June 2024
NAMB Recognizes Homeownership Month 4
And NAMB Celebrates Pride Month! 6
Your Checklist for Buying a Franchise 8
by Dave Liniger Greg Sayegh Christine Beckwith
IN THIS ISSUE
BrandStar 4
Windsor Mortgage 5
Broker CMO 7
EPM 9
Optimal Blue 10
RoomVu 11
ICE Mortgage Technology 13
Direct all inquiries to NC editor & publisher Jilly MacDowell: magazine@namb.org.
We recently celebrated National Volunteer Month so I want to continue to recognize NAMB’s hard-working volunteers & committee chairs who spend their time & energy to support NAMB.
Lisa O’Connor, Conference Committee Chair, has been working diligently with President-Elect Jim Nabors on this year’s national conference. The committee has come up with an amazing theme, “Go for the Win!,” which will lend an overall sports theme to the event.
Our amazing lineup of speakers includes our keynote Barry Habib, along with Neel Dhingra, Chris Vinson & a panel focused on the benefits of coaching, Alex Machuca with Lead Hackers, Freddie Mac’s Nora Guerra, 20/20 Vision for Success’s Christine Beckwith & Jason Frazier and many more. Please visit our dedicated website, namb.org/nn24, and use code WIN24 to receive the trade show & speaking sessions for free!
Je Parry, Communications Chair, is responsible for the messaging of the association. The committee assists the association in managing the information that is disseminated & distributed to our members & future members. The hard work provided by all is a key piece of what keeps NAMB in the forefront with our members.
Kimber White, Industry Partners Chair, takes the lead on establishing the relationships NAMB has with its Industry Partners, Strategic Sponsors & Benefit Providers. This committee is a key aspect of NAMB’s outreach to those lenders & service providers that support our goals & initiatives.
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The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is the voice of the mortgage industry, representing the interests of mortgage professionals and homebuyers since 1973.
For over 50 years NAMB has advocated, legislatively, for home buyers across the nation to help ensure all Americans have access to homeownership. During April, 2024, NAMB’s volunteer board of directors & members stood side by side inside the U.S. Capitol advocating to lawmakers to increase homeownership options for all Americans on issues including the Homebuyers' Privacy Protection Act (HR 7297 AND S.3502) and the Love Lives On Act of 2023 (S. 1266).
“Homeownership is one of the absolute key markers for achieving the American Dream,” says Valerie Saunders, NAMB President.
“For over 50 years NAMB has worked with lawmakers to assist in growing homeownership across the nation & we are fully dedicated to assisting home buyers in their individual journeys to buy & own a home.”
PEAKIFI.COM
National Homeownership Month became a Presidential Proclamation in 2002, signed by President George W. Bush. It marks a period of time for the HUD, FHA and such organizations as NAMB & NAR to display their commitment to help make real the dream for any American that wants to live in their own home.
“NAMB o ers tools to our members to assist in aiding future home-buyers. We’ll continue to work tirelessly to reduce boundaries to homeownership through our advocacy work with lawmakers in Washington D.C. We are honored to celebrate this critical month across the country.” NC
See Let's Make Home the Goal on HUD.gov for more.
Retired Mortgage Originator
NAMB Past President 2001-2002 Miami, Florida; Licensed in 1972
Talk about your NAMB presidency. I was privileged to be President at a pivotal time in the industry. NAMB proposed the federal requirement for states to require originator licensing. Later, as legislative chairman, [we] lead the way to make originators more educated & responsible with the passage of the SAFE ACT (2008), which was implemented across the US.
More career milestones: I became active in LGBT advocacy in 1980. I joined the Board of (local LGBT political org) SAVE in 2005 & became chairman in 2011. I’ve been on the Board of the LGBT Victory Fund since 2009. I currently serve on the Board of the US Institute of Peace, [having been] nominated by President Biden in 2022 & confirmed by the US Senate in 2023.
Why did you choose mortgage? My family created one of the first non-bank mortgage companies in Florida in 1951. After graduate school, I decided to join the family.
Describe your professional mentor: My father. He was an innovator, a master salesman & created an industry.
What was your first paying job?
Metropolitan Mortgage Company, 1978.
Fantasy career? Photographer. I love 'speaking' through the lens and, with each click, telling a story.
Favorite vacation spot? Israel. I have a large family in Israel.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I am privileged to live & play in Miami. I will be right here, tending my orchids.
Broker-Owner, Pride Lending
Founding Member of NAMB’s DEI Committee
Las Vegas, Nevada; Licensed in 2003
Career milestones: NAMB 2022 Broker of the Year, Certified Business Enterprise (Nat’l Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce).
What motivates you in your current position? I can see the positive impact that Pride Lending is creating in the industry –both amongst the broker community & as much-needed representation for the LGBTQ+ community.
Describe a work highlight: Any time I get a call from a Queer borrower who has been discriminated against – while that itself is painful – it warms my heart when we can help them, in a compassionate way, to achieve home ownership. The second is anytime someone immediately identifies with our branding & mission. So far, every person working at Pride Lending has come to us asking to join!
If you could have a career doing anything else, what would it be? Pubic service has always interested me so I would like to think I was either engaged in shaping policy or actively working for & advocating for one of the many charities I admire so deeply. Nonprofit cause you’re passionate about: The support of LGBTQ+ youth. Both the Trevor Project and the Trans Lifeline are amazing organizations on a national level and locally, Young: Equal is a great charity in Las Vegas helping to provide safe, fun events for LGBTQ+ youth.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I hope to still be actively involved in the mortgage industry at large, increasing LGBTQIA representation & building diverse, multicultural teams.
Branch Partner, RE Financial Services
NAMB Vice President 2023-24, Industry Partners & Awards Committees Chair, Past President 2020-2021
Fort Lauderdale, Florida; 37+ years in business
How does NAMB membership help you?
It has helped me over the years by allowing me to brainstorm with like-minded peers, giving me education, networking & benefits through vendor discounts. It’s really brought me closer to the heart of the industry & inspired my passion.
What else could NAMB o er its members? Now more than ever we need to let members know it's OK just being you. There’s too much chatter about being bigger & larger, the individual mortgage broker gets lost. We need to emphasize that NAMB is there for the small business owner, the independent broker; we have the tools to help so that they don’t feel overwhelmed by these giants in the industry. It’s what we're founded on.
Why did you choose or what led you to mortgage? I got into it by mistake! I had a pest control company in NC & my accountant [linked me up with] an underwriter in northern VA. "He's di erent, you'll like him." He meant gay. I ended up in WV, knocking doors... long story short, I helped a couple change their double-wide title to a deed & got them a mortgage for $65k. I made $1,500 – 37 years ago, that was a lot of money! I found the passion & became the “subprime team of WV,” the person you go to if you couldn't get a loan done.
What was your first paying job? I was a paperboy in Richmond, VA. At 15 I was a cook at the Wa e House in NC. I'll be 65 in July. I'm in no hurry to retire.
In The Perfect 10, author & cofounder of RE/MAX Dave Liniger shares 50-plus years of business insights to help guide future generations of entrepreneurs as they pursue their professional dreams. Liniger revolutionized the real estate industry 45 years ago by creating the RE/MAX business model. Click to order!
RE/MAX began franchising in 1975 accompanied by extensive global expansion e orts. During this time, Dave became a highly respected industry expert and was instrumental in government housing reform policies. Liniger's business magnum opus, a practical primer & love letter to young & future moguls, was written with the next half-century of innovative entrepreneurship in mind.
The Perfect 10 is chock full of top 10 lists & spans the tools of the trade from traditional business plan to Kaizen. Here are ten critical things Liniger says you must know about buying a franchise:
1 Franchise Model & System: Understand the franchise model & system o ered by the franchisor. Familiarize yourself with the franchise’s brand, products or services, and operational procedures, and what support is provided by the franchisor.
2 Franchise Fee & Initial Investment: Determine the franchise fee & initial investment required to purchase the franchise, including costs such as equipment, inventory, leasehold improvements & working capital. Understand the financial obligations & ensure that you have the necessary funds.
3 Franchise Agreement: Review the agreement carefully. This legally binding document outlines the terms & conditions of the franchise relationship, including rights, obligations, fees, royalties & termination clauses. Seek professional advice if needed to understand the agreement fully.
4 Franchisor’s Track Record: Research the franchisor’s track record & reputation. Evaluate their history, financial stability & litigation history, and the success rate of their franchisees. Speak
with existing & former franchisees to gain insight into their experiences.
5 Training & Support: Assess the training & support provided by the franchisor. Understand the initial training program, ongoing support, marketing assistance & operational guidance. Strong franchisors o er comprehensive training & continuing support to help franchisees succeed.
6 Franchisee Responsibilities: Understand your responsibilities as a franchisee. This includes adhering to the franchisor’s operational standards, following established procedures, maintaining quality control, and complying with branding & marketing guidelines.
7 Territory & Competition: Investigate the territory rights & exclusivity o ered by the franchise. Understand the competition in the area & whether the franchise system has protected territories or market restrictions.
8 Franchisee-Franchisor Relationship: Understand the nature of the relationship between the franchisee & the franchisor. Franchisors typically maintain control over certain aspects of the business, such as branding, marketing & product/ service o erings. Make sure you’re comfortable with this level of control.
9 Profitability & Financial Projections: Obtain financial projections & understand the potential profitability of the franchise. Review the franchisor’s financial disclosures, including average sales figures & profitability of existing franchise units. Conduct independent research & analysis to validate the financial projections.
10 Exit Strategy: Consider your exit strategy. Understand the terms & conditions for selling the franchise in the future. Determine whether there are any restrictions or limitations on transferring ownership & if the franchisor o ers any assistance in the resale process. It’s crucial to conduct thorough due diligence, seek professional advice from attorneys & accountants experienced in franchising, and carefully evaluate all aspects of the franchise opportunity before making a final decision. NC
The key to success for lenders in any market phase is profitability & relevant loan o cers are the key to profitability. E ective hiring that enhances your bottom line requires looking beyond traditionally used indicators to find & retain loan o cers that align with how you do business.
The lending industry has seen annual turnover of over 35 percent in recent years. This is not sustainable. Companies must find ways to find & connect with best-fit candidates, achieve greater e ciency in the recruiting process & increase retention.
It all starts with accurate data & detailed loan o cer assessment criteria. The ability to predict productivity boosts return on investment due to greater e ciency, leads to less turnover and enhances your company reputation as an employer of choice.
Past performance is the best indicator of future performance, and a candidate’s historical performance is a window into their potential future contribution. “Performance” includes more than just volume. Other important considerations are an LO’s product mix, the ratio of purchase vs refinance business, percentage of past client referral relationships, referral partnerships, and how a candidate’s volume compares to market trends. InGenius data
shows that 90 percent of the volume is closed by the top 50 percent of loan o cers. The question becomes, do you want to hire from the top of the food chain or the bottom?
Beyond the resume, it is essential to assess how a candidate’s experience aligns with your company culture & job expectations. All recruiting decisions should take the following into consideration: How frequently has this loan o cer changed companies to chase a deal or better o er?
If they’ve made a move from one category to another – such as from a call center to an external position, a bank to an IMB or vice versa – how well did they do after the change?
What’s their overall success history? The answers to these questions provide great insight as to whether a candidate is likely to maintain & grow their business when they join you & contribute to the culture of your organization – or disrupt it.
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Making hiring decisions based on loan volume only is problematic. E ective interviewing techniques are crucial for identifying positive behavioral patterns & potential red flags. Structured interviews that probe into past experiences can reveal a candidate’s problem-solving abilities, teamwork, leadership qualities & other soft skills vital for the role. Bottom line – will their ‘likely’ behaviors enhance or degrade your brand?
Finally, once the data has helped you uncover candidates, you must incorporate an unbiased, standardized, profiling personality tool to use for all candidates. Such tools can provide deep insights into a person’s work style, motivation & interpersonal skills. This objective measure helps ensure a fair & equal assessment process for all candidates, as well as another dimension of insight into the probability of a successful, long-term tenure.
Reviewing these four components—historical performance, experience alignment, behavioral interviewing & personality profiling – and integrating them into your recruiting process creates a robust framework for new hire assessment that can be reviewed & tested against the current hiring paradigm. In times of decreased volume & compressed margins, accurate data combined with this solid recruiting process will decrease your margin of error.
The steps outlined here are sound & literal. But there's a critical figurative aspect to achieving desired outcomes that can decide the success or failure of the entire loan o cer hiring process:
Leadership & recruiters must have courage & discipline throughout the recruiting journey. That means being willing to pass on a candidate that you feel will not be a good fit for your company.
While reviewing past performance is an important starting point, it's important that decision makers don't select candidates based on dollar volume alone.
Before embarking on the loan o cer assessment journey, leaders must set the vision for the company's mission & values, and define the type of candidates that will advance their companies' unique goals. Look at your current team & identify elements in background, experience & production to help you formulate a profile of the candidates that match your organization's strengths in the areas of product mix, geography & demographics, and culture.
It’s unrealistic to expect that every hire meets 100 percent of your profile’s criteria. But following a defined assessment process will illuminate the factors that you should evaluate on a deeper level to drive your hiring decisions & process. NC
Greg Sayegh has been a senior executive in the mortgage production industry for 35 years. InGenius is a growth multiplier for the lending industry, delivering leading edge, proprietary data in the areas of mortgage loan o cer & broker recruiting, CRA compliance & Fair Lending, and RE agent relationships & analytics. . ingenius-data.com
In the game of inches & highly competitive selling, I have been at the helm of many sales forces steering toward success & ultimately winning the race to the goal line and, in many cases, survival. In this excerpt from my book, High – Selling is a Drug, due out in November 2024, I o er strategy, competitive narrative & tactics we hope will connect.
Going in circles: So many people are competing by racing around the tracks in circles that they cannot max out their throttle when there is a moment to take the lead. Their gut will not push them through, their mind has no plan for competition, they are not operating from a plan.
Strategy is a real killer when it is not an intricate part of your operation. I equate this to trying to find something without a map or GPS. How much faster do you go once you know your way by memory? Fastest. But what do you do until then? You use a guide & that guide must be read, so you can find your way. Yes, it’s slower, but it’s a map to your destination!
But what about those who are not using any sort of business navigation, who are just winging it? Some will win on sheer might & determination but that is not a sustainable plan, and that fuel will burn out. You must figure out the way to win because that is
where the fuel is refilled. You cannot burn an endless amount of fuel & not refuel, and you cannot race without fuel.
Moral of story: You need direction, a map or GPS and you need to learn every inch of the road. Are you willing to do it?
I am talking about strategy right now. I am talking about playing the game of chess in business. I never thought in a million years as a young girl that strategy would end up playing such a significant role in my life, my profession & my progress. But when I reminisce about the oldest intersections of success, I was playing business chess at many di erent tables & winning. Some things are obviously… obvious.
Failure to strategize: Still, other things allude to the cleverest of business chess players. Some people do not come equipped to sustain success or reach victory by strategizing, methodically slowing down or even making moves that may not reveal the endgame, with a willingness to walk the long line to that victory if it doesn’t give immediate restitution.
That is why so many impatient salespeople who surround us fail. They want immediate results. They want it now. They want it their way. They want it cheap. They want it easy. They just want it, and they often feel that is enough appetite to win in the chess game of sales.
But speed is not a factor for success. Strategy is.
There are major components to strategy and, while they seem obvious, they are by far the most overlooked area of sales market share pick-up.
Before I unpack all of it, let me ask you, do you feel like people around you are doing better than you are? Does it seem like your peers or even your competition is having an easier time picking up sales? If the answer is yes, then you need to read the following Strategy Fitness Focus Guide to begin the journey to greater business athleticism.
Here is an incomplete list, extracted from the book:
1. Assessing your competition: To figure out how you are going to get out in front or even make a viable quest towards competing, you must first understand who is winning. You already know who, and how, they’re winning. Studying their winningness is a key part of strategy.
2. Planning for sales strategy: What is your strategy? How are you going to win against your competition? This will require you to define what edge you have, what is going to help you outlast, outplay & outsmart your competition. There is no better way to say this.
3. Collaboration and buy-in: Nothing can be done alone. Nothing can be done on an island. Even if you suspect everyone will get behind you, that’s not good enough. This is 101 stu right here, no brain surgery or rocket science needed. Rolling all plans requires sit-downs & discussions with all vital key players & stakeholders. NC
Christine Beckwith is a 35-plus year veteran of the mortgage industry, with positions from originations to Senior VP of sales. To learn more about Christine’s Strategic Fitness & Focus Guide, stay tuned for the release of her new book High – Selling is a Drug, coming this fall. Visit her website, visionyoursuccess.net, the largest consulting firm in the American banking & brokering industry, for more.
PRESIDENT’S LETTER, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
During this year alone, NAMB has added more than 25 partners & sponsors. This group of companies provide discounts on products & services to our members. During these trying times, it’s the support of our partners & sponsors and the benefits they extend to our members that help small businesses to continue to operate e ciently & e ectively.
The individuals listed above are just a small number of volunteers who have contributed their time, energy & e ort to NAMB. I will continue to recognize our committee chairs throughout the months ahead.
If you would like to be a part of a NAMB committee, join our Community Builders Committee which meets monthly to discuss NAMB’s activities & what the organization can do to help. Visit namb.org/community to register for the June 27 call! NC
NAMB PRIDE, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
If you could have a career doing anything else, what would it be? A doctor. I took all the prerequisite courses for medical school but life changed & I had to drop out of high school & get my GED.
What’s your favorite hobby? Travel & spending time with my 3-year-old yorkie Cooper.
Favorite vacation spot? Hawaii is my favorite of all favorites, but going back to North Carolina & spending time with family is up there. It's home, it's familiar.
Nonprofit cause you’re passionate about: It's Pride month – and I think one of the greatest opportunities I've had is to represent NAMB [as a member of the LGBT+ community]. It's always been in my heart. We're fighting for all minorities. When I look at NAMB's accomplishments & where we've been, to be a leader & a voice in our industry makes me proud. I – and NAMB – believe in equality for all. We must make sure that's in the forefront.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Still doing business, still being involved with NAMB, but spending more time traveling, maybe mentoring, teaching. A lighter workload, but I'll be around till my toes turn up. NC
