as consultants; the vice president of First National remainder of the management back in the 1950s and 1960s. team will stay in place. Ortega came from Los Alamos “GTCR’s investment behind National Bank to follow in his Optimal Blue is a testament to family member’s footsteps this the strength of the business that April. management and employees “I’m so excited to keep the have developed over many legacy of great mortgage lending years,” said Happ. “I am excited going here in Santa Fe,” Ortega to join such a talented team and said. “My family served this look forward to growing the community for decades, and I can franchise.” only hope we at Guardian can do “We are thrilled to have the same. What a privilege it is to entered into an agreement to come into the historic First acquire Optimal Blue, and would National Main Office on the Plaza like to thank Larry and Ivan for every day.” building such an innovative

National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI) has partnered with Cultural Outreach Solutions LLC (COS) to help its employees and customers target and connect with the Millennial generation. Millennials currently account for one in three home purchases, and this rate is expected to increase in the coming years. By some estimates, Millennials will spend up to $2 trillion in real estate purchases over the next five years. “Millennials have unique home buying preferences that must be understood in order to capture their business,” said Jim Pippin, director of product development with National MI. “We have partnered with Cultural Outreach Solutions to help lenders improve their understanding of the Millennial mindset and to grow their businesses with this up-andcoming generation of homebuyers.” Cultural Outreach Solutions was founded by Kristin Messerli, who is herself a Millennial. COS and National MI develop content and informational sessions that illustrate what Millennials expect from the home purchase process, and how mortgage professionals can build trust and collaborate effectively with this home-buying generation. Messerli also provides suggested social media posts that lenders can use. The informational sessions and webinars also help lenders gain a better understanding of how to more effectively recruit Millennials for employment. “National MI has an amazing company culture, as well as great relationships with its clients,” Messerli said. “My team brings relevant data and strategies to improve lenders’ production with Millennials. I believe that together we’ve had an impact on the way mortgage lenders work with this younger segment of home buyers and have helped continued on page 92

implementing new technologies

choice lies in how you will end up spending the time to deploy the solution. If the operation refuses to change, then it will take more time to customize and deploy the technology. In addition, the operation loses the opportunity to improve. If the operation is open to change, then time will be spent on training and the organization will benefit from improvement and follow a path to keep customers or make money.

solid help desk, easy to access FAQs, and job aids. One of the most important collaborations is the development of the user guide itself. Whether this is an all in one guide, Wiki or interactive hovering to view reference information, it takes wellrun collaboration between the technology team and operations team to create an effective user information source. Tech teams are great at illustrating all the predictable steps required. It takes

Jointly rank implementation risks The technology and operations team assessing any out-of-the-box solution must work together to fully understand the product features, implementation risks, and desired long term benefits. Implementation risks are the factors that weren’t identified and resolved upfront. For example, the technology team may envision that a change in the manufacturing process is easy in order to fit into the way a particular software solution was designed. On the other hand, the operations manager may feel that the change is obviously too much disruption in exchange for the benefit. There cannot be any unstated assumptions between the tech and operations teams. Every feature on the list should be reviewed by both teams and marked as either essential or non-essential and then ranked by their level of disruption and effort. These simple classification steps will ensure the teams haven’t held back any assumptions between themselves.

the operations and product teams to fill the gaps for the unpredictable ways the users may actually work the system day to day. Keep in mind that initial implementation of a new process will slow things down. Yet this shouldn’t stop the road to improvement. Account for it by

adjusting the users’ daily work goals and ensure there is adequate tech and training support. It’s amazing how these simple steps keep the users engaged and result in meeting return-on-investment (ROI) expectations of a technology solution.

Alice Alvey is senior vice president at Indecomm, leading the Indecomm-Mortgage U Division, Internal QA and Compliance. She continues to conduct consulting engagements, create customized mortgage training programs, as well as develop compliance product and procedure manuals. She is the author of Indecomm’s FHA Practical Guide and VA Practical Guide. She may be reached by e-mail at Alice.Alvey@Indecomm.net.

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Collaborative support Clicks take valuable time and can add up to a change that may not be adopted by the end user. A good deployment process must be reviewed with multiple end users during the final user acceptance testing (UAT) phase. Of course user acceptance should have already been considered during various development phases. However, the end state typically needs more focus on actual adaptation to a new process. The user must understand the goal of the product and the expectation to adopt a new set of procedures and habits. User acceptance at the deployment phase is dependent upon a good project manager who understands the purpose of the technology and the goals. The operations and technology teams must work together to create a

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Lykken on Leadership

Leading With Generosity: Seven Ways to Give Back BY DAVID LYKKEN

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n a recent episode of my Lykken on Lending podcast, we had the privilege of interviewing Dale Vermillion on leadership in the mortgage industry. During our conversation, we discussed something that is central to Dale’s philosophy and gets at the heart of something that all great leaders in the industry value. One of Dale’s great passions is his work with Mortgage Professionals Providing Hope (MPPH), a non-profit organization that facilities service projects connecting professionals in the mortgage industry with people in need of help. The MPPH is a great example of the kind of thing that the best leaders in our industry seek out. Why? Because the greatest leaders among us recognize how blessed they are in the opportunities they have and respond by developing the desire to give back. Giving back to society is certainly good for business, providing humanitarian aid helps bolster our public image and that of our company. However, whether people can see the good work that we do or not, we’ll do it if we’re great leaders because it reveals the kind of integrity we must necessarily possess to be the great leaders we are. Maybe you’re getting to be

“… the greatest leaders among us recognize how blessed they are in the opportunities they have and respond by developing the desire to give back.” successful in the industry, and you’re looking for ways that you can give back. Surely, the MPPH is a great place to start. But giving money or volunteering for social services isn’t the only way to give back. You can give back by the way you treat your employees, customers and everyone else you come into contact ways. In this article, I want to briefly highlight just a few ideas for you to take back to the office and implement as you seek to become a more generous leader. There are of course countless more things you can do, but these will get you started … 1. Sponsor a cause The first and perhaps simplest thing you can do is write a check. A lot of companies do this and if yours isn’t one of them, you are missing out on a serious opportunity. Importantly, the organization to whom you choose to give must say something about your organizational values. A good question you might ask before where you choose to give your money is, “What do your stakeholders value?” What causes

do your customers, partners, employees and investors care about? Give to those causes, and you’ll show that you are indeed a generous leader. 2. Do something for your community Writing a check is easy. Sure, it costs money and it affects the bottom line. But it takes little investment of your time and energy—which are the most valuable resources you have as a leader. If you really want to show you care and that you’re grateful for the society that has provided the opportunities for you to succeed, you’ll be willing to get your hands dirty. Certainly, you can get involved with projects facilitated by the Mortgage Professionals Providing Hope, but there are also opportunities in your own community for you to give back. You can organize a team to go around the neighborhood picking up dresses, get a small group to go visit sick kids in a hospital, or work a few hours in a soup kitchen providing food for the homeless in your area. There are countless opportunities for you to give back

right in your own backyard. Take advantage of them. 3. Teach a class for free Not all the work you do to give back to your community has to be physical. Not only can you serve others with your hands … you can also serve them with your mind. As a leader in the mortgage industry, you have certain knowledge that can be helpful for people in your community. Have you ever considered partnering with your local library or community college to offer a class on financial literacy? When people are not educated on proper financial management, entire communities and the general economy can suffer dramatically as a result. As a leader in the mortgage industry, you have the unique opportunity to plug up that leak before it bursts. Do people in your community understand personal finances? If not, you can be the one to teach them. 4. Take your employees to lunch Giving back to your community is important. If you possess the humility and gratitude that make a

great leader, you understand that you were blessed to be part of a culture that ultimately lead you to success. You didn’t do it alone. But it isn’t just your community or general society that helped you succeed—it’s the people sitting right outside your office door. Giving back to your employees is an absolutely essential step to becoming a generous leader. Many employees, as they’re trying to scramble their way up the ladder of success, are quietly craving the appreciate and recognition of their superiors. And yet, too many managers in business ignore their employees— barricading themselves in their offices and focusing on higherlevel strategic goals to the neglect of the very people who are helping them accomplish those goals. One simple way to show your employees that you notice them and that you care about their work is to take them to lunch. You have to eat, don’t you? Monday through Friday, there’s an opportunity for you to take the time to get to know five of your employees and to give back to them for their efforts by showing them that they matter.

someone else to praise. In the end, generosity is all about humility. And if you exhibit that characteristic, you will undoubtedly be the kind of leader that everyone wants to follow.

David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS), a management consulting firm that provides transformative business strategies to owners and “C-Level” executives via consulting, executive coaching and various communications strategies. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News and hosts his own weekly podcast called “Lykken on Lending” heard Monday’s at 1:00 p.m. ET at LykkenOnLending.com. David’s phone number is (512) 759-0999 and his e-mail is David@TMS-Advisors.com.

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6. Give unexpected rewards One interesting way to show you’re grateful for your employees, customers, and others is to give them prizes. I’m not talking about incentives. I’m talking about giving them rewards that they didn’t know they were getting. There’s a difference. Incentives have their place, but they are ultimately earned. You aren’t giving anything away. If you

7. Never take the credit As a leader in your organization, this is important. People are naturally going to credit the leaders of organizations for any success the company achieves. Don’t give into the temptation to accept that credit. If you really want to become a more generous

leader, never take the bait of believing that you are responsible for your own success. Always think of someone else to give the credit for your success. Whenever someone is praising your greatness, give them

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5. Say thank you Along with the last point, one simple way that you can become more generous in your leadership style is to constantly thank your employees for their work. But it doesn’t have to end with your employees. Great leaders continually thank everyone for everything. Take the time to thank your employees for their efforts, but also thank your other stakeholders. Thank your investors for taking a chance on your company. Thank your customers for choosing you over your competitors. Thank your vendors for agreeing to partner with you and providing you with the great products and services that help you do your great work. Merely saying the words “thank you” is a magical thing. You may be grateful, but people don’t know until you actually say the words. So, say thanks. Always.

really want to show you’re grateful for people, giving them something without them even expecting it. Send your top employee for the quarter on a two week vacation to Hawaii—just to show you’re grateful for the work they do.

new to market

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PCLender Announces LOS Integration With Roostify Mortgage

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PCLender has announced an integration with Roostify, a provider of automated mortgage transaction technology, to enable lenders to offer a streamlined digital mortgage origination process to customers—from application to close. “Loan applications are a sore spot in our industry and have needed a technological update for quite some time,” said Lionel Urban, CEO of PCLender. “We are pleased to partner with Roostify to lessen the stress for borrowers and lenders with a mortgage application process that simplifies the data and documentation collection requirements.” Roostify’s platform allows loan officers to easily collect a full loan application and associated documents, collaborate with consumers and third parties in real-time, provide key documentation from any location and collect electronic signatures, allowing for quicker and higher quality closings. “We are pleased to be an integration partner with PCLender, and extend access to the Roostify platform to more lenders, loan officers and consumers,” said Rajesh Bhat, CEO and co-founder of Roostify. “Our platform eliminates most of the headaches for lenders and consumers in the home buying process, allowing lenders to close more loans in a shortened time frame and provide an optimal digital experience to consumers, real estate agents, and third parties.” ReverseVision Partners With Factual Data on Credit Reporting Solution

ReverseVision has partnered with Factual Data to provide integrated credit reporting solutions to users of RV Exchange (RVX) loan origination software (LOS). Credit information supplied by Factual Data is available in RVX as of

the system’s most recent update on April 18. “Integrating with ReverseVision gives Factual Data the opportunity to help our mutual customers access the critical data they need. Lenders will have the ability to build efficiencies that allow them to proceed quickly and confidently through the lending process,” said Factual Data Senior Vice President of Sales Jay Giesen. Factual Data provides independent verification of credit, income and other loan qualification data for the mortgage industry. “Through our partnership with Factual Data, RVX users will enjoy streamlined access to the critical credit information they need to identify qualified borrowers,” said ReverseVision VP of Sales and Marketing Wendy Peel. RVX serves as a centralized exchange, connecting all participants in the lifecycle of a reverse mortgage by allowing them to log in to a single system to share documents and information for each part of the loan process. Factual Data makes it easy for RVX users to request additional details when questions arise about a borrower’s credit report. “While a borrower’s ability to qualify for a reverse mortgage does not hinge on his or her numerical credit score, the new Financial Assessment rules require reverse mortgage lenders to carefully consider the borrower’s ability to meet financial obligations,” Peel said. “That’s why offering lenders the ability to order credit supplements from within RVX is such a critical advantage of this integration.” 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: New to Market 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.

nmp news flash

Construction Job Rate Unchanged in June

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announce this investment by Francisco Partners, and we look forward to their support as we advance our vision of dramatically reducing the cost of loan production through automation,” said Sanjeev Malaney, CEO of Capsilon. “Capsilon will use the capital to expand our product portfolio, and we will leverage Francisco Partners’ technology and financial services end-market expertise to expand our customer footprint.” Capsilon partners with companies that originate, analyze, and trade mortgage loans to understand their process workflows and deliver awardwinning technology that solves critical business challenges. Capsilon’s flagship product, Capsilon DocVelocity, helps mortgage companies reduce costs and ensure compliance by automating key steps along the mortgage lifecycle. “Sanjeev Malaney and his team are transforming the mortgage industry from labor-based to technology-driven,” said Jason Brein of Francisco Partners. “We are thrilled to back Capsilon as it automates the process of accepting, organizing, and extracting intelligence from mortgage documents.” Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Construction employment totaled 6.6 million in June, unchanged from May’s level, according to the trade group Associated General Contractors of America, which blamed the stagnation on a lack of available

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Median rent prices in June increased two percent on a yearover-year basis, according to data released by Apartment List. The median price for a twobedroom apartment is $1,300, while one-bedrooms are at $1,140. The top 10 cities were the highest rents were either in the Eastern Seaboard, Pacific Northwest or California, while San Francisco continued to hold the title as the most expensive city for two-bedroom rents, with a median price last month of $4,650. Oddly, rent prices in San Francisco have bucked the national trend and fell year-overyear in June by 1.5 percent. Colorado Springs, Colo., saw

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Median Rent Prices Continue to Climb

the greatest average rent increases over last year with twobedroom prices up nine percent. Two-bedroom units in Colorado Springs have a median price of $1,000, while one-bedrooms are renting for $780. Other markets with significant year-over-year rent increases include Long Beach, Calif. (up eight percent), Vancouver, Wash. (up 7.8 percent) and—somewhat unexpectedly—Manchester, N.H. (up 7.5 percent).

qualified workers. Residential construction added 2,300 jobs in June and 134,000, or 5.5 percent, compared to a year ago, but non-residential construction lost 1,500 jobs for the month yet gained 83,000 employees compared to June 2015, a 2.1 percent increase. Average hourly earnings, a measure of wages and salaries for all workers, increased 2.8 percent in construction over the past year to $28.13 in June. “Construction employment

The Long & Short The Business of Short Sales

Negative Equity: Effects, Data and Solutions BY PAM MARRON

ast week, after years of research, I wrote a paper that detailed the urgent need for a refinance for negative equity or “underwater” non-Fannie Mae, non-Freddie Mac first mortgages, second mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOC)1 where no refinance option is available. Part I explained what negative equity does to the tax base of counties, reducing revenue to these areas and diminishing 2 needed services. It explains how homeowners experience “housing lock,” unable to move unless an inevitable short sale occurs that adversely affects their credit. It explains that negative equity interferes with homeowners’ wage bargaining, preventing them from searching for new jobs knowing they cannot move. Because of no equity, homeowners spend less or nothing on upkeep of properties. Inevitable foreclosures and short sales typically lead to disproportionate numbers of investor purchases. The value of credit to homeowners is detailed. In a recent study entitled “Can’t Pay or Won’t Pay? Unemployment, Negative Equity and Strategic Default,”3 it was found that unemployment and falling home values mixed with little or no household rainy-day funds was a common factor among many that lost their homes. Nevertheless, most financially distressed households didn’t default, which the researchers said reflected the ability of many of these people to tap resources, such as friends or relatives to tide them over.

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(defaults occurred due to lender loss mitigation policy that required default). Even among unemployed households lacking enough savings to make even one monthly mortgage payment, more than 80 percent stayed current. Another intriguing issue was centered on families who could afford to keep paying their mortgages, but chose not to do so. Despite a lot of media attention at the time paid to strategic defaulters, they were rare, according to the study. Fewer than one percent of households with the financial means to pay instead chose to walk away. It explains how the U.S. is in a perfect storm, where the vast majority of 6.7 million underwater homeowners have mortgages where no refinance exists and at the same time face the inevitable payment increases from millions of resetting interest-only first and secondary mortgages. Part II provides data of negative equity homeowners from CoreLogic, RealtyTrac and Zillow. It shows that Florida continues to see an increase in initiated defaults and that the number of negative equity homeowners rose to more than 250,000 from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016. It shows how many owneroccupied homeowners with a conventional mortgage that is not Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac could use a refinance: 4,126,433 across the U.S. and 454,825 in the state of Florida alone. Part II states two specific problems and offered solutions: Problem #1: There is no refinance option for non-Fannie

Mae, non-Freddie Mac negative equity conventional first mortgages. Additionally, there is no refinance for these first mortgages if they are positive in equity, but are combined with secondary financing that results in a combined loan to value that exceeds 95 percent. Solution: Provide a refinance for negative equity conventional nonFannie Mae, non-Freddie Mac first mortgages with the FHA Short Refinance, a loan available for negative equity non-FHA mortgages. Utilize government entity funds, such as Hardest Hit Funds, as a new second mortgage to replace negative equity, even on interest only or high rate second mortgages or HELOCs, down to the maximum FHA Short Refinance loan limit of 97.75 percent of the current appraised value. Problem #2: Negative equity second mortgages and HELOCs have no refinance option. Solution: Provide currently paying homeowners a new secondary mortgage using government entity funds, or

Hardest Hit Funds, that is fully amortized at current, lower rates. Six existing mortgages allow new secondary financing for negative equity homeowners when combined with these government entity funds. For both solutions: Provide a lower interest rate incentive for underwater homeowners that opt for a shorter term of the new secondary loan. And the benefits? 1. Allows the homeowner to stay current on their first and second mortgage, keeping credit intact. 2. Provides a new lower rate first mortgage that is fully amortized. 3. Allows for the refinance of a higher second mortgage/HELOC rate that is fully amortized. 4. Replaces resetting interest-only first mortgages and second mortgages or HELOCs, and balloon mortgages. 5. Can provide a lower rate with a shorter term that escalates equity quicker.

Footnotes 1—Negative equity, also referred to as “Underwater: The amount of the mortgage(s) is greater than the value of the home.” 2—The Uneven Housing Recovery, Introduction, page 1, November 2015 by Michael Zonta & Sarah Edelman (AmericanProgress.org/Issues/Housing/Report/2015/11/02/123537/The-UnevenHousing-Recovery). 3—“Can’t Pay or Won’t Pay? Unemployment, Negative Equity and Strategic Default” By Kristopher Gerardi, Kyle F. Herkenhoff, Lee E Ohanian & Paul S. Willen, June 12, 2015 (FRBSF.org/Economic-Research/Files/S05_P2_KrisGerardi.pdf).

Pam Marron (NMLS#: 246438) is senior loan originator with Innovative Mortgage Services Inc. (NMLS#: 250769) in Tampa Bay, Fla. She may be reached by phone at (727) 375-8986, e-mail Pam.M.Marron@gmail.com or visit HousingCrisisStories.com, CloseWithPam.com or 8Problems.com.

Nearly 75 Percent of Originators Have Increased Staffing Forthcoming study conducted by WFG National Title and National Mortgage Professional fleshes out lender, originator compliance costs in recent years

begins to bring forth evidence that at least some of that expenditure has come in the form of expertise and technology.” Almost 60 percent of those responding to the survey identified themselves as mortgage lenders (banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders) while another 25 percent

identified as mortgage brokers or originators. Respondents who did not qualify as originators did not participate in the remainder of the polling. The survey also addressed the larger issue of the collective effect this stricter regulatory environment has on costs and operations.

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early three out of four mortgage lenders and originators responding to a recent survey have acknowledged having to ramp up expenses for staffing, third-party consultants or technology expenditures to interpret recent regulatory and legal changes and obtain compliance. The survey and forthcoming report are being co-produced by WFG National Title Insurance Company and National Mortgage Professional Magazine. Nearly 600 lenders and originators responded to the initial round of questions, with another 700 contributing to a supplemental questionnaire regarding the impact of TRID on their operations. The final report summarizing the findings is expected to be released in the fall of 2016 and will include analysis on the perceived cost of compliance on staffing, management focus and the cost and use of technology to adapt. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed said they have increased the number of employees, outsourced vendors, temporary workers and contractors dedicated to the interpretation and implementation of new mortgage lending rules promulgated by CFPB, FDIC, FHFA and state regulators. However, almost 50 percent of those to acknowledge staffing increases estimated their organizations had only added one to five employees. It appears that technology is a significant part of the compliance equation. Eighty-four percent of the survey’s respondents admitted having to add new technology to accommodate changes required by new compliance rules. Ninetyone percent acknowledged having to revise existing technology or systems. “We’ve known for some time that the wave of changing compliance requirements in recent years has increased expenditures for lenders and originators,” said Steve Ozonian, president and chief operating officer of Williston Financial Group, parent company of WFG National Title Insurance Company. “This study, however,

Forty-five percent of respondents estimated that stricter compliance requirements have increased their overall cost to originate a mortgage by between 11 percent and 30 percent since 2013. “It would seem that the evolution of technology, expertise and process has played a major role in how originators have tried to adapt to a period of stark regulatory change,” said Ozonian. “It will be interesting to see if, going forward, such expenses remain higher than normal, or if they abate as new processes and systems take hold.”

Why Loan Officers Leave Recruiting and Retention in the Mortgage Industry BY MIKE QUERREY

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64 s national sales manager for Castle & Cooke Mortgage, I have the opportunity to travel the country, meeting one-on-one with branch managers and loan originators in our extensive footprint, while scouting potential markets for expansion. This exercise yields some unique insights into the heart of our business–its people. Understandably, some of these perspectives are related to job satisfaction and recruiting. What I’m finding should come as no surprise to others in the mortgage lending industry. That is, we operate in a highly competitive marketplace tied to an often-volatile economic environment. As a result, a certain degree of turnover is inevitable. But is there anything a lender can do to retain its best and brightest? First and foremost, if you’re going to talk about employee retention, you need to understand what causes them to leave in the first place. There are a number of factors that might lead a loan officer to search for greener pastures, but I’m finding there are some recurring complaints that top the list:

Lengthy and inconsistent turn times, excessive overlays on already-limited product menus and non-competitive pricing. These issues all have a direct impact on a loan officer’s bottom line in the form of failed sales and tarnished relationships with potential referral partners. But beyond compensation, many LOs are disillusioned and driven away by problems related to company culture, like disengaged management and an overall lack of support. So, what are your prospective recruits looking for? As I alluded to before, they are typically looking for more than just competitive compensation and a great benefits package–although those certainly factor into their decision-making. But even the most competitive compensation packages lose their appeal if a loan officer’s potential volume is impeded by slow turn-times and poor support. In my experience, the ‘more’ these LOs are seeking can be boiled down to three categories: products, support and technology–all of which are interconnected. The depth and breadth of available offerings is key The ability to offer real estate

agents and borrowers a solution they cannot find anywhere else is a real advantage. Being a direct lender also has its benefits as it cuts out the middle man, potentially increasing affordability and reducing time to closing. Support is a critical, multi-faceted component A culture of support and teamwork that trickles down from the president and executive team is paramount in creating an ideal work environment. When loan officers know that they have a direct line to a management team that cares about their needs and

well-being, they feel more empowered to do their jobs and voice suggestions and concerns should they arise. Operational support is vital When LOs are confident in the colleagues on whom they rely for underwriting, processing and closing loans, they can spend less time worrying and more time building their business. Even better is when they can rely on their management team’s resilience and ability to adapt quickly to change–particularly with an ever-evolving regulatory landscape.

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The technological advantage It goes without saying that cutting-edge operational platforms are essential. Having a streamlined, paperless system

expedites the entire process. But being on top of mainstream technological advancements is also vital. Your LOs want a mix of tried-and-true traditional methods of reaching their customers and a prominent digital presence. Mobile applications, social media campaigns and a robust, integrated customer relationship management system are just a few ways of achieving this combination. There seems to be no shortage of suitors for loan officers looking to make the leap–underscoring the competitive nature of this

business. Some lenders will promise the world, just to move the needle. They will claim they are the best, the brightest, the fastest. But it does not take long for an LO to find out if they really walk their talk–and many don’t, or simply can’t for any number of reasons. Some mortgage lenders simply don’t have the financial means or

the bandwidth to achieve all I’ve mentioned above–and some don’t need to. The important thing is to know your company’s key strengths and work to own and perfect them. Then, you need to get to know your prospective recruits, understand what they want and need–and find a way to give it to them.

Mike Querrey is national sales manager for Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC. He may be reached by phone at (801) 4617174 or e-mail MQuerrey@CastleCookeMortgage.com.

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Solid marketing support can impact an LO’s success The ability to receive customized materials quickly gives them access to professional, consistent collateral so they can spend their valuable time building and maintaining relationships, rather than sweating over copy and design. Essentially, it lets them concentrate on what they’re good at–closing deals.

Measuring Your ROI Through Social Media ocial media has become an accepted part of our everyday lives. Whether we are at home, work or play, social media is constantly around us … even when we aren’t plugged in. The visibility that the multitude of social media platforms provides is unparalleled to anything we have ever witnessed. However, the return-on-investment (ROI) is often difficult to track, making it tough to determine how much time and money to invest. With user numbers reaching into the billions, whether you have been in the mortgage industry since the beginning, or you are

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By Doug Perry

just starting off, it is important for you to have social media established in your business plan and have a presence in that ever growing world. Being engaged allows you the opportunity to build your brand, become a valuable resource and expert in the eyes of your prospects, reach prospective customers, and solidify relationships with established customers and referral partners. It has become an indispensable resource in reaching out to your customers, allowing you to create and build professional as well as personal relationships. Keep in mind that you never know where a connection is going to lead and how things could come back to you. With Facebook being the

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© Copyright 2007-2016 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC headquartered at 1600 South Douglass Road, Suites110 & 200A, Anaheim, CA 92806. 800-561-4567. NMLS ID #2600. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access website: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. All rights reserved.

overwhelming leader, as far as the number of users are concerned, over 70 percent of all adults, this is the best place to begin your social media journey. The average adult on Facebook has 300 friends. The Facebook channel allows you to build your brand and give you the ability to respond quickly to customers’ comments, feedback and questions. As long as you have a personal Facebook Page you can set up business page using these four simple steps directly from Facebook. Step 1 Create a Page from your account l Click the arrow in the top-right corner. l Choose Create Page. Step 2 Choose a business category for your Page Select the type of Page you want to create from the following categories: l Local Business or Place l Company, Organization or Institution l Brand or Product l Artist, Band or Public Figure l Entertainment l Cause or Community Step 3 Choose an industry-specific category l Choose a category that matches your business. Then fill out some basic info about your business. l Agree to the Facebook Pages Terms. l Click Get Started. Step 4 Optimize and start connecting l Add a description and your website address, if you have one. l Add a profile picture from your computer or device. l You can also add your Page to your Favorites on your Facebook account, so you’ll have easy access to it when

you log in. l With Reach More People, you can immediately start reaching new audiences. l Click Save Info and your Business Page is ready to go! Now that you have perfected your Facebook business page, contemplate connecting with your target markets on other social media sites, such as Twitter (platform for conversations via short messages, 140 characters or less), LinkedIn (platform geared towards professional connections), Instagram (platform where 90 percent of users are 35 and younger) and Google+. Once you have set up all of your social accounts, consider using a tool called Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a Web site which allows you to manage all of your social media accounts in a time efficient way. It is a free service that you can plug all of your social media accounts into allowing you to become more efficient and effective at social media. Never log into multiple platforms again. Hootsuite lets you manage 100-plus social networks, share tasks with Team Members, and analyze performance using one login, in one dashboard. The publishing feature allows you to automatically discover, schedule and post content for you, freeing up more time to engage with your customers. Create keyword search streams to track mentions, respond to customers, and nurture leads. Hootsuite lets you monitor every conversation across your social networks, so you’re always in-theknow. Hootsuite is a must have … it makes everything easier to manage, saves time and is much more efficient. Now that we have all of the platforms set up let’s talk about content. The key to getting a high level of engagement, likes, reaches, shares and clicks on any platform, depends a lot on the type of content you consistently putting out there. The goal is to post engaging content. Something that grabs the attention of your followers making them want to take part. Here are some tips: l Be valuable and detailed. When you can create content that is valuable and detailed people are more likely to click, comment

and share it. Here are two examples: Create a post, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Five Reasons Why Owning Home Makes Sense Financially.â&#x20AC;? Or can create a video instead, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thinking of Selling? Three Reasons Why You Should Hire a Pro.â&#x20AC;? l Add humor and personalization. If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think you have funny things to create, look for funny content online that you can share. When you share something funny and real you also help people find you more relatable. Being relatable/likable is a trait easily created in the social world and something that you really cannot put a value on. People connect with you when you share who you are beyond the business world. l Post about what your clients ask you regularly. When you are working, keep a list of questions frequently asked by your clients. This is a great way to create content that your

audience is asking for!! l Photos and graphics. It is virtually imperative to add a captivating photo or graphic to every single post. Without one â&#x20AC;Ś people just keep scrolling. Make sure you have permission to use the photo or graphic you are using. Be cautious of copyright infringements. l Become an expert of industry knowledge. This allows you to gain the trust of your customers. Because information is so plentiful on the Internet, people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accept everything to be true or of value when placed in front of them. You must secure your spot as an authoritative figure in the mortgage industry. Your customers will begin to gravitate toward you if you provide consistent useful knowledge. Become the resource your followers canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find anywhere else. l Video, video, video. Whether

itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a live or recorded, video provides a unique opportunity for true authenticity and realness to shine through. People love it and video feed continues to grow in popularity. Something to keep in mind when deciding how to implement social media into your business plan is that the ROI isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always necessarily measurable. The number of likes, comments, clicks and shares are not the entire picture of the ROI of social media. The ROI of social media is difficult to measure because what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re measuring in social media is more about the relationships and connections made. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a marathon,

not a sprint. The relationships formed through social media will not fit on a spreadsheet. Keep that in mind as you evaluate social media as a business tool. As times change, the average consumer becomes more plugged-in to the online world. They have become accustomed to having a wealth of information at their fingertips whenever they need it. A strong online social media presence will impress your clients and encourage a personal connection. It could be the advantage you need to make it in the mortgage world. Social media has created a fast-paced world, and to survive, you must keep up in the race.

Doug Perry is branch manager and home loan strategist for Bellevue, Wash.-based Wallick & Volk. Since 1986, Doug has successfully helped thousands of families through the home financing process to obtain the best mortgages for his clients. He may be reached by phone at (425) 453-6669 or e-mail Doug.Perry@WVMB.com. 67

Choose Freedom to Grow to help get your FHA purchase business closed! Top 10 Mortgage Originator Nationwide1 ,+*)('&%%$(#"!( * *( ) ( %'' %'

* ( ) * ( ( )** (

(

& ' ( #"! * *) #)** * * #)** * * #"! Inside Mortgage Finance

,+**)('&%(+$#"#*&!(+ (+"$ ( & &"&'(+$#"#*& * )*+& * *)& &" & & $"$* & % & & &!(+ (+"$*&( *& ( "$*)&"$& & *" " $& " * & * * & $*& &%$& " +* & & & & &Please visit our website at www.freedommortgage.com/state-licensing for our complete list of state licenses. This communication is sent only by Freedom Mortgage Corporation and is not intended to imply that any of our loan products will be offered by or in conjunction with HUD, FHA, VA, the U.S. government or any federal, state or local governmental body. This information is intended for use by mortgage brokers and other industry professionals. This is a business-to-business communication and is not an advertisement to or solicitation of a consumer. For additional information about Freedom Mortgage Corporation, please visit the NMLS Consumer Access page at: nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Equal Housing Lender. ÂŠ Freedom Mortgage Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Surviving the Social Media Sphere By Tom Pasckvale

n today’s challenging and competitive mortgage industry, social media is not an option–it is a requirement to survive in the business world. According to a recent study by Nielsen Ratings, the typical American adult spends an average of 10 hours, 39 minutes each day using smartphones, tablets, TV, radio, computers and video games. That is a full hour more than last year, with smartphones accounting for most of the increase. An estimated 81 percent of American adults use a smartphone regularly with the number growing more than 20 million in the past year.

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In fact, there is a diagnosed disease called the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO: A pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent). People wake up, and they check their phones. They go to the store, and they check their phones. They meet up with a friend, and they check their phones. They go to the bathroom, and well you get the point. The average person checks their phones approximately 14 times a day. Thriving in business is different today because easily accessible information is at a person’s fingertips. People are learning about world events based on

what is trending in their feeds (How did you learn of Prince’s death?). A business must too be trending online in order to be present. Whether it is Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, all of the above, or another up and coming app, social media is not going anywhere. In fact, it only shows signs of growth. Approximately 70 percent of Americans use social networking sites. In a 2014 survey, the Pew Research Center found that Facebook remains by far the most popular social media site with 162.9 million Internet users. While its growth has slowed, the level of user engagement with the platform has increased. Other platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn also saw significant increases in the proportion of online adults who now use those sites. Your social media profile is more than just a window into your personality and your job. It can drive people to your Web site or other online assets; it can promote some of your best content; and it can lead to new clients and sales. When you reach out to a new contact or prospect, the first thing they’re going to do is look you up online. Your profile needs to be both impressive and discoverable. From the get-go, strategic promotional planning should incorporate tactics for communicating your marketing message through social media. Once content is produced, it can easily be distributed on a regular basis that builds your social media platform. In addition, scrolling through various industry publications websites and news headlines can be shared on your page in an instant. Good content can be found in a multitude of places like the National Mortgage Professional Magazine’s Facebook Page … something is sure to catch your eye and be worthy of sharing. Integrating your message through the various mainstream

channels is even easier. With tools such as HootSuite or Buffer, your updates can be synchronized or select the options to automatically post Facebook updates to Twitter and your message can be funneled to multiple spots at once. Although the intentions of each channel varies, your message may require tweaking according to each sites restrictions and best practices. It takes a person approximately seven to 10 times seeing your brand before they recognize it. Research proves messages are more effective when repeated. In fact, today you might need more than those 10 times just to be heard through all the clutter in people’s newsfeeds or fields of vision, especially as Facebook is constantly testing their algorithm. An algorithm is a set of rules that precisely defines a sequence of operations, which basically prioritizes what you see in your Facebook newsfeed. What you say in these messages matters. Once you start to leverage your content and enable push marketing, the question becomes “How often is too often to share with your audience”? You want to connect with followers without driving them away. You want to strive for the perfect balance of sharing and listening. Optimizing your social media schedule is a must so here is a recommended guide for posting online: l l l l

Facebook: Two times per day LinkedIn: One time per day Twitter: 14 times per day Google+: Two times per day

Consider this guideline as a starting point for customizing your own schedule. Posting once a week on Facebook is too slow and may cause you to lose connection with your audience. Yet posting more than twice a day may cross the line and become annoying. One of the key elements of using social media effectively is consistently posting to your company profiles. For mortgage brokers, it is important to entertain your key audience regardless if they are purchasing a home, refinancing or interested in a reverse mortgage. Sharing a picture of those who closed on a home is also a great

opportunity that adds credibility. Posting company highlights, charitable events and holiday greetings are all well received. Understand that each potential touchpoint has the opportunity to extend and build our brand identity. To accomplish this, you can produce Q&A segments or consulting opportunities. It’s about education, keeping it fresh and being personal with your followers. Facebook’s live streaming is hot right now and is gaining popularity in the real estate industry where open houses and live tours are being featured. Once your page is established and your marketing messages are flowing, mortgage brokers can utilize Facebook’s ad manager campaign (Pay-PerClick or PPC). This tool can help you accomplish such goals as building brand awareness, increasing conversions on your

Web site or increasing engagement. The program will prompt you through the various objectives you would like to achieve based upon the budget you want to set. Once an advertising budget is set, costs are deducted as shoppers click on the ads. Click through rates can be measured and words optimized for maximum efficiency. With interest rates still hovering historically low, you may wish to test an ad or perhaps boost a message to generate more buzz. Maintaining your accounts over a period of time will lead you to success. Just like any other strategy, it needs to be nurtured and analyzed with positive results bound to be seen. With the amount of competition amongst mortgage companies, keeping your pulse on what is trending is critical to the success of your company.

Whatever you do, be sure to analyze the results and test various messages so you can improve upon your marketing. Done correctly, you will see a return with your digital marketing and social media investment. With so many audiences at your disposal, we need to break down their messages and filter them through to the right audience through the right channel. Segmenting your content will force you to use better

data/analytics when choosing the right groups to target, which also allows you to tailor messages with greater relevancy/specificity for your audience. One of the most powerful outcomes of social media marketing is seeing those who have refinanced or purchased a home through you share their personal experiences with your service, too. You definitely don’t want to miss out on that.

Tom Pasckvale (NMLS#: 22859) is a managing partner at Top Vine Mortgage Services LLC in Watchung, N.J. He may be reached by phone at (844) 545-9251 or e-mail TPasckvale@TopVineMTG.com. 69

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The Balancing Act How creativity and compliance can live in mortgage lending social media harmony By Ericka Smith

n this modern age, mortgage lending companies must not only support social media channels for their branches, but they should also be forward-thinking, intentional and savvy with their social media strategies. Social media is a crucial part of the marketing and advertising aspects of mortgage lending, and it’s not something that can be taken lightly or treated as an afterthought in your marketing strategy. Yet, in an industry that is heavily regulated by legal restrictions and compliance regulations, many mortgage lending companies may find it a challenge to create and manage social media content that is both engaging and compliant. Monitoring the social media accounts of loan originators is also another issue that many mortgage lenders may wish they could avoid. Still, with a well thought-out plan, effective strategies, and adequate guidance for your loan originators, social media management can be a smooth process.

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The proof is in the numbers Of American Internet users, 72 percent use Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center. Other popular social media channels that American adults utilize include: Pinterest (31 percent), Instagram (28 percent), LinkedIn (25 percent) and Twitter (23 percent). When compared to other mediums of advertising, these numbers are relatively high. With the changing demographics of homebuyers around the nation–especially with the Millennial generation beginning to venture into the homebuying process–the ability to effectively connect with and engage your social media followers is essential. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that only the younger generations are using

social media. While it’s true that 90 percent of young adults (ages 18 to 29) use social media, the number of social media users in every age category has increased in recent years. In fact, the number of users in the 65-plus age category has tripled in the past six years, according to the Pew Research Center. When considering these numbers, there is no denying that social media will continue to have a significant impact with the majority of American adults in the near future. Keeping this fact in mind, mortgage lending companies should do everything in their power to support the social media endeavors of their loan originators and branch managers. If at first you don’t succeed, comply and comply again While social media channels are often an efficient and economical way to get your marketing and advertising messages across to potential borrowers, real estate agent partners, and other business partners, it’s also important to remember that these are very public platforms. Of course, this means that ensuring all content is compliant should be a top priority. One of the best ways to go about this is to develop a strong marketing team, which can develop creative and compliant social media for your loan originators and branch managers to use. The employees of a skilled and experienced marketing team will understand the details of mortgage industry-compliant materials, in regards to social media. Some of the basic rules to keep in mind, to avoid compliance violations and to portray your company in a professional way include: l Ensuring that social media advertisements don’t target specific generational, racial, ethnic or geographical groups l Using diversity with models or images

l Refraining from mentioning competitors by name l Ensuring that all customer and business partner testimonials and/or photos have a corresponding signed consent form l Keeping content general in nature l Excluding information that guarantees or promises loan approval l Utilizing the “one-click rule” for disclosures, which means that a social media user only needs to click once to have their browser re-directed to a page with the appropriate disclosures for the loan product/program being advertised Of course, these suggestions are only a starting point. Every mortgage lending company needs its own specific set of regulations, style guidelines, and more–in order to create an effective and compliant social media strategy. Now comes the fun part While the compliance aspect of social media is crucial, it’s also important to remember that social media should also be fun, engaging, and even humorous–at times. When your marketing team is developing content for your loan originators to share, consider these suggestions for vamping up your social media efforts. Be creative with your language! This may seem like an obvious tactic. Social media is, innately, a creative way of communicating messages with others. Yet, with the many legal restrictions and compliance regulations that exist in the mortgage lending industry, many companies are hesitant to use their creative juices and tend to err on the side of caution by drafting tame, corporate speak language that may not intrigue or interest their followers. It takes

time and skill to craft a voice that balances the fine line of compliant, yet engaging and fun. If your jargon comes across as stale, it won’t necessarily get your message across to social media-savvy homebuyers. When providing suggested social media text to your field, try using a creative approach with your words. A picture is worth a thousand words As often as possible, include professional images with every social media post that you provide the field. An image is often the most important part of any social media post, as it draws the eye of social media users who are mindlessly scrolling through newsfeeds full of content. Well-lit, professional stock photos of people (from sources such as Shutterstock or Getty Images) are often your best. If your marketing team also has the ability to create welldesigned infographics–this is another ideal option. Recent mortgage industry statistics or company statistics are the perfect subject matter for an engaging infographic. Make sure to send corresponding text to the field, along with photos and infographics, to ensure that they have direction as to how they should promote these items. Use #hashtags and links when possible Although hashtags are not commonplace on LinkedIn, they do have value on Facebook and especially on Twitter. In most cases, hashtags will improve your social media engagement. In fact, tweets with hashtags get twice as much engagement as those without hashtags– according to research by Buddy Media. As a mortgage lending company, it may be in your best interests to create a list of company-approved hashtags that the field can use, in order to help social media users find and follow certain conversations. Hyperlinks are also an important part of a social media post; whenever possible, use a link to direct your followers back to your Web site, or another

relevant Web site that may contain valuable information. Social media posts that are “clickable” tend to draw the eyes more so than the posts that are not. Taking it to the next level Aside from providing insightful and creative content to loan originators, it is also helpful to explore other ways of utilizing social media. For instance, programs like Hubspot and Buffer offer mortgage lending companies to ability to push out social media posts on behalf of the loan originators. This is an ideal option for branches that are short on administrative professionals who can manage social media, or who have loan originators who prefer to focus their efforts elsewhere. Another effective way to use social media is to delve into the realm of advertising on social

media channels, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This venture requires its own level of expertise and skill, as advertisements, sponsored posts, and promoted posts often have strict rules and requirements. Taking the time to research effective ways to create advertisements and sponsored content for social media channels is often worth the effort, however. This can be an invaluable way for your loan originators and branch managers to reach more potential borrowers and business partners. Remember that it is essential to adhere to compliance guidelines when utilizing advertising functions in social media platforms. Bringing it all together While statistics on social media’s impact on the mortgage industry are few and

far between, one thing is for sure: Social media can play a significant role in boosting sales. A 2015 study concluded that 74 percent of salespeople who surpassed their 2014 quota by at least 10 percent claimed to have an excellent understanding of how to use social media for finding new clients, connecting with past clients, and closing new deals (according to Kitedesk). These high-achieving sales professionals were six times as likely to exceed their quota than their colleagues who had limited or non-existent social media skills. For mortgage lenders who place a significant emphasis on

sales, social media is not simply a “nice to have” business component–it’s a “must have” option. In addition, it’s a business aspect that needs consistent attention. Because social media is continuously evolving–much like the mortgage industry itself–learning to adapt and embrace change is a crucial part of an effective social media strategy for mortgage lending companies. With careful planning, thorough research, and a splash of creativity, the benefits of providing engaging and compliant social media content to loan originators are virtually endless.

Ericka Smith is marketing manager for Waterstone Mortgage, based in Pewaukee, Wis. She may be reached by e-mail at ESmith@WaterstoneMortgage.com.

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The Radical Shift in Recruiting You Should Know By Casey Cunningham ocial media has changed the landscape in the way organizations conduct almost all aspects of business. It has affected marketing, communications and more. Because of this monumental shift, companies are deviating from the traditional ways of finding candidates to fill open positions. Social media has become so common it is frequently where people begin their job searches, especially the Millennial generation. With the average age of loan officers being between 52 and 55, it has become critical for mortgage leaders to replenish their sales forces with new talent. Turning to new avenues of recruiting is one of the most lucrative options for fueling a sales force. If you are considering using social media in your recruiting strategy, there are three main platforms I recommend using, including Facebook, Twitter and of course, LinkedIn. These three sources are a fantastic way to not only find new candidates, but also have potential candidates find you. Studies show that companies with a social media presence are 58 percent more likely to attract top talent. People want to see the people behind the Web site. They want to see what it would be like working for your company. While making a presence for your company on social media, these

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platforms have specific tools that can help you with seeking qualified candidates. Facebook Facebook is one of the best places to find potential candidates because almost everyone has an account. Even though Facebook is seen more as a social platform rather than professional, if someone is looking for a job, their eyes are always open for the opportunity. Use this flexibility to your advantage by posting the job posting to your company page, or even your personal page, and call upon your network to share your post. By posting it on your company page and your personal page, your friends will see it and if your network shares it, their friends will see it, creating an infinite amount of people you could touch with one post. Facebook ads are also a valuable resource for recruiting. These ads are inexpensive and can be targeted to a specific audience. You can target people based on location, demographics, interests and connections. Facebook ads also give you the opportunity to segment based off behavior, meaning if someone has indicated on their profile they are in a finance position, you can choose that target audience. LinkedIn As LinkedIn is designed for

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Professionals” and find a group matching that description. From there, you have access to add and message countless professionals in the industry.

businesses and professionals, it should be your main focus when recruiting through social media. Nowadays, anyone seriously looking for a job, or even settled in a career, should have an online profile. Like with Facebook, posting your job description for your network to share is always a best practice. They can share your post with their network and you can receive referrals from your trusted connections. Also like with Facebook, LinkedIn ads give you the capability to segment your audience. You can be even more specific with LinkedIn such as with industry, job experience, job title and other distinctions. Since this segmentation is more specific than with Facebook, your ads are going to be a bit more expensive. Fortunately though, you will most likely see a higher click-through rate since your ad will be more relevant to your specified audience. Another avenue LinkedIn offers is LinkedIn Recruiter. Large companies like Google and Facebook consistently use LinkedIn Recruiter to find top candidates because of its easy-to-navigate dashboard and advantageous features like the “People You May Want to Hire” section. The add-on also lets companies look at any candidate’s entire profile without the person ever knowing. These are just two of the many features LinkedIn Recruiter offers to find the most qualified candidates for your open position. If you’re not looking to spend money in your recruiting endeavor, there is also the option of searching through specific LinkedIn groups. There are countless groups people can join and participate in based on their interests, industry, job title and more. For example, if you are looking to fill a loan officer position, you could search for “Mortgage

Twitter Twitter is the newest of the three and possibly the least utilized form of social media for recruiting. Even though it has not been adopted by as many as LinkedIn or Facebook, it is another place filled with qualified candidates. It is also another form of social media that does not require spending money to distribute your job posting. Like Facebook and LinkedIn, you can post your job and call upon your network to retweet your post. Your followers’ followers will then have access to your post and the link to your job. Another way to distribute your job posting is to be liberal with hashtags. For those not familiar with Twitter, hashtags are used to create groups in a sense. For example, if you post a tweet with #job, your tweet will automatically be picked up and placed in a group with other posts with the same hashtag. This is beneficial because people looking for a job will search #job and come upon a list of people posting jobs. In order to stand out even more with your hashtags, consider using more than one. For instance, if you are looking to hire a loan officer in Atlanta, you could tweet with hashtags such as #job #ATL #sales. These hashtags will be matched up with similar hashtags and people looking for a specific kind of job will be more likely to find you. As you can see, there are numerous ways other than job boards to find qualified candidates, especially young professionals. Social media has transformed the business and recruiting world, and will only continue to change the way we do business. It is critical we continue to stay on top of these new methods to properly grow and prosper with the professionals of the future.

Casey Cunningham is CEO of XINNIX, having co-founded the company in 2002. She has more than 26 years of diverse retail mortgage sales and leadership experience, beginning her career as a loan officer and quickly became a top producer with an annualized production of $60 million and 500 closed loans.

One Billion-Plus Reasons Why You Should Be Active on Facebook By Bubba Mills

of Facebook users’ news feed. What’s more, statistics show that live video is viewed more than recorded video. How can mortgage lenders use Facebook Live? l Webinars: Host live Webinars targeted to potential borrowers. Plus, they can submit questions just like a real-life seminar. l Mortgage Talk Show: Offer the latest news in the industry. In short, become the Lester Holt or Diane Sawyer of mortgage lending in your town with your own “TV” show!

But the latest offering is just as cool. It’s called Facebook Live and it lets you stream live video on the Internet. I recently wrote about Periscope, another live video streaming app, but when you use Facebook Live, you’re automatically featured at the top

And if the Facebook Live option makes you a little nervous, you can also stream pre-recorded videos. Hey, that has worked like a charm for TV for decades. Some businesses promote their Web series to “air” on Facebook Live at a certain

Bubba Mills is CEO of Corcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 957-8353 or visit CorcoranCoaching.com.

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l Heyo.com: Helps you host contests, showcase promotions and highlight special offers. l Woobox.com: Lets you easily create quizzes and other fun tools for engaging content. l Pagemodo.com: Helps you make your Facebook business page both sleek and stylish and tabs allow for easy lead capture.

Facebook offers these tips for using Facebook Live: l Promote: Tease upcoming Facebook Live broadcasts for more viewers. l Plan better: Take the time to plan what you want to do in the video, whether it’s a few key talking points or to have a few questions ready ahead of time in a Q&A, in case incoming comments slow down. l Invest in some equipment: A shaky live stream turns off viewers so consider a tripod or other stabilizing tools, especially if you’re taking viewers on a tour of an open house. And check the shot before going live. l Get the lighting right: If you’re indoors be sure you have plenty of good lighting and avoid a lot of light directly behind you because it’ll wash you out. l Sound good: A common mistake for beginners is overlooking sound. Consider an external microphone to make sure your viewers can actually hear you.

time like TV shows. After they are streamed, Facebook Live videos function as normal Facebook videos. Some business owners believe videos may perform better if they begin as live ones. NowThis, a news company that publishes entirely on social platforms, experimented by

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he number is staggering and potentially careerending for mortgage lenders who ignore it: 1,440,000,000. That’s the total number of monthly active users on the social medium Facebook. That number alone is reason enough to use it regularly in your business. But Facebook can also help turn you into an expert in your community. Just by sharing knowledge and relevant news about the mortgage industry you can become the go-to source for all things mortgage related in your area–a perfect way to capture the attention of prospective borrowers. Plus, Facebook advertising also gives you tons of targeting layers like age, location, recent life events and interests. Plus, it constantly adds new targeting filters and functions that help you reach even more niche prospects who closely meet your customer criteria. Talk about pinpointing a target audience. Another Facebook mortgage ad tool is “Website Custom Audiences” that lets you create Facebook ads that target users who have visited your Web site. Several apps specifically for Facebook have emerged. Consider these:

streaming a 38-minute compilation of its favorite viral videos via Facebook Live. The stream received more than 20,000 views and 500-plus comments, according to Facebook’s counters. Yes, all the new-fangled Internet tools, apps and options for mortgage lenders can be a bit overwhelming. Just take it one step at a time and you’ll slowly be right there in the businesswinning mix.

The Power of Social Media ith such easy access through technology and social media, why wouldn’t you use it to your advantage to help build and improve your personal brand? According to National Association of Realtors (NAR), 69 percent of home shoppers who take action on a real estatebranded Web site begin their research with a local term (ex. homes for sale) on a search engine. Also, 52 percent of firsttime homebuyers started their search online and 77 percent drove by a home that they viewed online. Seventy-eight percent of new home shoppers visit three or more sites prior to taking action on a real estate site. It is more important than ever to have a strong online presence. A Web site by itself is not good enough anymore, you need to have a strong presence on social media. Social networking is an easy way to get in front of a larger audience outside of your regular sphere of influence. In the relationshipbased mortgage industry, social media is making it easier to identify and target the right potential borrowers and referral partners. The ability to connect and communicate with potential, current and past client is simple. Take advantage of the tools available to you and you’ll be top of mind long after the loan has closed. So when it’s time to refinance, buy or refer a friend/family member, you will be their go-to originator. Millennials are just entering the market. They are selfeducated and often complete online research before deciding which lender to use. This makes it crucial to have great online presence. So what can you do to improve your online brand? Become a trusted advisor. Educate borrowers and work through mortgage myths such as “without a 20 percent downpayment you cannot buy a

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home.” Host and/or attend events and post about it before, during, and if appropriate after the event on social media to increase awareness and reinforce your expertise. The strongest way to build your network and client base is word of mouth. While one person telling another person is great, digital word of mouth can be accomplished with testimonials and have a much higher impact. Testimonials are a great way for your clients to share their personal experience with your services to their friends and family. People tend to trust their friends and family; so post testimonials along with photos of the happy new homebuyer(s) on your website, social media, or both (don’t forget to tag them in your posts as well). This will help personalize a home loan and help others understand that ultimately you help people and families. Social media also gives you greater insight on your client’s needs and wants. You are able to do research on a potential client to see if you can find a common bond to help you connect. This can help break down potential walls with prospective clients or referral partners. When developing your business or marketing plan, it’s important to consider where to spend your time and resources. Social media should be a part of this plan. Create a social media calendar. Take an hour a week to sit down and pre-schedule posts through systems such as Hootsuite. This will guarantee that you are posting consistently and saving time to post more time sensitive things less sporadically. As far as content on social media, make sure it is not all sell, sell, sell. Be sure to use the 80/20 rule, which should apply to all of your marketing efforts. Eighty percent of your content should be value-added content insightful, resourceful and engaging. No more than 20 percent should be direct sales pitches. Don’t worry, value-added content can also contain a sales pitch subliminally,

By Tiffany Hade

while you are highlighting your expertise in the mortgage industry. Clients pay attention on social media when it is relatable and useful for them by providing helpful ways to increase their home value, home décor tips, etc. If too much content is dedicated to selling your product/business, clients will feel that they are not receiving value and lose. Images are far more effective than just plain text, so be sure to get the most out of your social media by posting even simple images. The key is to be consistent and post interesting content. Don’t think you can just post once or twice and that’s it. You have to stick with it over time to really reap the benefits on social media. Facebook and LinkedIn offer pay options to boost your posts. With a little investment, boosting your posts can expand your audience greatly. Be mindful of your online audience. With LinkedIn, tailor content towards your referral and business partners. With Facebook, content can be tailored to referral partners, as well as potential and existing customers. Therefore, some content can be used multiple times as a way for you to get the most bang for your buck. Social media is also a great place to advertise your niche. Niche marketing can help grow your personal brand by allowing you to break into new markets and gain a larger target audience.

Are you an expert is a specific program? Do you help families with downpayment assistance programs? Are your service levels your strength as a competitive advantage over others? No matter what you are specializing in, this is a great time to grow your audience and brand through social media. Liking and interacting in social media groups with clients and referral partners will increase your online presence and help get your name out into your desired audience. Don’t only focus on existing and potential clients; remember your real estate agent partners as well. You can offer your niche program, co-branded marketing material, exclusive company, and any other differentiators. Similar to your clients, real estate agents are looking for something of value as well. So don’t just bombard them with sales pitches. Show them the services that you provide which will save time and benefit their business as well. Remember that social media pages by themselves do little to help grow your personal brand. Inactive social media pages can actually have negative affects if not update, as it makes them look neglected. Use social media and online presence to reinforce your brand and stay top of mind to your clients and business partners with valuable posts in order to be their number one originator. Don’t forget to give it time. Your business won’t transform overnight, but stick with it and you will definitely see the payoff in the long run!

Tiffany Hade has been with Mountain West Financial for over four years and she holds a bachelor of science degree in business with an emphasis in marketing from California State University, Long Beach. She currently is public relations and social media specialist at Mountain West Financial where she manages public relations and social media campaigns for the organization, as well as supports the marketing department with advertising material, Web sites and brand development.

The Electronic Yenta By Eric Weinstein

much faster. Yet, I have never been able to make the transition. You can advertise on a Web site and no one will ever know your name. Then, you slip on a banana peel, your dress rides up over your head, and suddenly, the YouTube video gets 700 million hits! There are nomads in the Sinai dessert laughing at you, but your neighbor refinances with someone else because he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know you were a mortgage broker. There is an old Jewish proverb (I just made up) there are three major means of communication in the United States: Telephone, Telegraph and Tell a Yenta. In case you are ethnically challenged, a Yenta or Yente is a Yiddish designation for a woman who is a gossip or busybody. Like any word of mouth campaign, you have to find a Yenta. Except, in a social media campaign, you have to find an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Electronic Yenta.â&#x20AC;? That is someone with a huge following. It also helps if the gossip is juicy. Imagine you Tweet that there is a new FNMA three percent

something daughters and they both refuse to even mention what I do for a living in their hourly social media postings. Seems like daddy is just not cool enough. I am going to try telling them I just did a purchase transaction for Justin Bieber. I will let you know how it turns out.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It seems to me that social media is pretty much an extension of what we used to call, before the Internet, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? 75

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. Eric is semi-retired, doing mortgages by referral only. He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail EWeinstein4U@gmail.com.

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eople seem to think that a â&#x20AC;&#x153;social mediaâ&#x20AC;? presence is the end all, be all to business success in the current electronic age. Maybe it can be, but I have not found the winning formula yet. Did you ever see that commercial where a new business puts up a Web site and then gets 10 hits, then 1,000 hits, then 500,000 hits, then 30 million hits? Oh, only if life was that easy! Just for fun, I Googled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mortgages Centreville Virginiaâ&#x20AC;? to find myself. I got 890,000 results in 0.52 seconds. Good luck putting up a Web site and getting business from that. Same thing for Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat. Putting up a Web site and waiting for business is like erecting a six-foot neon, billboard in your basement and expecting business from it. It is not advertising if the word doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get around. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s funny, I buy a Facebook Business Page and you can hear the crickets. Maybe four â&#x20AC;&#x153;Likesâ&#x20AC;? and only my closest friends Then, I break up with my girlfriend, tell no one and I am getting calls from friends in Florida asking me what happened. People get immune to advertisement, but good gossip gets around fast. It seems to me that social media is pretty much an extension of what we used to call, before the Internet, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.â&#x20AC;? This is a parlor game based on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Six Degrees of Separationâ&#x20AC;? concept, which posits that any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart (En.WikiPedia.org/Wiki/Six_Degr ees_of_Kevin_Bacon). That is the current basis of my advertising model. Most of my business is by referral. Word of mouth advertising. I figure, â&#x20AC;&#x153;social mediaâ&#x20AC;? advertising is about the same, except much,

down program. Now visualize Kim Kardashian tweeting that you just refinanced O.J. Simpsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house while he was in jail. Which do you think will get you more calls? Now finding an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Electronic Yentaâ&#x20AC;? is not so easy, much less convincing them to reference your business. I have two 20-

How to Create a Facebook Fan Page … The Right Way By Maureen Cioni f you are trying to use social media to build your mortgage business, the question is no longer, “Why I should create a Fan Page on Facebook?” You know you need a Fan Page. The question now is how? I help loan officers create Facebook pages all the time, and although creating a page is relatively simple, there are a few areas where people routinely get stuck. Never fear—I will walk you through the steps and point out the obstacles along the way.

Getting started The first question I usually get

is: “Why use a Fan Page instead of my personal page?” Well, because Facebook says so! Actually, when you created your personal Facebook profile, you checked off “Yes” to Facebook’s terms and conditions, which states, roughly, “I agree to not solicit business on my personal profile.” Facebook will enforce this—ask the hundreds of real estate agents and others who have had their profiles shut down for business solicitation. On the other hand, do you really want consumers looking through your personal images and friends list? It’s best to keep your personal page to yourself for safety.

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Before you can create a Fan Page, you need a personal Facebook profile. The profile can be completely blank if you like, but you need one in order to create a page. Rest assured, your personal profile will only viewable by you and any page admins that you add. By the way, it’s best to create a Fan Page on a computer, as the process is slightly different on a mobile device. First, log into Facebook, go to Facebook.com/Pages and click “Create Page.” You’ll be asked to choose a category. Many loan officers get stuck between “Local Business” or “Company/Organization.” My recommendation is if you work for yourself and have one location, choose “Local Business.” If you work for a company and with multiple locations, choose “Company/Organization.” You can change this later if necessary. Next, there is a second category to choose on a dropdown menu. Unfortunately, there is no Mortgage Company or Mortgage Broker option, so “Bank/Financial Institution” usually fits best. Next, choose a “Company Name.” This is the name that appears on your page cover. Facebook says the title should match the name of your business or brand. However, in the mortgage business, it is a little trickier than that. If you name your page with the name of your company and then leave that company, you may or may not get to change it again. My recommendation: Use your name and your NMLS#. You’ll never have to change it, even if you leave your company. Next is the easy stuff. You get to write a short note about yourself and your company, add your Web site, profile photo, add your page to your favorites section, and configure your preferred audience. A note about your profile

photo … this image will appear on your page and in all your comments, posts and ads, so make sure it’s a good one. If you have a marketing department, ask for your photo sized for Facebook, which at the time of this writing, is 180x180 pixels. You’ll need a cover image for your page, too, but make sure you have the correct size. If it’s not, Facebook will stretch the image to fit, and that is an unprofessional look. Currently, cover images are 851 x 315 pixels, with a preferred maximum file size of 100KB. Once you’ve done these things, congratulations! Technically, you have a page— but you’re not done yet. Take the quick “tour” of your page that Facebook will give you, then we have some work to do. Playing it safe These days, loan officers need to be mindful of compliance— especially on social media. Making sure your NMLS# is visible in the page title is important. But you’ll also need to display the following information on your page, preferably on the “about” tab in the page information section, which has a long description field to use: The company name, the company NMLS#, your name, your licensed title and your NMLS# (again). Make sure the licensed address is listed, not your address. Also make sure your work email and work website are listed, not your personal information. Your cellphone is okay though. If your company requires extra disclosures, make sure to publish those up as directed. If you chose “Company/Organization” as a category, you have other options to add or ignore. You can add the company mission, founding date, hours, and three additional descriptor words. Filling in this information helps search engines find you more easily, and gives the consumer more to read about you. You’ll also create a User Name. This becomes your Facebook URL, which you can

“These days, loan officers need to be mindful of compliance— especially on social media. Making sure your NMLS# is visible in the page title is important.” market so people can find you. You can only change your User Name once, so choose carefully. Again, I would not use a company name. Facebook keeps adding options to help users manage their page and grow their audience. Take a look through your page settings at the top right of your page. Note that there are options for photo tagging, profanity filters, messaging, reviews, page roles, your preferred audience, ads, notifications, insights and more. Spend some time adjusting these settings to your preference.

it really isn’t—and just a few minutes a day can have a big impact. I’ve seen loan officers

transform their business using Facebook and social media in general. Why not you?

Maureen Cioni is social media manager for Danvers, Mass.-based Mortgage Network Inc. A marketing and communications expert with 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Cioni is responsible for promoting Mortgage Network Inc. through social media, as well as providing social media training for loan officers and expanding the company’s Web presence. She may be reached by e-mail at MCioni@MortgageNetwork.com. 77

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Don’t forget the little things In the general menu, there are a few things you shouldn’t overlook. For example, do you want others to be able to post images and comments to your page? Do you have reviews turned on, so visitors can read all your awesome testimonials? Do you want to let others to tag you in their posts, or agents or other people to tag your page? This can give you more visibility and help with page promotion. Should you allow messaging on your page? This feature is sometimes tricky. On one hand, consumers might be turned off if they cannot message you. However, if you can’t answer right away, that can also have a negative effect. My recommendation is to turn on messaging, but configure it to have automated responses go to the person messaging you. The first way is to enable the “away assistant,” which generates an automated message after hours or when you are not online. The second way is to turn on instant replies. This gives the consumer a customized note

that says you have received their message and need some time to respond. When someone messages your page, you’ll get a notification on your computer or phone that there is a message waiting. You can also delegate the task of responding to another admin on your page. The “Call-To-Action” button is a fairly new feature, located on your cover image. Do you want visitors to apply online? Call you directly? Watch a video? Use the step-by-step process to create a button, which you can promote with an ad. Make sure notifications are turned on so you know what is going on with your page, and turn on “Similar Page Suggestions” (under “General Settings”), so your page shows up as a suggestion when similar pages to yours are liked. Also, share your page with everyone on your Facebook friend list, and ask them to like and share it. You can even import email contacts and send them a note asking them to like your page. Most importantly, make sure to post something interesting daily and respond to all comments. Invite discussion– Facebook is, after all, a social network! If you are looking for more things to learn about as you develop your page, try diving into videos (including live video) published posts, or advertising by “boosting” posts and creating ad campaigns. You can also publish offers and create events. With Facebook, as with social media in general, there is always something new to learn. But while creating and maintaining a Facebook page can seem like a daunting task,

How Using Social Media Live Streaming Can Generate More Leads By Cindy Medrano ith the skyrocketing popularity of live video broadcasting , the year 2016 has confirmed that video content is king on social media. Companies across the globe are increasingly using the technology to reach fans, support customers and generate leads in innovative new ways. To be sure, live video streaming is a game-changing tool for corporate content marketing, and it has revolutionized the way brands produce content, and customers consume it. It allows content to be transmitted or received in

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real time without needing any expensive tools to broadcast. The beauty of it is the accessibility you have on any mobile device to stream. If you’re not using live streaming as a marketing tool, you should be. Here are some ideas and tactics to get you started: Three types of events to stream 1. Live events: People on social media like to feel connected to friends, family, and the brands they’ve grown to love. Sharing live events with your followers allows them to see you and your company in a new light.

During a live event, you can highlight several on-site locations, while creating an experience for your audience. Don’t be afraid to walk around the event to show the location atmosphere. After all, you become the eyes and ears for your live stream viewers. Real estate agents should consider live streaming from open houses. By showcasing the property, neighborhood, and other additional features, you will provide a virtual walk-through to several potential buyers at once. You’ll also share your insights and key features about the property with viewers in real time. And as an added benefit, live streaming at the property also demonstrates what great cellphone reception there is on site. Mortgage professionals should consider showcasing their service and expertise by streaming from conferences or other events or meetings. If you are hosting a booth, show viewers at home how you’re engaging with attendees. Lastly, live streaming gives you the opportunity to broadcast breaking company news with the masses. You position yourself and company as a go-to source of information whenever there is a change in the company or industry. 2. Host interviews and panel discussions: Consider hosting interviews with company employees, clients or guests that features their expertise and builds trust in your brand. Panel discussions and interviews allow viewers to experience several professional points of view in one content package. Not only are you answering questions and sharing their wisdom and skills, you’re also gaining intel on the types of

questions your customer base wants answered, which leads to future content opportunities. 3. Behind the scenes: “Behind the scenes” broadcasts from your company can be a powerful, brand-building tool. You’ll give customers an inside look at the people who serve them, and the internal culture that defines the ideals of your company. Whether it’s showing them how products are created or the faces of customer service representatives, you are painting a visual story that humanizes the company and builds trust in your brand. These broadcasts are a perfect way to promote products or company announcements, which provides your audience with exclusive information before the news goes public. Platforms offering live streaming Many social media platforms now offer video streaming from their mobile apps. You should always use the platform that provides you with the largest audience, and the most consumer engagement potential. Your options include: 1. Facebook Live: This feature can be used from any personal or business page. When broadcasting, Facebook Live lets everyone in your network see your video on the page’s newsfeed. Viewers can submit comments and reactions as you’re streaming. After the segment is over, the video lives on your page for a greater viewer reach. 2. Periscope: Owned by Twitter, this app allows you to create a channel where you can follow and be followed by users around the globe. When you go live, your followers are instantly notified. The app gives you the option to broadcast publicly or privately to

specific people. Once the live stream is over, the replay becomes available for 24 hours for those who missed it. 3. Meerkat: With the press of a button, you can stream a video from your cellphone to anywhere. Your followers are informed about the stream through a push notification. Your content gets stored in the app library after the stream is over. Followers can watch, comment and re-share any streams to their followers in real-time. Preparing for a live broadcast When live streaming any event, it is important to consider a few things. 1. Before the live stream: When setting up for any live event, the most important

thing to look for is a strong cellphone connection, through Wi-Fi or cellphone data. Weak connectivity will result in a poor broadcast. It is also helpful to have a phone tripod or selfie stick you can use to steady your phone and prevent a shaky video. And lastly, lighting is vital. It changes whether you are filming indoors in a dimly lit setting or outside where the sun’s brightness may create shadows on what’s being captured. 2. During the live stream: While you are streaming live, you will be able to interact with viewers. You can keep track of how many people are viewing your content. Also, pay close attention to incoming comments and reactions. If a question stands out, it’s best to address the person

by name and answer their question live instead of typing it. The reactions will help determine how people feel about the content. 3. After the live stream: After the broadcast is over, review any unanswered questions and reply back. Depending on which platform you use, the life of the video can vary. If you are using Facebook Live, you can export the video to your phone, save it and share it on other platforms.

Streaming video content allows you a new way to reach your audience and create brand exposure like never before. The restrictions on customer interaction are lifted and you have the opportunity to provide personalized, real time content. You put a face to the brand and the company becomes personable. Implementing live stream into your marketing strategy is important for connecting to the next generation of customers and for the future of your business.

Cindy Medrano is social media coordinator for the National Notary Association (NNA) in Los Angeles, which serves America’s 4.4 million notaries. Her core responsibilities focus on growing the association’s digital marketing strategy using social media, search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing. She may be reached by email at CMedrano@NationalNotary.org. 79

Remember those “easier” disclosure days?

TRID ZONE

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The Money House, Inc., is an Equal Housing Lender, full service mortgage banker and Ginnie Mae HECM Issuer/Seller Servicer. NMLS ID: 169716

n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n JULY 2016

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Don’t Let Fear Impede Your Social Business Strategy By Amy Malloy he power of social media to develop business relationships is undeniable. Yet the mortgage industry has been slow to embrace it because of regulatory risk and fear of ever-changing technologies. But it’s time to face the fear and figure it out once and for all–for the benefit of your consumers and the success of our industry. Let’s review how you can break through the complexities and seize the opportunities.

What regulations must be considered? Because social media is

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generally considered a form of advertising, the same regulations that apply to advertising in the mortgage industry also apply to information shared on social media. Among other things TILA (and Regulation Z), ban advertising practices that may be deemed deceptive or misleading and ensures the meaningful disclosure of consumer credit terms. TILA specifies terms (also known as “trigger terms”) that must include additional disclosures when included in an advertisement. Similarly, Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP), under the Dodd-Frank Act guidelines make it unlawful

for financial services providers to deceive or mislead a consumer. Loan terms, costs, pricing, and other product information must be properly disclosed. Avoid advertising rates or using any over-exaggerated language or promises. Avoid terms like: “lowest,” “best,” “guaranteed.” A “one-click” exception for electronic advertisements allows you to include triggered disclosures on a separate page via a direct link in the advertisement. What social media guidance do regulators provide? The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), a member of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), released guidelines to help financial services professionals understand and successfully manage the potential risks regarding the use of social media. The FFIEC guidance requires that a financial institution should have a risk management program that allows it to identify, measure, monitor, and control the risks related to social media. Rather than discouraging the use of social media or establishing any new obligations related to the use of this technology, the Guidance is intended to help financial institutions understand and successfully manage risks in this area.

What platforms are the most worthwhile for a mortgage professional to start on? LinkedIn: At the very least, a complete professional profile on LinkedIn is critical. The platform makes it easy for potential clients and referral partners to find service providers, review professional backgrounds, network, and make connections. Share professionally relevant content here to build thought leadership in the industry.

Here are 3 tips to break through on LinkedIn: 1. Post regular status updates with professional relevance to keep your name and face in front of your network and to help build thought leadership. Share things like breaking news, pro tips, industry trends, legislative updates, inspirational and educational insight. Ask questions to increase engagement. 2. Upgrade your Headline! The Headline defaults to your current job title, which doesn’t do much to make you stand out. Instead, update it to highlight who you help— and how you help. Create a simple value statement that gets you noticed in just 120 characters. 3. Use the Summary Section to tell your story. Your real story—not a reiteration of your resume loaded with keywords. Tell the story in first person and keep it to 250 words or less. Share who you are, not just what you sell. Why do you do what you do? What led you to a career in the industry? Why do you love what you do? Add some media to this section—a link to a video, a presentation, or some type of helpful document. End with a call to action. Facebook: With more than 1.5 billion active monthly users worldwide, Facebook is a social media powerhouse. A Facebook Business page is highly recommended. The business page is created from within a personal Facebook profile. But the business page offers advanced features not available through the personal profile, including affordable, targeted advertising. Keep this page up to date by consistently sharing informative, educational and entertaining content. This is an effective way to stay top of mind within your network to garner repeat business and referrals. Here are three tips to make your business page shine: 1. Have some fun with the content on Facebook. Think in terms of educating, entertaining, and creating

conversation. Photos and videos are eye-catching in the news feed so share images that will make people stop scrolling—candid photos of the team, events, and happenings at the office or in the community. 2. Upload a crisp and simple cover photo that is properly sized. Avoid too much text and test it out to be sure the image does not interfere with the default text and buttons that are static on the header image. 3. Create a “Learn More” call to action button that links to a source of more information, such as your Web page. Google My Business: While Google+ hasn’t taken off as a social media platform the way Facebook has, it is still important in terms of Google search results. A complete

Google My Business profile enables a richer search result that includes a map, directions, photos, customer reviews, and links to more complete information. Here are three tips to get the most out of Google My Business: 1. Upload a photo of the exterior street view of your building to make it easier for people to visualize how easily they can find you. 2. Share the link to your Google My Business page with your clients who use Gmail so they can easily leave a review using their alreadyestablished Google+ account. 3. If you really want to get high tech and fancy, check out GoogleStreetView to add a virtual tour of your office. Yelp: It’s no secret that

consumers rely heavily upon recommendations from people they trust. But, more and more consumers are saying they trust online reviews as much as a personal referral, which has propelled Yelp as a platform of choice to share customer feedback. Get started on Yelp. Make sure all social media profiles include the same complete, accurate information that one would provide on a compliant business card. This includes: Name, company, title, office address, phone number, email address, Web site, NMLS #

and any state licensing numbers and required disclaimers. Conclusion Learning social media technology and regulations are the only thing holding anyone in the mortgage industry back from participating. But your customers are on these platforms, and if you don’t join in and drive conversations with them, a competitor will. It’s not too late to seize those opportunities—adapt, get connected and innovate! It’s time to figure it out.

Amy Malloy is digital marketing specialist for RPM Mortgage Inc. where she manages the corporate content strategy and online reputation for the brand. Amy also works closely with loan advisors to help them leverage the power of social media to connect and engage with clients and prospects. She may be reached by phone at (925) 743- 3516 or e-mail AMalloy@RPM-MTG.com. 81

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www.callfurst.com

Videos. Why? ontent marketing has taken the world by storm and that content is mainly in video format. Consumers watch at least two videos per day and most of that watching is happening on their mobile device. No, they are not all Millennials. People, in general, have moved to video consumption. Remember the line: A picture is worth a thousand words? Well, according to Digital Trends Marketing Analyst Dr. James McQuivey, a video is worth 1.8 million. So how did that happen? Like all organic trends happen. Reading articles takes time. If the reader is not hooked in the first few lines, they will stop reading. Video is similar, but it is actually easier to grab your viewer in the first few seconds with the right image and message. In a world where everything competes for our time, videos win because they are so easy to consume, so long they are engaging of course. Once able to get people to your Web site, a great way for them to stay more time on it is by having videos. Most people will watch short videos, but people who are interested in something will watch a longer video. Have you done it? I have too. What you need is engaging, informative content. People come to your website looking for a service or product. Give them what they want to see. Don’t know? Think of what you look for when you visit a Web page. The idea is that you build trust by sharing a little bit about your company and product or service. People want to know who you are and they are looking for reasons to like you and trust you. That’s why they are on your Web site. Share six different sets of videos: Employee videos: Show why your employees love to work there. Why they’re passionate about their product or service

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By Elizabeth Morales

and how valued they feel as part of the organization. Why? Because having employees who look happy to work there speaks so highly of the company. These are the people customers are going to be dealing with. These are the people who will end up handling their account. Product videos: Show your product under a big picture mentality with the ‘this is why you need it’ approach and let people try it for a limited time. Why? People like to try things before they buy them. Give them enough to satisfy their need. If you and they are the right, they will come back for more. About our company videos: Share with your existing and potential customers the people behind the “thinking machine.” Every company has a great story to tell as to how it got started. Why? Because people love to see the beginnings of a great company. Most companies started in a living room or garage. Share that story. It is humbling and it makes people gain great respect. Testimonial videos: Of course you have happy customers. Everyone does. Ask them if they would be willing to go on camera talking about your service or product. Good questions to keep in mind when doing testimonial videos are: l How has the product/service changed the way you do business? l How has that reflected financially? l What do you love about it and why? l Why would you recommend it? These are great questions whose answers guarantee a picture of your company. How to videos: How to videos would get your content a lot of playing time and therefore a lot of traffic to your site (people sharing). If you are asking

yourself, what kind of “How To” videos, think outside the box. Other than the obvious uses of your product/service, what other ideas would be of interest to your viewers. If you produce butter, there are only so many things you can talk about: Its nutritional value, organic source and great price. How about giving lots of recipes with it? Arts and crafts with it? Thank you videos: Yes, thank you for your time and explaining the top two reasons why they should go with your product or service. You can keep a generic one on your site and you can also make a personalized one and embed in an e-mail. BomBomb.com is a great way to start using this new trend. If you are not getting answers to your e-mails from your prospects, stop sending e-mails. Send a personalized video and watch your response rate go higher. Here are some stats by experts in this field: l “Viewers retain 95 percent of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10 percent when reading it in text.” (Insivia Reports) l “Internet video traffic will be 69 percent of all global consumer Internet traffic in 2017.” (Cisco) l “Ninety-two percent of shoppers say visuals are the most influential factor affecting purchase decisions.” (Vouchercloud) l “Seventy-nine percent of all global consumer Internet traffic will come from video by 2018.” (Cisco) How about a live stream? Yes, that makes people feel part of the success. I recently

received an e-mail from a company I had bought an environmentally safe product for my dog during flea season. They said they were going to be on the popular ABC Show Shark Tank and wanted to share a live video stream of it with all their customers and anyone who wanted to show up and join in. They had a great turnout. Sure. People went for the food, music and networking, but more than anything to support their new “Famous Friend” and to join in the ‘overnight’ success. People like to support things they believe in, causes, companies, people, etc. The point of having all these videos is to share who you are with the world and once you have done that you expose yourself to people forming an opinion about your company and product or service. The relationship with your potential customers starts to build without you even knowing it. People start to feel like they know you. All relationships are based in trust. Your videos start to build that trust painting a picture of who you are, what you offer and how you offer it. Video away! How? Hiring a company that does videos is your best bet. However, if money is an issue, video has come a long way and as you see in commercials, things shot with your most recent mobile phone can be nicely edited. Request the help of a teenager in your home to see what they can do. You can come up with the idea, tell them what you envision as an end product and see what they can produce. As long your video is entertaining and informative, you will have people watching and sharing before you know it.

Elizabeth Morales is business development director for Long Beach, Calif.-based Applied Business Software Inc., creators of The Mortgage Office and The Loan Office Software. She may be reached by phone at (562) 2797424 or e-mail Elizabeth@ABSNetwork.com.

UWM Releases Results of Consumer Preference Study

n December 2015, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) partnered with Michigan State University to conduct a survey of 300 borrowers, with the objective of better understanding how consumers shop for mortgages and how they choose among mortgage brokers, big banks and online lenders. Key findings of the survey included:

Mortgage Shopping 52 percent of borrowers shopped mortgages for less than two weeks before deciding where they would get their loan (choosing among brokers, big banks or online lender). Another 31 percent of respondents shopped between three and four weeks, and only 17 percent shopped for more than a month. 70 percent of borrowers “cross-shopped” during the application process, meaning they completed multiple mortgage applications in order to make comparisons. Nearly 50 percent of “cross-shoppers” chose to work with mortgage brokers for loans that had more trouble in origination through direct online lenders. Decision Influencers Besides interest rates, survey takers reported the following factors as most likely to impact their decisions on where to get their loan:

54%

52% Trust in mortgage service

Fixed interest rate

49%

46% APR

Monthly payment

46% Knowledgeable advisor/salesperson

Why Mortgage Brokers? The following factors are the top five reasons that survey respondents chose get their loans through mortgage brokers over big banks and direct online lenders:

38% Quick and easy application

37% Best loan terms (i.e. interest rate)

31% Recommendation by real estate agents

29% Trustworthiness of broker

22% Have a Web presence

NMP Mortgage Professiona Rob Saunders Divisional Vice President Caliber Home Loans Inc. BY PHIL HALL

ine years ago, Rob Saunders achieved his first career milestone when he became a branch manager at Aegis Wholesale Corporation at the age of 28. He was in the right place, to be certain, but not at the right time—Saunders’ star was ascending just as the housing market was beginning to collapse. Fast-forward to today. The agitation that Saunders felt when his career carpet was pulled out from under him has long since vanished. Today, he is divisional vice president with Caliber Home Loans Inc. for southern California. National Mortgage Professional Magazine recently spoke with him about his roller-coaster career ride, and the triumphs and challenges he currently faces.

How did you first get involved with mortgage banking? Was this your original career path? The mortgage profession was not my original career path. When I was a child, my mother was a real estate agent. I’d go to work with her and I liked that environment. After college, I bartended for a while, and then I got my real estate license, but I found the work scary. I’ve never been a salesperson. I wanted a wage-paying job when breaking into the workforce. I entered the mortgage industry as a funding assistant. That was 17 years ago. My duties were photocopying funding packages and I spent the first year in the photocopy room. Eventually, I moved up the ranks becoming an operations manager and then a branch manager at

Aegis Wholesale when I was 28years-old. And at that point, the market crashed and Aegis ceased operations. After that, Plaza Home Mortgage called and recruited me and my whole Aegis team. We were there for five years– from 2007 to 2011. Then I was recruited by Phil Shoemaker, executive vice president of Wholesale Lending at Caliber, and came to Caliber in July of 2011. The company offered a culture that I wanted to work in. It was a great move! In your opinion, what makes Caliber stand out from the competition? Hands down, it has to be our culture. Caliber Home Loans is a service-based lender. We always strive to do the right thing—

we’re methodical and take care of each other … always with the borrower’s best interests in mind. How do you see the current state of the southern California housing market? It’s extremely competitive and a definitely a sellers’ market, but there is also a low inventory. What can be done to boost the inventory? New construction got off to a rocky start after the recession. We are seeing more builders come out, but not a ton of builders like in the 2000s. There has been much attention recently on the lack of affordable homeownership options in the California

market. Is this still a problem? Absolutely, especially near urban areas including Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, where it’s extremely expensive. We have seen many people move out of these areas because they cannot afford them. But when even moving to the outskirts, the median home prices often hover around the $400,000 range. How has Caliber Home Loans been able to keep on top of the many regulatory changes that have taken placed in recent years? Our executive team devoted a large amount of resources to reviewing the rules and laws before they were implemented. For example, Caliber provided extensive training to agents on

onal of the Month

TRID before those rules took effect. Today, the company continues to allocate generous resources into continued training. It’s vital that we continue to make sure we understand its complexity. Also, we need to be cognizant that change is a constant in our industry. Either we adhere to change and roll with it, or we will not be closing loans. In your opinion, what can the industry do to encourage young people to pursue careers in mortgage banking? I don’t really see young people getting into the business today and wanting to learn all of its intricacies. The industry used to take people with no experience and train them up through the ranks. Regulation and

compliance demands have made things different today, of course. In order to encourage young people to pursue jobs in the mortgage field, lenders need to build an extensive training platform that will attract a younger generation to the business. All lenders have a responsibility to encourage young people to come into the industry. Ideally, we should band together and come up with a standard strategy to achieve that goal. Looking back on your work in the industry, what do you see as your greatest challenges and your greatest accomplishments? As I mentioned earlier, the greatest challenge came when I

was promoted to branch manager, only to then see the market crash. Thankfully, another lender came along to pull my team out of that. My greatest accomplishment was coming to Caliber and being able to bring my team along with me.

What do you see as the nearterm future for the mortgage banking industry? Low inventory is the next big problem. I am not certain if this can continue for the next few years. Ultimately, I think, the economy will drive builders to build more.

What do you see as your nearterm goals? My main goal is to keep everyone on my team employed. When I came to Caliber, I was thrilled to watch my team and salespeople thrive here.

Outside of work, how do you spend your leisure time? I am happily married—we don’t have kids, but have a dog and a cat. I like to spend time with friends and family, and working on my home.

Phil Hall is managing editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at PhilH@NMPMediaCorp.com.

MBA’s Seco

A Repo his is the 16th time since 2008 that this survey of senior mortgage banking executives has been conducted and distributed. It is completed twice annually, at the Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention in October and at the MBA’s National Secondary Market Conference each May. My conference experience this year consisted of attending a committee meeting and completing 28 surveys over two and one-half days. I’ve been a full-time observer and student of the mortgage banking industry since 1977. The Secondary Marketing Conference in New York this past May was my 34th in the past 35 years. The purpose of the survey is to capture some basic production data and gather the opinions, ideas, values and expectations of senior mortgage banking executives on many of the business and industry’s key issues, topics and concerns. A secondary purpose of this series is to bring senior executives further into a public discussion of key issues and topics without drama and despite the sometimes controversial nature of the underlying issues. For this year’s convention, 28 meetings were arranged and an equal number of surveys were completed. The surveyed group consisted of 11 chief executive officers, seven executive vice presidents, six senior vice presidents and four vice presidents. Excluding the CEOs, all of those surveyed work in capital markets, operations or production. Of the firms represented in the survey, nine produced more than $10 billion in 2015, another 12 originated $1 to $9.9 billion and seven produced less than $1 billion. The executives surveyed

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represented 13 banks and 15 non-banks. Included were two homebuilder-owned firms, one mortgage brokerage, a realtorowned firm, three private-equity fund owned companies and another owned by a hedge fund. One of the firms is Internetbased. Eleven of the firms only originate through retail, while the other 17 produce loans in at least two channels. Five of the 28 firms originate in retail, correspondent and broker wholesale. The surveyed group is carefully structured to be representative of the lending industry in terms of the size of firms, their reach and scope, location, product menu and operating channels. All efforts are made to mimic the membership profile of the MBA. The 71-question questionnaire was drafted in the weeks before the conference, beta tested, and run past several industry leaders for comprehension and clarity. Input into the questions asked was sought and received from two past MBA chairmen and four past chairmen of the Secondary Market Committee. Except for the beta test group, all the surveys were completed face to face during meetings at the conference held in May. About 45 minutes was required to complete each survey. The survey group consists almost exclusively of longstanding industry friends and business associates. All are industry veterans. Many have participated since the survey’s inception. Most of those surveyed are close industry contacts who have helped me stay abreast of intra-industry trends and developments over the course of decades. However, three executives were surveyed for the first time and three new firms were included in the survey group.

Although some of the questions are time specific and appear on these surveys only once or twice, others are included in every survey. Doing this provides a dataset of responses over time. An analysis of the resulting longitudinal data shows patterns and trends along with new developments in the business and industry. For example, the heavy cost of regulation is becoming increasingly apparent in the data, as is the concern over FHA loans. Personally, I find the information collected to be relevant, interesting, insightful, informative, useful, and instructive, especially for policymakers in Congress and the Obama Administration, and at the Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). It is not lost on anyone that the conservatorship is now 92 months old and Congress has accomplished nothing to address the two insolvencies and restore a healthy, vibrant mortgage market. MBA has a GovernmentSponsored Enterprise (GSE) Task Force that is developing a new position paper for Congress. Given who is being polled, it is recognized that the findings only reflect the responses of the mortgage banking industry, not a broader cross-section of the U.S. population. Since it wasn’t a random survey, there is nothing in the results that would necessarily apply outside the mortgage banking industry. Moreover, it deserves mention that survey results are only valid as of a specific point in time. Things can change, sometimes quickly. That said, I think the findings well represent the facts, expectations and thinking of the

broader mortgage industry. Indeed, most readers of this report will likely find many more confirmations to their own responses—and their thinking— than real surprises in the findings. That said, there are some of the latter buried in the information. With that preface, it’s on to the questions, with the understanding that what follows is intended only as a summary of the responses. This report isn’t a detailed, critical analysis of what all was said and learned. Question 1 asked those surveyed if their firm’s production was up, down or unchanged year to date compared to the same period last year. Eighteen of the 28 surveyed said production volumes were up. Questions 2 to 8 asked about origination volume, specifically what portions (based on units) represented each of six categories of production. Purchase business accounted for an average (unweighted by volume) of 64.3 percent of the entire group’s originations with a range of 15-99 percent; agency conforming accounted for 63.1 percent with a range of 40-98 percent; jumbos for 8.4 percent with a range of 134 percent; FHA for 22.6 percent with a range of 2-45 percent; over 80 LTVs 37 percent with a range of 7-80 percent; and non-QMs 1.3 percent with a range of 0-10 percent. Question 6 wanted to know if the executives’ firms experienced an increase or decrease in their FHA volume year-to-date. Nine reported higher volume, another nine a decrease, and 10 said no change. Questions 9 to 11 sought to learn if their firms were doing more, less or the same amount of high LTV, high DTI and low FICO lending this year than last. High LTV was defined as over 90 percent, high DTI as above 41 percent and low FICO as below

condary Market Conference Survey:

port of Findings

serve” provision, and the introduction of the new independent review process established for GSE repurchases. Underwriting standards at the GSEs aren’t too tight, said 24 of the 28 executives; “duty to serve” shouldn’t be incorporated into the GSEs’ charters, said 13 of the 22 with an opinion; and 21 of the 24 were pleased with the new review process for repurchase requests from the GSEs. Questions 28 and 29 asked about trended credit data and whether the respondents thought it a good idea for basing underwriting decisions. The group likes using trended data by a 20 to six count. However, trended data costs more, according to 15 executives versus seven others who said its costs weren’t higher. Question 32 wondered whether working with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac was easier. Freddie won out narrowly as 16 of the 28 indicated selling to Freddie was easier. I didn’t ask why so. Questions 33 through 37 asked the executives to assign a letter grade of A to F for each of the five government agencies. On average, Fannie Mae got a B+ from the group; Freddie Mac received a B; the FHA a C+; the FHFA a B-; and the CFPB a solid D. Any guesses as to which of the five was the only one to receive a handful of F letter grades? Question 38 asked what percentage of their firms’ workforce was under 30 years of age. The group average was 21 percent, with a range from seven percent to 45 percent. Question 39 wanted to know if the firms had a relationship with one or more of the mortgage cooperatives. The answer: 14 dealt with cooperatives, while another 14 didn’t. Question 40 asked if credit access was too tight, too loose or about right. A majority of 16 responded that access to credit was about right, 10 said too tight

and (only) one said too loose. Questions 41 through 44 dealt with regulations, mostly compliance related. I wanted to know by what multiple compliance costs have increased post Dodd Frank’s enactment; what portion of their firm’s total operating expenses compliance costs consumed; in dollars, how much regulations have increased the cost of a single mortgage loan; and, how concerned each executive was with the rising cost to produce. The averages for the entire group were: A four-fold increase in compliance costs since Dodd Frank; compliance costs consume 22.4 percent of total operating expenses; the cost of an origination has risen $1519 post Dodd Frank; and executives are very concerned about the rising cost to originate, giving the level of concern a very high 8.4 of 10. The ranges of responses were respectively: 1.5 to 10-fold; five to 50 percent; $80-$3,500; and five to 10. Questions 45 through 55 all address the CFPB in one way or another. Question 45 asked if the executives thought the CFPB has brought clarity to its new rules and regulations. On a 10-point scale of less to more, the group average was a quite low 2.5. The response range was from one to five. Question 46 inquired: Have you ever been through a CFPB audit? Eleven had, but 17 had not. Question 47 asked if QM compliance had, in retrospect, been a problem. It hasn’t, said 25 of the 28 executives. Have vague regulations largely ended the use of MSAs, asked Question 48. They have, said 24 of 26 executives. Question 49 asked if their firm was through the TRID transition. We are, said 16, while the other 12 said not so yet. Question 50 asked if TRID was adversely affecting private sector loan sales. continued on page 90

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window and who was using mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and who was using Ginnie Mae. Among the survey group, 12 sold to the window versus 16 who issued MBS. A dozen did both, depending on best execution. As for issuing Ginnie Maes, 23 of the 28 were issuers. Question 21 wondered how big a problem repurchases were for their firms today. Not much, as the group average was 2.7 on the scale to 10. The range was from one to eight. Questions 22 through 26 all touched on the FHA. Question 22 asked if the executives’ firms imposed overlays; Question 23 wondered if they thought the credit box was too tight, too loose or about right today; Question 24 asked if the FHA underwrote and priced loans based on the individual loan’s risk; Question 25 asked if they favored the new loanlevel certification rules; and Question 26 asked if lenders contemplated reducing FHA originations given recent punitive actions by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and others. Twentyfive firms impose overlays on FHA loans compared to two that don’t. The FHA credit box is about right reported 15 of the 28, while 13 said it was too loose. Interestingly, not one executive indicated the FHA credit box was too tight. All but two executives agreed that FHA didn’t underwrite or price based on the risk of an individual loan. Responses were quite mixed concerning whether they favored the new loan-level certification rules, as 13 favored the new rules and ten didn’t. Question 26 also wondered if DOJ fines and penalties were causing lenders to think twice about FHA originations. Yes indeed, said 23 of the 26 responding to the query. Questions 27, 30 and 31 dealt with aspects of the GSEs, specifically their underwriting standards, the so-called “duty to

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680. Of the 28 firms, 12 were producing more high LTVs while three were doing less, one was doing more high DTIs versus six less, and 11 were doing more low FICOs versus six less. The remainder reported no change in each category. Question 12 dealt with firms’ profits and whether they were higher this year than last year. Profits are up year-to-date at 16 of the firms surveyed. Question 13 wanted to know if turn times for appraisals were a major concern today. Not really, said 18 executives compared to 10 who felt otherwise. Related, Question 14 asked if the multi-year shift to appraisal management companies (AMCs) had improved operation efficiency. Based on a scale of one to 10, with the higher number the greater, the group response was a 5.6. The range of responses was from 2-8. Question 15 dealt with the very recent change in mortgage insurance (MI) premiums across the industry and whether the change better reflected and priced risk than the old. Eighteen of the 20 who responded to the question said they better evidenced risk. Eight of those polled indicated they couldn’t weigh in, the most NAs in the entire survey. Questions 16 and 17 involved mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and whether their firms were retaining, selling or buying them in 2016. Of the 28 firms, 13 were retaining, 12 were selling and three others were buying them. The follow-up question was, if selling, whether on a bulk or flow basis. Of the 12 MSR sellers, five sell bulk and seven others flow. Question 18 wondered if early payoffs (within six months) were seen as a big problem industrywide. The group mean was 5.5 on the scale to 10. The range was from two to 10. Questions 19 and 20 asked who was selling to the cash

BY TOM LAMALFA

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Upgrading Your Web Site to Meet the Needs of Today’s Wholesale Mortgage Clients BY KEITH BILODEAU

Your team should include vendors or business partners to build or integrate your new technology, key stakeholders to

review the plan, and select clients to conduct testing (there’s that “test” word again). Remember, it is your responsibility to constantly ask yourself if your Web site is truly representative of your business and of the clients you want to attract and serve. For example, it may be time to consider a refresh: l If your Web site has dated content or imagery, or lacks social media crossover. l If your Web site does not make it easy for a customer to interact with you through a simple contact form. You are doing a disservice to both the customer (they may go elsewhere) and to yourself (no way to track lead volume). My company, Freedom Mortgage, is a great case study for this process. We took the time and applied the resources to survey our clients, where we learned that many of them felt our technology was not keeping up with the technology solutions offered by our competitors. After much soul searching and enlightenment, we identified a key company stakeholder to lead the charge and set out to design a new Web site that responded to our clients’ needs and suggestions for improvement. We quickly found ourselves in our own technology

marathon–enough to conjure up another famous saying about the “best laid plans.” Nearly 12 months since we launched the project, the finish line is in sight and we’ve reached the important testing phase of a newly designed Wholesale Lending Web site. This user-friendly site is set to launch this summer, and promises to deliver, among many other future enhancements, a new LE tool that is designed to greatly improve loan disclosure efficiency. Just as we are learning about the nuances involved with the launch of a new site, we’ve realized that maintenance is just as important as the build. If you want to stay ahead of the technology curve, make sure you employ a digital team that is knowledgeable and familiar with industry trends. They will be a major key to keeping up with the competition and implementing new functionality as customer needs arise and evolve over time. Finally, once you implement new technology, make sure you train your employees on how to use it and let your clients know about it! Do a little chest-pounding and make sure your clients know that you listened to them and more importantly, you took action. They will appreciate the responsiveness and your commitment to the success of their business.

Keith Bilodeau joined Freedom Mortgage in 2012 and serves as senior vice president of Wholesale Production. Keith is responsible for overseeing national wholesale sales, recruiting, marketing and Freedom Mortgage’s expansion strategy.

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l Ask and listen attentively to ensure your website is representative of your customer needs. Ask questions through formal and informal surveys as a means of gaining customer feedback. l Be aware of new technology platforms that can help your business be more efficient. This process does not always require an expensive website

build. There are “off the shelf” tools that could be well suited for your company, and at a fraction of the cost of the development of a new Web site. l Choose the right partner if you work with a third-party vendor to help you with this important process. Oftentimes, your company’s Web site serves as the welcome mat for clients looking to interact with your brand. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so if you’re willing to invest in making improvements in technology, you should make sure you choose a partner that understands your business. l Do an analysis of your tools and systems to know how they stack up compared to what your competitors are using. Find out what clients like and dislike about those sites and keep a list of the things that are important to you and to the clients you are trying to reach. For example, if you are trying to attract Millennials, be sure your Web site is optimized for mobile, includes the ability for social networking, and portrays imagery that reflects the homes that resonate with your target market. l Take action once you have fully assessed the opportunity and challenges ahead of you. This includes: Determining the changes you need to make; setting the budget you are willing to invest; and assembling the right team to get the job done.

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t has been said that innovation belongs to those who are able to stay ahead of the technology curve and be first to bring dynamic business tools to market. But building a mortgage technology platform can be anything but fast, in fact it is a marathon, not a sprint. So, how do you pace yourself while keeping up? How do you ensure that your Web site is responsive to your clients’ needs? By listening, responding, testing … and then testing again. Did we mention testing? While we would agree that there is something to be said about being first to market when it comes to innovation, there is also something to be said for taking a methodical and strategic approach before rolling things out to your audience. Once you launch a new or upgraded Web site, it’s nearly impossible to put the toothpaste back in the tube, so you want to get the wireframe right the first time. Having a Web site that is innovative requires agility, flexibility and the willingness to evolve with your clients. To determine if your site is meeting the needs of today’s mortgage clients, you need to:

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Steady Customer Relations Is Key to Growing Your Business

heard on the street

continued from page 56

lenders increase overall production.” l MiMutual Mortgage Projects Record Growth

veryone wants their business to thrive … am I right? Although that answer is a no-brainer, getting to the point of having a successful business with repeat clients can be a challenge. Here are some simple strategies to get to that point:

l Believe in what you’re selling: Clients will sense your confidence and believe in your product and there is greater chance that they will potentially purchase from you repeatedly. A good question to ask yourself is: “How will this be of better use for my clients?” Look for the ins and outs of your product. If there are any glitches, be sure to address them before you introduce it to the public. It may have great potential, but discovering even the slightest problems can scare off clients from doing repeat business with you simply because you didn’t do enough investigating. Which brings me to my next point … l Research, research, research: Know everything about your product. Once you think you know it all, study it again. It’s amazing what you can pick up researching your product the second, third or even fourth time. Don’t be afraid to add your own personal selling style to it, as long as you are honest with your clients. It is the same in business as it is with life: Honesty goes much further and your clients will respect you for that.

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l Always remember … it’s about quality, not quantity: What is the quality of your product? What is the quality of your selling skills? Can you maintaining and retain your clients? How many clients are you willing to deal with to give them the best customer service possible? Would it best suit you to handle just a few to start off with, then build from there? When will you get to the point where you may need to hire more salesmen to help with your workload? What is your standard of excellence? l Set goals and stick with them: Do you wish to personally sell $100,000 for the month? Yeah, this may seem like a daunting task to any one of us, so start off with daily goals. Perhaps making 100 cold calls per day is a start. This means in a normal eight-hour work day, it’s about 12 calls per hour. Stick with this and you will get to that one client that much sooner who gives you the word you’ve been waiting for: “Yes!” Perhaps there is a grand vacation you want to save up for, or a boat, motorcycle, house, etc. So ask yourself this very important question: “What motivates me to be successful?” l And finally: Celebrate your achievements! Based in Medford, Ore., TagQuest Inc. is a full-service marketing firm offering the most up-to-date, cutting-edge marketing solutions for the ever-changing mortgage industry. Utilizing more than 12 years of marketing expertise, along with an intimate knowledge of the mortgage industry and the very best technology available, TagQuest consistently produces new customers for its mortgage clients. TagQuest knows what it takes to produce unprecedented results in today’s fast-paced mortgage environment. For more information, call (888) 717-8980 or visit TagQuest.com.

IMAGINE • INNOVATE • SUCCEED SPONSORED EDITORIAL

As a result of implementing its national retail growth strategy, MiMutual Mortgage has reported that its national retail volume has increased 100 percent during the first five months of 2016 compared to previous average levels. “This is an exciting time in the mortgage industry because we have the opportunity to significantly improve the way consumers experience the home purchase process while providing them with the best loan options that fit their specific situation,” said Daniel Jacobs, executive vice president and managing director of MiMutual Mortgage. “As a 24-year-old, agencydirect lender, we have the flexibility to offer more loan products ranging from jumbo and non-QM to 203K rehab and USDA Rural Development, empowering us to meet individual consumers’ unique needs.” MiMutual’s total retail volume doubled in May 2016 compared to the levels of last year during the same period. Jacobs said he expects retail volume to grow by as much again within the next year. “We will accomplish this through strategic efforts that include new branch openings and ongoing development of existing branches,” Jacobs said. The company increased its national retail expansion efforts during the last year, hiring several industry veterans as executives to lead the growth. “We believe the market has adequate opportunity to maintain the company’s core values and sustain meaningful growth with like-minded industry professionals nationwide,” Jacobs said. Mortgage professionals to watch l Aimee Johnson has been named national operations manager of Paramount

Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG). HomeBridge Financial Services has announced that Fannie Mae veteran Alex Saphos has joined the company in the newly created position of investor relations advisor. HomeBridge has also announced the promotion of Scott Bowling to Florida area manager. She joined HomeBridge in 2012 in the role of branch manager and played an integral role in the opening of its Orlando office. Carrington Mortgage Services LLC’s Wholesale Mortgage Lending Division has named Patrick Flanagan as executive vice president of the Wholesale Lending Division, where he will concentrate on expanding the company’s Wholesale Channel, with a strong focus on maximizing the ease of use for the broker community. Lenders Compliance Group Inc. (LCG) has announced the addition of Michael R. Pfeifer as director of Mortgage Servicing Compliance to offer mortgage risk management guidance to the mortgage industry, with a particular emphasis on loan servicing. Pfeifer is currently counsel to the California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA), having served on the CMBA board of directors for nine years. LDWholesale has announced the promotion of Phil Garcia to the role of vice president of Operational Production, where he will be responsible for all of LDWholesale’s production activities in both the Costa Mesa, Calif. and Plano, Texas branches, including process improvement, service levels, customer service, staffing and goal-tracking. Valuation Partners has announced that Jayson Dammen has joined the company as vice president of the Western region, responsible for overseeing business development and new client services in California, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii. ClosingCorp has announced

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 email are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

Mortgage Technology

Appraisal Woes By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

e have an issue facing our industry in many markets. We simply have too many appraisal orders and appraisal demands, but not enough licensed appraisers. Appraisers are getting older on average and the barrier to entry and internship timeline seems challenging and concerning for the future with anyone looking to become a new licensed appraiser. Current regulations and requirements certainly make this more difficult, and as an industry, we need to work together to find a solution for the consumers that are negatively impacted. I am in the state of Oregon, one of the worst markets in the country presently for appraisal demands and turn-times. The average was just recently extended to approximately four weeks from delivery from order. We all know this fluctuates, but when it is bad … it’s very bad. I understand that Colorado is facing some major issues as well, and we’re hearing the same from most other states out there. We have to constantly reset expectations and speak for these third parties which can be frustrating when dates are not met. We have also seen appraisers unable to meet the agreed due date 93 (even if extended out) or responding to minor corrections very slowly. These delays cause issues for buyer and sellers and as we all know we rely on this report to confirm the value and also issue the Closing Disclosure (CD) to start that timeline as well prior to closing. Our hands are tied by these third parties and the accountability is simply non-existent. Again, we need to all come together and find a solution. The main objective now while we deal with this issue is the ensure real estate agents are writing accurate closing dates and setting accurate expectations. I also ask them (providing they can talk with the appraiser) to demand a faster delivery date. If any are negative or aggressive toward you as the lender on appraisal turn-times, make sure they understand that you calling them and asking them or their staff why the appraisal is taking so long would be considered the same thing. They need to be educated to stop linking the appraiser with the lender. Maybe the appraisal industry can create classes for these current licensed appraisers on time management and how to effectively structure their day to balance physical inspections with in-office comparable work. There has to be a way to reduce the time and balance workload for faster results. Biting off more than you can chew at the expense of others due to lower compensation is not helpful for our industry and consumers buying and selling homes with appraisal costs at an all-time high. What are you seeing in your market? Do you feel it’s more difficult for someone to become a licensed appraiser today or do they lack the resources? Please share stories below or on the Facebook group page. We are interested to collecting data and working to find a solution and addressing these issues with lawmakers and regulators. Are you an originator? Send your stories! To have topics considered in future editions, please e-mail me with “OrigiNation” in the subject line at AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com. These can be confidential or your name and company can be referenced if you wish. You can also join the Facebook group by searching “OrigiNation.”

Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and past 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 VantageMortgageGroup.com.

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addition of Tim Lammers as a mortgage loan originator in Brookfield, Wis., joining the company with 16 years of mortgage industry experience. Accurate Group has announced that it has hired former Huntington National Bank executive, Mike Kirk as senior vice president of Strategic Valuation Initiatives and he will report directly to CEO and President Paul Doman. Fannie Mae has announced the appointment of J. Douglas Watt as senior vice president and chief audit executive. The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has announced that Silvia PerezRathell has joined the organization as its chief development officer. PerezRathell will lead corporate and government development efforts for the trade organization and will also be working with the Hispanic Wealth Project (HWP), formerly known as the NAHREP Foundation, from NAHREP’s new secondary office in D.C. Susan Rosen has been named strategic account executive at USRES and RES.NET where she will work closely with C-Level executives to build upon additional relationships and is also charged with prospecting and promoting sales to the national sales and operations teams in support of business development. GMH Mortgage Services LLC has announced the appointment of Joseph Nattans Jr. as president, promoted from the role of GMH’s senior vice president of National Retail Sales.

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that Pat Carney has been named chief innovation officer (CInO), where he will be charged with exploring and driving innovative solutions that impact the business and industry segments to deliver new growth opportunities and cultivate and commercialize market breakthroughs. Paul Carson, CMPS has joined Mortgage Network Inc. as a loan officer in the company’s Conshohocken, Penn. branch office where he will be responsible for helping borrowers and homeowners throughout the Philadelphia metro area with their mortgage financing needs. Veteran mortgage professional Beth Hallett has rejoined Mortgage Network Inc. as sales manager and co-manager of the company’s Lancaster, Penn. branch office where she will be responsible for overseeing sales, managing branch operations and helping borrowers and homeowners throughout the southeastern Pennsylvania with their mortgage financing needs. ClosingCorp has announced that Matthew Lichtner has joined the company as vice president of sales and strategic relationships where he will be responsible for developing and maintaining technology-provider relationships. Castle & Cooke Mortgage has welcomed the newest member to its executive team, Ashley Hutto-Schultz, who joins the company’s corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, assuming the role of national compliance director. LRES has announced that Diane Valadez has been appointed as its new vice president of national sales. Valadez will be responsible for managing LRES’ sales and business development operations, identifying prospective clients and potential opportunities to generate new business and cultivating client relationships across the U.S. GSF Mortgage has announced the addition of two loan originators in St. Charles, Mo., Robert Politte and Michael Wheeler, who will both be working with GSF Mortgage Branch Manager Jeremy Greenlee. GSF has also announced the

The Upfront Close: How to Stop the “Let Me Think About It” Objection 94

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BY KERRY JOHNSON, PH.D.

client or prospect said, “Let me think about it.” You agreed and have spent several hours calling them to no avail. They have gone radio silent. But you were so sure they wanted to use you for the refi.

A real estate agent seemed totally committed to referring business to you. She said, “Let me think about it and we’ll talk soon.” You were so excited that you nearly put a downpayment on that new car. The problem is that for every hour you chase someone, they have robbed you of about $300 in cash. Think of this as just dumping $300 into the garbage. It’s the same. Wouldn’t it be better if they just told you upfront they wouldn’t do business with you? Wouldn’t you save a lot of time if they just said no? Isn’t bad breath better than no breath at all? The answer is the Upfront Close. Here is a phrase you can say during the fact finding opening interview from now on that will help you stop from wasting your time: “At the end of this process, we may decide to put together a mortgage plan to help you hit your dreams and goals. If we do, I hope you will decide to implement it. If it doesn’t make sense, I hope you will tell me that as well. I only want to do what is best for you. But I would rather you not wait a few weeks or months. That tells me you don’t have enough information to make an informed decision. You don’t want to hurt my feelings by saying no. Is that okay?”

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Dr. Kerry Johnson is a frequent speaker at mortgage industry conferences. He is the author of six books, including Mastering the Game: The Human Edge in Sales and Marketing, WILLPOWER: The Secrets of Self-Discipline and his newest book, Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes With Their Money. He may be reached by phone at (714) 368-3650 or e-mail Kerry@KerryJohnson.com.

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You have just given them permission to be honest. You have allowed them to be direct. Isn’t that better than chasing them for a decision and wasting your time? The crazy thing is that they nicer you are, the less direct and honest your prospects and clients will be. They don’t want to hurt your feelings. When my daughter Caroline was a freshman in high school, she was already playing on the varsity tennis team. I was so proud of her. Just like her dad who played on the pro tour in the 1970s, I was sure she would play Division I tennis with a full ride and eventually turn pro. I called a college prep athlete packaging service to shoot video of her playing tennis and called college recruiters around the U.S. The problem was the sales rep was so bad that he annoyed me immediately. “Caroline, you want to make your parents proud by going to a good school, don’t you? Mrs. Johnson, you love your daughter and want her to be happy, don’t you?” I looked at my wife Merita and just shook my head. The rep went on for another hour and said the fee was $3,000. Which credit card would we like to use. I told him what you should never hear, “Let me go think about it,” fully knowing we would never engage his company’s services. The sales rep must have called 10 more times leaving voicemail after voicemail to get an answer. But if he would have used the Upfront Close like you will now do, I would have been honest and told him that we wouldn’t use his services. But isn’t that better than wasting time making 10 follow up calls? Do you want to increase your sales and stop wasting your time? Use the Upfront Close with every prospect or client from now on. Bad breath is better than no breath at all.

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TooMuch of aGood Thing? BY SUE WOODARD

t’s easy to make a list of the activities, foods or beverages that we’ve been warned to not overindulge in, because there can be “Too much of a good thing.” But can the same be applicable to productivity … or can it? Just about every mortgage loan officer has fallen into the Catch 22 of working hard to generate new business, followed by getting caught up on servicing that business, and thus, allowing the balance of activities to be disrupted, making it necessary to start practically from scratch to refill their pipeline after a flurry of closings—the old “seesaw” effect between prospecting and closing. The 2016 housing market is showing signs that many loan officers will find themselves in this exact predicament well past the typically busy summer season. Recent data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Zillow add up to a perfect storm of low supply and high demand, with a dash of urgency due to uncertainty surrounding the future of interest rates. The following year-over-year data from the late spring sets the stage for activity that may last well into the fall:

l Median existing home price increased 6.3 percent NAR Existing Home Sales Report, April 2016

NAR also reported in April that pending home sales reached their highest level since February 2006. Zillow’s Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell believes the market will be brisk outside of traditional timeframes, saying, “This summer’s selling season’s borders will most likely be blurred as many buyers are left without homes and will need to keep searching.” This information is making its way into the mainstream media as well, motivating potential buyers to browse online and piquing homeowner curiosity

l l l l

Capture them? Keep track of them? Incubate them? Convert them?

If there’s room for improvement in how you manage your leads now, the gap will widen with increased activity. An overwhelming influx of leads without proper management sends production and money seeping right through the cracks. It’s always a triumph to move a lead from inquiry to close. But to succeed, or even keep up in the industry requires superior organization and consistency. Whether you’re buying leads, generating them through your sphere of influence, database of past clients or Web sites, a customer relationship management system is an absolute must. You must have a CRM and it must serve your needs. To keep up with a fastpaced market, you need to be able to easily: l Manage your daily schedules, tasks, events and sales

l l l

l l l l

activities Organize and prioritize your leads and contacts Automate and archive your marketing Make it easy to track and follow-up with leads, prospects and clients Track your conversion rates Uphold your brand Be compliant Integrate with your LOS

Do you have systems to manage all these critical business elements? Are they in one place–or all over the place? Is your workflow manageable? It’s a good idea to ponder these questions and consider solutions to maximize your readiness for what is shaping up to be an opportune time to develop and expand your business. Converting leads is a gratifying thrill ride, but the rules surrounding consumer contacts, disclosure and archiving can be a buzzkill (along with the risk of audits and fines). The good news is, technology can help by marrying organization, marketing, compliance elements and your LOS system and it can help you sustain momentum and minimize compliance risk when things get busy. So with positive market activity and indicators spelling the probability of a “lead storm” on the forecast, smart lenders will ensure that their MLOs have the right tools to manage, convert, comply and sustain production. And most importantly, keep prospecting and transacting activities–and pipelines–in balance.

Sue Woodard is president and chief executive officer of Vantage Production, a provider of technology and services supporting the sales and marketing of mortgage products, as well as the professional development of mortgage loan officers. She can be reached by e-mail at SWoodard@VantageProduction.com.

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l Housing inventory is down 3.4 percent overall and eight percent in entry-level price ranges Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, April 2016

about activity in their own neighborhoods. More consumers will be surfing, searching, clicking and hopefully calling—leads will likely be flying in. While heated consumer interest in the housing market is a great problem to have, mortgage loan officers and their companies need to evaluate their marketing, workflow, time management and other systems to get in the best position to handle increased activity without having other aspects of their performance and business suffer. When it comes to leads currently, how do you …

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l Existing home sales are up six percent

“It’s always a triumph to move a lead from inquiry to close. But to succeed, or even keep up in the industry requires superior organization and consistency.”

outstanding

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 ’ s

o u t s t a n d i n g

p l a c e s

t o

w o r k

places to work

Assurance Financial

REMN Wholesale

255-239-7948 www.lendtheway.com

732-738-7100 www.remnwholesale.com

Assurance Financial has built a great reputation for closing loans on time. Our operations team is committed to helping our branch managers and loan officers succeed. We have immediate openings throughout the South. Join us, and experience what a huge difference our support can make to your success!

Although REMN Wholesale is part of a large corporation, it feels like a “Mom and Pop”-style company. We encourage our team members to grow and we train and promote each individual to their full potential. As a national company, REMN provides many opportunities for employment from coast to coast.

PRMG

United Wholesale Mortgage

1-866-PRMG-YES (806-776-4937) www.PRMG.net

800-981-8898 www.uwm.com/careers

Built by originators for originators, PRMG was born from a vision of creating a company with a unique culture focused on the successes of the producer. We understand what it takes to be a successful originator and cultivate new business every day.

Voted the #1 place to work in Metro Detroit, UWM is looking for A players to join our talented team. Our business is driven by our culture, and our people are our greatest asset. If you’re looking for the opportunity of a lifetime, apply to UWM today!

Attention Recruiters, Business Development Managers and HR Professionals national mortgage professional’s

outstanding places to work

We are pleased to announce a new package that will give your firm the recruiting tools to instantly shift your recruiting efforts into high gear using a multimedia, market-saturating approach. We will utilize the most successful methods that our clients have been using to find, identify and place top talents for your company. We have designed these packages with the concept of making it less expensive to give you the ability to reach more people. NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE 1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, New York 11793-2202 516-409-5555 • Fax: 516-409-4600 • E-mail: advertise@NMPMediaCorp.com

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NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S

calendar of events JULY 2016 Monday-Wednesday, July 25-27 Appraisal Institute 2016 Annual Conference The Sheraton Charlotte 555 South McDowell Street Charlotte, N.C. For more information, call (888) 756-4624 or visit AppraisalInstitute.org/AnnualConference. AUGUST 2016 Sunday-Wednesday, August 7-10 Summer CAMP 2016: Destination Napa The Westin Verasa: Napa 1314 McKinstry Street Napa, Calif. For more information, call (916) 448-8236, or visit TheCAMPsite.org.

Wednesday, September 14 HAMB 25th Annual State Conference “Get TRID Fit With HAMB” Japanese Culture Center of Hawaii 2454 South Beretania Street (Manoa Grand Ballroom) Honolulu, Hawaii For more information or visit HAMB.org. Friday, September 16 OriginatorConnect 2016 Mohegan Sun 1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard Uncasville, Conn. For more information, call (860) 922-3441 or visit OriginatorConnect.com. Monday-Tuesday, September 19-20 NYAMB’s 28th Annual Convention & Trade Show “New York: We Live It, We Breathe It, We Own It!” The Huntington Hilton 598 Broad Hollow Road Huntington, N.Y. For more information, call (914) 315-6644 or visit NYAMB.org.

Thursday, September 29 8th Annual NYC Real Estate Expo The Hilton Hotel 1335 Avenue of the Americas New York, N.Y. For more information, call (646) 210-2545 or visit NYCNetworkGroup.com. OCTOBER 2016 Tuesday-Friday, October 4-7 American Land Title Association 110th Annual Convention Fairmont Scottsdale Princess 7575 East Princess Drive Scottsdale, Ariz. For more information, call (202) 296-3671 or visit ALTA.org. Friday-Saturday, October 14-15 The Arizona Mortgage Expo 2016 Wild Horse Pass Casino & Resort 5040 Wild Horse Pass Boulevard Chandler, Ariz. For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or e-mail Info@AgilityResourcesGroup.com. Sunday-Wednesday, October 23-26 Mortgage Bankers Association 2016 Annual Convention Hynes Convention Center 900 Boylston Street Boston, Mass. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

Monday-Thursday, October 17-20 8th Annual Northeast Conference of Mortgage Brokers and Professionals Harrah’s Convention Center 777 Harrah’s Boulevard Atlantic City, N.J. For more information, call (732) 596-1619 or visit MBANJ.com. NOVEMBER 2016 Monday-Wednesday, November 14-16 National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association 2016 Annual Meeting & Expo The Swissotel Chicago 323 East Upper Wacker Drive Chicago For more information, call (202) 939-1784 or visit NRMLAOnline.org. 99 Wednesday-Thursday, November 16-17 Mortgage Star Conference 2016 Canyons Resort 4000 Canyons Resort Drive Park City, Utah For more information, call (860) 922-3441 or visit Mortgage-Star.net. Friday, November 18 Utah Mortgage Expo 2016 Zermatt Resort & Spa 784 Resort Drive Midway, Utah For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit UAMPExpo.com.

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

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Thursday-Friday, August 18-19 Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association 2016 Annual Education Conference New Orleans Riverside Hilton 2 Poydras Street New Orleans, La. For information, call (225) 590-5722 or visit LMLA.com.

Wednesday September 14 Texas Mortgage Roundup 2016 DoubleTree by Hilton Dallas Near the Galleria 4099 Valley View Lane Dallas, Texas For more information, call (860) 922-3441 visit TXMortgageRoundup.com.

Saturday-Monday, September 24-26 NAMB National 2016 The Luxor Resort & Hotel 3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit NAMBNational.com.

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Wednesday-Saturday, August 17-20 Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals 2016 Annual Convention Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate 1500 Masters Boulevard ChampionsGate, Fla. For more information, call (850) 942-6411 or visit MyFAMP.org.

SEPTEMBER 2016 Monday-Tuesday, September 12-13 Mortgage Professionals of Iowa 2016 Convention and Education Event Echo Valley Country Club 3150 Columbine Drive Norwalk, Iowa For more information, call (800) 462-0077 or visit IMPOI.WildApricot.org.

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ches, Identity Theft and Compliance: Are You Prepared? BY LAURA BURKE, MBA, MS, MIS, CFE, EA

followed, maintained and updated. We have all heard of companies closing due to improper compliance or security. Don’t let that happen to your company … at least not on your watch! Let’s look at compliance and social media. Can you have a compliant social media plan? You can to a certain degree. Managing an employee’s personal Facebook posts that may inadvertently breach a security issue is more difficult. I suggest incorporating into your company’s security policy that no posts are to be made on any personal media: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. ever relating to clients or the company. The company should have its own Facebook Page, Twitter feed and other social media outlets they choose to use. This way all posts are made and/or reviewed for compliance prior to being made public. Here’s a simple example of a very low key breach of compliance. I was at a nail salon getting a pedicure. A group of girls were there for a bridal party so they were excited and happy simply having fun. They started snapping photos and posting them on Facebook, innocent enough, right? Wrong, what if they captured others in pictures in those snapshots which they did. The owner was present while these girls posted selfies, but made no effort to make a simple statement: “Make sure no one else is captured in your photo, if they are, you do not have their permission to post their photo.” This would make your stand loud, verbal and audible for everyone to hear. If done against your wishes, you may still be held liable, but you made a verbal disclosure while it was happening, opening the door for anyone who might not want their photo plastered on Facebook to speak up, and say “No, please don’t get me in the picture.” In June of 2013, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) declared the creation of the Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Working

Group to improve communication amongst the FFIEC member agencies and build upon existing efforts to strengthen the activities of other interagency and private sector groups. The FFIEC released social media guidelines for financial institutions in January of 2013, with many of the initial guidelines being revised over the past few years with the explosion of social media. They now offer a comprehensive “handbook” on how financial institutions should execute social media and networking strategies. The handbook can be found at FFIEC.gov/Cybersecurity.htm. As per the FFIEC’s guidance, platforms covered include: l Micro-blogging (Facebook, Google+, MySpace, Twitter) l Organization of forums, blogs, customer reviews/testimonials, and online bulletin boards (Blogger, WordPress, Yelp) l The sharing of photos and videos (Flickr, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest) l Social gaming and virtualization (Badgeville, FarmVille, CityVille, Second Life) The true value of blogging on social media for each lender, banker, mortgage company or loan officer must be evaluated prior to being broadcast on social media. Protecting your clients’ privacy, and keeping past, present and future clients trust must be a priority. The quick flash of social media may not personify who you are and what you choose to put out there. Once it’s in the cyberworld, it’s there to stay. Social media should never be used to follow procedural guidelines or the delivery of compliant documents as the risk is simply too high. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines cybersecurity as “The process of protecting information by preventing, detecting and responding to attacks.” The adoption of the National Institute of Standards and Technology philosophy will help keep your company secure, complaint and protected.

Laura Burke, MBA, MS, MIS, CFE, EA is an author, and trainer with 20-plus years of experience in the mortgage arena. She was recently one of six members chosen for the IRS IRPAC Advisory Committee, where she will serve a three-year term. She may be reached by e-mail at LauraLynnBurke@gmail.com.

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could apply for credit based on your company’s information. They could also prepare false tax returns, but more importantly, they can create a whole slew of W-2s for fictitious employees who have never worked for your company. Why do this, it provides false tax information being paid into the IRS and state income taxes on behalf of a fictitious person who can then use a phony address to obtain illegal tax refunds. Are you protected against this type of invasion? It mostly happens via a server that is breached. I recently witnessed first-hand a mid-sized corporation that had very lax security for their employees. They had a tiered tree that separated private documents for each department, yet there was no password protecting the files. So if I worked in marketing and was given a password to access this tree, I could then see the tax folder documents, the company’s treasurer’s folder of documents–which included documents for loans applied for, insurance information, etc. The tax information available for all to see was amazing. One of the first priorities for any company should be to limit access to those who need it, and give them the ability to lock out any others. Your cybersecurity policy should include the management of both internal and external threats to protect your information, assets and privacy from technologybased attacks. One of the first to cause havoc within a company’s security system can be a disgruntled employee. Allowing open access to so much information was a high risk. I would have thought that this type of relaxed security didn’t exist in today’s business environment, but I was proven wrong. Common sense security has to be stated verbally and in writing so that everyone is aware of the precautions that must be followed. But what’s more important is hiring the right person to manage and protect the oversight of such security guidelines. It’s the same reasoning for compliance … the first rule is having the procedures and guidelines for both compliance and security in place. The second rule is having an employee designated for maintaining the rules and overseeing that rules are being

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o charges are to be pressed against presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as she was found “not guilty” by FBI Director James Comey of punishable wrong doing. It doesn’t matter what political fence you sit on, this will have repercussions as to how the courts are going to be able to look at corporate security policy breaches. How can a corporation hold an employee accountable for breaching signed corporate security policies of sharing e-mails with confidential classified information, when a presidential candidate, who happened to be in a political office at the time of the breach, is deemed “extremely careless?” How can we as business leaders count on the courtrooms to uphold our companies’ privacy and secured classified information policies? This is scary to me. It sets a precedence that no one can deny. This article was going to be about social media and compliance, but with this news breaking, I think we need to take a look at the strength of your corporate policies? Do you have a corporate policy in place? Are all of your employees required to sign the same policy, or do you have a different policy for those with higher security clearance handling more classified information? Will it now have to be amended to state that you are responsible for your actions, regardless of the Hillary bypass breach of security? I think that we are in tumultuous times with laws being written and rewritten, reviewed and analyzed to keep up with social media and Internet security. Many mid-sized companies were hit with security breaches of their employee’s W-2 information last tax season, as noted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Identity theft has run rampant, and now compound that with business identity theft and we have a major cybersecurity issue on our hands. Is your business protected against fraudsters stealing your company’s identity? If a fraudster gains access to your company’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), it could be a big deal. A fraudster could use the FEIN in a number of ways. They

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PUBLICATIONS

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