it to the client before beginning work on their behalf.
Honesty in advertising Some mortgage loan officers lure clients to their doors with promises that cannot be met, at best, a shady practice and, at worst, criminal. They are fooling themselves if they think that clients won’t notice discrepancies in what was advertised and what they are really getting. Clients aren’t fooled when they call and expect to get an interest rate promised on a mailer only to find out that those rates only apply to people with perfect credit and a substantial downpayment. Misleading advertising tactics more often than not backfire, leaving clients angry and more than happy to share their dissatisfaction with others. It’s cliché but true that when it comes to advertising, as a member of NAMB, honesty is not only the best policy but it must be our only policy.
Confidentiality Our clients count on us to protect their valuable personal information. To that end, once a file has closed, we have absolutely no reason to keep sensitive information such as Social Security numbers on local file. When a loan has closed, we owe it to our clients to delete those numbers from their files to ensure that we are protecting our clients in the event of a cybercrime. Likewise, when sending confidential information electronically, we should do our best to ensure the safe transmission of documents by password protecting the files.
Compliance with the law Our code demands that NAMB members conduct their business in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. That means that we must do our part to remain informed of any and all new laws and regulations. Understanding lending laws and regula-
tions is our responsibility not the responsibility of our clients. We must assume that our clients are completely unfamiliar with lending laws and regulations and, therefore, it is up to us to ensure that every file that we submit adheres to all national and state laws and regulations.
Disclosure of financial interests I’ve never understood why some mortgage broker professionals are reluctant to disclose their earnings on a loan to a client. I have never come across a client who thought I was helping them for free. They expect that we will be earning money on the loan. Again, honesty and full disclosure will prevent you from having an angry client who is all too happy to tell everyone they know that you tried to make an extra buck on the sly. As the housing market continues to
recover, as it appears it will in 2013, there is no better time to recommit ourselves to our best practices. This effort must start with each of us on a personal level and we must maintain our commitment to it on a daily basis. Our individual efforts to provide the Gold Standard in service will then serve to strengthen the reputation of NAMB as the beacon of professionalism, honesty and integrity in mortgage lending for the new year to come. Fred Arnold, CMC is past president of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals, current Treasurer of NAMB, and mortgage professional at American Pacific Mortgage Corporation in Southern California. Fred hosts the radio show SCV Chamber and Business Spotlight on AM 1220 KHTS, as well as the televised program “Out of The Rough” on SCVTV.com, channel 20. He may be reached by phone at (661) 5054300 or e-mail fred@fredarnold.com.
NAMB Membership Update By Andy W. Harris, CRMS
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involved, it is imperative that they support their trade association through membership. Many do not realize the amount of selfless work a small group of industry colleagues have put in (especially over the last few years) to improve all of our careers. It would shock you to know where things could be if it were not for these people. While it is easy to sit on the sidelines and do nothing, staying informed and supporting membership of a trade group fighting for you should be viewed as a duty to all in our field. I speak
as an originator and your colleague when I say WE should all be held accountable when not being part of a state or national trade group. Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431 or e-mail aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com or visit AndyHarrisMortgage.com.
What is NAMB’s Delegate Council? By John Councilman, CMC, CRMS
president, receives no pay. No board member is reimbursed for travel expenses. We are all volunteers who care enough about our profession to spend our own money and our own time to make certain we all have the ability to make a living and serve the public. Make certain your state is sending two delegates so your voice is heard. If they aren’t, step up and volunteer to represent your state and your profession. See you in Vegas! John Councilman, CMC, CRMS is NAMB vice president and Delegate Council chair. He may be reached by phone at (239) 267-2400 or e-mail jlc@amcmortgage.com.
DECEMBER 2012
Elected officials listen to NAMB as your voice. It is important that the collective voices of the various areas around the United States shape NAMB into a truly reflective voice. Surprisingly, a few states fail to send representatives to Delegate Council. They claim several hundred dollars to come to Las Vegas is beyond their budget. If you come to Las Vegas and your state fails to send a representative, let them know that is one of the reasons why you pay state dues. If your state is too small to have an association, let us know that you are interested in representing your state. If you are a Platinum NAMB Member, you are eligible to be a delegate at Delegate Council. Your NAMB board, including the
MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE
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f you have never been to a major NAMB convention, you may not know about the Delegate Council. The Delegate Council is what separates NAMB from every other trade association in the real estate industry. Some trade associations are run by a chief executive, while others select a board that runs the association. NAMB is very different. Rather than being an association run from the top down, NAMB is run from the ground up. Delegate Council is like the United States Senate … every state
affiliate, large or small is allowed two delegates and gets two votes. Delegate Council is NAMB members choosing who the leaders of NAMB will be. It also sets NAMB policies, NAMB bylaws and NAMB dues. It is a group with amazing power given to the members of NAMB. If you have never attended a Delegate Council meeting, you are in for an interesting time. Every Delegate Council meeting is open to all NAMB members. Even NAMB board meetings are open to NAMB members. It is a tradition at NAMB to have its leadership face its members regularly. After all, they are the people who chose them. NAMB is the recognized voice of mortgage professionals across America.
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was recently appointed as the Western Regional Membership Chair for NAMB. I look forward to the opportunity to work with the Western states who are state affiliates of NAMB and their leadership teams to continue to build up membership within their state and the national association. I am truly excited for what
the future brings to our industry and our association, regardless of the challenges we’ve faced together. As a committed volunteer and passionate active mortgage professional, I find my recent time spent as immediate past president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals (OAMP), as well as now serving on the NAMB board, has simply been my required duty from the current state of our industry and the multitude of regulatory changes we are facing. While not everyone may feel compelled to get