The President’s Corner: April 2013
APRIL 2013 v
MICHIGAN MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE
v NationalMortgageProfessional.com
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The months are really starting to roll by now that spring has attempted to raise its head and the birds are now singing every morning. This is the time of year that all of the customers that you had pre-approved in the winter months should start finding their homes. That is why the contact that you have with your customer and with their real estate agent is that much more important. As the time begins to put us into some of that great weather, the daylight savings time has started to put that extra hour of sunshine into your business life. Make it work for you by establishing those extra hours of work and let your customers know that you are available to them. I reflect back on the 2013 NAMB Legislative & Regulatory Conference, and note that on Sunday, we had a great four hours dedicated strictly to compliance. Talk about opening up your eyes. Jonathan Foxx and his group from Lenders Compliance Group did a fantastic job. I think that we are going to make compliance a big portion of every conference that we have because of the importance that is inevitable in our daily lives now. Soon, NAMB+ will be offering something for each person that will help them in the compliance arena. I personally want to thank all who attended this conference. I think that it was the best one that we have put together, based on the speakers and the information that was shared with all of you. A big thank you to Provident Funding and Mr. Herman Churchwell for their continued support and sponsorship of the Legislative & Regulatory Conference the last three years. This really shows the importance that this company and the 2012 NAMB Affiliate of the Year puts on this event and for that we are truly thankful. As I mentioned earlier, a big thank you
also goes to Jonathan Foxx and Lenders Compliance Group and Brokers Compliance Group for their outstanding compliance program on Sunday. Jonathan Prendergast, Chuck Cross, Michael Barone and Wendy Bernard also contributed to make this session one that should not have been missed. On Monday, the Industry Panel of Stephen Linville of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB); Jess Sharp, U.S. Chamber; Ken Trepeta of the National Association of Realtors (NAR); and Justin Wiseman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA); and John Hudson of NAMB drew a large crowd. People wanted to know what the industry was thinking, doing and commenting on a wide array of subjects. All of these people did a great job and answered many questions for the attendees. In the next segment, Mark Calabria from the Cato Institute gave a regulatory outlook for 2013. The afternoon session began with a person who has attended several of our Legislative Conferences, Bart Shapiro, formerly with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and now with C3 Compliance Consultants. His insight into the CFPB and compliance was a great addition to the entire day. He was very informative and offered a first-hand look into the mortgage compliance arena. This was followed up by the Keynote Speaker of the day, Edward Pinto, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Pinto spoke to a packed house and answered questions for several of the attendees. The day came to an end with John Hudson and Rick Bettencourt from our Government Affairs Committee and Roy DeLoach, NAMB’s Lobbyist, talking with attendees about what they need to do on the Hill and how to approach questions and items from the congressmen and senators and their staffs. It was, in my estimation, the best Legislative Conference in the past five years. It was a great job by all and I want to personally thank each of these people for an outstanding job in making this Ledge
Conference a huge success. And while we are on the subject of Government Affairs, please join with me in welcoming our new Government Affairs Chair Rick Bettencourt. You will soon start seeing videos from him as John Hudson has stepped down to spend more time with his wife and soon to be born new baby. John will be really missed, as he has done an excellent job since taking over for Mike Anderson. Now, Rick has stepped up to oversee this committee, and I look forward to working closely with him on our government affairs initiatives. The dates are in and NAMB National will be changing to a better date and different location for 2013. We will be going to Harrah’s Casino & Resort in Las Vegas from Friday-Tuesday, Oct. 18-22. The Committee has started to put together some great speakers and some great programs, and the price for rooms will be $119 for Friday and Saturday nights and $49 for Sunday and Monday nights. This really should make this much more financially easier for everyone with room rates being this low. Be on the lookout for information on this upcoming event in the very near future. NAMB is looking for those of you who have wanted to get involved into the association to step up. By the time that you read this, NAMB will have been asking for nominees for the Board of Directors. If you or someone you know is interested, please make sure that you get your nominations in ASAP. And if you just want to part of a committee, send your information to me at president@namb.org. I will find a place to put you, or if you have a specific committee in mind, let me know that as well. We need good members to be on these committees and now is the time for you to be part of it. This is your chance to make a difference in the association … to make yourself part of it! The NAMB+ Board is working on several opportunities for our members in the benefits department. This is the for profit side of NAMB that we put together to work on programs and benefits for all of
our members. They currently have several beneficial programs that you as a member can take advantage of right now. Visit www.namb.org and look on the “Strategic Partners” page and see all of the benefits available to you, our members. As I close out the President’s Corner this month, I want to make another request that you join NAMB. We have continued to grow members each and every month, but there are still 108,000 originators and maybe 15,000 mortgage professionals out there who have not joined. I ask that if you are the only person that is a member in your office, ask the others to join. I have to admit that when I visited my congressmen and senators when we lobbied on Capitol Hill, they continually asked me about membership and why more people are not members. Last month, I gave you the top 10 reasons to join NAMB-The Association of Mortgage Professionals. Now, in having a discussion with a new member, this person made a statement that I thought was really good. He said, “I put this off for two years until I had an account executive tell me that being a member shows that I truly believe in my profession and organization and truly value what I do.” I have personally been a member of NAMB since 1989, and I believe that membership has its own privileges, and NAMB offers so much to the member for so little amount, that it should really be a no-brainer for everyone to join. For just $50 per year for a Silver Membership or $120 per year for a Platinum Membership, you will get more than your money’s worth. Keeping up to date on what is going on in your everyday world makes this information the best you can get for the money. So quit putting this off and go to www.joinnamb.com and sign up today. Sincerely,
Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS, President NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals
NAMB Government Affairs Update By Richard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHS
As my first official article as the new Government Affairs Chairman for N A M B — T h e Association of Mortgage Professionals, I wanted to first thank our outgoing Chairman John Hudson for doing
an exemplarily job representing the roughly 100,000 mortgage professionals across the country. I know I speak for NAMB’s membership when I say, “Great job and we appreciate everything you did”. Where do we begin? I think the best thing to do is ask a very simple question. What do you get when you take 128 of some of the most passionate mortgage professionals in America, send them to a brand new hotel in
Washington, D.C., and then ask them to spend eight long hours walking miles to and from buildings with names like Russell, Dirksen, Hart, Cannon, Longworth, Rayburn and Ford? The answer is quite easy, I can assure you! What you get, without question, is one of the most successful lobby events NAMB has had in close to 10 years. The 2013 NAMB Legislative & Regulatory Conference was a complete and total success.
Coming off the best NAMB National Convention we’ve had in five years, the board had high hopes for this year’s Legislative Conference, but I think no one quite expected the type of energy, passion and determination we saw from our members that showed up. There was a buzz and hum in the air that you just didn’t hear, you felt it as well. Whether at registration, breakfast, lunch or dinner; the talk was about what can I do