TNR - July 2012 Loan Officer Edition

Issue 060 July 2012 TheNicheReport.com

For Mortgage Origination Professionals

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The Stated Loan Program: A Silent Killer

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FEATURE ARTICLE Hard Money's New Softer Name: Private Money

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The Start of a Revolution How Shay's Rebellion continues today

Up 54 Bringing The Rear Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

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CONTENTS

Issue 60

July 2012

CLASSIFIEDS prime & FHA Commercial REVERSE MORTGAGE HARD MONEY JUMBO MULTIFAMILY Service Providers

Publishers

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Robert Pegg robert@thenichereport.com

Hard Money's New Softer Name: Private Money

David Pegg david@thenichereport.com MANAGING EDITOR Stewart Mednick stewart@thenichereport.com

Timi pereira

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The State Loan Program: A Silent Killer

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Neill E. Fendly Mortgage Defense, Inc.

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Legal Abuse Syndrome and Foreclosure Fraud

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BRIAN MAHANY Mahany & Ertl Look for these symptoms.

27 29

Memo to CFPB Gordon Schlicke mortgage trainer Standing outside yelling with cardboard signs hasn't worked!

Is There a Way to Immediately Increase Volume? ralph lovuolo, Sr. president mortgage motivator

32 6

What is Marketing Depth?

Chris jones branch manager city first mortgage services July 2012

Realtor速 Marketing Secrets doren aldana mortgage marketing coach Secret #1: Develop your unique value proposition.

The Start of a Revolution Gary Opper president approved financial corporation How Shay's Rebellion continues today.

DEPARTMENTS

09 22 40 42 44 50 54

from the editor's desk Online Lead Generation Keeping up with the Jones What's your mortgage IQ? TIP OF THE MONTH advertiser DIRECTORY BRINGING UP THE REAR

Associate Editor Cathy Johnson info@thenichereport.com ACCOUNTING MANAGER Shawna Ingram shawna@thenichereport.com Advertising Director Jessica Grizzle jessica@thenichereport.com Advertising sales Hilary Bateman hilary@thenichereport.com Production Manager Henry Suchman henry@thenichereport.com Production Assistant Dawn Exner dawn@thenichereport.com Cartoonist Martin Bradford COLUMNISTS & Contributing Authors Doren Aldana Martin Andelman Karen Deis Neill E. Fendly Chris Jones Ralph LoVuolo, Sr. Brian Mahany Gary Opper Timi Pereira Chaibia Sarhrou Gordon Schlicke

pg 45 pg 45 pg 45 pg 46 pg 46 pg 46 pg 47

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From the editor's desk

When I moved out West from the Midwest, life changed as I knew it. No humidity, no mosquitos and gnats, no tornados and hail storms, and not much snow. The best benefit is the horizon; line-of-sight all the way around the valley is mountains. So, when in Rome…. I learned a term out here: 14er. Yes, mountains that are over fourteen thousand feet are targets of conquest. I drove up my first one; Mt Evans. I was 14,130 feet in the air by car; the highest paved road in North America. WOW! The view was over 50 miles to the horizon. The air was thin, walking caused a labored breathing. Ice was on a lake at 13,000 feet. Snow over eight feet high in the crevices; and this is June. It was 80 degrees in the town at the mountain’s base, and 35 degrees at the peak, with 30 to 40 mile per hour winds. The change literally took my breath away. Then I drove down and back to civilization. I had an ice cream cone and reminisced over the two hour event; 23 miles of road to scale four thousand feet of altitude. The speed limit was 15 MPH to 25 MPH… you do the math. Hair-pin turns, no-railing-drop offs, and mountain wildlife made the journey timeless. This was what some would call a “Life-event.” Birthdays, marriages, deaths, graduations, and scaling a 14er.

The mortgage industry is another life-event. We have scaled the proverbial Mt. Evans before. We had our collective breaths taken away with regulation and scandal, and we came back to the base at ground level. Change.

Humidity to arid desert. Low mortgage rates to high rates. The analogies are abundant. I am sure everyone can imagine and relate a special life-event and parallel it to your profession. I do it often. I do it because the lessons I learn and the feeling of exhilaration is incredibly stimulating and inspiring. So I share this life-event to inspire you to look at where you are at in your life and profession, and wonder if you have ever climbed the professional accomplishment of Mt .Evans. Have you closed a loan for a client that took your breath away? Have you saved a foreclosure? Have you allowed a homeowner to remodel for the new baby in their life? What can you do to strive to be a 14er in your business? Step back and be inspired. You, the reader, inspire me to write this, I hope I inspire you to climb!

Cheers!

Stewart Mednick Official

MEMBER

TheNicheReport.com

9

The Stated Loan Program: a silent killer

by Neill Fendly

T

here is a practice occurring coast to coast and border to border that can potentially affect thousands of unsuspecting Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers as it relates to mortgage fraud. More specifically this epidemic relates to a very precise set of circumstances that number in the millions. In fact, over the last year an epidemic of prosecution has erupted against Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers that is unparalleled in the history of our industry. Think about the monstrous rolling stone bearing down on Indiana Jones – but Indiana knew what was after him, and those in the industry do not.

I am talking about the millions of stated loans that have been originated over the last decade and the ticking time bomb inside each one. If you, as a Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer, have ever originated a stated loan, then you are at risk for prosecution resulting in federal prison time, fines and full restitution to lenders for their loss. The fines and restitution can end up in the millions, effectively ruining a financial future, while the prison time can derail your life forever as you become an identified felon. Many

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July 2012

innocent Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers are being blindsided and wrongfully convicted.

Who is at risk and why? Again, if you are a Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer who ever originated a stated income mortgage loan, whether it is prime or alt A, then you are at risk. You need to be aware of how to protect yourself and your family should you find yourself being questioned by the FBI with respect to one of these loans.

While every situation is different, this is a typical example of what happens and how the story unfolds. A stated loan goes into default and foreclosure ensues. As part of the process the quality control team/fraud team, or similar group from the current servicer, checks the stated income against filed tax returns and discovers the income is overstated. It almost always is – and thus the loan is fraudulent. Studies have shown that in over 90% of all stated loans the borrower’s income was significantly exaggerated, and in over 60% of the loans the stated income was more than doubled by the borrower.

At this point a Suspicious Activity Report, or SAR, is filed with the FBI and the FBI opens an investigation. The first step the FBI takes is usually to contact the borrower and ask them to come to their office for a discussion. They

are usually led to believe they are not in trouble, but rather the FBI is looking for additional information regarding the lender, Mortgage Broker or the Loan Officer. Keep in mind this is not a court of law and statements made and questions asked in any format, whether truthful or not, are fair game for the FBI investigators.

During the course of the meeting the stated income aspect of the loan comes up and the borrower is asked if the income was correct given the actual tax returns. The borrower admits that the income on the application was not correct and was in fact elevated to gain loan approval.

Then comes the big question. Did your loan officer assist you in coming up with a stated income number that would allow you to qualify? Remember, this is a borrower who is already facing economic challenges, thus the foreclosure, and is no doubt very concerned if not outright scared now that they are in an FBI office being questioned about this fact.

Predictably the borrower implicates the loan officer, whether true or not, and tries to be perceived as “cooperating” with the FBI to mitigate their own responsibility as an uneducated and unsophisticated borrower.

Very shortly thereafter the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer is called and asked to meet with the FBI to help them clarify facts with respect to the borrower and his fraudulent mortgage loan application. The loan officer will be questioned extensively as to whether he thought the stated income provided by the borrower was accurate, and whether they did a lot of stated loans, etc. However as this questioning goes on the loan officers frequently ends up implicating themselves, as they now realize the borrower has stated they provided the income figure, and are completely unprepared for this type of meeting with the FBI. The tack frequently taken is if, in fact, the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer is innocent, they still should have known the income was bogus and did not

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do their due diligence by rejecting the application. This is where it gets real sticky, even when the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer adhered to the underwriting guidelines. Part of virtually every prosecution in these types of cases is that beyond guilt or innocence, the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer should have known, given their experience, that the income stated by the borrower was inflated and therefore they should have refused to participate in the loan.

The ongoing investigation may turn up other stated loans with that lender and the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer, and they may or may not become part of a widening investigation depending on the performing status of those loans. The Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer and borrower are both indicted for several counts of mortgage fraud, facing up to 30 years in federal prison and full restitution of the entire loan(s) amount and a large fine. The lender, who frequently enabled all this, even educating and encouraging the Loan Officer, is never pursued and instead takes the position of the good guy who has been significantly damaged by the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer and the borrower. In other words the FBI goes after all the easy low-hanging fruit and ignores the lender, as they have millions of dollars’ worth of attorneys on staff and their success against them in these specific types of cases has been very limited.

Almost immediately there is pressure by the prosecution on the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer and the borrower to plead guilty, accept responsibility and get a more favorable sentence. Frequently they are told there will be no other prosecution for other stated loans that may be questioned in the future if they plead guilty now. The longer a defendant waits to plead the less likely a better deal becomes.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Federal Court, it operates differently from state courts. First of all, and many attorneys will completely agree, you become guilty until proven innocent. After all, this is the FBI that investigated the circumstances and that holds pragmatic sway in federal court in the aftermath of the mortgage meltdown fueled by fraud. Secondly the “Federal Sentencing Guidelines” are in play, and variance from those guidelines is a hard-fought legal battle. The longer the accused waits, the more difficult it becomes to get a variance. To a significant extent the deck is stacked. The guidelines provide a reference table that is driven by the amount of fraud, how many counts exist, the category level it falls into, and the fine is also driven by this guide. If you would like to see this guideline go to http://www.ussc.

gov/Guidelines/2011_guidelines/index.cfm and http:// www.ussc.gov/Guidelines/2011_Guidelines/Manual_ HTML/5a_SenTab.htm All too often by the time a Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer hires legal representation it is usually deep into the process, the individual has pled guilty, and most of the legal efforts are directed towards mitigating restitution.

Please don’t misunderstand me – if as a Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer you engaged in this kind of fraudulent behavior you face serious prison time, fines and restitution.

However there are many innocent individuals who have found themselves buried in an indictment on the word of an “unsuspecting and unsophisticated” borrower who is trying to shift all accountability to the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer. These are almost always loans that were originated during the financial mortgage bubble, and there are literally millions of them, with a very high percentage of those going into default and foreclosure. Again, if you ever originated a stated loan of any kind you are at risk regardless of your guilt or innocence.

What to do……………? If you receive one of those calls from the FBI asking you for an interview you have viable options as follows: 1. You need to immediately contact your attorney. If you don’t have an attorney, find one that has experience in the mortgage fraud arena on a federal level.

2. If you agree to an FBI interview, make sure that your attorney is present and you have thoroughly discussed options, possibilities and potential positions.

3. Never – Never – Never make statements such as, “Everyone was doing it,” or “The lender, their Underwriter or Account Executive taught me how to do it,” or that you did nothing wrong at the time.

4. Be prepared for the worst. Track down all of the information on the stated loan/foreclosure in question, and familiarize yourself as best as possible with that

transaction.

5. If you are indicted follow your attorney’s instructions to the letter, and understand you are being indicted because it is believed by the FBI there is sufficient evidence to convict you.

6. Most attorneys, even those who defend mortgage fraud, don’t understand how the market was operating at the time from origination to the sale of Mortgage-Backed Securities. You might consider hiring a mortgage expert to help level the playing field with respect to wholesale errors, lender fraud, foreclosure fraud and secondary market transactions. Remember, the foreclosing entity that turned in the report to the FBI is looking for full restitution including all additional foreclosure fees – and that can add up very quickly.

7. You absolutely must be very careful as to what you say in any subsequent conversation with your family, friends and coworkers. Statements have a way of coming back and finding their way into evidence to your detriment.

For those individuals who have done stated loans and have not been questioned by the FBI, you should have a plan of action in place and an attorney identified should it become necessary.

What makes the above so difficult is that, once again, studies have shown that in over 90% of all stated loans the borrower’s income was exaggerated, and in over 60% of the loans the income was more than doubled. You must be aware and vigilant as the federal courts are full of these types of cases and the end result all too often is devastation for the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer: potential longterm sentences with restitution and fines that can run into the millions depending on the loan(s). Additionally, federal prison, unlike state prison, allows little if any time off for good behavior.

I highly urge you to be vigilant and prepared, and don’t take any of the above lightly. Your future and your family’s future depend on it. These types of situations are going to continue for years as mortgage lenders try to obtain restitution for the foreclosures occurring under the stated loan products created by the industry.

Neill Fendly is a 30 year mortgage veteran with extensive retail and wholesale experience. He owns Mortgage Defense, Inc. and for over a decade has provided both expert witness testimony in federal and state related mortgage fraud cases and related mortgage consultant services. 704-574-0364.

Hard Money’s New Softer Name: Private Money by timi pereira

I

f you go to any search engine on the web and type in “private money” or “hard money,” you get ads such as:

- Commercial R/E Loans – Direct Lender. Fast. Flexible in-House Underwriting - Cash Advance- One hour cash advance – Wired Quickly To Your Bank Account – Approvals in Seconds - Private Money Investors…

- Hard Money – commercial hard money loans, bad credit score, no income, debt consolidation

Typically, hard money loans are funded by private investors’ funds. These loans are identified with the softer term, “private money.”

Since private investors/lenders are individuals, profitsharing plans, and corporations, they control the lending criteria. Private investors lend through brokers in order to get interest rates above the legal rate; otherwise, usury laws are applied.

Although private money lending can be utilized for all types of loans, including personal ones, private investors prefer to be secured by residential or commercial real estate properties. In regard to disclosures, hard money lenders are not excluded from Federal and State laws governing residential real estate for 1-4-unit owner and non-owner occupied dwellings.

The due diligence on a property, title report, borrower’s income verification and credit, along with underwriting rules and appraisals, are all based on the broker’s and/or private investor’s criteria. Although, these internal rules are necessary to ensure investment dollars are secured as much as possible, mortgage real estate brokers and investors dictate the rules, especially when it comes to commercial hard money loans where no federal regulations apply.

Over the years, the regulations have tightened on 1-4 residential loans, especially with the signing of the DoddFrank legislation into law. Private money loan companies are focusing on non-owner occupied and business purpose loans, construction, land, commercial, lines of credits and bridge loans.

Focus is drawn to non-owner occupied singlefamily properties, where the borrower is an individual instead of a limited liability company that invests in rental properties. A loan with an individual borrower with a non-owner occupied property may be construed as a consumer under the rules governing them. A Good

Faith Estimate form must be given to that borrower, even if he/she signs a Certificate of Business Purpose Loan disclosure. In addition, an NMLS license must be obtained in order to arrange 1-4 non-owner occupied loans. For more information visit: http://mortgage. nationwidelicensingsystem.org/Pages/default.aspx Commercial hard money/private money loans can be fixed rates, adjustable or step rates/graduated payment loans, where the interest or payment amount changes.

They are excluded from regulations typically governing institutional investors loans for FNMA, Freddie Mac, and residential loans of one to four units.

A private money loan is primarily asset-based financing; in other words, a borrower’s credit on a commercial loan is not as important as the asset or multiple real estate assets that are cross-collateralizing the loan for additional security to the investors.

Commercial properties include apartments over five units, hotels, motels, industrial, golf courses, shopping centers, strip malls, office and retails, and mixed-use properties. The loan is secured by the real estate. Borrowers sign the promissory note, securing the mortgage or deed of trust on the property with the investors’ names as beneficiaries. The mortgage or deed of trust is notarized and then recorded in the county where the property is located.

Some states have specific requirements when using more than one investor in a loan. For example, in the state of California, no more than ten individual investors can be in a single loan. A loan having multiple investor interests is called “fractionalized”; it is where each investor funds a portion of the loan. To service the loan, a fractionalized loan requires a real estate broker licensed by the California Department of Real Estate.

When originating hard money loans funded by private investors, another area for real estate brokers to earn income besides points and fees higher than conventional loans, is to do the loan collections and servicing of the loans. The more loans they service, the higher the residual income earned from servicing fees. This can be calculated either as a) percentage between 1-2% multiplied by the unpaid principal balance of the loan, b) flat fee per loan and per investor, and/or c) participating in the interest with the investor; i.e., the borrower pays 14% interest, the investor gets 12%, and the broker/servicer keeps the difference of 2% interest. Sweet!

A broker/servicer also participates in splitting late TheNicheReport.com

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charges, prepayment penalties with the investor(s), demand fees, reconveyance and NSF fees.

Tom Johnson at A.S.K. Investments Inc. in Stanton, Calif. comments on the issue stating, "I have never foreclosed on a borrower in the past 17 years in business.

I always work with my borrowers to assist them in keeping the loans paid and my investors happy."

This is one of the benefits of dealing with hard money lenders directly; hard money lenders are more lenient than the banks when dealing with similar scenarios where the borrower falls behind with payments.

For years, private investor loans have provided a service to borrowers with bad credit, who are unemployed, for people who are sick needing to pull funds from the equity of their home to survive, and for borrowers wanting to invest in new businesses by using their home equity. Dodd-Frank and the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 2010 have limited traditional hard money brokers from utilizing private investors’ funds to assist such borrowers, resulting in

them having limited options of credit. Nowadays, private money lenders are mostly focusing on commercial hard money loans with minimum regulations as opposed to 1-4 owner occupied properties. Meanwhile, banks are still rejecting loans because of borrower credit-worthiness, the value of the property, and if the purpose of the loan doesn’t exactly fit the bank's cookie-cutter criteria.

Commercial hard money loans may offer higher interest rates for investors, but originators get to enjoy higher points and fees. On the other hand, borrowers with equity in their properties will find their loans approved while the purpose for the funds will not hinder their ability to obtain a loan with a process that is overall less of a hassle.

The author, Timi Pereira, has 25+ years experience in software development for the private money lending industry.

She can be reached at (916) 939-7083 or emailed at timi@ goldenomega.net, www.goldenomega.net.

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Legal Abuse Syndrome and Foreclosure Fraud Look for these symptoms

by Brian Mahany

U

ntil a client sent us a clipping today, I had never heard the term “Legal Abuse Syndrome.” If you look in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, you won’t find the term. Not Yet. The DSM is the official “blue book” used by mental health professionals. Whereas many of the CEOs of major banks and lenders probably qualify as sociopaths, we now have a title for those suffering from their heavy-handed tactics.

Dr. Karin Huffer even wrote a book about the disorder entitled, Overcoming the Devastation of Legal Abuse Syndrome. Although I have yet to read her book, I certainly will. In fact, it probably should become required reading for judges and lawyers involved in foreclosure cases.

Here is what Dr. Huffer writes: ”If you are deeply disillusioned and feeling oppressed as an American citizen, resulting from experience with our justice system, you may be suffering from Legal Abuse Syndrome.

If you’ve been a litigant in court and justice was not to be obtained at any price, you may be suffering from Legal Abuse Syndrome.

If you fantasize about an act of vigilante vengeance because it seems like the only resource, you may be suffering from Legal Abuse Syndrome.

If you feel numb, disconnected, and vulnerable, you may be suffering from Legal Abuse Syndrome.

If you feel that the ‘system’ will defeat you at every turn and there is nothing you can do about it, you may be suffering from Legal Abuse Syndrome.”

Sadly, many foreclosure victims exhibit these symptoms.

Homeowners who have been battling big banks for 4 and 5 years, always in fear of losing their home. Homeowners 20

July 2012

who didn’t miss a payment but are in foreclosure because the lender says it didn’t receive their payment. Homeowners who improperly had the locks changed on their home only to be told a day later that they could return.

One lawyer wrote in her book, “Competent, confident, outgoing entrepreneurs are reduced to ‘shell-shocked’ paranoia, unable to make the most basic decisions. Polite, law-abiding individuals are transformed into raging extremists, after being lulled unsuspectingly in many cases into believing that they will emerge from bankruptcy able to pick up the pieces with a fresh start.”

While the book is not limited to foreclosure cases, those who worry daily about where they will live, and who get put on hold for hours or told for the 42nd time that their loan modification paperwork was not received, are especially prone to suffering from this type of disorder. Foreclosure victims ride an emotional roller coaster, often facing conflicting information and seemingly impossible hurdles to keep their homes. As we have previously noted, some homeowners sadly resort to suicide.

Dr. Heffer claims that Legal Abuse Syndrome is related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We believe her; we see it daily.

Unfortunately many victims and homeowners feel powerless and give up, but homeowners can prevail against big banks.

Brian Mahany is a partner at Mahany & Ertl, a boutique law firm with several offices throughout the country. His firm concentrates on suing large lenders and banks on behalf of homeowners and foreclosure victims. Brian welcomes questions or comments. He can be reached by email at brian@mahanyertl.com.

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10 Tips to Grow Your Real Estate Business with Pinterest

I

am sure you have all heard of the giant baby, Pinterest.

You might already be on its addicted club list (especially if you are a woman) or you may have just heard about it from family, friends, or read about it online.

So, what is Pinterest and why is it getting all this attention from regular users as well as from a lot of marketers? Why as a Real Estate Professional should you jump on board and become an expert at it? Most importantly how can you utilize it to grow your real estate business? That's what we are looking for at the moment, growing our businesses. Right?

Pinterest is a social image-sharing site that is basically like a virtual bulletin board that allows its users to connect and organize images that are of interest to them.

Despite its young age, Pinterest has grown to be the third-largest Social Media Site on the planet and the fastest-growing site on the web today. It is growing faster than Twitter or Facebook did in their infancy.

According to Mashable, Pinterest drives more traffic to blogs and websites than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. That statistic alone tells us this site is worth

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investing some of your time. But I am not done yet . . . here is what is of the most interest to you. Almost 80% of Pinterest users are college-educated females between the ages of 25 and 34, and I am sure you are aware of the fact that this is also one of the fastest-growing segments of homebuyers. Most of these women are using Pinterest to collect ideas about home decor, interior design, dream homes etc‌. These users are your potential clients and they are all hanging out on Pinterest, each spending an average of 98 minutes a day.

So how can you get on board and utilize this platform as an Internet marketing tool to grow your real estate business?

I know that some Real Estate Professionals are already taking advantage of Pinterest and using it to grow their businesses. I also know that a lot of Realtors are still complete newbies when it comes to Pinterest marketing, so let's talk about some basics and familiarize you with a few terms before we dig into the more advanced stuff.

Pin: An image posted on Pinterest.

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online lead generation Pin board: A collection of different pins posted under one theme.

Repin: Reposting someone else’s Pin or image.

Pinterest is all about pinning images of interest to you that other users can like, comment and repin.

So now let's dig a little bit deeper and talk about how you can use this amazing tool to your benefit. If you look at the definition of a pin in Pinterest you will find: “A pin is an image added to Pinterest. A pin can be added from a website using the Pin It button, or you can upload images from your computer. Each pin added using the Pin It button links back to the site it came from.”

So basically your goal is to be pinning images that are interesting enough and worth getting repinned by other users. The more people that repin your pins or images, the more back links you get to your site or blog. Also, the more likes, comments and repins you receive, the more visibility your pins will get.

So let's talk about how you can get your Pinterest followers’ attention and engage them with your pins: 1) Share high-quality pictures: That is the first thing I want to talk about. Because Pinterest is a visual site it is all about pictures, so pinning high-quality pictures or images will make sense here.

Try to include quality pictures to all of your blog posts and make sure that you target them with the right keywords that users might be searching for. This will make Pinterest index your pins properly on its site.

Don't forget to always put links back to your blog/ website; remember, we want to drive some traffic.

2) Make your Boards interesting: The reason Pinterest is growing this fast is because their users get to share what interests them, pin the places they love visiting, food they enjoy eating and home decor ideas they like! So for your pins to grab that attention, they need to tap into their interests and be worthy for them to repin and engage with.

3) Showcase your listings: Pin high-quality, beautiful pictures of homes you are selling, just like you would do on your website or craigslist, and make sure to include a link back to your website or blog. Make sure that you have the right to share these pictures.

4) Don’t be too much of a self-promoter: Focus more on educating your followers and sharing what they would like to see, like images from a pool design company, interior designs, and home decor websites. This will make people

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online lead generation

more interested in following your pins, and feel that you care about their interests and that you’re not only pinning to promote your listings.

5) Ask your clients to pin pictures of themselves in their new houses and tag you. You can then repin these pictures into a “Happy Clients” Board for example. This is great for social proof and it might drive some interested prospects to your website.

6) Use videos: We talked in a previous article about videos and how powerful they are to your business. Well, Pinterest has a separate section for videos. You can create a video and add a Call to Action in the description or use annotations (check my YouTube article) for the viewers to Pin your videos or follow your Pins on Pinterest.

7) Encourage followers’ engagement: We talked about how likes, comments and repins will help your pins get more authority and visibility. Sometimes even if your pins are super interesting, people still need a little push to engage, and that's fine. Try to include questions in your descriptions like “would you like to have a kitchen like this one?” or “What colors do you like in your bathroom?”

Basically something to encourage them to comment.

You can also include a call to action for them to “like” or “repin”: “if you like this Pin hit the repin button” for example!

8) Optimize your descriptions: When creating a description, make sure that you add the keywords that people might be looking for when searching Pinterest.

Something like “Las Vegas high rise condos” or “Vegas luxury homes.”

You can also use hashtags like #style, #home decoration, #luxury homes…etc, just like you would do with Twitter. You can add as many hashtags as you want – just be careful not to look spammy!

9) Be consistent: Consistency is the key to any online marketing strategy; you want to keep pinning regularly 26

July 2012

and to plan it in your schedule just like you do with any other social media. Momentum will help you grow your followers and their engagement with your pins, which results in more traffic to your site and ultimately more business.

10) Let people know you are on Pinterest: Add Pinterest “Pin it” and “follow” buttons to your blog and/ or website. This will encourage your readers to pin your images and follow your pins on Pinterest.

You can go to Pinterest and choose a button you would like to add to your site. If you are not tech savvy, your developer can install the buttons for you.

After all, Pinterest is a social media site, so be social, try to regularly ‘like’, comment and repin other users’ content. Engage with your followers and use it as a networking tool with businesses from other industries.

A lot of businesses can work side-by-side with real estate agents, so try to use that to promote one another and gain extra visibility and access to more prospects.

Finally, I want to add that the best way to learn is to practice. Get a Pinterest account if you don’t have one yet and start spending few minutes a day browsing around and looking at how other Real Estate Agents are using it for their business.

Chaibia Sarhrou is the founder of CS Social Media, an Online & Social Media Marketing company specializing in direct response marketing techniques in the Real Estate and Mortgage Industries. She regularly speaks to sales teams educating them on monetizing their social media and online marketing efforts. She does this by implementing simple, yet sophisticated strategies that are ready for anyone to use, but many seldom do.

If you have any questions or need help with your social media and online marketing please visit www.cssocialmedia. com and send us your questions.

Memo to the CFPB

Standing outside yelling with cardboard signs hasn’t worked

by Gordon Schlicke

A

s a public service I’d like to make some suggestions to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You might not want to hear from bootson-the-ground people, but since you made us all face the wall at the last hearing, we’d like to be heard. Standing outside yelling with cardboard signs hasn’t worked. We tried to get your attention at the Willard Hotel in the Café du Parc but you were with Barney Frank.

Let’s think about getting borrowers to read loan documents carefully, like Lindsey Lohan reads her Miranda Rights. This may be disappointing to you but people don’t read disclosures or loan documents. They want to go home and watch Wheel of Fortune. I suggest we read all loan documents to them in a loud voice.

We’d have them initial each paragraph just like they do before rolling you into surgery where you have a choice of initialing the form or dying. This solves the most

common complaint against lenders: “No one told me about that.”

The Bureau should require all lenders to have a blackboard. Borrowers would print their definition of fixed and adjustable rate on the board and be graded.

“I‘m sorry Mrs. Schlomovitz, fixed has nothing to do with your dog. Next we’ll take up our new cross-yourheart promissory notes.” Borrowers who score 70 or more qualify for a good faith estimate. Any borrower inquiring about the definition of annual percentage rate would be told: APR is a formula that deploys the nucleatives of cosigns that express the disintermediation of the algebraic function X squared divided by your rate which provides an estimate of your true costs.

Let’s think about loan closing statements too.

Borrowers don’t think in terms of credits and debits and the meaning of poc. They like simple: What Do I Pay and What Do I Get? If they want to know any more than that, look it up and tell them. Nobody ever gives up a new house over a disputed charge. Most closing statements are shown to the borrowers at the same time TheNicheReport.com

27

their Mayflower Van Line is backing into the driveway. A two-column statement means we can avoid legal terms, like pro-rata and recording.

We know you’ve already made up your mind about flat fees. We think this is a good idea if you approve of people selling mortgages from the trunk of their car. If flat-fee lending is approved, Wal-Mart will open a new department with a greeter that approved 75,000 no-doc loans at Countrywide. We’re being treated like all loan offices are crime scenes. The yellow tape should be strung around Congress. Loans don’t fall together by gravity.

Today putting a mortgage loan together is a complicated process; much like a colonoscopy, preparation is the worst part.

To help with deciding the fee issue I suggest we simply add a line to the Good Faith Estimate: “Lender fees will be adjusted according to number of questions you ask. Save money, nod your head and sign. If you have questions you’ll be referred to an attorney who also charges a flat fee. Attorney fees are not regulated so we suggest you shop around for one that is running a special that week.”

I’d like to call to the board’s attention the recent

Supreme Court Decision regarding prohibition of fee splitting found in RESPA, a law that proves no law is ever worthless – it can always be used as a bad example.

Section Eight provided enough work for lawyers to build entire legal firms specializing in its interpretations. Finally, somebody decided to do something about it.

The Supremes were asked to read the regulation to clarify whether fees can be split. For 30 years we’ve been told

by HUD that any loan officer caught splitting a fee with anyone else would be tied upside down to the air ducts in the basement of the Department of Justice. The Supremes, over a lunch of smoked maple salmon sandwiches on pumpernickel from Peacock Alley nearby (hosted by the FBI), decided that HUD’s wording allowed lenders to split their fees internally.

The court is going to have to send a memo directly to HUD so the ruling can be officially denied, and yet another Mortgagee Letter issued telling us that since the Supremes did not defer to their definition, it’s not fair they have to defer to the court’s decision. Don’t start changing your accounting system too soon.

Gordon Schlicke is a mortgage trainer in Seattle. He can be reached at gordy7114@msn.com or (206) 782-6839.

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Is There a Way to Immediately Increase Volume?

by Ralph LoVuolo, sr

W

hy is this question asked so often? Why is it so hard for people to figure out?

Why don’t we all see what is right in front of us?

The question I’m asked more often than any other question is, “Hey Ralph, can you tell me an easy way to immediately produce some business?”

Then I ask back, “Do you really mean it, or are you just looking for some magic bullet, some way that won’t require any real work, some way to make your phone ring while you don’t have to change anything you do?” Most of my clients, especially when they are new trainees, say they are ready to do “whatever” to put new loans in their pipeline.

Before I address this issue, I want all of you to know that the answer needs to be pursued in a larger context.

Sure, there is a way to increase business immediately. But after you start to do the simple and direct marketing ideas I will address here, will you continue to incorporate them in a long-range plan? Do you enjoy the hills and valleys that most of you live by – marketing, producing, processing, closing – then starting the cycle all over again? Of course

you don’t. So let’s remember that after we discuss how to do the short-range production plan, it needs to be incorporated in a long-term plan.

Short-term shots in the arm can produce long-range results, but only if the person doing the shooting has a serious desire to succeed in the long term. Losing focus on the target of success and not following through will still lead to incomplete success. Hence highs and lows will persist. I am a firm believer that the highs and lows can be avoided, but only with a conscious enactment of a longrange plan. Ok, enough, let’s get to it!

Although previously stated by me in much of my writing and coaching, it is worthy of continued explanation; there really is a simple answer.

In the past when facing this dilemma, I have called on one of the people I trust the most, and always got the same answer.

The answer centered on this: there are people in this world who succeed every day, just by getting up in the morning. They have an innate ability to do the things, perform the actions that are necessary to produce business on a regular basis. You too can be successful. You just need to know that you can do whatever you desire to do, TheNicheReport.com

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and then do it, don't just think about it! First, change your attitude. Be positive, aggressive, personable and professional. This is the first and most important thing that every successful salesperson does. If you don’t believe you can, then you can’t. no more words needed!

MORE PERSONAL HISTORY Many years ago, I was sitting at my desk thinking of ways to help motivate both my salespeople and myself. I was looking for a way to immediately increase the volume of business that we were doing. The phone wasn’t ringing, deals weren’t coming in the door and I was losing focus. I did what I knew would be helpful. I called one of my close friends, Don Henig. Don is someone who I have always known as a positive, innovative thinker and doer. When we

How we see it

started to talk, he sensed immediately that there was more to my need than just to take some simple action.

We spent some time discussing the volume of business that each salesperson was doing in relation to what they had done in the past. I kept using the depressed Real Estate market as the reason for the fall-off in business. If that were true, he said, then every Loan Officer would never succeed.

There are plenty of Loan Officers who are doing better and better every day. It starts with their attitude. Those who are doing well are feeding off their successes. Success breeds success. We discussed the time-honored way to get appointments and write business. Call your most recent clients and ask for a referral. Remember, if the phone isn’t ringing, you aren't calling someone. The phone rings on both ends. He told me what I had forgotten.

YOUR PAST CLIENTS This is the most obvious business source that salespeople miss. I know you’re familiar with the old adage that your best source of business is past clients, but what do you actually do about that? Do you have a database for them? Do you keep in touch with them? Easy for me to say, hard for you to do.

Start getting together your most recent client list. Call them. This market is the best it’s been in decades. If they don’t need you, I’ll bet they know someone who does.

People are again talking about the one thing in America that is good right now.

YOUR BUSINESS CARD COLLECTION Here is a more specific plan. Most Loan Officers collect business cards as if they were going to open a shop to sell them. You constantly look for ways to use the cards you have collected. If you were to go through my personal collection, you’d find business cards that are thirty and more years old. Well, truth be told, I’ve put the information in a database and do my best to keep it up to date. My personal choice is to use the address book in my MacBook-Pro. Old business cards and the information they contain for Real Estate Salespeople are a penny a dozen. It has been common for Real Estate Salespeople to change jobs often.

Track them down and remind them of the good times you had together, the deals you helped them close. Tell them you’ve got some new ideas for them to increase THEIR business.

TWO OPTIONS WITH REFERRAL SOURCES Go through your old cards. Two possibilities will immediately come to mind.

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One: You will be reminded of people with whom you have lost touch, who previously referred business to you.

Call them! Today! Remind them of your previous successes.

Remind them of your business acumen. Let them know that they were a key reason for your business success. Don't hang up the phone until you have done two things. Ask them when it would be convenient for you to stop by to see them. Ask them if they have any clients that need your service right now. Tell them that when you stop by their office you are going to bring them an idea that will help THEM increase their business. In addition, in return for giving them an idea to help them, you’re going to ask for two referrals, so if they wouldn't mind, could they jot down a couple of notes about two prospects.

Two: The second possibility is that you now know where old referral sources are working; yet you still have their old business card. Why not find someone who can make a plastic encasement for the old card? Sometimes, if you have been to a convention, there are companies there who will perform that service for you. If you haven't been to a convention, it's a good bet that your boss or someone else in the office has been. Call that company and request that they encase the old cards that belong to your old referral sources. After you have done this, take the cards with you to visit the people who used to refer business to you. If you feel uncomfortable about making the visit, remember, they did business with you before, and, like an old comfortable pair of shoes, you will fit right in again. Another way is to mail the old business card along with a short note that says "Remember When?" Then you must follow up that mailing with a phone call to set up an appointment. It’s important to remember to let them know that you’ve got an idea for them to increase their business.

FOR NEW SALESPEOPLE If you’re new to the business, you could do one of two other things. You might partner with a more experienced Loan Officer to produce old business cards, and thereby work out a split commission arrangement. Or you might have old business cards for friends and relatives who have changed jobs or moved up in their organization.

All of these are reasons to make connections with people and are natural conversation breakers.

THE QUESTION THAT IS ON YOUR MIND What ideas can you give people to help them do more business? I’m not going to be coy here. I’ll give you three right now

1- Have the realtor do the same thing you’ve just been reminded of. Put together a database of past clients and market to that group regularly.

2- Work with you to put together a series of seminars.

3- Work with you to develop an affinity set of companies to offer help to their employees.

The ideas written here are wonderful possibilities, but not if you don't make it your life’s practice to call on your clients in a regular and disciplined way.

Ralph LoVuolo, Sr. is President of Mortgage Motivator, a consulting firm on the cutting edge of the mortgage business.

Armed with over 45 years of experience in the mortgage industry, he can help your people achieve their true potential.

LoVuolo Sr. is one of the founding fathers of the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers and a two-term president.

Additionally, he served as Parliamentarian for six years on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. He can be reached at ralph@mortgagemotivator.com, or visit him at http://www.mortgagemotivator.com

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What Is Marketing Depth?

BY Chris jones

I

just reached 800 friends on Facebook. Some of you are scoffing, and some are incredulous that I would have 800 people that would admit to being acquainted with me, and some are shaking your heads and saying “what on earth for?” It is that question I would like to repeat to you, and to amplify.

So you have thousands of followers on Twitter and hundreds of Facebook friends. What for? According to Pew Associates research, the average Facebook user has 245 friends. But according to Cornell, the average Facebook user has a lot fewer real friends, people they could call for a place to stay, or to borrow money; MUCH fewer. How many do they have? Two. This mirrors what we see in business marketing and communications. If you’re anything like me, you get three ads a day for how to gussy up our business on Facebook

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or get another 2,500 Twitter followers. The emphasis is on breadth of communication, reaching as many people as possible. Now, if your plan this year is to generate 1,000 mortgage loans, you might not have a lot of choice.

You’re either going to go big, or you’re not going to get there. For the rest of us, who are comfortable (even a little excited) with a tenth of that production, perhaps we should focus on going in the other direction. We should be marketing Depth.

What is marketing Depth? It’s the conversation, not the contact. It’s not handing someone a business card; it’s getting a card from someone, holding it in your hand, really reading it, and asking a question of the person that gave it to us. It’s soliciting information from people and actually paying attention to what we get from it. It is focusing outward, not inward.

The mortgage market is decent. It’s better than it was, from a competitive standpoint. But it’s not 2005 and it isn’t going to be, ever again (especially considering the direction Washington is going). But the time it

takes to do a loan is greater than it’s ever been. There are more potential pitfalls to navigate, more deal-killers to dodge. Successfully overcoming those things requires depth of relationship. You have to know the people you’re working with and have a relationship that will survive the inevitable day when underwriting tells you it will be another week before they get to your file.

How do you develop that relationship? How do we market depth?

We as humans used to do this instinctively. We seek connection naturally. When your five-year-old is jumping on the trampoline, they don’t say “text me!” They say “look at me!” They want what the gurus call “presence.”

Give them a part of yourself, notice them and pay attention to them. Your borrowers – heck, your potential borrowers – want the same thing.

It’s not just because it makes the transaction go smoother. There is mounting evidence that part of the payoff of the transaction is the personal relationship that develops through the process, and that people who do not get that personal relationship are less satisfied with the outcome, even if it is exactly what they wanted.

Even more, what we have to remember is that one transaction is worth a few thousand dollars to us; one fan is worth tens of thousands. You cannot get a fan from posting rates to Facebook, no matter what you may think.

Fans are made by real interaction and outstanding service.

But think about the outstanding service you’ve had (assuming you’ve actually had some recently, which may not be so). What did it consist of, beyond a real person investing time to make sure you got what you needed?

Was it any more complicated than someone investing some time in you?

Good service is what makes fans. Good products are important, yes, but again, in this industry the product isn’t the money we lend. That’s the same from originator to originator, within really small parameters. The important difference – our actual product – is in ourselves. That’s why they call mortgages a “service industry.” Our product IS service.

We need to concentrate at least as much time on development as on prospecting. I realize there are fewer measurable results here (at least on the surface), but it’s critically necessary to doing our jobs well, and there are ways to measure interaction as well as “friends.” This

is where networking lunches and client-appreciation barbecues – and really outdated tools like handwritten notes and an occasional phone call – do their stuff. The modern world has forgotten this, but the average person still puts more faith in a handshake than a tweet. Still, even with our excellent communications networks, more than 90% of word-of-mouth referrals happen offline. No joke.

Social media channels have their place, and they bring you in contact with a lot of people. How many of them are you having actual communication with, where you share with each other and allow a relationship to grow? That’s the metric we should be paying attention to, not just how many followers we have. That builds depth, and depth is what allows us to withstand storms. In every deal, in every industry, in every era, the storms are inevitable. Being broken by them, however, is not.

It’s not complicated. But it requires time and effort.

You can still use social media, and in fact you probably should, but that’s the white bread of the deal. Put some meat in that sandwich. Pick up the phone.

Chris Jones, branch manager with City First Mortgage Services, is a nine-year industry professional in brokering and banking, with a background in financial services, national politics and Main Street entrepreneurialism. He is the author of the forthcoming book, The Six Channels of Marketing, available in January. Chris lives in Lehi, Utah, with his wife, Jeanette, and their eight children, and can be found at www.lehimortgages.com, cjones@city1st.com or (801) 8503781.

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Realtor® Marketing Secrets Secret #1: Develop your unique value proposition

BY doren aldana

W

hen it comes to attracting referral partners, you've got lots of options. There are financial planners, accountants, lawyers, etc. So why bother marketing to Realtors? That's a good question!

Here are five unique advantages worth considering: 1. They have high referral capacity.

According to a recent survey, 85% of the homes sold in the US are sold through a Realtor. Furthermore, at least 70% of homebuyers need a mortgage. What does all that mean?

Simply put, Realtors hold the keys to the castle when it comes to capturing purchase business. They're in direct contact with more buyers than any other referral partner out there.

Think about it for a moment. What other potential referral partner do you know of that has a higher capacity to send you more purchase business than Realtors? Exactly.

Not to mention the fact that if you don't partner with Realtors, your only other option for capturing purchase business is to market directly to consumers – which usually involves the much more costly, painstaking process of mass 34

July 2012

marketing, otherwise known as "spraying and praying."

2. They have high influence. They're the go-to trusted advisor for homebuyers and are in a position to endorse and recommend other service providers – such as you – whom that client may need to complete the transaction.

Since these clients are referred to you, the chances of them "rate shopping" go down dramatically.

3. They are contacted first. Homebuyers usually call the Realtor before they call their mortgage professional. Put another way, the Realtor is a little bit higher up on the totem pole in terms of the order in which your respective services are utilized. If it were the other way around, Realtors would be banging down your door to work with you.

4. They have "buyer bait." What are homebuyers looking for? They're looking for properties for sale! Who has properties for sale? The Realtors! So the super-bait for a motivated homebuyer is, and always will be, listings. Let's take it one step further. What if you could help Realtors increase their listings? Increase not only the number of listings but also the quantity of buyer leads for each listing.

Now you no longer have to wait, hope, and pray for the odd crumb to be thrown your way. Instead, you're a "partner" who has full permission to follow-up on every

single buyer lead who inquires on the Realtor's listings.

Now that's working smart!

5. They need YOU. Every Realtor – especially top producers – needs a mortgage professional on their team to help them gain more control of their clients' experience.

They need a mortgage advisor who knows what they're doing, who doesn't just meet expectations but exceeds them and consistently creates raving fans who send more referrals and repeat business. The Realtor needs you – a true professional who can get the job done, while providing counsel and advice every step of the way.

As you can see, the purchase market is the most reliable source of mortgage transactions. And out of all the other referral sources, Realtors are the highest leverage, most profitable source of hot, motivated homebuyer leads and, therefore, provide an unparalleled opportunity to penetrate the purchase market with the least amount of time, energy and money.

The question is, how do you capitalize on this opportunity? Well, before we get into all the finer details on exactly what to do, let's take a moment to address the elephant in the room...

Why Realtors® Hate Mortgage Brokers and How to Set Yourself Apart as an Irreplaceable Team Member.

It’s true. Most Realtors are absolutely repulsed by the typical mortgage broker who shows up unannounced at their open house or calls them up cold asking for referrals.

They’re sick and tired of the same old song and dance about “great rates” and “great service.” They get the gag reflex every time a mortgage agent shows up at their office with rate sheets and doughnuts. It’s a classic case of marketing incest: everyone’s doing the same thing with ever-decreasing results!

If you’re starting to feel used and abused by bossy, arrogant Realtors who only send you a crap deal every once in a while (which is almost impossible to close) and still expect you to be on call 24/7, then it’s high time you started providing some unique value. Think about it for a moment.

Give me one reason why a Realtor should recommend you over any and every other mortgage professional out there.

I’ve got news for you…

If you don’t have a clear, concise, well-articulated unique selling proposition, you are by default, a replaceable commodity.

Today’s Realtors are looking for a mortgage professional

How we see it

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with more than just great rates and excellent service – that’s a baseline expectation. They want someone who understands their biggest challenges and is willing to go the extra mile to deliver unique solutions.

Now, the question begging to be asked is, “What is the #1 biggest challenge every Realtor faces?” No, it’s not that they need better financing options, lower rates, snazzier feature sheets or a better economy. The single most important factor to their success in any market is their ability to attract quality listings and sell them FAST at top dollar! Period. That’s it! As simple as that sounds, very few Realtors ever unlock this mystery. The rare few who do, become the envy of the entire industry, enjoying an income most only dream about.

What if you – the mortgage professional – could address this #1 challenge by providing your Realtors with a selection of highly effective tools, systems and templates, specifically designed to help them attract more quality listings and sell them fast, for top dollar? Would that set you apart from the pack? Would that give you a greater position of strength? Would it make you irreplaceable?

You better believe it, baby!

In fact, if you’re able to provide this kind of unique value, you’ll have Realtors banging down your door to do business with you and endorse you to all their clients.

What a refreshing change that would be!

OK, are you ready for me to hand you my very best, most effective Realtor marketing tools, systems and strategies, guaranteed to generate a flood of red-hot Realtor referrals?

If so, let’s giddy-up and get going…

How to Win Realtors’® Hearts and Coveted Referrals for Life Throughout this article series, I am going to share several powerful strategies on how to set yourself apart from the pack and become an irreplaceable asset on your Realtor’s team. You’re going to learn how to be a refreshingly welcome guest (instead of an unwelcome pest) and have Realtors be open and receptive to you, eager to hear you out, compelled to work with you, and most importantly, committed to sending you referrals.

As I mentioned earlier, today’s Realtors are looking for a mortgage professional with more than great rates and excellent service. That’s what they expect as a minimum standard of performance. They also want someone who understands their biggest challenges, someone who takes the time to ask them the important questions, and digs 36

July 2012

deeper than the service level to identify their pain points, challenges, frustrations, and the things that keep them up at night.

It’s important that you find out, first and foremost, what those challenges, frustrations, anxieties, and pain points are. Next, you need to provide unique solutions to resolve those challenges for them.

Realtors want someone who is eager, able, and willing to help them attract more quality listings and sell them fast, for top dollar. Let’s face it, if a Realtor is serious about making big money, the path of least resistance will always be through attracting and selling quality listings. Yeah, you can make a few bucks being a buyer’s agent, but the big money is in having and selling listings. That is where you have control of the transaction; that’s where you’re able to make double-end commissions. That is where you’re able to attract a slew of buyer leads that can be monetized as buyers and/or sellers. The lion’s share of the cash has always been and always will be in having and selling listings.

You will win the hearts of Realtors if you’re able to help them to first, attract more quality listings, and second, get more buyer leads for those listings so they’re able to sell them faster for top dollar. Based on the law of large numbers, the more buyer leads they generate for each listing, the higher the likelihood they will stimulate a bidding war and get a quick sale at – or above – asking price. If you’re able to show them how to do that more effectively and efficiently, then I don’t care if they’ve been married to their mortgage broker for 20 years; they’re going to be eager to hear you out and in many cases, do business with you!

Now the pregnant question is, “How the heck do you help Realtors attract and sell more quality listings?”

I’m glad you asked. In my next article, I’ll reveal the four best ways to capture buyer leads and how you can set up an automated marketing system to fill your pipeline with more buyer leads than you can handle! Stay tuned… • Doren Aldana is considered by many to be nation's leading Mortgage Marketing Coach. Since 2005, he has been dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort, regardless of market conditions.

For a free online workshop on "How to Turn Your Realtors' Listings into a Flood of Red-Hot Mortgage Leads," visit: www.

UltimateRealtorMarketingSystem.com

The Start of a Revolution How Shays’ Rebellion Continues Today

BY gary opper

Y

ou might remember from your days in high school history class the tale of Daniel Shays. He was a poor farmhand from Massachusetts who went on to lead a rebellion against the United States government, which he and others felt were imposing crushing debt and taxes. Anyone who failed to pay such debts could end up in debtor’s prison and had their property seized.

Shays and his compatriots sought debt relief through lower taxes and receiving funds from the government.

They attempted to stop the courts from taking their property by forcing the courts in western Massachusetts to close at gunpoint. Shays’ Rebellion caused many citizens to realize that the American Revolution’s attempt at democracy had gone too far. Shays’ mission was to stop the government from penalizing individuals who were unable to pay their debts.

A similar circumstance is occurring in our current real

estate market. Borrowers today are in the same position as Daniel Shays was because they accepted loans with option ARMS or other adjustable loan products that left them unable or unwilling to pay their mortgages. Many borrowers refuse to take responsibility for their actions and expect to have the courts and government intercede due to their poor judgment. They unrealistically believed that their property value and their incomes would continue to rise. Instead of taking responsibility, borrowers are rising up and are fighting back against banks they feel are penalizing homeowners too harshly with fees and costs.

THE BEGINNING When the Revolution broke out, Daniel Shays enlisted in the Continental Army. In 1780, Shays was wounded in battle and chose to resign from the Army, without pay. Upon returning home, he found he had been summoned to court due to nonpayment of his debts.

Sadly, this was a situation he had seen all too commonly.

He had even witnessed a sick woman have her bed taken TheNicheReport.com

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out from under her due to her inability to pay debts.

The ultimate instigation of the rebellion began when the European war investors (and others) started demanding to be paid solely in gold or silver, which were scarce in all areas of the new country, not just Massachusetts. So, various wealthy urban businessmen tried to get whatever assets they could from rural landowners. When these individuals were unable to pay, all of their belongings were then confiscated including their homes.

TODAY: Currently, borrowers are facing a similar frightening phenomenon. When sticky situations arise in their lives (i.e., family member illness/loss, personal illness, loss of job, etc.), their budget tends to shrink and oftentimes funds end up being spent in different ways.

Because of these new financial constraints, borrowers feel their lenders should be more understanding and compassionate about their predicaments. They feel lenders should not impose fees and costs for late payments or nonpayment, despite the fact it was the borrower who failed to act in a timely manner to save their home and the lenders actually gave the borrower the money or paid off debts and costs at closing.

Many war veterans were receiving a homecoming like Daniel Shays and were being treated poorly upon their discharge. Some were even forcefully locked in debtor’s prison. Tired of the ill treatment, farmers began to form squads and companies that would halt any confiscations.

They began to face a militia at the courthouse steps, but often became a militia themselves that would frequently side with the veterans and farmers.

Mortified by the resistance, Massachusetts Governor James Bowdoin ordered the legislature to “vindicate the insulted dignity of government.” On September 20, 1786 Daniel Shays took revolutionary action. That day, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts had indicted

11 members of the revolution as “disorderly, riotous and seditious persons.” Fed up with the government’s behavior, Shays led 700 armed farmers (most of them veterans of the American Revolutionary War) to Springfield.

While they marched, their numbers grew and even some of the militia joined their forces. Because of their fortitude, the frightened judges chose to postpone the hearings for a day and then adjourned the court.

Samuel Adams, a cousin of President Adams, helped the government write up a riot act and a resolution that allowed for the authorities to keep the “guilty” parties in jail without being given a trial. The legislators made the farmers even more upset by allowing certain taxes to be paid in gold instead of money, which led the Shaysites to a culminating battle.

TODAY: Playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton coined the phrase, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” When a borrower receives word that their home is in jeopardy of being foreclosed on, oftentimes they will make an agreement with their current lender. If no terms can be agreed on, in order to fight back against the lender, a borrower will hire an attorney to assist in saving their home. To create a delay or stop the foreclosure, the attorney can file an injunction or seek a temporary restraining order. The attorney even has the ability to challenge the validity of the debt in order to cease the foreclosure and sue for possible damages.

While many of these actions are valid against predatory lenders, some attorneys simply try to delay the ultimate loss of the property by foreclosure through questionable defenses. These actions tie up the court system at the time and expense of the judge, the court, the defense attorney and the prosecution. In many cases, the borrower just can’t pay and will eventually lose the property. To the borrower’s benefit, during the time the

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legal fight is occurring, they are allowed to continue to stay in their home without paying their mortgage. Furthermore, judges will often side with the borrower, giving them additional free time in the house by granting them an extension without any legal basis so that they may try again to reach a settlement with a lender.

Several years pass with similar conventions taking place where petitions are sent to the Massachusetts General Court asking for debt and tax relief. In response, protestors begin violently and forcibly shutting down local courts in order to prevent judges from carrying out the debt collections. To combat the Shaysites, Governor Bowdoin sent out an army entrusted to guard the court in order to allow for more property confiscations to take place.

TODAY: Based on the increasing number of foreclosures being filed, borrowers could potentially react similarly to the Shaysites. Their remaining solution to protecting themselves from losing their homes could have us begin to see individuals forming a barrier to block judges from reaching the courthouse. This would, in turn, require the government to provide armed guards (even going as far as sending in state troops) to protect the judges and allow for their entry. Borrowers need to take responsibility and not follow in Shays example.

Veteran Luke Day from West Springfield, Massachusetts received word from Daniel Shays suggesting they unite at the Springfield armory in order to fight off Bowdoin’s army. Day sent a message back letting Shays know he wouldn’t be able to be ready in time for the battle, but the note failed to be received in time. Upon reaching the armory, Shays and his militia were met by General William Shepard who had already commandeered the weapons that were being stored there. Shays and his army headed north, but many of the rebels were captured.

The government fined, jailed and ordered the death of several of the rebels; however, by 1788 a general amnesty had been granted. Therefore, the condemned men were either pardoned or had their death sentences commuted.

Daniel Shays was one of the individuals granted a pardon and returned to live out the remainder of his days in Massachusetts.

The uprising of Daniel Shays and his men had a great impact on the United States. It led to the realization that there needed to be a stronger national government in order to create uniform economic policies and offer protection to property owners from local majority entities that seek to infringe on their rights.

A system needs to be implemented to stop the logjam of foreclosures in the courts. The system needs to be streamlined to determine which borrowers can salvage their homes and which borrowers cannot afford their homes and should vacate promptly so the real estate market can absorb the property. This will facilitate a faster return to normalcy. The system now in place is creating an extended period of time that the court system, the financial markets and the real estate market cannot operate properly. Whether or not the borrower is truly at fault for their current financial predicament, judges will begin to give them a greater number of chances to redeem themselves. This could mean lengthier stays in their property free of charge and continuing chaos in our economy.

Gary Opper is President of Approved Financial Corporation, Weston, Florida. Approved Financial Corporation is a licensed mortgage lender. Mr. Opper has been a Mortgage Lender and Note Buyer since 1984. He is the Managing Member of Levie-Opper, LLC, a mortgage fraud litigation support firm. He is an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University. Also, he does mortgage consulting. He has a CPA and a CFP license. Opper is Past President of the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP) - Miami Chapter and the Florida Institute of CPAs (FICPA) - Gold Coast Chapter. He is a member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, American Institute of CPAs, the FAMP and the FICPA. Mr. Opper was named the NAMB’s “Writer of the Year” and “Featured Writer of the Year” and the FAMP’s “Broker of the Year.” He is president of the Florida International University’s Accounting Alumni Council. Mr. Opper is available to speak to your group. Please contact him to arrange a speech for your event. He may be reached at (954) 384-4557, fax: (954) 384-5483, or e mail: Opper@ApprovedFinancial.com

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keeping up with the jones

stacking goodwill by chris jones

S

top me if you’ve heard this one.

So there was this loan officer, and he was just getting started in his career. He talked to a couple of the more experienced loan officers in the office and they told him that the best way to build a client base was to go to Chamber of Commerce meetings, Rotary meetings, networking meetings, and other community groups and get involved.

So he did this. He went and passed out business cards, chatted with all sorts of people, collected contact information and followed up. All the things you’re supposed to do.

And he got no loans.

It wasn’t that people weren’t interested. They were - sort of. Many times the eyes started to glaze over, and a lot of people were feigning interest while trying not to yawn, but there were also a fair number of people that were genuinely interested in who he was, though not nearly so much in what he did. Let’s face it: mortgages are boring.

Even to people that do them for a living.

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He thought he was a failure. The calendar was full, that’s for sure. He had Rotary meetings and Chamber events and grand openings coming out of his ears. But nobody was calling to do a mortgage.

Thus, he did what we all do. He went into sales mode.

He had mouths to feed, after all. He called aggressively and set appointments and practiced his close tactics. Pretty soon, he had a couple of loans to do – but he also noticed that he was less and less welcome at the events. He wasn’t forbidden, of course, but people not only did not go out of their way to talk with him, they passively avoided him. It was uncomfortable for them and for him.

In depression, he went back to his more experienced colleague and asked what he was doing wrong. And the veteran sat back in his chair and said, “Wait.”

“Wait? Wait for what?”

“Trust me. Stop pressuring people. Just keep sending people your information, keep volunteering for assignments and projects, keep helping people, and wait.”

“I have to eat.”

“You will. But wait.”

So he waited. For a few months. Things were really

keeping up with the jones tight and the family was starting to complain.

And then Ben Bernanke announced a new Fed initiative, and someone called with a mortgage question.

Then a neighbor called. Within a few months, a small but thriving group of clients was proud to have been served by this new loan officer. He hadn’t done anything special, but all of a sudden the phone was ringing. What the heck happened?

What happened is a thing we call “stacking goodwill.”

People want to do loans with people who they know and like. The currency of a good transaction is trust. Trust requires time and goodwill. Reciprocity. Shared experience.

That cannot be built in a day.

Now, it can be borrowed. It can be bought, essentially, with a big name borrowed from others. (This is the celebrity endorsement path. People do it because it works.) For most of us, though, the kind of trust that makes a sale is built organically, over time, with hard work. Work that truly looks like a pointless waste of time, for a good while.

It does, people. But a lot of things, maybe all things that matter, are like this.

I garden. I grow gardens for one purpose.

Eating. I start growing seedlings in February. I plant three times, in March, April, and May. I weed. I water (Utah is a desert, after all). I pray.

And by the end of July, I’m eating salsa. Six months of work, and I still haven’t eaten one mouthful of food from my garden. What a waste of time.

I have eight children, so my wife has been pregnant for six years, all told. Even with the last child, she was pregnant for nine months. You’d think she’d have gotten better at it, wouldn’t you?

Sorry. It takes time. Tomatoes, children, Notre Dame Cathedral, they take time to build and grow.

Friendships, trust, those take time and work. They cannot be hurried. They are built one experience, one project, one conversation at a time.

What the veteran knew that the newbie did not is that the newbie was stacking goodwill. All the time that he was making what he thought were fruitless trips to the Chamber of Commerce meetings and cleaning up after parades with the Rotary Club, he was demonstrating to people the kind of person he is, and the sort of person he would be to do business with. The people that call him now already know

he’s not a fast-talking shyster with his eye on the bottom line, because if he were, he wouldn’t have been up at 5am hiding Easter eggs for the community hunt.

It’s almost as if there’s a bar that a salesman has to clear. Everyone has this bar. If you clear it, then you’ll get the business when it’s time. If you don’t, you won’t.

Some people are natural high jumpers, but for most of us, we have to build a ladder a rung at a time. Remember, just like with gardening, doing 90% of the job means not that you lose some of the sale, it means you lose the whole thing – 99% of the way there means you get nothing.

Stacking goodwill means that you’ll get there eventually. If you just keep going, you’ll make the kinds of connections that lead to being able to help people. They’ll trickle in, and then they’ll come in a flood (usually precipitated by something outside your control. Greece is a fertile source right now). When you’ve stacked enough goodwill, you’ll get loans. You will have earned them.

To us, when we identified this concept, it was incredibly liberating. I realized that I really could just do the right thing, help people and serve and stop worrying about whether I got a deal today. Maybe nothing was ripe. As long as I was weeding and watering, I would get fruit. Then I could ramp up how much I was weeding and watering and know that eventually, I would get even more. It was a miracle.

Be patient, young grasshopper. Do the right thing.

Keep stacking goodwill. Wait. Your time will come, and it will be sweet as the fruit of summer.

Chris Jones is a branch manager with City First Mortgage Services and a ten-year veteran spanning the best and the worst of times in the industry. He is the author of the book Even Your Mother Won’t Call You Back, a primer on how to use the Six Channels of Marketing to do business more naturally and efficiently (available at www. iamchrisjones.com). Chris arrived in mortgages after careers with tech startups, stockbrokering, and running a presidential campaign. He’s a sought-after speaker and a part-time opera singer, which he insists isn’t as impressive as it sounds. Chris and his wife Jeanette live in Lehi, UT with their eight children. He can be reached at 801-850-3781 or at chris@ lehimortgages.com.

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WHAT IS YOUR MORTGAGE IQ?

What's your mortgage IQ? BY karen deis

Have you had a chance to read Fannie’s SEL 2012-4? They have “overhauled” the income and employment verification rules, with over 60 changes.

You may want to check your files in process because these changes went into effect of May 15, 2012. Also, in the latest issue of www.MortgageCurrentcy.com, you’ll find the updated Fannie HARP FAQ’s with 20 updates to previous questions and 2 new questions that you might want to share with underwriters. Oh, and by the way—we reached a milestone-publishing our 100th issue!

Q. Fannie: Borrower owns a commercial property and runs a part-time business from that location. The underwriter wants us to verify 6-months’ cash reserves for the building. What are the rules?

From Fannie (effective 05/24/2011) - Business Debt in Borrower’s Name When a self-employed borrower claims that a monthly obligation appearing on his or her personal credit report is being paid by the borrower’s business, the lender must confirm that it verified that the obligation was actually paid out of company funds, and that this was considered in its cash flow analysis of the borrower’s business.

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The account payment does not need to be considered as part of the borrower’s individual recurring monthly debt obligations if: •

the account in question does not have a history of delinquency,

•

the business provides acceptable evidence that the obligation was paid out of company funds (such as 12 months of canceled company checks), and

•

the lender’s cash flow analysis of the business took payment of the obligation into consideration.

The account payment does need to be considered as part of the borrower’s individual recurring monthly debt obligations in any of the following situations: •

If the business does not provide sufficient evidence that the obligation was paid out of company funds.

•

If the business provides acceptable evidence of its payment of the obligation, but the lender’s cash flow analysis of the business does not reflect any business expense related to the obligation (such as an interest expense—and taxes and insurance, if applicable—equal to or greater than the amount of interest that one would reasonably expect to see given the amount of financing shown on the credit report and the age of the loan), then it is reasonable to assume that the obligation has not been accounted for in the cash flow analysis.

WHAT IS YOUR MORTGAGE IQ? •

If the account in question has a history of delinquency.

To ensure that the obligation is counted only once, the lender should adjust the net income of the business by the amount of interest, taxes, or insurance expense, if any, that relates to the account in question.

Q. Freddie & Fannie: On a HARP loan, can we get MI from companies that have gone out of business?

Yes, both the Open Access and the DU Refi loan programs allow for transferred MI. I am providing the information from the FHLMC selling guide on what to do when an MI company is out of business. Of course, this hinges on whether or not WJ Bradley will participate in this option: Special mortgage insurance delivery requirements: For Relief Refinance Mortgages – Same Servicer, the Seller must complete the MI Code field on the Form 11 or 13SF only if the Mortgage has mortgage insurance coverage.

For such Mortgages, the Seller must deliver the MI code that identifies the Freddie Mac-approved mortgage insurer that is insuring the Mortgage in the MI Code field, as well as completing the other mortgage insurance-related data fields.

Triad Guaranty Insurance Corporation and Freddie Macapproved affiliates (collectively, "Triad"): If the Mortgage being refinanced has a certificate of insurance from Triad, that coverage may be maintained for the Relief Refinance Mortgage – Same Servicer, and that Mortgage is eligible for sale to Freddie Mac. For purposes of delivering Relief Refinance Mortgages – Same Servicer with Triad mortgage insurance, Sellers should deliver MI code "24" in the Form 11 and Form 13SF. Republic Mortgage Insurance Co. and RMIC of North Carolina (collectively, "RMIC"): If the Mortgage being refinanced has a certificate of insurance from RMIC, that coverage may be maintained for the Relief Refinance Mortgage – Same Servicer, and that Mortgage is eligible for sale to Freddie Mac. For purposes of delivering Relief Refinance Mortgages – Same Servicer with RMIC mortgage insurance, Sellers should deliver MI code "13" in the Form 11 and Form 13SF. PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. and its Freddie Mac-approved wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, "PMI"): If the Mortgage being refinanced has a certificate of insurance from PMI and the insurance coverage is continued through modification of the existing mortgage insurance certificate, that coverage may be maintained for the Relief Refinance Mortgage – Same Servicer, and the Relief Refinance Mortgage is eligible for sale to Freddie

Mac. For purposes of delivering Relief Refinance Mortgages – Same Servicer with PMI mortgage insurance, Sellers should deliver MI code "11" in the Form 11 and Form 13SF. If the Relief Refinance Mortgage – Same Servicer is being delivered without mortgage insurance in accordance with the requirements of Section A24.3(i), the Seller is not required to deliver any mortgage insurance data.

Fannie/Freddie: Is it possible to purchase an investment property with gift of equity from an estate settlement?

Gifts for a down payment are not allowed on investment properties. The risk is too high and the agencies want to be assured that the cash commitment is entirely from the borrower’s own funds, so that they have 'skin' in the game.

Q. FHA The iron level was tested and was higher than the EPA standards. Since this is not a health or safety issue, does this have to be corrected?

FHA does not mandate well water testing, however a lender can require it. See below from chapter 1-21 of the HOC Guide: Individual water systems no longer require automatic testing or inspection unless it is mandated by state or local jurisdictions, it is believed that the water may be contaminated, or when the water supply relies upon water purification system due to the presence of contaminants. The lender also has the option to require testing.

When testing is required, the water well must meet the requirements of the local authority.(Tweet) FHA - If the local authority does not have requirements for a water test, the maximum contaminant levels established by EPA will apply.

(Tweet) See Mortgagee Letter 2005-48 and HUD Handbook 4150.2, Chapter 3, Paragraph 3-6,A-5a for more detailed information (Mortgagee Letter 95-34 has been superseded).

FHA does not require the lender to submit evidence or documentation in the case binder that the state or local jurisdiction requires a test or inspection.

VA - Can a mortgage broker do VA loans and also hold a real estate license?

VA has very few requirements of its lenders, and it has no restrictions on originators/lenders regarding dual licensing or other real-estate-related dual employment.

Written and contributed by Karen Deis of Mortgagecurrentcy.com. Provided monthly by www. mortgagecurrentcy.com- interpreting the Rules and Regulation Changes for loan officers, processors, underwriters, and owners/ managers. Mortgage Talking Points TM, charts and checklists included.

TheNicheReport.com

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Tip of the Month

Tip of the month Part III Beta by stewart mednick

A

s I stated in the first part of this series, I have been an advocate of ‘learning experiences’ for most of my life. I do not believe in failure; I believe in a learning experience. For those of you who have read my column, I often speak of experiential learning, or a lesson learned. Now, I want to develop this idea into an actual process that can be implemented and used daily, and takes minutes to accomplish. The benefit is a method to document, improve and refine an activity until it meets your standards of success. Last month, I described “The Core.” This month, I will delve into more specific constituent parts continuing with “The Beta.”

The Beta consists of the Actual Result, and the Lesson Learned. These are the necessary two parts for analyzing and understanding the outcome of the participant’s efforts.

Actual Result –When the action, the physical activity performed, does not meet expectations and is either underperformed or overachieved, this is called the Actual Result. If the Actual Result equated to the expected result, then the process is already finely tuned and no Lessons Learned will be developed. This is the crux of understanding the difference between what was expected and what was actually achieved.

Lesson Learned –This is the “Big Picture” view of how things are compared to what was expected. This is the analysis phase of the Lessons Learned process. Ideas are now being formulated on what went wrong, or what was very correct and exceeded expectations. This can be associated with a feedback system with which many people are familiar.

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The analysis here is very important and cannot be understated. How well the process is analyzed in this stage can determine how many times this process will be repeated until the desired results are formulated and achieved. This is why this section of the Lessons Learned is called Beta, because it is the live testing and correcting of the process to be utilized in production.

Each time a Lesson Learned is analyzed, these two main Beta components need to be analyzed and understood or your goal will not be successful, nor will a proper analysis be able to be performed using this method.

Stewart Mednick is a seasoned mortgage banker and published author. His writing focuses on relationship development, personal empowerment, customer satisfaction, marketing and sales techniques. Stewart is available for consulting, personal coaching and training sessions. If you have a comment or a question for Stewart, contact him at 651-8955122 or smednick1@netzero.net

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Prime & FHA Icon Residential www.iconwholesale.com

National Wholesale Lender offering a full line of Conforming and FHA products. We offer personalized customer service where our client is our primary focus.

Pacific Union Financial Correspondent

Fannie & Ginnie direct conduit offering Niche Correspondent.

correspondent@loanpacific.com

United Wholesale Mortgage 800-981-8898

Discover Lending Made Easy! UWM is a Technology Leader with UW to DU Findings, Superior Customer Service and an Expert Sales Force. Visit www.UWM.com to view our exclusive Products.

Commercial NEW GreenLake Real Estate Fund, LLC 310-462-4637

Windvest Corporation 877-285-0777

Private direct commercial loans in CA and NV. All property types except raw land. Our latest fund was raised specifically for loans in this tough economy. We're eager to lend, so please call today!

Specializing in fix and flips, rehabs, income producing and rental investment properties throughout Southern CA. We lend on SFR residential and COMM property. Simple application process with generous broker commissions. Professional service with funding in 7 days. Call us today for a free quote or visit us online www. windvestcorp.com.

REverse Mortgages ReverseIT 888-777-3311

Reverse Mortgages, fastest turn times in the industry. Training and lead support available.

Financing may not be available in all states. The above summaries are intended for Mortgage Professionals only, and not intended for distribution to consumers, as defined by Section 226.2 of Regulation Z, which implements the Truth-In-Lending Act. Information is subject to change without notice. Refer to each lender’s information on products, program, procedures, representations, and warranties for details.

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HARD MONEY/Construction/Rehab 877-877-1477 x 777

A True Wholesale Direct Hard Money Lender. Residential and Commercial lending, no lender point options and no upfront lender fees. Clear matrices and guidelines. All decisions, funds and processes in house. Hiring Wholesale AE's nationwide. www.athascapital.com

GreenLake Real Estate Fund, LLC 310-462-4637

Private direct commercial loans in CA and NV. All property types except raw land. Our latest fund was raised specifically for loans in this tough economy. We're eager to lend, so please call today!

Athas Capital Group, Inc.

NEW

Specializing in nationwide fast, creative short-term bridge loans ranging in size from $1 million to more then $50 million. Loan commitments in 24 hours. Fast closings. Loans are available for note purchases, acquisitions, land development, construction, workouts, refinancing, bankruptcies and foreclosures.

Kennedy Funding 800-342-8500

Windvest Corporation 877-285-0777

ZINC Financial

Specializing in fix and flips, rehabs, income producing and rental investment properties throughout Southern CA. We lend on SFR residential and COMM property. Simple application process with generous broker commissions.

Professional service with funding in 7 days. Call us today for a free quote or visit us online www.windvestcorp.com Investment Rehab Lender. We are a direct lender for Fix and Flip loans in CA, AZ and NV. Funding in as little as 7 days. Easy online submission @ www. zincfinancial.net

559-326-2509

JUMBO BofI Federal Bank 888-883-9672

Jumbo and Super Jumbo Loans 5/1 - 7/1 and 10/1 options.

MULTIFAMILY Apartment Bank 877-442-4003

Apartment Bank, a division of BofI Federal Bank (NASDAQ:BOFI), is a Nationwide Direct Portfolio Lender that has solidified its standing as a premier multifamily lender in the small balance lending space. Apartment Bank’s flexible approach is key to freeing borrowers and brokers from the typical headaches and hassles of small loan transactions. Loan amounts from $250,000 to $10,000,000. Visit http://www.apartmentbank.com

Financing may not be available in all states. The above summaries are intended for Mortgage Professionals only, and not intended for distribution to consumers, as defined by Section 226.2 of Regulation Z, which implements the Truth-In-Lending Act. Information is subject to change without notice. Refer to each lender’s information on products, program, procedures, representations, and warranties for details.

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July 2012

classifieds

Service Provider Classifieds Branch Opportunities Hometown Lenders 888-606-8066

Our producers stay with us because they are supported and we don’t mess with their money. HomeTown Lenders is a debt-free, Full Eagle lender who believes in treating all employees and customers fairly. We take pride in being the best in the business.

Mountain West Financial

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Residential Finance Corporation 800-785-6277

At RFC we believe the status quo simply isn’t good enough. We’re doing retail branching a little bit differently. We start out with an award winning culture and take care of our customers, both internal and external, like family. With that basic premise met, everything else falls right into place. Partner with us!

Training & education MortgageCurrentcy.com 800-231-4787

Interpreting the complicated mortgage rules in plain language (Fannie, Freddie, FHA, VA, Compliance, Credit) that ONLY affect the loan origination side of the business. Help Desk. Rule Change Calendar. Automatic Face Book posts & Mortgage Talking Points™ for your real estate agents. Online e-zine published 2X month. Try for $1.

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Technology The Mortgage Office 800-833-3343

The Mortgage Office™ is a powerful suite of lending solutions for private lenders.

With our comprehensive core loan servicing products and robust add-on products, you can custom build the most powerful and personalized mortgage software solution for your business. From Origination, through Loan Servicing, Mortgage Pools, Investor Access, ACH, email statements, and more. Your back office needs to be automated, and The Mortgage Office™ can help your business grow and expand without increasing your staff.

Byte Software 800-695-1008

Byte Software offers a complete mortgage solution from lead generation to selling loans on the secondary market enabling lenders to close more loans in less time with a SQL database, customization, enterprise scalability, compliance and security.

Calyx 800-362-2599

Affordable software that streamlines and optimizes all phases of the loan process – from loan marketing through closing.

DocMagic 800-649-1362

The largest dedicated loan document production company in the country, delivers a fusion of solutions guaranteed to meet today's complex loan document challenges.

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Entitle Direct 877-936-8485 or 877-9ENTITLE Scott Bond Services 800-365-0101

Hundreds of mortgage professionals have saved their borrowers up to 35% or more on their title insurance by recommending Entitle Direct.

A leader in providing surety license bonds, fidelity, and E&O to the mortgage industry nationwide including investor required Special Mortgage Bankers Bonds.

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July 2012

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marketing & lead Gen Best Rate Referrals 800-811-1402

In Touch Today

Your mortgage marketing leader with many services available from Direct Mail & List Services, Telemarketing, Internet Leads, Mobile Marketing, and more.

Since 2000, In Touch Today has served clients with a variety of marketing products – both digital and print. Their low minimums, industry specific marketing products, competitive pricing, and custom craftsmanship are accessible for B2B or B2C clients.

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Mailer Leads 866-783-4053 ext 14

Right Side Marketing 800-456-4395

Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc 800-544-8060

Leader in FICO based lead generation, will help you increase your lead volume 150%.

We've taken our highly responsive Mailer Programs and incorporated Personal Websites (PURLs) and QR Codes.

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BRINGING UP THE REAR - continued from page 54

They want the President to sign into law their “Americans for Immense Wealth Creation Act,” which would provide huge tax cuts, subsidies and miscellaneous funding for the rich.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, however, says that it remains to be seen just how far the rich have fallen behind. According to Reid…

“The federal government has no business giving further entitlements to the rich when they’re perfectly capable of becoming super-rich if they want to. We just don’t know how bad the problem is at this point.”

Politicians disagree. They point out that a recent study shows that the rich today can only afford one boat, but the super-rich can easily afford four or even five.

McConnell says, “It’s not that the rich aren’t trying hard enough, it’s that we in government aren’t doing enough to give them a helping hand to the top. Many of my rich constituents have told me that at this point they don’t see how they’ll ever get out of their gated communities.”

According to a study conducted by Opulent & Insensitive Magazine, many of the super-rich were in fact born only rich, which has led many to believe that the rich do not need the government’s help to rise above the lives into which they were born.

In a speech delivered to rich people at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City, President Obama told the crowd: “Every rich person in this country can become super-rich if he or she wants it badly enough. If nothing else, you can always marry into it just like so many members of today’s super-rich community did.”

But, Sen. McConnell says, it’s not enough to give motivational speeches. He says the Obama Administration must respond now… before it’s too late.

“We’re the beacon for rich people around the world that want to become super-rich, and if they start to believe that becoming super-rich in the U.S. isn’t as easy as it used to be, why, we’ll lose all those Asians and Pakistanis that have made this country’s technology industry the envy of the world.”

“Plus, they run a very nice 7-11, as I understand it,” McConnell also said.

Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, was more somber about the subject, saying…

“Look, in this country not everyone can be super-rich.

Some people are simply going have to vacation on Martha’s

Vineyard. But, also in this great country, if the rich get better at taking advantage of others, then maybe their children will do better. That’s what the American Dream is all about.”

William Bensonhurst Waters, heir to the colossal drinking water fortune and a founding member of the American Institute for Greed, Money & Priceless Gems, says that it’s the rich’s own fault that they’ve remained where they are.

“Many of the rich are just plain lazy,” Waters says.

“Of course, I was only a boy at the time, but I remember my parents having to fill out forms, pay off government officials, and entertain super-rich people week after week before we became super-rich. I just don’t see that kind of commitment coming from today’s rich.”

So, I for one am relieved that we’ve finally got our government working productively once again. And I think Sen. McConnell is correct to look to the poor to pick up the $1.5 trillion slack in our annual deficit. Especially when you consider the news about used car prices rising.

The Fed’s study showed that roughly 75 percent of all households have more invested in their cars than they have in CDs or individual common stocks, and 50 percent have more invested in their cars than in their retirement accounts. So, rising used car prices will likely mean a windfall for the majority of Americans, and I think it’s only fair that they start contributing their fair share.

McConnell also points out that the Fed’s study also showed that from 2001 to 2010, only those without high school diplomas enjoyed an increase in real income.

The group’s median income increased from $20,800 to $23,000, while at the same time, the median real income for college graduates fell by 11 percent, from $83,100 to $73,800.

You see, the poor in this country have a lot going for them. In fact, the years ahead are likely to see America transform itself into a nation of the poor, by the poor, and for the poor… with welfare checks and food stamps for all.

Amen, Senator McConnell. And, Godspeed.

Martin Andelman is a staff writer for The Niche Report.

He also writes an almost daily column on ML-Implode called Mandelman Matters. He also publishes a Monthly Museletter and you can follow “Mandelman” on Twitter. Send your responses to Martin@TheNicheReport.com.

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BRINGING UP THE REAR

Bringing Up the rear Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

BY MARTIN ANDELMAN

S

o, Sen. McConnell has figured out the problem with the current tax code and the ballooning U.S. deficit, and he’s ready to demand action from the next president: The poor aren’t contributing their fair share.

Well, finally… someone figured out the problem. I’ve suspected the poor were driving the deficit problem for some time, but I didn’t know the numbers or I would have said something.

Mitch says that the top 10 percent of taxpayers are contributing 70 percent of federal revenue. He also points out that 50 percent of Americans pay no tax at all, and that’s just wrong. Whoever made it possible for poor people to get out of paying payroll taxes, gas taxes, sales and property taxes, and more, should be run out of office on a rail.

To be more precise, it’s 46 percent of Americans that do not pay income tax. Now, about 15 percent are living at or below the poverty line. Another 15 percent are just above the poverty line, but I’m sure if we started taxing them they’d earn that poverty line distinction in a hurry.

That leaves 15 percent that are obviously living the high life, and we could certainly hit them up for a bit more. Of course, taxing 5 percent of this group’s income will mean taking $1,000 – $2,000 a year out of their budget for food, clothing, gas and other luxury items. But, it likely wouldn’t impact the savings rate or health insurance costs, because this group can’t afford either now.

Mitch is also onto something because the poor in this country are the fastest growing demographic, so if we stay on course, there will be more and more of them every year.

According to the recently released Federal Reserve report on the Survey of Consumer Finances, between 2001 and 2010, the bottom 20 percent of all U.S. households went from boasting a net worth of $1,400 (in 2010 dollars) to having a negative net worth. So, very well done there.

The award for Largest Percentage Decline In Net Worth goes to households in the second quintile, which is between 20 percent and 40 percent from the bottom, and in fact every household category suffered a decline in net worth over the last decade. So, if most Americans are feeling poorer today, there’s a perfectly logical reason for that… it’s because they are poorer today. In point of fact, we’re churning out poor people like the Japanese produce cars.

Oh, wait… not every category saw their net worth drop… one group actually saw their net worth go up… the top 10 percent. So, the top 10 percent became even top-10percenter.

As I understand it, politicians are also now concerned about income inequality in this country. Apparently, the gap between the rich and the super-rich is increasing and causing problems among those in the top 10 percent.

Politicians are blaming the widening gap between the rich and super-rich on the Obama Administration’s failed economic policies, and they are urging the president to act quickly to prevent the rich from continuing to lose ground.

- continued on page 53

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May 2012

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