Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine April 2015

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ILLINOIS EDITION

Greater Midwest Lenders Association

14540 John Humphrey Drive, Unit 1 v Orland Park, IL 60462 Phone: (630) 916-7720 v Fax: (630) 396-3503 IAMP Web site: www.iamp.biz

GMLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Officers

Phone #

E-mail

Larry Bettag

President

(630) 524-9677

lbettag@ccmclending.com

Michael Brinkman

President-Elect/Treasurer

(847) 349-5450

michael.brinkman@impacmail.com

Ronald J. Drabeck

Immediate Past President

(708) 349-3040

rondrabeck@comcast.net

Carol Crowley

First Vice President

(773) 858-0132

carol.c.crowley@gmail.com

Jeff Fishman

Secretary

(847) 208-4990

fish@perlmortgage.com

Brent Terry

MEF Liaison

(630) 877-7113

bwterry@live.com

Carol Gardner

Government Affairs Chair

(708) 827-5362

cgardner@lendingnetwork.net

Directors Debra Allgood

(630) 904-6600

deb@itsallgoodmortgage.com

Colleen Coleman

(855) 663-5100

colleen.coleman@Stonegatemtg.com

Charlie Eck

(773) 348-8444

ceeck@lincolnmtg.com

Todd Fisher

(847) 837-5300

toddfisher97@yahoo.com

Jeri Lynn Fox

(630) 333-1800

jeri@usamortgagecorp.com

Tuck Marshall

(815) 469-5200

tmarshall@jcmarshall.com

Dennis Papiernik

(630) 873-6342

dpapiernik@addvalueinc.com

Don Starks

(309) 664-9100

dstarks@misloans.biz

Robert Perry

Executive Director

(630) 916-7720

Larry Gold

Legal Counsel

(312) 332-6194, ext. 27

Roger Wooten

Accountant

(630) 272-1019

bperry@iamp.biz lgold@gsgolaw.com rwootencpa@gmail.com

Mortgage Education Foundation Officers Brent Terry

MEF Chairperson

(630) 877-7113

bwterry@live.com

Larry Bettag

MEF Co-Chair

(630) 524-9677

lbettag@ccmclending.com

Carol Crowley

MEF Director

(773) 858-0132

carol.c.crowley@gmail.com

Jeff Fishman

MEF Director

(847) 208-4990

fish@perlmortgage.com

Tuck Marshall

MEF Director

(815) 469-5200

tmarshall@jcmarshall.com

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Hash It Out with Frank Garay & Brian Stevens Hard-hitting, fact based look at some of the most important issues facing the home finance industry today – with a bit of humor and irreverence thrown in.

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DAY WEEKLY PROGRAMMING

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table o

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N A T I O N A L

Featured Industry Leader: Vincent Valvo, CEO of Agility Resources Group

By Rick Grant

A P R I L

28 Legends of Lending: A Portrait of DocMagic

By Phil Hall

2 0 1 5

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M O R T

V O L U

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “LEADERSHIP”

Forging New Paths in the Mortgage Market By Ray Brosseau ................48 Do You Have Talented Managers on Board? By Chad Jampedro ..........50 Value-Added Leadership By Bill Waltenbaugh ..........................................52 Personality Traits of a Business Leader By Chris Sturdivant....................54 Humanized Leadership By Benjamin Schomer ..........................................55 What Exceptional Leaders See By Kerry Elam ..........................................57 You’re Already a Leader! By Brent Emler ..................................................58 Leadership = Tap Dancing Goldfish By Eric Weinstein ............................59 Debunking the Gender Myth in Leadership

By Laura Burke, EA, MBA, MS ......................................................................60

32 A Seismic Shift in the Mortgage Marketplace?

By Tom LaMalfa

FEATURES How Top Producers Create a Five-Star Experience for Their Strategic Partners By Gibran Nicholas ................................................8 The Elite Performer: Spring Clean Your Market Plan

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ..............................................................................8 Think Local and Lend More This Spring By Bubba Mills ..........................10 Multi-Channel Marketing ............................................................................16 The Beginner’s Guide to Direct Mail By K. Justin Restaino ......................18 NAMB Perspective ......................................................................................20 Underwater Mortgages Bubble to Surface in Supreme Court Case

By Phil Hall ....................................................................................................24

visionary organizations 2015

36 Visionary Organizations 2015

V I S I T Company

Web Site

O U R

A Page

Agility Resources Group ...................................... www.agilityresourcesgroup.com ......................................56 American Financial Resources ............................ www.afrwholesale.com/partnership ....................Back Cover B2R Finance ...................................................... www.b2rfinance.com ....................................................33 Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................72 Caliber Home Loans.............................................. www.caliberhomeloans.com ............................................27 CallFurst.com ...................................................... www.callfurst.com ............................................................67 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................29 & 50 CMPS Institute .................................................. www.cmpslive.com ..........................................................5 Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ........................................................7

38 MTG MEN: Mortgage Style ... The Man Behind the Ads, PRMG National Marketing Director, Paul Lucido

By Rick Grant

Equity Prime LLC................................................ www.equityprime.com ..........................................42 & 55 First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmc.com ..............................Inside Front Cover & 49 Flagstar Bank .................................................... www.wholesale.flagstar.com ..........................................19 Great Northwest Mortgage Expo .......................... www.greatnorthwestexpo.com ........................................51 HomeBridge Wholesale ...................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................39 iServe Residential Lending, LLC .......................... www.joiniserve.com ......................................................17 Lending Manager .............................................. www.lendingmanager.com ............................................61 Listing Booster .................................................. www.listingbooster.com ................................................63 Lykken On Lending ............................................ www.lykkenonlending.com ............................................65

f contents

T G A G E

U M E

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

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N U M B E R

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The Buy-to-Rent Mortgage Opportunity By Mark Mohl ............................30

MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance: A Message From MAA Chairman Fowler Williams ................................................................30 NMP’s Economic Commentary: Bad News Is Good News

By Dave Hershman ........................................................................................34 Lykken on Leadership: Looking for Leaders … How to Pick a True Leader From a Crowd of Charlatans By David Lykken ................42 Legal and Regulatory Updates: April 2015 By Matt Drottz ......................44 The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales By Pam Marron ............44 Just Ask Eric & Laura By Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke ............................46 Do You Have Fans Like This? By Brian Sacks ..........................................62 NAPMW Report: A Capital Investment By Nikki Bell ................................65 Will Your Mortgage Site Survive Google’s Mobile Apocalypse?

By Mark Madsen............................................................................................66

COLUMNS New to Market..............................................................................12 News Flash: April 2015 ................................................................14 Heard on the Street ....................................................................40 Outstanding Places to Work ......................................................68 NMP Calendar of Events ............................................................69 NMP Resource Registry..............................................................70

D V E R T I S E R S Company

Web Site

Page

MBS Highway .................................................... www.mbshighway.com/MNN ..........................................43 Monroe Capital, Inc. .......................................... www.monroecap.net ......................................................59 Mortgage News Network (MNN) .......................... www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com ......................................1 NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................25 NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ....................................................47 & 64 NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................66 Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................15, 41 & Inside Back Cover PB Financial Group Corp..................................... www.calhardmoney.com ................................................31 REMN Wholesale ................................................ www.remnwholesale.com ................................IL1, 13 & 48 Ridgewood Savings Bank .................................... www.ridgewoodbank.com ..............................................53 Southwest Mortgage Fest .................................... www.swmortgagefest.com ..............................................60 TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................45 The Bond Exchange............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................40 The National Real Estate Post.............................. www.thenationalrealestatepost.com ..............................35 Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. ........................ www.titanlists.com ..........................................................9 Top Producer Round Table ................................ www.topproducerroundtable.com ....................................5 Ultimate Mortgage Expo .................................... www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com ..............................3 & 65 United Wholesale Mortgage ................................ www.uwm.com ..............................................................11

APRIL 2015 Volume 7 • Number 4

FROM THE

Finally, the reason we seldom hear the phrase, “Take me to your manager!”

1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-5555 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com

This month, we take a special look at leadership and vision. Peter Drucker, an Austrian-born American management consultant, once stated that “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Without question, leaders possess the traits of social intelligence, a thirst for change, and above all, a vision that enables them to set their sights on the “things” that truly define growth and that are worthy of recognition. These are certainly not a bad foundation of characteristics for all of us to strive to achieve.

As a child, I always looked at the superheroes in comic books I read as the true definition of a “Leader.” I looked at them and saw that their super powers somehow made them stand out from the rest of us, and with that added trait, I looked at them as leaders. As I got older and left the academic world as a student and became a student of the “working masses,” I realized that leadership is not defined by any “super power” that one possesses, but more by the power of one being able to both visualize a goal and pursue reaching that goal successfully.

When I first started my career, I began as an administrative aide on a per diem basis at $28 per day without benefits for a New York City government agency in 1971 under Mayor John Lindsay. I was right out of college, armed with my bachelor of science degree majoring in political science. At night, I pursued my master’s in public administration. I was on track to be a leader in the political arena.

Eight years later and working through the mayoral administrations of Mayor Abraham Beame and Mayor Ed Koch, I left city government in 1979 as a Deputy Commissioner of a New York City government agency. I was 30 at the time and those eight years in city government gave me an education I never could have received in the ivory towers of academia.

It was during that portion of my career where I truly saw how individuals thought they were “leaders,” but lacked the ability to both conceptualize a vision and pursue that vision.

As Peter Drucker was quoted at the opening of this column, what I saw was management doing things right, not doing the right things. From mayoral administration to mayoral administration, the pronounced “leaders” of the city agency I worked for failed to provide leadership to our team, so they worked together toward the same goal. They missed understanding the talents and temperaments of each individual and to effectively motivate each team member to contribute individually their best toward achieving the group goal. They were always too busy gloating about their personal success that they lost the power of being a true leader.

In closing, I would like to say that each and every one of you can be a “superhero.” Don’t let the norm be your guiding light. Seek to visualize something outside the box and be the visionary that leads, not manages, your team to new heights. Be open during the process to allow your team to both share and add to your vision. True leaders don’t fear failure, but try to navigate a path to success. If during that travel failure occurs, it only fuels the leader to greater passion to achieve success for themselves and their team. Who knows … maybe one day I’ll read a book about you and your business leadership (considering I’ve ditched comic books!). Lead on!

Sincerely, Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEO NMP Media Corp. joel@nmpmediacorp.com

STAFF Eric C. Peck Editor-in-Chief (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 ericp@nmpmediacorp.com

Joel M. Berman Publisher - CEO (516) 409-5555, ext. 310 joel@nmpmediacorp.com

Joey Arendt Art Director (516) 409-5555, ext. 307 joeya@nmpmediacorp.com

Beverly Bolnick VP-Sales & Marketing (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 beverlyb@nmpmediacorp.com

Scott Koondel VP of Operations (516) 409-5555, ext. 324 scottk@nmpmediacorp.com

Phil Hall Managing Editor (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 philh@nmpmediacorp.com

Richard Zyta Social Media Ambassador (516) 409-5555 richardz@nmpmediacorp.com

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

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

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS/PRESS RELEASES To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please contact Editor-in-Chief Eric C. Peck at (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 or e-mail ericp@nmpmediacorp.com. The deadline for submissions is the first of the month prior to the target issue.

SUBSCRIPTIONS To receive subscription information, please call (516) 409-5555, ext. 301; e-mail orders@nmpmediacorp.com or visit www.nationalmortgageprofessional.com. Any subscription changes may be made to the attention of “Circulation” via fax to (516) 409-4600.

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publisher’s desk

Statements, articles and opinions in National Mortgage Professional Magazine are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply the opinion or endorsement of NMP Media Corp., or the officers or members of National Association of Mortgage Brokers and its State Affiliates (NAMB), National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW), National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) and/or other state mortgage trade associations.

Participation in NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage trade associations events, activities and/or publications is available on a non-discriminatory basis and does not reflect the endorsement of the product and/or services by NMP Media Corp., NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and other state mortgage trade associations.

National Mortgage Professional Magazine, NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage trade associations do not make any misrepresentations or warranties concerning the regulatory and/or compliance aspects of advertisers, products or services and/or the editorial content contained in NMP Media Corp. publications. National Mortgage Professional Magazine and NMP Media Corp. reserve the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

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National Mortgage Professional Magazine is published monthly by NMP Media Corp. • Copyright © 2015 NMP Media Corp.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Featured Editorial Contributors Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS

Fred Kreger, CMC

Matt Drottz

Mark Mohl

Bill Waltenbaugh

David Lykken

Kerry Elam

Gibran Nicholas

Eric Weinstein

Pam Marron

Brent Emler

K. Justin Restaino

Chad Jampedro

Brian Sacks

Mark Madsen

Benjamin Schomer

Bubba Mills

Chris Sturdivant

John Councilman, CMC, CRMS

Rick Grant

Editorial Contributors Phil Hall

Nikki Bell

Andy W. Harris, CRMS

Ray Brosseau

Dave Hershman

Laura Burke, EA, MBA, MS

Wednesday-Friday, May 13-15, 2015 • Marina Del Rey, CA Monday-Wednesday, May 18-20, 2015 • Boston, MA CMPS® Certification, Training & Coaching Get certified with five new mortgage planning skills to grow your business; implement and stay focused with our weekly coaching.

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Discover best practices, ask tough questions ... walk away with proven strategies and tactics.

Dianne Crosby

Scott Forman

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Rhonda Johnson

Kelly Marsh

Gibran Nicholas

Chris Nooney

Jen Du Plessis

Craig Strent

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Free Bonus

NAMB The Association of Mortgage Professionals

National Association of Professional Mortgage Women

2701 West 15th Street, Suite 536 l Plano, TX 75075 Phone: (972) 758-1151 l Fax: (530) 484-2906 Web site: www.namb.org

2014-2015 NAPMW National Board of Directors

NAMB 2014-2015 Board of Directors OFFICERS John Councilman, CMC, CRMS—President AMC Mortgage Corporation 10136 Avalon Lake Circle l Fort Myers, FL 33913 Phone: (239) 267-2400 l E-mail: jlc@amcmortgage.com Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS—President-Elect Lending Arizona LLC 3531 North Pantano Road l Tucson, AZ 85750 Phone: (520) 886-7283 l E-mail: randrews@lendingarizona.net Fred Kreger, CMC—Vice President American Family Funding 28368 Constellation Road, Suite 398 l Santa Clarita, CA 91350 Phone: (661) 505-4311 l E-mail: fred.kreger@affloans.com Rick Bettencourt, CRMS—Secretary Mortgage Network 300 Rosewood Drive l Danvers, MA 01923 Phone: (978) 777-7500 l E-mail: rbettencourt@mortgagenetwork.com Andy W. Harris, CRMS—Treasurer Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. 15962 SW Boones Ferry Rd., Ste 100 l Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035 Phone: (503) 496-0431, ext. 302 E-mail: aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com

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Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS—Immediate Past President/NAMB CEO American Midwest Bank 200 Medical Drive, Suite C-2A l Carmel, IN 46032 Phone: (317) 575-4355 l E-mail: donald.frommeyer@gmail.com

P.O. Box 451718 l Garland, TX 75045 Phone: (800) 827-3034 Web site: www.napmw.org

National President Christine Pollard (607) 226-1046 president@napmw.org

Vice President–Western Region Anna Mackovska (323) 321-2222 westernregion@napmw.org

President-Elect Kelly Hendricks (314) 398-6840 preselect@napmw.org

Secretary Cynthia Nutter (360) 258-2206 natsecretary@napmw.org

Vice President–Central Region Judy Alderson (918) 250-9080, ext. 300

Treasurer Kimberly Rozell, CME (607) 229-5008 nattreasurer@napmw.org

Vice President–Eastern Region Cathy Kantrowitz (845) 463-3011 easternregion@napmw.org

Parliamentarian Dawn Adams, GML, CMI (607) 329-4622 dawnvadams@live.com

Vice President–Northwestern Region William “Bill” Sanderson, CME, CMI (360) 713-9264

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

2014-2015 Board of Directors

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DIRECTORS Kay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS KC Mortgage LLC 2041 North Highway 83, Unit CPO Box 783 l Franktown, CO 80116 Phone: (720) 670-0124 l E-mail: kay@kcmortgagecolorado.com

Mike Brown President (908) 813-8555, ext. 3020 mbrown@cisinfo.net

Judy Ryan Director Credit Plus (800) 258-3488 judy.ryan@creditplus.com

John H.P. Hudson, CRMS Premier Nationwide Lending 1202 W. Bitters Road, Bldg. 1, Ste. 1205 San Antonio, TX 78216 Phone: (817) 247-4766 l E-mail: jhudson@pnlending.com

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

Mike Thomas Director (615) 386-2285, ext. 285 mthomas@ciccredit.com

Maureen Devine Ex-Officio (413) 736-4511 mdevine@strategicinfo.com

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

Julie Wink Treasurer (901) 259-5105 julie@datafacts.com

Terry Clemans Executive Director (630) 539-1525 tclemans@ncrainc.org

Renee Erickson Conference Chair (866) 932-2715 renee@zipreports.com

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

Olga Kucerak, CRMS Crown Lending 110 Broadway, Suite 360 l San Antonio, TX 78205 Phone: (210) 828-3384 l E-mail: olga@crownlending.com David Luna, CRMS Mortgage Educators and Compliance 947 South 500 E, Suite 105 l American Fork, UT 84003 Phone: (877) 403-1428 l E-mail: david@mortgageeducators.com Linda McCoy, CRMS Mortgage Team 1 Inc. 6336 Piccadilly Square Drive l Mobile, AL 36609 Phone: (251) 650-0805 l E-mail: linda@mortgageteam1.com Valerie Saunders RE Financial Services 13033 West Lindburgh Avenue l Tampa, FL 33626 Phone: (866) 992-0785 l E-mail: valsaun@gmail.com John Stevens, CRMS Bank of England d/b/a ENG Lending 11650 South State Street, Suite 350 l Draper UT 84062 Phone: (801) 427-7111 l E-mail: jstevens@englending.com

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

Scott Ledbetter Director (801) 375-5522 sledbetter@propertysolutions.com

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How Top Producers Create Five-Star Experiences for Their Strategic Partners

By Gibran Nicholas Most top producers that I've interviewed have an intense focus on creating five-star experiences for their strategic partners. Here are three common elements that all top producers share in common when creating those experiences: Communication Here's what Top Producers do when it comes to communication: l They do give specific status updates on specific clients to specific partners at specific times … consistently. l They do pick up the phone and call their partners regularly. l They do have face-to-face meetings with their partners on a regular basis.

APRIL 2015 n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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Here's what Top Producers don't do when it comes to communication: l They don't dump their partners into a generic newsletter system and fool themselves into thinking they're building a meaningful relationship. l They don't leave their partnerships in limbo without a clear "next step" for growth. l They don't chase after new partners without first going deep with their existing partners.

Thoughtfulness Top producers invest time, energy and resources into their relationships.

These investments include: l Writing handwritten thank-you notes. l Fun activities, such as client appreciation events. l Double dates with spouses and significant others. l Giving of yourself and your resources to help a strategic partner grow personally and professionally.

In order to find the time and energy to invest in their relationships, top producers create teams and systems to manage the loan process.

That's where the next point comes into play …

Competence Nothing trumps performance. You can be the most thoughtful person in the world and still be incompetent at closing loans. You can also communicate your incompetence regularly and consistently, and it still won't make a dimes worth of difference! Top Producers understand that at the end of the day, creating a five-star experience for the mortgage borrower is a crucial component to creating a five-star experience for the strategic partner who referred them.

That's why top producers build teams to help them manage the loan process and create five-star experiences for the mortgage borrower.

For more information on the structures and systems that Top Producers use, please visit http://TopProducerRoundTable.com.

Gibran Nicholas is the founder, chairman and CEO of CMPS Institute and the Top Producer Round Table Series–http://TopProducerRoundTable.com. Since 2005, he's helped more than 7,000 of America's top loan originators to grow sales and improve their relationships. Contact Gibran by phone at (888) 6089800, e-mail gibran@CMPSInstitute.org or visit http://CMPSInstitute.or

A production of

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

THE

elite performer Spring Clean Your Marketing Plan

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS t’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work activities by

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going through the motions, but not allocating the time necessary to step out and evaluate your marketing plan. While you don’t need to do this daily, certainly you need perspective on where

your business is coming from, headed, and what return you’re getting on any time or financial investments made. Take time this month to evaluate what happened during the first quarter and where you determine there may be strengths and weaknesses in your marketing plan.

A good place to start is by cutting the fat. Certainly, we all spend time and resources in areas that are not productive. These areas can be simply cut from our plans or delegated if necessary, but the first step is admitting that you have a problem.

Repeating activities or continuing to spend money in areas that are not productive certainly will lead to the same dead end. The sooner you change direction in these areas and reinvest in productive thinking and actions, the sooner your business will grow to that next level. Return-on-investment (ROI) as it pertains to time and money is an easy rule to understand, but also an easy one to fail at for those that don’t stop to reevaluate.

I believe each person and company will be unique with how they track their production sources, revenue, time and profits. While some might like doing this monthly, I suggest at least during a quarterly evaluation of your business to deter—George Santayana mine what may be economic factors in revenue versus operational factors. By testing and evaluating, you should be able to easily determine the difference between these two variables and how they impact leads and production during any given month or quarter. We are certainly in a volatile industry both with housing and rates, but organizing and evaluating your marketing plan will help you adapt and build market share in any climate.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431, e-mail aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com or visit www.vantagemortgagegroup.com.

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Think Local and Lend More This Spring

APRIL 2015 n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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By Bubba Mills When you travel halfway around the world, you’re guaranteed to get two things: Time to think and a sore butt. Fortunately for you in this article, I’ll be sharing an item I thought about and not issues of my rear end.

To fill you in, I spent a good chunk of February teaching workshops in the land Down Under—Australia. Simply beautiful. If you’ve never been Down Under, go. But beware, it’s a 20-hour flight.

Being that far from home made me think a lot about … well, home. More specifically, I thought about the importance of proximity and what’s near us.

The old saying goes, “All news is local.”

That’s true because what’s close to us matters most to us. On my trip, I learned a lot about Australians’ real estate issues—the local laws and regulations— items of obvious importance to them.

This topic of proximity is especially relevant for mortgage pros because the more of a local resource you are, the better off you’ll be. Why? Because perhaps more than anything, your potential customers want and need local expertise.

Google reports 80 percent of consumers want search results to be customized to their immediate surroundings.

Being a local expert jacks up your value as a mortgage lender. Frankly, it can mean the difference between winning and losing business. So how do you become the local expert in mortgage lending? The good news is there are steps you can take to transform yourself into that expert.

1. Supply useful content One of the fastest-growing marketing strategies is providing helpful content.

Fill your Web site and social media posts with info on your area, coffee shops, restaurants and bookstores, community meetings, community theater shows, farmer’s markets or concerts. Picture two

marketing mailers: One wishes readers a Happy Mother’s Day and other shares the latest mortgage rates. Which one wins?

2. Localize national news One great way to improve the quality of the information you share on your website and social media posts is to learn to localize national news. Every day we’re flooded with national stories about what’s happening in real estate. Give them a local slant. When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lowered their down-payment requirements and opened the lending door to millions of credit-worthy borrowers, lenders had a perfect opportunity to reach out and spread the news.

The same when the FHA lowered its mortgage insurance premiums in January. Explain how this relates to locals

“This topic of proximity is especially relevant for mortgage pros because the more of a local resource you are, the better off you’ll be.”

and you paint yourself as the subjectmatter expert.

3. Partner with local businesses Become a local expert by knowing all the best local experts in key industries. All the local businesses are in the same boat—they all need sales. So why not leverage your relationship with local vendors. Build and share a list of other pros—attorneys, Realtors, electricians— even restauranteurs and florists—the possibilities are nearly endless. And establishing these relationships creates a mutual pipeline back to you. Just be selective. If they do a bad job, it reflects on you.

Do you see yourself as a local expert?

If not, do you believe it would help your business if you were viewed as one? If so, what’s keeping you from starting today to brand yourself as the go-to-local expert?

Bubba Mills is executive vice president of Corcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 9578353 or visit www.corcorancoaching.com.

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UWM Announces the Launch of Freddie Mac’s Home Possible Program and Adds ARM Product to its Elite Program Offerings

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United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has announced the availability of Freddie Mac’s new Home Possible Mortgage program, which enables first-time homebuyers and low- to moderate-income borrowers to achieve homeownership with only a three percent downpayment.

The program allows homeowners the ability to refinance up to 97 percent loan-to-value, regardless of their existing loan type. Likewise, borrowers are able to purchase a home with as little as three percent down, even if they aren’t first-time homebuyers. There are also no income limits for those borrowers in underserved areas.

“Freddie’s Home Possible program opens up a lot of possibilities for borrowers, real estate agents and originators when it comes to home financing needs,” said Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of UWM. “It allows our brokers and correspondents to reach more borrowers who are now eligible to refinance or purchase a new home.”

Home Possible and Home Possible Advantage are better alternatives than FHA financing for borrowers looking to purchase with a low downpayment or refinance with limited equity.

UWM has also announced the release of Elite ARM, a new loan product that has been added to its Elite and Elite High Balance program. First launched in 2012, Elite caters exclusively to well-qualified clients, providing preferred conventional rates and pricing for borrowers with high FICO scores. The program has been continually expanded with the release of Elite ARM being the most recent addition.

UWM’s Elite family of products includes conventional fixed, conventional high balance fixed, and now ARMs. In addition, its 5/1 ARM will be offered with a lower cap of 2/2/5, unlike most traditional ARMs that require a 5/2/5 cap.

“Our new Elite ARM product is a natural addition to our Elite program,

which offers the absolute best pricing for the best qualified borrowers,” said Ishbia. “This new product enables our broker partners to help get their borrowers the best option that fits their needs. It gives our clients an edge over the competition.”

eSignSystems Releases SmartSAFE XL Platform

eSignSystems, a division of DocMagic Inc., has announced the introduction of its new SmartSAFE XL platform that marries sophisticated functionality with elegant simplicity, resulting in a highly intuitive eSignature process.

Benefits of the new application include greater scalability, increased transaction volume, and a simplified user interface, resulting in a very smooth and intuitive process. SmartSAFE XL is a complete modernization of prior versions of the SmartSAFE interface and infrastructure. The new codebase has been redesigned using Microsoft technologies such as ASP.NET MVC 5.0 and Entity Framework 6 as well as HTML 5.

The search fields are smarter, and modifications to participants and annotations can be done on-the-fly.

“Users of SmartSAFE XL will experience a clean and intuitive user experience in the management of documents and SigningRooms, increased workflow efficiencies, and streamlined administration of the system, making SmartSAFE XL one of the most robust and powerful eSignature and eVaulting solutions on the market,” said Kelly Purcell, EVP of sales and marketing at eSignSystems. “The new platform is ideal for companies that require more flexibility, extendibility and control over their eSign processes.”

SmartSAFE XL provides a centralized, user-friendly interface to prepare documents and establish “SigningRooms” for anything a user may want to electronically have signed, from loan documents to functional areas such as sales

departments to contracts and NDAs, human resource departments for employee paperwork and benefits, inhouse legal departments, partner networks and more.

SmartSAFE XL is fully compliant with the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA), Revised Article 9 of the UCC, ESIGN, The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, ESIGN, and Federal ESIGN eSignature and eRecord retention laws as well as international governance bodies such as the EU Electronic Signatures Directive. “eSignSystems has been very successful in helping companies of all types leverage electronic signatures within their operational workflows,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic, which acquired eSignSystems last year. “The launch of SmartSAFE XL takes eSigning to the next level for organizations that have specific needs for more customizable eSigning solutions.”

HomeBridge Launches TRID Educational Webinar Series

monthly installments. The Webinars will be conducted one day each month, twice per day, to accommodate the schedules of industry professionals around the country. The Webinars will be led by Phil Schild, HomeBridge’s general counsel and chief compliance officer, along with Grace Currid, HomeBridge’s chief credit officer, two lending industry veterans with significant experience in navigating intricate regulatory changes.

“Long-term success in this industry takes strategic planning. The TILA-RESPA changes are most likely the biggest regulatory challenges our industry has seen in the last 30 years and we all need to start planning now to make the transition as smooth as possible come August,” said Rick Floyd, partner and executive vice president at HomeBridge.

“The housing industry is an industry based on partnerships, formal and informal. As a true partner for the industry, HomeBridge is producing this Webinar and video series to share our knowledge and make the TRID rule implementation as easy as possible for everyone involved.”

Carrington Mortgage Launches New Borrower Education Program HomeBridge Financial Services Inc. has announced the launch of a comprehensive Webinar series and online knowledge center to help industry professionals prepare for the major changes that will occur once the TILARESPA Integrated Disclosure rule (TRID) takes effect Saturday, Aug. 1, 2015.

In line with its mission to be the housing industry’s partner for the path ahead, HomeBridge created a special landing page, www.HomeBridge.com/AugustFirst, as a focal point for professionals seeking additional information on how to prepare for the TRID rule implementation.

HomeBridge’s TRID Webinar Series will be broken into five

Carrington Mortgage Services LLC has announced the availability of MyLoanDetail, the company’s proprietary online loan review resource designed to provide borrowers with a thorough understanding of their obligations under their mortgage application and contract. Advocates of improving borrower education, Carrington developed this patent pending initiative to help enhance consumer understanding of loan terms and responsibilities. Nearly 10,000 borrowers have successfully utilized the patent-pending MyLoanDetail process

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EWSFLASH l APRIL 2015 l NMP NEWSFLASH l APRIL 2015 NMP NEWSFLASH l A NAMB Calls on President Obama to Speak More Positively of Mortgage Brokers

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In a letter dated March 30, 2015, John Councilman, president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals, called on President Barack Obama to update his speech material to reflect the current realities of the mortgage business, particularly with respect to individual mortgage professionals and the role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

“It is my hope, as our President, that you will speak more positively of mortgage brokers,” said Councilman in the letter. “They are providing the most cost-effective origination channel, the widest variety of programs, and the best customer service. I believe you can honestly be assured that mortgage brokers provide a wonderful alternative to the large banks.”

Citing the extensive efforts by NAMB and its state affiliates to bring about legislative and regulatory reform in the mortgage industry, Councilman challenged President Obama to recognize the leadership role played by NAMB members and the small businesses they represent in communities across the country.

“Since the onset of the financial crisis, no one in the industry has worked more diligently than mortgage brokers to prevent a recurrence of those events,” said Councilman. “NAMB has worked tirelessly with state legislatures around the country to pass laws regulating mortgage brokers and mortgage originators.”

Councilman pointed out in his letter to President Obama that NAMB has worked closely with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR), “to ensure that a national registry exists so bad actors can be tracked across state lines.”

“In July of 2008, Congress passed the SAFE Act. Due to considerable input

from NAMB, it licensed all non-bank mortgage originators, not just broker originators,” wrote Councilman in reference to NAMB efforts on the federal level. “Shortly thereafter, the Federal Reserve created an anti-steering rule with substantial input from NAMB. These all occurred prior to the formation of the CFPB.” Councilman went on to note that in its recent advisory on “mini-correspondents,” the CFPB concluded that mortgage brokers offer “important consumer protections” not available to consumers through other channels.

“The CFPB’s complaint database reveals extreme consumer satisfaction with mortgage brokers, far exceeding that of any other segment of the finance industry, and that mortgage brokers accounted for less than one-tenth of one percent of the complaints,” said Councilman. “Bank originators have less rigorous requirements as well as less stringent criminal background standards. Brokers have a vested interest in providing good service because they live and work in the communities they serve.”

Councilman also requested in the letter that President Obama encourage the CFPB to level the playing field for all mortgage originators.

“The maintenance of a competitive mortgage market was called for under Dodd-Frank, but has not been realized,” said Councilman. “There are instances where mortgage brokers are unable to help borrowers due to current regulations, making the borrower’s only choice a large bank, if they receive a loan at all.”

SSI Poll Finds a Majority of Lenders Ready to Meet CFPB’s Disclosure Deadline Secure Settlements Inc. (SSI) has published the results of its latest nationwide poll of lenders today.

SSI conducted a poll

of 667 mortgage lenders and banks nationwide from March 21-27, inquiring about their preparation for the CFPB’s new integrated disclosure rules set to take effect on Aug. 1, 2015. The new rules establish new forms which are replacing the standard disclosure forms known as the Good Faith Estimate (GFE), Truth-in-Lending, and HUD-1. The purpose of the new forms is to bring greater clarity and transparency to consumers regarding the costs associated with their mortgage loan.

The new Closing Disclosure, which replaces the old HUD-1 Settlement Statement, is typically prepared by an attorney, settlement or title professional in collaboration with a mortgage lender and must be delivered to a borrower no less than three days prior to a closing. Evidence of delivery is required for compliance and audit purposes.

SSI’s poll questioned a sampling of lenders around the country to determine their knowledge of the new rule, familiarity with the new closing form, and their preparations for the Aug. 1, 2015 rollout.

Although recent statements from the CFPB indicate this date may be extended, the deadline was used for polling purposes. The polling results reflected that 100 percent of the respondents were familiar with the new rules having participated in workshops (65 percent) and read industry bulletins and white papers (43 percent) or both. Seventyfour percent of those who responded have obtained and reviewed the new Closing Disclosure form and are familiar with it, while 26 percent are “somewhat familiar” with the form, but have not yet taken the time to study it. More than 80 percent indicated that they have initiated formal steps internally to educate their operations staff about the new process and otherwise prepare for a planned August launch date.

Given the importance of the proper execution and delivery of the new Closing Disclosure form, including the necessary cooperation by settlement agents in verifying fees and supervising

the review, signing and return of the properly prepared and executed form, the poll inquired whether lenders have yet taken steps to contact agents to discuss cooperation. In response, 70 percent of lenders indicated that they have communicated with settlement agents regarding their policies and procedures for the new disclosure, while the balance says that they plan to do so soon.

In response to concerns about the risk of agents, not just in conjunction with the forms preparation, execution and delivery but with respect to overall consumer protection, 69 percent of those polled have developed a vendor management program to weed out high risk agents and 30 percent are “working on it.”

Asked how their opinion on the new Closing Disclosure and how it will impact their businesses, some of the negative comments included: “implementation will be a nightmare,” “concerned about simultaneous closings,” and “flow changes will cause delays and effect purchase transactions.” Others commented more favorably saying: “I believe in the new disclosures,” “taking a wait and see attitude,” and “it will be good for consumers.” Most lenders were concerned about closing delays, managing costs and fees well in advance of a closing date.

“Lenders appear to be very focused on the new disclosures and the Closing Disclosure particularly and are taking important steps to be ready whenever the new deadline arrives,” said SSI President Andrew Liput. “The Closing Disclosure is an important step in the right direction for greater transparency for borrowers, however there is a real concern that the borrower may be negatively impacted by closing delays as lenders struggle to finalize fees and costs and ensure that a process which typically comes together just before the closing date, is set to go several days in advance. Seasoned compliance and operations managers know just how difficult this will be. I urge lenders to reach out to their settlement agents now, notify them of the changes, and work collaboratively with them to ensure a smooth process in anticipation of the new effective date.”

Survey Finds Millennials in the Dark on Closing Costs

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a new toolkit, “Your

which was initially developed by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). The updated toolkit is designed to be used in connection with the new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms that will be effective on Aug. 1, 2015. Creditors must provide the toolkit to mortgage applicants as a part of the application process, and other industry participants, including real estate professionals, are encouraged to provide it to potential homebuyers.

The CFPB is also providing an electronic version complete with fillable text fields and interactive check boxes so the consumer can save and print continued on page 16

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CFPB Releases New Mortgage Shopping Toolkit

and avoid surprises at the closing table.

We are releasing this toolkit well in advance of the effective date to help the mortgage industry come into compliance with the new rules.”

The toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to help consumers understand the nature and costs of real estate settlement services, define what affordable means to them, and find their best mortgage. The toolkit features interactive worksheets and checklists, conversation starters for discussions between consumers and lenders, and research tips to help consumers seek out and find important information.

The toolkit is designed to replace an existing booklet that creditors currently must provide to mortgage applicants,

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

ClosingCorp has released the results of a nationwide survey which reveals that approximately two-thirds of Millennials, adults between the ages of 18-34, who plan to buy a home are unaware of closing costs.

The survey also found that across all adult age brackets, more than one-third of potential homeowners are “Not Very” or “Not At All” aware of closing costs.

“Much has been written about Millennials because they are the largest generation so far in U.S. history, and their longstanding impact on the real estate market and economy is going to be huge,” said Brian Benson, CEO of ClosingCorp.

“Their buying behaviors are much different than previous generations, and of particular concern to the industry is that they are waiting longer to buy their first homes. This study emphasizes the need to better educate Millennials, and really all consumers in general, on the real estate closing process. While interest rates are often the driving force in initiating a real estate transaction, the realtor, lender, title and other settlement fees also have a significant impact on the down payment and cash outflow from the borrower perspective. Not understanding how everything is related can be a real impediment for firsttime homebuyers who want to get into the market.”

The “ClosingCorp National Closing Costs Survey” of more than 1,000 adults, also showed that most people learn about closing costs from realtors, or by doing their own research. In fact, Millennial homeowners are more likely to learn about closing costs from a realtor as opposed to a lender by a ratio of nearly two-to-one.

“This study is very interesting in that it shows Millennials are more dependent on realtors than previously presumed,” said Benson. “We know they are more techsavvy than their predecessors, so we believe this really highlights the complexity of a residential real estate transaction.

Whether they are researching a home on their own or getting help from an interested third-party, the bottom line is that people need access to the correct information, and it needs to be simple for them to understand. With the upcoming changes to the disclosure process being made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this August, we as an industry should be stepping up our proactive education efforts to ensure homebuyers are fully prepared to make the most significant financial transaction of their lives.”

Home Loan Toolkit,” that guides consumers through the process of shopping for a mortgage and buying a house.

Developed as part of the CFPB’s “Know Before You Owe” mortgage initiative, the toolkit will help consumers take full advantage of the new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms that lenders are required to begin providing in August.

“This toolkit is a great resource for consumers navigating the homebuying process, and will help consumers make well-informed decisions about the biggest financial transaction of their life,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “The new mortgage disclosure forms coming in August will help consumers comparison shop for mortgages

Multi-Channel Marketing

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Multi-channel marketing is the use of several marketing platforms to interact with potential customers in several ways within the same marketing campaign. For example: Direct Mail + E-mail + Telemarketing would be a multi-channel marketing campaign. Everyone gets a letter. Some get an additional follow-up phone call, and others will also get an e-mail or two.

These new campaigns are groundbreaking. They are revolutionizing the way consumers and companies interact before the sale. Think of it this way, if you only had one prospect to work at a time, wouldn’t they get the most personal sales approach from you and wouldn’t you close at a much higher rate? Multi-channel marketing does just that, it gives the prospect a personal experience throughout the sales process, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just one prospect at a time.

It’s not cost-effective for mortgage companies to create custom offers for each prospect … or is it? What if it were possible? What if you could target an individual that you KNOW qualifies for a specific refinance product or that you KNOW now qualifies for a purchase when they previously had not? Would you call them, e-mail them, send them a letter, or even make a stop by their house? Today’s new multi-channel marketing campaigns do just that. And they give you the ability to go BIG. Personal content with scalability—now that’s remarkable marketing!

It’s now possible for you to send a mail piece to someone. Send them a voicemail just before your mail hits letting them know who you are and why you are reaching out to them. At the same time, you can also get ads from your company showing up on their favorite social media site both at home and work on their computers and on their cellphones when they are messaging with friends or family. Add an e-mail to the mix and you have four ways of contact which will produce four times the results. And because they all have common content you will build credibility into your offer, your company, and yourself. Today, you have the ability to get a very specific audience interacting with you and your company. Walk them comfortably and EXCLUSIVELY through your sales process and into your client follow up system after they’ve done business with you.

TagQuest customer spotlight: Duane B., South Carolina Each month, we talk with our clients to see how their campaigns are going. Here’s that we heard from Duane B. in South Carolina.

Marketing method: Direct mail voice l Volume: 5,000 pieces l Results: 1.25 percent response rate from the mail—another 0.85 percent response from follow up voicemails equaling a 2.1 percent total response!

Highlights of the campaign that worked well: “The personal touch with voicemails make the conversations so much easier. It’s better than a live transfer.”

Highlights of the campaign that may appeal to others in the industry: “The response rates are not only high, but they are qualified and would work well for anyone.”

Based in Medford, Ore., TagQuest Inc. is a full-service marketing firm developed throughout the ever-changing mortgage industry. Utilizing industry knowledge, marketing expertise, and technology we implement any or all aspects of your marketing and/or advertising campaigns. With a proven track record, more than 10 years in business, and decades of experience TagQuest knows what it takes to produce unprecedented results in today’s fast-paced mortgage environment. For more information, call (888) 7178980 or visit www.tagquest.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

nmp news flash continued from page 15

their progress as they work through the toolkit. The electronic version meets federal accessibility standards to ensure that all consumers, including those with disabilities, can use the resource. The CFPB encourages lenders to keep this level of accessibility when delivering the PDF to consumers. A Spanish language version will also be made available later in 2015.

Ocwen to Sell $25 Billion in MSRs to Nationstar Mortgage

freed nearly half of those homeowners, but now that trend has reversed in many metros. Three years into the recovery, home values overall continued to recover while owners of the lowest-valued homes—those most likely to be stuck in negative equity—were left behind.

“Higher negative equity rates have become the new normal,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries.

“We’ve long been expecting the negative equity rate to fall more slowly as home value growth also slows, and unfortunately that’s exactly what we’re seeing. Compounding the problem is the fact that negative equity is decidedly not an equal opportunity predator, and looms larger over the bottom 10 percent of homes, where homeowners are least prepared to withstand the assault.”

In the fourth quarter of 2014, the negative equity rate worsened in 21 of the top 50 U.S. markets. Nationally, home values rose around six percent in 2014.

Less valuable homes are much more likely to be underwater. For example, in Atlanta, 49 percent of homes in the bottom-third of home values are in negative equity, compared to 11 percent of mortgaged homes in the highest valued third.

Nationally, 16.9 percent of all homes with a mortgage are in negative equity, and that is expected to fall to 15.4 percent by the end of 2015. Among large metros, Virginia Beach (28.3 percent), Jacksonville (27.0 percent), Las Vegas (26.4 percent), and Atlanta (26.1 percent) had the highest rates of negative equity.

Ocwen Financial Corporation has announced that its subsidiary, Ocwen Loan Servicing, and Nationstar Mortgage, an indirectly-held, wholly-owned subsidiary of Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc., have agreed in principle to the sale by Ocwen of residential mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) on a portfolio consisting of approximately 142,000 loans owned by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae with a total principal balance of approximately $25 billion. Subject to a definitive agreement, approvals by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and FHFA and other customary conditions, Ocwen and Nationstar expect the transaction to close before mid-year.

“This transaction, on top of the one announced in February between Ocwen and Nationstar, furthers our announced corporate strategy and demonstrates the strong working relationship we have developed with Nationstar,” said Ron Faris, chief executive officer of Ocwen.

“This transaction builds upon our strong track record of portfolio acquisitions while serving the needs of homeowners, and we look forward to expedi- Chase RMBS Settlement tiously closing and boarding this portfo- Monitor Confirms $2.2 lio,” said Jay Bray, chief executive officer Billion Paid Out to Date of Nationstar. “We will continue to work Joseph A. cooperatively with Ocwen as they evaluSmith Jr. ate the sale of additional agency portfohas relios and look forward to continuing disleased his cussions with all counterparties.” fourth report on JP Morgan Chase’s progress under its settlement with the Zillow: Higher federal government and five states concerning claims that Chase, Bear Stearns Negative Equity Rates and Washington Mutual packaged and the New Norm Owners of homes sold bad residential mortgage-backed at the bottom of securities (RMBS) to investors before the the market are financial crisis (Chase RMBS trapped under- Settlement). In the report, Smith conwater on their firmed that Chase provided mortgages even $2,245,673,500 in consumer relief credas the real estate market continues to it to 111,924 borrowers through Sept. recover, according to the fourth quarter 30, 2014. Chase must provide $4 billion Zillow Negative Equity Report. That’s in credited relief by Dec. 31, 2017. because low end homes—the most likeThe report also contains Chase’s selfly to be upside-down—are losing value. reported gross consumer relief. The At the peak of the real estate crisis, Monitor has not yet validated the credmore than 15 million homeowners iting of these activities. According to owed more on their mortgages than Chase, in the fourth quarter 2014, their homes were worth, putting them Chase provided $5.1 billion in principal in negative equity. Foreclosures, short sales and rapidly rising home values continued on page 33

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The Beginner’s Guide to Direct Mail

By K. Justin Restaino Define your market Before engaging in any marketing activity, it’s always important to define your target market. For example, would you like to focus on current customers who are looking to take on more services? Alternatively, are you interested in creating a mailing piece designed to brand your company name and company image? Once you determine your primary audience, your next step would be to acquire your mailing list. There are a number of options available: l Use your own mailing list l Purchase a list l Create a list

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Design your campaign After determining your target market and obtaining your list, it’s time to design your campaign. The primary things that you want to consider are budget, your Call-to-Action (CTA), and the copy. l Budget: A budget will establish the direction of your mailer. It will allow you to determine how much money you want to spend and where to allocate funds. l Call-to-Action: The CTA is a directive to the mail recipient—an action that you would like the individual who receives your mailing to take.

This is considered one of the most critical components of your direct mailer. As such, your CTA should be specific, easily identifiable and relatively simple to follow. l Copy: Your direct mail copy should be compelling, easy to read and benefits-driven. Write something that will be interesting for your prospect to read. If you can keep your prospect hooked until the end, you’re far more likely to engage their interest in your services. Remember that your prospects are probably going to be skimming your mailer. Use short paragraphs, bolded text, bullet points and subheadings. While you don’t want to go overboard with these elements, you do want to clearly delineate your sales message in the most attractive way possible.

Testing After investing money in direct mail, you want to make sure that it’s going to yield results. This is where split-testing can be so important. Split-testing occurs when you send two different versions of a mailer to your prospects.

By doing so, you can see which version garners the best results. This cuts costs and allows you to achieve the best results.

Most consumers say that they prefer paper-based media to online media, and a whopping 79 percent of people read or skim the direct mail they receive. Compare that to an e-mail open rate of 22 percent for the mortgage industry, and it’s easy to see that direct mail can be a very effective way of yielding new business for mortgage brokers. To do it well, keep in mind the following: Identify your target audience, establish a budget, create an effective CTA, write compelling copy and test. By following these steps, your direct mail campaign will not only net you some new prospects, but it will also increase your sales.

To read our full Beginner’s Guide to Direct Mail, follow the TitanList blog at www.titanlists.com/wordpress.

K. Justin Restaino is vice president of Titan List & Mailing Services Inc. For more than 15 years, he has led Titan’s Mortgage Division, helping lenders of all capacities grow their businesses utilizing targeted direct mail. With a specialized focus in refinance and purchase markets, Restaino has the insight for proper data and mail application for success. He may be reached by phone at (800) 544-8060, ext. 204 or e-mail justin@titanlists.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

new to market continued from page 12

in beta trials and the company now requires all borrowers to complete the program prior to their loan funding.

“Extending credit to clients in the underserved market requires a heightened sense of dual responsibility–—and that begins with more effective borrower education through resources such as MyLoanDetail,” said Carrington Mortgage Services Mortgage Lending Division Executive Vice President Ray Brousseau.

“As the industry does more to help potential borrowers understand how the lending process works and their specific responsibilities, lenders’ ability to meet the needs of a larger population and originate more loans to more customers will improve.”

MyLoanDetail consists of a short explanation of the mortgage process and confirmation of the borrowers’ understanding of their specific loan. The program includes key mortgage concepts and terminology, an introduction to the professionals involved in the process and their roles, as well as a review of the borrower’s loan details and payment information.

Borrowers are asked to confirm the accuracy of information provided in their loan application and are given an opportunity to provide additional information that may be important in processing the application and verifying their ability to repay.

to provide immediate, measurable results. The goal of the company’s training system is to empower managers to fully implement strategies and tactics that increase production, bolster loan officer loyalty and enhance customer service levels.

Mortgage Master University will consist of eight major components, including classes, workshops and events customized for Mortgage Master by industry leading training professionals. The eight components are: Leadership Lessons, Rapid Coaching, ENERGY Webinars, Performance Boosters, Power Online, Live Recruiting Workshop, Elite Live Events and the EDGE Online Series, each with a specific audience, purpose and style, to ensure every employee has an opportunity to gain the maximum benefit.

“Continual improvement is a crucial element for achieving excellence in any field, but especially one as competitive as mortgage lending,” said XINNIX Founder and Chief Executive Officer Casey Cunningham. “Mortgage Master’s dedication to its employees is exceptional in the industry, and we are excited to be part of their team to provide the knowledge and tools that will position them at the cuttingedge of loan originator development.”

Mortgage Master has announced the launch of Mortgage Master University, a dedicated internal educational solution, to offer its origination professionals a fully-integrated set of training courses designed to deliver powerful insight, direction and motivation to improve service levels and increase production. Mortgage Master has partnered with XINNIX, a leading provider of the mortgage industry’s most comprehensive suite of training solutions, to be the backbone of Mortgage Master University.

“Our production professionals drive our growth, and Mortgage Master is committed to investing in every one of our loan officers, sales managers and branch leadership teams to help them maximize their potential and deliver the highest standards of customer service,” said Paul Anastos, president of Mortgage Master.

“Mortgage Master University is a natural extension of our continuous learning culture, and a necessary initiative to allow our sales professionals to thrive in a very competitive marketplace. We worked closely with XINNIX to design a custom set of courses that will reinforce and augment our culture of support, education and opportunity.”

XINNIX training solutions are designed

that it is incorporating a new HMDA Data Audits service to its line of mortgage banking audits for banks and mortgage lenders.

“We are pleased to be able to offer financial institutions the support to assist them in staying compliant with their HMDA Data LAR report requirements,” said Tommy A. Duncan, CMT, QMS CEO. “Our programmers are working on the implementation of the HMDA auditing tool as part of the MARS (Mortgage Analyst Review Software) technology. HMDA clients will have reporting and analytical tools available at their fingertips via the MARS portal.”

QMS currently provides companies with Post-Closing QC, Pre-Funding, MERS and MARS (Mortgage Analyst Review Software). QMS HMDA Audits include: Data Entry, Scrub for Data Validation and HMDA report corrections.

Quality Mortgage Services Adds HMDA Data Audits Mortgage Master Partners to Its Services With XINNIX to Launch Quality Mortgage Mortgage Master Services LLC (QMS) University has announced

Mortgage Returns Launches New Customer Support Portal Mortgage Returns, a provider of TRUE CRM technology and automated marketing solutions for the mortgage industry, has launched an online portal, MR Help, to continued on page 31

Wholesale

FHA Lender1

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Send us your FHA deals today.

Visit wholesale.flagstar.com to find an account executive near you.

Source: FHA Neighborhood Watch, December 2014.

Member FDIC

Some restrictions may apply. All borrowers are subject to credit approval. Programs subject to change. The information provided in this flyer is for dissemination to and for the use of real estate and financial business entities only and is not an advertisement for the extension of credit to customers.

n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

New policy changes and near-historic low interest rates have made it an ideal time to purchase or refinance with FHA loans. With more than two decades of industry know-how, Flagstar Bank is a national leader—and a partner you can rely on.

NAMB PERSPECTIVE The President’s Message: April 2015 This month features my favorite NAMB conference, the Legislative & Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C. Why do I love this event?

Legislative issues drove me to join NAMB way back in the 1980s. We formed the Maryland Association of Mortgage Brokers (MAMB) back in the early 1990s because of the unfair way the government was treating mortgage brokers. I pounded the halls of Congress with NAMB’s first full-time lobbyist and wore out a pair of shoes. I

have had legislation introduced in Congress and at the state level, shaped legislation that was both good and bad, and even stopped some really bad legislation from being enacted. I have worked with regulators on implementing RESPA, TILA and other laws. Working with others, I have had the pleasure of shaping the guidelines of FHA, VA, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I don’t say all of this to tell you what I have done. I am telling you that you can make a difference. When you take the initiative or when we work together, we do make a differ-

Lion ... Tiger ... Giraffe ...

Loan Originator

By Fred Kreger, CMC

APRIL 2015 n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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I am traveling back home from NAMB’s Wholesale Summit in Orlando, Fla. This was a first for me with NAMB. The attendees and I were pleasantly surprised on the openness and flow of information that came from these wholesale executives. I think we all realize that we all have the same legal and practical opinions on many topics, from TRID to appraisal management.

As I was taking in the first session in the morning, I was thinking in the back of my mind that I might be considered an originating branch manager of a regional mortgage banking company, but I am still THAT originator that we all are talking about in the room.

We all originate and most of us advocate for the consumer. Where we get the money is a moot point. We ALL must

complete the new Truth-inLending/RESPA disclosure; we all must take our NLMS, ALM, BSR training classes.

We also all must originate mortgages for our clients in order take home a paycheck. Right? NAMB is the association of mortgage professionals, just like my state organization is called the “California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP).” I am a mortgage professional and I hold the NAMB designation of the CMC, the Certified Mortgage Consultant.

At the core of what we all do, originating home loans for our clients to the best of our abilities.

No matter what you call me, I am still a “Mortgage Professional.” Why am I brining this up as I am leaving a wholesale lenders conference? Because this thirdparty origination channel is once again thriving. This makes me excited, because it allows for new products and services to come into the marketplace that will serve homeowners who might have NOT been

NAMB Certification Update

By Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS NAMB’s certifications have long been a popular and useful benefit to loan originators. Starting with the Certified Residential Mortgage Specialist (CRMS) and the Certified Mortgage Consultant (CMC), NAMB added the General Mortgage Associate (GMA) for newcomers to the industry. With all the changes to our profession, it was time to update the questions.

Under the direction of NAMB Certification Chair Guy Schwartz, the questions have been updated to reflect current regulations and removed any dated questions. The CRMS and GMA have been added to the testing facility’s bank of questions, and the CMC should be done by the end of April. The Certification Committee is next working on updating the test prep material on the Web site to more accurately prepare the new applicants. We are also working on putting together some marketing ideas taken from existing certification holders

ence. There are some who will tell you that we are too small and don’t have enough money. I know better. Let me give you an example.

I was at Easter service and a baby started to cry. This baby couldn’t even walk or talk and had no money, but you can bet it got everyone’s attention and people took action. It had every right to cry when its needs were not met.

We have a just cause. As mortgage originators, we are still paying for the sins of people who created programs that were not always best for the consumer. We are paying for the sins of originators who have long since left the business. It is time we made our voice heard because we have a legitimate cause. NAMB’s Legislative & Regulatory Conference is when we have a chance to

let our elected officials and agencies know that we are an army of professionals who uphold high ethical standards. We are an important part of this economy and we have a message that needs to be heard.

I will be at the 2015 Midwest Mortgage Matchmaker Conference in St. Louis at the Ameristar Casino Resort & Spa on Wednesday, April 29 and at the 2015 Great Northwest Mortgage Expo at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Portland, Ore. on Tuesday, May 12. Come enrich yourself and say hello.

served before. I may get my clients money from banking lines, but I can still rejoice in the fact that our industry cannot only survive a serious downturn, but rise like a Phoenix and thrive. All new and existing homeowners deserve to have their originator representing their best interests. It can be from a bank, credit union, broker or correspondent.

Which now leads me into the question; why isn’t every mortgage originator a member of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage PROFESSIONALS? In addition, a member of your own state organization. Why hasn’t every originator embraced organizations that advocate, educate and provide industry guidance for all stakeholders to thrive?

Maybe it’s awareness or apathy. If you are reading this article, you may know an originator who is not a member. I implore you to be an advocate for the originator and the homeowner.

Become involved in one way or another. It doesn’t matter HOW you fund a loan, you are a mortgage professional and we must all support every channel that allows access to credit for our homeowner clients.

Getting back to thinking about this great opportunity for wholesale to thrive again. Is not this the great entrepreneurial spirit? I am excited and show should all of you. The wholesale channel is where our new non-QM products just surfaced and many others have entered this market. We have wholesale partners providing compliance and sales training for their originators. At the end of the day, this is how an industry thrives and becomes a viable solution for homeowners. I may be a lion, and you may be a giraffe, but we all are a part of something bigger … the mortgage jungle and we will all thrive.

Thank you and Namaste’.

on how the certification has helped them in their business. You can see the certifications in people’s e-mail signatures, flyers and certificates hanging in their offices. There are many more creative ways that NAMB certifications have been used and the Certification Committee is working on putting those ideas together to help certification holders.

At the same time, the NAMB Education Committee has had David Luna of Mortgage Educators working on a new prep class for prospective test takers. The class is set to be rolled out at the upcoming Legislative & Regulatory Conference in Washington, D.C. The test preparation materials and practice questions will be updated to better reflect the updated tests.

So now is the perfect time to obtain your NAMB professional certification if you have not yet done so. It shows the public you take your profession seriously and have proven your proficiency in a manner that reflects the knowledge and professionalism wanted by the public and employers. If you would like more information please e-mail me and we can get you started on the path to a professional designation.

John Councilman, CMC, CRMS NAMB President president@namb.org www.joinnamb.com

Fred Kreger, CMC is the branch manager at American Family Funding, a Division of American Pacific Mortgage. He is also a past statewide president of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP) and currently is the vice president and Government Affairs vice chairman for NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (661) 505-4311 or e-mail fred.kreger@affloans.com.

Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS of Lending Arizona LLC in Tucson, Ariz. is presidentelect of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (520) 886-7283 or email randrews@lendingarizona.net.

NAMB PERSPECTIVE Is It Safe to Advertise?

By John Councilman, CMC, CRMS

I cannot imagine how a mortgage broker could comply if they are required to keep records of every credit product they could offer from all of their wholesale lenders.

The rule goes far beyond lenders and brokers, it also includes real estate agents, ad agencies, affiliate marketers and lead generators. You will be subject to the rule as long as you are involved in disseminating information on mortgage products. Compliance will require advertisers to monitor and keep records of downstream ads and will require the tracking of weekly changes in mortgage rates regardless of whether one is acting on behalf of loan originators.

The penalties for what a federal or state regulator feels is illegal are astronomical. For a RESPA violation, the fines can be:

l Commercial communications, sales scripts, training materials, and marketing materials regarding any term of any mortgage credit products; and l Documents describing or evidencing all mortgage credit products and all additional products or services that may be offered in conjunction with the products at the time of the communication.

Next month, I will discuss the pitfalls of other forms of promotion and methods of obtaining business.

l $5,000 each day for a violation of a consumer protection law l $25,000 each day if the violation is reckless l $1 million per day for any violation that is committed knowingly

John Councilman, CMC, CRMS of AMC Mortgage Corporation in Ft. Myers, Fla. is president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (239) 267-2400 or email jlc@amcmortgage.com.

Are You an NAMB Lending Integrity Seal of Approval Holder?

(No additional costs to NAMB members)

How to Apply for your National Lending Integrity Seal

Lending Integrity Requirements

l l l l l l l l l

The Lending Integrity Seal of Approval is awarded only to mortgage originators who meet specific requirements. To earn the privilege to display the Seal, mortgage brokers and loan officers must: Be an NAMB member Meet the requirements of the SAFE Act Pass a national criminal background check Attend eight hours (or equivalent) of professional development education each year Attend two hours (or equivalent) of ethics training every other year or each license renewal cycle Provide professional references Subscribe to NAMB’s Best Business Practices Agree to NAMB’s Code of Ethics Must be renewed annually

n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

www.lendingintegrity.org Click on EARN the Seal NAMB members ONLY–Log in to the Lending Integrity site with your NAMB User ID and Password (If you do not know your User ID and Password, type in your email and click log-in and the system will send you a password. If you have any issues, please call (972) 758-1151 or e-mail membership@namb.org).

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Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) came down hard on three mortgage companies for numerous alleged violations. The fines were not insignificant. Flagship Financial was fined $225,000 and American Preferred Lending was fined $85,000, an amount the latter had to put on a payment plan. Another lender, All Financial Services, is being sued in federal district court. New Day Financial was fined $2 million dollars for a marketing agreement The CFPB has stated publicly that they are monitoring advertising. State regulators are monitoring your advertising as well. In a state audit, you will be expected to provide all of your advertising for the period being covered in the audit. That will include any social media posts where you offer your services. I have heard on a state level that they will be reviewing your financial statements in an audit to see if it correlates to what you have provided. If you show on your financials that you spent $50,000 on advertising over the past two years and all you show them is two one-inch Yellow Page ads, you are likely in trouble.

The scary part is that the advertising we thought was perfectly legal is turning out to be considered illegal. Just because many other companies are doing it or the ad medium says it is legal will not cut bait with a regulator.

The standards for advertising mortgages is amazingly high. Your ads are not just subject to objective regulations and laws, they are under subjective interpretations of law. We are used to having to put our license number and putting an APR when we quote a rate.

We know we are not supposed to be making blatantly false claims such as “No credit check” or advertising interest rates that don’t exist. The new paradigm is totally different. Most of the fines are being meted out under the Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices (UDAAP), short for Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices. What is deceptive to one person may not be deceptive to another.

The first thing you must consider in your advertising is whether the least sophisticated person viewing or hearing your ad would not correctly understand it. That is a pretty big hurdle to overcome. It is funny that the CFPB Rate Checker doesn’t include the APR because less sophisticated borrowers don’t understand it. It’s more like a game of “Do as I say, not do as I do.”

The recent spate of fines revolve around statements that were not so much false as misleading, according to the CFPB. Implying is considerably different than saying that you have an affiliation with the U.S. government. We all knew you didn’t use the VA or HUD seal or some other government mark. It was never presumed that saying “government approved” was illegal. But, the CFPB said it is “In the all case.” Putting “IMPORTANT DOCUMENT ENCLOSED,” followed by a citation to the U.S. Code regarding tampering with the mail, and then reading “OPEN IMMEDIATELY,” are also cited as being illegal. Another example charging illegal activity stated, “The letter also tells recipients that “[y]our assigned program officer can show you how to take advantage of this program …” Going one step further than not claiming government affiliation, the CFPB took position that all should have disclaimed it. “The versions attached as Exhibits 1 and 2 do not include any disclaimer language clarifying that the source of the advertisement is not a government agency.”

In the Amerisave case, one of the charges was rates were not always completely accurate when advertised by a third party. They quoted rates for an 800 score. Amerisave did not disclose the fact that discount points had been used to reduce the rates in its ads although they did show the APR. Truth-in-Lending (TIL) does not require that you disclose points, only the APR. One has to consider if rates published in a newspaper are ever accurate due to the market changing. What disclosure is required when you have a score lower than the one upon which the ad was based? Unless you have an interactive Web site, this is a problem, not to mention people don’t know what their mortgage score really is. I could think of a hundred companies that could have received similar fines. The CFPB did not cite any of these practices as per se illegal under RESPA or TILA. They charged that they were illegal under the Mortgage Acts and Practices (MAP Rule), which is based on unfair and deceptive practices. This is not a defense of Amerisave. Rather, it is to point out that one cannot simply advertise without regard to whether the ad paints an accurate picture.

Saying anything that may mislead the consumer is now illegal. Calling yourself a bank when you are not is illegal. I guess the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is going to have to change its name since its members are often not banks. They certainly might need to be careful in calling themselves “mortgage bankers” under these standards. In addition, an omission may be equally actionable. For example, adver-

tising “no PMI” when, in truth, the lender is paying the PMI or omitting the fact that the PMI will now be paid over the life of the loan or that the interest rate is higher on an LPMI loan.

Advertising “no closing costs” without saying, “You are paying a higher interest rate to obtain no closing costs” could be construed to be an omission.

Every area of advertising is under scrutiny. Radio and television advertising, print media, direct mail, marketing services agreements, social media and e-mail, are all being viewed subjectively rather than objectively. It is very difficult to be absolutely certain your advertising meets the muster. Some radio ads have disclaimers that are almost as long as the ad. I wonder how long it will be before fines are handed down for unintelligible disclaimers since they are often read at breakneck speeds.

When one looks at what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wrote into the MAP Rule, I believe it is likely most companies are not compliant. Even if you don’t use outside advertising, your internal polices and training are under scrutiny. You must maintain records of:

NAMB PERSPECTIVE

First Annual NAMB Wholesale Summit Judged a Resounding Success

BY RICK GRANT

APRIL 2015 n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals recently hosted its First Annual Wholesale Summit in Orlando, Fla. The event allowed NAMB leadership to sit down at the same table with representatives of more than a dozen of the nation’s top wholesale lenders and a compliance company to discuss how wholesale lenders can grow market share and explore marketing, compliance and profitability issues facing wholesalers and mortgage originators.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to pull all of you together to talk about the wholesale lending business and how we can increase things and do things a little bit differently,” NAMB CEO Donald Frommeyer, CRMS said as he opened the Summit. “It’s an exciting time. This is going to be a great effort.

We hope to make this a joint effort to exact change.”

More than a dozen major wholesale lenders and a compliance company attended the event, including: Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, B2R Finance, Carrington Mortgage Services, Franklin American Mortgage, Freedom Mortgage, HomeBridge Wholesale, Impac Mortgage Wholesale, Land Home Financial Services’ Wholesale Division, Lenders Compliance Group, New Penn Financial, Quicken Loans, REMN Wholesale, United Wholesale Mortgage, U.S. Bank and WholesaleOne. “We wanted to open an extended conversation of common goals and concerns and that’s exactly what happened,” said NAMB President John Councilman, CMC, CRMS. “We set out to

host a conversation about the kinds of meaningful changes that are very difficult if not impossible to have in most originator-to-lender dialogue. We accomplished that. Now, we have to continue with this dialogue.”

Frommeyer said the NAMB Wholesale Summit would not be a onetime event, but would bring attendees back together in some form every quarter to continue the work the group began last week. The next in-person meeting is currently scheduled to be concurrent with the NAMB National event in Las Vegas in October.

“This event definitely exceeded our expectations,” Frommeyer said. “The lenders that attended were thrilled with the outcome of this event. The networking opportunities offered by this event

were unmatched. We offered them something they have been unable to get from other industry events.”

“The wholesale lenders that failed to attend the Summit missed this excellent opportunity to help form the future of wholesale lending,” said Councilman. “A strong foundation has been established, and hopefully those wholesale lenders that did not participate will recognize the value of this process and join future NAMB Wholesale Summit follow-ups. In addition, they missed out on the opportunity to share in the data obtained from an NAMB survey conducted with hundreds of loan originators and mortgage brokers. It provided invaluable information where these respondents want the future to be and what they expect from their wholesale lenders.”

Thanks to the participant sponsors of the First Annual Wholesale Summit, as their valuable input and open dialogue will help foster the future of the mortgage industry in 2105 and beyond. Many thanks to the following:

NAMB PERSPECTIVE

Scenes From the First Annual NAMB Wholesale Summit March 21 at the Hyatt Place Orlando Airport NAMB Board Member David Luna, CRMS discusses impending CFPB rule changes

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NAMB CEO Don Frommeyer, CRMS welcomes attendees to the First Annual Wholesale Summit in Orlando, Fla.

NAMB President John Councilman, CMC, CRMS explains NAMB’s work on Capitol Hill

Jonathan Foxx of Lenders Compliance Group details his firm’s offerings to attendees of NAMB’s First Annual Wholesale Summit

Members of the NAMB Board pause for a photo during the First Annual Wholesale Summit

n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

NAMB President-Elect Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS discusses the industry’s current regulatory environment

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

NAMB Director John Stevens, CRMS discusses the future of the wholesale marketplace

Underwater Mortgages Bubble to

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By Phil Hall

O

ne of the most significant cases before the U.S. Supreme Court is Bank of America v. Caulkett, which may have a major impact on how the industry handles underwater mortgages.

At issue is whether Section 506(d) of the Bankruptcy Code will allow the courts to void a second mortgage on a residential property that is underwater. The genesis of the case is Florida homeowner David Caulkett, who bought a house in 2006 for $249,500 and paid for it with two mortgages, one for $199,600 and one for $49,000.

Caulkett filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2013, and at the time he owed $183,000 and $47,000 on his two mortgages—far more than the $98,000 valuation that his house carried. Caulkett sought to have the second mortgage lien voided in bankruptcy court because his house’s value was significantly less than his first mortgages.

To date, Caulkett has emerged victorious in the courts—most recently in a unanimous ruling by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Arguing against Caulkett is Bank of America, which stated that the Supreme Court’s 1992 Dewsnup v.

Timm case outlawed the process of stripping off a second mortgage on an underwater property as

unsecured debt in a bankruptcy case. But the Eleventh Circuit Court did not agree, stating that the Dewsnup case did not apply if the collateral on a second mortgage did not did not possess enough value. A similar case brought by another underwater mortgage borrower in Florida, Edelmiro Toledo-Cardona, has been linked to Caulkett’s for the Supreme Court decision.

Which way will the Supreme Court rule on this case? Several prominent real estate attorneys offered mixed views.

“I believe that the U.S. Supreme Court should not overturn the decision made by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Bank of America v Caulkett,” said Les R.

Kramsky of the Marlboro, N.J.headquartered Law Offices of Les R. Kramsky LLC. “It is my opinion that the homeowners should be able to erase underwater second mortgages though Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If we do not allow the discharge of these underwater second mortgages then second mortgage holders could simply block any bankruptcy settlement between the homeowner and the first mortgage holder, which may not only allow the homeowner to keep their home, but this can also benefit the first mortgage holder.

“The rationale is that if the underwater property goes to foreclosure then the second lien holder is going to get wiped out any

o Surface in Supreme Court Case Logan Mohtashami, an Irvine, Calif.-based senior loan manager at AMC Lending Group and a financial blogger at LoganMohtashami.com, noted that the Caulkett case could also be seen through the spectrum of no-good-deed-goes-unpunished.

“As part of the robo-signing settlement, Bank of America tried to get people to write-off their second mortgages,” Mohtashami said. “But they couldn’t get people to do it—

maybe less than two percent responded.”

Mohtashami added, with a laugh, that some people have asked him whether their second lien write-offs would be voided in Bank of American won the case. But he observed that no matter the outcome, the market has changed dramatically to avoid any wide disruptions.

“We don’t see second lien write-

offs happening as much today,” Mohtashami said. “No one is getting second liens in this cycle. In the next cycle, we’ll see more traditional foreclosures and short sales, with second liens as part of the short sales.”

Phil Hall is managing editor of National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by email at philh@nmpmediacorp.com.

NAMB+ is an independent, wholly-owned, for-profit marketing subsidiary of NAMB, The Association of Mortgage Professionals.

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That’s not a typo! For an investment of just $50/year for Associate Membership or $120/year for Professional Membership in NAMB you could save potentially hundreds of dollars on products and services that you are probably already paying for.

NAMB+ has worked hard to build relationships with reputable companies in and outside of our industry that want to work with you. We currently have eighteen NAMB+ Endorsed Providers offering a wide range of valuable services for your business.

As a NAMB Member you have access to all of these great companies which are committed to serving you individually as a customer and supporting our industry

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

BetterLoanOfficers.com is free to get started with the option to upgrade if you’d like. As an NAMB member optional upgrades are discounted by 10%.

generally. If you are already a NAMB Member, please visit NAMBPlus.com TODAY and give these NAMB+ Endorsed Providers a chance to earn your business. If you are not yet a NAMB Member, Join NAMB and start saving!

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n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

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

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

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NationalMortgageProfessional.com

way so why allow them to possibly block a reasonable bankruptcy settlement,” Kramsky said.

“Moreover, if a mortgage is wholly underwater then no component of the mortgage is secured in bankruptcy so it should be permitted to be stripped down in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This U.S. Supreme Court case will decide the fate of millions of underwater debtors and I believe that allowing the discharge of the wholly underwater second mortgages will best serve the public interest.”

Yet Adam Leitman Bailey, a New York-based real estate attorney, disagreed with Kramsky’s forecast.

“Ruling against Bank of America in this case would not only be a loss for all lenders, but also a loss for America,” he said. “Lenders would be wise to limit making second mortgages as losing would have bankruptcy courts strip lenders of all possible equity or monetary value in the subject home. Many of these loans are needed to one day get back to the level of homeownership we had in 2005. Hopefully, the court will recognize the importance lenders have on keeping the American Dream of homeownership for the middle class alive.”

And a third opinion came from Michael R. Pfeifer is the managing partner of Orange, Calif.-based Pfeifer & De La Mora LLP and general counsel of the California Mortgage Bankers Association (CMBA), who noted that forecasting the outcome would be difficult because of the fundamental dissimilarities between the Supreme Court of the Dewsnup era and today’s justices.

“The court has a different composition at this point in time,” he said. “They make look at this from a different perspective.”

The court’s ruling is expected later this spring, though no date has been set for the announcement. In the meanwhile, the industry is waiting for this latest turn in how origination and servicing will be conducted.

“This will have a dampening effect on second mortgages with higher loan-to-value,” said John Councilman, CMC, CRMS, president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals and president of Fort Myers, Fla.-based AMC Mortgage Corporation. “They will ultimately cost more. And it could trickle down to first mortgages, which would be another thing that could prevent private equity from coming back into the market.”

Featured Industry Leader Vincent Valvo

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CEO of Agility Resources Group

APRIL 2015 n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

BY RICK GRANT

Industry events bring us together to learn, forge new alliances and enjoy the friendships that many mortgage professionals have shared with their peers for their entire careers. Planning and hosting a good industry event is both an art and a science. Put together correctly, a good show will attract a good audience, fulfill the promise of its marketing materials and be fondly remembered by attendees for years to come. It takes a professional to pull this off and such a person is the subject of this month’s Featured Industry Leader.

When Vincent Valvo’s company, Agility Resources Group, took over running the annual convention for NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals, the event was attracting just a few hundred attendees, reflecting the downturn in the mortgage market. But by re-imagining how the conference could be restructured, Valvo’s first annual event brought in approximately 1,400 attendees. Last year, the event saw nearly 2,300 industry professionals in attendance.

How did Valvo turn around the attendance at this important annual conference? National Mortgage Professional Magazine spoke with Vince about his career, his love for the industry and his almost magical approach to conference planning and organizing.

How did you get involved in the mortgage/real estate business?

Vincent Valvo: When I was in college back in the early 1980s, I majored in journalism. I took a few business classes, but did terrible in them, which was unusual for me because I had been a straight-A student up until then. I started college when I was only 16 years-old, and I never had any trouble until I got into these economics and business classes.

I fielded a job offer from a daily newspaper and started working as a journalist.

A few years later, I was in the Hartford area and answered an ad for a freelance reporter for a real estate and banking newspaper [The Commercial Record]. I was looking to pick up a little extra money at the time and started writing about real estate, mortgages, banking and lending. It was at that point that I realized those dry classes in college didn’t really encapsulate what was going on in the real world and how interesting it was to watch people build businesses.

Suddenly, I found business journalism to be absolutely fascinating.

How did Agility Resources Group come about?

During the period when the Great Recession hit, I was still with The Warren Group, a real estate and banking publish-

ing company in Massachusetts. I was living in West Hartford, Conn., and commuting to Boston daily, where the company was based. It was about a 100-mile commute, each way. The business with conferences and events was growing faster than advertising, but the company was unsure of what was happening because of the recession and did not want to significantly grow its event business. I did. I also thought it was a good time to get involved in association management services, helping smaller associations grow and achieve their goals.

I like changing things, seeing new ideas come about and growing them, so we came to a very amicable parting. I left that company, continuing as a columnist for a year or two after that. I felt it was time to go off and do something on my own. I said, “Let’s look at putting on some conferences and work with these mortgage groups that got hit hard and needed some help finding their way back.”

How did you come to your focus on the broker community?

A very fortuitous thing happened. When I was with The Warren Group, there was a mortgage show run by the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association. It was doing okay, but then it fell on hard times and lost money. I came in and said, “I

think I can take this conference and grow it into something big.” I took it from about 150 attendees to 2,200 attendees– and this was still in the midst of the recession, so it was a pretty massive change. It was the success of that show that brought me to the attention of NAMB, and we’ve had a great working relationship since.

To what do you attribute the success of your business model regarding events?

The biggest secret is the cooperative approach. We work hard with exhibitors and sponsors to invite their prospects and customers to attend for free. I would say that for our conferences, 85 to 90 percent of the attendees are coming because of the invites they are receiving from exhibitors and sponsors.

In the broker community, a lot of people are self-employed or working exclusively on commission. If they are going to an event, it is a day that they are not making a deal. So, it had better be worth their while. Plus, they usually don’t have large corporations behind them, paying their tabs. If we can make it free to them, we’ll succeed when we can bring together the power of all of our exhibitors or sponsors reaching out to large databases of people.

This brings far more people through

What do you see as the main trends shaping the industry?

The critical point to remember is that originators must make money. If you can sustain a volume level you can live with, then you can overcome the problem of taking a bit of a hit on your compensation. We all complain about constraints on compensation. But if we can

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What hobbies and interests do you have outside of the office?

I am a voracious reader. I read one or two books a week, on a variety of topics. I enjoy cooking, and I am a longtime comic book fan. I am happy about all of the superhero movies that are coming out. I have been married for 27 years, and have two children who both are set to graduate college this year.

Rick Grant is special correspondent for National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He may be reached by phone at (570) 497-5850.

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15622). 1-800-40 1-800-401-6587.

1-6587. Copyright©2015.

Copyright©2015. All Rights R Reserved. eserved. Equal Housing Lend Lender. err. FFor or rreal eal estat estate e and llending ending professionals professionals only and not ffor or distribution tto o cconsumers. onsumers. This ccommunication ommunication may may contain contain information information that is privileged, privileged, cconfidential, onfidential, llegally egally privil privileged, eged, and/ and/or or exempt e xempt fr from om discl disclosure osure und under er applicabl applicable e la law. w. Distribution tto o the g general eneral public is pr prohibited. ohibited. Caliber Home Loans, Inc. is required required tto o discl disclose ose the ffollowing ollowing lic license ense inf information: ormation: Alaska Alask aM Mortgage ortgage Lend Lender er Lic License ense No No.. AK AK15622; 15622; Arizona M Mortgage ortgage Bank Banker er Lic License ense No. No. 09236 0923637; 37; Lic Licensed ensed b byy The Depar Department tment of C Corporations orporations und under er the Calif California ornia R Residential esidential Mortgage Mortgage Lending A Act, ct, FFinance inance Lend Lender er Lic Licensee; ensee; C CO: O: R Regulated egulated b byy the Division of Real Real Estate; Estate; DE: Licensed Licensed by by the Delaware Delaware State State Bank Commissioner, Commissioner, Lic License ense 5202 e expires xpires 12/31; 12/31; Georgia Residential Residential Mortgage Mortgag g e Lend Lender er Lic License ense No. No. 7330; Illinois Residential Residential Mortgage Mortgage Lic Licensee ensee No. No. MB.0004043, MB.0004043, by by the Illinois Division of Banking, 320 W West est W Washington ashing ton St., Springfield, Spring field, IL 62786, 62786, (217) 782-3000; 782-3000; Kansas-licensed Kansas-licensed mor mortgage tgage ccompany, ompany, Lic License ense Number SL SL.0000796; .0000796; Minnesota: M MN-M MN-MOO- 40 40149066, 149066, This is not an off offer er tto o ent enter er int into o an agreement. agreement. Any Any such offer offer may may only be made made in accordance accordance with the requirements requirements of Minn. Stat. Section 47.206 47.206 (3) and (4); Licensed Licensed b byy the Mississippi Depar Department tment of Banking and Consumer Consumer Finance; F inance; Montana Montana Mortgage Mortgage Lend Lender er Lic License ense No No.. 15622; Lic Licensed ensed b byy the New Hampshir Hampshire e Banking Department; Department; NV: NV: 33753 753 Ho Howard ward Hughes P Parkway, arkway, Suit Suite e 25 257, 7, Las Vegas, Vegas, NV 89169, 89169, (702) 784-5975; 784-5975; Licensed Licensed mortgage mortgage banker banker n.s.--N.J. Department Department of Banking; g; Licensed Licensed Mortgage Mortgag g e Bank Banker-NYS er-NYS Depar Department tment of FFinancial inancial Ser Services; vices; Ohio MBMB.850184.000; MBMB.850184.000; Or Oregon egon M Mortgage ortgage Lend Lender er Lic License ense ML ML-324; -324; Rhod Rhode e Island Lic Licensed ensed Lend Lender; er; V VA: A: A NMLS ID # 15622 (www (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org); .nmlsconsumeraccess.org); W Washington ashing ton C Consumer onsumer Loan Company Company License License No. No. CL-15622.

CL-15622.

n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

FFeatures eatures Includ ed Included in our Startt FFresh resh Star Program Pr ogram

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NationalMortgageProfessional.com

How do you manage to raise the bar for an event like NAMB National?

NAMB made a conscious decision to always hold its show in Las Vegas. Our objective then is to leverage that–not just as an excuse for a party, but to say, “Hey, I am going to get a ton of value out of this.”

We are constantly looking to make sure there is a real sense of value. Last year, we added a full day of continuing education and made sure we put it at the end of the sessions, so people could come in and make sure they got their NMLS education completed. We added special LO One-onOne sessions. And we work with exhibitors to create a special experience.

What do you see as your greatest professional accomplishment?

Helping NAMB National make its mark– not just reviving the conference, but making it a real source of support for NAMB, because national associations cannot survive on dues alone. The great success of these conferences speaks to the strength

of the loan originator community, something that was not as evident when everyone was being kicked in the shins.

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What do you do to encourage attendees to take advantage of free passes, when some don’t put significant value on any free offering?

No one attends every event and there are always those who didn’t attend that we wish had. I try to build a conference that I would want to attend.

I want to build things and be able to say, “Boy, those are fascinating speakers and those topics are really great!” We try to make sure there is a good array of different kinds of exhibitors. I don’t want people going to just see 10 different wholesalers–I want them to see marketing companies and signage firms and coaching companies that might help them a lot this year.

We also try to have networking events–everyone wants to schmooze, and there is a lot of mobility in this field. You never know who you will be leaning on next to say, “Hey, I want to make a change.” And, we try to make it in a fun.

adapt to serve more people, that will be okay. If there is a slowdown, that will be a problem.

There is also a question of the relationship with the wholesale channel and how well it can work–especially with such a focus on compliance. NAMB is looking at how to work with wholesalers to streamline everything for everyone, and that is a wonderful initiative.

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What are the main challenges you see in working with associations?

An awful lot of these associations are run by volunteer—and they’ve got day jobs that compete for their time. They also aren’t experts at doing the kinds of things that we do. It can be very difficult to negotiate with a hotel and find the space needed when your volunteers are coming and going. When you have volunteer boards, typically one or two people on the board will direct these things–sometimes they do well, sometimes not so well. It’s very valuable to have someone who can execute good ideas from the board, but who can also speak back and say, “That is a good idea, but maybe we can refine it.”

We are always working to make things work better. At the end of the day, we are looking to make money for the association–build membership, build the association’s bank account, and show that the association is active and important in the life of every attendee.

You are also running some regional broker association shows. How did that come about?

Most of these came about by word of mouth. When we worked with NAMB, we started getting responses back from other state associations. And then those leaders talk to their peers in other states. That’s been great for us.

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the door. The exhibitors are happy because attendees are flocking to the show. The associations are excited because a lot of people are coming in– and even if they are not their members, it is a great opportunity to recruit new members. That community is coming to get education, network and see terrific products and services. It is a win-win all around to bring this community together.

legendsoflending

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A PORTRAIT OF DOCMAGIC

n the company Web site, DocMagic bills itself as “The largest loan document production company in the U.S.” And while that is a grand definition, it doesn’t capture the intelligence, innovation and celebrated customer service level that has earned the company the respect of the industry.

National Mortgage Professional Magazine spoke with Don Iannitti, the company’s founder, president and chief executive officer, to discuss how DocMagic emerged to become a leader in its field.

O

What was the inspiration behind starting DocMagic?

Don Iannitti: When I was in college back in 1987, I was reading a book

“Compliance is a living, breathing thing– it never gets easier, and it always becomes exponentially more complex.”

that focused on emerging technologies. There was one chapter that focused on the “repackaging of data.” After I read about it, I wasn’t sure of applications relating to that—I wondered who in the world would want to buy repackaged data.

At the time, I had a part-time job that did speed typing of other types of documents. I then realized that we were doing what was in the book. So, I brainstormed and came up with a concept related to this.

Also at this time, I found someone who was looking to get into a different type of business—a mortgage banker looking to customize appraisals. I floated my idea on how he could automate that concept.

Customized appraisals? Did that business take off?

No, and I am happy that it did not happen.

So what happened next?

I went to work on another business plan. I micro-analyzed every number, every night, and put three to four months into it. That —Don Iannitti, mortgage banker was Patrick Theodora of American City Founder, Mortgage. He and his father, President & Pasquale Theodora, decided to CEO, DocMagic fund me.

How close did your business plan coincide with the actual business?

In our first year of business, our bottom line was within $6,000. In our second year of business, our bottom line was within $10,000. So, it was close to what I planned.

When the company began operations in 1988, what was the state of loan document production?

It was all over the map. A lot of typing was going on, and lenders had between 25 and 50 percent of the burden of doing those tasks themselves.

You had typewriters, and the best ones were just adding computer interfaces to those machines. Word processing was not very common at that time. When we opened our doors, a company came by and gave us a word processor to see if we liked it. But there were no laser printers yet, just dot matrix printers at that stage.

Oh, the dot matrix printers–they sounded like machine gun fire! But this was before the Internet, yes?

There was no Internet, no modems.

It was an interesting time.

So what were the important milestones in growing your company?

First was the introduction of the laser printer. Before that, we had between 5,000 and 7,000 documents that were photocopied. And every time we needed a new batch, we had to walk over to the photocopier and make another 500 to 700.

Next was the introduction of the modem. That was critical. The first use of the modem was in calling and talking to a remote laser printer, in order to make it print across the phone line. Needless to say, that was not the most efficient use of technology.

Our first version of DocMagic had a computer talking to a computer.

When that happened, all of the issues involving a laser printer going offline or running out of paper went away.

Increasing the speed in modems was also helpful. But when the

Internet came along, our racks of modems were replaced. Also, increasing the speed of the computers was important. In our beginning stages, we’d make the computers. When we first got into the markets, companies had to use miniframe or mainframes. We had PCs, but with each new machine running at faster speed, we’d always be at the point of being maxed out. We were always riding the tech wave–as soon as any computer came out that made work faster, we were on it.

What have been DocMagic’s greatest challenges, and how did the company face these challenges?

Our greatest challenge was in maintaining employees. This was crucial because when clients call us, we didn’t want to have them deal with an employee turnover.

One thing we did was to make sure that our employees knew how important they were, and to make sure they feel like they are part of the family. We have employee events and company picnics. Now we’re at over 100 people, and many people have been with our company for 25 years.

What does the future hold for DocMagic?

A lot of our efforts are focused on esigning and e-closing. We are in two pilot tests on that with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

We are also expanding our esigning product into other industries.

Right now, we are working with the insurance industry.

As for the company, we are definitely expanding. We have a vision of where we would like to be in the next decade. We are also keeping open lines of communications with our closest competitors—should they want to leave the market, we can look at their operations.

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

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29

n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

That leads to the next question … how have the regulatory changes of the past several years impacted the manner in which DocMagic operates?

This is a big part of what we do. The regulatory changes directly impacted the growth of our automated auditing engine. And sometimes, regulatory changes do not directly impact new documents. Oftentimes, it involves timing changes or different types of notifications. Our compliance audit engine makes our clients aware of something that they may potentially face.

With regulations, there is always something happening. We have a team that monitors changes on a state level–there is never a dull moment. Compliance is a living, breathing thing—it never gets easier,

How has DocMagic approached cybersecurity?

We’re constantly monitoring that sort of thing. We have lots of new insurance policies that we need to maintain. And this despite the fact that we are somewhat under the radar; we’re not like Amazon or Google, where people want to attack

us all of the time.

We have a number of services whose job is to try to hack into us and find our vulnerabilities. It is an amazing process to see what they’ve found, and it requires us to plug or solve whatever vulnerabilities exist.

We also deal with the nation’s top five lenders, and they have their own requirements on vendor cybersecurity as well.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

What do you look for when recruiting new people to be part of your team?

We are looking for a certain spark and a certain sense of humor. We prefer an extroverted applicant, someone who can carry on a conversation. We ask applicants a lot of questions and drill into their past jobs, asking about their work experience. We are looking at their history of job longevity–someone who had jobs for one or two years will never work.

We want to make sure that we have the right people. This job involves a lot of compliance issues, and we want to make sure that anyone we hire is well-educated.

and it always becomes exponentially more complex.

The changes that we are seeing now dwarf what we’ve seen in the past. But this is where we shine, and that brings value to our clients because that is something they do not have to worry about.

The Buy-to-Rent Mortgage Opportunity

By Mark Mohl

APRIL 2015 n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

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Housing prices are recovering, which is good news, unless you’re trying to buy a house in San Francisco, New York City or Washington, D.C. Buying in the nation’s best performing markets can be an expensive proposition.

In fact, a person would have to earn an annual salary of $142,448 in order to afford a median-priced home in San Francisco—the nation’s most expensive market, according to a recent study from HSH. And this is under the assumption that the buyer spends only 28 percent of his or her monthly income on housing and is able to make a 20 percent downpayment. There are buyers who can do this, but it puts a lot of pressure on rental property investors trying to build portfolios in these markets.

Fortunately, these investors have another option. There exists a type of financing known as asset-based lending that allows investors to qualify for a loan based on the cash flow of their property instead of using their personal income to qualify. It’s true that most lenders still require proof of a salary (typically through W-2 forms and several years of tax returns) in order to qualify a borrower. You can see how this would limit the number of homes an investor can purchase.

Recently, asset-based lending has become available to owners of single-family rentals, two- to four-unit properties, condos and townhouses.

This puts even the most expensive markets within reach for investors, which is great because the need for quality rental properties is high in these markets.

To qualify a borrower, an asset-based lender will perform a cash flow analysis, which will determine the loan proceeds available to a qualified investor. Typically, verifying the property’s rent and subtracting typical property expenses such as real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance costs will all be part of this process. The end result will tell the lender how much cash flow is available to make monthly payments. The applicant’s credit history and the value of the property will also be considered as part of the underwriting process.

Asset-based lending allows qualified investors to access financing for properties individually or leverage cash flows across portfolios of properties to maximize loan proceeds because each property is analyzed based on its own income and expenses. This is why asset-based lending is becoming more popular and is being viewed as an excellent option for investors eager to unlock the equity in existing rental properties to expand their businesses.

B2R Finance offers lending products for rental investors to help unlock equity from existing portfolios and provide the cash needed to build rental portfolios. Real estate investors who invest in rental properties for a living or simply as a way to supplement other sources of income will find B2R’s asset-based lending program to be a powerful tool to help achieve their investment goals.

Mark Mohl works with B2R’s wholesale lending platform, advising third parties and facilitating access to B2R’s financing options for their clients. For more information about how B2R can help your clients obtain asset-based loans, call (888) 495-7731 or contact Mark by e-mail at mmohl@b2rfinance.com, visit www.b2rfinance.com/brokers, and follow B2R on Twitter @B2RFinance.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance A Message From MAA Chairman Fowler Williams

T

he Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA) is a free, voluntary and non-partisan nationwide grassroots lobbying network that is dedicated to strengthening the industry’s voice and lobbying power in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across America. The policies and legislation the industry faces impact our day-today jobs in tangible ways. We have a right and duty to join that conversation.

By the time you read this, we will have just wrapped up MBA’s 2015 National Advocacy Conference. Hundreds of industry leaders from across the country gathered at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. to learn about the legislative and regulatory issues affecting the industry, and what they could do to influence the policy and directly affects their business.

On Day Two of the Advocacy Conference, attendees put those skills into practice in face-to-face meetings with lawmakers and key policy staff. I look forward to giving you a full report about the National Advocacy Conference in a future update.

We also kicked off our inaugural “Future Leaders” MAA Campaign. The Future Leaders program is an executive leadership development program run by MBA Education that delivers a comprehensive curriculum for selected managers who have shown leadership interests and abilities. Our Future Leaders class was divided into six teams presented with the challenge to gather as many MAA sign ups as possible before their second in-person meeting during the first week of June. The first, second and third place teams will receive points toward their overall grading system, designed and run by MBA Education team, as part of their Future Leaders curriculum and experience.

Getting involved with MAA allows industry professionals to play an active role in how laws and regulations that affect the industry and consumers are created and carried out by lobbying and building relationships with policymakers. It only takes a moment to get started, and you do not have to be a member of MBA to enroll. The larger the group, the louder the voice!

If you would like to run an MAA campaign, please contact Stephanie Graham at (202) 557-2818 or sgraham@mba.org to receive an enrollment campaign kit and learn more about how you can engage your colleagues and employees in MBA’s advocacy programs.

Real estate finance industry professionals who wish to join or learn more about MAA can do so at www.mortgageactionalliance.org. If you have any questions regarding MBA’s advocacy programs, please contact MBA’s Associate Director of Political Affairs Annie Gawkowski by phone at (202) 5572816 or e-mail agawkowski@mba.org.

Fowler Williams is chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Action Alliance. He is also president of Atlanta, Ga.-based Crescent Mortgage.

Williams speaks regularly to financial institutions and their respective organizations on compliance, regulatory changes in mortgage lending, and assessing their overall mortgage operations to maximize income, while minimizing the risks associated in today’s mortgage lending environment. He may be reached by phone at (800) 851-0263 or e-mail fwilliams@crescentmortgage.net.

new to market continued from page 18

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“We are dedicated to providing ongoing customer support and training opportunities for all of our clients,” says Kerri Girouard, manager of client development. “MR Help provides lenders with access to a library of resources to better grow their business and utilize all Mortgage Returns has to offer.”

ReverseVision Announces Update to Its RV Exchange LOS

ReverseVision has released an update to their RV Exchange LOS that includes all Financial Assessment critical screens and calculations. This release was targeted to meet the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD’s) original Financial Assessment (FA) implementation date of March 2.

“There are a series of new screens and

features to collect FA-related data elements like Borrower’s Credit, Credit Accounts, Income, Asset Dissipation and Expenses,” said ReverseVision President and CEO John Button.

In addition, a single new results screen brings all the data together for the Underwriter to complete the assessment and calculate the Life Expectancy Set Aside.

Updates to the administration and reporting components have also been made.

“All the critical FA features are part of the March 2 release, but we will be delivering more than just these critical features.

Additional features that focus on data quality and efficiency, as well as LO-specific tools, will be released by the first week of April,” said Button. “These updates will include capabilities like the ability to import credit

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites you to submit any information promoting new “niche” loan programs, new products or any other announcement related to the introduction of a new program, to the attention of: New to Market column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

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VirPack has announced that it has unveiled its Originator Portal product, a Web portal that enables lenders who use VirPack’s Document Management and Delivery System (DMDS) to provide originators new Web-based capabilities that improve originators’ efficiency and make borrower’s non-public personal information (NPI) more secure. The Originator Portal is a Web-based, customizable tool that provides a downloadable list of the documents required for a particular loan, based on predefined rules.

“VirPack created the Originator Portal to increase efficiencies for originators and reduce the time they spend on a loan during the origination process, enabling them to close more loans and generate more revenue for themselves and the lenders that provide the Web portal to them,” said Cy Brinn, chief operating officer at VirPack.

TPOs can communicate through a secure message feature with lenders and other business partners, and loan data is synchronized with the data in the loan origination system.

Lenders using DMDS can more easily and efficiently comply with regulations and cooperate with audits because an electronic audit trail is created and that makes it faster to review and audit an mortgage transaction.

“The Originator Portal was developed with the aim of extending the benefits and efficiency gains from VirPack’s Document Management and Delivery System as well as improve the efficiency of the document management and communication process with originators,” said Brinn.

report data, assign a credit report to a lender and a Celink export update.”

A Seismic Shift in the Mortgage Marketplace?

“One very large difference between the large banks and the non-banks is the riskiness of the loans they are originating and purchasing.”

BY TOM LAMALFA ver the past three years, there has been a largely unnoticed shift in the firms that are originating mortgage loans. Unnoticed by most, but not by AEI’s International Center for Housing Risk (ICHR), whose data we reviewed in preparation for this article and analysis.

The shift has been for large commercial banks to pull back from mortgage lending and for large non-banks to replace them. If this trend continues unabated, it will be the third change in who originates mortgages in the past 30 years. Before reviewing the data, let’s look back in history to examine other changes in who does the nation’s mortgage lending.

When I entered the business in the mid-1970s, the majority of loans were originated by S&Ls and savings banks.

Both were predominately mutual, meaning they were owned by their depositors.

Together, they accounted for about 50 to 55 percent of annual originations. In addition to writing residential mortgages, they often purchased loan packages from lenders in capital short markets, typically growth areas like the South and West. The buyers were generally located in areas with adequate to excess deposits, but relatively light loan demand, regions like the Northeast and Midwest.

The era of the thrifts came to an abrupt halt in the late 1980s to early 1990s, following a decade-long decline.

They collapsed mainly due to the inflation of the 1970s that turned their loan portfolios upside down. The thrifts funded their assets with short-term liabilities, demand deposits to CDs. Over a period of years, they became insolvent, as their cost of money exceeded the return on their assets. Borrowing short and lending long killed the thrift industry.

The thrifts were replaced by mortgage

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brokers. They emerged gradually in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Brokers were the low-cost alternative and this fact, more than any other, accounts for their growth and success. When I first picked up on them, they accounted for a 10 to 15 percent share of total originations.

That was in the late 1980s. Their market share grew rapidly, thanks in part to several very large refi waves in the 1990s, initially in 1992-1993 and again in 1998.

The vulnerability of brokers was always finding investors for their loans, but in the 1990s through the mid-aught years, that wasn’t difficult because many banks and mortgage companies organized wholesale production operations to acquire loans from brokers.

These lenders, called wholesalers, used these purchased originations to supplement their own retail originations and avail themselves of certain available economies of scale, such as lower G-fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The basic equation was more production lowered unit costs, thereby enhancing profits.

At the peak, from 1998 to 2006, mortgage brokers accounted for 50 to 65 percent of aggregate originations. As the market began to weaken in 2007-2008, brokers were jettisoned by the wholesalers, accused of causing the mortgage market meltdown. And indeed, because of the size of their share and of their propensity to originate weak and risky loans for non-prime wholesalers, they were deemed the culprits of the housing crisis. One wholesaler after another exited the space and broker share tumbled to a fraction of its former share. Inside Mortgage Finance, another keeper of lending statistics, estimates their current share at around 10 to 13 percent of the market.

This shift to non-banks is most notable in the Ginnie Mae sector. From late 2012 to early 2015, the non-bank share of originations rose from about 21 percent to 59 percent, a gain of 38 percentage points.

However, large banks gave up 38 points of share, falling from approximately 72 percent to 33 percent over roughly the same two-year period.

Today, according to the ICHR, 10 of 2012’s top 25 FHA originators are no longer in the top group, including five large banks. All 10 replacements are nonbanks. As a result of this exodus, FHA origination share for large banks has fallen from 65 percent in late 2012 to 30 percent at year-end of 2014, a drop of 54 percent. At the same time, the share of non-banks more than doubled, from 27 percent to 62 percent. So, banks gave up 35 points of share and non-banks gained 36 points. Over the same two-year period, other banks, credit unions and state housing finance authorities saw little change in their share.

Although the share give-up is most dramatic in the riskier products like FHA loans, the larger banks have also lost share in the GSE sector. Here they have lost 19 points, declining from a 52 percent to 33 percent share, while nonbanks have gained 21 points, rising from 25 percent to 46 percent.

One very large difference between the large banks and the non-banks is the riskiness of the loans they are originating and purchasing. For this analysis, we again look to the ICHR’s data.

The Center publishes a housing risk index for different lenders groups (the index examines loan characteristics to determine its riskiness). For FHA loans, the large banks’ National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI) is 21.5 percent versus 26 percent for non-banks as of year-end 2014.

Similarly, the share of total originations for large banks has dropped from 60 percent in 2012 to 33 percent in early 2015, while the non-bank share has risen from 23 percent to 51 percent.

So, large banks lost 27 points of share a n d n o n - banks gained 28 points.

Based on total originations, the Risk Index has declined for large banks and advanced for non-banks, especially the large non-banks.

The obvious question is: Why the dramatic shift in share? What is turning off the large banks to mortgage lending? We think there are several obvious reasons for the development in the wake of the financial crisis. First, the liability now associated with mortgages. Both the size and number of fines and penalties and the repurchase demands that have hit financial institutions have been unprecedented. These expenses, which have concentrated on the large banks, seemingly have turned banks off to mortgages. In addition, the regulatory burden that has befallen lenders has made mortgages less appealing and more expensive than in the past. Finally, Basel III’s new capital rules have made mortgage banking and servicing more restrictive and costly.

How this all shakes out over the next several years remains open to question, but the replacement of banks in mortgage banking has major implications, especially for the large banks.

Tom LaMalfa is a 34-year veteran mortgage-market analyst and researcher. He has done pioneering work in the areas of secondary markets, wholesale mortgage banking, mortgage brokerages, financial benchmarking and GSE reform. Tom continues since 1977 to co-author an old-fashioned mail newsletter, The Holm Mortgage Finance Report. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, his focus is on Washington, D.C. and the regulatory burden it is imposing on consumers and lenders. His 20-plusyear-old research firm, TSl Consulting, does survey research. He may be reached by email at tom.lamalfa@gmail.com.

nmp news flash continued from page 16

forgiveness and forbearance, rate reduction, and low-to-moderate or disaster area lending to 39,512 borrowers.

Chase also asserted that as of December 31, 2014, 151,436 borrowers had received some type of relief, including $1,956,638,212 in principal forgiveness or forbearance, $1,115,656,744 in rate reduction, and $15,771,381,912 in eligible lending. “After in-depth formula testing and data review, I have credited Chase with more than half of the $4 billion in consumer relief credit it must provide under this agreement.� Smith said. “I look forward to reporting on my next round of testing mid-year. In addition to its consumer relief requirements, I have no reason to believe that Chase has failed to comply with any of the policy-based, non-creditable requirements of the Settlement.�

tialing and licensing authority over these non-bank mortgage servicers, and are working to ensure our regulatory expectations are well-defined and provide for a safe and sound industry.

The proposed prudential standards are integral to this effort.�

State regulators are proposing a set of Baseline Prudential Regulatory Standards (Baseline Standards) to be applied to all non-bank mortgage servicers licensed by and operating in the states.

“The non-bank mortgage servicing industry is very diverse, ranging from very small firms with straightforward operations to large and complex entities with multiple business lines,� said Rod Carnes, president of AARMR and Deputy Commissioner for NonDepository Financial Institutions of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. “By relying upon existing standards and generally accepted business practices, we hope to minimize regulatory burden for small, less complex firms, while still incorporating a comprehensive regime that maintains safety and soundness and consumer protection for even the largest, most complex firms.�

NMP News Flash column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

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n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

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The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) have issued for public comment Proposed Regulatory Prudential Standards for Non-Bank Mortgage Servicers. The proposal is now open for a 90-day public comment period. As the regulatory authorities of non-bank mortgage servicers, state regulators are well-positioned to design and implement a comprehensive prudential regulatory framework for non-bank mortgage servicers. State regulators have experience with and a responsibility for a diverse range of depository and nondepository financial services providers.

After an extensive review of the current mortgage servicing industry to better understand its functions and impacts on financial markets and consumers, CSBS and AARMR have determined that increased state prudential regulation of non-bank mortgage servicing companies would help achieve the following goals: Provide better protection for borrowers, investors and other stakeholders; enhance effective regulatory oversight and market discipline over non-bank mortgage servicers; and improve transparency, accountability, risk management and corporate governance standards. “In recent years, non-bank mortgage servicers have grown in size, complexity, and importance,� said CSBS President and CEO John W. Ryan. “These firms provide critical services to homeowners and investors, and the mortgage finance system as a whole.

State regulators have primary creden-

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites you to submit any information on regulatory changes, legislative updates, human interest stories or any other newsworthy items pertaining to the mortgage industry to the attention of:

N A T I O N A L

M O R T G A G E

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

M A G A Z I N E ’ S

economic commentary

BAD

By Dave Hershman here is no doubt that the expression, “I have good news and bad news,” should be changed a bit for our present day economic situation. For years, we have been hoping for good economic news as we worked our way up from a deep recession and tepid recovery. But now we see to be hoping for bad economic news. Why? With the markets feeling that the Federal Reserve Board is on the cusp of raising short-term interest rates, any bad economic news we receive holds the Fed off a bit. That is why the stock markets right now seems to react better to bad economic news as

T

NEWS

IS

opposed to good economic news.

When we received bad news during the past several years, there was always this thought in the backs of the minds of economists: Are we going to slip back into a recession?

Not that another recession is not possible, but at this point, the risk of a “double dip” recession is definitely marginalized.

Statements from the Fed more recently have tempered enthusiasm regarding if the economy is about to explode with growth. In a speech late in March, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she thinks the economy is improving ... but that it should be doing much better. Yellen was more blunt than usual in her assessment of the economy. “If underlying condi-

GOOD

NEWS

tions had truly returned to normal, the economy should be booming,” she said. Even if the Fed does raise rates this year, the attention will immediately turn to questions such as: How quickly will the raise rates again and by how much? Yellen’s statements seem to be designed to allay the fears of the markets in this regard.

On the other hand, even with the disappointing March employment report, the economy has still produced over 250,000 jobs per month over the past seven months. You don’t do that when the economy is teetering. It is actually kind of refreshing that we now consider more than 120,000 jobs added in a month disappointing. Five years ago, that would have been considered a strong month. Plus, we could

see from the reaction of the bond market to the news how bad news can be good news.

So, we say at this point … let the bad times roll! Soft economic news at this juncture helps keep the Fed at bay, keeps interest rates attractive and enables the stock market to thrive. Stronger economic news just increases uncertainty and volatility in the markets?

Dave Hershman is a top author in the mortgage industry with seven books published. He is also the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System, and currently the director of branch support for McLean Mortgage. He may be reached by e-mail at dave@hershmangroup.com or visit www.originationpro.com.

NMP Daily is the mortgage industry's source for news, insights, trends and tips.

It keeps subscribers informed of the regulatory and legislative updates, latest industry happenings and breaking news about the mortgage technologies and services.

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n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

www.TheNationalRealEstatePost.com www .TheN ationalR ealEstatePost.com ealEstateP ost.com

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

A fresh & health healthy alth hy take on otherwise otherwise take boring stuff. stuf ufff

visionary organizations 2015 very once in a while, an organization comes along, an organization that sets trends, remains ahead of the curve and sets a bar by which all others strive to attain. This month, we take a look at a sampling of these organizations, organizations that we have deemed “Visionary”

E

for their inspiration to always strive to improve and go above and beyond to assist their clients, but ones that have successfully navigated an ever-changing mortgage industry marketplace. We present to you the following movers and shakers in the industry and the leaders behind them.

www.uwm.com How the company started: Founded in 1986, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) has been in business for nearly 30 years. As one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing wholesale lenders it has an impressive history of growth, innovation and unwavering commitment to its clients. UWM began as a mortgage lender, focused on FHA loans, and over time, has transformed to become one of the leading wholesale lenders offering the complete product spectrum. Because of UWM’s roots as a mortgage broker, they truly understand what it takes to be a successful broker and are seen in the wholesale industry as an advocate that champions brokers’ success.

How the company has changed the mortgage industry: UWM’s President and CEO Mat Ishbia has cultivated the vision of a more perfect mortgage world built on relationships, transparency, and speed. At a time when brokers were either being lured out of the business or were simply unable to make a living, Mat and UWM championed the broker and revolutionized the industry.

UWM’s business model puts its partners first. They are focused on not just guiding a loan through the process, but truly helping their clients to grow their business by giving them tools to be more successful.

UWM offers its brokers and correspondents access to a free Marketing Center, to create flyers and emails for borrowers, title companies and real estate agents.

They also know communication is critical throughout the mortgage process and that’s why they offer their partners UTrack. This technology allows brokers and correspondents to share real-time access to the loan status—UWM has made tracking a loan as easy as tracking a package.

And the best part if that the tool was built for UWM to remain invisible, so the broker or correspondent can be the center of the transaction and the hero to their borrowers and real estate agents.

UWM doesn’t stop there. They have a game-changing program called

UConnect that actually connects the borrowers back to their brokers.

UWM monitors their broker’s past clients and when they are in the market to purchase or refinance UWM notifies the broker. Last year alone, they connected more than 25,000 borrowers back to their brokers.

UWM is intensely focused on providing unparalleled service, exclusive proprietary technology and personalized support to their brokers. UWM’s unique sales model consists entirely of inside account executives and clients are encouraged to speak directly to their underwriters. All this ties into UWM’s mantra ‘Lending Made Easy,’ which is an unwavering commitment to its broker community that enhances and transforms the lending experience for borrowers and brokers alike.

UWM was recognized as a “National Best and Brightest Company to Work for in 2014.” The company also received several regional top workplace awards including Detroit Free Press’ “Top Places to Work” and Crain’s “Cool Places to Work in Michigan.”

www.arcuslending.com

www.iservelending.com

How the company started: Arcus Lending was founded in 2008 by Shashank Shekhar. It was arguably the toughest year to start a mortgage business. There were lot of people losing houses, in part caused by lack of education and greediness of Wall Street.

Arcus Lending was founded on the principles of best-in-class education and legendary customer service. Shashank’s mantra for the business is: “We are in Education and Customer Service business, we just happen to do mortgages.”

How the company has changed the mortgage industry: There are very few companies in the industry, if any at all, that has invested so much into consumer education. Since the day it was founded, there has been relentless focus by Arcus Lending on providing education in the medium that the homebuyers prefer.

From books and eBooks authored by its CEO Shashank Shekhar, to radio shows, Webinars, seminars, videos, print magazine articles and blogs, Arcus Lending covers the whole spectrum in online and offline mediums. Shashank even goes beyond his own blog and Web site, and writes for such top portals as Homes.com and About.com.

They are also building next generation of calculators that will go beyond just crunching numbers and will suggest right loan programs based on goals and lifestyles.

By putting education first and profits later, Arcus Lending is challenging and inspiring the industry to look beyond just the bottom line.

How the company started: iServe Residential Lending was founded by seasoned mortgage professionals in 2007. When many lenders were exiting the industry, iServe was able to grow its business and excel during those difficult times. iServe continued to thrive and become one of the nation’s leading lenders. Today, iServe has more than 200 employees in 21 states, offering the stability of a big lender with the personal touch of a very responsive and professional team.

How the company has changed the mortgage industry: iServe has placed a great deal of focus on servicing our country’s military personal through the VA Home Loan Program. The VA Home Loan Program is one of the most misunderstood and underutilized programs and has discouraged many mortgage and real estate professionals. Veterans themselves have not embraced the true benefit of the program due to general misunderstandings of how the program works. iServe has been able to help many active duty, veterans, select reservists and members of the National Guard to achieve their dream of homeownership. iServe travels around the country, sponsoring educational seminars to show the true benefits the VA home loan program has to offer.

VA is one example of many. With a complete menu of loan products, iServe is dedicated to saying “Yes” to all of your mortgage needs. iServe provides our partners with the time and resources needed to quickly grow their origination business.

www.remnwholesale.com

www.titanlists.com

How the company started: The REMN Wholesale family has steadily grown over the past several years. The people REMN calls family—its seasoned account executives, award-winning Helpdesk and renowned closing department (to name a few) —have developed the mission of speed and efficiency to its broker partners. REMN now has a national presence with sales and operations staff from coast to coast.

How the company has changed the mortgage industry: REMN Wholesale’s customer-centric environment is laser-focused on the broker’s experience, and every associate intimately understands their role in the process. We have set and maintained high standards for initial underwriting turn-time that have become a mainstay for brokers who depend on realtor referrals of purchase business. Our brokers have incorporated our one-day guaranteed approvals into their business plan, and as a result, it has placed more pressure to deliver compressed timeframes on the industry as a whole. In essence, we’ve raised the bar.

How the company started: What began as a simple data provider in 1999 has blossomed into one of the most sought after turn-key marketing companies for the mortgage industry. With in-house fulfillment and the leading experts in targeted marketing knowledge, Titan List & Mailing has created a national footprint that gives our clients the inside edge on successful targeted marketing.

How the company has changed the mortgage industry: Titan List & Mailing has innovated many of the common practices found in targeted direct mail today. From developing mail pieces and designs that generate return, to seeing the trends in marketing before they happen, Titan has brought forth unconventional approaches that buck the norm and bring our customers repeatable, profitable returns.

BY RICK GRANT

hen we think of great advertising, we find ourselves on Madison Avenue in New York City.

This is where advertising was born. For more than 100 years now, the greatest practitioners of the art have worked here. But like all things, the times are changing. One man has done his share to show that great advertising can be born west of the Hudson River.

Paul Lucido is national marketing director for Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. (PRMG), one of the nation’s most successful wholesale lenders. National Mortgage Professional Magazine visited with him recently to get his take on creativity, success and marketing in the mortgage industry.

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Tell us about the path that brought you to the mortgage industry.

Paul Lucido: I came to this business in 1998, along what some might consider an unlikely path. Prior to that time, I worked in the mechanical engineering industry for aerospace, petrochemical, and food and beverage companies. I was a draftsman. While I was working to illustrate in the form of orthographic projection, engineering schematics and CAD design, a passion was growing inside of me for commercial art and design.

It should not have come as a surprise as an appreciation of art seems to run in my family. My father was amateur cartoonist and my sister studied graph-

ic design at Cal State Fullerton. I guess you could say it’s in my blood, since my daughter has always been involved in art/theatre, now majoring in communications at UCLA and my son, Paul Lucido II, who, since he was a young boy, has taken his own gifted artistic talents to the next level, currently studying at the Art Center Pasadena College of Design.

The work I was doing at the time was laying the initial groundwork for everything that would follow. It was the sum of these experiences that helped foster my creative thinking and gave me an understanding of how things work and how ideas come to fruition. I began to study advertising design, which is everywhere if you just look, and found that I had developed a strong passion and eye for design aesthetic, whether it is technical illustration, architectural design, or the world of commercial art and print.

roll processing, risk management and mortgage banking.

I acquired a reputation for being able to take complicated ideas and simplify them, bringing the message through in its simplest form. It turns out that this can be very difficult to do when you are dealing with an audience that is not receptive to oversimplified ideas.

After three years working for a small mortgage lender in Downey, Calif., I was approached by First Magnus Financial Corporation, a national privately-held mortgage banker, and asked to become its national marketing vice president. In that position, I was given accountability for developing the company brand. I managed the design and execution of all printed collateral, trade show and event signage, special promotions, industry trade association representation and specialized video projects. I felt like I’d found my home.

How does an engineering draftsman with an interest in art find his way into the mortgage business?

It didn’t happen all at once. First, I started using my talents to help build marketing material and designing ads for startup companies. I was having a great time helping many types of companies develop their own ideas and business models and translating that into marketing messages that got people’s attention. In a pretty short period of time, I have attracted a diverse client base that included companies in healthcare, pay-

After working with engineers, was it disappointing to work in the more conservative mortgage banking industry?

My first analysis of the different ads people who were in the mortgage industry produced left me feeling like much of it was trite. Honestly, there are only so many times that you can see a guy standing on top of a mountain with his arms out, saying, “I’ve achieved this success … I climbed the mountain!”

But First Magnus was very openminded. They were a “think-outside-ofthe-box” company. Company leadership

“A well-crafted brand can make the difference in how a company resonates with all who come into contact with the brand.” was open to my ideas for playing off pop culture. This allowed us to put Uncle Sam references in government ads—and aliens, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot into our Jumbo ads— that was in our “Sightings” campaign, based very loosely on the popular television show at the time—and we got a lot of attention.

You actually got more than just attention, right?

Well, yes, we actually started winning awards. Our team took home Best Advertising Design awards in 2002 and 2003 and Best Advertising Concept in 2004 for the Sightings campaign.

With the understanding that creative people hate this question, where do your ideas come from?

Everywhere … literally. You have to train yourself to see everything around continued on page 67

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HomeBridge Wholesale is a national wholesale lender offering Conventional, Government, n n n n

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To learn more about the HomeBridge advantage, please contact us at 855-729-2885.

www.HomeBridgeWholesale.com This is a business-to-business communication provided for use by mortgage professionals only and is not intended for distribution to consumers or other third parties. It is not an advertisement; as such term is defined in Section 2 26.24 of Regulation Z. Product information is subject to change without notice. HomeBridge Wholesale is a division of HomeBridge Financial Services, Inc. NMLS #6521 Š HomeBridge Financial Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

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Jumbo Loans to $2.5 Million

heard street ON THE

Our Heard on the Street column is a chronicle of events, changes and passages in the lives of the people and companies shaping the mortgage industry.

DocMagic Partners With World Wide Notary to Streamline eClosings

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DocMagic Inc. has announced that it has formed an alliance with World Wide Notary Inc. (WWN), a developer of electronic notarization services. The partnership integrates WWN’s patent pending DigaSign eNotary technology into DocMagic’s eServices platform to deliver a fully paperless eClosing solution. The solution allows borrowers, lenders, settlement agents and mobile notaries to eSign documents and eNotarize—both online and offline. As a result, the entire closing process is streamlined, paper is eliminated, costs are reduced and compliance is ensured. Under the agreement, DocMagic has exclusive rights to utilize WWN’s eNotary platform within the mortgage industry for an extended period of time.

“The addition of WWN’s advanced eNotary capability adds significant value to our platform by keeping mort-

gage closing documents 100 percent paperless from eDisclosure to eClosing,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic. “DocMagic has systematically been putting the necessary pieces in place to transform the company into a true end-to-end eServices solutions provider. Our exclusive arrangement with WWN incorporates a critical component: compliant eNotarizations. Without compliant eNotary capability, a fully paperless eClosing would be impossible to achieve.”

WWN is one of the most dominant eNotarization companies and has long been at the forefront of educating and lobbying the state Attorneys General and Secretaries of State to accept eNotaries in a variety of different industries. The company’s technology has been certified by multiple Secretaries of State under the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) eNotary standards; and, in all states that have approved the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA).

“DocMagic is the leading loan document preparation software company in the mortgage industry and an ideal partner to marry our technologies,” said Bob Rice, CEO of WWN. “To date, most eClosings have just been hybrids, meaning: a majority of the lender documents could be eSigned, but those that require a notaries’ signature and seal had to be printed to paper and ink signed.

Together, our technologies eliminate that hard stop in the process and allow borrowers to effortlessly eSign mortgage documents, now including those that require the presence of a notary.”

Homestead Funding Partners With SSI to Manage Vendor Risk Homestead Funding Corporation has announced that it has enhanced its risk management policies and procedures governing its mortgage lending business by requiring all settlement agents to pass inde-

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pendent risk evaluation, rating, monitoring and reporting in order to close their residential mortgage loans. The process will be managed for Homestead Funding by Secure Settlements Inc. (SSI), the first vendor management firm to specialize in closing table risk. The company chose the SSI Closing Guard tool to evaluate all settlement agents who wish to close loans with Homestead Funding.

“We have always had a sincere commitment to meeting regulator and consumer expectations for quality control and transparent loan operations services,” said Jane Borbee, vice president of operations at Homestead Funding. “The management of settlement agent risk by controlling who has access to our funds and borrower personal and financial information is a key component of our business operations. We want to assure our investors, warehouse banks and customers we are doing everything we can to protect their interests in every transaction we close.

After much research we found that the Secure Settlements’ Closing Guard product is simply the most comprehensive and capable solution for managing this risk.”

“We are pleased and honored to work together with Homestead Funding in managing these critical issues,” said SSI President Andrew Liput. “The owners and managers at Homestead Funding Corp. are talented and experienced and clearly committed to quality control, consumer protection and overall loan quality assurance.”

ComplianceEase Acquires Doc Provider Mortgage Banking Systems ComplianceEase has announced that it has acquired the assets of Mortgage Banking Systems (d/b/a ProClose) of McLean, Va., a provider of mortgage document preparation and closing software solutions for financial institutions. The acquisition, which has been completed, will enable ComplianceEase to create a

comprehensive and innovative solution that will help residential mortgage lenders comply with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule that takes effect Aug. 1, 2015. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) new TRID rule will mandate new forms, the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure, and set new disclosure timelines and fee tolerances that must be followed in order to not trigger redisclosure requirements.

For the past 10 years, ComplianceEase and ProClose have partnered to deliver an integrated closing solution, known as ProClose Platinum, that drew from ComplianceEase’s enterprise-class compliance risk management expertise and ProClose’s advanced cloud-based document preparation system. As a result of this transaction that solution is being rebranded as SmartCloser.

The entire ProClose team is joining ComplianceEase. Christine Kirby, CEO and president of ProClose, will become vice president of ComplianceEase. No other terms of the transaction were announced.

“ComplianceEase has always been focused on providing our clients with comprehensive solutions that lower risk, improve productivity and reduce cost,” said John Vong, president and cofounder of ComplianceEase. “By adding a best-of-breed document platform to our suite of automated compliance products, we will be able to respond to all of the regulatory changes on the horizon, including the TRID rule, enabling lenders to focus on their core business.”

Dart Appraisal Implements RealView to Enhance QC

Dart Appraisal, a nationwide appraisal management company (AMC), has announced the implementation of Platinum Data’s RealView appraisal quality technology prior to submitting appraisals to lenders.

“The process a lender employs for collateral underwriting has changed dramatically in the past few years,” said

Michael Dresden, executive vice president of Dart Appraisal. “The increased attention to detail requires lenders to invest additional time, staff and resources in this process. AMCs can help mitigate delays for the lender by reducing the friction caused by multiple client corrections on the same file. It’s imperative to have the right system in place.”

Dart Appraisal’s business strategy is based on providing the highest quality appraisals to its clients. In an effort to improve overall quality and reduce client corrections, the company decided to implement a technology that, continued on page 63

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VirPack has announced that it has renewed its partnership as a preferred vendor of Lenders One, a national alliance of independent mortgage bankers, correspondent lenders and suppliers of mortgage products and services.

“VirPack offers Lenders One members, efficiency and reduced costs to their complex loan servicing processes with smarter document and image management and new delivery capabilities,” said Wayland Pond, senior vice president of sales and marketing at VirPack. “Since 2011, Lenders One members have seen great results from our technology. This partnership allows Lenders One Members to leverage our technology to reduce time spent on managing the typical loan file. We look forward to continuing to offer a great customer experience to the Lenders One members.”

VirPack has released several innovations recently that could have benefits for Lenders One members. VirPack’s Automated Document Recognition and Indexing feature can reduce the time it takes a lender to identify and file document images. Through VirPack’s inte-

its advanced document management and delivery technology.”

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VirPack Renews Partnership With Lenders One

grations with service providers, documents generated by service providers in this manner are automatically delivered directly into loan files with zero processor labor.

“Lenders One members have access to technologies that can help them achieve competitive advantage through ongoing innovation, and that’s what we intend for our partnership with VirPack to deliver,” said Jeff McGuiness, CEO of Lenders One. “Due to the significant complexity associated with completing a loan, we are always partnering with providers that can help our members achieve a higher level of productivity and profitability. We are excited to continue our partnership with VirPack and

LYKKEN ON

leadership

Looking for Leaders: How to Pick a True Leader From a Crowd of Charlatans

By David Lykken Are leaders born or made?

That’s the question that many people are asking. And it’s an important question. If you can’t train people to

become better leaders, why waste the effort? Now, I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on genetics and human potential—on the whole nature versus nurture debate. But, from what I’ve read, it’s usually not either/or. It’s usually a bit of both. I believe there is an

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extent to which people are naturally born leaders and an extent to which people can improve the little talent they have to become better leaders.

But, regardless of whether they’re “born” or “made,” I think people with good leadership potential will have demonstrated that potential in some way, shape, or form throughout their lives and careers.

When you’re looking to recruit people into your executive team, finding solid leaders can be quite the challenge. More than ever—with the proliferation of social media and personal branding—people can market themselves to be larger than life even if they’ve accomplished nothing. And when it comes to landing a position in leadership, swaths of people will show up to sell themselves as well as they can. You’ve heard the expression: “Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” I think it’s also the case that often everyone wants to be a leader but nobody wants to lead.

Many people want the caché of being a leader. They like the spotlight and the recognition. They like the compensation and the feeling of being in authority. They enjoy the spoils of war—even if they may never have seen a battle. If you see such people, run screaming in the other direction. These people aren’t leaders; they’re charlatans. True leaders don’t take shortcuts and they’re far less interested in the rewards for their labors than they are in the work itself. True leaders demonstrate their leadership through actions.

They don’t talk about how great they are—they simply live greatness. And, if you look hard enough at the leaders you’re evaluating, you’ll be able to see who’s the real deal and who’s running a game on you. Here are a few things to consider …

Leaders leave behind trail that tells their story If you can’t find evidence of their leadership, chances are they’re all talk. True leaders will have done things. They will have accomplished things. It doesn’t matter if they’ve been in the industry two years or 20 years—they will have filled their time with action. And doers always leave something behind. True leaders will leave a legacy. People will remember them and tell stories about them. Projects will have arisen because of them. Revenue will have been generated. Competitors will have been vanquished. If you can find signs that they actually existed, you’re on the right track. If you cannot even find that, you’re probably dealing with someone who is simply beefing up the résumé to land the job.

Leaders take initiative By definition, a leader is someone who is out in front. A good question to ask potential candidates you are considering adding to your team is this: what have you started? Yes, you want to know what people have done with the work given to them. But what about the work that they simply assumed responsibility for? Leaders will have led projects that were not part of their job descriptions. If they accomplish a great deal but all of it falls under the umbrella of “doing what they’re told,” they aren’t leaders—they’re just really good followers. Leaders assume the risk and responsibility of starting projects that they themselves are on the line for. If you come across someone who has taken the initiative to start things, you may have a winner.

Leaders stand for what’s right Sooner or later, we’ve all got to draw

the line when it comes to integrity. All of us face incidents in our lives that test our character and reveal who we really are. How your potential candidate has responded to these events will tell you whether or not he is someone you want on your team. If a candidate was fired for taking a stand on an ethical issue, is that necessarily a bad thing? Think of it this way: Followers don’t get fired.

Followers conform and do what they’re told, even if it’s immoral. A true leader will have the integrity to stand for what’s right—regardless of the consequences. Keep an eye out for these righteous rebels—they’re the ones worth keeping.

move. A good question to ask the candidates you’re considering: how are you better now than you were a year ago? If they aren’t growing, they aren’t a leader you want on your team. You may be looking at a very good leader right now, but you want someone who is determined to be an even better leader down the road.

Are leaders born or made?

Whether or not they were destined to do so, true leaders will have shown by their actions that they’re worthy of the title. You won’t be able to look at their lives or careers and not see signs of their presence. They won’t need to

brag about themselves or oversell because their legacy alone will be enough. Look for leaders who have left behind a trail of their leadership. The next iteration of that very legacy could take place in your organization.

David Lykken is 40-year mortgage industry veteran who has been an owner operator in three mortgage banking companies and a software company. As a former business owner/operator, today David loves helping C-Level executives and business owners achieve extraordinary results via consulting, coaching and communications, with the objective of eliminat-

ing corporate dysfunction, establishing and communicating a clear corporate strategy while focusing on process improvement and operational efficiencies resulting in increased profitability.

David has been a regular contributor on CNBC and Fox Business News and currently hosts a successful weekly radio program, “Lykken on Lending,” that is heard each Monday at noon (Central Standard Time) by thousands of mortgage professionals. He produces a daily one-minute video called “Today’s Mortgage Minute” that appears on hundreds of television, radio and newspaper Web sites across America. He may be reached by phone at (512) 501-2810 or by e-mail at dlykken@mbs-team.com.

Leaders don’t cave under pressure “These are the times that try men’s souls,” wrote Thomas Payne. “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” The true leader is no “summer soldier” or “sunshine patriot. The true leader thrives under pressure and shines in a crisis. Leaders are the embodiment of the maxim, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” When you’re considering a candidate, look at the times that he has faced an enormous amount of pressure. How did he handle it? A true leader faces the toughest challenges head on and comes out stronger on the other side.

Leaders don’t take the credit

I don’t know whether leaders are born or made. But I firmly believe that they are both reborn and remade. By that, I mean that they are constantly reinventing themselves.

They are restless for growth. They are lifelong learners. They seek out new experiences. They take on new ventures. They never settle. They’re never complacent. They’re always on the

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Leaders are constantly improving

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Harry Truman is quoted as saying, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.” True leaders are not in the game for the recognition. Not only do they not care if they get the credit for their accomplishments, but they go out of their way to make sure others get the credit instead. They recognize those who have helped them and express gratitude for everyone who contributed to their success. Did you ever notice how the most successful people often emphasis how lucky they feel? That’s because true leaders don’t need the glory. They want others to have it. They work in absolute humility—constantly praising others and not worrying about getting the attention themselves. Look for people who give credit to others—those are ones who will have been mostly likely to accomplish anything deserving of credit.

Why choose MBS Highway?

Legal and Regulatory Updates: April 2015

The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales

By Matt Drottz

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USDA-RHA proposes QM Rule for the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP) On March, 5, the Rural Housing Service (Agency) issued a proposed amendment to the Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP). Among the proposed Agency changes to 7 CFR Part 3555 is adding a definition for a qualified mortgage (QM).

Since the implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) QM rules, loans made pursuant to the SFHGLP have been considered QM loans under the temporary QM provisions of CFPB’s QM rules, until those provisions sunset on Jan. 10, 2021, or until the Agency promulgates its own QM rules. The Agency’s proposed rule would specifically define the requirements for a QM loan made under the SFHGLP so that the temporary QM provision would no longer apply.

The Agency proposes defining a QM loan as a guaranteed loan under Part 3555 which meets all Agency requirements, as well as the CFPB’s requirements contained in 12 CFR 1026.43(e)(2)(i) through (iii). Those provisions would require that for a SFHGLP loan to meet the Agency’s definition of a qualified mortgage, the loan term must not exceed 30 years and must contain regular periodic payments that do not result in an increase to the principal balance, and the loan must not allow deferment of payment of the principal or result in a balloon payment. In addition, any Agency QM loan must not exceed the three percent points and fees limitation contained in the CFPB’s standard QM rule.

In order to meet the definition of the QM, there is no separate requirement in the Agency’s proposed rule that the creditor confirms the borrower’s abilityto-repay according to the standard QM rule or meet any prescribed DTI limit.

In addition to defining a QM loan under the SFHGLP, the Agency also proposes to amend current regulations on the subject of lender Indemnification, principal reduction advances and refinancing requirements.

New Jersey increases maximum principal loan amount subject to HighCost Act for 2015 On Feb. 17, the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance published Bulletin Number 15-02, which provides the annual adjustment to the maximum principal amount of a loan that will be subject to the New Jersey Home Ownership Security Act of 2002 (the "Act"). For 2015, the maximum principal amount has been increased to $461,087.86. Loans with principal amounts exceeding this figure will not be subject to the Act's provisions. The revised amount is effective for all completed applications received by a lender on or after Jan. 1, 2015.

CFPB updates TRID implementation materials The CFPB has updated its TILA-RESPA regulatory implementation materials to bring them into alignment with a rule published Feb. 19, 2015 that modifies the 2013 TILA-RESPA Final Rule. The February 2015 rule extends the timing requirement for revised disclosures when consumers lock a rate or extend a rate lock after the Loan Estimate is provided and permits certain language related to construction loans for transactions involving new construction on the Loan Estimate. Additionally, the CFPB made non-substantive corrections, including citation and cross-reference updates and wording changes for clarification purposes, to various provisions of Regulations X and Z that were amended or adopted by the 2013 TILA-RESPA Final Rule.

This rule also amends the 2013 Loan Originator Final Rule to provide for placement of the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry ID (NMLSR ID) on the integrated disclosures. Accordingly, the CFPB also updated the Loan Originator Rule Small Entity Compliance Guide.

Matt Drottz is a compliance analyst with Doc Magic Inc. Matt has more than 12 years of experience in the mortgage industry, with extensive knowledge pertaining to mortgage servicing oversight, risk management and compliance.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

Past Short Sales Are Like a Bad Divorce Helping borrowers with extenuating circumstances through the mortgage process

By Pam Marron Explaining a past short sale is a harder task than most think, and it re-opens a period of time that many who have had the experience don’t want to go through again. Loan originators should not be surprised when past short sellers show anger, reluctance and may even opt out of re-purchasing a home upon learning what they must do.

Part of the problem is that guidelines, especially those surrounding the explanation of extenuating circumstances, are vague. And detail needed is not always easily accessible. Quietly, more than one lender has told me that documentation received is not enough to prove extenuating circumstances, which results in a new mortgage denial for those who may be eligible to re-enter the housing market. Though lenders offer the FHA “Back to Work” program, a low percentage of these loans have been approved.

Extracting and clearly defining the detail of extenuating circumstances to show how past sellers ended up with a short sale or foreclosure falls upon loan originators. So, what is the extra work and detail needed for these loans?

At HousingCrisisStories.com, there are three worksheets for the borrower and loan originator to prepare a case for an underwriter.

1. Borrower makes case: An extensive list of questions for the borrower to detail. Items needed are included on this list.

2. LO Economic Event Worksheet: The loan originator uses “Borrower Makes Case” and provided documentation to complete.

3. LO Reduced Income and Increased Debt Table: Made to show a percentage of reduced income for FHA Back to Work and increased expenses needed for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and USDA (medical). Also, the lower table shows how “Unanticipated Additional Debt” can be substantial, showing the real hardship.

Loan originators: l Be attentive to your borrowers’ entire story. Question the needed details. l Be prepared to document the income one-year prior to the event and over multiple years. Many affected saw trouble coming and tried to prepare.

However, the process of going through a short sale or foreclosure with a lender is often drawn out and some take years. During this time, assets are depleted, income fluctuates and credit becomes worse. l Do not be surprised when the borrower is reluctant to detail this timeframe.

Many try to forget, and having to dig up paperwork or discuss the event again can be highly emotional. l Loan originators must go the extra mile to prove all remedies tried. WHY? Even when jobs were lost or incomes reduced, when rental income did not cover the mortgage payment on an underwater property, when a divorce or death occurred, a great majority of these homeowners whittled away at savings and retirement funds trying to stay afloat. For many, there is often a final problem after the economic event where there was no choice left but to sell the home. l It is very common to see an alarmingly high BACK debt to income (DTI) ratio (Reduced Income and Increased Debt Table) even when the mortgage payment is made. This worksheet is intended to show that reduction in income is not always the primary reason to sell. l On short sales, retrieve the HUD-1, the final lender short sale approval letter on first and second mortgages and proof of the wire sent from the closing of the property. Why? It is common for the date of payoff on a credit report to be a different date than the actual closing date. continued on page 65

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By

K

nowledge is power. Power translates to success, whether it is dollars in your pocket, stronger leadership, increased bottom lines or peace of mind, we are here for you.

This month, we are introducing a new column for questions relating to starting a business, managing a business, training, networking, tax-related issues, corporate security policy, fraud alerts and compliance. All answers are for informational purpose only, and are not intended to practice law, or are meant to provide tax advice or tax opinions. After reviewing our information, we both recommend seeking legal counsel or the advice of a tax professional.

Please e-mail us at

Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke JustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com to voice any questions or problems. We are here for you!

Sokhea in Virginia asks …

My new borrower contacted me yesterday and said he submitted an application with two other lenders, but they haven’t responded to him as of yet. I’m thinking, “I don’t want to play this game, but I did send him his pre-approval (ran DU) letter this morning, so I’m hoping my quick responses and personable friendly service will win him over.” Any suggestions?

Eric’s reply to Sokhea …

As a broker and the owner of a company, you have a HUGE advantage. You can

price it using “borrower-paid” and make only one percent. Most lenders and banks price their loans at two percent to 2.5 percent in the deal. Since you are an owner, you can price it any way you want.

People don’t care about service, how friendly you are or what you are wearing.

They want to save money and will sell their grandmother for 1/8 percent on the rate.

Price it real low, you will win the competition and get all of their referral business. No one will be willing to match your price. Tell them you searched everywhere and were able to find a deal that is unbelievable for them. They will take it. Greed is good in this case. Their greed is good for YOU.

Laura’s reply to Sokhea …

I’m at a loss here because apparently Eric has inside information relating to you being the owner of the company. I am going to respond as if you weren’t an owner of the company and was the party originating the loan, but as a loan officer.

I personally get frustrated if and when someone tells me the same scenario. I ask them flat out, “How far have you gotten in the process? Why did you choose the company and why are you still shopping?”

I have won some because of price, and have lost some due to price, relationship; someone knew someone else, the location of my office, and I am sure a few other reasons as well.

In this case try to respond with

k Eric & Laura thought and courtesy when you are told why they are shopping, and display your expertise, rational objectiveness, and go for it There are no guarantees in life or in business, so may the best LO win!

Paul in Maryland asks …

I own a small mortgage brokerage shop in Maryland. I have about 10 loan officers and have been in business nearly 20 years. I am getting older and was wondering, “How do I figure out what my company is worth?” I might be interested in selling at some point and retiring.

Eric’s reply to Doug …

I used to run a mortgage company where the majority of people worked from home. The main thing I would tell you is that your success will depend on your own particular personality.

Working from home for some people can be extremely lonely. Then, there are those who need constant supervision. If you are that type, you could end up watching TV, doing the laundry and a million other tasks because you are more comfortable doing that than the hard work of meeting people. It is not so easy to selfmotivate and work when no one is yelling at you to “Go out and meet some real estate agents.”

I have seen some top producers go from tremendous volume to practically nothing in a just a few months. Some people just need the camaraderie and competition of an office setting.

Conversely, I love working from home.

I do not miss the distraction of office birthday parties, old women gossiping and the dry cleaner bill. I save money on gas and have a very happy lifestyle.

Working from home is the closest you will come to owning your own business.

Try it and you might find that you prefer it.

Laura’s reply to Doug …

I have worked out of my home for many lenders, and I have found that having an office within reason to use makes a big difference. Working from home, preparing documents, making phone calls, all

I can do either, I am a multi-tasking person, and can easily throw a load of laundry in, feed the dog, write out a bill, make the bed, read the paper, write an article, and oh, yeah, keep working from home!

Disclaimer: All answers are for informational purpose only, and are not intended to practice law, or provide tax advice or tax opinions. After reviewing our information we recommend seeking legal counsel or the advice of a tax professional.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. In 1995, he started a small mortgage company in his basement called Carteret Mortgage Corporation, which in 2003, grew to one of the largest mortgage broker companies in the United States. He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or email eweinstein4u@gmail.com. Laura Burke is an author and trainer with 20plus years of experience in the mortgage arena. She may be reached by e-mail at lauralynnburke@gmail.com.

Eric & Laura welcome your questions, please send your inquiries to JustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com.

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Laura’s reply to Paul …

There are many factors to consider when selling and/or buying a business. The seller must be aware of all tax implications, in addition to determining the percentage of business to be sold: 100 percent, 80 percent or 50 percent. As the previous owner; the new owner may be looking to cut a deal where you sell only 80 percent and retain 20 percent while you stay on as a consultant for an agreed upon term.

For the buyer, many variables and factors come into play, such as age, length of time in the area, current assets, future growth potential, current cash flow,

Doug from Illinois asks …

I am thinking about changing companies and working with a lender that allows me to work from my home office. The company office that I would be connected to is a substantial distance from my home.

How, if at all, will this play into today’s marketplace?

the day to day stuff is fine, but when it comes to actually meeting clients, having the office is a plus.

I know you can use real estate agent’s offices, law firm offices, and such but here is an example I encountered. No close office, working from my home, I was referred to an older gentleman. He came out to my home to meet with me, insisted his daughter come to so she could meet me. I have a very nice, large home, but still not the office setting an oldschooled gentleman was looking for.

He chose the other loan officer for two reasons, his daughter was friends with him, and he had a physical office, with a secretary and office personnel.

Will everyone be of the same mindset, no they are not? Many will do it all online, which makes it great, and easy for you, allowing you to working from home in whatever attire you desire, but I just wanted to shed a little light on the whole picture.

I also agree with Eric that some can work very effectively from home, while others simply cannot function. They need the structure and the drive into the office, away from their home setting.

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Eric’s reply to Paul …

I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but in my opinion, your company is probably worthless. That is NOT to say it has no value, I am sure it is valuable to you.

But in my view of the world, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it, and most realistically, no one wants to buy your company.

If you are like most small mortgage brokers, 80 percent of your volume comes from 20 percent of your work force. I will bet dollars to donuts, you are the largest producer. If you sold out and left, the net income of your company would probably be minimal or not enough to cover the overhead.

A new investor coming in would most likely value your company on net income without your production using a certain capitalization (cap) rate to convert cash flow to value. I can tell you when I owned my company back in 2003, I was offered a value of based on a cap rate of 50 percent (basically two years of earnings). That was the year we were the largest in the country.

Another factor is “The Key Man.” Many times, as The Key Man, the company is worthless without you running it. Maybe the employees are staying just because of your force of personality or they trust you. How many, realistically, would stay if you got hit by a bus tomorrow? Do you have a set line of succession? Basically, could the company run for a year without you? Not knowing anything about you or your company, I would say “No.” That is just my take on the subject. Just enjoy it while you can. Realistically, you cannot take it with you to retirement.

future cash stream, current and future debt leverage, existing clientele (will they remain, how to guaranty clientele stay?) and existing employees.

Retaining employees reduces the training time to hire new, unexperienced employees. Current assets, both physical and monetary, are key factors. For example, if I was to start my own business verses buying your business, I would need furniture, computers, fixtures, etc.

An old rule of thumb, what I would call the “quick and dirty answer” is a mathematical formula: Divide the current annual earnings by the long-term Treasury Bill rate. For example: $250,000 in annual earnings, Long term T-Bill 2.38 250,000/0.0238=$10,504,201.

The theory is if you were to invest in TBills, you would obtain the same or similar profit, providing annual earnings will continue to be the same or better. The downside is investing is a lot less work, than purchasing a business.

“By taking the initiative on important issues like serving the underserved market, mortgage professionals can truly become leaders in the mortgage industry and succeed where others dare not tread.”

Forging New Paths in the Mortgage Market

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this, mortgage professionals can align themselves with trail-blazing lenders, as well, as they work to attract and retain like-minded industry leaders.

By recognizing and serving these underserved populations, mortgage

By Ray Brousseau professionals not only can take on a leadership role in the industry, but means more than just tallying sales or they also can close a lot of business.

Take the lead by closing deals. Mortgage lenders and working with underserved populations professionals who want to truly lead The underserved In today’s real estate market, leaders must look at the larger picture and Securing financing for clients with are often thought of in terms of those step up to serve consumers who are high credit scores and significant who do the most business—the lead- often overlooked or considered less- downpayments isn’t too difficult in ing mortgage originator or the lead- than-desirable. today’s market, but finding a mortBy taking the lead on issues like gage for buyers with low credit scores ing real estate agent—but leadership and little cash to close is an entirely different story. These consumers still face tightened lending criteria, and few mortgage professionals are willing to take on the task of seeking out a lender capable of working with their financial situation. The underserved in the mortgage arena often include those with lower credit scores, and some industry experts estimate that as many as one in three consumers has a credit score below 650.

These borrowers often represent a significant portion of first-time homebuyers and the millennial demographic. In fact, according to Experian’s Fourth Annual State of Credit report, the millennial generation has the lowest average credit score at 628, while it is tied for the highest credit utilization at 37 percent1. First-time homebuyers are struggling, as well. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), although existing-home sales increased 4.7 percent year-over-year this past February, first-time homebuyers represented only 29 percent of all buyers, well below the historical average and only a slight increase from the 28 percent seen in February 20142. These consumers need to work with mortgage professionals who understand their current financial situation and lenders that offer programs that provide a positive opportunity for home financing.

Leading borrowers to credit The struggle of young and first-time

homebuyers is not news to many in the mortgage industry, and many institutions have taken steps to attempt to address some of the problems. Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently launched mortgage programs with down payments as low as three percent 3, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lowered its mortgage insurance premiums significantly this past January4.

Although these measures certainly may help bring more buyers to the market, many still may not be able to actually purchase a home of their own. Access to credit remains the largest hurdle for many underserved borrowers, and these programs do little to address that. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac low-downpayment mortgages, for example, still have significant restraints on underwriting and credit scores. And although the mortgage giants may be willing to purchase these mortgages, it is still dependent on lenders to make the loans. Many have expressed reluctance to step into this arena and create more mortgage availability where there is more perceived risk.

Lenders who lead There are some mortgage lenders, however, who have taken a leadership role in stepping up to serve these underserved markets and provide access to credit, while still making responsible lending decisions.

Mortgage professionals who want to better serve these consumers should be on the lookout for lenders who are taking real measures to make buying a home a reality for many who have been forced to sit on the sidelines since the financial crisis.

To serve borrowers with credit challenges, mortgage professionals should look for lenders who offer the following lending guidelines or programs: l Lowered minimum credit scores: Look for lenders that will work with consumers who have credit

scores between 550 and 650.

According to this past February’s Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report, only 28 percent of loans closed that month had an average FICO score under 700. The average credit score of all closed loans in 2014 was 7265. There is a large market of potential borrowers with credit scores below 700 who are being overlooked by many lenders. l Extended eligibility: Committed lenders have extended eligibility to include more property types. l Expanded guidelines and reduced overlays: By responsibly extending their qualification requirements to published guidelines on popular loan types such as FHA, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loan programs, lenders can help more borrowers participate in the market.

Although these types of programs signal that lenders are willing to work with the underserved market, mortgage professionals should also seek to partner with lenders that are making responsible lending decisions. Look for information from the lenders that indicate how they mitigate risk and check out what kind of educational tools they offer borrowers to ensure that they understand the financial undertaking of a mortgage. In addition, make sure that lenders have the support and staff in place to actually fulfill these types of lending commitments. For example, lenders should have underwriters trained and certified to perform manual underwriting, as it is some-

By taking the initiative on important issues like serving the underserved market, mortgage professionals can truly become leaders in the mortgage industry and succeed where others dare not tread. In addition, by taking the lead like this, mortgage professionals show their initiative and their willingness to pursue new paths. Attracting other like-minded professionals starts with the simple idea of leading by example. When others see your work, they are attracted to the leadership role you’ve undertaken, especially if they are eager to take on more responsibility themselves. This is how organizations can attract like-minded leaders who want to push forward with new initiatives and new ideas.

Retaining these leaders can be difficult, but if your organization continues to lead in the marketplace and pursue lesser-worn paths, you will continue to engage the leaders within your company. Stagnation and repetition are two things leaders are not looking for. But simply taking calculated risks and pursuing new ideas may not be enough to encourage the leaders within your company, especially across a wide range of roles and responsibilities. That is why companies should provide chances for their employees to develop leadership characteristics and opportunities to take on leadership roles.

For example, Carrington Mortgage Services provides company-wide leadership development programs. These programs are six to 12 months in length and focus on the successful behaviors of a manager, understanding communication styles, and more. In addition, Carrington has developed many leadership opportunities for high-potential associates in which they can participate in special forums, projects or assignments where they can demonstrate their strengths. In addition, the company has programs for associates to work with a coach or team to further their development and gain exposure to different levels of the organization. Incentive programs

Being a leader in the mortgage industry, where risk is a four-letter word, is not an easy task. But mortgage professionals who are willing to step up and commit to serving underserved populations can show their true leadership abilities—and help a lot of potential homebuyers in the process. By partnering with like-minded lenders who offer options and special programs for lower credit-score borrowers, mortgage professionals align themselves with other leaders in the industry and will attract even more trail-blazers with their boldness and initiative, positioning their business to succeed for years to come.

Ray Brousseau is executive vice president of Carrington Mortgage Services LLC, Mortgage Lending Division, responsible for all day-to-day operations and P&L management. Ray has 26 years in the mortgage banking and consumer finance business. Prior to joining Carrington in 2011, he spent 23 years leading various segments of Citi’s consumer finance business, CitiFinancial.

Footnotes 1—www.experian.com/live-credit-smart/state-ofcredit-2013.html?WT.srch=PR_CIS_StateofCredit2013_11192013_4thannual 2—www.realtor.org/news-releases/2015/03/existing-home-sales-slightly-improve-in-februaryprice-growth-gains-steam 3—www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fannie-freddie-loans-20141209-story.html 4—money.cnn.com/2015/01/07/real_estate/fhamortgage-insurance/index.html 5—www.elliemae.com/origination-insightreports/Ellie_Mae_OIR_FEBRUARY2015.pdf

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l Wholesale loans with no underwriting fee: Without an underwriting fee, mortgage professionals have a more direct path to disclosing and funding loans in a compliant fashion.

Attract and retain leaders

aimed at aligning leadership performance with the organization are also excellent ways to help attract and retain leaders for your organization.

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l Simplified loans with no closing costs or upfront financing fees: Under-served borrowers often have little cash on hand for closing or unexpected fees that may pop up at the end of the process. These types of loans remove those anxieties.

times necessary in this market.

Lenders who are truly committed to serving the underserved will have support and safeguards in place to not only offer these programs, but also to lend responsibly and well.

“When it comes to establishing a successful mortgage business, many companies tend to look to their workforce to lay the foundation.”

Do You Have Talented Managers on Board?

By Chad Jampedro In a world full of market jargon and business ideology, the characteristics of a great leader can seem rather nebulous. Luckily, growing research has been zeroing in on these qualities and how they can positively affect everything from employee morale to productivity and company profitability. Mortgage managers

take note: Your role in the company is way more important than you think.

That’s the good news. The bad news is a bit harder to swallow.

A study on the State of the American Manager, released this April from the Gallup Organization, states that the majority of managers in the

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Loan Officers, Branch Managers and Teams,

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© Copyright 2007-2014 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC headquartered at 1610 E. Saint Andrew Place, Suite B150, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Toll Free (800)561-4567. NMLS ID 2600. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access Web Site: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. AZ: Mortgage Banker BK-0910745; 2159 McCulloch Blvd 4, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, File No. 413 0904. CO: Check the license status of your mortgage loan originator at http://www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm. GA: Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee 22721. IL: Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee.

MN: This is not an offer to enter into an interest rate lock agreement under Minnesota Law. MO: Residential Mortgage Broker License 09-1746-S. NH: Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department. NJ: Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance. NY: Licensed Mortgage Banker—NYS Department of Financial Services. New York Mortgage Banker License B500980/107664. OH: Ohio Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption MBMB.850208.000 (FHA DE & VA Automatic loans only) OR: Mortgage Lender License ML-4886. PA: Licensed by the Department of Banking. RI: Rhode Island Licensed Lender, Lender License 20112809LL. VA: Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission MC-5382. WA: Consumer Loan License CL-2600. Also licensed in AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, ID, IN, ME, MD, MI, NM, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, WV and WI. All rights reserved.

U.S. today are wrong for the job. The research organization says while current managers may have possessed talent in their previous roles—say, as a marketer, an underwriter or a loan officer—it’s not the same as having the talent to manage employees.

In fact, Gallup found that approximately all organizations “Fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for the manager job a whopping 82 percent of the time.” Of those professionals placed in managerial roles, just 35 percent are engaged in their workplace—a troubling and startling realization for companies who are trying to improve operations.

If that number seems concerning, then consider how most companies conduct hiring. Gallup says far too many organizations base their hiring decisions on outdated modes of reward and succession, such as past experience or tenure.

The result is wasted time spent on managerial training, and “trying to fit square pegs into round holes,” rather than time spent successfully leading employees. According to research estimates, these so-called “bad” managers cost the U.S. economy $319 to $398 billion, annually—clearly not chump change.

There’s good reason to consider talent when evaluating managerial candidates. According to the study, companies that hire managers based on talent see a 48 percent increase in profitability, a 22 percent rise in productivity, a 20 percent increase in employee engagement scores, a 17 percent increase in customer engagement scores, and a 19 percent decrease in employee turnover.

They are also more likely to be “brand ambassadors,” and understand and fulfill a company’s mission.

“Organizations that choose managers based on talent [have] a greater chance of choosing high performers,” the study states. “Naturally talented managers know how to develop and engage their employees.

They create enthusiastic and energized teams that focus on moving their company forward and doing right by their customers.”

Great employees start with great leaders When it comes to establishing a successful mortgage business, many companies tend to look to their workforce to lay the foundation. While attracting and retaining talented employees is certainly a critical component for any operation, instituting great leadership is the true key to success.

Gallup says great managers possess the following five talents: They motivate their employees; assert themselves to overcome obstacles; create a culture of accountability; build trusting relationships; and make informed, unbiased decisions for the good of their team and company.

They aren’t obstructed by a sense of entitlement or office politics, and truly believe in their company’s promise.

I often relate this idea to a popular meme: On one side of the ani-

With the constant changes in the housing and mortgage marketplace, it can be easy for employees to get lost in shuffle. Since managers have a direct impact on employees, something Gallup calls the “cascade effect,” it’s important to get on the ground level and understand what employees need from their managers to be successful. That’s where developing talented leadership can make all the difference.

In an earlier, separate Gallup workplace study, employees were surveyed to discover the managerial behaviors

l Reliable and meaningful communication: A combination of face-toface, phone or electronic communication email spurred the most engagement among employees.

Those who reported consistent communication with their managers felt more safe and comfortable to share their ideas and information with their teams. They also shared more about their personal lives, which lead to managers building genuine relationships with their employees, in return. This so-called “soft” leadership style was responsible for increases in employee retention and work productivity. Leaving a minute or two at the end of a meeting for employees to discuss nonwork activities, or stopping an employee at the water cooler to say hello, are simple ways to ignite meaningful communication. l Performance management: One of the biggest complaints among employees in the study had to do with frustrations over unclear company or departmental goals.

Helping team members set their priorities and performance goals can alleviate that tension, so employees can focus on the work at hand. “They need to completely comprehend what they should be doing and how their work fits in with everyone else’s work—especially when circumstances change,” says Gallup. In the mortgage business, change happens often, so taking the time to reevaluate strategies and figuring out how employees can put them into action should be a top priority. l Focusing on strengths over weaknesses: Only about 25 percent of employees feel their managers are “on their side.” Gallup suggests creating a “strengths-based culture,” where managers focus on employees’ strengths rather than weaknesses to increase employee

engagement. When “bad” managers continually harp on a person’s weakness, they end up discouraging employees and creating low morale.

Employees’ shortfalls can usually be improved upon with training, and focusing on one’s strengths allows employees to realize their roles faster. This leads to employees who more strongly embrace their roles within an organization, which in turn leads to higher productivity. Once again, it’s important to, maintain open lines of communication and get to know employees on a deeper level, so these strengths can be brought to the surface.

All of these suggestions can sound a bit prescribed, but that’s exactly why it’s important to hire managers who naturally possess these talent

and skills. And when that’s not possible, it’s important for those of who hold senior management roles to foster a culture that allows for managerial and employee growth.

Remember: Leadership isn’t a position—it’s an active and continuous pursuit.

Chad Jampedro is the president of GSF Mortgage Corporation, a Milwaukee Top Workplace. With nearly 20 years in business, GSF Mortgage has embraced the next generation of homeowners with its GOGSF brand, continuing its dedication to flexible and transparent lending. With more than 140 team members in 26 locations across the Midwest and East Coast, GSF Mortgage keeps “Lending in Your Favor.” Chad may be reached by phone at (262) 3730790 or e-mail cjampedro@gogsf.com.

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Developing managerial skills

deemed most effective in creating and retaining employee engagement.

They included reliable and meaningful communication; performance management and focusing on employees’ strengths, rather than their weaknesses. Let’s break down what that means:

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mation a boss sits behind his desk dictating his demands to a line of employees pulling the bureau with a rope; on the other side of the image, the boss stands at the front of the line leading the way. It’s easy to see which strategy is more effective.

Obviously, not everyone is going to be born with managerial talent. And hard work and dedication—the way most people climb rank—still has its place in the industry. But with less than one-third of employees engaged in their job, and nearly one in two quitting to escape bad management, we must do more to improve and ensure effectual leadership.

On a macro-level, it’s important for managers to remember that our business truly affects people’s lives.

Purchasing a home is one of the biggest decisions a person can make—and we should feel honored that customers choose us to help them find the best mortgage to make it a successful one. We’re not selling a product, we’re selling a livelihood.

Engaged employees help spur innovation within the company, generate ideas and better work processes, and create new customers. In the mortgage business, word of mouth is still so important, and employees are often the ones coming face to face with our customers. It’s absolutely crucial to have engaged employees on the frontline.

“Leadership doesn’t require a title and a title doesn’t make a leader.”

Value-Added Leadership

By Bill Waltenbaugh

Preconceived notions

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I once attended a weekend retreat that involved regular communication with a small group of men I never met. This alone can be a little unnerving but, to top it off, we were not permitted to share our occupation or title with anyone else in the group. For many, this is a difficult task since much of our identification is wrapped up in our daily commitments and what we do for a living.

What was the point and why were we asked to refrain from sharing this significant part of our lives? Well the answer is pretty simple. The essence of much of the weekend was to share past experiences and personal opinions on different subjects. Occupations and titles can set preconceived notions and create barriers to conversation. If someone is more educated or holds a position of authority it can prevent others from sharing their own thoughts and opinions. Conversely, some will not considers the ideas and viewpoints of others if they don’t think they are distinguished enough to be heard.

At the end of the weekend, we were provided the opportunity to share with the rest of the group our occupations and titles. My small group was quite the

mix. There was an attorney, pastor, garbage truck driver, small business owner and, yours truly, a real estate appraiser. Despite our vastly different backgrounds, everyone participated and brought quality content and insight to the conversation. This openness to sharing could have quickly been squelched had introductions been made at the beginning.

I shared this experience to demonstrate how our society can hastily equate leadership with authority and measure a leader by their experience or the number of people they have under their charge. However, leadership is much more than this. It’s not about hierarchy; it’s about influence.

Leadership doesn’t require a title and a title doesn’t make a leader.

In the medieval drama “Braveheart,” there is a conversation between Sir William Wallace and Robert the Bruce regarding leadership. In this scene, William Wallace tells Robert the Bruce, “What does that mean to be noble?

Your title gives you claim to the thrown of our country, but men don’t follow titles, they follow courage. Now our people know you. Noble, and common, they respect you. And if you would just

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lead them to freedom, they’d follow to have well-written policies and procedures. In addition to ensuring compliyou. And so would I.” ance with regulatory rules and guidelines, this type of structure establishes A place for AMCs In response to the mortgage meltdown stability and takes the guesswork out of of 2008, the Home Valuation Code of what to do and how to move forward in Conduct (HVCC) paved the way for a new all circumstances.

It’s also important for everyone in major player in the mortgage industry with the proliferation of appraisal man- the organization to be on the same agement companies (AMCs). Although page. Otherwise, it doesn’t take long for the AMC concept had been around for employees and even clients to become years, many believed this channel of frustrated with the lack of vision and business was the ideal solution to pro- consistency. vide the required buffer between lender loan production and the independent Leading through communication real estate appraiser.

In the early years, there was very little I remember playing a game called regulation or oversight in regards to the “Telephone” when I was a kid. role of AMCs. However, this quickly Participants would sit in a circle and changed. One such regulation was the someone would whisper a phrase to inclusion of Section 1124 of FIRREA Title XI the first person and then quietly pass that mandates states establish registration the phrase around the circle until it and set minimum requirements for AMCs gets back to the beginning. As most of that perform services related to federally- you already know, when the last perrelated transactions. Among others, these son announces the statement to the minimums require AMCs to ensure group, it is often very different than appraisals they manage comply with the the original. Although just a fun childUniform Standards of Professional hood game, it is a good example of Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and are con- how an original meaning can get lost ducted independently and free from inap- in translation.

Back in the day when direct commupropriate influence and coercion pursuant to the appraisal independence standards nication occurred between the client established under Section 129E of the and appraiser, additional concerns and request for consideration could quickly Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA). and easily be resolved with a short telephone conversation. Unfortunately, this The challenge Leadership is a must if an AMC is going to communication didn’t always comply be successful and compliant in serving with appraisal independence standards. their clients’ needs, while also working As a result, these same concerns are with independent panel appraisers to pro- now filtered through a third-party. vide USPAP-compliant assignments that However, as demonstrated above, anymeet agreed-upon service level agree- time a layer is added to the communiments. As I’m sure you are aware, this can cation chain an opportunity is created be challenging at times since the client for the original meaning to get lost in isn’t subject to the AMC’s authority and the translation. In these situations, it is very appraisers they work with are independent important for an AMC to effectively third-party contractors. In other words, an manage and lead the communication authoritative leadership style isn’t a viable between the lender and appraiser. To long-lasting solution. Instead, an AMC’s be compliant, they need to ensure the leadership approach will need to bring a meaning of the concern is effectively communicated in a way that maintains value add to everyone involved. appraiser independence.

Leading as an organization through policies and procedures

Be a problem solver, not a problem maker

In order to lead successfully, it is critical A problem is oftentimes the result of

different points of view. When this occurs, it is better to be a problem solver than a problem maker. This is a conversation I regularly have with my children. In general, it seems they are much better at finding problems than they are providing solutions. In simplest terms, don’t go looking for problems.

However, if one is uncovered, don’t dwell on the situation, but instead, get started on finding a solution.

Some circumstances require leading through mediation that might include sympathizing with both parties perspective and finding common ground for a solution. Sometimes a little understanding from a different point of view is all it takes.

Other situations might call for a gentle education approach. This an informative method that carefully and respectively points out the errors in ones thoughts and opinions. If done

properly, it isn’t uncommon for a per- dealings with him in the future? son to discover his or her own acceptable solution.

Don’t take people

for granted Lead with integrity and character The best leaders lead with integrity and character. This means you should never ask anyone to do anything you wouldn’t do or haven’t already done yourself.

Many years ago, I had a client who asked me to do him a big favor and bend the rules just a little to make things easier in closing a transaction.

While doing this, one thing would have been beneficial for him in this situation, doing so would also compromise my character and integrity in his mind.

In essence, if I act less than truthful in this instance, how does he know that I’m not willing to do the same in my

I once read a story about the former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. One Election Day, an elderly neighbor came to him after leaving the polls and said, “Tip, I voted for you today even though you didn’t ask me.” This surprised O’Neill. He said, “Mrs. O’Brian, I’ve known you all my life. I took your garbage out for you, I mowed your lawn, and I shoveled snow for you. I didn’t think I had to ask.” She answered him in a motherly tone: “Tip, it’s always nice to be asked.”

At the end of the day, a good leader never takes anyone for granted.

Everybody needs to be heard and everyone should be treated like they are important.

Leading from the middle As an AMC, we apply all these leadership lessons, so that even though our role is between our clients and vendors, we ensure that all parties reach their goal. It’s not easy being a leader in the middle, but if we continue to do our role, the end result will continue to be quality valuations that exceed our client’s lending and compliance requirements.

Bill Waltenbaugh, chief appraiser at Axis Appraisal Management Solutions, has 25-plus years of experience in the real estate industry and holds the SRA designation with the Appraisal Institute. With several years of experience as a chief appraiser and director of compliance, Bill has developed a proven track record of implementing necessary policy and procedures to ensure quality and compliance.

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“Lenders need to document their strategy for monitoring third-party vendors, then test it and put it into use.”

Personality Traits of a Business Leader

By Chris Sturdivant

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There is a business misconception which suggests that all great leaders are extroverts. Fact is the qualities found in the best leaders within industry are more sophisticated than simply being assertive. What we witness in the mortgage industry every day is that the characteristics of true trailblazers include listening skills, authenticity and the ability to create and inspire lasting change.

As a member of the mortgage industry now for nearly 15 years— both in sales and in management— like many of you, I’ve seen corporate magic occur when there’s mutual respect, information exchange and healthy communication.

Leadership often comes down to understanding your own personality first—and learning how to use your natural assets to your advantage. The ability to precisely describe what you want is vital to the success of your business. It hones leadership. If you cannot relate your plan or grand vision to your teams, though, you’ll never be on the same internal team, and you can’t collectively work toward shared goals.

A leader always attempts to understand his or her own personality first.

Chances are you vividly recall what it feels like to work with a boss who cannot communicate well or who becomes belligerent when questioned about motives or goals. He may be your boss but you wouldn’t necessarily consider him a leader. Once you recognize what a lack of leadership actually feels like— someone who cannot allocate or listen,

someone who cannot foster productivity or delegate—you will never forget it.

It stinks, and it creates a dismal work environment.

While it can take years of repetition and practice to become an excellent manager, your biological age doesn’t have as much to do with first-class leadership skills as your ethics, honesty and commitment to the tasks at hand.

However you view yourself, and whatever your age is, cultivating a happy, hardworking team and making your business aims crystal-clear elevates your leadership skills regardless of your age.

The following are some hallmarks of an inspiring business leader

work culture that is conducive to your own success,” said Dr. Woody. In certain situations, some people will thrive while others struggle, so it’s important that leaders identify the potential for mentoring and guiding job growth in their own job as well.

Everything you have experienced and have overcome molds you into the authentic leader you need to be. On the other hand, as most employees quickly realize, it’s fairly easy to spot a fake leader.

Aim big, fall hard

to instill an upbeat, appropriate energy.

When employees feel genuine good humor and support, they won’t mind staying an extra hour or two on a Friday night to finish a report. Good managers and natural leaders always set out to discover what each team member enjoys doing most, and then they make it happen. This not only proves to your team that you trust and believe in them, but you will avoid micro-managing, and be able to free up your own time to focus on higher-level tasks.

Here are several quotes about leadership from Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic and a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur and leader. These inspirational comments originally appeared on Forbes.com, but still ring true today:

Groundbreakers tend to be courageous and lead by example. And sometimes, you fall flat on your face. Failure builds resilience. Former chairman and CEO of a publishing firm, Michael Hyatt, gives talks across the country on spearheading leadership. In his lectures, he fre- l “A company is people … and people quently quotes Mel Gibson who played really need to feel wanted.” the role of Lieutenant Colonel Hal l “Engage your emotions at work. Your Self-awareness and Moore in the movie “We Were Soldiers.” authenticity instincts and emotions are there to Any good manager in a service industry Hyatt calls the following speech one perhelp you.” is supposed to model great behavior, be fect example of leadership: l “I believe that drudgery and clocka constant reminder of what’s expected, watching are a terrible betrayal of and stay the course regardless of how Before heading onto the battlefield, that universal, inborn entrepreneurbumpy it gets. “Leaders tend to have Gibson roars, “We are going into battle ial spirit.” insight and wisdom, and they need to against a tough and determined enemy. l “There is no greater thing you can do be able to examine complex situations, I can’t promise you that I will bring you with your life and your work than folgain clarity and then determine a all home alive. But this I swear, before low your passions—in a way that course of action,” said organizational you and before Almighty God, that serves the world and you.” psychologist Michael Woodward, Ph.D., when we go into battle, I will be the first an author (Dr. Woody) and an expert in to set foot on the field and I’ll be the last Chris Sturdivant is the vice president of to step off. And I will leave no one business development for the National the psychology of leadership.

Top dogs know how to play to their behind. Dead or alive, we will all come Notary Association (NNA). He joined the strengths and shore up their weakness- home together.”

National Notary Association in 2011, es by surrounding themselves with peohaving previously spent more than a Hyatt, founder of “The Virtual decade in the mortgage banking and ple who can fill those voids and compliment their own abilities, he says. “As a Mentor” Web site says, real leaders in financial industries. He works with corgroundbreaker, you need to under- any industry will ultimately make a sig- porate clients nationwide, including stand the type of environment and nificant difference, and the world will banks, hospitals, insurance brokerages be forever changed because of their and retail business service providers. His compelling guidance. He says, “Leaders professional background includes manare able to create real and lasting agement in both mortgage originations change. The measure of leadership can- and specialty servicing with major banknot be found in the leader; it is found in ing organizations including CitiMortgage the impact the leader has on his follow- and Morgan Stanley. He currently overers. There is the biggest difference. ” sees the NNA’s Trusted Notary Program which helps mortgage servicers achieve Kindness matters … compliance with the OCC Uniform really Servicing Standards and increases the www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com Since employee morale is directly linked professionalism of Notaries in the bankto productivity, it’s your job as a leader ing industry.

“… leadership is a state of mind, a state of desire, drive, an ambition so strong and so confident that the very core exudes ‘Follow me, I’m in the know, I can be trusted, and have a superior skill set.’”

Humanized Leadership

By Benjamin Schomer When I was first broached with the opportunity to write this article, I was met with an all too familiar visceral doubt, to read or to write, to lead or to follow. As you can already deduce, I choose to lead.

But this article isn’t about me, it’s about the challenges all professionals face when poised with the opportunity to follow, learn, or lead.

The age old question: Are leaders born or can anyone be taught? The answer is complex, vague, full of subjection, proven

yet unproven and frankly worthless.

Leadership isn’t a genetic code, or given through name, nor is it a class or Webinar you subscribe to. Rather, leadership is a state of mind, a state of desire, drive, an ambition so strong and so confident that the very core exudes “Follow me, I’m in the know, I can be trusted, and have a superior skill set.”

Perhaps you think my portrayal is callous, or short-sighted, but I caution your interpretation, that visceral ambition is

the very root of leadership, the very root of confidence. Confidence is the end all say all and the bridge that all followers who are now leaders have crossed. That pure inflection point when you decided to opine, decided to share your opinion and accepted the fear of being right or wrong.

Fear is what prevents many from confidence, and in turn leadership. Fear of succeeding (believe it or not), fear of failing, fear of responsibilities, fear of facing fear.

Can you be bred with confidence, lack of fear, thus leadership characteristics? Of course. Can you learn to break down these barriers and response to adversities? Of course. Can you face adversity as if that fear, that driving force was your compan-

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continued on page 56

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ion and not your enemy? Of course.

Simply put, anyone can become a leader, anyone!

Don’t misunderstand me, or underestimate the challenge presented. True leadership takes knowledge, patience, observance, dedication, soul and a willingness to explore. Not everyone will achieve greatness, but most won’t even try. Thus, I present the ever-long conundrum between true leadership and the portrayal of true leadership. One’s inability to be honest with themselves generally leads to the later, a hubris of uncontrolled arrogance that sets the tone of

humanized leadership continued from page 55

leadership through aggression. This is not real leadership, real leadership is educated, finessed, controlled and delivered in a manner that best suits the audience, not the presenter’s ego.

As you might imagine, leadership knows no age, color or creed. It can be achieved by us all. Many believe that leadership is acquired through years of experience, learning, testing, failing and ultimately succeeding in the form of leading. I too believe this is one great form of leadership, but the working world today is very different than it was 20, 40 or even 60 years ago. Today, the headlines are influenced by new, young up-and-comers, drop outs, or Harvard grads who enter the working world with a startup,

those who will never know a day working for others, or not leading.

I view this as a very positive change in leadership, not because I undervalue experience, tenure, and my seniors, but because I believe in the past our working world made many wait for their leadership opportunities. In other words, we were, and perhaps are still, much too structured, we outline a corporate ladder and turn ignorant to looking outside of it.

But these up and comers, this millennium demographic are changing the game, they are shattering the misconceptions about structure and almost every aspect of a working environment of the past!

In case you have missed the last 15 years, a revolutionized working environ-

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ment is more popular than kale, glutenfree … you get the idea, it is in and it is here to stay! Why did this happen? The answer is easy to me—employee engagement! While antediluvian companies were focusing on HR tactics of the past, new companies came to speak to the individual and when they did, they did so through almost every tangible aspect of their day to day. They drove a simple message to top tier talent: We value you; we acknowledge that you are leaders, we will humanize the corporate environment in order to support your production, life, and most importantly your preferences, your value of life/work. Genius is what I say. Barriers were broken, corporate attire, scheduled lunches, standard cubicles were thrown out the of the office. The psychology of the workplace took center stage. Leaders made this change.

My company, Metro-West Appraisal, is not a Google, but a mom and pop that has grown in great numbers. With 45 employees at the corporate office and 200 in the field, our number one goal is to make employees feel like that are working for the company that got started 28 years ago … to make everyone feel like that have an impact, and make everyone feel like part of the family. Thus, on top of corporate provided culinary events, we have Kentucky Derby events, baseball group gatherings, quiz events, days at the lake, team exploration days, etc. We go above and beyond to ensure that we are a part of the community, while creating a micro community among us. We do this because we care, but we also do this because we value our leaders and personnel, and value the only true value that any company has—the building blocks of leaders that make it.

It’s one thing to keep great talent, but it’s another beast in itself to attract great talent.

Attracting great leaders is always a top priority, and admittedly it isn’t easy, nor is it perfected. Securing a top level proven industry leader with countless years

of experience and leadership is, as you can imagine, an easy identification process. The difficult identification process comes when you have to identify young, less experienced individuals who haven’t led, yet have the desire and skill set to do so.

From a corporate perspective, we believe that developing mid-level professionals into high level executives holds tremendous value. With this core approach and philosophy, we believe we can groom leaders to obtain skills beyond the scope of our company.

In conclusion, each day I find myself admiring a great leader and being thankful for the leadership responsibilities provided to me. I would encourage all, individuals and corporations, to face your fear, let your confidence rise and lead to greater heights. Seeking, engaging and retaining great leaders will always be a challenge, one that should be met with new profound barrier breaking strategies, for leaders from leaders.

Most importantly, humanize the process, humanize the environment and humanize your approach. Hopefully, I have done just that with this piece. Leaders of today and tomorrow … voice your opinion. I’m listening.

Benjamin Schomer is SVP of strategic partnerships for Metro-West Appraisal Company LLC. He may be reached by phone at (313) 3094180 or e-mail bschomer@metrowestappr.com.

“The best leaders take time for self-reflection and how they impact others.”

What Exceptional Leaders See

By Kerry Elam Most businesses are loaded with stress and demands for results under inevitable time pressure. To meet the increasing workloads, the most effective leaders spend valuable time observing operations, and the people doing the work. Leaders take time to be empathetic, see each individual, and lead from a place of understanding.

Being able to see the unique strengths of a person sets true leaders apart. This article explores what an exceptional leader sees and how to implement.

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External The second step is to recognize that one size does not fit all; and how to fully utilize the varying assets, personalities, and generational mixes of our employees. The best leaders take time to disperse tasks and formulate teams to accurately play to each person’s strengths. The up and coming leaders also see ways to tap into the generational gaps present in the workplace.

The views of these generations contrast vastly from the type of working environment, motivating factors, technological know-how to setting career goals. For instance, a company that is led by Traditionalists (1925-1945) and Baby Boomers (1946-1964) tend to lead to a command and control style of leadership set by strict rules. They prefer a more formal working environment, are motivated more by selfworth, believe in personal contact in interactions, and tend to have careers at one company or industry. On the other hand Generation X (1965-1980) and Generation Y (1981-2000) prefer a more casual working environment, are motivated by security yet ability to maintain work life balance, were the first generations to be brought up with the use of technology, and tend to work more towards skills that are transferrable and can juggle parallel careers. This knowledge of what motivates each generation is helpful in the compilation of teams; as we can pair using the wisdom and strong work ethics to build the best operational practices with the latest technology by

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Internal The first step is reviewing our selfawareness to better understand how we tend to justify our behaviors. In the book, Mistakes Were Made (but not by me), authors Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson discuss the concept of cognitive dissonance. They state, “Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent.” An example of this is drinking soda when we know it is bad for us. In this example to reduce dissonance, we would decide to quit drinking soda. However, if we fail, we must reduce the dissonance by convincing ourselves it really is not that bad for us anyways. From a leadership perspective, we can bark orders at our team.

We know deep down it is best to ask for collaboration, yet to reduce the dissonance we justify that we are in charge and our team should take orders with no input or opinions.

The best leaders take time for selfreflection and how they impact others.

They invest in executive coaches who are paid to challenge and disagree with them; to ensure they are taking time to formulate decisions versus being reactionary. Abraham Lincoln was one of the rare presidents with a cabinet of

political opponents versus allies willing to disagree with him. It is challenging to truly see ourselves without enlisting a third party via trusted mentors, friends or coaches. Why do sporting teams focus on finding superior coaches? They hire the best coaches to win, and even more, organizations are using coaches to guide towards success.

leveraging the expertise of Generation X ed, “I don’t think we want to speculate on the number of casualties. The effort and Y. now has to be to save as many people as Coming together possible.” There was an outpouring of Through the differences, it is universal volunteers at Ground Zero that saved an that we all do well with leaders that estimated twenty thousand civilian lives. focus on appreciation, respect, trust, Cramer best described this event, “Note and empower teams to add value to the how Giuliani saw and focused on amazcompany. Exceptional leaders know the ing acts of heroism amid the horrific best ways to motivate, retain quality tal- aftermath of the attacks. More imporent, and cultivate job satisfaction. tant, he communicated the importance Internal and external insights provide and value of that heroism to the world. input to make informed decisions. For By biasing his attention toward the posiinstance, taking time to ensure our tive and possible, he led a success rescue employees are aligning goals to their operation.” strengths will pay off in the long run.

By focusing on the lesson to learn, the Hounding an employee to focus on possibility to improve operations, the something they do not enjoy is not moti- positive side of how to work together, vating. For example, many years ago, I leaders can set the tone to always look realized that I was an extreme micro- for the bright side of any challenge. A manager and also had a hard time dele- team that feels empowered by their gating work. I was not able to focus on leadership will in turn take more pride more strategic visions. I took my inter- and personal accountability. nal tasks and divided them with my In conclusion, exceptional leaders see team to fit our strengths and allow themselves, their organization, know the alignment towards our best attributes. diversities, and are able to connect with We all have more job satisfaction and differing styles. Leaders understand dedication to the team. I am constantly expectations, and what emotion is drivchecking in with how they are doing, ing their behavior is far more productive how I can help them be successful ver- as opposed to jumping to a judgment sus pushing them. As their leader, I use based on stereotypes or preferences. It a variety of coaching resources to help is important to take time and build the guide and mentor to be my best; know- trusting relationship where each individing I will never be perfect. ual brings ahead their potentials and works toward the common goal. A How to implement strong leader is willing to take accountaTo implement a culture in which we see bility for their role in any challenging the big picture at an employee and orga- scenario to guide their team to rise nizational level, one of the most effec- above. They will encourage others to tive techniques to utilize is a term called reach their own personal best, lift others “Asset-Based Thinking” that is depicted up to shine, look for their unique gifts, in the book Lead Positive, What Highly realize the best in others, and celebrate Effective Leaders See, Say, and Do by what we all have to offer while working Kathryn D. Cramer. Asset-Based together as a team.

Thinking (ABT) means, “To look at yourself and the world through the eyes of Kerry W. Elam is managing director of what is working, what strengths are operations and human resources with present, and what potentials are. Actualize Consulting. She oversees the Conversely, deficit based thinking finance, marketing and recruiting funcmeans to look at yourself and the world tions of the firm, and is also responsible in terms of what is not working, what is for facilitating knowledge management, lacking, and the gaps between where training and social activities for the you are and where you want to be.” employees of the firm. She may be Cramer best describes this type of lead- reached by phone at (703) 868-1506, eership in the example of Mayor Giuliani mail kelam@actualizeconsulting.com or after 9/11. In a press conference, he stat- visit www.actualizeconsulting.com.

“Commit to the idea that you are already a leader and that it’s your obligation to share your knowledge with clients and referral partners.”

You’re Already a Leader!

By Brent Emler

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Many of us view ourselves and define our leadership abilities (or lack thereof) based on our perceived personality type.

Outgoing, strong personalities are more likely to perceive themselves as a leader vs. a follower. We are all leaders though, in our varied ways and for different reasons.

As a professional in the real estate finance industry, you are a leader. Your prospects, clients and referral partners are looking to you to provide leadership in very specific ways. Recognizing leadership as inherent to your role can bring clarity to your objectives and can be generally empowering.

Even more specifically, you’re a “Thought Leader.” The “all-knowing” Wikipedia has this to say about “Thought Leadership:” A Thought Leader is an individual or firm that is recognized as an authority in a specialized field and whose expertise is sought and often rewarded.

When it comes to real estate finance, your prospects, clients and referral partners want and need to hear from you on a consistent basis. They need your help understanding the intricacies of the bond and rate markets; to distill this complex topic into easily consumed content. If you think of yourself as a thought leader and

as someone your network wants to hear from, it can completely change your perspective about sales and marketing.

I regularly hear loan officers lament the idea of marketing to their referral partners and clients too often. They don’t want to be perceived as a pest. Changing your perspective into one that compels consistent communication with your sphere of influence not only makes sales and marketing easier, it can truly excite you into action.

Consider the recent study by the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, which stated that one in three Federal Housing Administration (FHA) borrowers would benefit from refinancing. After excluding pre-June 2009 originated, delinquent and modified mortgages with a maximum term of 15 years, they estimated that roughly 4.4 million borrowers could be candidates for refinancing. No doubt some of your clients are part of that group.

Don’t you owe it to those clients to alert them of the opportunity to save potentially thousands of dollars? As a leader in your industry, it’s your responsibility to provide them with this knowledge.

Don’t be fooled though. We aren’t talk-

ing about staying in touch with clients and referral partners just for the sake of doing it. In the “old days” (10 years hence), there was a fairly widely held notion that as long as you stay in touch with clients for a certain number of times over a certain amount of time, your prospective customers and referral partners will be powerless to resist buying from you. Be a thought leader. Be someone your partners and clients can count on to regularly provide them with information about the complex and ever-changing landscape of real estate finance.

Don’t get me wrong, staying connected to your prospective clients, past clients and referral partners is essential to ensuring a lasting relationship. Sending out annual review postcards, picking up the phone to call when a client has a birthday, etc. goes a long way to accomplish that. Sending relationship pieces alone isn’t enough though. Make sure you’re sending content that can actually make a difference in the lives of your partners and clients.

So you’re a Thought Leader … now what?

You have a lot of knowledge and you know a lot of people. What you don’t have is either the time or the skills necessary to communicate effectively to your large sphere of influence. You’re in luck though!

The mortgage industry has some of the best tools ever created for the purposes of staying educated and effectively passing content to large, disparate groups. You don’t have to be a Pulitzer-winning author or technological genius to successfully be the thought leader in your space.

Start by identifying your favorite sources of information. Since you’re reading this article, you’ve already identified the first source: National Mortgage Professional Magazine. NMP is a tremendous source for news. Consider a simple email to your referral partners … something like this: “I thought you’d be interested in an article I read recently in National Mortgage Professional Magazine about rent and income growth reaching unhealthy levels. It’s a good reminder for your clients to get off the fence and buy before it’s too late for them.”

We’re big fans of the folks over at Mortgage Coach. If you’re a member, you

always have something to talk to real estate agents about. David Lykken, another one of Velma’s favorite industry leaders, has a weekly broadcast called “Lykken on Lending” on Blog Talk Radio. Take a listen to the broadcast and arm yourself with the information you need to be a thought leader. I would recommend identifying five to six key sources for obtaining information, stick to them and focus on the information they’re providing. If you get too many information sources on your radar, it can become too much to manage.

There are also plenty of marketing solutions that make it easy for you to share your content and many provide ready to go, content-rich campaigns.

There are many strong CRM and mortgage marketing platforms built specifically for the mortgage business, which do a great job of not only providing easy to consume content but also the marketing automation tools to make it easy for you to communicate with your clients and referral partners.

Another great place as a Thought Leader is on LinkedIn. Did you find a great article on NMP? Then do a quick intro to the article and then share the link. It’s really easy! On your LinkedIn home page, just type a message like this: “I recently read an article on the impact oil prices have on interest rates. Here is a link to the article.” Then, paste the link and do that a couple of times a week.

There is so much content out there, so much so that it can be overwhelming.

That’s why Google and all of the other big technology firms have created content aggregators which make it easy for the consumer to access relevant content.

Being a Thought Leader can be as simple as being the content aggregator your referral partners and clients can count on.

Commit to the idea that you are already a leader and that it’s your obligation to share your knowledge with clients and referral partners. Let that motivate you to pick up the phone or send another valuable content marketing piece.

Brent Emler is director of sales and marketing at Velma.com, a customizable marketing software provider exclusive to the mortgage industry. He may be reached by e-mail at brent@velma.com.

“… you must create an organization with systems that let people like this to naturally float to the surface.”

Leadership = Tap Dancing Goldfish

By Eric Weinstein

Have you ever tried to teach a goldfish to tap dance?

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. In 1995, he started a small mortgage company in his basement called Carteret Mortgage Corporation, which in 2003, grew to one of the largest mortgage broker companies in the United States.

These days, Eric is semi-retired, doing mortgages by referral only. As he likes to put it, “He is either saving people money per month or helping them buy a new home. What a great job!” He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail eweinstein4u@gmail.com.

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form or a rule that purposely has a flaw in it. See who has the chutzpah to tell you it is wrong. That will be your leader. If everyone is afraid to tell you there is a mistake, then it is YOU who is the problem and you should not be leading them. Good leadership begins at the top. A good leader will attract other good leaders. A bad leader will … basically, end up flushed down the toilet.

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No, that would be an incredibly stupid waste of time.

Well, that’s how I feel about teaching leadership skills to employees. They either have them or they don’t. Why bother teaching someone something, when there are so many people that already have the deep-seated ability naturally. My practice has always been to set up systems to let people like this to naturally float to the surface. This way, I can recognize current abilities rather than trying to force the unnaturally abilities onto others that don’t have them.

Let me give you an example: I started out in Virginia, so when my company grew, naturally the majority of my employees worked and lived in Virginia. I decided, in order to build an Esprit de Corps, I would hold “Bowling Party” once every six months at a local bowling alley near the main office. This way, my loan officers would mingle, exchange information and help one another. A cross flow of information helps fertilize an organization. The Bowling alley setting was relaxed, alcohol could be served, employees could invite their families and most of all, I could smoke inside during the party.

One day, I got a call from Todd, a branch manager in West Virginia.

He was my biggest producer there, had hired many of our top people and was a super nice guy. He asked if it was okay with me if he sponsored a bowling party there in West Virginia, since it was too far to drive for many of his employees. I was floored. None of our other branch managers in any of our other states had even thought of that. Heck, I never thought of that.

This guy was a born leader. I not only agreed, I told him I would come, pay for it all and later promoted him to national production manager. You might say he just bubbled to the surface.

Do you ever wonder how a king gets to be a king? I don’t mean that they inherit the crown; I mean the first one in a long line. This is how I figure it. Here is a village where basically, there are no leaders. One guy, or gal, comes up with an idea.

“Hey, these barbarians keep invading our village, why don’t we make some swords and protect ourselves?” Or maybe their crops are failing. “Why don’t we all take turns digging a ditch and irrigate our crops?” I really think it comes down to a really smart person who comes up with ideas that help benefit the group. After a while, the village

starts thinking, “Wow, those are some pretty good ideas, why don’t you be in charge of that.” Such, leadership is created.

Many of us see a need or something wrong that needs to be fixed.

Most of us might be too shy or just can’t be bothered to fix it. It is the few that say, “Hey, would it not be better if we did I this way?” that are your organization’s leaders. But, many owners are not open to that type of progressive thinking or even acknowledge that as leadership. Like I said earlier, you must create an organization with systems that let people like this to naturally float to the surface. A good start is a “suggestion box.” Another good idea is NOT to bite the head off of someone criticizing your current systems.

I don’t care what type of organization you have, the ages, sexes or races of your employees, you currently already have some of them that would make good leaders. It is just YOU who do not recognize them in the sea of workers. Do you want to find one? Try this little test. Create a

“A leader is a person who has a vision, the clarity and stamina to see it through, and the commitment to a master plan to make it happen.”

Debunking the Gender Myth in Leadership

By Laura Burke, EA, MBA, MS thread, their female gender. I am sure there are many other similarities if we delve deep into their beings and roles, but each one, from government diplomat to Queen, Prime Minister and missionary, have their own unique story of the progression to be true female leaders.

How far have we come as a nation,

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Women do make memorable leaders: Mother Teresa, Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Queen Elizabeth Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Queen Elizabeth I, Cleopatra VII, Benazir Bhutto, Geraldine Ferraro, and Eleanor Roosevelt, and so on. Their leadership is timeless and diverse, with one simple common

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globally? Have we debunked our female leadership myths? As we approach the brink of Hilary Clinton, potential candidacy as the Democratic choice to run for President of the United States. Historically in 2008, she briefly threw her hat in the ring, but suspended her campaign and endorsed current President, Barack Obama.

We’re one year out from the next presidential election, and Hillary Clinton is once again, a choice for the Democratic nominee. Keep in mind that to date, no woman has ever won the nomination of a major party in the history of U.S. presidential elections; therefore, no woman has ever been elected to the presidency of the United States to date.

Glenn Llopis, contributing author for Forbes noted that as of July 2013, there were only 19 female elected presidents and prime ministers in power around the globe. In the business world, women currently hold only 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEO positions and the same percentage of Fortune 1000 CEO positions.

Women have been the backbone of male leaders for centuries and now for the first time in U.S. history may emerge on her own merit, as a leader of our country. Clearly this should open doors for more women in management roles, top executive roles, and C-suite opportunities across all industries.

Current leadership statistics on positions held by women are the chancellor of Germany, the head of the IMF, and the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve. General Motors, IBM and Lockheed Martin are also run by women. Sixty percent of the world’s university graduates are women, and women control the majority of consumer goods buying decisions (Wittenberg-Cox, 2014).

The Pew Research Center survey found the majority of Americans believe women are every bit as capable of being good political leaders as

men. The same can be said of their ability to dominate the corporate board room. And according to the same survey on women and leadership, most Americans find women indistinguishable from men on key leadership traits, such as intelligence and capacity for innovation, with many saying they’re stronger than men in terms of being compassionate and organized leaders (Pew Research Center, 2015).

In the U.S., women under 30 outearn their male peers and 40 percent of American households have women as the main breadwinner. In many companies and countries, from Iran or Brazil to Russia, managers recruit a majority of young women as they clearly outperform their male peers (Wittenberg-Cox, 2014).

The banking industry is no stranger to top female executives, from Bank of America’s Cathy Bessant, global technology and operations executive; to Morgan Stanley’s CFO Ruth Porat.

Ruth has been chief financial officer and executive vice president of Morgan Stanley since January 2010; on May 26, 2015

Qualities leaders require is accepting change and harnessing the power of change, leading through a crisis is become a paramount skill. Even more so honing the ability to preempt the crisis, or to have the fortitude to stay calm, react rationally and with purpose.

The management of day to day events, workplace changes, stockholder demands, and maintaining an ethical compass are some of the tasks our leaders face. Regardless of race, or national origin women are successfully taking the reins of many male dominated positions. We will continue to see this as we evolve globally. I only wish I could have said the U.S. is leading the way, but we may be catching up to those who have historically given the female leader the opportunity to rise.

Women are on the cusp of crossing the line into equality in leadership roles

now more than ever. I am proud to be a woman, and continuously seek new leadership paths to strive for, and achieve. Mentorship is a key component in our ability to succeed, by helping others especially women achieve their goals; it will open up new potential for all future woman seeking their leading role, and developing the leader with-in them!

Laura Lynn Burke, EA, CFE, MBA, MS MIS (2015) has gone from Avon lady to chief executive officer of her own mortgage company, residential and commercial. She currently owns Global Tax Masters, along with a tax school, The Global Tax Training Institute. Laura is a Certified Fraud Examiner, and studied information security along with digital forensics. She may be reached by phone at (708) 692-6199 or email lauralynnburke@gmail.com.

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United States. It was originally passed in 1970, and is currently enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and private litigants. The FCRA was in part about treating women fairly, one reason why the Act was passed. During the 1970s, many lenders were discriminating against women in obtaining home loans! Yes, I did say the 1970s!

After I carefully thought about it, I realized I was one of those women who were discriminated against by my lender. When I applied to purchase my first home, I was pregnant, but working. I was asked questions such as: Who would watch my baby if I went back to work? Would I or could I get a letter from my mother-in-law stating she would watch my unborn child so my income could count towards qualifying for our new mortgage. I didn’t know any better at the time, so I did what was asked of me.

In today’s workplace, 72.7 million women work (2013) based on information from U.S. Department of Labor.

Many of them drop their children off every morning at daycare, school or other babysitting services without question. Of course their income would count. In 2008, we had a woman run for the Presidency while she had a newborn! On the outside, it looks like we have come a long way when, in essence, we still have a way to go.

There were 127.1 million working age women (16 years of age and older, civilian non-institutional population) in the U.S. in 2013–72.7 million were in the labor force. Of the 127 million women of working age, 99.5 million were White, 16.6 million were AfricanAmerican, 7.1 million were Asian, and 18.7 million were of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. It is expected between 2012 and 2022 that the number of women in the civilian labor force is expected to increase by 5.4 percent, compared to a 5.6 percent increase in the number of men. Although the number of women and men is expected to increase, overall labor force participation rates are expected to decline. Women are projected to represent 46.8 percent of labor force in 2022 (United States Department of Labor Statistics, 2013).

The same attributes hold true for all leaders, but each leader manages, and shapes, and molds those attributes to become their own, fine-tuned qualities.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

she will become the first female CFO of Google.

A leader is a person who has a vision, the clarity and stamina to see it through, and the commitment to a master plan to make it happen. These women are leaders! Many of the top 25 women in the U.S. are in the banking industry. Kudos to those who have helped lead the way and open doors for them (Globe and Mail). India touts the first woman to ever run a bank, Chanda Kochhar. She became chief executive officer and managing director of Mumbai-based ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s largest private-sector lender, in 2009 during the global financial crisis that started in 2008. She is no stranger to handling difficult situations.

What makes some women stand out above others? KeyCorp’s CEO Beth Mooney attributes her rise in management to humor, perseverance and an early mentor who emphasized the need for talent development through further education. The hiring manager at her first banking job hired Mooney on the condition that she would get her master’s degree in finance.

Mooney stated, “I owe it to him. If someday I wanted a promotion, not having a degree would stand in my way. Acquire credentials you need for success and the ones that give you the most flexibility for opportunity.”

Mooney also revealed the three personal skills that she believes women need to focus on during talent development—a strong sense of self, a sense of humor and a sense of team. In May 2011 she became the first female CEO of a top 20 U.S. bank and ranked number one in American Banker’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking (Diversityinc.com, 2011).

It is women like these who are leading the way for more women to take on leadership roles. This statement sounds odd to me, as we are in the year 2015, and technology is causing us to expand business globally, and we are supposedly at the height of our game, and yet we are still discussing bringing women forward.

When I first started teaching continuing education for the mortgage industry in 2003, I was shocked to learn that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a U.S. federal law, along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), it forms the base of consumer credit rights in the

Do You Have Fans Like This?

The solution for real estate agents who are not loyal

By Brian Sacks Ever wonder how some loan officers manage to do 15 to 20 loans per month consistently, while others struggle to get five per month?

We always hear that real estate agents are not loyal and are horrible to work with.

Of course there is “some” truth to that, but I would suggest that it has more to do with the way we perceive them and the way they see us. Let me tell you a story about one of the ways I was able to quickly grow my own production.

If you are frustrated by closed offices and tired of begging and scratching for deals, then pay attention because this small shift in how you approach real estate agents will produce big results … quickly.

Years ago when I was first starting out in the business, I wandered in to a new home development. My business was like a roller-coaster. One good month, followed by two or three months of low production. I just couldn’t seem to get any traction. Of course I was working hard, because I had not yet discovered how to work “smart.” My manager at the time was a nice man, but truly provided zero guidance. He simply continued to tell me to go out and meet agents, so that’s what I did.

Now I had no connections and am not exactly the most extroverted person you would ever meet. In fact, I am truly shy by nature, but I kept calling offices or should I say … visiting offices. Due to my shyness, I never truly got to meet many agents. Instead, I would walk in and just drop off my flyers and sheets in the agent’s mailboxes.

It took me a long time, but I finally figured out that mailboxes don’t give people business. People give people business, and they will only work with other people they know, like and trust.

Burn that into your memory the next you time you commit to dropping off donuts or rate sheets.

These days, we may feel accomplished after posting on social media and sending out e-mails. Don’t misunderstand me, these methods do work, but they are not the only things you should be doing.

Remember … people give people they know, like and trust business.

These days, agents aren’t even in their offices. Most can conduct their business right on their cellphones or on their tablets. But I digress, so let’s get back to my biggest fan. When I met her, I was pretty tired and depressed from begging but not seeing results.

That’s when I met Roberta …

She was a new home consultant but also a very active real estate agent. We immediately hit it off, and Roberta decided to try me on her next deal. That deal went very smoothly and we developed a great working relationship. But it turned out to be much more than that …

Roberta was one of my biggest fans!

She not only used me for her deals,

but she told everyone in her office about me. When she went to the Million Dollar Roundtables, she told all of the participants about me. When an agent sold one of her listings, she told them about me. Actually, she didn’t just tell them about me, she made the introduction to the selling agents and told them they should consider using me.

Roberta was my biggest fan and advocate. She truly helped me grow my business and why? Honestly, I am not sure why other than she saw that I was struggling, but was very persistent. I was passionate about my job and never ever seemed dejected. I did what I said I would do, which, as we all know, isn’t always easy.

If she called me, I called her back. If her client called me, I would let her know. Each and every week, I would give her a written update on her loan files.

Simply stated … I was dependable, honest and knowledgeable.

I realize that our business is complicated, but you must always be honest, dependable and know what you are talking about. Return your calls. Set proper expectations. I realize this all sounds like a cliché you have heard hundreds of times, but it is still true regardless.

Do you have fans like Roberta?

Roberta was a loan officer’s dream. Now don’t misunderstand … she was very demanding and we spoke almost every day for 20 years. But, we also became great friends. I attended all of her children’s weddings and she attend my wedding and other family functions.

Why am I telling you all of this and what is the lesson that lies within?

First, there is no better way to break into an office and get some fast traction than finding the most influential agents and earning their business.

Second, people do business with other people! It’s not an agent doing business with a loan officer or a real estate company doing business with a mortgage company. It’s two people doing business together, and the sooner you realize that important distinction, the faster your own production will skyrocket.

Sadly, Roberta passed away and I truly miss her even to this day!

Now go out and find yourself three to five Robertas that you will get to know, enjoy working with and speaking to and watch your production skyrocket.

Brian Sacks is a nationally-renowned mortgage expert who has career closing of more than 5,924 transactions for in excess of $1 billion. He has trained, consulted and coached, tens of thousands of loan officers and company owners over the past 29 years on how to close more loans, make more money and still have a life. You can download his report, “The Four Tools You Can Use to Immediately Grow Your Business,” a www.AgentsChaseYou.com. Brian may be reached by phone at (443) 324-8424 or e-mail loanofficertips@gmail.com.

heard on the street continued from page 41

combined with Dart’s manual review process, could ensure appraisal quality and compliance, and reduce correction requests. Dart Appraisal researched several different appraisal review technology systems before selecting RealView for its comprehensive capabilities. Since implementing RealView, Dart Appraisal has seen a marked reduction in client corrections and received direct positive feedback from clients.

National MI Forms PMI Partnership With Optimal Blue

include real estate appraisers, home inspectors, real estate agents and brokers, mortgage field service professionals, and other real estate professionals.

Comergence is offering OREP’s residential appraisers a discount on its services.

The company’s proprietary REALM for Appraisers is a service where appraisers pay a low annual fee to set up a single online profile that can be shared electronically with any AMCs and lenders they choose. “Rather than having to submit to a background check or verification every

time an appraiser wants to work with a new or existing partner, REALM for Appraisers enables appraisers to set up a single profile,� said Greg Schroeder, president of Comergence. “REALM saves appraisers valuable time and money, and can be used with both lenders and AMCs.�

Comergence has also announced that it has formed a relationship with the Organization of Real Estate Professionals (OREP), which specializes in placing errors and omissions insurance for real estate appraisers, as well as other real estate professionals. OREP also provides other valuable benefits to its members, which include real estate appraisers, home inspectors, real estate agents and brokers, mortgage field service professionals, and other real estate professionals.

Comergence is offering OREP’s residential appraisers a discount on its services.

The company’s proprietary REALM for Appraisers is a service where appraisers pay a low annual fee to set up a single online profile that can be shared electronically with any AMCs and lenders they choose. “We’re delighted to be working with Comergence,� said David Brauner, senior insurance broker from OREP. “Being required to submit to multiple background checks is burdensome and expensive for appraisers. OREP believes the service offered by Comergence will help relieve that burden, so we’re more than happy to make REALM available to our appraisers.� continued on page 64

National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI), a subsidiary of NMI Holdings Inc., has announced that it has integrated with Optimal Blue, provider of enterprise level, end-to-end product, pricing and secondary marketing automation platform. Through this relationship, pricing for National MI mortgage insurance (MI) products is available within the Optimal Blue workflow platform.

The integration enhances and simplifies the process for obtaining MI rate quotes for both National MI and Optimal Blue customers, enabling them to receive a rate quote instantly within Optimal Blue. The Optimal Blue technology is based on Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) standards. “We’re very pleased to partner with Optimal Blue,� said Jay Sherwood, president of National MI. “We believe the integration will mean much faster results for lenders, reducing costs and delays, and making for a more streamlined process at a time when lenders need to be as efficient as possible.� “National MI is a widely respected mortgage insurance company, and we’re happy to partner with them,�

Larry Huff, co-CEO of Optimal Blue, said. “Lenders don’t have to move between the two systems, as MI rate quote functionality is embedded within Optimal Blue. The integration improves the customer experience for both National MI and Optimal Blue clients.�

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Comergence, a provider of third-party risk-management platforms for the mortgage industry, has announced that it has formed a relationship with the Organization of Real Estate Professionals (OREP), which specializes in placing errors and omissions insurance for real estate appraisers, as well as other real estate professionals. OREP also provides other valuable benefits to its members, which

855.743.7431

w w w. L i s t i n g B o o s t e r. c o m

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Comergence Partners With OREP on Appraiser Approvals and Verifications

heard on the street continued from page 63

Mortgage Professionals to Watch

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l HomeBridge Financial Services Inc. continues to expand in the Southeast U.S. with the opening of a new branch in Destin, Fla. The branch, one of 10 HomeBridge locations in the state of Florida, will be led by Ron Bolton, a seasoned mortgage professional with more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry. HomeBridge has also announced its growth in the Atlanta market, with the addition of Gianni Cerretani as mortgage loan originator. l Parkside Lending has announced the addition of three industry veterans to its team to manage its rapidly growing business: Gail Dolton has been hired as general counsel with responsibility for managing all of Parkside’s legal affairs, including the areas of corporate governance, contracts, and intellectual property; Laurie Spira has been hired as chief compliance officer with responsibility for managing Parkside Lending’s compliance management system; and Jo-Ann Krueger has been hired as closing manager with responsibility for managing closings and funding personnel, as well as Parkside’s Lisle, Ill., office. Parkside has also announced the additions of Robin Gilmore as executive vice president of operational strategy and Joann Berger as underwriting manager. l Equity National Title has named both Travis Cline and Jonathan Hill to the position of vice president, national sales executives. l National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI), a subsidiary of NMI Holdings Inc., has announced the additions of Traci Whipple as national account director, Donna Varnell as account manager of the Arizona and Nevada regions, Kai Hopton as an account manager, and Garett Holton as an account representative for the company’s southern California region. l Jim Harrington has joined Mortgage Network Inc.’s Plymouth, Mass. Branch as sales manager. l Tiffany Fletcher has joined VRM Mortgage Services as senior vice president of compliance. l Guild Mortgage has promoted Andy Stewart to the position of southwest regional manager. l Envoy Mortgage has announced the addition of Michael Kuehner as regional vice president for the firm’s northern California and Nevada regions. l Mark R. Danahy has been named president of KeyBank Mortgage, reporting to E.J. Burke, co-president, community bank. l ResMac has expanded its wholesale and correspondent sales footprint by adding veteran Tim Verinder as regional vice president of sales, bringing more than 20 years of mortgage sales and leadership experience to ResMac.

l Ellie Mae has announced the promotions of Cathleen Schreiner Gates to executive vice president of sales and marketing, and Joseph Tyrrell to executive vice president of corporate strategy. With the promotions, both now become officers of the company. l GSF Mortgage has announced the addition of Loan Officer Annika Anderson to its Baltimore, Md. branch, working under Stephen Trye, GSF’s Baltimore branch manager. GSF has announced the opening of its first branch in the state of Louisiana, in the town of Metairie, to be led by Branch Manager Michael Recotta. Marcos Garcia has joined GSF’s El Paso, Texas branch as branch manager, while Steve Azarch has been tapped to manage GSF’s Murfreesboro, Tenn. branch. l Stewart has announced the addition of Brad Rable as chief information officer to help guide the company’s information technology transformation. Rable will lead Stewart’s information technology vision, strategy and execution. l Veteran mortgage executive Beatrice Tilley has joined Mortgage Network Inc. as a regional operations manager in the company’s Mt. Laurel, N.J. office where she will be responsible for operations and underwriting for the midAtlantic region. l United Guaranty Corporation has named Susan King as regional vice president of the West Region and Amy Butler as regional vice president of the Heartland Region. l Scott Peterson and Beatrice Sykes have joined WFG National Title Insurance Company as agency sales consultants in the company’s Southeast region. l Joanna Shelton has joined Mid America Mortgage Inc. as compliance manager. l Applied Business Software Inc. (ABS), developer of The Mortgage Office and The Loan Office, has announced the hiring of Wyatt Gilbert as national sales manager to further develop their growing presence with The Loan Office. l Mortgage Returns has announced the additions of Nick Weber as account coordinator, Curran Collins as associate business analyst and Joe Meador as sales coordinator for the Midwest north region.

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites its readers to submit any information, events, passages, promotions, personal or professional occurrences that seem appropriate and/or other pertinent data to the attention of: Heard on the Street/Mortgage Professionals to Watch column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

NAPMW REPORT A P R I L

2 0 1 5

A Capital Investment

By Nikki Bell Spring is in the air and it is a time when most of us “spring clean” our homes. However, have you ever stopped to spring clean yourself?

In a previous article, I wrote on how change is often viewed as a “four” letter word. In order for change anywhere to take hold, it must begin within each of us. Therefore, it is time to spring clean our minds, our hearts and our attitudes. The National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW) invites you to make a capital investment in yourself.

Our national conference is in Washington, D.C., Tuesday-Sunday, May 1417. The education will be rich in content and will inspire thought-provoking questions. The friendships and networking opportunities are endless.

Between the education and the networking, you will find enrichment for both your professional and personal life.

Ask yourself, if not now, then when and if not me than who? Now is the time to take the first step in making a capital investment in YOU! Please visit www.napmw.org for registration and event details. I look forward to seeing everyone in D.C.!

Nikki Bell is Managing Partner of 4Cast Solutions, and holds many leadership positions in industry associations, such as the president of the NAPMW and a governor on the board for the Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia (MBAG).

She is a certified Customer Service Trainer and a John Maxwell Certified consultant and speaker. She may be reached by phone at (678) 357-2574 or e-mail nikki@4castsolutions.net.

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Making you the Ultimate Mortgage Sales Professional

June 22-24, 2015 Hotel Monteleone | New Orleans

the long & short continued from page 44

homeowner goes to a HUDapproved counselor at least 30 days before a contract is written or an application taken.

Bonus: The gratitude of these clients will remind you of why you are in the mortgage business.

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

Footnote 1—The National Consumer Reporting Association (www.ncrainc.org) is aware of the erroneous foreclosure code on short sale credit and error in dates. Go to www.ncrainc.org/mortgage-creditreporting-referral-network-by-state.html to find credit reporting agencies in your state.

The ULTIMATE MORTGAGE EXPO provides an exceptional opportunity to showcase your solutions, while networking with hundreds of mortgage industry leaders, brokers and lenders.

To contact us: Vincent M. Valvo, CEO Agility Resources Group LLC Direct: (860) 922-3441 Email: info@agilityresourcesgroup.com

www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com

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l Borrowers that had a deficiency payment may have a “Satisfaction of Mortgage” that shows a release of lien/mortgage, but “does not constitute a satisfaction of debt,” so check documents received. Retrieve the letter to the borrower stating when the deficiency is satisfied the 1099 that often states “forgiveness of debt.” Documents noted above can be retrieved from the title company noted on the HUD-1 or listing agent. l Preferably, run file through Fannie Mae’s automated system upfront, which specifies which account and what date causes a refer. If the short sale shows up as a foreclosure or findings note an incorrect disbursement, contact your credit reporting agency1 to correct the date and repository comment. l For an FHA mortgage, make sure the

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Ultimate Mortgage Expo

Will Your Mortgage Site Survive Google’s MobileApocalypse?

BY MARK MADSEN

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If your Web site is not updated with a mobile-friendly design and framework, there is a strong possibility that you could disappear on Google mobile by April 21, 2015.

In a move to improve the mobile browsing experience for users, Google recently announced a significant update to their mobile search algorithm that will use mobile-friendliness as a factor in how well a site ranks on a Google mobile search results page.

Google’s hope is that “Users will find it easier to get relevant, high-quality search results that are optimized for their devices.”

How will this impact the mortgage industry?

After analyzing the two-month search and traffic activity on 20,000 local niche mortgage sites across the nation, mobile users accounted for 31 percent.

According to a list of the top mortgage lenders provided by MortgageStats.com, six out of the top 10 mortgage lender sites failed Google’s online mobile-friendly test.

So for those lenders who have taken special care to optimize their sites for mobile search and use, there is a fantastic opportunity to quickly gain marketing share online.

How do I know if Google thinks my site is mobile-friendly?

Google says that you either are or are not mobile-friendly. It’s a black and white issue with no room for interpretation or confusion. There are more than 200 factors that Google considers for mobile-friendliness, such as the size of photos, font size, link placement and speed to load. So if you have all of those and your site is mobile-friendly, then you benefit from the ranking change.

Three easy ways to check if Google likes your site for mobile: 1. Take out your phone and search for your Web site. If you see a gray mobile friendly label in your description snippet, then you’re good.

2. Enter your Web page URL in Google’s online mobile-friendly testing tool.

3. Check your mobile usability reports in Google Webmaster Tools.

The good news is that Google is ranking mobile-friendliness at the page level versus penalizing an entire site. This means that you can work on updating some of your higher traffic pages first if you don’t have the time or resources to completely move your entire site to a mobile version or a new responsive theme layout.

Mark Madsen moved his mortgage origination business online years ago when MySpace was still cool. A decade later, Mark has grown his online portfolio to more than 33,000 home finance and real estate related Web sites that generate thousands of opportunities for his teams of agents and loan officers. He may be reached by e-mail at mark@markmadsen.me or call (702) 496-5626.

mtg men continued from page 38

you in a very creative way. I take in everything I can, from any industry.

Hell, I tell my team to study perfume ads—they are so simplified, but they make such an impact. Everything you see can fuel your creativity. When it comes out, it can surprise you. I’ve found that my best ideas start on a cocktail napkin.

When leading my team, I try to give them a few simple rules of thumb that have worked for me. First, stay creative, look and listen. Creative ideas are all around you and there is wisdom in your clients. Make an effort to fully understand their business model and then apply the creative process to meet their needs. Second, broaden your advertising sense. Expose yourself to different advertising campaigns and media outside of the industry you serve. This will help you to gain a fresh perspective of what other companies and agencies do.

This type of exposure also plays a role in the creative process, especially when looking to come up with new ideas by drawing from existing ones.

Finally, remember that ideas are great, but everybody’s got one. Most of the people you meet will think they are sitting on the next “big idea.” Truth be told, most ideas are momentary and fleeting. While an idea might sound great at the moment, it may not neces-

sarily transcend into a visual form of communication the way you might think it will. It is really important that you first vet out all ideas and then apply the creative process to be sure it will execute and translate both visually and in the proper context when communicating with your perspective audiences.

My North Star is my motto: Inspired by design, motivated by imagination. I stick to that and the ideas keep flowing.

What do you do when the ideas don’t flow?

Simply do not panic. This happens to all of us. When you are feeling pressed and out of ideas or are out of creative juices, just stop. Take a break, walk around, read a magazine, change the channel … do something to gain a fresh perspective. Then go back and take another look. It works.

Just keep your creative tools close at hand for use when inspiration strikes.

For me, that’s usually a ballpoint pen, my imagination and a good supply of cocktail napkins.

Tell us about your current position and what you do now.

Today, I’m in charge of overseeing the corporate brand, defining branding initiatives and marketing communications for PRMG. My team ensures that all of our

creative remains in alignment with the vision and directives of our CEO and COO, while increasing market visibility and creating awareness across the country through effective promotion of a consistent message across all channels.

In our shop, our brand objectives are pretty straightforward. Our brand should, first, deliver a clear message; second, confirm credibility; third, connect to target prospects emotionally; fourth, motivate the buyer; and lastly, establish loyalty. When we reach these objectives, we are rewarded with a high level of brand trust, which is essential for long-term success.

Brand strategies are driven by many variables. Graphic elements or styles designed to unify visual communication systems is just one example. There is much more that goes into brand development than the look and feel.

Branding is the voice, vision and personality of a company. The goal is to capture the uniqueness that sets a company apart from their competitors and create with that. A well-crafted brand can make the difference in how a company resonates with all who come into contact with the brand.

Brand in its purist visual form should convey trust, promise and culture. That is what a brand experience is all about.

The PRMG bodybuilding campaign is a great case in point.

PRMG CEO Paul Rozo is a fitness advocate who is in very good shape. It made me think of a smaller mortgage broker trying to bench press a heavy weight and a strong set of arms reaching down into the ad to help. Many brokers have been hurt over the past few years and find themselves weaker than they were before and in search of some support and a place to grow. The muscular arms would extend from a stretched t-shirt bearing the PRMG logo and the line, “Because everyone needs a spot now and then.”

It turns out that Paul has a friend who is an Emerald Cup bodybuilding champion. Together, we got photos and combined the two concepts, working backward to come up with what has been a very successful campaign for us.

It’s management and vision like this that has seen PRMG ranked number two of the “Top 50 Best Companies to Work for in America.”

Is this a concept that you find management willing to support?

The right leaders get it. Sometimes, they contribute great ideas that inspire you.

Rick Grant is special correspondent to National Mortgage Professional Magazine.

He may be reached by phone at (570) 4975850 or e-mail rick.grant@rga-pr.com.

How long did it take you to come up with this idea?

I always answer that question the same way. Since everything I’ve ever learned goes into every concept, I always say that the ad took about 20 years.

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www.callfurst.com

outstanding

o u t s t a n d i n g

p l a c e s

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w o r k

places to work

Equity Prime Mortgage

REMN Wholesale

877-255-3554, xt. 600 www.equityprime.com

732-738-7100 www.remnwholesale.com

Equity Prime Mortgage is focused on creating an outstanding work environment. We consider each and every employee as a true partner to our success. This approach, combined with Equity’s industryleading technology and turn times ensures we deliver exceptional service levels to our branches, referral partners and customers alike.

Although REMN Wholesale has over 1,000 employees, it feels like a “Mom and Pop”-style company. We encourage our team members to grow and we train and promote each individual to their full potential.

As a national company, REMN provides many opportunities for employment from coast to coast.

PRMG

United Wholesale Mortgage

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

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

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

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

m o r t g a g e

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calendar of events N A T I O N A L

M O R T G A G E

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

APRIL 2015

Tuesday, May 12

Sunday-Wednesday, May 31-June 3

Wednesday-Saturday, August 26-29

Wednesday, April 29

2015 Great Northwest Mortgage Expo Crowne Plaza Downtown Portland 1441 NE 2nd Avenue Portland, Ore. For more information, call (503) 567-9326, e-mail info@oamponline.com or visit www.greatnorthwestexpo.com.

National Notary Association’s 37th Annual Conference Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek 14100 Bonnet Creek Resort Lane • Orlando, Fla. For more information, call (844) 466-2266, visit www.nationalnotary.org/conference or e-mail conference@nationalnotary.org.

Thursday-Saturday, May 14-16

JUNE 2015

2015 Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP) Convention & Trade Show Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate 1500 Masters Boulevard Orlando, Fla. For more information, call (850) 942-6411 or visit www.myfamp.org.

2015 Midwest Mortgage Matchmaker Conference Ameristar Casino Resort & Spa 1 Ameristar Boulevard Saint Charles, Mo. For more information, call (314) 690-1504, e-mail information@mamp.biz or visit www.mortgage-matchmaker.com.

MAY 2015

Sunday-Wednesday, May 3-6 MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Servicing and Technology Conference 2015 The Sheraton Boston Hotel 39 Dalton Street Boston For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mba.org.

Sunday-Wednesday, May 3-6

Thursday-Sunday, May 14-17 National Association of Professional Mortgage Women’s 51st Annual Education Conference & Business Meeting Hilton Dulles Airport 13869 Park Center Road Washington, D.C. For more information, call (800) 827-3034, e-mail napmw1@napmw.org or visit www.napmw.org.

Sunday-Wednesday, May 17-20 Wednesday, May 6

Monday-Wednesday, May 18-20 Monday-Wednesday, May 11-13 National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) 2015 Western Regional Meeting Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach 21500 Pacific Coast Highway Huntington Beach, Calif.

For more information, call (202) 939-1760, e-mail dhicks@dworbell.com or visit www.nrmlaonline.org.

American Land Title Association 2015 Federal Conference and Lobby Day Mandarin Oriental Hotel 1330 Maryland Avenue SW Washington, D.C. For more information, call (202) 296-3671, visit www.alta.org or e-mail service@alta.org.

To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage Professional Calendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with contact information, to newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com. * Looking for additional exposure at key industry events?

Call 516.409.5555, ext. 4 to discover how to maximize your event coverage.

Sunday-Wednesday, June 7-10 MBA’s 2015 Chairman’s Conference The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation 1 Lake Oconee Trail • Greensboro, Ga. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mba.org.

Monday-Wednesday, June 22-24 Ultimate Mortgage Expo 2015 The Hotel Monteleone 214 Royal Street • New Orleans, La. For more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.com or visit www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com.

Wednesday-Thursday, June 24-25 MBA’s Strategic Markets and Diversity Summit 2015 Marriott Marquis Washington 901 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, D.C. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mba.org.

AUGUST 2015

Thursday-Friday, August 20-21 Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association (LMLA) 2015 Education Conference The Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel 2 Poydras Street • New Orleans, La. For more information, call (225) 590-5722 or visit www.lmla.com.

SEPTEMBER 2015

Wednesday-Friday, September 9-11 MBA’s Risk Management, QA & Fraud Prevention Forum 2015 Omni Dallas 555 Lamar Street Dallas, Texas For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mba.org.

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Sunday-Tuesday, September 20-22 MBA’s 2015 Regulatory Compliance Conference Grand Hyatt Washington 1000 H Street Washington, D.C. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mba.org.

OCTOBER 2015

Wednesday-Friday, October 7-10 American Land Title Association 2015 Annual Convention Westin Copley Place Boston 10 Huntington Avenue Boston, Mass.

For more information, call (202) 296-3671, visit www.alta.org or e-mail service@alta.org.

Saturday-Monday, October 17-19 2015 NAMB National Conference Luxor Resort and Hotel 3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas For more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.com or visit www.nambnational.com.

Sunday-Wednesday, October 18-21 Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention and Expo 2015 San Diego Convention Center 111 West Harbor Drive San Diego, Calif.

For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

n Illinois Mortgage Professional Magazine n APRIL 2015

2015 Central Florida FAMP Annual Trade Show Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs 350 Northlake Boulevard Altamonte Springs, Fla. For more information, e-mail fampcf@outlook.com or call (407) 697-9943.

MBA’s National Secondary Market Conference & Expo 2015 New York Marriott Marquis 1535 Broadway New York, N.Y. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mba.org.

Friday, June 5 2015 Southwest Mortgage Fest Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa 1000 Woodward Place Northeast Albuquerque, N.M. For more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.com or visit www.swmortgagefest.com.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

MBA’s Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference 2015 Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers 301 East North Water Street Chicago For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mba.org.

Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia (MBAG) 44th Annual Convention Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa 4000 South Sandestin Boulevard Destin, Fla. For more information, call (478) 743-8612 or visit www.mbag.org.

ABC WHOLESALE LENDER

COMPLIANCE CONSULTANTS

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Division of Lenders Compliance Group, BCG is the first and only mortgage risk management firm in the U.S. devoted to supporting the unique compliance needs of residential mortgage brokers.

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Leveling the Playing Field for Mortgage Brokers Low Cost Monthly Membership Includes: • Free Weekly Hotline • Access to Subject Matter Experts • Policies and Procedures • Webinars *Special Pricing* • Quality Control • Exam Readiness • Licensing • Legal Reviews

AUDIT DEFENSE AND RESPONSE

CFPB Audit Preparation and Defense

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We provide required CFPB manuals and customized policies.

Our fees are less than the big national firms that don’t call you back.

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APRIL 2015 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

regulators and audits. No theories here; we were Bankers.

If you find yourself in federal court, we can handle that as well.

Contact Nelson Locke at (800) 557-6580.

Or you may email us at nl@lockelaw.us

FHA guideline news to keep you updated FHA Marketing tips and downloads that are easily customized Personal development tips to help you develop your character Full access to all previous FHA marketing downloads!

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DIRECT MAIL

LENDERS COMPLIANCE GROUP 167 West Hudson Street - Suite 200 Long Beach | NY | 11561 | (516) 442-3456 www.LendersComplianceGroup.com The first full-service, mortgage risk management firm in the country, specializing exclusively in mortgage compliance.

Pioneers in outsourcing solutions for mortgage compliance.

Our Compliance Team Will:

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All inquiries will be kept strictly confidential. This is not an offer for legal services, but rather for his expert review and opinion about your particular compliance situation. All fact patterns are different so the results will vary. No guarantees are expressed or implied. Licensed by California and Federal Bar. NMLS 149450.

Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. 1020 NW 6th St Suite D, Deerfield Beach, FL. 33442 (800) 544-8060 www.TitanLists.com Titan List and Mailing Services, Inc. is a direct marketing agency that offers a complete range of advertising and design services.

The firm specializes in data lists (mail/phone), printing, direct mail, graphic and website design as well as internet and SEO marketing. Starting in 1998, the company has, since then employed highly skilled individuals who have considerable experience regarding marketing trends. The company manages the complete in-house campaign themselves including Design, Data Lists, Printing, Postage, and Mailing.

COMPLIANCE/CONTINUING EDUCATION EDUCATION

BONDS & LICENSING

The Bond Exchange www.bondedwithnamb.org (501) 224-8895 LOWEST-COST STATE MORTGAGE LICENSE BONDS Support NAMB in supporting you!

Online surety bond applications, instant underwriting approval, and credit card payments administered through The Bond Exchange NAMB's exclusive partner provider for state license surety bonds.

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

Low prices and fantastic service. You really can have them both at the same time!

AllRegs—Your Source for Fast, Reliable Answers 2600 Eagan Woods Drive, Suite 220 Eagan, MN 55121 (800) 848-4904 www.allregs.com AllRegs offers mortgage professionals fast, reliable answers needed to conduct their day-to-day business. From research and reference to business intelligence, from education and training to professional services, we are your definitive source for mortgage industry information. With tools for originators like NMLSapproved CE training, regulatory content libraries for compliance staff, guidelines for underwriters, policy manuals for operations, and business intelligence for business development – we have you covered as the leading information provider for the mortgage industry. If you have a specific need, our professional services team can help with thing like policy, procedure or guideline development, as well as custom training or publishing resources.

Contact us to learn how we can help you – visit www.allregs.com today.

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MARKETING

TagQuest www.myharpleads.com TagQuest.com 888-717-8980 TagQuest is a full service marketing firm created specifically for the ever changing mortgage business. We have tested and proven campaigns for FHA -VA - HARP - CONVENTIONAL loan types.

TagQuest knows what it takes to generate quality leads whether through direct mail marketing, telemarketing, internet leads, data lists, tracking systems, or any combination thereof. TagQuest will brand your company, prepare targeted marketing campaigns that generate interest in your company, and most importantly, show you how to turn sales leads into repeat customers.

RETAIL BRANCH

WHOLESALE LENDERS

Maaverick Funding Corp. is a direct mortgage lender licensed in 30 states across the country. Haavving obttained FHA, VA A, USDA and Fannie Mae appro ovals, Maaverick is growing and seeking top talent for their expanding nationwide footprint.

Phone: 855.422.5917 ny NJ NJ,, 07054 9 Entin Rd., Parsippany Visit us at www w.Ma . averickFundingg.com

WHOLESALE/CORRESPONDENT

WANT MORE

REMN Wholesale www.remnwholesale.com 866-933-6342 REMN has FHA, USDA, 203k, VA and Conventional solutions to fit the needs of your customers. But, at REMN, our most valuable product is our people. The REMN Sales and Operations Teams give you - and your loans - the time and attention that you deserve. Even better, at REMN, same-day approvals are guaranteed.* You can rely on us to get the little, yet vital, things taken care of on time.

Interested in joining our Wholesale Division?

Send your resume to aerecruiting@remn.com

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Contac t: info@afr wholesale.com

888.664.2101 AFR Wholesale ranked #1 with the most Sponsor Originated FHA 203(k) closed loans.*

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FREE PROCESSING - NO LENDER FEES ** •Co nvent io nal •USDA •Manufac tured Housing •One -Time Close Construc tion •Freddi e Mac Open Acces s and Fannie Mae D U R P •VA and FHA, FHA 203(k) and 203(h) Rehab loans •Jumbo loans up to $2,000.000 Lender NMLS:2826 - 9 Sylvan Way, Parsippany - NJ, 07054 - *See website for details: www.afrwholesale.com Equal Housing Lender. Equal Opportunity Employer. **No Lender fees by AFR. Third party fees may apply.

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NationalMortgageProfessional.com

DEALS? PRIVATE FINANCING

HomeBridge Wholesale is a national wholesale lender offering Conventional, Government, Jumbo, and Renovation Loans. We are committed to providing the highest value to our clients through competitive pricing, unique product offerings, superior customer service, and state-of-the-art technology.

Now Hiring Wholesale Sales Managers/Account Executives Nationwide Please send resumes to Marketing@HomeBridge.com

Maverick Fundingg Corp. NMLS# 7706

Online Marketing

5 Park Plaza, 10th Floor Irvine, CA 92614 www.HomeBridgeWholesale.com

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www.BrokersComplianceGroup.com

www.afrwholesale.com/partnership