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Mortgage PROFESSIONAL M I S S O U R I

MAGAZINE

Your source for the latest on originations, settlement, and servicing

MAMP

Missouri Association of Mortgage Professionals 4700 South Lindbergh Boulevard O St. Louis, MO 63126 Phone #: (314) 909-9747 O E-mail: information@mamb.net

2010-2011 Board of Directors Dennis Tate Shawn von Talge Mark Osborne Andrew Conner Greg Aftayev Gary Lange Lisa C. Kelam

President President-Elect Vice President Secretary Treasurer Immediate Past President Executive Director

Phone # (314) 872-2178 (573) 442-3850 (314) 973-9836 (573) 302-0600 (314) 983-0200 (573) 334-9627 (314) 909-9747

E-mail dennis@flat-branch.com shawnvt@flatbranchmortgage.com mosborne@gsf-mortgage.com andrew@askandrewconner.com g_aftayev@granny8.com gary@gary3.net information@mamb.net

Wendy Cromer Mark Delhougne DeWayne Duhon Gwen Flack Erik Janeczko Dan McLaughlin Jamie Pandolfo Bob Peery

Board Member-at-Large Board Member-at-Large Board Member-at-Large Board Member-at-Large Board Member-at-Large Board Member-at-Large Board Member-at-Large Board Member-at-Large

(314) 729-0059 (314) 301-2261 (816) 220-5660 (314) 378-2313 (573) 353-6766 (314) 575-3031 (314) 495-3104 (573) 876-7719

wcromer@securitytitlestl.com mdelhougne@theprivatebank.com dewayne@communitymortgagekc.com gwen.flack@wellsfargo.com erik@janeczko.net dmclaughlin@queststl.com jamie@fidelitybanc.com bob@flat-branch.com

MAMP Presents Its

18th Annual Convention & Trade Show Exhibitor information Heritage Exposition Services is the convention exhibitor coordinator for this year’s event. The complete exhibitor service kit will be made available online through their Web site. Exhibitors will be able to download a complete exhibitor kit or the individual forms that they will need for showcasing. For more information, contact Heritage Exposition Services directly at (800) 360-4323.

Sponsorship opportunities For information on all sponsorship opportunities, contact the Missouri Association of Mortgage Professionals directly by phone at (314) 909-9747 or e-mail information@mamb.net. Hotel accommodations Hotel accommodations for the MAMP 18th Annual Convention & Trade Show can be made directly by calling either The Embassy Suites at (636) 946-5544, directly attached to the St. Charles Convention Center, and located at 2 Convention Center Plaza in St. Charles, Mo. or the Fairfield Inn Marriott St. Louis St. Charles at (636) 946-1900, located within walking distance at 801 Veterans Memorial Parkway in St. Charles, Mo.

Thursday, November 3 MAMP Education: Eight-Hour CE-NMLS Course Approval ID#: 1962 St. Louis Association of Realtors 12777 Olive Boulevard St. Louis, Mo. 7:30 a.m. Check-in 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Education $99 for MAMP members $149 for non-members

For information on all MAMP events, call (314) 909-9747, e-mail information@mamb.net or visit www.mamb.net.

MAMP 2011 SPONSORS Gold sponsors Fifth Third Bank Investor’s Title Company Michigan Mutual Security National Mortgage Company Sierra Pacific Mortgage

Corporate membership Flat Branch Home Loans Homestead Financial

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For all questions related to the MAMP 18th Annual Convention & Trade Show, contact MAMP by phone at (314) 909-9747 or e-mail information@mamb.net.

OCTOBER 2011 Friday, October 7 MAMP Education: Eight-Hour CE-NMLS Course Approval ID#: 1962 St. Louis Association of Realtors 12777 Olive Boulevard • St. Louis, Mo. 7:30 a.m. Check-in 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Education $99 for MAMP members $149 for non-members

NOVEMBER 2011 Wednesday, November 2 2011 MAMP Trade Show & Convention St. Charles Convention Center One Convention Center Plaza St. Charles, Mo.

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Exhibitor bios Please submit exhibitor bios no later than Saturday, Oct. 1 in order to be included in the convention PDF show guide. This guide will be available online this year and will also be sent out via e-mail to all registered attendees.

Friday, September 16 MAMP Education: Eight-Hour CE-NMLS Course Approval ID#: 1962 E2 Business Development 113 Jaycee Drive, Suite 106 Jefferson City, Mo. 7:30 a.m. Check-in 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Education $99 for MAMP members $149 for non-members

Friday, October 14 MAMP Education: Eight-Hour CE-NMLS Course Approval ID#: 1962 E2 Business Development 113 Jaycee Drive, Suite 106 Jefferson City, Mo. 7:30 a.m. Check-in 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Education $99 for MAMP members $149 for non-members

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Wednesday, November 2 St. Charles Convention Center 1 Convention Center Plaza • St. Charles, Mo.

SEPTEMBER 2011 Friday, September 9 MAMP Education: Eight-Hour CE-NMLS Course Approval ID#: 1962 St. Louis Association of Realtors 12777 Olive Boulevard • St. Louis, Mo. 7:30 a.m. Check-in 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Education $99 for MAMP members $149 for non-members

Mortgage Delinquencies in Missouri Rise 8.18 Percent in Latest Survey

AUGUST 2011 O

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The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on residential properties in Missouri was 8.18 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 73 basis points from the first quarter of 2011, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The delinquency rate excludes loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in Missouri on which foreclosure was started during the quarter fell 11 basis points to 0.79 percent, while the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the quarter fell 14 basis points to 1.94 percent. The delinquency rate for prime adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) increased 97 basis points to nine percent and the rate for prime fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) increased 45 basis points to 4.38 percent. The delinquency rate for the sub-prime ARMs increased 241 basis points to 32.94 percent, while the rate for sub-prime FRMs increased 147 basis points to 23.54 percent. The delinquency rates for FHA and VA loans were 12.05 percent and 6.86 percent, respectivelyâ€”up 132 basis points for FHA loans and up 75 basis points for VA loans. The foreclosure starts rate for prime ARMs in Missouri decreased 15 basis points to 1.03 percent, while the rate for prime FRMs decreased eight basis points to 0.51 percent. The foreclosure starts rate for sub-prime ARMs increased 18 basis points to 3.87 percent, while the rate for sub-prime FRMs increased nine basis points to 2.33 percent. The percentage of prime ARM loans in foreclosure decreased 33 basis points to 2.41 percent and decreased 17 basis points to 1.2 percent for prime FRMs. The rate for sub-prime ARMs decreased 24 basis points to 10.97 percent, while the rate for sub-prime FRMs decreased six basis points to 5.11 percent. The percentage of FHA loans in foreclosure decreased four basis points to 1.99 percent. The percentage of VA loans in foreclosure decreased 17 basis points to 1.28 percent. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Missouri ranked 20th in delinquencies and 24th in foreclosures started. Mississippi ranked first in delinquencies with a rate of 12.86 percent and Nevada ranked first in foreclosure starts with a rate of 2.25 percent. On a national level, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one- to four-unit residential properties was 8.11 percent on a nonseasonally adjusted basis, up 32 basis points from 7.79 percent in the first quarter of 2011. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate on residential properties was 8.44 percent in the second quarter, up 12 basis points from last quarterâ€™s seasonally adjusted rate. The non-seasonally adjusted percentage of loans in which foreclosure was started during the quarter decreased 12 basis points to 0.96 percent, while the non-seasonally adjusted percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the quarter fell 9 basis points to 4.43 percent.

www.mortgageeducationfoundation.com ID #1400008

Excellence through Education 8 Hour CE - NMLS Course Approval ID 1962 (Complete all 8 Hours of NMLS Approved CE Education for 2011) This course will provide a combination of Fair Lending Laws, FHA Basics, and Business Ethics. While providing an in depth study on the laws related to Fair Lending, this course focuses on regulatory definitions and guidelines associated with residential loan origination which reinforce fair and equal treatment of all people in their pursuit of housing. It will also provide a study on the laws and procedures of FHA lending. This course focuses on regulatory definitions and guidelines associated with FHA residential loan origination. Finally, individuals will learn about issues regarding Fraud and consumer protection and how to professionally and ethically complete a loan for a consumer. (You will receive 8 hours of CE credit NMLS COURSE ID#1962.)

WHEN: (Please select the session you would like to attend.) _______ Friday, September 9, 2011 ________ Friday, October 7, 2011 ________ Thursday, November 3, 2011 Class may be cancelled if the minimum number of students is not met. Attendance will be confirmed the week prior to each date.

CHECK-IN: 7:30 AM PROGRAM Time: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

WHERE:

(1 hr lunch break @ 12:00PM)

St. Louis Association of REALTORS® 12777 Olive Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63141 “This function is not endorsed by the St. Louis Association of REALTORS® and is not co-sponsored by the St. Louis Association of REALTORS”.

MAMP Contact for Questions: Lisa C. Kelam – 314-909-9747 COST: $99 for Members/$149.00 for Nonmembers

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ATTENDEE INFORMATION – PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY Name_____________________________________________________ *NMLS ID ____________________________________ Company ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Company Address__________________________________________City, State, Zip__________________________________ Fax______________________

Email__________________________________________

I understand that once this course starts that I must be in class by that time. I will not receive any CE credit if I am not in class for the entire time. No refunds or rescheduling will be available for not being in attendance. You must sign below in order to be registered in this class. X __________________________________________________________________________ * You must provide your correct NMLS ID number. If the wrong number is given, there will be additional fees incurred. PAYMENT INFORMATION Fax your registration with credit card payment to: 314-909-9748 Mail with check: MAMP, PO Box 8675, St. Louis, MO 63126 Questions - (Phone: 314-909-9747) Charge my Credit Card: $_________

____VISA ____MC or- I am enclosing a check in the amount of $___________

CARD #________________________________________________EXP. DATE_______________SECURITY CODE _________________ (3 or 4 digit code on card) Name of Cardholder__________________________________________________________________________________ Please Print Cardholder’s Signature________________________________________________________________________________ City & Zip Code of Cardholder_________________________Address of Cardholder______________________________ There is a cancellation fee of $25.00 up to 72 hours prior to class. No Refunds given 72 hours prior to class.

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

COST: $ 99.00 Members/$149.00 for Nonmembers

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Phone_____________________

O AUGUST 2011

www.mortgageeducationfoundation.com ID #1400008

WHEN: (Please select the session you would like to attend.) _______ Friday, September 16, 2011 ________ Friday, October 14, 2011 Class may be cancelled if the minimum number of students is not met. Attendance will be confirmed the week prior to each date.

CHECK-IN: 7:30 AM PROGRAM Time: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

WHERE:

(1 hr lunch break @ 12:00PM)

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e Business Development 113 Jaycee Dr. Suite 106 Jefferson City, MO 65109

MAMP Contact for Questions: Lisa C. Kelam – 314-909-9747 COST: $99 for Members/$149.00 for Nonmembers ATTENDEE INFORMATION – PLEASE PRINT LEGIBLY Name_____________________________________________________ *NMLS ID ____________________________________ Company ________________________________________________________________________________________________

AUGUST 2011 O

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

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Company Address__________________________________________City, State, Zip__________________________________ Phone_____________________

Fax______________________

Email__________________________________________

COST: $ 99.00 Members/$149.00 for Nonmembers Fax your registration with credit card payment to: 314-909-9748 Mail with check: MAMP, PO Box 8675, St. Louis, MO 63126 Questions - (Phone: 314-909-9747) Charge my Credit Card: $_________

____VISA ____MC or- I am enclosing a check in the amount of $___________

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O AUGUST 2011

Branch Manager Business Analyst Business Development Manager Client Relationship Manager Client Relationship Specialist Commercial Loan Officer Corporate Sales Credit Analyst Inside Sales Legal Assistant Licensing Assistant Loan Administration Manager Loan Originator

Advisor Asset Protection Management Bank President Collateral Asset Manager

Mortgage Loan Processor Mortgage Originator National Account Manager National Sales Rep PC Support Admin Post Closing QC Expert Processor Regional Vice President REO Closer Retail Branch Manager Retirement Planner Reverse Mortgage Specialist Sales Manager Secondary Marketing Analyst Senior Loan Officer Senior Underwriter Senior Vice President Software Engineer Underwriter Vice President Wholesale Account Executive

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National Mortgage Professional Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS RTGAGE PRO

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NATIONAL

NMP

August 2011

MAG

AZIN

Volume 3, Number 8

COMPANY

WEB SITE

PAGE

AllRegs ............................................................ www.allregsmortgage.com/safeact ........................34

A Special Look at the Wholesale & Correspondent Channels The “New Era” Correspondent Lender By Dino Lack They’re Alive! The Wholesale and Correspondent Lending Markets By Cathy Blaszyk

Bay Equity LLC ................................................ www.bayeq.com ..................................................32 Benchmark Mortgage ...................................... www.iambenchmark.info ......................................5

Calyx Software ................................................ www.calyxsoftware.com ......................................12 Elliott and Company Appraisers, Inc................... www.appraisalanywhere.com ................................43

Flagstar Wholesale Lending .............................. www.wholesale.flagstar.com ....................Back Cover Freedom Mortgage .......................................... www.fmbranch.com ......................Inside Back Cover

Wholesale is Part of the Solution … and Ready to Grow Again By John Walsh

Frost Mortgage Lending Group .......................... www.frostmortgage.com/nmp ..............................31 Guaranteed Home Mortgage.............................. www.joinguaranteed.com ....................................33

2011 State of the Wholesale and Correspondent Channels Roundtable Discussion

Who’s Who in Wholesale?

Hometown Lenders .......................................... www.hometownbranch.com ................................24 HVCC Appraisal Ordering .................................. www.hvccappraisalordering.com ..........................12 Icon Residential Lenders, LLC ............................ www.iconwholesale.com ..............................25 & 48 Land Home Financial Services .......................... joinamx@lhfinancial.com ....................................43

Features

Loyalty Express ................................................ www.loyaltyexpress.com ..............................13 & 35

Compliance Corner: Can Real Estate Agents Originate Mortgage Loans? By Jonathan Pinard & Bonnie Nachamie

The Elite Performer: Increase Production With Movement By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

Menlo Park Funding ........................................ www.menloparkfunding.com ................................43 Mortgage Brokers Network Corp, Inc. ................ www.mortgagebrokersnetwork.com ......................12 NAPMW .......................................................... www.napmw.org ..................................................19

Where is the Even Playing Field in LO Licensing?

Nationwide Equities Corp. ................................ www.nwecorp.com ..............................................11 PB Financial Group Corp. .................................. pbfinancialgrp.com ..............................................14

By Joshua K. Erskine

Polaris Home Funding Corp. (Branches).............. www.polarishfc.com/TimeForAChange ..................15

The NAMB Perspective

Polaris Home Funding Corp. (Wholesale) ............ www.polarishfc.com ............................................41 REMN (Real Estate Mortgage Network)................ www.remnwholesale.com ....................................29

Value Nation: Myths of Appraisers and Appraisals By Charlie W. Elliott Jr., MAI, SRA, ASA

StreetLinks Lender Solutions ............................ www.streetlinks.com ....................Inside Front Cover The Warrior Sales Academy .............................. www.warriorondemand.com..................................10

Marketing Success: Shifting From Methods to Methodologies By Mary Beth Doyle

The Secondary Market Overview: From Bonds to Production … What’s It All About … Rally?

TMS Funding.................................................... www.tmsfunding.com ..........................................17 United Northern Mortgage Bankers Ltd. ............ www.unitednorthern.jobs..............................14 & 27 US Mortgage .................................................... www.usmortgage.com ............................................7

NMP Mortgage Professional of the Month: Len Oslar, Senior Vice President, Nationwide Equities Group

FHA Insider: Appraisals and Seller Concessions … FHA Takes Note By Jeff Mifsud

How to Build Your Referral Network Without Ever Cold Calling By Ron Vaimberg

Windvest Corporation ...................................... www.windvestcorp.com ........................................42

Leaders on the Frontline: Get Your Game On! Now! By Stewart Hunter & Jim McMahan

Lykken on Leadership: The Importance of Communicating Vision and Direction With Clarity By David Lykken

Columns

USA Cares Mortgage Hero: Richard Booth, CMB, America’s First Lending Group

NMP Mortgage Professional Resource Registry

NMP Calendar of Events

Heard on the Street

Visit NationalMortgageProfessional.com.

AUGUST 2011

New to Market

11 21 24

NMP News Flash: August 2011

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

By Dave Hershman

August 2011 Volume 3 • Number 8

Mortgage PROFESSIONAL N A T I O N A L

MAGAZINE

Your source for the latest on originations, settlement, and servicing

1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-5555 / (888) 409-9770 Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com STAFF Eric C. Peck Editor-in-Chief (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 ericp@nmpmediacorp.com Andrew T. Berman Executive Vice President (516) 409-5555, ext. 333 andrew@nmpmediacorp.com Joey Arendt Art Director joeya@nmpmediacorp.com Jon Blake Advertising Coordinator (516) 409-5555, ext. 301 jonb@nmpmediacorp.com Kelsey Domino Executive Sales Assistant (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 kelseyd@nmpmediacorp.com

Tara Cook Billing Coordinator (516) 409-5555, ext. 324 tarac@nmpmediacorp.com

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. 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 Credit 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. MO

RTGAGE PRO

NATIONAL

NMP

SSIONAL

AUGUST 2011

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.

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

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ADVERTISING To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and requirements, please contact Senior National Account Executive Karen Krizman at (516) 409-5555, ext. 326 or e-mail karenk@nmpmediacorp.com.

MAG

AZIN

A Message From NMP Media Corp. Executive Vice President Andrew T. Berman Wholesale has risen from the ashes! Let’s take a step back to 2007 when we saw the mortgage broker begin to lose its grip on being the choice majority for originations. In fact, August of 2007 marks the anniversary when major wholesalers like First Magnus, Aeigs, BNC Mortgage, First National Bank of Arizona, GreenPoint, Nova Star and American Brokers Conduit shutter their wholesale operations. The mortgage broker had an impending doom looming, sort of like the alien ship hovering over the planet in the film “Independence Day.” Unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of teaming Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith up to upload a computer virus into the mother ship, as this has been a long and hard battle where the broker was sentenced to death by 1,000 papercuts. Whether it was increased regulations, rising compliance costs and licensing issues, as finally the loan originator (LO) compensation rules delivered the final blow! Yet, through all this turmoil, mortgage brokers are still around today. In fact, judging by my recent visit to the annual convention held by the Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (the newest state affiliate of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers), the mortgage broker is alive and well. It seems like just a few years ago when the rooms were filled with doom and gloom, while today, there are a number of people who talk about how even though the pie is much smaller (their overall market), their piece (market share) is much greater. It seems that all of those who didn’t have strong business models based on solid relationships with past borrowers and referral partners were ejected from the business. When you add to the equation that we have a bunch of new wholesale players, in addition to the established wholesale lenders like Bay Equity, Flagstar, ICON Residential Lenders, Nationwide Equities, PB Financial, REMN, TMS Funding and Polaris Home Funding (shameless plug for our awesome supporters), we are ready to take on the upcoming purchase boom (as of July 2011, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicts that we will go from $415 billion in 2011 to $725 billion in 2012 in purchase business alone).

Focus on the wholesale and correspondent channels As we see a resurgence of the wholesale and correspondent channels, we’ve dedicated this month’s focus to that resurgence. The section starts off with a piece on optimizing execution and volume for correspondent lenders from Dino Lack of CoreLogic Dorado. Following that is a submission from Cathy Blaszyk of ClosingCorp Inc. proclaiming that wholesale and correspondent lending is alive! Later in the section is a piece from John Walsh of Total Mortgage Services discussing how wholesale is part of the solution in protecting consumers by ensuring a healthy and competitive marketplace. To get a real pulse on the business, we gathered seven of the top minds in the wholesale marketplace and invited them to participate in our roundtable discussion on the current state of the wholesale and correspondent channels. Read this piece for some great insights from these innovative wholesale warriors. The section also includes a list of 30 regional and national wholesale lenders that are ready to sign up mortgage brokers.

Living with love … an inspiring story by a man who inspires many I realize that there are many who already know who Dustin Hughes is. In fact, there is a good chance he’s already touched your life in some way. Maybe it’s his inspiring videos (he has one on YouTube called “Overcoming Adversity” that has nearly 300,000 views). Or maybe it has been recently from Dustin’s diagnosis of terminal brain cancer (Glioblastoma Multiforme). Sadly, this form of brain cancer could mean Dustin will not be around to see his three handsome boys grow up to become their own superstars. Faced with the ultimate adversity (a video which was created long before the prognosis), Dustin has turned this into one of his most inspiring messages. A message that reminds us to show the love for our family and friends and to live life like you may not be around in a few years. There is a group on Facebook called “Hughes Troop” dedicated to this beautiful message where more than 1,000 people have shared their own personal and inspirational messages. Most these members have purchased a blue ribbon in Dustin’s honor (details are available at NMPMag.com/Dustin), and I ask you to please join us in this celebration of life by wearing this bracelet. The proceeds will go to helping Dustin’s family. I wanted to leave you with that inspiring message about Dustin, but do not forget the rest of this month’s informative and jam-packed issue. Enjoy the final few days of this sweltering summer heat, as soon it’ll be just a memory, as we brace for the cold of winter. Until next month …

Andrew T. Berman, Executive Vice President NMP Media Corp.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers

National Association of Professional Mortgage Women

2701 West 15th Street, Suite 536 Plano, TX 75075 Phone #: (703) 342-5900 Fax #: (530) 484-2906 Web site: www.namb.org

P.O. Box 451718 Garland, TX 75042 Phone #: (800) 827-3034 Fax #: (469) 524-5121 Web site: www.napmw.org

NAMB Board of Directors Officers President—Michael D’Alonzo, CMC Creative Mortgage Group 1126 Horsham Road, Suite D Maple Glen, PA 19002 (215) 657-9600 mjdalonzo@hotmail.com President-Elect—Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS Amtrust Mortgage Funding Inc. 200 Medical Drive, Suite D Carmel, IN 46032 (317) 575-4355 dfrommeyer@amtrust.net Vice President—Michael Anderson, CRMS Essential Mortgage 3029 S. Sherwood Forest Boulevard, Suite 200 Baton Rouge, LA 70816 (225) 297-7704 mikea@essentialmtg.com Treasurer—John Councilman, CMC, CRMS AMC Mortgage Corporation 2613 Fallston Road Fallston, MD 21047 (410) 557-6400 jlc@amcmortgage.com Past President—Jim Pair, CMC Mortgage Associates Corpus Christi 6262 Weber Road, Suite 208 Corpus Christi, TX 78413 (361) 853-9987 jlpair@aol.com

Directors Fred Arnold, CMC American Family Funding 24961 The Old Road, Suite 101 Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381 (661) 284-1150 fred@fredarnold.com

Deb Killian, CRMS GMAC 246 Federal Road, Unit C-24 Brookfield, CT 06804 (203) 778-9999, ext. 103 debkillian@snet.net Linda McCoy Mortgage Team 1 Inc. 6336 Picadilly Square Drive Mobile, AL 36609 (251) 610-0494 linda@mortgageteam1.com

President-Elect Laurie Abshier, GML, CMI (661) 283-1262 E-Mail: lauriea@gemcorp.com

Vice President—Eastern Region Christine Pollard (646) 584-8332 cpollard1046@gmail.com

Senior Vice President Candace Smith, CMI, CME (512) 329-9040 csmith@wrstarkey.com

Secretary Murielle Barnes, CME (806) 373-6641 napmw123@yahoo.com

Vice President—Northwestern Region Jill M. Kinsman (206) 344-7827 jill.kinsman@usbank.com

Treasurer Hulene Bridgman-Works (972) 494-2788 hulene137@yahoo.com

Vice President—Western Region Tim Courtney (760) 792-5620 desertranchrealty@hotmail.com

Parliamentarian Dawn Adams, GML, CMI (607) 737-2584 dawnvadams@live.com

National Credit Reporting Association Inc. 125 East Lake Street, Suite 200 Bloomingdale, IL 60108 Phone #: (630) 539-1525 Fax #: (630) 539-1526 Web site: www.ncrainc.org

2011 Board of Directors & Staff Tom Conwell President (800) 445-4922, ext. 1010 tconwell@credittechnologies.com Donald J. Unger Vice President (303) 670-7993, ext. 222 don@advcredit.com Daphne Large Treasurer (901) 259-5105 daphnel@datafacts.com Marty Flynn Ex-Officio (925) 831-3520, ext. 224 marty@ccireports.com William Bower Director—Tenant Screening Chair (800) 288-4757 wbower@confinfo.com Mike Brown Director—Technology Chair (800) 285-6691 mike.brown@ncogroup.com

Janet Curtis Director—New Membership & Elections Co-Chair (212) 224-6121 jcurtis@sarma.com Renee Erickson Director—Tenant Screening Co-Chair (800) 311-1585, ext. 2101 renee@zipreports.com Nancy Fedich Director—Conference Chair (908) 813-8555, ext. 3010 nancy@cisinfo.net Judy Ryan Director—New Membership & Elections Chair (800) 929-3400, ext. 201 jryan@kroll.com Tom Swider Director—Legislative Co-Chair (856) 787-9005, ext. 1201 tswider@creditlenders.com Terry Clemans Executive Director (630) 539-1525 tclemans@ncrainc.org

Susan Cataldo DirectorEducation & Compliance Chair Jan Gerber (404) 303-8656, ext. 204 Office Manager/Membership Services susancds@cdsusa.net (630) 539-1525 jgerber@ncrainc.org

AUGUST 2011

Walter Scott Excalibur Financial Inc. 175 Strafford Avenue, Suite 1 Wayne, PA 19087 (215) 669-3273 wscott.afcs@gmail.com

Vice President—Central Region Lisa Puckett (405) 741-5485 lpuckett@ameagletitle.com

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Donald Fader, CRMS SMC Home Finance P.O. Box 1376 Kinston, NC 28503-1376 (252) 523-5800 dfader@smchf.com

President Gary Tumbiolo, CMI (919) 452-1529 garytumbiolo@aol.com

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Olga Kucerak, CRMS Crown Lending 222 East Houston, Suite 1600 San Antonio, TX 78205 (210) 828-3384 olga@crownlending.com

National Board of Directors

Can Real Estate Agents Originate Mortgage Loans? By Jonathan Pinard & Bonnie Nachamie

n 2006, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) updated its Mortgagee Approval Handbook and said that employees of approved mortgagees “May have other employment including self-employment. However, such outside employment may not be in mortgage lending, real estate or a related field.” To answer the question of whether a real estate agent can originate mortgage loans, you must refer to that section of the Mortgagee Approval Handbook. The answer is: Not if they work for an FHA-approved lender, even if they only originate conventional loans. As a matter of fact, they cannot even be employed in any capacity by a FHA-approved lender. If you are a mortgage broker, your first reaction to this may be, “I am so happy I’m not an FHA-approved lender,” but if your company is originating FHA loans, the regulation may apply to you too! When FHA eliminated the mini-eagle certification, they gave FHA-approved lenders the ability to sponsor mortgage brokers to allow them to originate FHA loans. With this increased authority came the burden of ensuring that all sponsored entities were complying with FHA requirements. Mortgagee Letter 2010-20 says: “HUD will hold FHA-approved mortgagees responsible for compliance with FHA requirements in all aspects of an FHA loan transaction, whether performed by the approved mortgagee or by its sponsored third-party originator.”

Since FHA has recently cited lenders for having employees with impermissible outside employment, it is merely a matter of time before they notice that some sponsored mortgage brokers are violating the same rule. If you are a mortgage broker, you may not want to wait until you are told that you are not in compliance. Once FHA has cited a lender and mortgage broker (fines can run as high as $7,500 per violation) for improperly originating loans, the state regulators get involved. In today’s regulatory environment, that could be very costly!

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What should you do? If you are an approved FHA lender or mortgage broker originating FHA loans, we would suggest you take the following steps: N Adopt a stringent internal written policy requiring full disclosure by any newlyhired employee of any other employment or business activities. Similarly, require periodic confirmation and disclosure by existing employees, in addition to a company requirement to advise management of any changes, additions or deletions of outside employment at the time of the change. N Adopt a policy advising your entire staff that outside employment of any kind needs to be disclosed to management immediately. N Perform regular reviews to ensure compliance: Both at the time of hire and periodically during the course of an employee’s tenure with your firm. Check the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) to see if any of your employees have other employment identified. The public access section shows all past and present employment of any licensed mortgage loan originator. Simple and free Internet searches may provide you with information on your employees. N Adopt a policy that clearly sets forth that any employee with impermissible outside employment may be subject to immediate termination, for cause. Remember, this rule is not merely limited to real estate agents, but it applies to anyone employed in a “related field.” This would suggest that an employee also working as an insurance agent/broker, appraiser, title agent, closing agent and many other positions would be ineligible for employment with FHA-approved lenders or mortgage brokers who are originating FHA loans. Protect your business and proceed with caution!! Jonathan Pinard is president and Bonnie Nachamie is chief executive officer of First National Compliance Solutions Inc. in Merrick, N.Y. Jonathan may be reached by phone at (800) 400-4134 or e-mail jp@firstnationalcompliance.com. Bonnie may be reached by phone at (800) 400-4134 or e-mail bn@firstnationalcompliance.com. SPONSORED EDITORIAL

Increase Production With Movement Prior to entering the mortgage industry nearly 10 years ago, I worked as an operations manager for a large health and fitness organization. I was also a competitive bodybuilder during that time, which feels like an eternity ago, but was an interesting experience nonetheless. Since then, I have still actively and consistently exercised even when it’s not convenient (it never is!) because I know of all the benefits associated with it. In this issue, I am going to briefly dig into my personal training roots to discuss how living a more active lifestyle can and will help you become more productive in your professional life, and ultimately, in your career. Let me start by clearing the air regarding a couple of the most popular excuses that produce failure. First, no one is too busy to exercise. It’s a matter of setting it as a priority in your life. If you don’t feel you have the time, make the time. Second, no one is burdened with uncontrollable body fat or obesity. While we are all genetically different, it’s a matter of lifestyle more than genetics. Believe me, body fat is simply stored energy reserves from excess calories and limited movement. It’s that simple. If you’re reading this you’re likely sitting at your desk in front of the computer. How often are you in this position when writing loans in our immobile profession? If anyone needs to make the time to exercise it’s us. Making excuses is much easier than making commitments. With the primary excuses aside, I feel consistent exercise of any kind will provide significant benefits to anyone’s business. From my own personal experience, I know that I am more productive during a week where exercising is involved than if it were not. I’ve also witnessed this in others from their increased drive and clearer focus. Here are a few of the production-related benefits associated with exercise: Increased energy Increased self-esteem Increased mental focus

“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” —Plato Increased strength and stamina Reduced depression Decreased stress levels Enhanced quality of sleep Increase in endorphins to the brain These benefits can directly influence your quality of work and business, but do not include many other health factors of living longer and feeling better while potentially avoiding serious sickness. Working out consistently allows you to get more done in less time, with clear and focused goals met more easily. I’m not saying that you cannot be successful or productive without exercise, but I am saying that you can be more successful and productive with exercise. So what will it be? Exactly where do you start? Here are a few pointers: Have a plan: If you workout at home, find a plan or some ideas online. If you workout at a gym, meet with a personal trainer to get a routine established. Set the time: Make sure you have a consistent day and time during the week that you will exercise. This could be first thing in the morning before work, during your lunch break or after work. Choose a time that is most convenient and will allow for consistency without interfering with family. Set a goal: Always keep written goals and track progress. continued on page 20

AY IRRUP C A T ST GRE

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Positive Attitude

Excellence

Dynamic

Relationship

Success

AUGUST 2011

Where is the Even Playing Field in LO Licensing?

Many of the bad apples can be found in the big banks … By Joshua K. Erskine

AUGUST 2011

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As an owner of a national mortgage company, I, like many others, have seen expenses increasing drastically as a result of the many changes that the finance industry has gone through … many of which are aimed at consumer protection. What is being presented to the consumers is a safer and more transparent system; however, this is not the case. The reality is that the system has created major issues within companies, as well as loan originators (LOs) working for brokers and lending institutions nationally that do not fall under the “bank exemption” for licensing category. What is the logic of allowing for this exemption? The very people who created many of the programs of the past, which brokers were scrutinized for selling loans that met required guidelines, were national banks. However, the consumer is led to believe through many articles and “professional opinions” that much of this was the blame of the brokers. I will not sit here and say there was no fraud in the industry; however, regulation was lacking during that time and the programs that mortgage LOs were given by Wall Street and the national banks was where the flaws entered. We have had good loan officers, due to the market decline and large income loss, who have had very minor personal financial issues, get denied or held up for a significant amount of time for a state license to sell mortgage loans. There is a financial responsibility code that I agree all within the industry should be held to; however, what is true financial responsibility and why are LOs who work in major banks

allowed to be held to a lower standard From a cost perspective, a bank has a than those working for mortgage bro- fraction of the cost per LO on an annukers or lending institutions? al basis, which, in and of itself, is a comThere are those who have no history petitive advantage. In running a growof any wrongdoing in the business, but ing company, I have accepted that the are forced into financial distress smaller companies will have bigger because of states taking ridiculous expenses. One of my biggest concerns is amounts of time reviewing and approv- the LOs who are working for the exempt ing applications for licensee approvals. organizations. I do not know how many During this time, these LOs have no times we have been recruiting from ability to originate loans, and therefore, these exempt organizations and LOs no ability to generate income for their have bankruptcies, foreclosures, terrifamilies. There are also cases where LOs ble credit histories, and overall, have a have been denied licenses because they fraction of the basic industry knowledge had to do a short sale on a home 12 compared to licensed LOs because testmonths earlier, but had shown perfect ing standards do not apply to them. credit history before and after this As a business owner, I must remain occurred, yet were forced to downsize compliant in keeping my own individand relocate their family during one of ual LO license in all of the states we are the worst financial times licensed, in case I ever many of us have experi“Many of the bad have to—in the course enced in our lifetime. This apples in the of the day—quote a is absolutely absurd, but industry are finding rate. I am personally the more absurd part is homes at your local subject to the state that LOs working within bank, working as LOs licensing exams of all 50 banks don’t have to do this. due to their inability states and spent a lot of to pass competency They do not need to take time in testing centers, tests, financial state tests nor show a level taking more than 15 of competency that others responsibility exams, tests over the last 10 or any other items do, but are doing the same months. I can tell you required for licensed job. They do not have to firsthand that for a comLOs who do not fall prove financial responsibilpetent individual in the under the bank ity. Many of the bad apples business, these tests are exemption.” in the industry are finding not unreasonably diffihomes at your local bank, cult. However, most working as LOs due to their inability to people we have hired out of banks, in pass competency tests, financial respon- our experiences, have failed these sibility exams, or any other items exams on the first, and even their secrequired for licensed LOs who do not ond attempt. Individuals who came fall under the bank exemption. from non-exempt organizations have Under the exemption rule, LOs within had a significantly easier time passing banks have the ability to originate loans these exams which, in my opinion, in all 50 states. However, LOs who are means they are better-trained, and betrequired to become licensed must obtain ter-versed in the industry as a whole a separate license in every state in which than bank-exempt LOs. Why is this and they want to originate. This is ludicrous why are LOs who are all doing the same and it’s very difficult for a logical person to thing being held to different standards? make sense of this backwards legislation. Again … there is no logical reason.

What does this all mean? LOs who have credit issues are clearly staying at large banks or exempt organizations because they could not pass the credit checks required. To add to the issue in recruiting, LOs nationwide have continued to see the recruiting tactics of many of these institutions who are using this as a tool telling LOs they do not need to comply and pass exams. Sounds like a great system that has been put in place to clean up the industry! The job ads for the banks should read: “Now hiring … crooked, fraudulent LOs, who have horrible credit and would like to hide behind a banking license exemption because they are not smart enough to pass the exam nor feel they would pass the screening any other LO in the country is required to pass outside of a bank.” The system currently in place is not played on an even playing field, and I would personally be very nervous doing business with one of these exempt organizations, including the major banks, to get a loan. There is a good chance that the person on the other side of the phone or counter who is helping a consumer make one of the biggest decisions in their life is one of these people. Good luck! Joshua K. Erskine is co-founder and president of CalCon Mutual Mortgage Corporation. CalCon is licensed in approximately 20 states nationwide, with physical locations in nine states and main offices in San Diego and New York, N.Y. Joshua concentrates on the development of the origination and servicing platform for CalCon in commercial, residential conforming and non-conforming loans, as well as high-end multi-million dollar residential, condohotel and residential construction. He may be reached by phone at (888) 488-3807 or e-mail joshua@calconmutual.com.

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AUGUST 2011

For more information on the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, visit www.namb.org.

NAMB/WEST 2011 Loan Originator Conference Friday-Monday, December 3-5 MGM Grand Las Vegas 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South • Las Vegas

New in 2011! 8

Attendees of the 2011 NAMB/WEST Conference will receive a Passport for the Exhibit Hall on Sunday, Dec. 4. Passports will need to be validated by each exhibitor in order to be eligible for drawings. The grand prize drawing, a trip to Hawaii, will be held at the conclusion of the conference on Monday, Dec. 5. Attendees must be present to win. As a bonus, attendees who book their hotel with the group rate before Wednesday, Nov. 9 will receive an extra Passport.

Agenda at a glance

AUGUST 2011

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(Subject to change)

Saturday, December 3

Monday, December 5

10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ....Registration Open

8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ......Registration Open

10:00 a.m.-Noon ..........Committee Meetings Some or all of the following NAMB Committees could meet during these times … additional details will be posted at a later date: The Government Affairs Committee, Membership Committee, Ethics Committee, By-Laws and Education Committee, Communications Committee and the Finance Committee.

8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ....NMLS—Reverse Mortgage (Two Hours) Reverse Mortgage course to be instructed by David Luna of Mortgage Educators.

1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. ......NAMB Delegate Council Meeting

10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ..NMLS—Ethics (2 Hours) Ethics course to be instructed by David Luna of Mortgage Educators.

10:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. ..Break

4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. ......Networking Event 12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. ....Networking Lunch

Sunday, December 4 8:00 a.m.-6:30 p.m. ......Registration Open

2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. ......Presentation From Sue Woodard & Jim McMahan, Mortgage Success Source

8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. ......NMLS—FHA (One Hour) FHA course to be instructed by David Luna of Mortgage Educators.

3:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m. ......Break

9:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m. ......Break

3:15 p.m.-4:15 p.m. ......Presentation From Sue Woodard & Jim McMahan, Mortgage Success Source (continued)

9:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ....NMLS—Federal Law (Three Hours) Federal Law course to be instructed by David Luna of Mortgage Educators.

4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m. ......Grand Prize Drawing for a Trip to Hawaii

12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. ....Networking Lunch 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. ......Expo Hall Open & Networking Reception

4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ......NAMB Board Meeting

Conference fees Description

Early fees (on or before 11/09/11)

Regular fees (11/10/11 or later)

Member Registration Fee Access to all conference events. You must be an NAMB member in good standing by Friday, Nov. 18 to obtain the member rates. If you are not a member in good standing by this date you will be charged additional fees upon arrival to the conference. To check the status of your membership, go to www.namb.org.

$200

$250

Non-Member Registration Fee Access to all conference events.

$350

$450

Visit Exhibit Hall Only This is for mortgage originators only.

$100

Cancellation and refund policy: Notice of cancellation must be made in writing (no exceptions) and sent to registration@kinsleymeetings.com or faxed to (303) 798-3668. Cancellations received by 5:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 9 will be refunded 50 percent of the registration fee that was paid. Any cancellation received after that date will receive no refund.

Hotel information

NAMB/WEST has discounted rates for conference attendees at the MGM Grand Las Vegas, located at 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South in Las Vegas (www.mgmgrand.com). Any attendee who books their reservations under the NAMB Group Rate will be eligible to receive an extra Passport. The extra Passport will increase your chances to win prizes at the conference.

For more information on the NAMB/WEST 2011 Loan Originator Conference, contact Kinsley at (303) 798-3664, e-mail registration@kinsleymeetings.com or visit www.nambwest.org.

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Reservations can be made by calling (877) 313-5757 or (702) 891-7777, or visiting http://goo.gl/kjd3b. In order to secure the NAMB Group Rate, you must identify yourself as part of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) Conference. Check in for the MGM Grand is 3:00 p.m. and check out is at 11:00 a.m. For your convenience, MGM Grand offers room registration at McCarran Airport. There is an Airport Registration Desk located in the south baggage claim area, near the bottom of the escalators descending from the C and D gates, next to carousel #1 and #2. Shuttle service is available from 9:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. Porterage service is available 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. only.

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Group rates Friday, December 2 ................$110 Saturday, December 3 ............$110 Sunday, December 4..................$80 Monday, December 5 ................$80 Room rates are subject to state and local taxes. The group rate will be offered until Wednesday, Nov. 9.

AUGUST 2011

By Charlie W. Elliott Jr., MAI, SRA, ASA

Myths of Appraisers and Appraisals ome lenders seem to have a Myth I mindset that the appraiser’s Appraisers feel that it is their duty to objective is to kill their deal. focus on the negative, rendering conOthers see appraisers as another hur- servative opinions of value where there dle in the process of bringing a loan to is room for any doubt, in order to help the closing table. Some have referred prevent a foreclosure loss. Preventing to appraisers as too conservative or foreclosure losses is the job of the appraiser. very picky. Appraisers used to show up at lender Truth: Appraisers are taught and functions, but nowadays, it would be a trained to render the most likely value conclusions, as opposed waste of time for the to the highest or lowest appraiser, since most possible outcomes. The work comes down best appraisers resist through appraisal manrendering opinions that agement companies are unfounded or that (AMCs) and the appraiser are biased in any direchas little reason to pump tion, higher or lower. the flesh. Not too long Committed professionago, appraisers were part als seek a supportable of a larger local company market value and avoid in an office in town, but opinions that may be now, most work from developed to facilitate home as sole practition“USPAP requires a transaction. Appraisers. Perhaps, this has made the appraiser less that the appraiser be ers have no role or accessible. Back when competent to perform responsibility in forea specific appraisal closures. Rather, it is property values were risand makes no their job to offer value ing, the appraiser was the mention of where he conclusions that assist darling of the transaction. Today he or she, after or she lives in relation investors in best manto a property.” aging risk. working hard to find positive sales data, seems almost afraid to face the parties Myth II involved with the transaction for fear of Appraisals are required to complete being tarred and feathered. That said, appraisal forms in accordance with few see the appraiser for whom he or Fannie Mae instructions, which, if folshe really is, the All-American guy or lowed properly, produce a value congal, just like us, whom we see at church clusion with little regard to reasoning on Sunday or at a kid’s baseball game by the appraiser. Truth: Appraisal forms are merely on Saturday. After reading the above, one might organizational tools for exhibiting wonder if the appraiser or the appraisal data, adjusting prices and stating process is one in which the average per- opinions. The entire appraisal process, son is meant to identify with. I prefer to including the selection of appropriate think that, at times, when we differ in market data, and the reasoning in opinion from appraisers, we simply mis- developing a creditable value concluunderstand each other. Is the appraiser a sion, is the responsibility of the phantom? Could he and/or the process be appraiser. In fact, in cases where the better understood? Given the above, let’s uses of forms contribute to misunderconsider a few misconceptions about continued on page 16 appraisers and the work they do.

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AUGUST 2011 Revolving Door of FHA Leadership Continues as Galante is Named Acting Commissioner

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AUGUST 2011

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced that Raj Date would replace Prof. Elizabeth Warren as Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the

continued on page 12

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Elizabeth Warren to be Ousted as CFPB Special Advisor and Replaced by Raj Date

impressive background in financial services, academia, government, and non-profit organizations, and I am pleased that he will serve in this new capacity as the CFPB continues moving forward with its important work.” Passage of the Dodd-Frank Act created the CFPB, an agency with the primary mission of acting as a dedicated watchdog for American consumers. The CFPB helps ensure that consumers have the information they need to make the financial choices that are best for them and works to prevent abusive and deceptive financial practices. Raj Date currently serves as Associate Director of Research, Markets, &

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Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has announced that Carol Galante has been designated by Carol Galante President Barack Obama as the Acting Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner and Assistant Secretary of Housing. Galante will be replacing Robert C. Ryan, who is moving on within the department to become Senior Advisor for Housing Finance. Ryan originally joined HUD team to oversee the FHA’s enterprise risk management functions. Ryan was named Acting Commissioner in early April of 2011 after David H. Stevens announced his resignation from the position of FHA Commissioner and joined the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) as their new president and chief executive officer. Galante assumes the role of Acting FHA Commissioner after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for MultiFamily Housing since March of 2009. She came to the department with 22 years of experience, serving as president and chief executive officer of BRIDGE Housing in San Francisco, a non-profit company that is one of the largest developers of affordable housing in the state of California. “Carol Galante is a very talented and experienced executive who has surrounded herself with a strong team,” said Peter Bell, president and chief executive officer of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). “They have been successful in moving FHA multifamily programs forward and developing innovative approaches for dealing with preserving the nation’s affordable housing. We’re glad to see the Office of Single Family Housing come under her leadership.”

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). After a successful tenure starting up the CFPB, Prof. Warren will return to her position as the Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

Date will lead the CFPB’s day-to-day operations and help continue the important work begun under Warren’s leadership. President Barack Obama recently announced the nomination of Richard Cordray, Attorney General of the state of Ohio from January 2009January 2011, as Director of the CFPB. “Prof. Warren has done an extraordinary job standing up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Her efforts to simplify mortgage and credit card disclosures, protect military families from abusive and deceptive financial practices, and bring aboard top talent like Richard Cordray and Raj Date have built a strong foundation for the Bureau’s future success,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “Raj has an

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Regulations at CFPB. He oversees several offices, including Research, Regulations, Card Markets, Mortgage Markets, Credit Information Markets, Deposit Markets, and Specialty Finance Markets. Before joining CFPB, Date worked for more than a decade in the financial services industry, both at Capital One Financial, where he was a senior VP, and later at Deutsche Bank, where he was a managing director. In 2009, he left to found the Cambridge Winter Center, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to fostering an informed discourse on U.S. financial institutions policy. At Cambridge Winter, he served as chairman and executive director, conducting research on a variety of financial issues, including housing finance, small business credit, and consumer protection. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard Law School.

FHFA Sues UBS for Sales of MBS to GSEs The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the conservator of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Southern District of New York against UBS Americas Inc., and related defendants, alleging violations of federal securities laws in the sale of residential private label mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to the GSEs. FHFA seeks to recover losses and damages sustained by the GSEs as a result of their investments in UBS Securities. The lawsuit alleges that UBS Americas made numerous material misstatements and omissions about the mortgage loans underlying the privatelabel MBS, including the creditworthiness of the borrowers and the quality of the origination and underwriting practices used to evaluate and approve such loans. The defendants also failed to conduct adequate due diligence. The suit seeks to recoup the losses suffered by the GSEs related to their $4.5 billion investment in securities sold by UBS. As conservator of the GSEs, FHFA is charged with preserving and conserving their assets. Through this lawsuit and additional suits expected to follow, FHFA seeks to recover losses suffered by the GSEs in connection with their investments in private-label securities. “FHFA is taking this action consistent with our responsibilities as conservator of each enterprise,” said Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco. “From the issuance of 64 subpoenas last year, to the filing of this lawsuit and further actions to come, we continue to seek redress for the losses suffered by the enterprises.”

The defendants named in the lawsuit are UBS Americas Inc., UBS Real Estate Securities Inc., UBS Securities, LLC, Mortgage Asset Securitization Transactions Inc., and former UBS executives David Martin, Per Dyrvick, Hugh Corcoran and Peter Slagowitz.

NAHB Finds New Home Construction Rises Slightly in July Builder confidence in the market for newly built, singlefamily homes rose two points to 15 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for July. The gain largely offsets a three-point drop recorded in June, and marks the ninth time out of the past 10 months in which the index has held within the same threepoint range. “The improvement in builder confidence in July is a positive sign that the outlook perhaps isn’t quite as bleak as was feared in June,” said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev. “While builders continue to confront serious challenges with regard to competition from foreclosed properties that are priced below replacement cost, inaccurate appraisals of new homes, and a very restrictive lending environment for new home construction, select markets are showing gradual improvement as consumers begin to take advantage of very favorable buying conditions.” Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 20 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as “good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores from each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor. “We view the upward movement in the July HMI as a correction from an exceptionally weak number in June that was at least partly attributable to negative economic news and the close of a disappointing spring selling season,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “The strong rebound in sales expectations for the next six months likewise marks a return to trend. Basically, the market continues to bounce along the bottom, with conditions in some locations beginning to improve.” Two out of three of the HMI’s component indexes rebounded in July from declines in the previous month. The component gauging current sales conditions rose two points to 15, returning

to its May level, while the component gauging sales expectations in the next six months rose seven points to 22, which is where it stood in April. The component gauging traffic of prospective buyers held even with the previous month, at 12. Regionally, the HMI inched up one point to 12 in the Midwest and posted three-point gains in both the South and West, to 17 and 14, respectively. Only the Northeast posted a decline, slipping two points to 15.

George Washington University Report Finds FHA Loan Limits Exceed Necessary Level for Intended Audience

isfy its target market. That would reduce its currently large market share, which is difficult for FHA to manage.” The report analyzes the size of FHA’s target audiences to determine appropriate limits. It concludes that an FHA limit of $350,000 in the high-cost markets and a limit of $200,000 in the lowest cost markets is sufficient to satisfy more than 95 percent of FHA’s target constituency. Additionally, the report finds that the Administration’s proposed reductions in loan limits would affect only three percent of loans endorsed in calendar year 2010.

Bankrate Finds Closing Costs Averaging 8.8 Percent Higher Than One A study released Year Ago With New York b y G e o r g e Leading the Pack Nationwide, the average origination and title fees on a $200,000 mortgage are approximately $4,070, 8.8 percent higher than just one year ago, according to Bankrate Inc.’s 2011 Closing Costs Survey. New York leads the nation with an average fee of $6,183. Texas, Utah, San Francisco and Idaho round out the five most expensive areas. Arkansas is the least expensive area, with an average fee of $3,378. Most of the rise in closing costs is tied to fees charged directly by lenders. On average, lenders charge about $1,614 in origination fees this year, up 10.3 percent from last year. Origination fees include lender charges for services, such as underwriting and processing. “Interest rates get a lot of attention, and rightfully so, but it’s also important for consumers to compare lender fees when shopping for a loan,” said Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate. Bankrate surveyed up to 10 lenders in each state in June 2011 and obtained online Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) for a $200,000 mortgage to buy a single-family home with a 20 percent downpayment. Costs include fees charged by lenders, as well as third-party fees for services such as appraisals and title insurance. The survey excludes taxes, property insurance, association fees, interest and other prepaid items.

continued on page 14

ow often do you rely on methods in your business instead of methodologies? It’s probably more often than you think. As the

leading mortgage marketing company in the United States – and one of the Top 500 Fastest Growing Companies in the nation – LoyaltyExpress thrives on the ability to consistently identify methods of behavior and actions that hold back loan officers, banks, and mortgage companies from realizing true performance and success – and establishing methodologies for improvement. But unless you recognize the difference, you might just assume what you’re doing is helping (rather than hurting) the overall production rate of closed loans for you and your organization. Let’s take a closer look at what this means.

A method systematically details a given procedure or process that has become a habit or periodic practice at work. You can think of it, for example, as the times or moments when you realize that important relationships in your network have been neglected (and that some type of action is needed). So, you might block off a day or a few hours to generate a marketing flyer – or place a request with an agency or department for assistance – in order to re-engage past customers, partners, and prospects. The process that I’ve just described is a common example

of a method that allows mortgage professionals to periodically satisfy recurring business objectives by reacting to them. Unfortunately, such methods are highly inefficient and ineffective.

Here’s why: methods interrupt the natural flow of business and require steady distractions and inadequate usages of time. Take a look at the top-producing loan officers and organizations in the mortgage industry – they have a couple things in common: methodologies & success. By definition, a methodology is the construction of a framework that consistently manages and automates recurring requirements and best practices of an organization. And when it comes to marketing and the ever-competitive environment to retain loyal customers and partners – you’ll fall short without fundamental methodologies in place.

If you’d like to learn more about our unprecedented success and cost-effective approach to establishing high-impact mortgage-marketing methodologies, give us a call (877.938.1175) or send an e-mail to start@loyaltyexpress.com. The year is more than half way over – and it’s a great time to get back to basics and realize improvements. You’ll be glad you did.

LoyaltyExpress customizes, automates and manages retention marketing programs that yield extraordinary value. For more information: call 877.938.1175 or visit www.loyaltyexpress.com.

AUGUST 2011

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has reported that the number of mortgage fraud suspicious activity reports (SARs) rose to 25,485 up 31 percent from 19,420 in the first quarter of 2010, according to its latest in its First Quarter 2011 Mortgage Loan Fraud (MLF) analysis. FinCEN attributes the increase to large mortgage lenders conducting additional reviews after receiving demands to repurchase poorly perform-

by Mary Beth Doyle, Founder

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

FinCEN Reports 31 Percent Year-Over-Year Rise in Mortgage Fraud

Shifting from Methods to Methodologies

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Washington University, “FHA Assessment Report: The Role and Reform of the Federal Housing Administration in a Recovering U. S. Housing Market,” reveals that the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) current loan limits are larger than necessary to serve its targeted market of first-time and low- to moderate-income borrowers. The study finds that the Obama Administration’s proposal to reduce the higher end of FHA’s loan limits would have a small impact on its current market share and that larger changes are needed as FHA phases out its recent role as lender of last resort. The report concludes that the FHA still could serve 95 percent of its historic targeted market even if the maximum FHA loan limits were reduced by nearly 50 percent. To serve its target population, the report concludes that FHA only needs a market share of somewhere between nine to 15 percent of total mortgage originations. Current estimates by the Administration put its market share at approximately 30 percent of originations. “FHA’s expansion played a major role in keeping the housing market afloat during the economic collapse of 2008 and 2009,” said Dr. Robert Van Order, co-author of the report. “However, we now are left with large loan limits that were set when home prices at the top of the bubble. They don’t reflect current market conditions and are unlikely to assist the FHA in reaching its historical constituencies—first-time, minority and low-income homebuyers.” FHA’s loan limits have risen rapidly since the credit crunch began. In 2006, the FHA could insure loans of up to $362,790 in the higher cost markets. In response to the 2008 housing crisis, FHA loan limits were revised to insure loans of up to $729,750 in these high cost markets. Recently, the Obama Administration has proposed allowing current law to lapse in October, causing a modest decrease in these limits to $629,500. “We find that FHA’s current market share exceeds what is needed to serve these markets,” said Dr. Van Order. “In the wake of significant declines in home prices, we believe the FHA could reduce its loan limits by approximately 50 percent and still almost entirely sat-

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ing mortgage loans. In the first quarter of 2011, 86 percent of MLF SARs reported activities which occurred more than two years prior to the filing of the SARs. The analysis also found that California dominated the top mortgage fraud rankings. Miami dropped to the sixth most reported area after five years in the top two ranks. “A substantial majority of reports involved activities which occurred in 20062007, an indication that the industry is slowly making its way through the most problematic mortgages,” said James H. Freis Jr., director of FinCEN. “FinCEN will continue to closely track SAR data related to mortgage fraud and work closely with the U.S. Trustee’s Office, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Trade Commission, and National Association of Attorneys General to investigate and prosecute those perpetrating debt elimination scams and to protect consumers and financial institutions from scammers.” In its first quarter 2011 analysis, FinCEN notes that SAR filers describe numerous fake documents and payment methods that customers and third parties submitted to financial institutions in attempts to have their mortgage obligations eliminated. FinCEN also reported that a review of close to 70 SARs filed less than 90 days from the suspicious incident found activities such as loan modification and foreclosure rescue scams, flopping, and falsified claims of identity theft. Flopping occurs when a foreclosed property is sold at an artificially low price to a straw buyer, who quickly sells the property at a higher price and pockets the difference.

HOPE NOW Finds Foreclosure Sales Down Seven Percent, While Foreclosure Starts Rise to Eight Percent HOPE NOW has released its May 2011 mortgage industry data, which estimates declines in foreclosure sales for the second straight month. According to the survey data, foreclosure sales nationwide were approximately 68,000, down from 73,000 in the month of April, representing a decrease of seven percent. Foreclosure starts were up for the month, with 176,000 reported versus 163,000 for the month of April, an increase of eight percent. For the month, permanent loan modifications for homeowners were approximately 85,000, virtually unchanged from the month of April (86,000). Of the total number, approximately 53,000 were proprietary modifications and 32,398 were completed under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). A breakdown of proprietary modifications showed 78 percent (41,000) included reduced principal and interest payments, 88 percent (47,000) had a fixed interest rate of five or more years and 57 percent (30,000) had reduced principal and interest payments of more than 10 percent.

“HOPE NOW’s monthly data report is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of mortgage market trends and industry efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure,” said Faith Schwartz, executive director of HOPE NOW. “While we have seen loan modifications flatten out in recent months, the overall numbers continue to illustrate the size and scope of what mortgage servicers, and their non-profit and government partners, have achieved on behalf of at-risk homeowners.”

HUD Finalizes Standards for LO Licensing and Registration Under the SAFE Act The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has announced publication of a final rule setting the minimum standards that states must meet to comply with the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) in licensing mortgage loan originators (LOs). “The SAFE Act sets nationwide standards for licensing of mortgage loan originators and is an important step in returning integrity and accountability to the residential mortgage loan market,” said former Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Robert Ryan. “All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands have enacted legislation to support this law and our final rule provides clarification of the minimum standards against which each state’s laws and regulations will be evaluated.” While states are charged with enacting licensing standards that meet the requirements of the SAFE Act, overall responsibility for interpretation, implementation, and compliance was delegated to HUD. However, the Act was amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the authorities and duties delegated to HUD by the SAFE Act will be transferred on July 21, 2011, to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) established by the Dodd-Frank Act. The final rule explains the criteria that will be used to determine whether a state has put in place a system for licensing and registering mortgage loan originators as required by the SAFE Act. The rule does so by clarifying the meaning of “engaging in the business of a loan originator,” which determines whether an individual must be licensed, and the rule also provides that certain activities do not amount to engaging in the business of a loan originator. The rule further clarifies that employees of government agencies and bona fide nonprofit organizations who act as loan originators only as part of their duties do not engage in the business of a loan originator and do not require licensure by states. The final rule does not define the terms continued on page 17

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Change Chang ge to... to...

AUGUST 2011

What’s It All About ... Rally? kay, enough with the puns. Anyone under the age of 50 probably does not remember the song anyway, unless they are an Austin Powers fan. However, the question is real. Why did we have such a strong stock market rally the last week of the first half of the year? The rally actually lasted most of the next week until the employment report was released. The week before July 4, 2011 was the strongest week for the market in two years. For two months, stocks were taking a breather and retreating from a strong first quarter. We were in the middle of a soft patch which had enabled oil prices and rates to retreat. Even gold was cooling down … so why the sudden reversal? There are several theories that come to mind. One is the “dead cat bounce,” which is a brief recovery in a declining market. Certainly, bounces are commonplace in down markets, but this one was a doozy! It was more like a “super bounce ball.” The size of the bounce does not preclude the bounce theory, but it makes it less plausible. Another theory is that we had a confluence of events. The bounce was accompanied by end of the quarter adjustments in investors’ balance sheets, along with lower volumes heading into the July 4th holiday week. Lower volumes can magnify any movement in the markets. Certainly one of these factors—or both—could have magnified the bounce. A quick retreat back would be a factor which supported this particular “super bounce” theory. If this is the case, it may very well be that stocks will retreat by the time this story is published. Finally, there is a whole other chain of thought. The markets may know something we don’t know as of yet. What is that? The markets could be signaling that the soft patch due to temporary factors such as earthquakes, floods and oil shock is over and the economy is ready to march ahead. How will we know if this is the case? The markets are looking for strong earnings to continue in the second quarter. And the markets will need to see some stronger economic reports after the reporting of the employment

AUGUST 2011

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

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“Some may argue that housing has nowhere to go but up. The bottom line is that we cannot have a stronger recovery without the housing sector.” numbers for June. The employment numbers were written off as disappointing even before they were released. There was some false hope raised by a strong ADP payroll report released the day before the employment report, but that just shows you how hard it is to predict the future. Overall, the stock market’s reaction was not that bad because the news was not expected to be great anyway. We started to see some positive reports as the quarter ended and July began, and these reports certainly have factored into the stock market rally and the lack of significant negative reaction to the jobs report. These reports included better-than-expected housing numbers and stronger manufacturing data. Some may argue that housing has nowhere to go but up. The bottom line is that we cannot have a stronger recovery without the housing sector. This sector continues to face significant headwinds due to so many homes being underwater which factors into the huge shadow inventory. The weak employment figures only go to exacerbate this issue. On the positive side, demographics continue to point to the fact that this situation has to turn around at some point. Even slight upticks in the housing market will go a long way to make that point come more quickly. The bottom line is that the more positive economic news must continue. We must have a recovery to put all of the pieces back together. And again, we will warn those who are watching and waiting that if the economy does indeed begin to heat up, those lower rates, lower oil prices and lower gold prices are likely to be out the window. The week of the enormous stock market rally gave us a peek at how quickly rates can turn around. Your refinance prospects need to be made aware of this and act with a sense of urgency. Higher rates and oil prices? These

numbers should be kept in perspective as well. An uptick in rates would still leave us in the ridiculously low range. Housing will still be incredibly affordable and oil prices did not get that low. Prices in the range of $3.70 per gallon at the pump did not seem like a bargain to me. Higher gas prices have also created headwinds against recovery, as consumers will be spending money at the pump that they could have been spending elsewhere. Though higher gas prices will hurt the recovery, including real estate, the effects will actually be uneven. Real estate in cities or the immediate suburbs will continue to fare better due to shorter commutes and closer proximity to mass transit. Real estate on the “fringes” will be more adversely affected if oil prices remain near $100 per barrel or move higher. Some industries will actually prosper with higher energy prices. These include hybrid and electric cars and energy-efficient building materials. Therefore, it depends upon where you live and what you do for a living. Finally, as we head into August, the one area of economic news that is sure to dominate the markets concerns the

value nation

government deficit reduction negotiations. Europe has spooked the markets a few times—but that would be nothing compared to the USA in default. The bottom line … we need the politicians to act like real representatives of the interests of this country and make hard choices on both sides of the ledger. Anything less could be a disaster for the markets. It is one thing for the state of Minnesota to close down and quite another for us to close down the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and a slew of other programs. It is unthinkable in tough economic times to add an obstacle we can control when we have faced so many headwinds that were already out of our control. Dave Hershman is a leading author for the mortgage industry, with eight books and several hundred articles to his credit. He is also a top industry speaker. If you would like to stay ahead of what is happening in the markets, visit www.ratelink.originationpro.com for a free trial. Dave’s NewsletterPro Marketing System can be found at www.webinars.originationpro.com and he may be contacted by e-mail at dave@hershmangroup.com.

continued from page 10

standings or misleading conclusions, it is the responsibility of the appraiser to take the necessary action to clear up any questions or misconceptions. The appraiser is required to follow Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) and not rules of any other organizations.

Myth III Appraisers are ethically obligated to perform appraisals only in geographic areas near where they live. Truth: Appraisers are ethically able to perform appraisals in any geographic area where they are certified, able to exercise competence and deliver creditable value conclusions. The rash of flawed appraisals recently experienced by the mortgage industry on foreclosures, many of which were prepared by appraisers local to the property, are a good example of where competency reins superior over improperly employed local knowledge. USPAP requires that the appraiser be competent to perform a specific appraisal and makes no mention of where he or she lives in relation to a property.

Myth IV The appraiser is not allowed to use information obtained from a purchase contract in making a decision concerning the value of property being considered for a purchase mortgage. Truth: The appraiser is required to consider any and all information pertinent to the property, including not only purchase contracts, but also for sale listings

of the property, as well as data from previous closed sales of the subject.

Myth V Knowing the physical age of property improvements is critical to the decision-making process of rendering a creditable opinion of value. Truth: Knowing the physical age of property improvements is not nearly as important as knowing the effective age of the improvements. The effective age will not only reflect how well the property is maintained, but also the remodeling history of the property. Determining the effective age of an improvement is a subjective decision made by the appraiser based upon his or her years of experience. It is not uncommon for a well-maintained and recently-remodeled home having a physical age of 100-plus years, to have an effective age of 10-20 years. The above myths and truths are presented in an effort to help non-appraisal financial-industry professionals better understand and appreciate the role and the product of the appraiser. In cases, where there are questions about a specific appraisal, my advice is to ask the appraiser about his or her reasoning. Charlie W. Elliott Jr., MAI, SRA, is president of Elliott & Company Appraisers, a national real estate appraisal company. He can be reached at (800) 854-5889, email charlie@elliottco.com or visit his company’s Web site, www.appraisalsanywhere.com.

news flash

continued from page 14

of “loan originator” or “business of a mortgage loan originator” to include individuals who only engage in loan modifications or are third-party loan modification specialists. Instead, HUD defers to the CFPB the issue of whether such individuals should be licensed under the SAFE Act, or should otherwise be regulated under other CFPB regulatory authority. The SAFE Act was enacted into law on July 30, 2008, as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). It is designed to enhance consumer protection and reduce fraud by establishing minimum standards for the licensing and registration of state-licensed mortgage loan originators. SAFE also mandates the creation of a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS), and encourages all states to provide for a licensing and regulatory regime for all residential mortgage loan originators. To comply with the Act, states have put in place statutory and regulatory frameworks that require originators to take initial and continuing education courses, pass a test, and undergo civil, criminal and financial background checks. In any state that fails to have in place a licensing system that meets the minimum requirements, mortgage loan originators may be required to be licensed under a federal program. HUD received more than 5,000 comments on its proposal that led to this final rule. Though minimum standards have been established and clarified, States have the right to enact additional legislation and rules, and to take actions that exceed the federal SAFE Act minimum requirements.

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:

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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The drop in the homeownership rate from an all-time high of 69.2 percent in 2004 to 66.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011 reflects a decline from unsustainable levels to something closer to historical averages, according to a study from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA’s) Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA). While the homeownership rate may have bottomed out, it could fall another one or two percentage points because of tightened credit and other factors, the paper says. Titled “Homeownership Boom and Bust 2000 to 2009: Where Will the Homeownership Rate Go from Here?,” the study was conducted by Professors Stuart Gabriel of UCLA’s Anderson School and Stuart Rosenthal of Syracuse University. They found that the increase in the homeownership rate in the middle of the last decade extended to all age groups, but was most pronounced among individuals under the age of 30. These increases coincided with looser credit conditions that enhanced household access to mortgage credit, along with less risk-averse attitudes

2000s, and a discussion of what may lie ahead for U.S. homeownership rates.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Homeownership Rates Revert Back to Levels of Last Decade

toward investment in homeownership. Following the crash, these trends have reversed and homeownership rates have largely reverted to the levels of 2000. “The question of why homeownership rates are falling now is really a question of why they were so high during the middle of the last decade,” said Gabriel. “From the late 1960s to the mid-1990s, U.S. homeownership rates were relatively stable between 64 and 65 percent. Our findings suggest that the boom and bust in homeownership rates over the last decade was driven in part by an initial

relaxation of credit standards followed by a tightening of credit with the onset of the 2007 financial crash. Evidence also suggests that households led by those in their 20s and 30s were willing to take more risk with respect to homeownership in the boom years, followed by a return to a more conservative approach after the crash.” The study relies on individual-level data from the 2000 census and the 2005 and 2009 American Community Surveys (ACS) to assess housing choice and uses 34 control variables to analyze the underlying drivers of homeownership. The paper is divided into three parts: An assessment of the underlying drivers of homeownership, an ex-post analysis of the boom and bust in homeownership during the

Len Oslar, Senior Vice President Nationwide Equities Corporation

AUGUST 2011

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

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Each month, National Mortgage Professional Magazine will focus on one of the industry’s top players in our “Mortgage Professional of the Month” feature. Our readers are encouraged to contact us by e-mail at newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com to be considered for a future “Mortgage Professional of the Month” feature article. This month, we had a chance to chat with Len Oslar, senior vice president of Nationwide Equities Corporation. As senior VP of sales for Mahwah, N.J.based Nationwide Equities, Len is responsible for sales training and product development for all of the company’s branches, while managing operations and overseeing compliance for the company’s reverse mortgage and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) business. Len has held a number of sales management positions throughout his 30-plus year career in the mortgage industry, including positions with American Mortgage Express; MortgageIT; First NLC Financial Advisors; Mortgage Capital Investors Inc., a Union Bankshares Company); American Home Mortgage; and GMAC Mortgage where he began his career. At every stop along the way, Len has been a proven leader in developing branches at each stop along the way. Len has been with Nationwide Equities Corporation since 2004. The company was formed in 1999 in Copiague, N.Y., focusing on the market in Long Island, N.Y. Since 2004, Nationwide Equities has expanded, currently with more than 20 locations nationwide. The company maintains an expanding network of branches that spans across Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. What was your first job in the mortgage business? My first job selling directly in the mortgage business was back in 1979. I joined my first company, GMAC Mortgage, as a loan officer. In the first three months of my career of selling, I did a seminar for 20 real estate agents … that’s the way the game was then. I was forced to learn the business and had to learn it quickly. In that first 90 days of being in the industry, I knew how to sell FHA, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and conventional loans. I was working directly with real estate agents and was building very strong relationships with them and builders. The bulk of my business came from both the real estate agents and builders. Within my first 18 months in the industry, I became sales manager of the GMAC office I was at, and I was responsible for bringing aboard loan offi-

cers and training them. the purpose of providing After four years of valuable knowledge and strictly writing loans and educating them on the serving as sales manager, I homeownership process. took over the company’s Very often, senior citioffice in Haddonfield, N.J. zens get the wrong idea as branch manager. Over about products like the course of the next reverse mortgages. They seven years, we became a think that they won’t be very successful branch, able to own their home, doing $100 million in and that it’ll be owned by loans annually. I was prosomeone else, and they’ll moted to area sales manhave to give up the title. ager for GMAC Mortgage in Obviously, that’s not the 1990. Little by little, we case, as reverse mortgages amassed 25 branch are programs that are very offices, beginning in New beneficial in helping senJersey, then adding iors stay in their homes. “If you remain stagnant in Today, it’s very difficult for branches in Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas. one spot and keep doing the seniors to maintain their At our height, we were same thing, you’re going to be lifestyle, they’re struggling. out of business.” closing in excess of $1 bilTheir kids cannot help lion per year, as at that them, and the only way point, I was no longer producing loans direct- for them to stay in their own place and get ly, but running the entire operation of the some help, whether it’s in the form of cash at company. My knowledge of all aspects of loan closing, a line of credit or anything that can production enabled me to be a very successful benefit them, the opportunity is there with a area sales manager. reverse mortgage. I really love the reverse mortgage business, as it’s really a very low Going back to when you first started and key direct program to help people. were doing relationship-building seminars, were homeowner seminars also part Do you see any HECM (Home Equity of the equation? Conversion Mortgage) purchase business We did do some homeowner seminars, but at being done and do you hold reverse mortthat time, most of the business in the late gage-specific seminars geared toward 1970s and early 1980s was coming directly seniors? from the builders and real estate agents. We The HECM purchase is relatively new and did homeowner seminars in the mid- to late- many companies do not offer it because 1980s, when homeowners, instead of just lis- they do not know how to properly sell it. tening to their real estate agents and builders, It’s actually really not a “sell,” but simply began going directly to the mortgage compa- educating people on how to get a reverse ny/lender and started searching for homes mortgage. It’s a program that is becoming themselves. Now, it is more important than more popular. So far in 2011, we have ever for us to not just be the best real estate seen a rise in reverse purchases over last agent or broker, but to also provide our cus- year’s totals. tomers with the tools and answers they need in making correct and educated decisions Do you think as home values continue to when purchasing a home. get hammered in the northeast that the HECM purchase program will lose its Fast-forward to today … what techniques power? taught in those seminars are still being I think it comes down to … as home valused today? What tactics that you learned ues flop, the HECM purchase is really and developed back then work in today’s ideal for seniors to buy an affordable market? property wherever it may be. Maybe it’s Today, you have to do everything. You have to something that would have cost them reach out to potential and current homeown- $300,000 that is now $250,000. The dropers … you have to hold meetings … you have ping of home values has opened the to get out there into communities and set up doors maybe even more so to the affordmeetings with senior citizen groups—all with ability of getting that home.

What do you see on the horizon for the HECM product? With 10,000 Americans turning 65 ever day, the future of the reverse mortgage looks bright. Each day, I read articles about how seniors face a host of challenges in their retirement, such as the cost of healthcare, changes in Medicare and Social Security, volatility in their 401(k) and more. In these times, the HECM could be a useful safety net. What is new for you and Nationwide Equities? Well, we are just rolling out our reverse wholesale channel called “ReversePower.” I will be spearheading this effort to attract the forward broker who would like to get into the reverse market, but needs a helping hand. What makes this new program different from the other wholesale lenders out there? We target the broker that does one or two reverse loans per month and give them the same pricing as the “big boys.” But, we also give them individualized attention, something they cannot get from the bigger players. We can get a deal in and closed in the same day. One dilemma I see our readers discuss is how can a forward mortgage broker get involved in reverse mortgages? Is it easy for a forward mortgage originator to add the reverse mortgage to their product offerings? For starters, you have to be someone who really likes working with people. You must like to take the time to do the job the right way. You could always learn to conduct homeowner seminars, work in the communities and get active. You must be people-oriented. The loan officer who does forward mortgages utilizes every tool available and cares about what they do will excel in the reverse mortgage field. Profitability on the forward mortgage side is down to $346 per loan according to a recent Mortgage Bankers Association survey. Do you have any ideas what that number is on the reverse side? Is that profit loss greater on the reverse side? Is there greater opportunity for profit on the reverse side? I think there is potential for greater profitability on the reverse mortgage side. In terms of the time it takes to do a reverse mortgage loan, it does takes a little longer and you have to work for your money and do it the right way. I think the secondary market in the

reverse business has opened the channels to allow us to be a little more profitable than the forward business. The reverse mortgage arena is a very service-oriented field. If you truly provide thorough services to your customers, you will have the opportunity to get reverse business. The reverse mortgage business is not as cutthroat as the forward business. Everyone is just scraping for whatever they can to get to get a loan. In some cases, closing costs are higher with reverse mortgages, and in some cases, the closing costs are lower. Going back to your history because I’m fascinated at how many branches you built … what does it take to find quality branch managers, hire them and keep them motivated to keep increasing volume? You have to really take your time and meet with the right people. You can be taught this business if you are the right person. You don’t have to have a forward background to learn the reverse business. What you need is to be people-oriented and a good salesperson. This morning, for example, I came from a meeting with a mortgage banker who is in the wholesale reverse industry. His company had a lot of different platforms and were doing a lot of different types of business. They needed someone to come in and give their reverse channel some direction. Part of my job is hiring people and bringing in the right retail operations. It works the same way even in wholesale. The reverse mortgage market was not this mortgage banker’s platform, but he didn’t want to walk away from its potential and profitability. We are going to show them how to do reverse mortgages, and part of our role is to identify what we can and can not do to assist other companies. As a reverse mortgage operation, we need to be able to do more than say, “Here we are, send your business to us.” We have to go out and bring reverse business in.

Has anyone in particular influenced you or mentored you throughout your career? I think I’ve been mentored and influenced in various ways by many of the people I’ve worked with over the years. I’ve spent time with many people at different companies and have had varying functions, and I think we learn through each other. If you’re not afraid to share knowledge with another individual, then you have the opportunity to learn from each other. I have benefited from the ability to listen, speak and not be afraid to tell people who I am and what I can offer. I’ve learned from real estate agents, homeowners, supervisors, managers and chief executive officers … from people outside the business, as well as those within the business. I also learned a lot from my wife. There’s an order to doing things the right way, making sure that you look at every aspect by questioning everything and making sure that the decision you made is the right one. My wife is a very tough, well-rounded and knowledgeable woman who questions everything, and I think she has strengthened me.

Three T hree Simple Reasons Reaso ons Education E duccation d Organized Or ganized ffor or the pur purpose pose of providing providing education education tto o pr professionoffe essionals in all phases off the mor mortgage industry, NAPMW offers educa-tgage industr y, NAP N MW off ers educa tion via man enues – seminars and w orkshops k ound the manyy vvenues workshops held ar around on-line,, and National Conference ccountry, ountry, on-line a at at its Na tional EEducation ducation C onference held May. each hM ay. NAPMW NAP MW membership membersship gives gives you you exclusive exclusive access a cess to ac to timely educaeducaaffecting career tion regarding regarding the e regulations regulations aff ecting yyour o car our eer such as a FREE TO TO MEMBERSS monthly monthly webinar webinar on industry ind dustry updates updates AND education class offering our 8 hour NMLS continuing continuing educa tion cla ss off ffe ering (NMLS Provider 1400309) P rovider # 140030 09) 19

Leadership p Leadership If If you you believe believe in helping helping to to elevate elevate the educational edu ucational standards standards of this industry, industry, or assisting asssisting in developing developing thee most competent competent industry work industry w ork force, force, then you you believe believe in NAPMW. NA APMW. NAPMW Butt sinc since women NAPMW is not a women’s women’s organization. organization. Bu ew omen make up the major majority profesity off professionals professionals in the mortgage/banking morrtgage/banking pr ofession, our purpose business,, personal, purpose is to to help them advance advance in business personal, and leadership development. de evelopment.

Net wo ork king i Networking NAPMW is a ccommunity NAPMW omm munity of near nearly ly 2,000 professionals prof o essionals acr across oss the C ountry who eng age in the mor tgage / ba anking industr y. Men Men Country engage mortgage banking industry. and w omen fr om all backg rounds have have joi ned NAP MW because women from backgrounds joined NAPMW they want want tto o eexcel xcel e aatt wha yers who w ant eexcelxcelwhatt they do do.. Emplo Employers want lenc e from from their employees emplo e yees engage eng NAP N MW for for up-to-date up-to-date lence with NAPMW education. Both professionals employers educa tion. B oth pr p ofessionals and emplo emp yers e have have found found there there is a plac e for for them in n NAP MW W. place NAPMW.

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To T o Join NAPMW NAPMW W visit: www.napmw.org w ww.napmw.o org or ccall: all: 1-800-827-3034 1 800 8 1-800-8 827 3034 827-3034 Have Ha ve Q Questions? uestion ns? Please ffeel eel free free to to e e-mail -m mail us a at: t: napmw1@aol.com napm w1@aol.c . om

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We now have Bank of America and Well Fargo out of the wholesale reverse mortgage market. Who’s left buying stuff from the secondary market? There are quite a few left actually. What’s probably happening is that there is going to be more buyers in the secondary market than in the past. There’s a lot going on in Wall Street with securities, so I think there’s another area of growth potential, and I think quite a few people recognize that. You don’t have to have the giants in the industry still here, as the giants are slowly disappearing. They are just opening up the door … whether it’s opening up the door to origination retail and wholesale, it’s also opening up other companies that really want to get involved financially.

Why W hy NAPMW? NAPMW? M

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Your career in this industry spans over three decades. What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment to date? I feel my greatest accomplishment is that I have survived in this industry. Literally 80 percent of the people who were in business just 10 years ago are no longer here. You can only really survive by being able to redirect your efforts to move into different places. If you remain stagnant in one spot and keep doing the same thing, you’re going to be out of business. I think the ability to learn new and create opportunities in this business is what I’m most proud of. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been able to move from being a loan officer, to a manager, to understanding products inside and out … understanding underwriting and understanding every aspect of this business as we continue to grow and learn.

Are there any particular management styles that you employ? In order to be a good manager, in my opinion, one must have the ability to listen and respond correctly. I think many of us try to sell sell sell, and they forget that you can easily sell. The most successful salespeople have the ability to listen, because when you listen to your client base, they are going to tell you what they need and you can begin to offer them those products. That’s how you should sell. I think in terms of management style, I think it’s probably more of a soft sell. You should pay attention, listen, recognize where they are coming from and figure out how you can deliver what they need.

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What excites you most about the current state of the mortgage business? I think we are in our infancy as far as where we are headed, especially with reverse mortgage lending. Whether it’s a combination of bringing in the right people on the retail side, or building a strong wholesale platform … it’s exciting because there are so many people who are really just getting their feet wet. Our growth potential is unlimited and that excites me.

In this environment, we have been faced with increased regulatory pressure and shrinking profits, as companies like Bank of America, Wells Fargo and MetLife have exited the reverse wholesale arena. What are some of the things that concern you about the industry as we move forward? I really don’t have many concerns about the reverse side of things. More than anything else, I am excited about the prospects for the future. Concerns are nothing more than being sure that we are always being compliant. Regulatory pressure is everything these days. It’s really just a matter of checks and balances. It’s bringing everybody into this and making sure that we meet all of the compliance aspects of both the forward and reverse businesses.

“FHA has gone to great lengths to assure there is a high level of accountability for the loans that lenders send in for FHA insurance … especially with respect to the appraisals.”

the appraiser must report the adjustment applicable to each comparable sale listed.

The appraiser must report the total dollar amount of the closing costs and/or concessions to be paid by any interested party on behalf of the borrower and describe which party provided the concession in the Subject Section of the appraisal report. Use of an addendum with the heading “Loan Charges/Sales Concessions” may be required due to limited space provided in the appraisal reporting form.

Since we are on the topic of appraisals, it is a good time to recall FHA’s position on Lender Accountability for Appraisals, which is as follows: “The lender is held responsible, equally with the appraiser, for the integrity, accuracy and thoroughness of an appraisal submitted to FHA for mortgage insurance purposes. FHA may pursue appropriate enforcement actions against both or either party for violations.”

for the industry to adjust to the appraisal management company (AMC) model, but the good news is that it appears to be of real benefit in many ways, to both the industry and to the consumer—if for no other reason than the fact that mortgage loan originators (MLOs) no longer find themselves in direct contact with appraisers, tempting the possibility of an appraiser being placed under undue pressure to “bring in value.” As an MLO, it is a good idea to understand how to read an appraisal so you can better serve your clients. For example, I am working on a transaction right now where the appraisal came in about $3,000 under the sales price. I looked at the comparable sales that were good in style, size, distance from subject property, and all the adjustments were good, but the appraiser made a $6,000 adjustment for cosmetic repairs which were the interior painting of three rooms, carpet cleaning in three rooms and the replacement of a pantry door. Does that sound like $6,000 worth of work to you? Me neither! I contested it and the underwriter agreed with me. So when an underwriter or appraiser does something that doesn’t make sense, do your homework and know what the FHA guide is on the subject. There are a lot of conventional underwriters reviewing FHA loans right now to handle the industry’s FHA volume, and many of them are not experts in the FHA guides so you need to be that FHA expert. Go FHA!

The appraiser must also verify all sales transactions for seller concessions and report those findings in the appraisal. If the sale cannot be verified with someone who has firsthand knowledge of the transaction (i.e., buyer, seller or one of their agents), the appraiser must clearly state how the sale was verified and explain to what extent.

For further reference regarding appraisals see Mortgagee Letters: 0909,05-06,94-54. FHA has gone to great lengths to assure there is a high level of accountability for the loans that lenders send in for FHA insurance … especially with respect to the appraisals. It took a while

Jeff Mifsud is founder of Michigan-based Mortgage Seminars LLC, a former FHA underwriter with 15-plus years of experience originating FHA loans, an FHA expert for LoanToolbox.com and creator of The FHA Originator, a monthly FHA newsletter. Jeff may be reached by phone at (248) 4038181 or visit www.MortgageSeminars.com.

In the Sales Comparison Analysis, Sales or Concession Section, the appraiser must report the type and the amount of sales or financing concessions for each comparable sale listed. If no concessions exist, the appraiser must note “none.”

The appraiser must provide an analysis of the current agreement of sale, contract, option or listing for the subject property and an analysis of all prior transfers of the subject property that occurred within three years prior to the effective date of the appraisal. If the contract of sale for the subject property is not provided to the appraiser, the appraiser must report the steps or efforts taken to obtain the current agreement of sale.

In the Sales Comparison Analysis, Sales or Financing Concessions Section, the appraiser must provide analysis of all prior transfers of the comparable sales that occurred within one year prior to the date of the appraisal. If the data is unavailable, the appraiser must note what steps were taken to obtain and report the information.

Appraisals and Seller Concessions: FHA Takes Note n the summer edition of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Appraiser Newsletter, the FHA reemphasizes the importance of appraisers correctly documenting any seller concessions on a property sale. The Mortgagee Letter referenced in this issue is ML 2005-02, which gives guidance on seller concessions and verification of sales. The FHA requires lenders to give appraisers the financing data and sales concessions information for properties with FHA loans. In all FHA appraisals, appraisers are required to identify and document sales concessions and adjust the comparable sales accordingly. Sales concessions influence the price paid for real estate and may be in the form of discount points, origination fees, buy downs, closing cost assistance, downpayment assistance, etc, given by the seller or any other party involved in the transaction. The following is an excerpt from Mortgagee Letter 2005-02 which outlines the lender and appraiser requirements for loans where the borrowers receive a concession for closing costs and/or pre-paids:

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of the mortgage. Each dollar exceeding the six percent limit must be subtracted from the property’s sale price before applying the appropriate loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. 5.

Appraiser/appraisal requirements 1.

Lender requirements 1.

On any purchase transaction, the lender must provide the appraiser with a complete copy of the signed purchase agreement, including all addendums, for the subject property.

The lender must provide the appraiser with all financing data and any sales concessions given by any party to the transaction, and must include gifts and/or downpayment assistance, which may or may not be included in the contract of sale. 4.

If the lender requests a reconsideration of value, the appraiser must be provided with any amendments to the contract that occurred after the date of the appraisal. Contributions from sellers or other interested third parties that exceed six percent of the sales price are to be treated as inducements to purchase, thereby reducing the amount

The dollar-for-dollar reduction to the sales price also applies when gift funds do not meet FHA requirements.

The appraiser is required to make market-based adjustments to the comparable sales for any sales or financing concessions that may have affected the sales price. The adjustment for each comparable sale must reflect the difference between the sales price with the sales concessions and what the property would have sold for without the concessions. In the Sales Comparison Analysis, Sales or Financing Concessions Section,

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Enjoy it: Make sure you enjoy your workouts and change it up as often as needed.

Tip of the month … Since on this topic, I might as well throw some health tips in here. Never skip breakfast, it’s very important. If you are not aware, breakfast simply means “breaking the fast” since you have obviously not eaten while sleeping. The brain runs on glucose and I’m assuming you need to use it during the day (at least I hope). Eat five to six smaller balanced meals per day preferably two-and-a-half to three hours

apart to you’re your metabolism up and insulin levels in check (learn about the glycemic index when selecting carbohydrates). This will not only help you think and feel better, but it will also decrease your waistline and increase your paycheck. Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431 or e-mail aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com or visit AndyHarrisMortgage.com.

How to Build Your Referral Network Without Ever Cold Calling By Ron Vaimberg

StreetLinks Opens Tampa Operations to Accommodate Rapid Growth

Take this 3 question test: 1. Do you have any strong relationships with real estate agents? Even one relationship is good. 2. Have you ever actively asked your real estate referral agent partner(s) if they would introduce you to other agents in their office? “Actively” means that you consistently ask, versus just waiting for your agent to offer to introduce you to other agents. 3. Have you ever actively asked your real estate referral partner(s) if they would introduce you to an agent in another real estate office? Having trained and surveyed more than 100,000 LOs in the past five years, here are the statistics of the answers to these questions. Survey results I 97 percent of LOs stated they have at least one strong real estate agent relationship. I Less than 40 percent of LOs have actively asked for introductions to agents in the same office. I Only two percent of LOs have asked their existing real estate agent relationships for a referral to agents in another office. I When originators are asked “why” they don’t ask for referrals to another office, 98 percent of them respond, “They never thought of it.”

Total Mortgage Services LLC has announced that it has received both its state of Colorado Mortgage Lender License from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Affairs, Division of Real Estate and its state of Mississippi

Ron Vaimberg is president of The Warrior Sales Academy and a leading national trainer and coach to MLOs. He may be reached by phone at (866) 360-6645, e-mail ron@warriorsa.com or visit WarriorSalesAcademy.com. SPONSORED EDITORIAL

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Total Mortgage Services Now Licensed in Colorado and Mississippi

One simple strategy you can implement immediately is to start “actively” asking your existing real estate agent partners for introductions to agents both inside and outside of their offices. If you have a strong relationship with the agent, they will have no problem referring you. The final key to implementing this success strategy is to know how to ask your real estate agent referral partner(s) for the referrals. To make implementation of this strategy easy for you, please feel free to visit WarriorSalesAcademy.com/agentreferral to watch a video that explains exactly how to execute this strategy. In the event that you do not have even one single real estate agent relationship, simply start asking everyone in your sphere of influence if they know any agents. You can ask, friends, family members, accountants, attorneys, even your dry cleaners, etc. … and I guarantee you, someone will know an agent and introduce you. Next month’s topic will be “How to Get the Attention of Agents, Brokers, Attorneys, Accountants, Etc. in Very Creative Ways With NoCost/Low-Cost Marketing Strategies.”

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Real Estate Mortgage Network Inc. (REMN) has continued its expansion in Southern California with the opening of a new office in Pasadena, Calif. The office will be led by Los Angeles lending industry veteran Tami Murphy, who joins REMN as the company’s latest branch manager. Murphy will report directly to fellow industry veteran, Kevin Hoyt, who joined REMN as the company’s western regional retail manager earlier in April. Murphy is a Los Angeles area native with more than 25 years of experience in the lending industry. Throughout the course of her career, she has held the role of branch manager at multiple mortgage firms, including Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and Southern California Savings and Loan. During a period of more than 10 years of service with Countrywide Home Loans, Murphy was ranked fifth in the nation for overall performance. “Tami’s dedication to quality and performance are well known in the industry and attributes which we pride ourselves on at REMN. As a proven leader, Tami is going to make a great addition to our new Pasadena office and help us strengthen REMN’s growing Southern California presence,” said Hoyt. “While the market continues to fluctuate, we’re finding REMN’s commitment to quality and customer service are separating us from the pack in this area. As the region rebounds, we’ll continue to serve the local industry as a trusted resource for home buyers, builders and other real estate professionals.” Earlier this year, REMN opened offices in Riverside and Carlsbad, Calif. in addition to bringing on Tom Conklin in the role of western division sales manager for their wholesale operations in the region.

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Indianapolis-based real estate appraisal management services provider StreetLinks Lender Solutions has announced that it will expand its operations with a new office location in Tampa, Fla. StreetLinks, a provider of warranted residential valuation services and technologies to mortgage lenders nationwide, will invest nearly $2 million to open a 36,000-sq. ft. location in early September. “StreetLinks continues to experience steady growth,” said StreetLinks Chief Executive Officer Steve Haslam. “The Tampa location will help us fulfill the resource demands that growth creates. It will also serve as an important secondary disaster recovery facility to help ensure business continuity for our clients.” Haslam said that the company plans to add 250 jobs at the Tampa location during the next two years. StreetLinks currently employs more than 400 between its Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Kansas City locations, and was recently named a 2011 Top Workplace in a special edition of the Indianapolis Star. The company growth builds upon the addition of Luke Pille as national sales manager earlier this year. “We felt that the business environment and employment market in Tampa were a great fit with our StreetLinks culture. We are excited to be a part of the Tampa community,” said Paul Bradley, StreetLinks vice president of operations. The State of Florida, Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa have offered StreetLinks training grants and recruitment assistance based on the company’s job creation plans. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. Unemployment Rate for the Metropolitan Statistical Area is at 10.5 percent, while the national average stands at 8.7 percent. “StreetLinks’ expansion is a significant economic development opportunity for Tampa, and I applaud the business and government partners who made it happen,” said Gray Swoope, president and chief executive officer of Enterprise Florida, the state’s principal economic development organization. “This is welcome news at a time when job creation is of critical importance to Florida’s economy.”

REMN Continues Its Westward Expansion

et’s face it, almost every mortgage loan originator (MLO) in the country hates cold calling. I too am not a big fan of it, as there are so many other ways to grow your referral business, and many of them are much faster. I am a big believer in using resources that are already available to you, rather than trying to start from scratch. Oftentimes, MLOs have tremendous business building resources in the palm of their hand, yet they don’t use them to their fullest extent. Some originators believe they need to focus their energy on learning what they believe to be the latest and greatest marketing technology, instead of using resources that are staring them right in the face.

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Mortgage Lender License from the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance. Total Mortgage is now registered as a mortgage lender in the state of Colorado and the state of Mississippi and can originate residential mortgage loans in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Total Mortgage currently has five additional state licenses pending. “We are pleased to enter both the Colorado and Mississippi markets at a time when mortgage rates and housing affordability are close to historical lows, and borrowers are truly in need of a trusted mortgage advisor. All of our loan officers are fully licensed and borrowers will benefit greatly from their depth of knowledge, experience and commitment to providing some of the lowest mortgage rates and the best possible customer experience on either a purchase or refinancing transaction,” said John Walsh, president of Total Mortgage Services. “Total Mortgage is committed to making the needed investments to continue to expand through further geographic expansion, new mortgage products and by entering new origination channels.”

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FLS to Deploy Online Loan Mediation for Consolidated Credit Financial Literacy Solutions LLC (FLS), a firm that uses online technology and the accessibility of video to provide a effective communication channel for loan originators (LOs) and servicers that educates consumers about mortgage options, has announced that the company has been chosen to provide a video solution for loan mediation to Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Inc., the nation’s second largest non-profit credit counseling service. “As more states across the nation enact regulations that require mediation as part of the default process, we have seen demand for our services rise dramatically,” said Joe Cvelbar, director of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Inc.’s housing division. “We have found that video enables our clients to learn about the mediation process in the way they want to learn, making it easier for them to understand the material and share it with spouses or partners who did not participate in the original counseling session.” The mediation education center offers a Web-based solution with 14 custom videos and a series of automated forms and materials that enable the borrower to learn about the mediation process. “Most consumers don’t understand what mediation is. The videos deliver the message that the mediators are professional third parties that help the lender and borrower come to a solution,” said Garth Graham, president of FLS.

FLS partners with financial institutions and community-based organizations to provide financial education to consumers as they face the challenges of today’s economy. Currently, 80 percent of adults in the United States agree they would benefit from more financial education. Online video is fast becoming the most powerful tool to achieve a better working knowledge of their financial lives. More Americans are learning via online video and it has shown to be a medium with which they are very comfortable.

Stewart Lender Services Announces the Acquisition of REO Specialist PMH Financial Stewart Lender Services (SLS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stewart Title Company, has announced the acquisition of a majority ownership interest in PMH Financial. PMH, previously majority-owned by Braddock Holdings Company, private equity affiliate of Denver-based Braddock Financial Corporation, was founded in 2005, and is a full-service real estate-owned (REO) outsource and subservicing company. “This transaction represents a strategic acquisition for Stewart Lender Services,” said Jason Nadeau, president and chief executive officer of SLS. “PMH will provide a great deal of synergy with a number of Stewart clients and services. PMH’s senior leadership team has some of the leading REO and servicing executives in our industry. We are very excited to have them join our team.” PMH provides REO services, short sale management, collateral valuation, subservicing, loan review and due diligence services to national and regional lenders. With a staff of more than 100 professionals in six states, PMH manages an active inventory of approximately $2.5 billion in real estate assets on behalf of financial institutions, loan servicers and hedge fund investors. “This is an excellent move for our clients and helps to position our company for continued growth,” said Ken Blevins, president and chief executive officer of PMH. “Stewart is a market leader in providing a comprehensive set of default and mortgage origination services. By joining Stewart Lender Services, we can deliver greater value to our clients while offering them an expanded line of related products and services.”

CoreLogic and LexisNexis Partner on Mortgage Fraud Prevention CoreLogic has announced an expansion of its relationship with LexisNexis to fuel LoanSafe Fraud Manager with consumer identity, business and assets data. LexisNexis’ FraudPoint Attributes and FraudPoint

Score are now accessible within the customizable, Web-based LoanSafe Fraud Manager platform and will give lenders a more holistic view of applicants’ identity information to enable better fraudand risk-based origination decisions. “Identity issues account for over 10 percent of the fraud problem plaguing the Mortgage industry today,” said Tim Grace, senior vice president of product management and analytics at CoreLogic. “The addition of vital consumer-identity behavior information, identity flags and attributes empowers mortgage lenders that use the next generation LoanSafe Fraud Manager platform to drive more efficient, actionable alerts, to more quickly respond to evolving regulations and to stop emerging fraud schemes. Integrating identity data from LexisNexis as part of our next generation offering demonstrates our commitment to delivering powerful risk mitigation products for mortgage lenders.” LexisNexis leverages patented linking and matching technology along with more than 10,000 data sources, providing the largest base of commercially available public record data and proprietary information available on consumers, businesses and assets in the market today. “When dealing with risk mitigation and fraud prevention initiatives in the mortgage industry, the more you know about a person, the better assessment you can make about the likelihood that the applicant information is false,” said Avivah Litan, vice president and analyst at Gartner, a technology and research firm. “It will be prudent for lenders to incorporate solutions that intelligently analyze consumer identity data and take the leap from strategic aspiration to curtail fraud–related losses, and make it operational.”

iServe Steps Up Underwriting Through the Addition of PriceMyLoan iServe Residential Lending has announced the implementation of the PriceMyLoan (PML) automated underwriting and loan pricing system as a way to improve the quality of their underwriting—especially in regards to investor overlays. “We were looking for a way to scale our underwriting capabilities without increasing our risk,” said William Stock, director of capital markets at iServe. “PriceMyLoan was the only system that understood the importance of investor overlays and how it affects everything we do as a lender.” PriceMyLoan’s ability to read live credit report data is what enables it to be more accurate at determining loan eligibility, a key distinction that separates it from other types of systems known as product and pricing engines (PPE). For iServe, this means that their originators will be able to obtain a comprehensive decision on both borrower

eligibility and pricing right at the point of sale, before a rate has been locked and before it has been submitted for underwriting. “Other systems rely heavily on Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac automated underwriting for loan eligibility,” said Stock. “This can lead to broken locks and lower pull through if investor overlays are missed after the fact. PriceMyLoan is unique because it combines a Fannie, Freddie or FHA decision with a comprehensive analysis of investor overlays and guidelines. We’re more confident that loans will be approved by investors, and we won’t have to waste time or resources reunderwriting loans.” By raising pull-through rates, PriceMyLoan positions iServe to garner better pricing with investors. And with a smaller but higher quality pipeline of loans, turn times are reduced and underwriters are less prone to mistakes. For a lender like iServe that is focused on expansion and growth, better pricing and lower turn times are exactly what attract branches and top producers.

DocuTech Partners With Xerox on Doc Classification DocuTech Corporation (DocuTech), a provider of mortgage compliance documents and initial disclosures for the mortgage industry, has partnered with Xerox Mortgage Services to utilize Xerox’s DataGlyph technology for the automatic classification of loan documents. DocuTech customers benefit from an enhanced and accelerated process for generating, classifying, filing and storing mortgage documents. Developed at the Palo Alto Research Center, Xerox Mortgage Services’ DataGlyphs technology is a sophisticated form of a barcode that acts as a portable database and enables DocuTech customers to embed loan data onto a document. Those documents can be automatically classified in the BlitzDocs electronic loan folder upon submission via scan or upload—saving 30 to 45 minutes in data entry and manual classification. The technology is integrated with DocuTech’s precision document system ConformX, ensuring lenders only generate the necessary documents needed for each closing. “Xerox Mortgage Services believes that eliminating key strokes and streamlining processes are key to paperless adoption,” said Nancy Alley, vice president of product management at Xerox Mortgage Services. “Our DataGlyph technology is a prime example of how automating the loan process can greatly improve a business’ efficiency and reduce errors. Using DataGlyphs, DocuTech’s customers can accelerate their lending process, offer higher levels of service and increase loan volume due to reduced costs and time spent handling loans.”

AL CRISANTY

Susan McFarland has been named chief financial officer for Fannie Mae.

JIM SADLER GABE MINTON

Shane Hill has joined the IT team at MRG Document Technologies. PHH Corporation has announced that Glen A. Messina has been named chief operating officer and will be responsible for the company’s PHH Mortgage business unit. Bob Watson has been named vice president and regional manager of Atlantic & Pacific Real Estate LLC. Stonegate Mortgage Corporation has announced the hiring of Matthew Locke as senior vice president of retail lending. WFG National Title Insurance Company has added Stephen Sklamba as vice president and Louisiana underwriting counsel, and Liz Pecoraro as Louisiana state sales manager.

Your turn

Pro Teck Valuation Services has announced the promotion of Dan Rizzotti to the position of director of quality improvement.

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.

AUGUST 2011

International Document Services (IDS), a mortgage document preparation vendor, has been selected to provide closing documents and initial disclosures for Guaranty Trust Company, a full-service mortgage company based in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Guaranty’s decision to select IDS was based on the seamless interface integration through their loan origination system (LOS) Avista Solutions, as well as the staff training and the level of customer service IDS provides. The Avista and IDS interface is constantly

360 Mortgage Group has announced the addition of Al Crisanty as vice president of national wholesale production.

MISMO, the non-profit data standards subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), has announced the appointment of Gabe Minton, senior vice president of information services at ServiceLink, to its board of directors.

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Guaranty Trust Selects IDS as Disclosure and Closing Docs Provider

Mortgage Professionals to Watch

Jeffrey S. Carbiener has been forced to step down from his position as chief executive officer of Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) due to health concerns. He will be replaced by Lee A. Kennedy as CEO on an interim basis. Aklero Risk Analytics Inc. has promoted Craig Riddell to the position of senior vice president, client solutions. Riddell was previously Aklero’s vice president of product management and client relations. Jim Sadler has been named managing director of business processing and analytics for mortgage due diligence firm Alonhill.

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Business Solutions, a subsidiary of ABA, and Mortgagebot have agreed to extend their alliance to provide ABA member banks with online mortgage application solutions at preferred terms. Mortgagebot will continue to be a valued component of the Business Solutions/Freddie Mac alliance relationship and is part of the suite of Mortgage Solutions alliances available to ABA members. Mortgagebot is a provider of online mortgage solutions, currently serving more than 1,000 financial institutions. Mortgagebot helps banks deliver improved borrower experience, while boosting productivity, reducing application costs, maintaining regulatory compliance and improving efficiency. “Since our inception in 1997, Mortgagebot has remained focused on delivering industry-leading, Webbased mortgage origination solutions to all sizes of financial institutions,” said Scott T. Happ, president of Mortgagebot. “In a time of continuous change in the industry and competitive landscape, ABA member banks continue to recognize the importance of leveraging technology and automation to deliver on their core lending goals of customer service, compliance, and profitability. Their success has been astonishing.” Business Solutions currently has 12 strategic alliances with top companies that bring ABA banks advantages in pricing, delivery options, technology and support. These companies operate in the areas of secondary marketing, reverse mortgage lending, mortgage insurance, and technology—including fraud detection and prevention, appraisal management, outsourcing, and online lending technology. “Our members appreciate the easy to implement, customized solutions provided by Mortgagebot,” said Bill Kroll, president of Business Solutions. “Mortgagebot offers a unique product that is flexible and can be deployed in a variety of ways by our member banks.”

Default Resource, a provider of default management, valuation, and loss mitigation services, has announced that Barnesville, Ga.based United Bank has chosen Default Resource to manage its expanding portfolio of real estate-owned (REO) properties. Default Resource will be handling a large percentage of the REO portfolio for United Bank through Executive Asset Management, its affiliate for managing default assets. Under an agreement between both companies, Executive Asset Management will manage United Bank’s properties, enabling the bank to reduce its fixed costs, while enhancing net proceeds from the sale of its REO properties. Services provided by Default Resource/Executive Asset Management include property preservation, marketing, valuation, contract negotiation, title, settlement and closing services. “When it comes to managing bankowned real estate, Default Resource and Executive Asset Management provide unparalleled service and delivery,” said Scott Swafford, United Bank’s director of special assets. “We were impressed with their reputation and their ability to execute across multiple service offerings, such as property preservation, closing and training services. They are a trusted advisor and we look forward to a long working relationship together.” United Bank received approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to acquire a number of failed banks in the southeastern United States in recent years. The bank’s assets have recently surpassed $1 billion. “As the real estate market continues to struggle, we are pleased to be working with dynamic institutions like United Bank,” said James H. Zeldin, executive vice president of Default Resource. “Regardless of property type, we designed multiple, customized disposition strategies aimed to maximize asset proceeds and reduce losses.”

updating and pushing more data, allowing more customizations and professional documents. Guaranty acknowledged that IDS set the standard by which all other document prep providers should be measured. “We have been pleasantly surprised how user friendly the IDS and Avista interface is. It has great functionality and enables users to easily edit almost any document right in the system. They’ve really set the standard for how a doc prep vendor should be measured,” said Guaranty Trust IT Administrator Ryan McCormick. “IDS has allowed us to operate more efficiently and exert our energies in other important areas of our operations because we know that IDS has all our document and compliance needs taken care of.” The level of staff training and problem solving that IDS provides enables it to improve the speed, efficiency and accuracy of the documents for all types of mortgage industry companies, making it easier for lenders to bring quality, fully compliant docs to the closing table. “One of the biggest stressors for lenders today is making sure they prepare zero-default initial disclosures and closing documents. At IDS, our first responsibility is to relieve our clients of that worry by ensuring our system includes the most up-to-date regulatory changes and state high cost audits. By doing this, we can make the lending process easier and more efficient for our clients, thereby creating better turn-around time for both lenders and borrowers,” said IDS Executive Vice President Mark Mackey.

SUSAN MCFARLAND

Mortgagebot and Business Solutions Announce Extension of Tech Alliance

United Bank Selects Default Resource for REO Property Management

DAN RIZZOTTI

DocuTech’s ConformX also transforms any Internet connection into a closing office, enabling lenders to generate and print compliant loan documents from within the loan origination software. “Using Xerox Mortgage Services’ DataGlyph technology, our customers can continue to provide loan documents that are guaranteed to meet required regulations and streamline the document management process,” said Scott K. Stucky, chief operating officer at DocuTech. “DocuTech is dedicated to ensuring its customers are provided with the necessary tools to enhance the lending process, cut costs and improve accuracy.”

The Top 6 Reasons Producers Leave Their Company

Unappreciated.

They feel unappreciated because their company isn’t listening to their needs, ideas, and suggestions.

Frustrated. They’re not as productive as they could be because they can’t get any support when they need it.

Lack of Tools/Products. Their company doesn’t provide them with what they need to reach their fullest potential, which ultimately costs them deals.

Unrealistic Underwriting. Their company killed half of their deals (that other lenders closed).

Payroll Headaches. They have to jump through fiery hoops to get paid.

Lack of Individuality/Flexibility.

Their company doesn’t allow them any flexibility in choosing their specific comp plan.

Just A Few Of The Reasons Producers Stay With HomeTown Lenders:

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“I am very happy about being with Hometown Lenders. I have a team, and I feel like a part of the family. That means an awful lot to me." - Anne (MS) “The corporate office is very responsive and dedicated to assisting their loan officers and providing us with the tools we need in order to succeed” - Chris (FL) “I was told I would be paid on Fridays and each Friday I can walk in and see my money is already there” - Stephanie (AL) “I sincerely believe that the Hometown branch opportunity is by far one of the best available today. Down-to-earth underwriting plus the ability to customize our branch's comp plan is HUGE” - Alvaro (GA)

“Centered On Your Needs. Focused On Your Success!” Hometown Lenders is a Full Eagle Lender and we are currently looking for high-quality Originators, Branch Managers, and Regional Managers in TX, GA, AL, TN, FL, MS, and SC. Click, call or email today! Visit our site at HYPERLINK "http://www.hometownbranch.com"www.hometownbranch.com for more testimonials, call us at (888) 606-8066, or email us for more information at HYPERLINK "mailto:moreinfo@htlenders.com"moreinfo@htlenders.com.

New Penn Financial Releases Non-Agency Programs for Brokers and Correspondent Lenders New Penn Financial LLC, a nationwide lender and wholly-owned subsidiary of Shellpoint Partners LLC, has introduced a portfolio of new mortgage programs designed to fill the gap where agency and government programs end. New Penn’s Core Product Series is designed for borrowers with strong credit, significant reserves and disposable income, but who still fall outside Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) guidelines. The Core products are available up to 85 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) without mortgage insurance and loan amounts up to $2 million at lower LTVs. Shellpoint Partners LLC is a joint venture between management and Ranieri Partners, a leading private investment firm focused on financial services opportunities led by real estate industry and Wall Street veteran Lewis S. Ranieri, considered the “Father of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS).” New Penn’s Plus Product Series targets the needs of four niche markets: Investors, foreign nationals, those with credit blemishes and those who will rehab a home they intend to live in. “Our capital strength and ability to develop proprietary products will greatly expand the options for borrowers in all of our business channels,” said New Penn President and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Schiano. New Penn’s wholesale platform targets banks and credit unions, providing them access to niche mortgage programs not typically held on their balance sheets. “New Penn is a well-capitalized portfolio lender uniquely positioned to differentiate itself from the pack. These new products enable us to bring innovative non-agency programs to our bank, credit union and broker partners,” said Bob Wexler, VP of New Penn‘s Financial Services Division. “There is a large segment of credit-worthy borrowers who cannot qualify for financing due to overly restrictive Agency and Government guidelines. We’re a portfolio lender focused on developing products that reach this underserved population.”

XINNIX Launches ACCELERATOR Online LO Education Tool XINNIX, a provider of sales and leadership training programs for mortgage professionals, has announced the availability of ACCELERATOR Online, a Webbased course focused on helping loan officers devoted to business development create sustainable momentum and immediate results. “In today’s market, it is essential for each individual loan officer to maximize every opportunity,” said Casey Cunningham, president of XINNIX. “Our ACCELERATOR course was designed with that end in mind—to position loan officers for increased production and market share.” XINNIX’ ACCELERATOR course includes classes on: Personal Branding; Database Mining; The Science of Retention; Generating Leads; Targeting the Workplace; and LinkedIn for Loan Officers. “With current market conditions, loan officers have a fantastic opportunity to capture market share,” said Cunningham. “ACCELERATOR provides strategies to grow a loan officer’s business with tactics to generate leads through a multitude of channels.”

Kinecta Offering HomePath Mortgages With New Incentives Kinecta Federal Credit Union has announced that it is now providing its brokers and business partners with HomePath mortgages from Fannie Mae that include additional incentives. HomePath is a Fannie Mae product that offers special financing terms for the purchase of select Fannie Mae-owned properties across the nation. Only a few lenders in the U.S. are approved by Fannie Mae to provide HomePath mortgages. As attractive as the HomePath Mortgage terms are, Fannie Mae is also offering additional incentives. A 3.5 percent closing cost incentive and $1,200 bonus to the selling agent is currently being offered. These incentives will be valid from June 14, 2011 through Oct. 31, 2011. “Kinecta is constantly looking for ways to offer more affordable financing options to potential homeowners,” said Brian Robinett, senior vice president continued on page 26

Icon Residential Lenders, a wholly owned subsidiary of Grand Bank N.A., is one of the nationâ€™s leading Conforming, Jumbo, FHA and VA wholesale lenders. Our strength, success, and longevity are derived from delivering customer service that exceeds our valued business partnersâ€™ expectations. With deep industry knowledge, financial stability and innovative technology, we provide the solutions for our business partners to fund loans while avoiding risk. I DTI Subject to DU Findings

I 90 Day Seller Seasoning Not Required

I Free DU

I FHA and FHA High Balance Loans Down to 620 Fico

I Direct Access to Underwriting

I Limited Trade Line Requirements- Subject to DU Approval

I Bank Funding

I Maximum 10 Financed Properties Allowed

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I LPMI Available to 95%

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For additional information regarding Conforming, Jumbo, FHA and VA Lending, Call us at 1-888-247-4207 or visit us online at www.iconwholesale.com

new to market Get Your Game On! Now! By Stewart Hunter and Jim McMahan

AUGUST 2011

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Professional athletes know that there is only one time in their careers when they really have a chance to be great. Like professional athletes, I believe we also have a defined window of opportunity to make the most of our careers, to have the most impact on our clients and our own financial futures. None of us has a crystal ball and so we do not know how long this opportunity will last, but there is surely a window. These were the thoughts that were going through my mind as I watched the National Football League (NFL) shuffle and bid on free agents. These professional players have paid a huge price to get to a place in their careers where they can win huge contracts. This is their window of opportunity, the time when they try to get the best deal they can. They know this window is short and that they must get all they can while they can. For us, it’s the same. Too often, we let that moment pass and that’s a mistake in our business. Perhaps it is because we think there will always be tomorrow or that no one will notice if we don’t give it our best. I think it’s because many of us are working a job instead of embracing a career. Many athletes start out in a similar way. They’re playing a game, but not building a career. And then, one day they realize that they have the ability to go pro if they are willing to pay the price. That’s when the hard work really begins. It can take years from that day before they get to the pros, but every day of that journey they know exactly what they’re working toward. I was visiting with Marty Preston, one of our branch partners from Lexington, Ky. the other day and he put it just right. He said, “Until someone looks at themselves and sees not just a loan officer, but a mortgage professional building a career, they’ll never really succeed.” He was exactly right. Only when we realize that we are building a career for ourselves, will we be willing to make the sacrifices and do what must be done to take advantage of this window of opportunity. And make no mistake, it is only a window and it will pass if we do not take advantage of it. Winning means having a mental edge over the competition. In fact, it’s all mental. You can take that from another man who knows. It was Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints and the NFL’s 2004 Comeback Player of the Year, who wrote in his book about the day he realized that there were a lot of great quarterbacks in the NFL and a lot of great players and they all wanted to win, but his team won because they wanted to win more. Brees beat the odds and came back to lead his team to victory in the Super Bowl, but most athletes only get one shot at being great. Do we really go all in when it comes to our windows of opportunity? Have we decided that we’re willing to pay the price at a very intense level do really blow it out during or are we just getting by in the knowledge that we can get serious later? What does it take to get serious about your career and get your game on now? First, you have to know your goal, really know it right down to how it smells. Professional athletes have fully visualized that home run hit or that game-winning touchdown. They know what it will feel like to succeed. It’s the same for us. At Benchmark, we know exactly what victory is in our business and my goal is nothing less than total victory. It means happy repeat customers getting great service every single day. It means referral partners that seek us out even before we call on them because they’ve already heard how great we treat our customers. In our business, it’s not all about growth. Biggest doesn’t necessarily mean the best to me. For me, it’s about executing at a very high level for our branch managers every single day, being accessible with a servant’s heart and being extremely competent. For others, it may be about growing a business. Whether you want to be the best loan officer, branch manager or biggest company, your desire to win is your most important asset. You have to know exactly what you want to achieve before you can reach that goal. The real professionals in any business know what they don’t already know and they seek out the very best people to fill those gaps. Like professional athletes who hire strength trainers, sports therapists and nutritionists to keep them healthy, and sports agents to represent them, we can’t do it all. Like them, we must hire a great team so that we can be our best. Stewart Hunter is core values officer and Jim McMahan is president of Dallas-based Benchmark Mortgage. You can find them both online at www.iambenchmark.info. SPONSORED EDITORIAL

continued from page 24

and chief credit officer with Kinecta. “With HomePath, our business partners can offer borrowers special financing terms on single-family homes, condominiums and town houses in a variety of neighborhoods. It’s a great option for virtually anyone looking for a home, from first-time homebuyers to experienced investors.”

New Communications Tool From Mortech Streamlines LO Operations Mortech has announced the release of the new Marksman Communication Package, designed to help loan officers shorten response times to leads and streamline overall communication with borrowers. The Marksman Communication Package offers a new line of features to mortgage originators, increasing live phone interaction with customers, without the need to add additional, expensive technology or equipment. The Communication Package is an affordable telephony API accessed directly from Marksman, the mortgage industry’s most preferred front-end loan management solution. An Internet connection and a phone line are the only requirements necessary to transform Marksman into phone system capable of managing any mortgage lead. “Getting to leads first is an integral part of being competitive, especially with online lenders,” said president of Mortech, Don Kracl. “The faster originators can get to a lead the higher the chances are they’ll be able to convert the prospect. We developed this package to equip our customers with customized, practical technologies designed to capitalize on their leads.” The Marksman Communication Package is directly integrated in Marksman to manage a mortgage company’s entire lead pipeline. Marksman’s Click-to-Dial feature allows loan officers to place a call with a simple click of a mouse while logged in their Marksman account. Calls are instantly placed on a specific phone application such as an office phone line or even a mobile device. Management can also setup call routing, lead assignment and transfer rules so leads are distributed by such parameters as branch, campaign, state or loan officer. As soon as a new lead enters Marksman, individual loan officers are notified and able to call the lead via a dynamic pop-up window within Marksman. All lead details are included and seamlessly transferred into the user’s Marksman account upon lead capture. Call monitoring is available to help supervisors track company production and performance.

Ocwen Launches New Loan Mod Product to Assist Underwater Mortgage Holders Ocwen Financial Corporation has launched a new loan modification program designed to help distressed homeowners who owe more than their houses are worth and, at the same time, mitigate the likelihood of “rewarding” borrower delinquency. Ocwen’s Shared Appreciation Modification (SAM) program reduces delinquent customers’ principal owed, but also compels them to share some of the appreciation with the mortgage’s owner, not the servicer, if the house increases in value by the time they sell or refinance it. Ocwen launched the SAM program on a pilot basis last year. “Like all modifications, SAMs help homeowners avoid foreclosure. But they also restore equity. That’s a significant benefit to the customer and, we believe, the economy and housing market,” said Ocwen CEO Ronald Faris. “Psychologically, it’s important too. Our analytics tell us that an underwater mortgage is one-and-a-half to two-times more likely to default than one with at least some positive equity.” With a SAM, the principal of the loan is written down to 95 percent of the current market value of the home. The writtendown portion is forgiven in one-third increments over the next three years, so long as the homeowner stays current on the modified mortgage. When the house is later sold or refinanced, the borrower must share 25 percent of the appreciation with the investors that own the loan as the borrowers keep 75 percent of the gain. “The results of our initial pilot were extremely positive—79 percent borrower acceptance rate with only 2.63 percent redefaults,” said Faris. “We think this program can make a real impact on curing the negative equity problem and are working hard to obtain approvals for SAMs in all jurisdictions.” Ocwen currently has a $74 billion residential servicing portfolio and is expanding as financial institutions exit the servicing market. Last year, Ocwen acquired the HomEq servicing business from Barclays Bank and earlier this year Ocwen announced it reached agreement to acquire Litton Loan Servicing from Goldman Sachs for approximately $264 million.

Ellie Mae Announces Encompass360 Upgrades Ellie Mae has announced the first of two annual releases that are scheduled for Encompass360. This release includes compliance upgrades, increased eFolder capabilities, new tools to help maximize trade continued on page 28

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new to market USA Cares Mortgage Hero Richard Booth, CMB America’s First Funding Group, Neptune N.J. “Thank you for choosing me for this honor. I am humbled, but a bit uneasy with the term hero. I am just a mortgage banker trying to do the right thing for my clients, protect those who serve and keep a roof over my family. It is the least that I can do for those serving our wonderful nation.” —Richard Booth, CMB, America’s First Funding Group, Neptune N.J.

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A typically modest “mortgage hero,” Richard Booth is reluctant to talk about holding the highest professional designation in the real estate finance industry— Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) -- or that he was invited to join their Future Leaders Class program for 2008. Rich serves on the faculty of Campus MBA, the educational arm of the National Mortgage Bankers Association, and has 13 years of experience as a mortgage company owner and licensed mortgage originator. What he’s eager to talk about is being a Certified Military Housing Specialist and helping military clients improve their lives or achieve their dreams. “As an independent mortgage lender, I have a deep admiration and respect for those who are protecting my family,” said Booth. “Unfortunately, I am well past the expiration date of being able to put on a uniform and raise my right hand. So, I have decided to join the fight to assist and protect our service members. I enlisted with USA Cares, a national non-profit organization that provides financial and advocacy assistance to active duty military service personnel, veterans and their families. I offer my residential mortgage lending experience to any service member who needs help in navigating the maze of lending rules, and I call on all of my colleagues in the residential lending community to help educate our service members about their mortgage rights.” As a lender, sometimes the best assistance he offers is advising a client where to find help. “I never look at a transaction in terms of what is in it for me,” said Richard. “As part of a community, I have an obligation to help others out. Time and again, doing what is right always pays off. I once wrote a purchase mortgage for a returning Gulf War veteran who confided in me at closing that he didn’t have enough funds to close the transaction. I advised the closing attorney to use the money the bank was paying me to cover the shortfall. Can you imagine a large bank doing this? I was repaid by my client. Today, the Dodd-Frank bill would make this act of kindness illegal.” Recently, Richard had the opportunity to help a World War II veteran and his wife apply for a much-needed reverse mortgage. After learning their development was not approved by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), he petitioned the Homeowners Board to seek FHA approval. When they refused, he took it a step further and found a different lender that did not require FHA approval. He did this even though he would not make a dime. “It was the proper thing to do,” he explained. “Credit for my success is due in part to my parents who instilled in me from an early age that the world does not owe you a living and for encouraging my entrepreneurial spirit. My sense of duty comes from having been taught in the USMC JROTC by Lieutenant Colonel Jacque Saul, Warrant Officer Frank Toomey and Gunnery Sergeant Jeremiah Purdie. Despite the passage of time, their lessons and boot in my rear are remembered.”

Be a Mortgage Hero! This recognition is free to Certified Mortgage Housing Specialists. Take the FREE Military Housing Specialist Course offered online by USA Cares and tell us how you are “Helping those who defend our homes, preserve their own.” Please contact MHE Program Manager Beverly Frase at Beverly.Frase@usacares.org to join our national team and be our next Mortgage Hero. We want to recognize you! SPONSORED EDITORIAL

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management, multiple persona pipeline views, new zip code database configurations and other tools designed to help users better fulfill their daily operations. The new and enhanced features were based largely on Encompass360 users’ feedback. Among the release’s many enhancements are functions that allow users to: Track eFolder events using the history tab, which marks a screen displaying all events associated with selected documents, files, or conditions. Create custom eFolder and pipeline views. Synchronize sell-side lock and trade data. Apply compound filters that reflect price adjustments for loan trades, as required by investors. Several features of the new release focus on compliance. To help users comply with the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA) interim rule for closed-end loans, an updated interest rate and payment summary table has been added for adjustable-rate interest-only loans. To help promote compliance with Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) guidelines, the new release allows users to manage the revised GFE due date, conduct new calculations for the loan term section of the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1, and indicate services obtained in prior transactions. The statement of denial has been updated to comply with Dodd-Frank Act regulations. “With the industry’s new guidelines and regulations, originators need to change the way they fulfill tasks across the mortgage cycle and they’re understandably concerned about staying compliant,” said Jonathan Corr, chief strategy officer for Ellie Mae. “These upgrades are based on feedback from our clients and address a wide range of their concerns and requests. This release includes adjustments designed to help address our clients’ concerns about compliance, increase efficiency and enhance the process overall.” Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Mortgage Call Report functions have also been updated. An error report is now available after generating NMLS mortgage call report data; users can designate the date field to be used as the loan’s application date; and user access to the “Generate NMLS Call Report” feature can be granted according to user profile, which is known as a “persona” in Encompass360. State-specific forms for the District of Columbia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New York and Texas now include new and updated fields, added field ID assignment and changes to read-only status of the broker fee field. The release includes numerous eFolder enhancements designed to increase administrator control, expand customization capabilities and elevate overall efficiency. Users are able to create custom views of eFolder data, which allow for a fast snapshot view of eFolder content that

matches a predefined set of search criteria. Applying a custom view also enables users to not only create specific columns, but also categorize them according to function in the eFolder. New configurations can be saved as custom views, and applied to eFolder data. The review management function in the eFolder has also been enhanced, enabling underwriters to verify that an originator has reviewed a document before it is used to generate or satisfy conditions. In addition, administrators are now able to control whether the eSigning option will be provided based on loan type, and audit services have been added to the eFolder as settlement services. Users can also split files using the eFolder’s file manager and immediately drag the split page or pages to a document or unassigned file listed in the newly added documents section. The new Encompass360 settings include a new zip code setup tool that allows administrators to add custom zip code and city combinations. New persona settings allow administrators to control access to the compliance review setup wizard as well as the investor assigned to a loan. The system now accommodates expiration dates for loan officer licenses and NMLS originator IDs, and control of the anti-steering safe harbor disclosure has been added to the persona settings. An administrative tools update enables system administrators to control whether loan officers are allowed to import loans when they are not licensed in the subject property’s state.

New App From Visionary Apps Incorporates Comprehensive Foreclosure and REO Info Visionary Apps LLC has announced that its Complete Foreclosures application for the iPhone and iPad is now exclusively powered by RealtyTrac data, an online marketplace of foreclosure properties. The RealtyTrac Single Property Details Purchase feature will allow Complete Foreclosures to offer full details on all listings, whereas before some of the property listings only had partial details. The data from RealtyTrac will instantly bring the free Complete Foreclosure app the best data available for over 1.5 million new default, auction, real estate-owned (REO) and pre-foreclosure listings from more than 2,200 United States counties, as well as many new features. When launched in February 2010, the Complete Foreclosures app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch was the first national foreclosures app and instantly rated as one of the top 10 business apps on iTunes and has been featured in the Wall Street

Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes and on Bloomberg News. Complete Foreclosures understands the way homebuyers and investors search for properties, and so they developed a quick and easy way for consumers to access millions of foreclosed properties locally and nationwide. Easy customizable options allow users to filter-out any properties that do not meet their needs. Custom sort options include price, square footage and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. “Overall, the RealtyTrac data and new features will help dramatically increase the user experience,” said Daniel Burrus, chief executive officer and founder of Visionary Apps LLC. “We’ve made it incredibly easy for users to find foreclosed properties that meet their needs. They simply tap their screen for detailed listing data or to be connected directly to a local real estate professional associated with the property who can answer their questions about the home or foreclosure buying process.”

notifications and service orders as predefined by the client. DRI created this technology category over a quarter century ago, and we have never ceased to innovate.”

REO Allegiance Launches New Smartphone Apps REO Allegiance has introduced new custom smartphone applications for the use of property preservation contractors it works with to serve its national client base. The apps are available for Android phones, the iPhone and the iPad. Their Blackberry application will be released in the near future. “Staying in touch with our crews in the

field is core to our ability to deliver on our brand promise,” said Lisa Sadaoui, president and chief executive officer of REO Allegiance. “The mortgage loan servicers, asset managers and investors that we serve demand up-to-the-minute information and technology is the only way to deliver that. By using our smart phone applications, field service providers receive orders instantaneously in the field, respond to them, navigate quickly to the property and submit information back to us directly from the property. The end result is the delivery of superior on time performance for our clients.” Field services contractors can now use the new apps to view work orders, check company communications, submit updates and bids, take and upload photos

and complete and submit documents directly to REO Allegiance through their smartphones or iPad. The apps also provide the contractors with navigation and route planning functionalities, which enable contractors to enter various property addresses and plan their day accordingly. The apps are available for free and the company provides a Start-up Guide through its Web site. “We’ve always believed that staying current with emerging technologies is the best way to serve our customers,” Sadaoui said. “Smartphone applications allow us to work most efficiently with our contractor network which results in shortened service completion timelines. Smartphone use continued on page 30

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DRI Management Systems Inc. has released an easyto-use and cost-saving tool that automates the process of resolving real estate-owned (REO) assets. DRI Broker facilitates real estate agents’ direct, electronic communications with REO departments, enabling asset managers to accelerate resolutions and lower servicing costs in every phase of the REO process. Additionally, the software is designed to work on servicers’ internal systems, supporting standard industry formats and protocols, or as part of the award-winning DRI Office platform. “Automating as many of the otherwise-manual processes as possible completely raises the bar on productivity levels,” said DRI Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Melgaard. “Asset managers connect quickly and easily with brokers, and because DRI Broker is accessed online, it goes wherever the broker can connect to the Internet.” The DRI Broker bi-directional link provides secure, instant communication from the system to real estate brokers, including the transmission of asset data and all appropriate attachments. The ability to issue and send tasks to broker work queues and track their progress from start to finish brings unequaled control to the process. DRI Broker’s interface features multiple core functions and tools, including offer and counter offer management. The premarketing functions help track occupancy and evictions, valuation requests, relocation assistance and other agreements. Property preservation steps are managed, along with rental income and expenses, as well as all phases of the listing and marketing process. “DRI Broker is a tremendous tool when used with existing systems,” Melgaard said. “It’s even better when used with the full capabilities of the DRI Office platform. Everything works together, sharing information and triggering workflows,

new to market

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will continue to increase, so it makes sense for us to invest in the development of apps that make it easier for our contractors to succeed for our clients.” The new apps provide improved collaboration and productivity as it allows contractors to upload required photos, documents and information directly from their phones, without having to wait for computer access or a Wi-Fi hotspot. The firm is now working on additional features for the apps, such as invoicing capabilities.

New Acris Technology Product Aims to Take Mortgage Office to the Clouds

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Acris Technology, formerly Acris Solutions, has unveiled Mortgage VCO, an end-to-end, cloud-based “virtual corporate office” suite of software applications, IT and consulting services that enable any mortgage lender to run a compliant, scalable, paperless mortgage business without the expense and complexity of on-site servers, software, maintenance and upgrades. Developed and refined over a period of 12 years, Mortgage VCO had been in use privately for years by Laguna Hills, Calif.-based Millenia Mortgage to process more than $10 billion in funded loans and is now available to mortgage bankers, regional and community banks, credit unions, and other mortgage lenders. Mortgage VCO’s suite of solutions includes cloud-delivered virtual desktops, sophisticated loan origination and processing software, paperless document storage, digital signature technology, IP telephony, and mortgage-specific consulting and IT services. As a virtual, cloudbased office solution, Mortgage VCO drastically reduces lenders’ IT costs so they can focus on what matters: closing more loans in less time. It also removes all geographical boundaries from a lender’s hiring criteria and integrates all communications among all parties —including e-mails and phone calls—into the mortgage production process, enabling ultimate transparency and accountability within a lender’s operations. “The enormity of the changes sweeping through the mortgage industry is having a fundamental effect on how lenders do business,” said Richard Johnston, president of Acris Technology. “If there was ever a time to reinvent the mortgage office, this is it. For the first time, lenders can have one office solution that does everything they need it to do and more—including a completely integrated communications platform that provides total control over leads and call campaigns, and the ability to run an entirely paperless operation. Simply put, Mortgage VCO makes lenders’ lives easier and more productive.” The Mortgage VCO suite begins with the VCO Desk platform, which delivers a

Windows desktop environment to any computer, laptop, thin client, iPad or tablet PC with a high-speed Internet connection. VCO Desk also includes the Microsoft Office suite and MS Exchange Server. Any thirdparty or proprietary software can also be hosted and delivered through VCO Desk’s secure Citrix environment. “It’s important to understand that while Mortgage VCO is new to the market commercially, it is a tried and proven platform that benefited from full-time developers and mortgage banking professionals, working side-by-side for many years—with innovation and process improvement as two of our primary core values,” said Martin Williams, chief executive officer of Acris Technology. “We believe it’s the ultimate complete office solution for mortgage lenders that want to minimize overhead costs and IT complexity, increase efficiency and improve business processes.”

New Commerce Velocity Enhancements Streamline the Foreclosure Process Commerce Velocity, a member of the Fidelity National Financial Inc. (FNF) family of companies and a provider of default technology, has enhanced their Optimizer solution to help support new governance requirements for default and foreclosure processes. The new enhancements are designed to arm servicers with technology to address consistent policy enforcement, implement timely processes with comprehensive audit trails and transparency, and enable clear inter-departmental communication between loss mitigation and foreclosure divisions so that their processes are not running in parallel. “The sheer scale of loans in default or foreclosure, each requiring and deserving detailed attention, has been a major challenge for servicers to manage,” said Umesh Verma, president of Commerce Velocity. “Adding to the existing complexity the consent orders require a default management process that ensures consistent policy enforcement which is tough to achieve, or afford, simply by throwing more human capital at the problem. The solution will include existing resources armed with flexible default workflow technology that requires little training. It is the only way to manage the dynamic changes in regulation and strive to meet the consent order deadlines.” The Optimizer enhancements enable servicers to systematically implement regulatory policies across their operation, monitor the timeliness and completion of default or foreclosure processes, and devote time to counseling delinquent borrowers. “Our audit trail provides confidence to our servicers that stages are completed or gaps can be recognized and addressed expediently” said Verma. “Providing servicers with the ability to document and

timestamp system activities by the parties integrated, including the borrower, not only meets a consent order requirement, it is smart regulatory risk management.”

PMI Group Offers Cash Incentive for Timely Mortgage Payments The PMI Group Inc. has announced that Homeowner Reward Company, a PMI subsidiary, is launching an innovative new pilot program intended to support sustainable homeownership in certain hard-hit real estate markets. Homeowner Reward Company is working with Loan Value Group LLC to offer the RH Reward to a group of homeowners whose mortgages are insured by PMI Mortgage Insurance Company. The RH Reward program addresses a serious problem for many homeowners who find that factors outside of their control—particularly, lower home prices in their cities and neighborhoods—have left them owing more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth. RH Reward seeks to address this problem through an incentive-based program that offers eligible homeowners a cash reward for staying current on their mortgages. There is no charge to borrowers to participate in the program. “We are very pleased to have Homeowner Reward Company offer this pilot rewards program as we continue to seek creative and effective loss mitigation strategies,” said Chris Hovey, PMI-MIC’s senior vice president of servicing operations and loss management. “PMI is committed to supporting sustainable homeownership in all the communities it serves. The interests of PMI are uniquely aligned with those of homeowners. PMI is especially supportive of homeownership retention efforts in states that are facing unprecedented housing challenges.”

LPS Applied Analytics Introduces LPS Home Price Index Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS), a provider of mortgage and real estate technology, data and analytics, has announced that its LPS Applied Analytics division has introduced the LPS Home Price Index (HPI). The LPS HPI shows historical price trends for residential properties in the United States, offering cost-effective estimates of property values that underlie residential mortgage portfolios and securities. Leveraging LPS’ unique data sources and innovative algorithms, the LPS HPI offers broad coverage with high geographic resolution. It comprises more than 13,000 ZIP codes nationwide, including many in non-disclosure states. Within each ZIP code, the LPS HPI provides five price tiers to show price range and patterns of change for entry-level homes, high-end homes and homes in the middle market. REO dis-

counts down to the ZIP code level are also provided and used to correct for distortions that otherwise occur when real estate-owned (REO) sales are included in HPI calculations. Together, these features make the LPS HPI a reliable tool for estimating borrower stress, negative equity and potential for default and loss—essential factors for today’s decision makers. Two LPS data repositories, SiteX Real Estate and McDash Loan Data, provide the foundation for the HPI. Together they provide data for approximately 75 percent of U.S. properties nationwide; 98 percent of these properties are indexed at the ZIP code level. LPS owns and maintains these repositories, which facilitates efficient processing, and allows the LPS HPI to show market trends up to two months before other available indices. “With multiple economic issues pressuring local home prices, it’s more important than ever that mortgage industry professionals have an accurate understanding of the property values collateralizing loans in their portfolios,” said Dan Berman, president of LPS Applied Analytics. “It’s not feasible to order updated appraisals or even Automated Valuation Model (AVM) reports for every property represented in a portfolio, but the LPS Home Price Index is a costeffective means of estimating current property value, risk of loss and borrower stress.” In addition to its accuracy and coverage, the LPS HPI also offers mortgage professionals and investors a stable view of home price trends. Using proprietary methods and refinements for smaller geographies, LPS ensures that its results portray a true characterization of the market. For included geographies there are no gaps in historical data, and monthly updates result in minimal restatement. The LPS HPI is a powerful foundation for portfolio management models.

eMASON’s Clarifire Community Portal Now Provides SPOC eMASON Inc., a provider of business process automation software, has announced that its Clarifire application enables mortgage servicers to communicate directly with borrowers with its new feature, the Clarifire Community Portal, while providing one “Single Point of Contact“ or “SPOC,” as required by the Obama Administration, federal regulators and Congress. The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released a supplemental directive to the Making Homes Affordable (MHA) program that requires mortgage servicers to provide delinquent borrowers with a single point of contact (SPOC) throughout the entire default resolution process. The new policy guidance requires servicers to provide delinquent borrowers with a relationship manager by Sept. 1, 2011. eMASON has implemented Clarifire’s Community Portal to provide GSE and servicers with the technology necessary to meet the Sept. 1 implementation deadline. The software enables them to timely deliver modifications, reduces cycle continued on page 41

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The “New Era” Correspondent Lender Improving quality and fluidity for optimized execution and volume By Dino Lack n the midst of depressed demand for home financing, lenders continue to seek new opportunities for growth— especially when faced with a rising interest rate environment and weak housing market. Fortunately, there is a bright spot on the horizon. Forward-reaching lenders, particularly those at the top tiers, are showing renewed interest in the correspondent lender channel. While the production costs of originating a correspondent loan tend to be higher, the additional volume could provide a boost to the bottom line—as long as the loans from this channel are clean. If mortgage bankers are able to mitigate the greatest lender and investor concerns surrounding this channel—notably the quality of the

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loans produced—the next five years could result in a renaissance of the correspondent channel. Underlying this renewed interest in the correspondent channel is the desire of lenders to build more flexibility and variety back into loan originations. In an era of “vanilla” loans, lenders and investors are looking beyond what any single source can offer to uncover more refined solutions. While the opportunity exists, the actual undertaking carries its share of complexities.

Making it work Traditionally, correspondent lenders have been known for having a greater tolerance for risk. However, in an era of investor activism and increased regulatory concerns,

this risk must now be more carefully monitored than ever. Which is why today’s correspondent lenders are taking a more proactive “trust but verify” stance. So here’s the real question: How can correspondent lenders successfully increase loan quality, streamline productivity and increase loan velocity while keeping costs in check? There are three primary approaches they can take to enhance pull-through, lower defect rates and mitigate repurchase risk:

ic, and the transfer of information is manual. True automation requires the digitization of data from point of application through to funded loan. In today’s environment of increased regulation and investor scrutiny, it is more important than ever that loan-level data remain easily accessible indefinitely. Yes, technology upgrades “If mortgage may seem a bit luxurious in bankers are able to uncertain times. Yet downmitigate the greatest ward curves in volume can lender and investor also open the doors to new concerns surroundopportunities, making now ing this channel— the perfect time to build notably the quality of Automation organizational strength the loans produced— Compliance integration and competitive advanthe next five years Expanded delivery tage with minimal disrupcould result in a renoptions tion to daily operations. In aissance of the correparticular, the right changes spondent channel. Automation can ensure increased comIn the first approach, autopetitiveness in a time when mated data extraction via enhanced or new lenders are chasing fewer borrowers. technologies eliminates the dreaded “stare The large retail lenders have embraced and compare” problem. Thousands of this concept, and many are busy impleresource hours are spent manually com- menting total process automation. Now paring scanned data, such as a 1003 valida- is the time for the correspondent chantion, against true data. Automation tech- nel to catch up. nology enables the system to self-check its data, and creates a new paradigm in which Compliance integration static documents are converted to fully Like production automation, this next electronic and dynamic “smart” documents concept involves integrating compliant embedded with business rules and logic. processes into the workflow via elecThe benefits of this switch include not tronic data validation. The labor-intenonly reduced resource hours, but also sive process of manually managing lower error rates. With the human ele- communications with third-party service ment taken out of the information trans- providers—which includes inputting data fer, discrepancies in reported versus input back into the loan production system, data can be caught early. Productivity and having an actual person evaluate and gains from full-cycle automation are make decisions—is another significant clear: More work gets done with fewer or area for process improvement. the same amount of resources by streamStreamlining the data validation lining the process. The organization process with rules-based technology becomes more efficient by focusing enables rapid integration of third-party employees on more complex, value- data and analytics, and allows instant added tasks with fewer distractions. decisioning to take place on standard However, for true automated data compliance actions such as verification of extraction to be achieved, correspon- income (VOI) and verification of employdent lenders need to use a holistic tech- ment (VOE). Data contradictions, omisnology infrastructure that extends from sions and discrepancies not easily detectlead to funded loan. A fractured tech- ed in a manual process can also be easily nology framework leaves gaps in the captured using automated systems. production process, meaning that sig- Lenders can then focus their resources on nificant human intervention is still nec- exceptions-based processing, which help essary to validate basic loan file infor- increase loan velocity as it moves through mation. For example, a loan application production. that is in an electronic format, such as a In other industries, this model has PDF and is emailed out to various par- been adopted simply to handle the ties still has to be re-entered into a loan sheer volume of incoming data. For origination system (LOS). In practical example, the Internal Revenue Service terms, very similar to moving a paper (IRS) has, for years, been replacing file from desk to desk. The data is still stat- human review of tax filings with auto-

mated systems that primarily compare the wage numbers reported by employers with the self-reported numbers on taxpayers’ returns. It is only when a discrepancy is flagged that an agent reviews the application manually. This exception-handling approach allows the IRS to focus its resources on capturing income as opposed to ordinary processing. While it may seem obvious that a lender would seek this same type of approach, the complexity and length of the data-intensive mortgage transaction makes the implementation of a similar automated system more difficult to architect and achieve. At the same time, the alternative for not implementing automation in today’s market can be dire.

Conclusion In summary, the re-emergence of the correspondent channel is clearly imminent, but the scope of this comeback will be driven by how deeply lenders internalize the need for proactive change. The successful implementation of automation technolo-

gy is an important step toward reaching this performance-optimized state. But equally as important is the evolving role of the “new era” correspondent lender, who moves forward with the big picture in sight, to take advantage of dynamic market conditions.

Dino Lack is director, product management for CoreLogic Dorado, where he develops strategy and architecture for the company’s cloud-based mortgage origination systems. He may be reached by phone at (650) 227-7590 or e-mail partners@dorado.com.

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Moving to an exceptions-based processing model, lender resources are now free to focus on handling loans that would otherwise not close. This entails not only working more closely with the borrower during the handling of an individual loan, but also becoming more fluid in the actual roles that a correspondent lender undertakes. With a less segmented clientele than ever before, correspondent lenders have unprecedented freedom to adjust their response to a particular opportunity. There is a paradigm shift occurring in the industry: Lenders are no longer looking at wholesale and correspondent lenders as discreet silos, but as a single “third-party” channel. This blurring of lender types creates a new opportunity for the lender, as well as more choices for the borrower. Instead of working in retail/wholesale/correspondent silos, the emerging “new era” correspondent lender proactively examines each loan file with an eye towards compensation optimization and volume maximization. In this emerging structure of numerous options for pricing and delivery channels, the empowered correspondent lender is able to slot a loan for best execution—including profit optimization. As an example, the number of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans has decreased in recent years, possibly as a result of new regulation that prevents correspondent lenders from offering FHA loans. But as part of a single thirdparty channel, the “new era” correspondent lender can switch roles to offer the borrower an FHA loan as a wholesale lender by choosing to opt out of its traditional underwriting, closing and funding roles. This organizational fluidity represents a refined and sophisticated response to a fluctuating operating environment.

They’re Alive! The Wholesale and Correspondent Lending Markets By Cathy Blaszyk he wholesale and correspondent lending markets have seen their share of challenges; however, they should not be considered a thing of the past in the mortgage industry. These markets have learned from past mistakes and are coming back slowly but surely with new resolve. Implementing efficient and accurate systems enables lenders to effectively manage the third-party origination risk that once threatened the existence of wholesale lending. Now more than ever, the third-party market can offer viable, cost-effective partnerships for banks at a time in which net profits per loan have dropped dramatically and consumers are turning to other financial institutions for their lending needs. Moving forward, the important lessons learned from the industry’s previous errors will prevent them from recurring. The wholesale channel was once responsible for originating more than 65 percent of all loans. It enabled consumers to work with one loan officer and still have the opportunity to shop multiple lenders for just the right loan product. Today, wholesale lending makes up less than 20 percent of the nation’s originations. The issues that caused the wholesale and correspondent lending markets to

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dry up generated a blame game that has continued to affect the mortgage industry. The bottom line is brokers and correspondents originated the loans offered and approved by banks and mortgage bankers. Consumers began to suffer, as payments started to adjust and property values declined—ultimately ending in default. Consumer groups, federal agencies and even the White House blamed originators for making bad loans. However, in the end, the problem was that the industry had moved incrementally away from sound underwriting policies. Large lenders were no longer willing to take on the risk of having third parties originate loans, and completely shut down their wholesale divisions. Many other banks with wholesale and/or correspondent divisions now focus more attention on their retail units, which they feel they can better control. This translates into access to fewer loan options for consumers and less competitive pricing. The major shift in loan products has left a secondary market that consists mainly of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans.

decreased from what was originally set forth in their The shift from wholesale employment agreement. and correspondent lending This has a dramatic effect, on the part of large lenders as it relates to the rules of has pushed consumers in the Real Estate Settlement other directions. They have Procedures Act (RESPA) started looking to other enacted in January 2010 sources for loans, such as regarding the Good Faith credit unions and commuEstimate (GFE) and tolernity banks, both of which ance violations. In the past, offer attractive rates. In a if a tolerance violation tumultuous and unnerving related to the GFE occurred time in the housing market, “Today, wholesale at closing, the lenders cusmany people find comfort lending makes up less tomarily “billed back” in getting a loan through than 20 percent of the against the originator’s their trusted financial instination’s originations.” compensation to offset any tution where they already have accounts and where they have a per- cures paid out. The new LO compensation rule prohibits this practice, and the sonal banking relationship. Legislative changes have, and will con- responsibility of GFE accuracy rests solely tinue to be, an integral and costly part of on the lender accepting the brokered file. the industry. Responding to these changes The rule’s implementation deadline of is a challenge facing the wholesale and cor- April 1, 2011 left little time for lenders to respondent lending markets. The Dodd– put proper quality control (QC) measures in Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer place, and therefore, many have continProtection Act is a federal statute in the ued to accept broker files in good faith. U.S. that was signed into law by President Unfortunately, the inaccuracies in these Barack Obama on July 21, 2010. The most loans have lead to subsequent tolerance recent provision of this act is the loan violations and revenue losses for the originator (LO) compensation rule, which lender, who became solely responsible for prohibits specific practices designed to cures paid out. Additionally, with the establishcompensate brokers and originators. Created to protect consumers, the rule ment of the Consumer Financial keeps LOs from steering borrowers Protection Bureau (CFPB), consumer protoward the types of loans that actually tection will be a strong theme of the regubenefit the loan officer instead of, and lations moving forward. Many regulations have yet to be solidified, and no one knows often at the expense of, the consumer. Lenders can no longer modify an origi- what the rules will look like when comnator’s compensation to be increased or plete—however, no matter what is coming down the regulatory road, lenders must be equipped with the most efficient methods and technologies to navigate the changes.

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The fact that new regulations will create additional daily operational costs for lenders to stay compliant is a good reason for lenders to take another look at the wholesale and correspondent markets. By building trusted relationships with these originators who provide expertise in specific areas, lenders can run smoother, more precise operations. Ignoring the need to enlist third-party experts will certainly impact a lender’s bottom line and cause costs to trickle down to consumers, which is the opposite intention of modified regulations. Some lenders are beginning to again understand the importance of building and maintaining third-party relationships and are slowly returning to the wholesale and correspondent channel. Institutions realize that these partnerships must be managed differently than in the past to successfully mitigate risk, protect borrow-

possible to properly qualify a borrower. Document management systems also follow the present and growing trend of paperless lending. Many lenders today run paperless operations with e-signing technology and completely online e-mortgages. Working with technology providers and transferring procedures online eliminates the time-consuming, imprecise process of manually reviewing files. The financial industry must commit to making information about lending products streamlined and easy for consumers to understand; therefore, improving the overall customer experience. Implementing the right technology to create efficiencies not only enhances a lenderâ€™s business, but also reduces consumer costs and improves their satisfaction, which in turn, increases referrals. The industry has surely learned from the past and while moving slowly, it continues to rebuild. Despite the growing weight of new and forthcoming legislation, the industry can build healthy, stable wholesale and correspondent markets. With the right perspective and the use of new technology in the market third-party originations are not just viable, but they can facilitate the advancement of the wholesale lending market and create more competitive choices for consumers. Cathy Blaszyk is vice president of lender services for ClosingCorp Inc., an independent real estate data and technology company that develops online data services for mortgage lenders, real estate professionals and consumers. She may be reached by phone at (858) 551-1500 or visit ClosingCorp.com.

By John Walsh

I see a compelling future for wholesale lending, one that plays a vital role and guarantees that borrowers have access to the most competitive rates and an array of responsible program options. In the absence of wholesale, there is no doubt that consumer choice would be significantly reduced, as the mortgage marketplace would be dominated by a handful of large national lenders. The mortgage broker-toconsumer option helps guarantee healthy competition in the marketplace. Additionally, mortgage brokers provide borrowers with access to a mortgage professional who will act as their

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he mortgage industry has dealt with sweeping changes over the past few years significantly impacting the mortgage broker and wholesale lending. As a result, the wholesale origination model has been largely redefined. Although many brokers and lenders have left the business, the wholesale channel now has a welldefined regulatory framework with higherquality and better-skilled mortgage professionals to advise borrowers on their most important financial decision. This is why I believe the mortgage broker will thrive in the coming years.

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Wholesale is Part of the Solution ... and Ready to Grow Again

partner, trusted advisor Together, we must continand advocate throughout ue to improve, practice the lending process. responsible lending, and Mortgage brokers are advocate for this imporknowledgeable about tant channel and solumultiple products from tion for borrowers. various lenders and can help borrowers navigate John Walsh is president of the myriad of options to Total Mortgage Services LLC, find the loan that is best an expanding mortgage suited to their needs. banker. Walsh founded Wholesale lending plays Total Mortgage Services in a critical role in ensuring 1997 with a customer-cenâ€œIn the absence of that the mortgage industry tric approach and a mission wholesale, there is no does not become too of responsible lending. Total doubt that consumer heavily reliant on a select Mortgage Services recently choice would be sigfew large lenders, so that launched TMS Funding, a nificantly reduced, as borrowers will continue to wholesale lending business, the mortgage marhave plenty of mortgage to complement its successful ketplace would be options for any purchase retail lending platform and dominated by a or refinance transaction. offers mortgage brokers and handful of large In the coming years, mortborrowers better service, national lenders.â€? gage brokers and lenders choice, knowledge and effineed to be committed to ethical behav- ciency in the mortgage lending process. He ior, responsible lending, ongoing training may be reached by phone at (203) 876-2200 and the highest levels of customer service. or visit TotalMortgage.com.

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ers and uphold complianceâ€”and technology makes this all possible. Third-party origination risk can be controlled as long as lenders have technology in place to generate efficient, standardized and accurate GFEs that guarantee compliance. Vendors that offer user-friendly, Web-based tools and comprehensive databases can help lenders streamline workflow and access the most precise data available. New systems on the market also offer heightened levels of transparency that are much needed in todayâ€™s market. By presenting exact data, originators avoid the need to overinflate values on GFEs, which was initially done to protect the bank, yet makes institutions less competitive in the market. The financial industry is taking the necessary steps to self-police, improve business practices and ethics and enhance consumer education. There are numerous pieces that go into making a quality loan file, and therefore, originators today must use a variety of technologies, including the assistance of compliance software companies, to achieve business objectives and fulfill legislative demands. While the lending industry is notorious for being slow to change, it must adapt to the technology that is essential to run successful and compliant businesses. Many problems were either created or exacerbated by missing paper trails; therefore, automated document management and storage systems are now vital to retain records. Using technology to ensure all documents are kept in a central location provides proof at any point during the process, and well into the future, that the lender did everything

2011 State of the Wholesale A National Mortgage Professional Magazine Roundtable Discussion In putting together this month’s focus on the wholesale and correspondent channels, National Mortgage Professional Magazine decided to gather a few of the industry’s top wholesale and correspondent players for a roundtable discussion on the state of the industry. Our seven discussion participants share their thoughts on the future of the wholesale and correspondent channels, the current state of the market, the mortgage broker’s view of the market, regulatory restrictions, and what the wholesale and correspondent channels are doing to attract the broker market.

The participants …

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Joe Amoroso, Director of National Sales Real Estate Mortgage Network Inc. (REMN)

Mat Ishbia, President United Wholesale Mortgage

Michael Maida, National Sales Director GSF Mortgage

Matt Moubray, Senior Account Executive Polaris Home Funding Corporation

Shane O’Dell, Director of Wholesale Production Bay Equity LLC

John Walsh, President Total Mortgage Services LLC

Bob Wexler, Vice President New Penn Financial

The discussion … What are your feelings on the current state of the wholesale marketplace? Joe Amoroso: We are bullish on the wholesale marketplace. The traditional bank retail business channel is not set up to meet all the demands of all borrowers. Service levels of wholesale mortgage bankers and their broker counterparts make them a very attractive alternative to banks. Product diversification and competitive pricing are additional factors that will allow the wholesale channel to continue to rebuild. Perhaps not to its former levels, but it will continue to be a significant part of the market.

Mat Ishbia: At United Wholesale Mortgage, we believe that the wholesale market is about to make a huge comeback. With almost all of the uncertainty in regards to legislation behind us, such as the SAFE Act, the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS), and loan originator (LO) compensation, we see a huge number of LOs returning to the broker world. Brokers offer the most options to consumers. LOs have the opportunity to make money and now have no concern of what the future holds for brokers. We think it is a great time to be a broker and are excited to help all brokers succeed nationwide.

John Walsh: We see a tremendous opportunity in the wholesale channel today as many lenders have exited the channel and the remaining lenders do not seem to be providing real value, either from a rate perspective or service levels. However, I believe to be successful, wholesale lenders must focus on creating the best possible operational infrastructure in order to deliver the highest service levels. Our goal at TMS Funding, the wholesale lending arm of Total Mortgage Services, is to optimize the lending value chain through a game-changing operations infrastructure to deliver the perfect mortgage and

the ultimate customer experience. Bob Wexler: Wholesale lending may not be in vogue today, but there are opportunities for a few well-capitalized wholesale lenders who properly manage risk and credit. The regulatory environment is challenging, there is lack of product differentiation and it all must be managed with thin margins. Where will the wholesale marketplace be in three years? Shane O’Dell: We at Bay Equity are bullish about the future of the wholesale market. As product returns, there is no doubt the broker community will

and Correspondent Channels continue to grow and displace the larger institutions that have a difficult time with service. Bob Wexler: Yes, but it will be smaller and will continue to evolve. Wholesale lending is a cost-effective way for many lenders to deliver their programs to the market. I believe there are big opportunities for larger, wellcapitalized, non-depository lenders to find opportunities in wholesale lending. I think the large, multi-state brokers of the early 2000s are an increasingly rare breed. The cost of compliance to run a multi-state operation as a mortgage broker has become prohibitive. I think we’ll see smaller yet more efficient shops in local markets.

What can mortgage brokers use as their competitive advantage when selling against originators who work for a big bank? Shane O’Dell: The banks simply cannot keep up from a service standpoint; we are in a purchase-driven market with a high demand on COE deadlines … brokers are much better positioned to deliver than banks.

Matt Moubray: I believe that all three of these characteristics play a role in our wholesale broker retention. Price is always going to be a factor, but the urgency of closings these days brings technology and service front and center. For example, Polaris allows same day closing docs. That is a huge advantage in a purchase-driven market where all sides of the transaction want to close as soon as possible. How has the new LO compensation rules impacted your relationships with the mortgage broker community? Matt Moubray: While LO compensation was a huge impact on the first quarter of 2011, business has, to a large degree, rebounded and compensation topics have taken a back seat to simply closing loans. Most broker owners have made accommodations to ensure that the livelihood of their originators was spared. There are hurdles that arise from the new rules as it pertains to credit for rate chosen and/or incorrect disclosures, but most of them can be resolved.

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE AUGUST 2011

What makes your company win the business of a mortgage broker … price, service or technology? Joe Amoroso: With the new LO compensation rules leveling the playing field, service is what makes you earn business from brokers. Consistent service levels and a positive broker/borrower experience is what builds long-term relationships. Mat Ishbia: United Wholesale Mortgage has developed our own proprietary technology that enables brokers to submit applications directly into our paperless loan origination system (LOS). Once an application has been submitted, our brokers can log on to our Web portal 24/7 and view the realtime status of their loans in progress. As an example, when an underwriter clears a condition, it automatically populates out of our LOS and into our broker portal, providing brokers with full visibility over the underwriting process. We evaluated commercially available software applications for pricing, prequalification, underwriting and processing, but found that they couldn’t meet the level of automation, service and efficiency that we wanted to offer our brokers. As a result, we spent the time and money to build our own technology, which we feel is superior to what we would have had to buy off the shelf. Technology is

one of our competitive advantages, and it’s in part why we are the number eight Federal Housing Administration (FHA) wholesale lender in the country. It’s just that easy to do business with us. Michael Maida: Balancing price, service and technology is the ultimate goal. Service is paramount, without the confidence that a transaction will meet the target closing date, the relationship suffers. The third quarter of 2011 and forward will be won by the purchase-centric broker. For a lender to sustain the broker relationship, it is paramount that the broker has the ability to tie into technology platforms they may not be able to afford on their own. Most technology platforms today assist in reducing the cost to produce and allowing more operational staffing to vet the file and hit target closing dates. Regional lenders that specialize in specific products, such as Unites States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans which are not as price-driven, allows the regional lender the ability to give back to the broker purchase-driven technology to optimize their workflow.

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Do you feel that the mortgage broker will reap the benefits of a rising purchase market? Michael Maida: With most large banking platforms, the big four or five offer either a below average execution price with a 45-60 day lock period, or provide shorter term, best execution pricing solutions that are much higher then the broker is able to tie into. The broker wins the game by having flexibility to tailor the relationship with regional lenders based on service, technology and pricing solutions that match the customers’ needs. The “Big Boys” are more rigged in policy and procedure which, in a purchase market, is a disadvantage. John Walsh: Mortgage brokers have historically had a very close relationship with real estate agents, as they live and work in the same communities and are therefore one of the closest advisors in the purchase transaction. Mortgage brokers play a very important role in providing borrowers access to the most competitive rates in the marketplace, as well as a wide array of mortgage program options. With these advantages, I believe mortgage brokers are best positioned to be part of the mortgage solution for borrowers looking to purchase a home. Bob Wexler: Real estate is a local business and homebuyers will seek real estate agents and mortgage brokers who can add value to the process. Nobody knows the local market like a

local mortgage broker. When the housing market turns around, the local and well-connected broker will always win.

Whoâ€™s Who in Wholesale? A guide to the Movers and Shakers in Wholesale Company Name 1st Quick Funding

Athas Capital Group Inc.

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Website

Specialty or Niche

State(s) Licensed In

QuickFundLLC.com

Hard Money Lender

Nationwide

AFRWhoelesale.com

FHA, Manufactured Homes, Condos, 203k, USDA

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AMXLoans.com

Purchase Specialists & Manufactured Housing

Licensed in 41 States

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Non Prime-Soft Money

Residential: CA, AZ, NV Commercial: Nationwide (with the exception of MI,VT

www.bofilendingpartners.com

Portfolio Jumbo, Pledged Asset, Asset Depletion

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Collateral Group Inc.

www.collateralgroup.com

Private Portfolio Lender

Euro International Mortgage

www.eimortgage.com

FHA, Reverse, Conventional, Condo and Condotels, Foreign National, Jumbos, Super Jumbo and Commercial Loans

Fifth Third Mortgage

www.53.com/wholesalemortgage

Jumbo, Agency, Minimal Overlays

www.ruralhomeloan.com

Rural Homesteads with acreage

TX, OK, NM

wholesale.flagstar.com

Conventional, FHA and VA, Jumbo and USDA/Broker Programs/Correspondent Programs/ Warehouse Lines Available

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FPF Wholesale

www.fpfwholesale.com

FHA, USDA, VA, Conforming, Jumbo, Portfolio

Hard Money Bankers

www.hardmoneybankers.com

Hard Money

www.iconwholesale.com

Conforming, FHA, VA and Jumbo

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Agency, Portfolio, Jumbo, FHA, HomePath, Commercial, Correspondent

www.nofico.net

Hard Money, HELOCs

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Lakeside Financial Inc.

CA Nationwide (except UT, WV, NE, NV, IA, VT, MT, ND, SD, MI, AK) Nationwide (except: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ME, MT, NH, ND, RI, VT, DC)

Nationwide (except: AK, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, ND, NY, OH) MD, VA, WA, DC Nationwide (except AK)

Nationwide (except AK, HI) California

Whoâ€™s Who in Wholesale? A guide to the Movers and Shakers in Wholesale Company Name

Website

Specialty or Niche

Noble Mortgage & Investments LLC

www.NobleMoney.com

Hard Money

PB Financial Group Corporation

www.pbfinancialgrp.com

California Residential and Commercial Hard Money

www.polarishfc.com

USDA, FHA, VA

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FHA, VA, USDA, TX VET, Jumbo, VA Jumbo

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FHA, VA; Conventional

remnwholesale.com

FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional

www.reunionwholesale.com

Conventional, FHA, VA, HomePath, Jumbo

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FHA No Overlay

Security National Mortgage Company

www.esnmc.com/mortgage

Conventional, FHA, VA, Jumbo, Commercial, Construction, Mini Correspondent

Stearns Lending

www.stearnswholesale.com

FHA, USDA, VA, Conforming, Jumbo, Portfolio

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FHA, Conventional, Jumbo, 203k, Utah Housing, USDA

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Agency, USDA, FHA and Condos

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Conventional, FHA and VA

Premier Nationwide Lending

Reunion Mortgage Inc.

United Wholesale Mortgage

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National (except AK, AR, HI, MA, MN, MS, MT, ND, NE ,RI) AZ, CA, CO, IL, IN, KY, MN, NV, OH, OR, TX, UT, WA AZ, CA, CO, OR, TX, WA UT, TX, AZ, CA, FL, HI, NC, NV, OK, LA, OR, ID, NM Nationwide (except AK, KY, LA, MI, MO, MS, ND, OH) CT, GA, FL, MA, MD, PA, SC, TX, VA and 15 other states UT, NV, CO, ID 23 states nationwide (call for details) Nationwide (except AK, HI, NY)

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Non-conforming jumbos

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http://www.gonewpenn.com

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New Penn Financial

State(s) Licensed In

By David Lykken

The Importance of Communicating Vision and Direction With Clarity as there ever been a time when the need for “clarity” has been more important, especially when it comes trying to figure out where our industry is headed? Welcome back! This is the sixth in a series of articles on leadership. Thank you to the many of you who have written comments on this series of articles, and my apologies to those who looked for my article in last month’s edition. I am embarrassed to say that I missed the deadline because I was thoroughly enjoying our family vacation. Actually, the topic of vacations is a good segue into this month’s article on the topic of “clarity.” One of the primary benefits of a vacation for me, and I suspect for many others, is that vacations provide an opportunity to slow down and reflect on our lives, our careers, our business, and our strategic plans, purpose, direction and focus. For me, a vacation helps me to get “re-centered” and regain clarity on exactly what I am doing and just why I am doing it. Do you recall that Nationwide Insurance TV ad with the message, “Life comes at you fast?” It’s so true! Our hectic lives can cause the clarity of mission and purpose to get lost in the “tyranny of the urgent.” My favorite Nationwide TV ad is the one where the dad is pushing his young son sitting in a tree swing. With each push, the young kid swings out of view on the TV screen only to reappear a half-second later. This happens several times until the very end of that clip when it shows dad getting knocked off his feet when an oversized teenager swings back into view. As the father of two teenage daughters (oops, make that one teenage daughter … the oldest just turned 20), I am painfully aware of how fast life comes at us! Never has there been a time when

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to their objective. having clarity on “Our hectic lives can cause the clarity of It should have what we are doing mission and purpose to get lost in the been obvious after and why we are ‘tyranny of the urgent.’” the first or second doing it been so attempt that this important. With all of the challenges facing our industry, was a hopelessly failed strategy. Sadly, there’s more confusion about the right that commander’s leadership brought strategy for you personally and for about needless death and destruction your business. Leaders must have clar- to many. Beyond the obvious, we can ity of vision! Beginning about “vaca- learn much from this otherwise tragic tions” is an appropriate introduction battle. In the April edition of National to this month’s article … the sixth “C” (characteristic) of good leadership: Mortgage Professional Magazine, I wrote about how important it was that a Clarity! I am sure you have heard this defi- leader leads with conviction. In May, I nition of insanity: “Expecting different wrote about how important it was that results from the same old action(s).” a leader lead with confidence. Then in An example of this kind of insanity June, I focused on the how leaders were was played out in a tragic real life Civil often very charismatic. It is easy to see in the story above War battle. I wish I could recall the name of the battle, but I am sure that that that Civil War commander (leader) one of you reading this article will possessed all three of these characterremember the name of the battle I am istics. In spite of overwhelming eviabout to use as an example. The battle dence to the contrary, this commandbecame famous because of the com- er had an insane amount of conviction mander’s insistence to repeatedly exe- and confidence that his strategy and cute on a failed strategy that cost a tactic would ultimately succeed. And needless number of lives. It was the consider this, he must have been one epitome of bad leadership. The short amazing (albeit insane) charismatic of the story is this: There was a com- leader … otherwise, how else can you mander in charge of a large number of explain such an unwavering allegiance troops who had been given orders to of the many soldiers that blindly exetake a particular enemy stronghold. cuted a battlefield strategy that obviUnfortunately for the opposition, the ously doomed them to certain death. enemy’s stronghold had a real strate- This commander possessed three of gic advantage because of the elevation the seven-Cs of leadership (conviction, they occupied. Any attempt to over- confidence and charisma), but he was throw that stronghold from a ground woefully lacking in another balancing offensive was doomed to fail. To take characteristic, clarity, to the point of that hill, it required a different strate- being certifiably “insane.” Sadly, we gy. Nonetheless, that stubborn and have many such leaders in this coun“misguided” commander/leader sent try, and I’d suggest in this industry, wave after wave of troops into battle who are leading with a failed strategy to conquer the enemy stronghold. for a sustainable and lasting financial Unfortunately, their offensive position recovery. This is the reason I am writwas horrible and each wave that ing this series of articles on leadercharged the stronghold was slaugh- ship—to set forth a standard and lay a tered before they could even get close foundation for a basic understanding

of the key elements that go into great leadership. The focus of this month’s magazine is on wholesale as a business strategy, and so I am going to use this topic, wholesale, to focus on the sixth characteristic of leadership, clarity. When considering the topic of wholesale or any strategic direction for that matter, you have to start with clarity of the “macro” perspective, or as one marketing executive recently put it, you must do your best to recognize the “powerful patterns” of today’s current events that set up a sustainable trend. Opinions are, as the expression goes, like noses … everybody has one. However, opinions can be formed based upon a wide spectrum of input not always based upon well-established trends or powerful patterns. Opinions frequently contain an element of emotional non-factual bias/perspective and when used in decision-making, can lead to wrong conclusions that can negatively influence strategic direction. To gain clarity on a convoluted topic such as wholesale lending, you really need to study macro trends or those powerful patterns that aren’t always easily spotted. That is … why are an increasing number of companies retaining our firm, Mortgage Banking Solutions, to help them sort out and analyze trends and powerful patterns? Let’s look at six powerful patterns that will bring clarity to the discussion of whether or not wholesale lending is a viable strategy for the future or not.

Powerful pattern #1 Net worth requirements of all independent mortgage bankers has increased tenfold in the last two years. Independent mortgage bankers were continued on page 42

new to market

A Bright Spot in

continued from page 30

times and improves communication. The portal provides borrowers with a platform to communicate, receive notifications, upload required financial documents and review real-time status of their workout. Servicers using the Clarifire Community portal participate in the automated workflow, the workout qualification and decisioning for borrower inquiries, and have access to robust reporting and auditable processes that meet the requirements of the borrower delinquency management model. “Clarifire provides the industry with the Single Point of Contact though a technology platform of reliable centralized communication and work out activities between servicers and borrowers,” said Jane Mason, president and chief executive officer of eMASON. “Innovative technology like Clarifire is the heart of the solution for mortgage finance reform and the single point of contact requirement and provides the industry with secure interactive Webbased workflow.”

ClosingCorp Launches New RESPA Compliant Calculator

GCC Launches New Customer Service Management Tool

Global DMS to Provide GSE-Compliant Appraisal Forms

continued on page 43

Same owner navigating industry since 1986. Privately held.

#1 USDA RD lender in multiple states Quality FHA/VA lender Innovative technology Direct access to your underwriter Instant closing docs

www.PolarisHFC.com 616-667-9000 info@PolarisHFC.com NMLS ID#: 38072 Licensed in: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, MD, OH, OK, PA, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, WI

AUGUST 2011

Global DMS, a developer of Web-based appraisal process management software, has upgraded WebForms, its forms creation technology, to include the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE)-compliant MISMO XML 2.6 GSE format. Global DMS will continue to provide all standard appraisal forms at no cost—this includes the updated MISMO XML 2.6 GSE formatted forms, which are available immediately.

Wholesale Lending

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GCC Servicing Systems, a provider of mortgage servicing technology and solutions, has launched its Customer Service Resolution Module (CSRM) to assist lenders with the efficient management and tracking of customer disputes through the G/SERV loan servicing platform. The main CSRM screen displays all open disputes and gives the user the option to view closed disputes as well. To simplify the user experience, this opening screen aggregates all basic info about the disputes, including: Dispute description; date; user responsible; status; last action date; category and follow-up date. The module also enables servicers to upload documents associated with disputes and view all disputes related to each loan. Servicers are able to ensure prompt and accurate customer service with automated assignment of follow-up tasks among staff. The CSRM assists servicers in meeting new regulations by prompting reaction to borrowers requests in the allotted time, as well as providing an audit trail of the actions related to a specific borrower request. “The next significant hurdle for servicers is adjusting to the Single Point of Contact environment,” said Glenn Liebowitz, president of GCC Servicing Systems. “GCC is currently working with our clients to develop the level of automation they need to more thoroughly manage borrower communication. The Customer Service Resolution Module is a result of this hands-on collaboration with servicers and will assist our clients with the improved tracking of customer disputes and how they are handled.”

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ClosingCorp, an independent real estate data and technology company, has announced the availability of its SmartGFE Calculator. The new pricing and compliance tool allows title companies and settlement professionals who add the calculator to their websites to give lenders the opportunity to generate title and settlement rates instantly, at any time. Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) reform implemented in 2010 requires lenders to provide borrowers accurate and timely information to promote further consumer shopping for mortgages and closing services. While regulatory changes benefit homebuyers and homeowners, lenders face increased disclosure demands and financial liability from RESPA tolerance violations, which can cost millions of dollars each year. “Today, lenders primarily use inefficient, manual methods to access pricing information from title and settlement companies, which is no longer an acceptable way of delivering the timely, accurate estimates required by RESPA,” said Paul Mass, president of ClosingCorp. “By entering just a few, simple details into the SmartGFE Calculator, lenders can automatically access rates and generate title and settlement pricing, transfer taxes and recording fees at any time. The tool saves both lenders and title companies time and money, while helping title companies strengthen their relationships with current lenders and attract new ones.” The SmartGFE Calculator is easily embedded on any title company’s Web site to quickly and automatically calculate up-to-date title and settlement rates, transfer taxes and recording

fees for Good Faith Estimates (GFEs). Data is provided in GFE and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)-friendly formats. The SmartGFE Calculator streamlines the pricing process while improving GFE and loan processing efficiencies, eliminating unnecessary phone calls, faxes and e-mails.

lykken on leadership

Powerful pattern #5 continued from page 40

heavily involved in wholesale lending. Many independent mortgage bankers have been forced out of the wholesale lending business because they lacked the capital to keep the necessary approvals that would allow them to continue in wholesale lending. Capital/cash is king!

Powerful pattern #2

The U.S. government filed a $1 billion lawsuit in May of this year against Deutsche Bank. It is very probable, if not absolutely certain, that, as a result of this lawsuit, many large institutions that own or have an interest in a mortgage lending operation will divest themselves of that operation one way or the other, especially if mortgage lending is not their core business. Simply put, the risk of being embroiled in a $1 billion lawsuit with the U.S. government is not worth any return they could otherwise earn from an investment in a mortgage lending platform. I cannot stress enough what a significant development this is! I have been predicting since the announcement of this lawsuit in early May of this year, that it will result a major seismic shift of “who’s in” and “who’s out” of the mortgage business. The ramifications are huge and farreaching! The most significant is the likely resurgence of well-capitalized independent mortgage bankers.

New non-regulated entities with very deep pockets and a previous investment history in mortgage lending are entering or re-entering the markets. Wilbur Ross’ investment in the old American Home platform and Lewis Ranieri, via his Shellpoint Partners LLC

joint venture, made a recent acquisition of New Penn Financial. Our firm is active in the mergers and acquisition business, and we have been contacted by a number of funds about making an investment in mortgage companies. This should be an encouraging sign to everyone reading this article.

Powerful pattern #4 I am going to approach this fourth point with what is a rhetorical question for me: Organizationally speaking … can large financial institutions more cost-effectively originate loans than a mortgage brokerage company can? And I stress the words “organizationally speaking. After more than 37 years in this industry working all aspects of loan originations from almost every position and angle, I would have to say the answer is unequivocally “No!” Mortgage brokers are, by far, the most highly-effective and cost-efficient origination “machine” this industry has ever seen. Another way to say this is that mortgage brokers are really good at “sales” and have a track record of originating loans with a very low cost of operations. This is a huge and very important point that will drive the final outcome of this whole topic, regardless of what side of the issue you may find yourself on. As we all are painfully aware, there’s a lot more to this discussion than just the cost of originations, which brings me to the next point of clarity.

AUGUST 2011

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Powerful pattern #3

“Sadly, we have many such leaders in this country, and I’d suggest in this industry, who are leading with a failed strategy for a sustainable and lasting financial recovery.”

www.windvestcorp.com

Again, I am going to approach this next point with another rhetorical question: Generally speaking, do mortgage brokerage firms have the same degree of concern for quality and risk management as does a larger financial institution? Again, I would have to say the answer is unequivocally “No!” Mortgage brokerage operations and many smaller thinly-capitalized mortgage banking companies do not have the same appreciation for loan quality and risk management as does a large financial institution.

Powerful pattern #6 We are experiencing a significant attrition in the number of licensed loan originators across the country. Some states, like Texas, Florida, Michigan and others, are reporting an exodus of as many as 85 percent of all previously-licensed LOs. This should be encouraging to those who have made the decision to hang in there and stay in the business, but also sets up for another not-so-obvious consequence. I announced this consequence at last year’s Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention in Atlanta. It is this … I see the very real possibility that we may be facing, as an industry, a capacity crisis. By that, I mean that there will not be a sufficient number of licensed LOs to take all of the applications once the real estate market begins a sustainable recovery. There are many more “powerful patterns” I could write about that exist and even more yet to come. The purpose of this whole discussion as it relates to wholesale was to demonstrate how you can achieve clarity as you set your course to be a leader. I know some of you are dying to ask me my opinion on the future of wholesale. Let me just say that I personally believe we will see a resurrec-

tion of wholesale, but not as it was in the past. I am well aware of the fact this is a fluid topic and that many have predicted that mortgage brokers are being (or already have been) regulated out of business. Some even refer to them as “The Walking Dead” … implying it is a dead business strategy, only existing on life support because of the desperate need for loan volumes and that is the channel that has worked in the past, so they are going to ride it to the end. Some, on the other hand, hold on to the belief that there is a place for the mortgage broker and that we will see a miraculous “Resurrection of the Dead.” I am of the opinion that it will be more of a caterpillar to butterfly type of metamorphosis, rather than a resurrection of the way it was. I started this article talking about the benefits of a vacation and the importance of taking time to slow down and kick back, and from this more relaxed place, sort out the issues that may be confusing and unclear. It may not be coincidence that this article is being published in the month of August at the height of the summer vacation season. Recognize that this is an excellent time to kick back in a more relaxed state, and get clarity and focus on the direction of the industry. If you struggle with getting clarity, I would suggest you consider sitting down and to start writing, not with a computer, but with a pen and paper. Something happens when you force yourself to sit down and handwrite things out on paper. It forces us to slow down and reconnect with that inner voice I believe each of us has, and that if you keep at it, that voice will bring clarity and make you a more effective leader. David Lykken is president of mortgage strategies and managing partner with Mortgage Banking Solutions. He has more than 35 years of industry experience and has garnered a national reputation, and has become a frequent guest on FOX Business News with Neil Cavuto, Stuart Varney, Liz Claman and Dave Asman with additional guest appearances on the CBS Evening News, Bloomberg TV and radio. He may be reached by phone at (512) 977-9900, ext. 10, or e-mail dlykken@mortgagebankingsolutions.com or dlykken@mbs-team.com.

To listen to author David Lykken’s online radio show, “Lykken on Lending,” log on to www.lykkenonlending.com.

new to market

s $IVERSE AND COMPETITIVELY PRICED PRODUCTS

continued from page 41

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites you to submit any information promoting new â€œnicheâ€? loan programs, new products or any other announcement related to the introduction of a new program, to the attention of:

New to Market column

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s #OMPETITIVE COMPENSATION s 3TRONG EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP PROVIDING SUCCESSFUL SALES STRATEGIES s +NOWLEDGEABLE SUPPORT STAFF WORKING AS A TEAM TO ASSIST YOU IN REACHING YOUR MONTHLY SALES GOALS Contact AMX For more information: joinamx@lhďŹ nancial.com

Web: www.appraisalsanywhere.com 43

Come in out of the dark ...and see what Menlo Park Funding has to offer. As a division of Real Estate Mortgage Network, MPF provides an affiliation with a respected national lender, while allowing you to express your entrepreneurial spirit.

Inquire: Menloinfo@remn.com Ĺ¸ Full use of established REMN operation centers and resources Ĺ¸ Complete product line with banker and broker options Ĺ¸ Administrative, Accounting, Compliance, Technology, Training,

and more resources available... Ĺ¸ Dedicated Account Executive, Operations Team and Help Desk Ĺ¸ Same-day underwriting turn times on new file submissions

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.

Successful Principals and Branch Managers only 877-896-8496 www.menloparkfunding.com

AUGUST 2011

The Work Number, a service of Equifax and provider of verified employment and income verifications (VOE/VOI), has announced the release of selfemployed verifications, a solution that helps qualify the nearly one in nine American workers classified as selfemployed for loans and other forms of credit. With employment and income related misrepresentation continuing to top the list of fraud types that undermine loan quality, financial institutions and their secondary investors and regulators are increasingly diligent regarding oversight of employment verification.

Weâ€™ve Been Hiring Wholesale AEâ€™s Just Like YOU!

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Self-Employed Verifications Now Available Through The Work Number

The Work Numberâ€™s database of more than 250 million payroll records has facilitated automated verification of salaried employees for years, but verifying employment for self-employed individuals has proven manual and more difficult. Leveraging The Work Numberâ€™s staff of verification agentsâ€”who provide manual verification services whenever an applicantâ€™s data is not instantly availableâ€”lenders can now receive a VOE for a self-employed applicant, complete with document images of the individualâ€™s business listing from a state regulatory site, and general business information from a trusted, third-party source. If requested, The Work Number can also contact the applicantâ€™s tax preparer to provide a comprehensive report to the financial institution/lender. â€œSelf-employed VOEs are an important component of our complete employment and income verification solution,â€? said Janet Ford, senior vice president of The Work Number. â€œThe U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that more than 15 million Americans are self-employed, and generally do not have standard payroll documentation, such as W-2s. Our goal is to help financial institutions and our other clients rapidly and independently verify stated employment claims of the self-employed without incurring additional risk, administrative cost, or compliance concerns. The Work Number employs a uniform and auditable research process in completing self-employed VOEs, conducted by an experienced team of employer validation, contact and transcription specialists. All information obtained during fulfillment is systemically recorded and documented. The service provides a competitive advantage over existing options by reducing training time, management oversight and resource strain, while improving productivity and ensuring a consistent methodology is followed on every verification.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

MISMO XML 2.6 GSE is a unique data format that will be required by the GSEs for appraisal data that is delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as of March 19, 2012, for loans originated on or after Dec. 1, 2011. Some investors, however, will require appraisal data to be submitted in this new format as early as September 2011. MISMO XML 2.6 GSE conforms with the Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD), which standardizes key data points within an appraisal report to help ensure consistency in appraisal reporting. It is also the required format for submitting appraisal data through the Uniform Collateral Delivery Portal (UCDP), the data delivery portal that lenders, appraisal management companies and appraisers will be required to use when submitting electronic appraisal data to the GSEs for all conventional mortgage loans for which an appraisal report is required. Neither the UCDP nor the UAD will accommodate PDF files. In order to be compliant, appraisal data must be delivered in MISMO XML 2.6 GSE format. With WebForms, all MISMO XML 2.6 GSE-formatted appraisal forms will also include a PDF file of the appraisal data within the MISMO XML 2.6 GSE file, as required by the GSEs. â€œLenders and AMCs need to know that thereâ€™s a deadline is right around the cornerâ€”some investors will require the new format in just a couple of months,â€? said Vladimir BienAime, president of Global DMS. â€œEarly adoption is the key to compliance once the deadlines are in effect. All of our standard WebForms have always been available at no cost, and that includes the new GSE-compliant forms. Weâ€™re also offering special $1 pricing for submission through the UCDP. Weâ€™re encouraging lenders and AMCs to take advantage of this pricing to ensure theyâ€™re ready before the mandate is enforced.â€?

s !DVANCED TECHNOLOGY PERSONAL SERVICE AND CREATIVE MARKETING SUPPORT

Accounting and Audit

Mark Wilson Certified Public Accountants 9455 Ridgehaven Ct, Suite 101 • San Diego, CA 92123 619-649-0712 www.markwilsoncpa.com A full service CPA firm specializing in the needs of the mortgage industry. Providing monthly bookkeeping services,FHA and financial statement audits , corporate tax preparation and contract CFO services. Contact us today to learn more.

Appraisal Management Company

HVCC Appraisal Ordering National Appraisal Management Center www.HVCCAppraisalOrdering.com Please call 866-396-6260

We help you Meet & Exceed UMDP enforced by the GSE’s We Improve your evaluation of collateral with “REALviewTM” Appraisals submitted in a MISMO/XML or PDF format. We’ve raised the bar for Appraisal Management Services!

Appraisal Management Company

StreetLinks Lender Solutions (800) 778-4920 www.streetlinks.com sales@streetlinks.com StreetLinks Lender Solutions provides an innovative and comprehensive suite of valuation services and lending technology solutions used by lenders and appraisers nationwide to improve everyday business operations.

Branch Manager

iServe Residential Lending www.iservelending.com afriedman@iservelending.com 415-298-2500 iServe offers a complete product mix - aggressively priced, with hassle-free service & turntimes. Branching & Loan Officer opportunities available nationwide. For a change, focus on production, quick closes & a good night's sleep!

StreetLinks industry-leading products include LenderPlus™ full-service appraisal management, LenderX™ lender-executed appraisal management software, BPOs, SCORe™ appraisal validation reviews and more. Our commitment to quality and service, embodied by our partnership approach to clients and appraisers, continues to set us apart as the nation’s premier lending solutions partner. For more information, visit www.streetlinks.com.

Mortgage Brokers Network Corp, Inc. 1-888-589-7048 gary@mbn1.com http://mortgagebrokersnetwork • Mortgage Branch Employment Opportunities

Branch Manager

• We work with some of the top mortgage branch companies in the industry!

Flagship Mortgage Corporation ........1-800-492-5239

• With hundreds of branch employment opportunities out there, making a choice on who to sign up with is not an easy task! We are here to help!

Multi-State mortgage bank has management opportunities available for experienced, successful & ethical professionals. Click/Email: flagshipmortgage.net/jflees@flagshipmortgage.net

• Hiring Licensed Mortgage Originators for branch management and loan origination. • Bank and Broker status to choose from, multi-State lending and more... Visit our site or call us today to speak to one of our representatives.

Limited room available for established Team Leaders and Licensed Mortgage Originators. Become part of an established 30-year Mortgage Banker with a proven track record and success.

Freedom Mortgage Corporation, The BEST Branch Solution, Period.

Branch Recruitment RealEstateBestJobs.com ....................201-489-0256

Does Advertising in the Resource Registry Work?

It just did!

Currently working with various bankers & federally chartered banks. Seeking established, new branches & Loan Officers Nationally. We are a top recruiting firm handling all types of mtg positions.

Guaranteed Home Mortgage Company, Inc. 108 Corporate Park Drive, Ste 301 White Plains, NY 10604 888-329-GHMC • www.joinguaranteed.com Find out what Guaranteed can do for you. Branch Program for Professionals. It's what we do.

Church Financing

Call 888-409-9770 ext. 4 to Register your company. MO

RTGAGE PRO

NATIONAL

NMP

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AUGUST 2011

Freedom Mortgage Corporation www.fmbranch.com info@fmbranch.com 800.220.9498

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

United Northern Mortgage Bankers......888-600-8808

MAG

AZIN

Inlanta Mortgage W229 N1433 Westwood Drive, Suite 103 Waukesha, WI 53186 www.inlanta.com • 262-513-9853 Established in 1993 and headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Inlanta Mortgage is a multi-state mortgage banking company committed to delivering superior service to our branch clients. For more information, call 262-513-9853 or visit www.inlanta.com.

CONCORD CHURCH FINANCE NATIONWIDE FINANCING FOR CHURCHES Pre-qualify Online @ www.Concordchurchfinance.com 800-926-0399 • Fax: 858-756-8108 • Church Purchase & Construction • $100,000 to $2,500,00 • Church Refinance & Cash Out • Churches all 50 states • 75% of Appraised Value • 20 Yr. Fixed Rate

continued on page 42

Contact Management/CRM

LoyaltyExpress 877.938.1175 start@loyaltyexpress.com www.loyaltyexpress.com LoyaltyExpress, the leading mortgage marketing company in the nation, delivers high-impact marketing that substantially increases production levels. Direct mail, e-mail, and intelligent alerts are combined to deliver unprecedented results. Learn more today.

WorkCenter CRM ....................................877.498.6888 A CRM & contact management solution designed for mortgage professionals. Automated campaigns & LOS synchronization make WorkCenter an intuitive timesaver for staying in touch with clients.

Events

Doc Management

DocVelocity www.docvelocity.com (877) 362-8356 sales@docvelocity.com DocVelocity is an end-to-end paperless solution designed to simplify the loan origination experience. Imagine having all your documents in the loan process as electronic files, all online, from pre-approval to closing. DocVelocity provides: Fast and easy loan delivery to any lender … Automatic doc sorting, naming and filing … Real-time online document sharing for anyone you choose … Friendly and intuitive user interface … No start-up fees, and free training and support. DocVelocity addresses important compliance issues while giving your office the competitive advantage of being paperless. It streamlines all aspects of the mortgage process and most important, it does so in one easy-touse and inexpensive package. DocVelocity is the flagship product of Paperless Office Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Flagstar Bancorp. Visit www.docvelocity.com to find out more.

NYC Real Estate Expo LLC Anthony Kazazis - Director apkazazis@optonline.net • www.nycrealestateexpo.com

646.210.2545 • 914.763.8008 “The Expo for Real Estate Professionals" For ongoing Networking Events throughout the year please visit www.nycnetworkgroup.com.

FHA Audit and Licensing

Continuing Education First National Compliance Solutions Inc. 1-800-400-4134 www.firstnationalcompliance.com

Document Preparation Abacus Mortgage Training and Education PO Box 780 Summerfield, NC 27358 888-341-7767 • www.GetYourEd.com NMLS approved 20 hour Prelicensing Education NMLS approved Continuing Education Live Classroom Instruction, Web Delivery and Private Events The SAFE-Smart ExamCram, Powerfully Innovative Test Prep

Bonnie Nachamie & Jonathan Pinard have assembled a team of experts to assist Mortgage Brokers, Mortgage Bankers, Federal and State Chartered Banks & Credit Unions with their mortgage compliance needs.

Franchise

Mortgage Banking Systems - ProClose 1360 Beverly Rd. Ste 200, McLean, VA 22101 800-783-2283 · sales@proclose.com www.ProClose.com ProClose provides compliant closing documents and software for Residential Mortgage Lending. Created with closers in mind, we help make a lender’s staff more efficient and supported.

MSS Learning Center (800) 963-1900 www.MortgageSuccessSource.com Email: info@MortgageSuccessSource.com Time is running out...are you ready? Pass the S.A.F.E. Act Test, meet your 20 hours of Pre-licensure, and complete the 8 hours of Continuing Education you need • The Ultimate Test Prep Kit and Test Prep Boot Camps – Cover everything to pass the S.A.F.E. Act Test — on your first try.

LenderCity Home Loans 888.880.2489 www.LenderCity.com

Robertson | Anschutz 800-343-7160 sbertrand@radocs.com www.radocs.com/info.html Mortgage Loan Closing Document Preparation & Compliance Services Fulfillment Services Including Pre-Funding Review & Post-Closing Interfaces with Leading Loan Origination Software Systems Foreclosure – Loss Mitigation Services

• Continuing Education - Exciting, NMLS approved courses that meet your Continuing Education needs and build your business.

LenderCity Home Loans is now offering individual franchises. This is perfect for the L.O. who has always wanted to open their own brokerage but didn't know how. Benefits include: • Growing with a recognized brand • Local and National marketing and advertising • Online search engine marketing • More aggressive lender pricing based on volume incentives • A proven system that generates more revenue than average broker shops • Ability to retain your license, existing corporation, and autonomy • Lead generation • Processing and closing services also available

Document Preparation (SaaS)

Best Rate Referrals ............................................800-811-1402 Mortgage marketing company with decades of combined experience providing quality leads, mailers, lists and dialer products. www.bestratereferrals.com & www.mortgageleads.org

Your Complete Mortgage Marketing Solution. Call Us Today! (800) 922-9860 www.envisiondirect.net/catalog/mortgage.htm

Mortgage Loan Closing Document Preparation & Compliance Software Loan Documents and Compliance – Web-based/SaaS – Easy to Use Intuitive – Secure and Reliable – Integrates with Leading LOS Free Setup and Support – Extensive Compliance Audits

Errors and Omissions Insurance CB Malaga Insurance Services LLC ......877-245-5887 Insurance broker providing errors & omissions (E&O) insurance to mortgage brokers and bankers. All loan types. Available in 22 states. www.CBspecialty.com

ACC Mortgage, Inc. 932 Hungerford Drive #6 • Rockville, MD 20850 240-314-0399 • 240-314-0336 fax WeApproveLoans.com We are doing traditional subprime lending, fix & flip lending and hard money lending.

Windvest Corporation ............................877-285-0777 Specializing in rehab loans for property investors in So. CA. Up to 60% ARV, 12.99% fixed rate, 3.5-5 points, 1 yr. term. Fast & professional service since '94! Visit windvestcorp.com!

AUGUST 2011

• Specializing in Official Snap Packs for Greater Open Rates • Envelope Mailers, Business Reply, Postcards and Much More • Targeted Mortgage Lists with Many Selects • Complete Design, Printing and Mailing Services

Hard Money/Private Lending Docs on Demand 800-343-7160 stephen.bertrand@docsondemand.net www.docsondemand.info

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Direct Mail

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

• 20-hour Pre-licensure - Packed with everything to successfully complete your pre-licensure requirements.

Income Verification Services

MortgageLoan.com Advanced Data (800) 537 - 0458 www.advanceddata.com verifications@advanceddata.com Advanced Data is a leading national provider of data services, streamlining income and employment verification with proprietary software. Clients can submit 4506-T directly through Encompass360. Also ask about our AVM and flood services!

Regulatory/Compliance

Leads

www.mortgageloan.com • 877-390-4750 MortgageLoan.com is the largest online directory for mortgage professionals and a favorite of consumers shopping for mortgage loans.

Comergence Compliance Monitoring, LLC 630 The City Drive South, Suite 205 • Orange, CA 92868 Office: 714-740-9000 www.ComergenceCompliance.com

Our network attract over one million visitors per month. Our paid lead program as well as our free lender directory will help you connect with targeted new consumer traffic from with high-intent consumers searching online for the right mortgage lender.

Comergence Compliance Monitoring is the mortgage industry’s only Complete broker desk management software and outsource solution for TPO management and monitoring. We can supplement lenders inhouse management and monitoring resources departments.

Loan Management Systems Income Verification Services Xetus ....................................................877-GO-XETUS Platinum Credit Services, Inc.................631-299-2084 Tax return vertification (4506 tax transcript done in less than 24 hours in most cases). Call Lorenzo Pugliano, President and CEO at 631-299-2084.

Loan Origination Systems 46

Retail Branch

XetusOne is a powerful, easy-to-use loan management system that streamlines loan processing. Our affordable SaaS applications are lenders #1 choice for origination, subordination & modification.

Leads

Polaris Home Funding Corp. 616-667-9000 timeforachange@polarishfc.com www.polarishfc.com/timeforachange #1 USDA RD lender in multiple states with strong FHA/VA/CONV product lines as well. Don't be held hostage by a captive branch arrangement. Bank it or broker it. Have a business name/identity you don't want to give up? We allow DBAs (subject to state rules).

AAA Refi Leads.....AAA Refi Leads.....AAA Refi Leads Learn how I went from failure to success by mailing cheap refi letters from home, closed 71 loans & made $248,954.62 last yr. I’ll show you exactly how I did it. Go to: www.Refi-Leads.NET

Calyx Software 800-362-2599 sales@calyxsoftware.com www.calyxsoftware.com

AUGUST 2011

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Calyx Software, the #1 provider of mortgage solutions is dedicated to offering reliable and affordable software that streamlines, integrates and optimizes the loan process. Find out how PointCentral can streamline your business and create compliant processes today.

Internet’s Leading Consumer Mortgage Marketplace Attracting over 8 million unique consumers every month www.Bankrate.com • 561-630-1257

(800) LOANS-15 www.usmortgage.com

Mortgage Forms

Reach affluent and creditworthy consumers who are in-market and ready to transact. Bankrate is a consumer direct Web site, NOT a lead aggregator. Qualified leads for every sized budget, and pay only for performance. No set up fees! No contracts! No risk! • Reach self directed, highly qualified consumers that are actively searching for mortgage loans • Geo-targeting – reach the right consumers in the right markets • Our proprietary Advertiser Portal gives you complete control over your campaigns, budgets, and performance reports. • YOU determine your daily/weekly/monthly budget • Pay only for consumers who click on your listing • NO cancellation fees Try us risk-free! Call 561-630-1257 or visit www.bankrate.com/cpcprogram/ for more details.

YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR SUCCESS!

www.LendingForms.com Same Day Shipping (orders placed prior to 3pm et) 24/7 Secure e-Commerce Site Save 33-50% • • • •

For more information contact THOMAS R. SIRICO, Vice President of Business Development at (917) 923-1472 or email at tom.sirico@usmortgage.com. We look forward to sharing our services with you!

HUD Settlement Cost Booklets CHARM Booklets Uniform Residential Loan Applications HUD Case Binders

Loanbright 27902 Meadow Drive, Suite 375 Evergreen,CO 80439 866-391-2709 • www.Loanbright.com Loanbright helps mortgage companies capture and close more business through its marketing and software tools. An INC. 500 awardee, Loanbright has helped thousands of companies since 1999 by providing them with well over 3 million qualified sales leads.

Are you a broker/owner or current branch manager looking to expand your business into Mortgage Banking with FHA capabilities? Then our PARTNER BRANCH ADVANTAGE© program is perfect for you. We are offering you all the benefits of partnering with an established lender while still enjoying your independence. US Mortgage Corporation is a nationwide FHA Direct Lender with a 16 year long reputation of excellence.

Secondary Marketing Consulting Broker to Banker Services.com ..........(951) 746-3075

Sign-on weekly at nmpmag.com/lykkenonlending

We complete your applications for approval Save the time and hassle contact: brokertobankerservices.com

Wholesale/Correspondent

Wholesale/Residential

Wholesale Reverse Mortgages

BankFinancial ..........................................800-894-6900 We have money to lend for apartments, $250M to $2MM, up to 75% LTV. We offer competitive rates, fees & terms. We’re committed to helping you and your clients close the deal. Call us.

NATIONWIDE Equities Terrace Mortgage 4010 W. Boyscout Blvd., Suite 550 Tampa, FL 33607 866-934-4631 • www.terracemortgage.com

Wholesale/FHA

Icon Residential Lenders (888) 247-4207 www.iconwholesale.com Icon Residential, a wholly owned subsidiary of Grand Bank N.A., is one of the nation’s leading Conforming, Jumbo, FHA and VA wholesale lenders. Our strength, success and longevity is derived from delivering customers service that exceeds our valued business partners expectations. With deep industry knowledge, financial stability and innovative technology we provide the solutions for our business partners to fund loans while avoiding risk. • • • • •

We offer competitive pricing and fast turn-times for FHA, VA, Conventional, and USDA programs without having a retail presence in the industry. We are a wholesale lender with 22 years of experience and believe in exceptional service.

TMSfunding Wholesale Lending 326 W Main Street • Milford, Ct. 06460 888.371.2989 • WWW.TMSFUNDING.COM Your Partner in Success! • • • •

Paperless! Quick and Easy! Top Tier Account Executives Committed to Wholesale Operations that Earn Your Business

Nationwide Equities Corporation 201-529-1401 www.nwecorp.com For Licensed Mortgage Brokers in NY, NJ, CT, PA and FL No HUD Approval Required – Live Help Desk Will Provide Training at Our Office or Yours 48 Hour Underwriting - Get Paid Within 48 Hours of Funding

Bookmark this! Access these listings online at

nmpmag.com/directory_list

Direct Access to Underwriters Competitive Pricing Innovative Technology Paperless Solution Bank Funding

Wholesale/Residential

AMX/Land Home Financial ..................800-349-4172 AMX/Land Home Financial Services Wholesale Lending Division - Great Rates, Great Programs, Great Service. Offering financing options that work in today's market.

Now Wholesale Lending in:

• Arizona • California • Colorado

• Nevada • New Mexico • Oregon

• Texas • Utah • Washington

The Resource Registry is a directory of lenders (wholesaler or retail that are recruiting), affiliated services and resources that is seen by more than 191,181 active Professionals.

Call 888-409-9770 ext. 4 to register your company.

AUGUST 2011

Flagstar Wholesale Lending, a division of Flagstar Bank, is one of the nation’s largest wholesale and correspondent mortgage lenders, providing the technology, products, service and support that independent mortgage brokers, correspondents, and bankers need in today’s mortgage arena. In the ever-changing environment of mortgage banking, Flagstar takes pride in accommodating the specific needs of each customer. At Flagstar, we understand that you need every available advantage to stay ahead of the competition. This is why we provide multiple technology options to meet your needs to register, lock, underwrite, close, fund and deliver your loans. Our wholesale website (wholesale.flagstar.com) and the loan processing tool Loantrac provides our customers with the functionality that make it easier and faster to close loans, saving you time and money! Visit wholesale.flagstar.com to learn more.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

Flagstar Wholesale Lending www.wholesale.flagstar.com (866) 945-9872 WLSC@flagstar.com

If your ad was here, you would be seen by 191,181 Mortgage Professionals looking for resources to help them in their business.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

88 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 Phone: (415) 632-5150 • Fax: (925) 226-1938 www.bayeq.com

Sunday-Tuesday, September 25-27 Mortgage Bankers Association’s Regulatory Compliance Conference 2011 Renaissance Washington DC Downtown 1127 Connecticut Avenue Northwest Washington, D.C. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org. OCTOBER 2011

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. SEPTEMBER 2011

Thursday, September 8

Tuesday-Thursday, September 13-15

2011 Minnesota Mortgage Association Convention & Exhibitor Showcase “We Will Survive!” Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Minneapolis South 7800 Normandale Boulevard Bloomington, Minn. For more information, call (952) 345-3240 or visit www.themma.org.

Mortgage Bankers Association’s Quality Assurance and Residential Underwriting Conference 2011 Hilton New Orleans Riverside 2 Poydras Street New Orleans, La. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

Sunday-Tuesday, September 11-13 Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Operations Conference 2011 Hilton New Orleans Riverside 2 Poydras Street • New Orleans, La. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

Thursday, September 15 Iowa Association of Mortgage Brokers 2011 Annual Convention & Education Des Moines Botanical Center 909 Robert D. Ray Drive Des Moines, Iowa For more information, call (515) 210-4675 or visit www.iowamortgagebrokers.org.

Monday-Wednesday, October 3-5 Mortgage Bankers Association of Pennsylvania (MBA of PA) 2011 Keystone Conference Wyndham Gettysburg Hotel 95 Presidential Circle Gettysburg, Pa. For more information, call (888) 739-9991 or visit www.mba-pa.org.

Tuesday, October 4 Illinois Association of Mortgage Professionals 2011 Fall Conference Waterford Banquet Center 933 South Riverside Drive Elmhurst, Ill. For more information, call (630) 916-7720 or visit www.iamp.biz.

Wednesday, November 2 2011 Missouri Association of Mortgage Professionals Convention & Trade Show St. Charles Convention Center 1 Convention Center Plaza St. Charles, Mo. For more information, call (314) 909-9747 or visit www.mamb.net.

Thursday-Friday, November 10-11 2011 Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals Annual Convention Multnomah Athletic Club 1849 Southwest Salmon Street Portland, Ore. For more information, call (503) 670-8586 or visit www.oamponline.com. DECEMBER 2011

Sunday-Tuesday, December 3-5 2011 NAMB/WEST Loan Originator Conference MGM Grand 3799 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas For more information, call (303) 7983664, ext. 15 or visit www.nambwest.org. MARCH 2012

Thursday, March 29 Sunday-Wednesday, October 9-12 Mortgage Bankers Association’s 98th Annual Convention & Expo The Hyatt Regency 151 East Wacker Drive Chicago, Ill. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

Maryland Association of Mortgage Professionals 2011 March Mortgage Madness Convention Martin’s Crosswinds 7400 Greenway Center Drive Greenbelt, Md. For information, call (410) 752-6262, or visit www.mdmtgpros.org.

For immediate consideration, please send resumes to:

careers@iconresidential.com

MAY 2012

Friday-Wednesday, May 18-23 2012 Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia Education Forum & Expo Sandestin Hilton Golf Resort & Spa 4000 South Sandestin Boulevard Destin, Fla. For more information, call (478) 743-8612 or visit www.mbag.org.

NOVEMBER 2011

Tuesday-Thursday, November 1-3 Third Annual Northeast Conference of Mortgage Brokers Presented by the New Jersey Association of Mortgage Brokers and the Pennsylvania Association of Mortgage Brokers Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort 1000 Boardwalk at Virginia Avenue Atlantic City, N.J. For more information, call (732) 596-1619 or visit www.njamb.org.

RTGAGE PRO O M

NMP

NATIONAL

If you’re a top producing Account Executive please take a minute to explore how ICON RESIDENTIAL can help you take your career to the next level. We have opportunities in markets across the country.

National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association 2011 Annual Meeting & Expo Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel 606 Congress Street Boston For more information, call (202) 9391784 or visit www.nrmlaonline.org.

29th Annual Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort 1000 Boardwalk at Virginia Avenue Atlantic City, N.J. For more information, call (732) 596-1619 or visit www.mbanj.com.

SSIONAL

AUGUST 2011

ICON RESIDENTIAL is GROWING in markets across the country. Top producing Account Executives are joining us because we offer: I Compensation Above Industry Standard I Excellent Employee Benefits I Customer Service That Exceeds Expectations I Competitive Pricing I Paperless Solution I Bank Subsidiary

Monday-Wednesday, October 24-26

Sunday-Thursday, March 11-15

MISSOURI MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Friday, October 21 Kentucky Association of Mortgage Professionals 2011 Annual Convention & Trade Show Four Points Sheraton 1938 Stanton Way Lexington, Ky. For more information, call (270) 929-2836 or visit www.kyamp.net.

MAG

AZIN

Nationwid e FHA Lend er Looking fo r: TO P P R O D U CER

Call for De tails!

T h e B E ST B r a n c h S o l u t i o n , P e r i o d .

www.Fmbranch.com 800.220.9498 Info@Fmbranch.com This information is provided to assist business professionals and is not an advertisement extended to the consumer, as defined by Section 226.2 of Regulation Z. Freedom Mortgage corporate office is located at: 907 Pleasant Valley Ave. Suite 3, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054. Lender NMLS ID: 2767. Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, License #9100861. All Rights Reserved.

EOE

NMP Media Corp.

Published on Aug 31, 2011

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Published on Aug 31, 2011

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