New York Mortgage Professional Magazine October 2015

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NEW YORK EDITION

Association Resources New York Association of Mortgage Brokers 100 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 303 v Mamaroneck, NY 10543 Phone: (914) 332-6233 v Fax: (914) 630-0959 Web Site: www.nyamb.org

NYAMB Officers & Board Martin Pfeiffenberger Irene Amato Deborah Robertson Bonnie S. Nachamie William Mason Louis Borsellino

President President-Elect Vice President Treasurer Secretary Immediate Past President

Phone # E-mail (518) 782-1202 martyp@mapletreefunding.com (914) 736-9230 amatoirene@aol.com (516) 393-5976 drobertson@plazahomemortgage.com (516) 678-7110 bonnie@nachamie.com (516) 739-3090 billmason@masonandmason.net (845) 279-2379 pcsmortgage@aol.com

Robert Moulton Martin Hackford John Commons Lorne Becker Robert Russo

Director Director Director Director Director

(516) 627-0200 (716) 565-1500 -------(516) 264-7040 (516) 599-2600

amermtg@aol.com martyhackford@mfninc.net jlcommons@optonline.net lorne.becker@yahoo.com mortgagemanager@optonline.net

Empire State Mortgage Bankers Association 800 Veterans Memorial Highway Suite 300 v Hauppauge, NY 11788 Phone #: (631) 885-5654 v Fax #: (631) 382-8214 Web site: www.esmba.org ESMBA Board of Directors President Chairman Co-Chairman Secretary Treasurer Accountant Counsel Ex-Officio

Phone # (516)-334-0200 (516) 356 8747 (800) 540-8838 (516) 526-8610 (800) 540-8838 (516) 293-3999 (212) 201-1173 (212) 850-4848

E-mail zjafri@lynxmortgageny.com jp@firstnationalcompliance.com mmchugh@cccmtg.com denise.bond@genworth.com rtschernia@aol.com mitch.k@hirshfieldkantor.com ngarfinkel@agmblaw.com ------------

Christina Bianco Michael Bizenov Steven A. Milner Donald Moran Michael Moskowitz Bonnie S. Nachamie Walter Stashin Marc Stone

Director Director Director Director Director Director Director Director

(917) 971-3604 cbianco@flcb.com (516) 487-0018 michael.bizenov@sterlingnational.com (631) 580-2600 steven.a.milner@usmortgage.com (516) 394-1420 dmoran@ambmortgage.com (800) 692-5363 mmoskowitz@equitynow.com (516) 678-7110 bonnie@nachamie.com (800) 924-6336 wstashin@financialequities.com (631) 475-9800 mstone@mcsmortgagebankers.com

Robert Katz William Hirschfeld Larry Smith Jeffrey Zwerling

Charter Board Member Charter Board Member Charter Board Member Charter Board Member

(516) 625-3950 (718) 488-9900 --------(800) 263-7337

---------------------------------jzwerling@zsz.com

P.O. Box 7361 v Hicksville, NY 11802-7361 Phone #: (516) 997-3707 v Fax #: (516) 997-1979 Web site: www.mbany.org MBA of NY Officers Frederick A. McDonald, Jr., President MRICS David Soares Vice President Gregory Nuber Treasurer Brenda L. Kenny Secretary/Executive Secretary

Phone # (646) 313-4877

E-mail fmcdonald@doralbankusa.com

(212) 897-0005 (201) 407-6038 (516) 997-3707

dsoares@lexdencapital.com gregory.nuber@hsh-nordbank.com mbaofny@verizon.net

MBA Board of Directors Eugene Belli, REPA, CHMM Thomas A. Berkenkamp Richard T. Carr Jack V. Confusione Mark Davis Karen M. Kozlowski Lawrence J. Longua Thomas Miller Diane Papsidero John C. Ricchezza Brian Scesney Jonathan Stern

(732) 414-2720, ext. 1401 gbelli@aeiconsultants.com (973) 376-7700 tomberkenkamp@brgrealty.com (208) 577-5008 rcarr@a10capital.com (973) 301-7623 jack.confusione@ml.com (646) 705-2066 markpdavis80@gmail.com (212) 908-3937 karen.kozlowski@thompsonhine.com (917) 544-0121 caveanas@gmail.com (917) 621-6462 tjmiller10023@yahoo.com (718) 512-2986 dpapsidero@flushingbank.com (914) 712-3302 jricchezza@signatureny.com (212) 409-1217 bscesney@bankunited.com (212) 972-3600 jstern@meridiancapital.com

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Mortgage Bankers Association of New York Inc.

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Zahra Jafri Jonathan Pinard Michael McHugh Denise Bond Richard Tschernia Mitch Kanor Neil Garfinkel Michael J. Jackson

NYC Real Estate Brokers Blame Homeless for Lost Sales New York

calendar of events OCTOBER 2015 Thursday-Friday, October 22-23 ESMBA Presents: Loan Officer University Instructor: MaryKay Scully, Director of Customer Education, Genworth Financial Adria Hotel 220-33 Northern Boulevard Bayside, N.Y. For more information, visit ESMBA.org.

NOVEMBER 2015 Thursday, November 12 MBA of NY Presents: Where Banks Fit In The Changing World of EB-5 Cornell Club of NYC 6 East 44th Street New York, N.Y. Noon-2:45 p.m.

For more information, e-mail mbaofny@verizon.net or call (516) 997-3707.

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Monday-Tuesday, November 16-17 NYAMB’s 27th Annual Convention & Trade Show The Melville Marriott 1350 Walt Whitman Road Melville, N.Y. For more information, visit NYAMB.org.

2016 MARCH 2016 Sunday-Thursday, March 13-17 Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations Harrah’s Resort Waterfront Conference Center 777 Harrah’s Boulevard Atlantic City, N.J. For more information, call (732) 596-1619 or visit www.mbanj.com.

Ka-Ching! Manhattan Housing Prices Skyrocket One of the nation’s priciest housing markets has become much more expensive. A new report from the real estate brokerage Douglas Elliman has found that the average price per square-foot cost for a Manhattan condo was nearly $1,500 during the third quarter, up 11.7 percent from the second quarter and up 17.9 percent from the third quarter of 2014.

Manhattan’s median sales price in the third quarter was $998,000, up 1.8 percent from the second quarter and up 9.9 percent from the same period last year.

The average number of days on the market was 73 during the third quarter, down 22.3 percent from the second quarter’s average of 94 and down 20.7 percent from the 92 day average in the third quarter of 2014.

“With rising sales and declining inventory, Manhattan housing prices increased to their highest level since the financial crisis,” said the new report.

“The brisk market pace was characterized by shorter marketing times, a record number of sales at or above list price and more cash buyers. While it is not clear how long this pace can be sustained, we anticipate similar conditions during the fall season.”

And what does this mean for mortgage professionals? Well, 51 percent of all sales in the third quarter were cash transactions, up from 43 percent year-overyear. Sixty-one percent of the third quarter Manhattan condo sales were cash transactions, compared to approximately 42 percent of co-op sales.

Real estate brokers representing some of the most expensive residential properties in New York City are raising complaints over the presence of homeless people in their target neighborhoods, claiming that the homeless are scaring away prospective homebuyers and renters.

New York’s Department of Homeless Services estimates that more than 57,000 adults and children slept in NYC shelters, with thousands more sleeping in public spaces and on the streets.

According to a report published by DNAInfo.com, some real estate brokers insisted they have been losing potential sales on seven-digit residences because of the presence of homeless people on or near the properties raised concerns over safety and neighborhood maintenance. Broker Philip Scheinfeld of Miron Properties recalled the collapse of a $2.5 million deal on a 1,600 square-foot loft in Manhattan’s desirable Chelsea neighborhood due to the presence of a shirtless and intoxicated homeless man on the sidewalk outside of the property.

While there is no official data to link the presence of the homeless to the loss of New York’s real estate market, the city has seen a dramatic increase in complaints to the 311 hotline service about disruptive homeless people—including more than 200 percent increases of 311 calls in the expensive Turtle Bay-East Midtown, Hudson Yards/Chelsea/Flatiron/Union Square and Battery Park City neighborhoods of Manhattan. Some neighborhood groups have taken matters into their own hands: a Facebook page run by residents in the Murray Hill/Kips Bay section of Manhattan are posting photographs online of homeless people who engage in troublesome behavior. One member of this group also created an app called NYC Map the Homeless, which allows residents to upload images and infor-

Ocwen Joins With the NAACP to Assist Struggling Homeowners Ocwen Financial Corporation and the NAACP New York State Conference hosted a “Help & Hope for Homeowners” event in Long Island, N.Y. on Sept. 26 to offer struggling New York homeowners the opportunity to receive in-person, individualized advice and mortgage solutions to help them remain in their homes. Event attendees received one-on-one support from Ocwen Home Retention Agents, who worked with more than 220 borrowers to make their mortgage payments more manageable and to help avoid foreclosure. Since 2008, Ocwen has completed more than 520,000 loan modifications, many of which included a principal reduction for borrowers whose mortgage exceeded the current value of the home.

Homeowners also met with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD)-approved financial counselors for additional financial and mortgage-related assistance.

“As we saw on Saturday, the housing crisis is not over for many families in New York, and for that matter, across the U.S.,” said Garry Anthony Johnson, NAACP New York State Conference Economic Development Chair. “The NAACP is pleased to work with Ocwen to offer valuable advice and solutions to homeowners who are struggling, and it was very satisfying to see so many homeowners have their questions answered and hopes renewed as a result of this event.”

“Both Ocwen and the NAACP are dedicated to helping struggling borrowers, and that often means reaching them at the local level,” said Jill Showell, SVP of government and community relations at Ocwen. “For many families, their wealth is tied to their home. That is why these events are so important—they give borrowers the opportunity to talk to our agents face-to-face to explore modification options that can help them save their home.”

Homeowners who attended the event and met with HUD-certified counselors received information and assistance with the following: n Assistance with preparing their Request for Mortgage Assistance (RMA) package; n Information on borrower eligibility for state and federal foreclosure assistance programs; and n Counsel on possible mortgage solutions tailored to fit their unique situations.

This event was part of a series co-hosted by the NAACP and Ocwen to offer assistance to homeowners in U.S. cities where the economic recovery has been uneven.

Future events are planned, including an upcoming event in Upper Marlboro, Md. on Nov. 14, 2015.

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Law Offices of Richard H. Lovell Admitted to practice law in the States of New York and Florida and before the United States Supreme Court Former member of the Board of Directors of the NY Association of Mortgage Brokers Written extensively on Real Estate and Mortgage Lending Issues Currently approved to teach the Licensing Classes for Mortgage Loan Originators (MLOs) Lectured extensively on New York Real Estate Licensing issues Representation of those in the industry on Criminal Matters

NY 7

Represented Mortgage Brokers and Mortgage Bankers for Regulatory Compliance

Fully Insured and Bonded

107-48 Cross Bay Boulevard, Ozone Park, NY 11417

718 835-9300 LovellLawNewYork@gmail.com www.LovellLawNewYork.com

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Closing Agent for National Mortgage Lenders

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Scenes From the 7th Annual Northeast Conference of Mortgage Brokers & Professionals September 28-October 1 at Harrah’s Resort Waterfront Conference Center in Atlantic City, N.J.

Bryan Miller, Raul Villalta, Kaylyn Belmore of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) with Barry Habib of MBS Highway on the exhibit hall floor of Harrah’s Resort Waterfront Conference Center

Kingsley Kodan, Phil Mancuso, Gian Russo and Jerry Kells of Equity Prime Mortgage pause for a photo

Frank Kuri and Anthony Pepe from Residential Home Funding were on hand to detail their company’s product offerings

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Reps from Freedom Mortgage chat with attendees during the 2015 Northeast Mortgage Brokers & Professionals Conference

Panelists discuss the latest regulatory changes during the Northeast Mortgage Brokers & Professionals Conference in Atlantic City, N.J.

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Pete Kulis and Geoff Bench from American Advisors Group (AAG)

Reps from HomeBridge Wholesale pause for a photo

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The crew from REMN Wholesale on the exhibit hall floor in Atlantic City to discuss their firm’s renovation loan offerings

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Visit lendinghome.com/NMP

N A T I O N A L

10

M O R T

Is TRID Really Helping the Consumer?

By Joseph J. Murin

O C T O B E R

36 NMP’s Mortgage Professional of the Month: Laura Lawson, Chief People Officer, United Wholesale Mortgage

By Phil Hall

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V O L

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “THE FUTURE OF MORTGAGE BANKING” Flexibility and Financial Promise Lead Experienced LOs Back to Brokerage Firms By Mat Ishbia ..............................................................56 Failure to Go Paperless Carries Big Risks By Greg Schroeder............58 Why One Mortgage Business Leader is Making Millennials Her Mission By Casey Cunningham ........................................................60 Vision Versus Progress By Alec Cheung ................................................61 Can You Help a Brother Out? By Eric Weinstein ..................................63 The Mortgage Industry’s Future is Here By John Vella ........................64 The Delicate Balance of the Mortgage Industry By Keith Guenther....66 MSAs Going Away? So What! By Sue Woodard ....................................68

50 Lykken on Leadership: Seven Transormations Every Leader Must Undergo to Move From Good to Great

By David Lykken

The Blueprint for Future Success Lies in People, Not Profit By Cal Haupt............................................................................70 Making the Case for the Modern Title Agent

By Michael P. Bell & Elliot Liss..................................................................72 Community Lenders Are Essential to the Future of Mortgage Banking By Wes Miller............................................................74

FEATURES TRID Readiness: Will You Pass or Fail? By Keith Bilodeau ....................8 The Elite Performer: Because I’m Happy By Andy W. Harris, CRMS ....8 Compliance in Marketing........................................................................16 Writing and Formatting Your Mailer By K. Justin Restaino ..................18 NAMB Perspective ..................................................................................20 Broker? Banker? How to Choose …

By Laura Burke, MBA, MS, MIS, CFE, EA ................................................26 Transitioning to TRID By Jeremy Potter ................................................28

88 Step Inside Ginnie Mae

By Ted W. Tozer

90 Is Your Company Your Classroom?

By Ray Maninang

V I S I T Company

Web Site

O U R

A Page

Agility Resources Group ...................................... www.agilityresourcesgroup.com ......................................66 American Advisors Group.................................... www.aag.com/wholesale ................................................57 American Financial Resources Inc. ...................... www.afrwholesale.com/wd-benefits ....................Back Cover Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions ............................ www.angeloakms.com ..................................................43 Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................96 Caliber Home Loans.............................................. www.caliberhomeloans.com ............................................29 CallFurst.com ...................................................... www.callfurst.com ............................................................62 Calyx Software...................................................... www.calyxsoftware.com ....................................................39 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................31 & 50 Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ........................................................7 Equity Prime LLC................................................ www.equityprime.com ..........................................67 & 85 First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmc.com ..............................Inside Front Cover & 56 Flagstar Bank .................................................... www.flagstar.com/ae ....................................................17 Franklin First Financial, Ltd. .............................. www.franklinfirst financial.com/wholesale ......................41 Freedom Mortgage Corporation .......................... www.freedomwholesale.com ............................11, 65 & 79 HomeBridge Wholesale ...................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................13 Land Home Financial Services Wholesale Division www.lhfswholesale.com ................................................73 Law Offices of Richard Lovell .............................. www.lovelllawnewyork.com ........................................NY7 LendingHome .................................................... www.lendinghome.com/nmp ............................................1 Long Island Tennis Magazine .............................. www.litennismag.com ................................................NY5 M&M Exterminating ..............................................................................................................................NY8 MB Financial Bank ............................................ www.mbmortgage.com ..................................................68 MBS Highway .................................................... www.mbshighway.com/MNN ..........................................83 Mortgage Information Services, Inc. .................... www.mtginfo.com ........................................................63 Mortgage News Network (MNN) .......................... www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com ..............................34-35

T G A G E

L U M E

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

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Mentoring Millennials By Ginger Bell......................................................30 Diversify Your Product Line With Non-Agency Mortgages

By Tom Hutchens ......................................................................................32 Preparing for the Housing Market’s Next Shift By Danny Jasper........38 The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales By Pam Marron........42 Performance Solution Through Technology By Joni Pilgrim................46 NAMB National Schedule of Events & List of Exhibitors ....................52 Pending Credit Legislation Shows Congressional Extremes With Regard to Credit Knowledge By Terry W. Clemans......................54 Industry Updates: October 2015 By Gavin T. Ales ................................76 Operation VA SITREP: Your VA Situation Report

By Richard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHS ........................................76 FBI Fraud Alert Raises Concerns Over Settlement Agent Wiring Instructions By Andrew Liput ......................................................78 MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance: A Message From MAA Chairman Fowler Williams ......................................................................78 NMP’s Economic Commentary By Dave Hershman..............................80 OrigiNation: By Originators, For Originators By Andy W. Harris..........82 Just Ask Eric & Laura By Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke ........................84 Time Management for Mortgage Lenders By Bubba Mills ..................89

COLUMNS New to Market..............................................................................12 News Flash: October 2015 ..........................................................14 Heard on the Street ....................................................................40 Outstanding Places to Work ......................................................92 NMP Calendar of Events ............................................................93 NMP Resource Registry..............................................................94

D V E R T I S E R S Company

Web Site

Page

Mortgage Star Conference .................................. www.mortgage-star.net ..................................................58 MortgagePlannerMarketing.com.......................... www.mortgageplannermarketing.com ............................89 NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................23 NAMB PAC ........................................................ www.namb.org ..............................................................25 NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ....................................................64 & 91 NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................82 Nationwide Appraisal Network............................ www.nationwide-appraisal.com ......................................74 New York Community Bancorp, Inc. .................... www.nycbmortgage.com ................................................87 Pacific Union Financial, LLC ................................ www.pacificunionfinancial.com ......................................59 Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................15, 51 & Inside Back Cover PB Financial Group Corp..................................... www.calhardmoney.com ................................................27 Presti & Naegele Accounting Offices .................... www.prestinaegele.com ..............................................NY3 Radian Guaranty ................................................ www.radian.biz ............................................................81 RCN Capital ...................................................... www.rcncapital.com ......................................................19 REMN Wholesale ................................................ www.remnwholesale.com ......................................NY1 & 5 Residential Home Funding Corp. ........................ www.rhfbranch.com ......................................................55 Ridgewood Savings Bank .................................... www.ridgewoodbank.com ..............................................71 Secure Insight....................................................www.secureinsight.com ..................................................33 TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................77 The Bond Exchange............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................69 The National Real Estate Post.............................. www.thenationalrealestatepost.com ........................75 & 86 Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. ........................ www.titanlists.com ..........................................................9 UAMP................................................................ www.uampexpo.com ....................................................86 United Wholesale Mortgage ................................ www.uwm.com ................................................47, 48 & 49

OCTOBER 2015 Volume 7 • Number 10 FROM THE

1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-5555 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: NationalMortgageProfessional.com STAFF Eric C. Peck Editor-in-Chief (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 ericp@nmpmediacorp.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

publisher’s desk

Vision … Implementation ... Connect!

This is the story of how a simple idea can change the mortgage industry for the better for the future!

I am sitting on a flight on a Sunday evening, Oct. 20, returning to New York from the Second NAMB Wholesale Summit in Dallas. I attended not as a member of the media, but as a member of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals, working with the association on the concept of this Summit since its inception earlier this year.

I’m under a confidentiality agreement not to detail what was specifically discussed, but I cannot resist the opportunity to report on what I saw. I’ll get to that later … but want to share with our readers the genesis that lead to what I can only say are “historic” Summits.

A little over a year ago, current NAMB President John Councilman walked into a Wholesalers Breakfast Roundtable at a conference in Atlantic City sponsored by NMP Media Corp. and conducted by my son and NMP co-founder, Andrew T. Berman. Andrew’s idea was to gather about 15 wholesalers in an open roundtable discussion annually to see where they thought the mortgage industry was and where it was headed.

This Wholesalers Breakfast, in its early years, was initially met with apprehension and doubt. It’s not easy for companies competing with one another for market share to open up and share ideas on their own operations and strategies. But, they did and NAMB’s president walked into what was NMP’s third foray into the Wholesalers Breakfast in Atlantic City. What Mr. Councilman saw was both an inspiration and a vision. I’ll never forget the e-mail he sent me after the breakfast. John was astounded at the openness between the wholesalers in the roundtable discussion. He said in his e-mail that the discussion was filled with passion as the wholesalers collectively discussed ways to increase market share and better serve their mortgage brokers and correspondents clients. I called John the next day and thanked him for his compliments. His vision was simple … he wanted to know if I could develop the idea behind the Wholesalers Breakfast in Atlantic City into a more global concept for NAMB, to not only afford the opportunity for wholesalers to share their successes and issues, and to discuss ways for them to grow their market share, profitability and compliance, while concurrently give the opportunity for feedback from the mortgage broker community.

If you have followed me to this point—and I hope I haven’t bored you yet, here is the evolution—his email and our phone conversation, and the NAMB Wholesale Summit was born. A vision John had from a breakfast roundtable in the old Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City was about to take off and little do I think that John, the NAMB Board and officers or myself would ever thought it could become the game-changer it is on its way to becoming.

Fast-forward to March of 2015 in Orlando and the First NAMB Wholesale Summit was scheduled. At first, companies thought it was just another conference or convention with a new name for marketing purposes.

But the intent and goal of the Wholesale Summit is to unite the wholesaler with their mortgage broker and correspondent clients. Working jointly with one another will ensure prosperity for the marketplace for years to come.

What started as a simple exchange of ideas in an Atlantic City meeting room has grown to become a national meeting of the industry’s top minds, coming together to help shape and form the future of the mortgage marketplace for years to come.

So why this content for the edition featuring “The Future of Mortgage Banking?” Simple … as much as the success of the NAMB Wholesale Summits have been to date, they still cannot accomplish as much as possibly can be done without greater participation of the remaining wholesalers in the mortgage industry. The future of this mortgage industry lies in the collective hands of the players that form the intricate facets and layers of this profession, and so much can be accomplished by the joint collaborative efforts of this group. So I look at the first two NAMB Wholesale Summits as the seed being planted for the future of mortgage banking.

If you are a wholesaler and missed the past two NAMB Wholesale Summits, I urge you to step up to the plate and become a participant sponsor in 2016. This is not a conference, convention or trade show.

Visit this link (nmpmag.com/summit) to read more about the genesis and thought behind the first NAMB Wholesale Summit. As I said at the outset of this column, it is your opportunity to change the mortgage industry for the better for the future.

There will be two NAMB Wholesale Summits annually in 2016, with the first being held Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas at the Hyatt Regency. Take a seat at the table with up to three members of your team and be part of this historic process in growing market share for the wholesale segment, both compliantly and profitably. I urge you to visit http://conta.cc/1OjkFIK for more information on the NAMB Wholesale Summit and to register your team for the 2016 NAMB Wholesale Summits. Also, feel free to contact me directly by e-mail or by phone at (516) 409-5555, ext. 310 if you would like to discuss the Summits.

Change for the better can be made when you have a vision, accompanied by a plan to implement and a vehicle to connect. The NAMB Wholesale Summits deliver just that. Don’t leave the future of this industry in the hands of others without you being at the table!

Sincerely,

Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEO NMP Media Corp. joel@nmpmediacorp.com National Mortgage Professional Magazine is published monthly by NMP Media Corp. • Copyright © 2015 NMP Media Corp.

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

2015-2016 NAPMW National Board of Directors

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

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

1851 South Lakeline Boulevard, Suite 104, Box 303 Phone: (800) 827-3034 • E-mail: napmw@napmw.org Web site: www.napmw.org

National President Kelly Hendricks (314) 398-6840 president@napmw.org

Treasurer Judy Alderson (918) 250-9080, ext. 300 nattreasurer@napmw.org

President-Elect Nikki Bell (678) 442-3966 preselect@napmw.org

Parliamentarian Frances Reinhardt (678) 331-1384 freinhardt@firstservicetitle.net

Vice President Cathy Kantrowitz (845) 463-3011 nvp1@napmw.org

Vice President Laurel Knight (425) 412-6787 nvp2@napmw.org

Secretary Windee Falla (281) 556-9182 natsecretary@napmw.org

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

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DIRECTORS

2014-2015 Board of Directors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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www.DocMagic.com

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1.800.649.1362

TRID Readiness: Will You Pass or Fail?

By Keith Bilodeau On Saturday, Oct. 3, the industry implemented the most sweeping and significant changes in the history of mortgage banking. These changes impact the way we originate, disclose, process and close loans. Unlike previously, these regulations apply evenly to all residential loan originators regardless of who they work for. There is a general lack of understanding of the new requirements and their impact on originators, real estate agents, builders, title companies, settlement service providers and applicant/borrowers. The all-too-common statements of “I will figure it out when it gets here” and “Isn’t it just some new disclosures?” and my favorite, “I just don’t have time to attend TRID training” should concern us all greatly. Below are just a few of the areas likely to be least understood about TRID and the impact it will have on all participants in the loan process.

THE

elite performer Because I’m Happy

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

1. Impact of the realtor on buyers and sellers. Do they know they cannot write a 21-day or even 30-day contract on or after Oct. 3rd? These new regulations are strict and confusing to implement, and timing requirements around the Loan Disclosure, and specifically, the Closing Disclosure make closing within these windows extremely unlikely. If realtors are not setting proper expectations and contract terms, there will be many disappointed and misinformed buyers and sellers. It’s also fair to assume the realtors’ failure to understand and set expectations will somehow become the lenders fault when the loans cannot meet the contract closing date.

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2. The need for policies and procedures. Starting with just the application date. Have all originators spent time defining and documenting policies and procedures for something as basic as being able to defend their “Application Date.” The Application Date is now defined differently than it had been in the past. Incidentally, this is covered in TRID training at great depth.

3. Setting dates. The need to establish specific dates, events, policies and procedures that will subsequently have to be defended to state or federal examiners, or to other parties such as lender/investors and warehouse lenders, only scratches the surface of required TRID knowledge.

4. Adhering to the new rules. On Oct. 3, any requests for credit in pipelines that do NOT have a GFE and TIL (and for broker loans a subsequent TIL) will not be protected under the OLD rules. If any of those requests contain the new six elements that make up an application, they will now become Applications under TRID and will be expected to have a compliant LE issued by no later than EOD Wednesday Oct. 7.

5. A new timetable. Plan for seven to 10 days before expected Consummation (closing date) to be working on the final Closing Disclosure. Anyone who does not understand this should quickly register for TRID training.

It is likely those of you taking time to review this magazine and read this brief editorial have already invested in TRID training. My greater worry is for those who are too busy to invest in TRID training and in their business.

Keith Bilodeau is senior vice president of Wholesale Production at Freedom Mortgage. With more than 30 years of experience in capital markets, operations and production, Keith offers unique expertise in helping mortgage professionals grow their business by leveraging Freedom Mortgage’s technology and programs. He may be reached by e-mail at keith.bilodeau@freedommortgage.com or visit www.freedomwholesale.com.

Lender NMLS ID: 2767. Freedom Mortgage Corporation, 907 Pleasant Valley Avenue, Suite 3, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

ou’re welcome for leaving that jingle in your head the rest of the day. Seriously though … are you happy? It’s a good question I don’t think many of us ask ourselves on a consistent basis. Happiness is described as a mental or emotional state of well-being, defined by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Man, doesn’t that sound great? This makes me really think about the word “contentment” and how much that word can truly define happiness from its roots growing all the way up to intense joy. That “intense joy” is certainly a feeling I want every day, but I wish it were that easy.

Every morning at the gym, I see the same old man walking around, always in the best of moods. He seems to be quite personable and says hello to everyone at the club and everyone knows him. He reminds me of someone that seems truly “It is not how much content with their life and always in good spirits, maybe even riding the intense joy we have, but how much wagon. You can tell when someone has we enjoy, that makes legitimate happiness and pure intentions. They don’t need exterior support or happiness.” influence for joy as they have an internal happy auto-pilot taking care of that. It’s a —Charles Spurgeon good trait to have and those that portray this image certainly attract others.

About once a week, the old man walks up to me and asks a few questions or makes a few comments that really get me thinking. I have to get on myself to not feel as though this is a disruption in my workout when taking off my headphones, providing he always has something valuable to say.

This past week, he asked me how I was doing and how work was going. I told him the common answer and that things were very busy and work was going great, having a great year, etc. He responds by saying how great it is that I am having a successful business. He then asked if this success was bringing me happiness.

I thought for a second, are these two things one in the same? Can you have success without happiness or is happiness the very definition of success? What exactly is success if you’re not happy? I answered by telling him that I was happy, but was I being fully honest? In reality, the more “success” I have as others define it, brings more pressure, responsibility, deadlines and stress at times. Stress and happiness don’t get along all that well. He went on to talk about how important it is that I am truly happy as so few people experience this true happiness.

I think he left me with a challenge to find my true joy. I thought about that for quite some time. I do feel I am content and certainly happy with most things in my life, and of course, my amazing family. I can also say that I certainly have some days where I am happier than other days as do most people. For us to perform our best, I believe we all need “true” happiness and to find what it is that produces this within us. It’s not just about another’s definition of success, but our own definition which must bring us internal happiness or “intense joy.” I believe you cannot be truly successful without it … so are you happy?

Y

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

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Is TRID Really Helping the Consumer?

The potential for unintended consequences that harm homebuyers and sellers is very real

By Joseph J. Murin

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We are now into the early days of the long anticipated TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) era. Like any new regulation, TRID would likely have had an impact on the mortgage industry no matter what its scope. But this one is different. TRID represents perhaps the largest change to affect our industry in decades. It’s about much more than when the forms are due or which numbers go on what line. It’s about changing the way that lenders, settlement agents, brokers and even real estate agents interact and collaborate to push a sales agreement through to loan closing. It’s a process change … and a sweeping change at that.

We know that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enacted this rule to simplify and clarify the ponderous and confusing settlement phase of a home sale for the consumer. Few would argue that the process, as it stood previously, was either simple or transparent. There will also likely be some positive developments as TRID takes root in the industry. Perhaps the many different firms charged with servicing a mortgage transaction will be forced to learn better and more effective ways to communicate and work together.

There are also several potential outcomes created by TRID that could have a very negative impact on the people it is designed to protect. To its credit, the CFPB reviewed thousands of comments as it considered the final rule. It solicited mortgage and real estate industry input.

It even postponed the original Aug. 3 implementation deadline when it became apparent that far too many in the industry were not yet ready (even if that wasn’t the official explanation given).

At the heart of my concern, however, is the reaction to TRID. How will those businesses being more tightly regulated seek to mitigate their own risks and costs? And what really does the consumer want from the real estate transaction? Is the settlement documentation a primary concern to the typical buyer or seller? If anything, I fear TRID is a solution addressed to a threat that doesn’t exist at the level the CFPB believes.

One of my first concerns with TRID has been debated thoroughly in the months running up to the deadline. By now, we know that TRID mandates that the loan estimate (once the Good Faith Estimate) be delivered or placed in the mail no later than the third business day after receiving the consumer’s application. TRID now also requires that a closing disclosure (once a big part of the HUD-1) must be provided to the consumer at least three business days prior to consummation of the transaction. The intent of this provision is certainly clear. Consumers have frequently been surprised by HUD-1s delivered the day of the transaction bearing figures very different than those they had seen on the GFE. This is a legitimate concern, and the rules under RESPA were long flaunted when it came to ambushing a consumer at the closing table.

Consider, however, the likely consequences as the three-day rule goes into effect. Scheduling the closing, already a delicate ballet of coordination and adjustment in many places, will be much more difficult. Worse still, many closings will have to be postponed as a matter of law where a title company or loan officer makes a mistake or fails to deliver one of the TRID forms in a timely fashion. What does this mean for the harried home buyer or home seller who is depending on the date of the closing

because of a contingency with his or her existing home? Will we see families sleeping on moving trucks because they are temporarily homeless for three days? Probably not. But we will see a lot of frustrated consumers, real estate agents and lenders.

It’s certain that the requirements of TRID will result in more collaboration between lenders and settlement services firms, as well as real estate agents and brokers. It’s also very likely that the period between sales agreement and closing will be extended. There will be more to do, more communication required and more opportunities for an error to occur in the back-and-forth between service providers. As a result, longer closing times will be built into the process to accommodate the extended process.

My biggest concern with TRID, however, is the increased amount of expenses put upon the lender and the service provider. New technology; training; increased staff; possibly even more time on the phone (depending on how a lender communicates with its service providers) and, of course, increased resources put toward compliance all add up to higher costs throughout the industry. At what point will lenders decide it’s becoming too expensive to originate a mortgage? Will they build these costs into the mortgage where allowable by law?

Absolutely. The same holds true with settlement service provides. No longer will they be able to absorb higher operating costs for the sake of being competitive but will need to face the reality of charging a fair cost for services rendered. Although I don’t foresee a mass exodus of mortgage lenders and service providers, I do envision the potential for the consumers to experience a significant cost to the mortgage

process. I can also easily imagine lenders taking even fewer risks as to the markets they will serve or the credit they will extend, all to accommodate deteriorating margins.

My question, therefore, is this: Which elements of the transaction do the majority of consumers who participate in the homebuying or home selling process value most? Is it a larger selection of available mortgage products from more lenders, or not having 72 hours to review their settlement services fees? Would they accept a bit more documentation if it meant shaving days or even weeks of delay between the time of the sales agreement and the closing? I’m not remotely suggesting that this is an either-or proposition. Transparency and clarity do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive with speed, convenience and price. But I fear that TRID has made that a possibility.

Only time will tell if my concerns are founded. TRID is here to stay—at least for the foreseeable future. I have no doubt we will adapt and improve our processes to accommodate it. But it will be interesting to see the balance between how much it helps the consumer … and how much it harms him or her.

Joseph J. Murin is chairman of JJAM Financial Services and vice chairman of Chrysalis Holding LLC. He is the former chairman of The Collingwood Group LLC, and served as president of Ginnie Mae in 2007-2008. Murin was previously with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), to which he brought more than 40 years of diverse experience in the financial services, mortgage and banking industries, including roles as the CEO of a number of financial organizations such as Century Mortgage, Basis 100, Lender’s Service Inc., and MSNi LLC.

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AAG Adds Jumbo Reverse Mortgage Offering to Its Product Line

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American Advisors Group (AAG) has announced the launch its new jumbo reverse mortgage loan program, called the AAG Advantage. With AAG Advantage, qualified borrowers may now obtain a reverse mortgage on properties valued at up to $6 million, versus the FHA loan limit of $625,500 associated with a traditional Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan.

The AAG Advantage is available not only to owners of property types eligible for a HECM loan, but also to owners of Ginnie Mae-approved condominiums.

This means borrowers whose properties previously may not have qualified for a reverse mortgage now have access to this viable retirement planning tool. The AAG Advantage will initially be made available to senior homeowners in select states, and will roll out to other U.S. states in subsequent phases.

Like a HECM reverse mortgage, AAG Advantage is designed for borrowers age 62 or older to convert a portion of their home equity into cash to help them retire comfortably. With AAG Advantage, owners of higher value homes now have the opportunity to borrow up to $3 million in loan proceeds—a significantly higher amount than offered through a traditional HECM loan. With the AAG Advantage, borrowers are not required to pay mortgage insurance premiums that are charged with a government-insured reverse mortgage.

“With our new AAG Advantage, we’re proud to help extend reverse mortgages to a greater number of seniors and provide borrowers with higher value homes a solution to access more funds,” stated AAG chief executive officer Reza Jahangiri. “The launch of AAG’s jumbo reverse mortgage loan further reinforces our commitment to helping American seniors age in place and gain greater financial freedom.”

Credit Plus Introduces New FraudPlus ID Feature

ture, FraudPlus ID, that can be added to its credit reports to help validate a borrower’s name, address, date of birth, Social Security Number and phone number. In addition, FraudPlus ID goes even further and reviews the borrower’s data against the Industry Standard Exclusionary Watch lists.

For just a minimal fee on each credit report, lenders will get a clear picture of their borrowers. They’ll also realize greater cost savings for those pre-qualifications who don’t qualify for a complete FraudPlus report. In addition, the feature can be turned on for every credit report thereby ensuring identity validation is always ordered.

“This new feature enhances FraudPlus by taking identity validation to the next level,” said Greg Holmes, national director of sales and marketing at Credit Plus.

“By ensuring borrowers are who they say they are, lenders will have greater peace of mind that their risk of fraud has been minimized.”

and services to a specific subset of U.S. property owners.”

Registered users can create customized lists in real time with the counts of available records updated daily. Customers pay per property record downloaded, and can preview the number of records that match their criteria before downloading.

“More important than the vast size of our dataset is the quality of our data,” said Kevin Kerley, director of data solutions at RealtyTrac. “While many data providers merely resell third-party lists, we collect data from a broad range of sources. Our lead generation platform allows you to target new homeowners, renters, highincome households, and countless other demographics. The ability to create and refine a list of targeted leads makes our Marketing List platform the perfect tool for retailers, financial service firms, Realtors, and other business owners.”

RealtyTrac Launches Enhanced Marketing List Lead Generation Platform

Vantage Production Enhances VIP’s Mobile Functionality

RealtyTrac has announced the launch of its enhanced Marketing List Lead Generation Platform, allowing customers to leverage RealtyTrac’s nationwide real estate data on more than 120 million U.S. residential and commercial properties to create targeted marketing lists in a convenient, self-service online interface.

“With RealtyTrac’s proprietary real estate intelligence and extensive mailing list development, you get the data segmentation and modeling information you need to precisely target your outreach and fuel customer acquisition and retention,” said Rob Barber, CEO at RealtyTrac. “Users can find homeowners nationwide based on geographic and demographic characteristics. This opens up numerous new marketing list applications for virtually every type of business looking to market its products

Vantage Production LLC has announced a major enhancement to its enterprise-class CRM platform, VIP. The new capability, Vantage Mobile, makes a full array of VIP’s renowned functionality available on mobile devices, enabling comprehensive “on the go” features that greatly amplify the success of mortgage loan originators (MLOs) in the field. Vantage Production’s advanced design brings a complete range of true mobile VIP capabilities to mortgage origination.

“Lenders that are serious about staying competitive need a solid mobile strategy,” said Vantage Production President and CEO Sue Woodard, who personally originated loans for over 20 years. “A simple Internet presence is no longer enough,” she cautioned. “Lenders

need true functionality that benefits all parties, including MLOs, referral partners and borrowers.”

Vantage Mobile enables MLOs to easily conduct critical marketing, sales and service tasks—including referral partner relationship management—regardless of where they are or the time of day. VIP client MLOs can manage leads; view all client loan status data; access referral partner information, add new partners and implement co-marketing; plus perform other key tasks and quickly get information needed to accelerate sales and provide exemplary service that sets them apart.

“Having the right answer at the right time to a borrower question or referral partner concern often makes the difference between continued commitment to the MLO’s service and losing out to a competitor,” said Woodard.

“Vantage Mobile is a giant step forward for MLO sales effectiveness. Now loan originators can accomplish many tasks they would otherwise have to perform in their offices, such as adding a referral partner on the fly or launching a marketing campaign. Full information on every lead is available, along with critical MBS market information and analysis to help MLOs provide the best rate guidance possible.”

LoanLogics Updates Its Compliance Audit for TRID

LoanLogics has released enhancements to its Compliance Audit interface in support of the new TILA-RESPA (TRID) regulations that took effect Oct. 3, 2015. The Compliance Audit interface is found within LoanLogics’ LoanHD platform. LoanLogics now provides the tools needed to identify, track and trend loan discrepancies and defects related to the use of the new closing disclosures. The result is that clients have the internal communication, training and documentation processes

continued on page 18

Credit Plus has announced a new fea-

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EWSFLASH l OCTOBER 2015 l NMP NEWSFLASH l OCTOBER 2015 NMP NEWSFL House Committee Passes Two CFPB Reform Bills

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The House Financial Services Committee has passed a pair of bills that would change the power structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

HR 1266, the Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2015, removes the CFPB from within the Federal Reserve System and makes it a standalone agency. The bill also replaces the office of director with a new five-member bipartisan commission. Otherwise, all powers granted to the CFPB in the Dodd-Frank Act remain unchanged. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX), passed by a 35-24 vote.

HR 957, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2015, would create a new Inspector General for the CFPB that would require a presidential nomination and a Senate confirmation. Currently, the Federal Reserve’s Inspector General performs double-duty with the CFPB. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Stivers (ROH), passed in a 56-3 vote.

“Consumers are understandably concerned about our economy,” said Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). “We remain stuck in the worst recovery of the last 70 years.

At the same time, they’re concerned that Washington is taking away their choices and raising many of their costs.”

It is uncertain whether either bill will gain traction in the Senate. The White House has already threatened to veto any bill that rearranges the CFPB power structure.

Cordray Takes Credit for Housing Market Successes Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), offered a display of self-congratulatory accolade by crediting his agency as being at the core of today’s housing market vibrancy.

In a speech delivered before the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Cordray claimed that the CFPB’s rules to “encourage common-sense, consumerfriendly business practices” were key to the current level of positive housing market achievements. Noting the Ability-to-Repay (ATR) and the Qualified Mortgage (QM) rules as examples of improvements created by his agency, Cordray stated that industry data refuted the predictions of critics that the CFPB would ruin housing.

“In 2014, the first year of our new rules, mortgage originations for owneroccupied home purchases increased between four and five percent,” Cordray said. “The upward trend appears to have accelerated over the first half of this year. And while we saw minor consolidation in some parts of the mortgage market, there is no evidence of any mass exodus, as the doomsayers predicted. In fact, after adjusting for merger activity, the number of lenders that reported having originated mortgages showed an increase in 2014. And in particular, the number of community banks and credit unions that originated home-purchase mortgages last year was higher than the year before.”

Cordray added that the CFPB has been “taking pains” to create special rules designed to protect community banks and credit unions, and he acknowledged that real estate brokers “suffered greatly during the [2008 financial] crisis and its aftermath” while pledging the Bureau would work with this profession “to ensure that consumers’ experience of the financial marketplace and the promise of the American Dream are one and the same.” He also insisted that the CFPB was the friend of the honest lenders and the foe of the dishonest ones.

“Reasonable regulation of financial markets, which includes evenhanded oversight and enforcement of the law, should always tend to benefit the most responsible providers,” Cordray said.

“By taking on and rooting out unfair

competition that gobbled up market share by driving down sound underwriting standards, the Consumer Bureau is supporting responsible lenders. The market leaders of today are those that have remained focused on providing sustainable homeownership rather than just making a quick buck, no matter how.”

Homebuying Hits Most Affordable Level in Two Years in Q1 RealtyTrac and Clear Capital have released a joint report showing that buying a home was at the most affordable level in two years in the first quarter of 2015 despite the average U.S. home price increasing at more than twice the pace of the average weekly wage nationwide over the past year.

For the report, RealtyTrac analyzed recently released Q1 2015 average weekly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and average prices for single family homes and condos derived from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by RealtyTrac in 582 U.S. counties with sufficient home price data. Average interest rates on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage came from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Clear Capital analyzed data from its Home Data Index to determine counties at highest risk and lowest risk based on affordability and potential for price growth.

Average home price appreciation outpaced average wage growth between the first quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 in 397 out of 582 (68 percent) U.S. counties analyzed for the report. But during the same time period, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped 57 basis points (13 percent), from 4.34 percent in the first quarter of 2014 to 3.77 percent in the first quarter

of 2015. The drop in interest rates— along with wage growth outpacing home price appreciation in 32 percent of counties—meant buying a home in the first quarter of 2015 required a smaller share of the average wage compared to a year ago in 339 of the 582 counties (58 percent).

“Although home prices continue to outpace wage growth in the majority of local markets, this analysis somewhat surprisingly shows that affordability is actually improving in most markets thanks to falling interest rates and slowing home price growth, which is allowing wage growth to catch up in some markets,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “At the national level, buying an averagepriced home in the first quarter of 2015 was the most affordable it’s been in two years and nearly twice as affordable as it was in the second quarter of 2006—when affordability was its worst in the past 10 years. At the local level we’re seeing several bellwether markets where wage growth matched or even outpaced home price growth over the past year.”

Major markets where wage growth outpaced home price growth in the first quarter—counter to the national trend—included Cook County, Ill. in the Chicago metro area; Orange County, Calif. in the Los Angeles metro area; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Fairfax County, Va. in the Washington, D.C., metro area; and Riverside County in Southern California, where the average weekly wage in the first quarter was up 10 percent from a year ago, double the five percent growth in average home prices during the same time period.

The average U.S. home price is still 12 percent below where it was in the second quarter of 2006, when buying a home was at the least affordable level in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, the average wage nationwide has risen 34 percent and the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has dropped 44 percent during that same time period, resulting in a 48 percent improvement in affordability.

Among all 582 counties analyzed in the report, only 20 (three percent) exceeded their 10-year affordability

averages in the first quarter of 2015, including counties in the Nashville, Lansing, Michigan, Cincinnati, Memphis, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta metro areas.

tives from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and Habitat for Humanity International.

Trade Groups Oppose Proposed FHLB Rule Changes

Ocwen CEO Ron Faris Honored With HomeFreeA coalition of USA’s Community industry trade Champion Award Ocwen Financial Corporation has announced that its President and CEO Ron Faris was presented with the Community Champion Award from HomeFreeUSA, a counseling agency and home-

Griffin’s experience working with Ocwen was echoed by her peers at local and national non-profit organizations, Ocwen customers and Ocwen employees during a brief video that was premiered during the event.

“On behalf of everyone at Ocwen, it is an honor to receive the HomeFreeUSA Community Champion Award,” said Faris. “Partnering with non-profit community organizations like HomeFree-USA is integral to our business model. At Ocwen we respect and value the contributions of housing counselors and are highly motivated to continue our partnerships to build on our shared success.” continued on page 16

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groups has sent a letter to the leadership of the House Financial Services Committee calling on them to reject a proposed Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) rule that alters the membership requirements in the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system.

The proposed rule, which was first issued in September 2014, rewrites the Federal Home Loan Bank Act regarding the mortgage asset ratio requirement that applies when an institution applies for FHLB system membership.

Under the proposed change, the ratio would be changed from a one-time consideration in the application process into an on-going obligation.

“We respectfully urge Congress to prohibit this proposed rule from taking effect,” said the letter from the trade groups. “Congress should also direct FHFA to consult with stakeholders to evaluate an appropriate membership structure to allow the system to best serve its mission in the 21st Century.”

The trade groups added that the changes would risk “undermining member confidence in the system, forcing current members to consider the risk that they may one day find themselves on the wrong side of an arbitrary requirement.”

The trade groups also oppose a second proposed change would prevent captive insurance companies from being part of the FHLB system. In their letter, they noted that many captive insurance companies are owned by or affiliated with mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs), which are currently the direct holders of nearly $300 billion in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that were purchased via permanent capital raised in the public markets.

“Notably, this influx of capital has helped partially replace the declining retained portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” the letter said. “In turn, the system helps captive insurers, and by extension their parent companies, by providing flexibility in funding terms. The ability to match funding terms with expected asset maturities allows these companies to invest in a greater array of mortgages and MBS— including those to borrowers who remain underserved. In return, the System receives more collateral than other sources of funding, such as Wall Street repurchase agreements. It is worthwhile to note that the system has never lost money on an advance.”

The letter was signed by representa-

ownership development organization.

The award, presented at HomeFreeUSA’s Leadership and Training Conference, recognized Faris for his vision and innovation in servicing challenging mortgage portfolios as well as his personal commitment to keep families in their homes whenever possible.

“Ron Faris is a man of character who cares about doing the right thing for struggling borrowers,” said Marcia Griffin, founder and president of HomeFree-USA. “Ocwen has been there since the beginning. Under Ron’s leadership, Ocwen has employed creative solutions to help homeowners, particularly those in minority communities, better afford their homes and avoid foreclosure.”

Compliance in Marketing

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Learn how to use the new TRID regulations and credit data to grow your business. Nowadays, organizations cannot rely on miracles to keep them out of hot water with governing agencies. In this competitive environment, mortgage companies are being compelled to continuously growing their business and attract new clients and also to stay in compliance with federal regulations.

One of the largest regulations to be handed down to the mortgage industry in recent times is known as TRID. TRID says you have to give the borrower a three-day loan estimate and the customer can walk away from the table at any point, and for any reason, during that three-day period.

As mortgage professionals, you have access to extremely sensitive information. Use the tools you have at your disposal as a lender to generate more business. As a lender, whether you are a banker or a broker, you have access to extremely specific information to target consumers for your marketing and to generate new business. Only lenders can access credit information. Utilize credit data to help you personalize your marketing campaigns in many different ways. You can use credit data to defend yourself against things like the new three-day TRID rule. It can be matched perfectly with the many compliance enforcement guidelines and all of the new regulations that seem to be popping up.

Extremely specific campaigns that require an understanding of the guidelines, but also an understanding of the data available to you. TRID's three-day loan estimate won't be a problem if you pre-screen your prospects. Create your own personal market by selecting the customers you want to work with. You can pre-screen your prospect list in many different ways. The most common selects to pre-qualify the borrower are; loan amount, revolving debt, loan type, income, LTV, mortgage open date, credit score, and debt ratio. By following the guidelines around the use of credit data and pre-screening your target borrower, you already know they qualify so you are not wasting the borrower’s time or your own. This creates a sense of trust and loyalty with the borrower by showing that you care.

TagQuest was recently awarded the status of being a fully authorized agent with one of the major credit reporting agencies. That is the highest rank you can get as a marketing company. As a marketer, it is our job to keep you informed as to what is available to you.

Customer Spotlight: Jason P., Branch Manager in Georgia Each month, we talk with our clients to see how their campaigns are going. Here’s some feedback we received from Jason P., a branch manager in Georgia.

Marketing method: Direct mail l Volume: 5,000 pieces l Response rate: More than one percent l Results: More than a 20 percent conversion rate into working loans that will close Highlights of the campaign that worked well …

“Easy! It’s really turnkey.”

Highlights of the campaign that might appeal to others in the mortgage industry …

“Even with the Internet and all of the technology today, direct mail still has its place, and it can offer a better ROI than most other forms of marketing/advertising … you just have to do it the right way.”

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

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

nmp news flash continued from page 15

HomeFree-USA is a HUD-approved homeownership development, foreclosure intervention and financial empowerment organization. Since 1995, HomeFree-USA has helped more than 23,000 families experience the accomplishment and joy of purchasing their first home. HomeFree-USA is also a member of Ocwen’s Community Advisory Council, a diverse 17-member group of national, regional, and local non-profit housing counseling, community development, and civil rights organizations from across the country.

HUD Grants Relief to Victims of Hurricane Sandy The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has decided that it will not force thousands of New York and New Jersey homeowners to repay federal disaster recovery funds following a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to increase flood insurance claim payments to families it initially underpaid following Hurricane Sandy. Federal law provides HUD the discretion to weigh the realworld recovery challenges faced by many of these families against another legal requirement that prohibits any federal ‘duplication of benefits.’

Harriet Tregoning, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development, has informed state and local leaders in the Sandy-impacted region that additional flood insurance proceeds up to $20,000 will not be subject to a duplication of benefits review or collection.

This will eliminate the need for HUD grantees to reclaim assistance from these households, or to repay those funds through non-federal sources. To date, three-out-of-four National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claimants received less than $20,000 in additional compensation from FEMA and would not face any possible repayment.

Families who received/will receive more than $20,000 in additional flood insurance payments will still have the opportunity to demonstrate the added claim payments address legitimate unmet needs and therefore are not duplicative.

“These families have suffered enough and shouldn’t be further victimized through no fault of their own,” said Tregoning. “We have a larger responsibility to facilitate recovery, not to hinder it just because these families didn’t receive sufficient flood insurance payments.”

HUD determined that below $20,000, any benefit gained by going through a protracted process of reexamining and documenting costs incurred by homeowners would not outweigh the larger

financial and human costs associated with doing so. For those NFIP policyholders who receive more than $20,000 in additional claim payments, HUD will require its grantees (primarily New York State, New York City, and the State of New Jersey) to determine whether any amount over $20,000 duplicates federal assistance already provided.

On Oct. 29th, 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast of the U.S., damaging or destroying 650,000 homes and generating nearly 145,000 claims from homeowners to FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Thousands of these policyholders received insufficient flood insurance payments due to alleged fraud on the part of FEMA contractors charged with determining damage payouts. FEMA invited homeowners to appeal their claim payments which resulted (and will continue to result) in additional flood insurance payments.

The Stafford Act requires the Federal Government and its state and local grantees to assure that any Federal assistance deemed duplicative to be repaid. Prior to the decision, many public leaders and homeowners alike expressed concerns that any additional FEMA flood insurance payments would trigger the law’s prohibition against duplication of benefits. However, the Act also gives HUD’s Secretary discretion in those cases where recovering any duplicated benefits would not be in the Federal Government’s interest.

Residential Construction Up in August Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $383.3 billion in August, 1.3 percent above the revised July estimate of $378.5 billion, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $404.7 billion in August, 0.2 percent above the revised July estimate of $403.8 billion.

Overall construction spending during August was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,08 billion, a very slight 0.7 percent increase above the revised July estimate of $1,07 billion but 13.7 percent above the August 2014 estimate of $955 billion. During the first eight months of this year, construction spending amounted to $683.4 billion, 9.8 percent above the $622.4 billion for the same period in 2014.

Spending on private construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $788.0 billion, 0.7 percent above the revised July estimate of $782.3 bilcontinued on page 38

Your lender should be your strongest link.

17

Connect with us. Visit flagstar.com/ae to find an account executive near you.

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

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Warehouse lines up to $100 million • Agency/government products • Multi-channel delivery Underwriting flexibility • TRID-ready • Local account executives—direct point of contact

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

With decades of industry know-how, Flagstar is a partner you can rely on.

Writing and Formatting Your Mailer

By K. Justin Restaino With so many marketing channels available, it can be difficult to determine the best strategy to reach prospects. However, we’d argue that direct mail is so impactful that every mortgage lender should consider incorporating it into their marketing efforts.

Direct mail offers you the advantage of personalization that other mediums—like television, radio, flyers and billboards—don’t. Rather than sending out generic, one-size-fits-all pieces, incorporate personalization into your mailing. For example, don’t send your mailer to “Dear Homeowner at 15 Main Street.” Instead, try the more personal, “Dear Amanda.”

This month, we’ll share helpful advice to maximize your direct mail piece writing and composition of the piece.

The copy “What constitutes appealing copy?” you might be wondering. In a nutshell, the copy that is going to be the most successful with your target audience has the following attributes: l The copy is direct, straightforward and to the point. l It’s written the way people speak, rather than in flowery language. l It avoids lots of industry jargon that might be confusing for recipients. l The copy is benefits-driven, i.e., it speaks to what a loan can do for the prospect (save hundreds of dollars a month, free up more money to travel, go from being a renter to grilling in the backyard of your first home, etc.).

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The format By and large, people tend to skim lengthy pieces. However, don’t let that stop you from getting your point across. Fortunately, formatting can help and to guarantee that people will immediately notice and read the main benefits of your services, we recommend the following: l Avoid using lengthy blocks of text. Instead, keep paragraphs to two to three sentences. l Bold important sentences and use bullet points or subheads if necessary. l Create a headline and a PS. Studies show that these attract lots of attention. Take advantage of that by writing something attention-grabbing in these sections.

The execution A call-to-action (CTA) is critical in any direct mail piece. Essentially, the CTA is a guide that instructs the recipient to take a specific action after receiving your mailer. Your CTA will also allow you to track the success of your campaign, because you can easily evaluate how many of your direct mail recipients performed your CTA. The best CTAs are time-sensitive (“For a limited time …”) and easy to do. l Some CTAs you might want to consider include: Signing up for your email marketing list, downloading a free e-book, liking your social media page, visiting a landing page that you specifically designed for the mailer, etc.

Direct mail yields excellent results for mortgage lenders for a number of reasons: It’s easy to target to a specific demographic, offers measurable results, conveys legitimacy, enables personalization, and provides many different types of mailers to help marketers differentiate themselves from their competition.

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

new to market continued from page 12

to audit their compliance with the new regulations.

“LoanLogics has completed several TRID enhancements to our Compliance Audit interface to help clients cost effectively evaluate their compliance with TRID and relieve some of their concerns around defects related to these changes,” said Brian K. Fitzpatrick, president and CEO of LoanLogics. “Our technology can help drive a culture of lending where teamwork, timing and tracking are paramount to ensure loan quality and compliance while reducing the manual tasks and associated labor costs.”

MBA Launches TRID Resource for Consumers and Lenders

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) launched a set of resource guidelines to educate both consumers and lenders and their business partners needing to comply with the new “Know Before You Owe” or TILA RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) regulations that went into effect Oct. 3, 2015.

“MBA has worked closely with the CFPB to create these materials so that both consumers and the real estate community can comply with the new procedures in an efficient and smooth process,” said MBA President and CEO David Stevens. “Our industry has been preparing for these changes over the last several months and we are confident that everyone involved in the closing process will benefit as a result of these new rules.”

The resources are comprised of several documents designed to assist consumers and the broader real estate community in plain, easy-to-understand language.

They include: l Consumer One-Pager: Targeted for consumers and covering the changes of Know Before You Owe; l Lender One-Pager: Targeted for real estate agents and broker partners, also covering the changes brought

by Know Before You Owe; l PowerPoint Slide Deck: Targeted for real estate agents and broker partners to use in presentations with colleagues.

eOriginal Launches Datalytics Auditing and Compliance Solution

mortgage platform. eOriginal has spearheaded the collaboration of several integration partners to deliver a fully digital process that includes eNotarization, eRecording, eWarehousing, eCustodian services and integration with Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) compliant SmartDocs and Forms.

Ahead of the mortgage technology adoption, eOriginal pioneered what is believed to be the first all-digital paperless home purchase and mortgage transactions in the U.S. in July of 2000 through a patented process. The entire homebuying process—from closing the loan, recording the documents and delivering the package to the secondary mortgage market—took less than three hours to complete. “eOriginal is and has been ready for end-to-end digital mortgage for more than 15 years,” said Stephen Bisbee, CEO and president of eOriginal Inc. “Now that the marketplace has caught up to us, we are excited to see how our eMortgage platform will empower marketplace lenders and lending industries—providing consumers with anticipated innovation and supporting the requirements of regulators like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” eOriginal has also announced the debut of Datalytics, a real-time asset-level auditing and compliance solution for the financial services industry. Originally driven by the increasing demand for detailed real-time monitoring in support of eOriginal’s electronic mortgage solution, Datalytics provides analysis, monitoring and reporting of origination data for faster audit request response and to prevent errors and resubmissions. The solution provides a full chain of custody for data across the loan process at the asset-level, which will enable an unprecedented level of insight and due diligence while saving time, reducing risk and decreasing costs.

The new solution complements eOriginal’s eAsset Management Platform, one of the most secure platforms on the market for managing electronic business transactions and protecting financial assets post-signature throughout their lifecycle.

Incorporating origination data into a configurable dashboard with intuitive drill down capabilities, Datalytics provides asset-backed security (ABS) buyers with asset-level data and document association with confirmation that there have been no modifications and alerts if there are any.

ISGN Enhances Its Settlement Services Platform to Conform to TRID Mandate ISGN Corporation has announced enhancements to its Gators set-

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

eOriginal Inc. has announced the launch of a fully-electronic, disruptive

continued on page 32

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n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

NAMB PERSPECTIVE The President’s Message: October 2015 It has been a whirlwind 13 months as your NAMB president. As I look back, I see many of my original goals were accomplished, but some were not. I’m

certain that is typical of any leadership role. It actually surprised me to find how many of my original 50 goals were either accomplished, set in motion, or tried and found not to be as wonderful as I had thought. Many items I suggest-

The CEO Perspective A Message From NAMB CEO Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS

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Well here we are at another NAMB National … it’s that time of the year. It’s a time when we change over to a new board of directors, a new set of exhibitors that will make this NAMB National one of the best yet. I personally want to welcome you to the best conference we have put on to date.

Your attendance at NAMB National states that we are all on the way back and are doing incredible things as mortgage professionals.

As I depart the board of directors as immediate past president, we will welcome three new board members: Bob Sweeney from Indiana, Michele Velez from California and Nathan Pierce from Utah. These are

excellent choices to be added to the board, and they will be led by your new President Rocke Andrews.

For those of you who do not know a lot about Rocke, he is a statewide past president from the Arizona Association of Mortgage Professionals.

Rocke comes to the presidency working his way up the ladder. He became a board member in 2011, and has helped me and John Councilman out in a lot of ways. He has definitely earned your support and is an excellent choice for your next president.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the job that John Councilman has done this past year. To be truthful, following my three-year presidency had to be hard, and John set some goals and was successful with most of them. As president, you set a

NAMB’s Wholesale Partnership

By Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS NAMB recently completed its Second Wholesale Summit. This was a very successful event and helped to further cement our partner relationships in this third-party origination (TPO) channel. The wholesalers are looking to NAMB to help in educating loan originators, as well as account executives, and NAMB is looking at what we can do to improve broker relationships.

In an informal setting, we bring originator problems to the investors and they bring their challenges to

us. This open line of communication helps each side understand the other better.

The primary topic of discussion this time was TRID and how each wholesaler is going to handle the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure forms. Obviously this will probably change by the time we meet again, but it helps us to coordinate solutions. They explained their technology issues. One item that came up was only one originator may disclose per borrower. So if your borrower is shopping and the other competitor is using the same source as you the first to input the data will get the disclosures and the other is out of luck. If

ed would not have worked without the input of the board and staff.

I’m not disappearing into the night, although there may be a few people who wouldn’t mind that. I look forward to working with NAMB’s new president, Rocke Andrews, and the new board in the coming year. I even get to vote like a regular board member rather than just chair board meetings.

If you would aspire to a leadership

role within NAMB, let me or someone on the board know. We need people with a passion for the industry to step up and make a difference.

Sincerely,

number of goals and hope you can accomplish a few. But the one thing that remains to me as the one I wish I had thought about was to set up a sub-committee on diversity. John had a great idea and this committee will be a continuing committee throughout the next five years or so.

Great job John and welcome to the elite world of NAMB past presidents.

I am also excited about the upcoming year to serve as your CEO. I signed a new three-year agreement to do this and I really am excited to continue to work with all of you for that period of time. One of my jobs this year is to be the Conference Committee Chair to oversee all three NAMB conferences. Yes … I said three. NAMB will be adding a new conference called NAMB EAST 2016, which will be held Tuesday-Friday, March 8-11, 2016 at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa in Hilton Head, S.C. and will be a great experience for all who attend. We are going to change up the format for this, so stay tuned.

With that said, you cannot forget the NAMB 2016 Legislative & Regulatory Conference, set for Sunday-Wednesday, April 10-13, 2016 in Washington, D.C. So while you are attending NAMB National in Vegas, please take note of the things you liked and the things you did not. We will be sending out a survey to get your ideas. I thank you for your support on this.

It will only make your event better in the future.

I also need you to join the party … you need to become an NAMB member today! We are aiming to break the 15,000 member mark. Log on to JoinNAMB.org to become a member today. Let me be frank … we need you! So come and help us and become part of a great organization that believes in you and what you do. No questions asked!

your borrower decides to go with you, but another disclosed through their site the borrower will need to request you so they can delete the other file—similar to what has always happened for dual loans, but something that will arise more often in the new era of TRID disclosures.

We also asked our partners to participate in our legislative efforts. They agreed to pass on our requests for grassroots participation and local contacts with members of Congress to help get our mutual concerns addressed with laws and regulations.

They, in turn, asked us to help them with a certification for their account representatives that they could use to show our members their knowledge and dedication for our industry. Wholesalers are also concerned with bringing new workers to our field and are working to provide a path to new entrants to learn and be successful in the loan

origination business.

Topics we are looking at working on in the future include a more uniform and reasonable broker agreement, sales training for originators, and joint efforts to solve regulation issues. We are all really on the same team trying to increase the TPO channel, while best serving the consumer. It has, and will continue to be, a profitable channel for wholesalers and brokers, while providing a knowledgeable and lower-priced option for the consumer. Please support our wholesale partners as they are supporting you through numerous efforts to better our industry and organization.

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

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS is chief executive officer for NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professional. He may be reached by e-mail at namb.ceo@namb.org.

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

NAMB PERSPECTIVE NAMB is Back!

By John L. Councilman, CMC, CRMS A few years ago, things looked very bleak for NAMB and for our industry. We weren’t at all certain the country would survive economically, much less our industry.

NAMB was $1.5 million in debt and had no money in the bank. Our wholesale lenders were going bankrupt, the big banks had left the wholesale channel, membership was plummeting, and our conferences were only drawing a few hundred people and losing money. Even voices inside NAMB were calling for us to declare bankruptcy and start a new association. A few of NAMB’s top leaders said, “No way! We will not declare bankruptcy. We will not quit! That is not the news that our economy needs. We have a responsibility to our industry and to our country.”

As NAMB’s treasurer, perhaps the only person foolish enough to take the

job, I insisted we would survive, no matter what we had to cut and what work we would have to do ourselves.

NAMB’s board took on the monumental task of doing all that a paid staffer had done previously. It took a lot of sacrifice. Wounds that had divided our membership and our state chapters were healed, in no small part due to the uncanny ability of Don Frommeyer to build consensus. Within two years, our state chapters were solidly back in the fold and NAMB was in the black. The rest is something of a fairytale-like story.

As people began to realize that NAMB was here to stay, membership began to slowly rise. Our social media channels began to pick up members and followers. Government officials still knew NAMB and probably didn’t realize how perilously close we can come to extinction. Picking up the ball on legislative issues was much easier, especially since we were able to maintain our primary lobbyist, Roy DeLoach.

The last shoe to drop into place was

l NAMB Testifies Before Congress

Are You an NAMB Lending Integrity Seal of Approval Holder?

(No additional costs to NAMB members)

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

Lending Integrity Requirements

l NAMB Works With the CFPB l NAMB Participates in Multiple Regulatory/CFPB Panels l NAMB Webinars l Full-Time NAMB Lobbyist on Capitol Hill l NAMB Protects Your Business l NAMB Forms Industry Coalitions l NAMB Education

For detailed information, visit www.namb.org.

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

l l l l l l l l l

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

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n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

www.namb.org … JOIN TODAY!

in many ways. Trade associations help the industry to grow. You are not alone, just as long as we band together to promote our industry and solve our problems. We protect one another because we don’t stand a chance going at it alone. There are still far too many mortgage originators who haven’t gotten that message. If you haven’t joined NAMB, do it today. We have kept NAMB membership costs among the lowest of any national trade association.

You may be reading this article at NAMB National. If so, thanks for coming to Las Vegas. Enjoy yourself at the great parties and social events. Learn how to be the best possible mortgage professional at our sessions, and don’t forget to take advantage of all of the opportunities to learn how to make more money. It is all made possible by your membership in NAMB.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Why Do I Need NAMB?

the restoration of NAMB’s conferences.

Vince Valvo has been a godsend. He took our great content, sold out the exhibitor booths and made attendance soar.

Today, NAMB is back! Everything NAMB did at its peak is now back in place. Our conferences are great and very well-attended. NAMB National is vying to become the largest mortgage conference in the United States. Top speakers are back at our Legislative & Regulatory Conference, and we will be unveiling the details on NAMB East shortly. We are able to influence lawmakers to introduce legislation favorable to originators and we help the CFPB understand our issues and consider them. Membership had tremendous gains this year. Our social media presence is gaining 20 percent yearover-year. Wholesale lenders are in lock-step with NAMB. Our leadership is nothing less than amazing.

What does all of that mean to you?

It means your industry and your job are safer and more productive. When you have a strong trade association, your interests are powerfully protected

NAMB PERSPECTIVE

getting toknow Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS NAMB President-Elect B Y

OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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22 Rocke Andrews is no stranger to readers of National Mortgage Professional Magazine or to the industry as a whole. As broker/owner at Tucson, Ariz.-based Lending Arizona LLC, he is one of the most prominent figures in the Grand Canyon State. And after a number of years in high-profile positions within NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals, he will become the organization’s president in Las Vegas at the association’s NAMB National conference.

We spoke with Andrews about NAMB, his work, the industry and its relationship with the federal government.

How did you get into the mortgage profession? Was this something you always wanted to pursue?

Rocke Andrews: I graduated as a civil engineer, and really didn’t enjoy that. In 1987, I decided to get a real estate license–I saw greater flexibility and income potential in that field and it enabled me to be my own boss.

That was back during the start of

P H I L

the savings and loan crisis. Did that impact you?

Not on my business, in particular.

There was just the general effect on the economy.

So, all of these years later, are you still satisfied with your career switch?

I find that being a mortgage broker is the best way to get mortgages to people. The professional died out a little bit with the economic crisis. But today, service is probably better for getting mortgages to people.

How did you first get involved with NAMB? I was working at Nova Financial in the early 1990s when a wholesale rep for Countrywide took members of our office to the Arizona brokers association’s luncheon. The people there were friendlier and more willing to share ideas than at the mortgage bankers’ organization. I attended my first NAMB convention in 1996.

When did you become further involved in NAMB? I served on the Education Committee

H A L L

in 2009, and I was elected to the board of directors in 2012.

Did you become involved with your state association as well?

I was president of NAMB’s state affiliate in Arizona in 2001, but my initial goal was to be part of the national organization.

In the past few years, NAMB has become an increasingly prominent force in Washington, D.C. As incoming NAMB president, how do you plan to keep that momentum going?

One priority I have is to increase NAMB’s membership … the more members we have, the better position we can have at the table in Washington, D.C. Where is NAMB today in terms of membership numbers?

We currently have about 3,800 members, and I would like to grow that number to 5,000.

But even as a relatively moderately-sized organization, NAMB still commands a lot of

respect in Washington, correct?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Reserve respect our position on issues because our members are small business owners whose number one goal is to strengthen homeownership in the United States.

Is it true that you have already been something of a ubiquitous figure in Washington, D.C. already on behalf of NAMB? I’ve made approximately 16 or 17 trips to D.C. A typical trip depends on what’s going on. I’ve met with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and specific legislators.

On separate occasions, I’ve met with the Fed and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFFB).

We hear so much about the power of Political Action Committees (PACs) and their impact on shaping federal policy. Just how important are PAC contributions in getting your voice heard in Washington?

Unfortunately, they are a major

NAMB PERSPECTIVE factor. It gets you entry into offices.

This is something we want to pursue—it ensures we can get in and get appointments.

But NAMB isn’t throwing money at PACs like handfuls of New Year’s Eve confetti?

Only if they ask for it. And if we donate to them, it is strictly to pursue our legislative goals. We will be looking strictly at [PACs connected to] members of the Financial Services Committees.

Let’s switch gears for a minute to consider a few issues that impact the industry. There has been a lot of talk about getting more young people interested in mortgage careers. What is your view on this?

Actually, here in Arizona, where we have quite a few young loan officers, due primarily to family relationships. They tend to start as assistants and work their way up. I see it as issue, not as a major concern.

We know that NAMB helps many professionals with this business.

Has it helped your new business operations?

It has not necessarily resulted in new business, but in some business– referrals from members in other states, and learning about new products and new lines of business.

bit. But all of the NAMB officers put in lot of time to do this work. I don’t think the president has greater time demands than others on the board.

You spend about 40 to 50 percent of the week working on NAMB. We’re constantly working on stuff.

Will we be seeing more of you around the country in your new role as NAMB president?

I can see my travel increasing a little

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

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

Dear Mortgage Professional, I’m sure many of you will be reading this while you are traveling to or from Las Vegas for NAMB National or San Diego for the MBA Annual Convention & Expo. Let me briefly introduce (or reintroduce) you to NAMB+.

NAMB+ is the for-profit marketing & communications subsidiary of NAMB, the Association of Mortgage Professionals. NAMB+ was formed to help NAMB increase the value and benefits of membership in the organization. The way this works is NAMB+ seeks out and establishes strategic relationships with a variety of different product and service providers that want to work specifically with mortgage professionals and are willing to offer special discounts, pricing and product offerings exclusively for NAMB Members. NAMB+ is the bridge that connects NAMB Members with these specially selected Endorsed Providers.

If you are a NAMB Member, just login to NAMBplus.com to see details about all of the amazing offers and discounts that are available to you right now. If you are not yet

a NAMB Member, you can JOIN NAMB today and start saving. Whether you are a new or existing NAMB Member, the money you can save by using or switching to even one NAMB+ Endorsed Provider could pay for the cost of your membership multiple times over! Why wait another month, start saving today!

Sincerely, John G. Stevens, CRMS, President NAMB+, Inc. John@JohnGStevens.com • NAMBPlus.com • @JohnGlennStevens https://www.facebook.om/JohnGStevensUtah https://plus.google.com/114643023635445909618/posts See below for a complete listing of the current NAMB+ Endorsed Providers and visit NAMBPlus.com for more information.

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

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

As an NAMB member, Birchwood Credit Services will waive the sign up fees! It’s a “NO RISK” way to experience the Birchwood difference firsthand!

But many potential homeowners either cannot or will not consider buying a home.

There is a large percentage of people eligible for home loans who don’t think that they are. We need to educate them on the possibility of financing. In many places, it is cheaper to own than rent. And this not just a long-term investment, but it is also better for their budget.

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Exclusive NAMB Members offer to try MBS Highway FREE for 30 days. Visit MBSHighway.com/registration/namb-plus-registration

Mortgage Currentcy is a subscription-based ezine that interprets the mortgage underwriting and compliance rules in plain, easy-to-understand language and how they affect your files in process. NAMB Members save $70 on annual subscription option. Visit the Website at www.mortgagecurrentcy.com/tour.php

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Username = Member Number Password = First initial of your first name capitalized and your last name with the first letter of the last name capitalized (example = JStevens) *If you are not a NAMB member please visit NAMB.org and join today to gain access to NAMBPLUS.com and the many benefits NAMB members receive!

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

The national homeownership is at its lowest level … one that has not been seen since 1966. Should we be worried?

People take pride in homeownership, but not everyone is made out to be a homeowner. Before 2008, we got a little bit ahead of ourselves trying to get everyone into homeownership.

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What about the state of thirdparty origination?

One of my priorities as NAMB president is to let people know it is a safe channel. People need to know that NAMB is here to help them with compliance concerns–especially when the CFPB may be coming after them.

While first-time homebuyers are facing obstacles, either real or perceived, there is a great deal more activity pursuing wealthy homeowners on the jumbo mortgage side.

There is less competition because you are not competing with giant government agencies.

NAMB PERSPECTIVE

WHOLESALE

SUMMIT

24

NAMB’s Second Wholesale Summit Further Strengthens the Broker-Wholesaler Bond B Y

nspiration can strike in the least likely locations. For example, John Councilman found his inspiration for NAMB’s Wholesale Summits during a breakfast in Atlantic City.

“I attended the Northeast Mortgage Brokers Convention in Atlantic City last year,” recalled Councilman, president of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. “[National Mortgage Professional’s] Andrew Berman held a breakfast for some major wholesale lenders. After the breakfast, I was very interested in talking about this issue further–but there was no forum for that.”

Councilman sought to share his enthusiasm on a wholesale-exclusive meeting with the NAMB board of directors. He outlined the possibility of the association hosting a pair of summits– one in the spring, the other in the fall– dealing with the challenges and trends facing the wholesale lending sector.

Although the board had not budgeted

I

P H I L

for new conferences, they were intrigued by Councilman’s idea.

“They took a giant leap of faith that people would be interested–even though this was without having any funding for it in place,” Councilman added.

As a result, NAMB’s first Wholesale Summit took place in Orlando, Fla. in March, while a second summit was held recently in Dallas. An initial plan was to have the second Wholesale Summit piggybacked on NAMB National in October, but was scrapped because the proposed dates clashed with a previously scheduled event. But in seeking participation in the new summits, NAMB CEO Don Frommeyer wanted to avoid a comeone/come-all invitation.

“We limited participation to a maximum of three members of any company,” Frommeyer said. “But we were looking for the decision-makers. We didn’t want account executives–we wanted the people above them.”

H A L L

The first summit brought in representatives from 15 of the industry’s leading companies: Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, B2R Finance, Carrington Mortgage Services, Franklin American Mortgage, Freedom Mortgage, HomeBridge Wholesale, Impac Mortgage Wholesale, Land Home Financial Services’ Wholesale Division, Lenders Compliance Group, New Penn Financial, Quicken Loans, REMN Wholesale and United Wholesale.

Frommeyer recalled that the first summit got off on a very cautious note, with both the organizers and attendees showing more than a little uncertainty.

“We did not know what to expect,” Frommeyer said. “Everyone was tentative–no one wanted to speak up. But after the first break, attendees started to introduce themselves to others because they did not know each other.”

NAMB provided its attendees at the first Wholesale Summit with data from

a proprietary survey conducted with hundreds of loan originators and mortgage brokers on what they expected from wholesale lenders. The second Wholesale Summit was dominated by discussion on the impact of the new TRID regulations on the wholesale sector and the entire industry.

Frommeyer dubbed the wholesale outreach “a work in progress” and stated he was open to inviting non-NAMB members to next year’s meetings. As for Councilman, the idea for more NAMB summits aimed at specific segments of the industry was not out of the question.

“We may, but it’s not on the agenda,” Frommeyer said, adding that NAMB was already pre-occupied with the production of four major conferences for 2016.

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

Dear Mortgage Professional, We have had a tremendously successful year at NAMB and it has been a particularly busy and productive one for our Government Affairs team. I am so proud to report that NAMB continues to be a highly respected voice in Washington, D.C. and the voice of the mortgage originator nationwide.

NAMBPAC is as strong as it has been in nearly a decade, and that is thanks to all of our members who have so generously and

continuously supported us through the years. Please accept my sincerest and most heartfelt THANK YOU for all that you have done for your Association!

Thank you for all of your continued support!

John G. Stevens, CRMS 2014-2015 NAMBPAC Committee Chair

A very special thank you goes out to all who have contributed to NAMBPAC already this year!

Mary Jane Galbiso Jill Gallagher Rick Gilbert Gregory Graham Victoria Greer Martin Hackford Steve Hakes Kelly Haney Mark Harcrow Andy Harris Melissa Hayes Lisa Hernandez Howard Howland John H. P. Hudson Marvin Hudson David Hughson Ed Irwin Erik Janeczko Peaches Jensen Ryan Jones Jon Kaempfer David W. Kane, Jr. Jason Kauffman Michael Kanuka Mike Kelso Kevin Kennedy Jonathan Kimura Edmund King

Linda Knowlton Michael Kopiecki Fred Kreger Marci LaBorde Shane Lester Kim Lewis Bobbie Lindner Anthony Lombardo David Luna Lisa Lund Kelly Lynch Angela MacKinnon Paul Marsh Steve Matthews Linda McCoy John McCully Ashby McDonald Howard Miselman Joe Moody Jim Morris Vernon Morrison Vicki Murphy Roberty Murray Elena Neis Gary Ogami Matt Oliver Donald Opeka William Ormond

Dennis Oshiro Raymond Oshman Sean O'Sullivan Norm Ottley Jim Pair Carrie Panacek Carlos Pazos Chris Peck Dawn Pemberton Richard Petano Jill Pfeiffer Claude Phillips Nathan Pierce John Porter Dean Rathbun Kathy Raven Donald Rizzo Jeanine A. Robbins Heather Rose Joan F. Ruth Hartley Sappol Valerie Saunders Gary Schiller Julia Schloss Guy Schwartz Lisa Severseike Jeff Shealey Chris Shedd

Mark Sheridan Ann Shipley Shawn Sidhu Timothy Simko Kane Smeltz Chris Smith Lynette Staley Mitch Stam Marc Starr John G. Stevens Marvin Stockert Diana Tardif Donald Thomas Douglas Turner Forrest Van Benthuysen Casey Van Winkle Dan Van Winkle Michelle Velez Debbie Villarreal Bryan Ward Irving Webb Charles West Kimber White James Wilson Edward Zadeh Benita Zimmerman

For additional information about NAMBPAC, please feel free to contact me or visit namb.org.

John G. Stevens, CRMS • 2014-2015 NAMBPAC Chair John@JohnGStevens.com * Federal Election Law requires NAMBPAC to use its best efforts to collect and report the name, address, occupation and employer of everyone who contributes $200 or more in a single year. If your contribution to NAMBPAC in 2015 is less than $200, your name may not appear on this list, but NAMBPAC is still very grateful for your generous support!

25

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Kenneth Campbell Joseph Cannarozzi Terry Casey Dana Chahidi Jim Chapman Eric Chauhan Alan Cicchetti Brent Coleman Ruben Concepcion John Councilman Ronald Crary Dawn Cychner Tom Cychner Brady Day Keith DeLatte Michael Delzer Ray DeMar Donald DeRespinis Michael Desantis Bruce Dittmer James Dorney Jeffrey Drawdy Tammy Engel Jim Ezell Ginny Ferguson FAMP FEDERAL PAC Antonina Friedland Don Frommeyer

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Richard Abazia Tanner Allen Todd Allen Chuck Anderson Rocke Andrews Mike Aon Joseph Archer John Ardito Joe Ashton Mark Atanasoff James Bagnell Karen S. Barnes Roshe Barooni Jim Barry Dave Beach Allycyn Bennett Joel M. Berman Rick Bettencourt Jr. Jeannine Bland Kenneth Blaudow Audrey Boissonou Douglas Braden David Bradley Tiffany Bradley Andy Brikho Andrea Buck Michael Burroughs Mark Cahoone

26

Broker? Banker?

How to Choose …

By Laura Burke, MBA, MS, MIS, CFE, EA I have been both a mortgage banker, a mortgage broker, a broker/owner, and back to a banker. It’s a merry-go-round … sometimes you’re a lion, sometimes a horse, but most important is that you continue to go around and around continuing to earn an income. There is no right or wrong answer as they both provide a source of employment.

A mortgage banker provides a service of loan origination, processing, underwriting and closing. Bankers utilize lenders like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, offering a variety of loan products such as conventional, jumbo, FHA, VA and USDA. Most bankers have their own underwriters in-house, which often means the ability for direct contact, questions, structuring and other key questions that often only an underwriter can answer adequately.

Another positive aspect as a banker is the opportunity to learn different roles within the industry to allow future career expansion and growth. As a broker, your expansion opportunities are limited to possible ownership of a brokerage company.

I will point out that a banker is most definitely the way for a newbie to go, they offer structure and training.

Education, training and product knowledge are typically abundant in the banking arena. Most bankers have the funds to spend on their employees, to help increase their sales ability, technique, customer service, leadership, product knowledge and more.

Mortgage brokers have positive and negative sides as well. All mortgage brokers have to be federally-licensed, as well as state-regulated. All brokers must possess an active NMLS (Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry) number.

A broker doesn’t work for a specific lender, they are a middle person. They originate loans, some may even process their own loans, while others offer inhouse processors and then submit the loan to a lender of choice.

A broker must be knowledgeable in all products they want to offer, thus brokers tend to be more seasoned loan officers. Some mortgage brokers will only take on loan officers with a minimum of two years under their belt, and in my opinion, that’s not enough. LOs working as brokers will be expected to shop their own loans, understanding specific lender guidelines for that type

of loan, knowing how to structure a loan, and either processing the loan, or having a processor assist in the processing of the loan and then properly submitting the loan to the lender’s underwriting department.

Often, the LO working as a broker will need to work with an account executive from the lender they are placing the loan with for more product information, such as lender overlays on top of standard guidelines. This is where it can get tricky. When you work for a bank, you know their guidelines. As a broker, it is more difficult to learn in an ever-changing environment 15-25 or more lenders guidelines. Thus, one way to combat this is to work with three or four key lenders, get to know their guidelines, underwriters and schmooze with account reps. The more business you or your company sends to a particular lender, the more brownie points you score. It’s like taking care of your own. Who are you going to help in need, a good friend or co-worker who you positively interact with daily or someone you see at a Chamber of Commerce networking event once every other month.

There is an upside to this as well. As a broker, you have more autonomy and freedom to place your loans where you

want them to go. This is the number one advantage of being a broker—the ability to submit different types of loans to your choice of lender. Never submit the same loan to more than one lender at a time … this is unprofessional. This action could cause a lender to stop accepting future loans not only from you as an individual loan officer, but could jeopardize the whole company’s ability to continue to submit loans to the lender that the loan gets pulled from.

One other major difference is at closing. A banker is lending their own funds, whether a loan or not, they are closing in their name. They can choose to keep the loan in the name with the use of their own funds, portfolio lending or they can choose to sell the loan to one of the players, such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or another large lender who are buying loans. What a banker will do is sell their loans in bundles—for example a $5 million bundle—the larger the bundle, the more perks the banker may be able to obtain.

For example, sometimes the bankers providing $50 million or $250 million in loan bundles may get a rate discount that they can choose to pass on to the borrower to attract more loan business with a tad lower rate, or maybe keep it to help pay for internal costs, such as

opened their doors to brokers’ loans.

Brokers were starting to compete against the bankers for the more desirable loans. They could now originate top-notch, top-quality loans, as well as blemished ones. It was perfect verbiage for a broker to say, “Work with me. I’ll shop your loan for the lowest rate, the best scenario.” Or if they had a more difficult loan, “Don’t go to a banker. If your loan is denied, it’s over. If I originate your loan, and one lender says no, we simply repackage the loan and send it to another lender for a second option.” Brokers soon started cutting into the bankers’ pockets and were closing more than 50 percent of the market share until the financial crisis hit.

Then, the rules and the game changed. Banker guidelines tightened, home values dropped, foreclosures were running rampant, and both broker and banker’s compliance rules had an overhaul, and many bankers and brokers closed shop. The big boys like Bear Sterns, Countrywide, Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual closed their doors. Even Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac required a bailout. Just the same impact hit the brokers as well, as many closed their doors and went out of business. Today, it seems that the banking side is on the upswing, as well as the brokers who were able to sustain themselves though the crisis. Survive and thrive!

Both mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers have their advantages and drawbacks, so choose the avenue that is right for you and continue to prosper!

Laura Burke, MBA, MS, MIS, CFE, EA is an author, and trainer with 20-plus years of experience in the mortgage arena. She has been in the trenches as a loan officer, originating more than $35 million to becoming CEO of her own mortgage brokerage company.

Laura specializes in federal tax law, compliance, fraud, data management, security, leadership, training and marketing. She may be reached by e-mail at LauraLynnBurke@gmail.com.

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the in-house underwriters. They may also get a pass on some guideline that is in a grey area, allowing them to structure a loan differently.

A broker, on the closing side closes the loan in the lenders name, nothing ever closes in the broker’s names, unless the broker has secured a loan, called a warehouse line of credit enabling them to table fund. Table funding allows a broker to close in their name for a short while, typically less than two weeks. They then package their loans and send them to the lender who is “buying” them from the broker and servicing them. There are risks involved here for the broker owner, as the loan is closed and funded with their warehouse line of credit, thus the package must be exactly how the lender expects it to be in order to sell the loan.

If it is not, the lender who the broker anticipated selling the loan to could reject it, causing the broker to rectify the issue immediately.

There is a gray side to being a banker that allows the brokering of certain loans. It’s kind of like having your cake and eating it too. However, there are not many bankers that are currently offering both avenues.

It may seem that, as a banker, you receive a slightly reduced commission split, but it is an offset for what you get in return—an office, the use of the company’s computers and software, printers, all business supplies, business cards, in-house underwriters, processors, marketing materials, and training.

I can honestly say I made the most money in my career as a banker, more than I did as a broker.

Even though my commission was set to the same amount for every deal, with a little fluctuation for volume, I truly made more. I think I worried less as well. I had a specific processor assigned to me. I was allowed to have an assistant and all was good in my world. I worked for a portfolio banker, which made my position easier. I had unique programs, the ability to underwrite based upon our own guidelines and common sense, and the banker wasn’t selling the loans. It was a great time to be a banker.

Brokers and bankers both have advantages and drawbacks based on the timing of where you are in the circle of life chain. When I first started in the business, I was unaware of mortgage brokers. They weren’t popular or abundant at the time. As my career evolved, I started to learn about what mortgage brokers could do, and soon, all of us bankers had a network of brokers that we passed off business to. As a banker, our guidelines were too strict and we couldn’t do the loans. But to keep our real estate agents happy, we knew who could get the deal done. The mindset was that brokers did the more undesirable and more difficult to do loans. But bankers still controlled the market, as brokers only had a small percentage of the business.

That soon began to change. Soon many banks, lending institutions

Transitioning to

TRID

By Jeremy Potter ct. 3, 2015 isn’t just another date in the mortgage industry. It’s the date the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau (CFPB) will be enforcing a new rule that will have an influence on both homebuyers and the residential mortgage industry alike. The rule is called the Truth-In-Lending-Act and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure Rule, also known as TILA RESPA Integrated Disclosure or “TRID.” While TRID is designed to simplify the mortgage disclosure process, being unprepared for the changes can have a catastrophic effect on the lender. TRID is more than just a rule … it’s forcing a cultural change on the business and forcing lenders to change how they operate.

The problem doesn’t lie with the rule itself, but with the transition over the course of the next couple of months. Lenders that are entirely unprepared for the implementation of this rule will likely have a difficult time managing both the old rule and TRID simultaneously. This transition is a more demanding process than a typical rule change, which can be helped along tremendously and handled more efficiently by technology. TRID affects everyone within the loan process, forcing the loan originator, processor, lock desk specialist, and closer to go about their job in a new way. Switching to this new rule can only be made easier by each department involved being properly trained and ready for the changes that are coming. They must have a full understanding of the rule and the penalties that will be handed out, should there be a violation.

As a refresher, there are a few key changes to be aware of when this rule

O

OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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takes effect. First, that the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the Initial Truth-inLending (TIL) Statement are combined together into a “Loan Estimate” document and second, that the HUD-1 Settlement and the Final TIL be combined into the “Closing Disclosure.”

While the time frame stays the same with the Loan Estimate document being handed out to within three days of a loan application, the Closing Disclosure document will now have to be in the consumer’s hands at least three business days prior to closing. Adhering to this new time frame is essential to avoid some hefty fines ranging between $5,000 per day up to a possible $1 million per day depending upon the severity of the offense.

My company, Norcom Mortgage, for example, has invested well in its compliance team and sees it as a tactical advantage, not just a defensive necessity. The main priority is protecting the customer’s best interest, the company, and the individual loan officer while also taking on the new changes that TRID will bring about. Our compliance team has worked very closely with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), vendors and industry partners in order to make sure that the company is protected from every angle. In addition, Norcom is following all areas of the business and industry closely, to make staff the most prepared they can possible be.

Transitioning over to these new documents and set of rules can be made significantly easier by planning ahead in all areas. Having extensive knowledge of the TRID rule by internal compliance staff can lead to fewer mistakes down the line. IT staff must have the technology ready to handle the new rule and the quality of the software system itself will make a huge difference when it comes to the transition. Having excel-

lent communication with the customer, real estate agent, attorney or closing agent, and seller, makes it easier to adapt to any changes that may present themselves. Other lenders that follow suit are the ones that are going to thrive most with this transition.

Knowing what to expect is the only way to transition to TRID seamlessly, but even then there are some possible issues that may arise. Loan applications dated prior to the execution of TRID will be processed at the same time as the new document requirements and rule, which can become a major issue for several departments.

IT departments have to ensure that the right timelines and documents packages are applied to the correct files, while closing departments must be able to be flexible enough to handle both loan applications and know which set of rules and documents go with the correct application.

Compliance teams are truly the last line of defense and should be trained as such.

Investing in compliance teams will be beneficial to help with this transition as their priority is protecting everyone within the company in addition to their customers. It affects several parts of the business and the industry as a whole, so it’s important to make sure the company remains supported throughout this process.

Training each department to be able to know and understand the differences in each loan and guaranteeing that they are sent to the right file is crucial. The lenders that focus on the culture of compliance and build rules like this into the DNA of the company will come out head and shoulders above the competition.

A lack of proper training or general confusion can lead to misunderstand-

ing of the rule, which can lead to the penalties mentioned above. With speed being a major factor within this industry, the new time constraints along with these new rules will likely have an affect over this area. Any delays in the transaction, as simple as a miscommunication or as big as a third party delay or software malfunctioning and failing to work properly, can produce problems that lead to a violation of TRID. The new requirements and time constraints will put more pressure on the lender to have everything together and communication is absolutely vital between every party involved.

Employees need to be well-trained to avoid any delays and keep within the new time crunch that has presented itself with this rule.

Having a transition plan is an absolute must in order for survival throughout this process, but it needs to be more than something that is laid out for the company without any kind of follow through. For the most success, an employee’s attitude needs to be changed as their job has adapted and taken on new expectations along with these rules. A plan that covers IT, training and disclosures is on track to thrive, but a business that goes one step further and includes a focus on changing the employee’s mindset is the best way to come off this transition as triumphant.

Jeremy Potter, general counsel and chief compliance officer, joined Norcom Mortgage with experience in the government contracting community, having served as an analyst in the metro D.C. area for regulatory issues at the market research firm INPUT Inc. Jeremy holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. where he graduated cum laude.

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#4

Mentoring Millennials Four things companies should include when building a Millennial mentorship program

By Ginger Bell The Millennial generation is defined by technology, has a strong desire to get ahead quickly, grew up with highly involved “helicopter” parents and surprising to some; actually craves mentors. A 2011 PwC survey revealed that when asked which benefits Millennials would most value from an employer, respondents named training, mentoring and flexible working opportunities over financial benefits.1 In fact, according to a November 2014 Virtuali survey,2 Millennials think mentoring is the most effective and desired type of career development training.

However, Millennials are not satisfied with existing corporate training and mentoring programs. To bridge this gap companies need to be more creative when structuring training and mentoring programs. Successful mentoring programs may be the defining factor that determines whether Millennials succeed or fail within your organization.

These four expert tips can help companies understand the wants and needs of Millennials, and create more effective mentoring programs.

1. Allow for customization: Millennials see themselves as individuals Millennials were largely raised by Baby Boomers. This, of course, has had an effect on who they are and how they

developed. Many Boomers raised their children to believe they were special and gave them opportunities to have unique experiences and points of view.

Millennial individuality started early.

Millennials didn’t grow up with teddy bears given to them by their grandparents. No, they created their bears at places like Build-A-Bear. They seldom purchased an entire CD, instead they created playlists on iTunes and Amazon.

The adult Millennial looks for individual customization in the workplace as well. Knowing this, your company needs to make your training and mentoring program as customizable as possible to appeal to Millennials. Companies can begin with personality assessments to better understand Millennials’ traits and then match them with mentors and various training and e-learning activities and programs so that they can create their own learning path. Millennials like to be involved with their learning so allowing them to select from a menu of options helps them to be involved in their career path.

The best way to reach Millennials is with a blended approach. Your mentoring program should include on-demand content, traditional content and team building as well as individual mentoring opportunities with specialists. The goal is to provide experience-based learning and mentoring. When Millennials don’t understand the career path or feel employers don’t appreciate their individuality, they will take their talent and

potential elsewhere; this is why it is important to set the expectations and involve them in the training and mentoring process.

2. Provide recognition: Millennials are accustomed to recognition Baby Boomers instilled Millennials with a strong sense of self-esteem by telling them how special they were. Many Millennials were carefully coached in organized sports and other activities.

Video and computer games rewarded them with badges, points, leveling up and immediate recognized achievement.

This does not however; mean that Millennials expect undeserved recognition. Millennials appreciate simple thank you notes and awards for great work, but they also grew up in an era where everyone received a trophy for everything … even if they took last place. In other words, Millennials have recognition insecurities and sometimes wonder if the recognition received is as artificial as their boxes full of trophies they received as children.

Because of this generalized recognition, Millennials have been trained to look for outside reasons to validate recognition they receive. In sports, this validation is easy: Did you win or did you lose? In business it becomes a little more challenging: did what you were recognized for make a difference or not? When recognizing a Millennial, the giver of recognition needs to validate, through actions, that whatever they did to get

recognition is making a difference in the organization or team.

Millennials want to be challenged and when a mentor challenges them, lets them figure out a solution, recognizes them for finding that solution, and then implements the solution, they know they are valued because they see that they’ve made a difference in the company. If they cannot find outside validation, then the recognition they receive is just like those boxes of trophies that they know they didn’t deserve … not inspiring. To them, rewards are natural outcomes of good work, and smart employers establish recognition programs that incorporate appropriate and deserved recognition. Millennials generally like and look up to their managers and see them as mentors, not adversaries. They want to be guided, coached and trained and they want to improve. As a result, training and development programs are high priorities for Millennials in the workplace— according to a PwC study,3 Millennials say they want training and development more than cash bonuses. A company can benefit by providing regular feedback and recognition to Millennials. Yes, this takes both thought and effort, but the payoff of employees who are engaged and feel good about their work are worth the investment.

3. Utilize technology: Millennial learning is tech-driven Millennials expect the technologies that empower their personal lives to also

mentorship program is important to companies who want to develop Millennials for the future. There is much to be gained with an effective mentorship program. Remember when designing your mentorship program be sure to allow for an individual to customize a portion of their mentorship program, provide for relevant recognition, utilize technology and keep lessons relevant and timely and allow for Millennials to grow on their own with the support of their mentors.

Ginger Bell is the best-selling author of Cracking the Success Code and Success Today, books she co-authored with Brian Tracy and other business specialists. Her experience includes creating and managing training standards, expectations and measurements that build employee competencies. Ginger is currently involved in leading development of a gamification elearning system with Morf Media Inc., an international gamification software development company. She may be reached by e-mail at ginger@morfmedia.com.

Footnotes 1—PWC.com/en_M1/m1/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf 2—PRWeb.com/releases/millennial/leaders/prweb12260713.htm 3—PWC.com/en_M1/m1/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf 4—PWC.com/en_M1/m1/services/consulting/documents/millennials-at-work.pdf 5—MorfMedia.com

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4. DIY mentoring: Millennials want mentorship with some support Millennials are looking to attach themselves to visionary mentors who focus on creating a long-term vision and development for their employees. Millennials’ mentors whose philosophy inspires them with where they are going, but allows them to figure out how to get there on their own will be effective. This doesn’t mean they want a mentor who provides a good vision or lesson and then throws them to the wayside. Rather, they want a mentor who they can approach with a problem, who will help them think

through the problem, and who will lead them down a path to figure out a solution on their own.

Millennials want a mentor who they can come to about roadblocks or questions and know that the mentor will not fix the roadblocks but offer guidance to help them fix the problem.

If mentors constantly give a strong vision of the future, outline specific goals, and give support without telling how, Millennials will devote themselves to the mentor and attach themselves to the vision and goal.

Many companies require mentorship programs to last for a set amount of time, but not all mentor-to-mentee arrangements are productive for a specific period. Developing an effective

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drive communication and innovation in the workplace. Fifty-nine percent of the PwC survey4 said that an employer’s technology was important to them when considering a job, but they habitually use workplace technology alongside their own. Over half of those questioned routinely make use of their own technology at work, and 78 percent said that access to the technology they like to use makes them more effective at work.

Millennials grew up with screens all around them—personal computers, cellphones, laptops and video games. They are completely comfortable sharing personal and professional information through instant and text messages. They also feel intimately connected with people through social media but may lack in personal skills. Millennials are eager to learn and pick up new skills, and if their mentors tell them they need to work on their soft skills, they will. It may feel strange to provide training to young professionals on how to make a phone call, but if that skill is important to your business, it is something you’ll need to do. A strong emphasis on technology and social media will help make your company attractive to high-potential and highperforming Millennials. Be sure to offer an easy-to-use e-learning system that is optimized for mobile devices.

Managers and executives may not be able to dedicate as much time as they’d like to mentorships, and not all Millennials want regular check-in meetings. Giving and receiving mentoring tips doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Using technology can help to develop an effective mentoring program. Creating a simple three-minute lessons in an e-learning system like Morf Media Inc.5 is a great way to lend mentoring advice. Podcasts or recorded videos that can be housed in one central system is another easy way to give on-demand mentoring tips. Rather than a one-off or a lunch and learn, record it and use it in a learning management system. If you are wanting to measure what they have learned you can add a few questions to your threeminute lesson or video. Checking for understanding and offering quick and easy lessons is key to an effective mentoring program. Also consider setting up a forum with teams and get key managers and executives to use the forum to answer questions from younger employees. Mentoring is a team event and Millennials want to be involved in the process.

Diversify Your Product Line With Non-Agency Mortgages

By Tom Hutchens The Federal Reserve announced last month that it won’t be increasing the funds rate. Still, we are likely to see rate liftoff from the Fed in the near future. It’s not a matter of “if,” but rather “when” they’ll raise rates. Many analysts predict that when this happens, it will signal the beginning of the end of a decadeslong secular bond market run; but the move is sure to have a profound effect in mortgage markets, as well.

Most notably, the mortgage refinance market stands to take a hit from rising rates. Volume will start to dry up as mortgage rates reverse their 34-year downtrend from the high teens of the early 1980s.

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Lenders that rely heavily on refinancing need to come up with a way to bolster their new mortgage pipeline in order to replace lost volume. The best way to do this is by diversifying into non-agency mortgage products.

Since the housing crisis, the hands of lenders have been tied as they’ve had limited options to issue loans not eligible for sale to governmentsponsored enterprises (GSEs). Within the last two years, however, there has been a reemergence in the non-agency market, as lenders are once again offering these products to their networks. Now, there exists a diverse mortgage product mix on the market that can meet the needs of almost any borrower.

Here are some examples of the types of borrowers that can benefit from non-agency products: l Borrowers who have experienced a recent credit event, such as a foreclosure or short sale. l Borrowers that don’t have W-2 income and instead rely off of income from investment properties. l Self-employed borrowers whose tax returns may not necessarily reflect their true income due to business write-offs. l Foreign nationals that don’t have credit in the U.S. system. l Borrowers that have significant savings, but limited income.

Loan originators need to start taking advantage of these new products if they want to be able to satisfy the growing demand of their referral bases. With a wider array of ways to address customer needs, they stand to increase their reach to a subset of buyers that has been otherwise underserved for the last eight years. If all they offer is Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and VA loans, they’re stuck competing with the majority of other lender that do the same thing. They also run the risk of their referral partners looking for a provider with a more diverse product offering.

Tom Hutchens is senior vice president of sales and marketing at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, an Atlanta-based wholesale lender currently licensed in 24 states. Tom has been in the real estate lending business for nearly 20 years. He may be reached by phone at (855) 539-4910 or e-mail info@angeloakms.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

new to market continued from page 18

tlement services and vendor management platform as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) delays its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) effective date to Oct. 3, 2015.

Designed to meet TRID’s closing disclosure requirements, ISGN’s Gators is a highly configurable, Webbased title and closing solution that streamlines the fulfillment and processing of orders. The latest version of Gators now supports the import and export of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) Reference Model version 3.3 file formats. As a result, Gators will interface with RealEC’s Exchange platform to support its Closing Insight disclosure service, which several of the top originators in the U.S. are standardizing on.

In June, ISGN enhanced Gators to default to the correct closing disclosure form based upon the loan purpose in anticipation of the initial Aug. 1 deadline. Gators’ users still have the option to produce the HUD Settlement Statement and Good Faith Estimate for those few loan products that do not require the new closing disclosure form. ISGN continues to develop enhancements natively to maintain Gators’ current functionality and minimize the learning curve for existing users.

“We spent the last month working closely with our customers to determine what other enhancements we could make to the Gators platform to help them comply with the TRID closing disclosure requirements as quickly and easily as possible,” said Don Gaspar, chief technology officer for ISGN. “The new integrated disclosures are living, dynamic documents with several moving parts, which is unlike anything the mortgage industry has ever worked with before, so we will continue to leverage our customers’ feedback to make further enhancements to Gators as we approach the new Oct. 3 deadline.”

New Quandis Military Search Technology Addresses Upcoming Changes

Quandis Inc. has announced that it has extended its Military Search Service to locate active duty military personnel in other facets of consumer lending for compliance adherence.

The White House announced the implementation of a new rule to protect servicemembers and their families from high-cost loans and predatory lending, which takes effect on Oct. 1, 2015. It closes loopholes in the 2006 Military Lending Act (MLA) by expanding the definition of “con-

sumer credit” to include payday loans, vehicle title loans, refund anticipation loans, deposit advance loans, installment loans and credit cards.

The Quandis Military Search Service works by performing automated bulk searches on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Web site to identify borrowers that are listed as active duty in all military branches. An official military status report is provided by the Department of Defense within 24 hours.

Currently, most searches are performed manually by lending entities on the DoD’s site, which is arduous, time consuming and risky.

“Expanding our footprint into other aspects of lending that can leverage our Military Search Service is a natural fit for us,” said Scott Stoddard, CEO of Quandis. “The solution that we provide today for mortgage lenders to address SCRA compliance is easily transferable to any organization that gives a loan to a U.S. servicemember. They have specific rights that must be adhered to in order to comply with the new Military Lending Act that will be implemented on Oct. 1, or stiff penalties can be levied.”

The Quandis Military Search Service is currently in use by servicers, banks, foreclosure attorneys, trustees and various outsourced networks operating in the mortgage banking industry. It is proven to help lending organizations comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) of 2003, which has various rules around foreclosing on active military personnel who have become delinquent on their mortgage. The solution can be utilized to quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively locate all active military personnel.

ABS Releases Upgrade to The Mortgage Office

Applied Business Software Inc. (ABS) has announced an update, Version 2.1.6, to its signature software, The Mortgage Office. Version 2.1.6 of The Mortgage Office will allow customers to enjoy enhanced features, including: Lockbox processing support; seamless accounting system integration with QuickBooks and PeopleSoft; the ability for users to customize certain labels in the Investor and Lender Statements; user defined loan, lender and vendor imports from Excel spreadsheet; and a new partnership DRIP shared based model.

“We are extremely pleased with this release. Innovation, along with our customers’ needs and wants, are at the

and trends of the individual market indicators with which are then combined to create the qualitative market ranking which include ratings such as “Normal,” “Distressed” or “Hot.” This innovative ranking system can be completely automated and used to define, not only current, but also historical market conditions for any geographical area, property type, property characteristics or price range.

“It seems that everyone has an opinion regarding the state of the real estate market,” said Michael Sklarz, president and CEO of Collateral Analytics. “Most of these opinions are anecdotal and subjective which is unfortunate given the importance of the real estate market to the larger economy. The Collateral

Analytics Market Ranking System provides a straightforward and systematic way to do this.”

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

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n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

VendorCheck™ quick and easy to read risk report of any third party service provider, with data verified, evaluated and reported in an easy to one-page format.

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forefront of our software develop- Collateral Analytics ment,” said Jerry Delgado, CEO & co- Develops New Market founder. “The new feature set is consis- Ranking System tent with prior releases, where enhancements to compliance, reporting, efficiency, versatility and scalability are the ultimate objectives.”

Collateral Analytics has developed a new automated ranking system to objectively New MBA White Paper define the market condition of individual Focuses on Security Risks real estate markets ranging from specific The Mortgage neighborhoods to cities, states or the Bankers Associa- overall U.S. This new system is comtion (MBA) has pletely data driven and is based on released a new the same market indicators which white paper, are used by appraisers in the Market “The Basic Components of an Condition Addendum of the standard Information Security Program,” that dis- 1004 Appraisal Report. cusses the information security risks facThe CA Market Condition Ranking ing the mortgage industry and the basic system is based on the magnitude security practices necessary to help mitigate the risks. The report was authored by members of the MBA Residential Technology Forum (RESTECH) Information Security Workgroup and is intended to assist small and mediumsized entities that might need help in understanding and managing security risk.

“We realized that smaller firms might not have enough resources or expertise to be kept abreast of the rapidly changing risks” said Shawn Malone, vice president of Business Compliance at Radian Group and chair of the RESTECH Information Security Workgroup. “Thus, our workgroup identified a need for a security guide that nontechnical individuals could utilize to help improve the security of their organization.”

Although all security risks are important, the paper highlights the most critical areas of focus.

“A risk-based approach is the most effective way to understand and implement an effective information security program,” said Robb Reck, chief information Security Officer for Pulte Mortgage and vice chair of the Information Security Workgroup. “This paper identifies those critical risks and offers suggestions for how to mitigate them. Our hope is that by providing this information, companies will be able to more rapidly mature their security practices.”

The white paper notes that the financial services industry has been designated as one of the six critical infrastructure sectors in the United States because of the value of its data as a target for criminals and other bad actors. The report outlines practical steps that MBA members can take to mitigate information security risk.

“MBA continues to increase the breadth and depth of information security resources available to our members,” said Rick Hill, vice president for Industry Technology at the MBA. “Chief executives, board members, risk managers and everyone across the organization are part of managing risk.

Individuals in these roles should note that regulators are expecting their involvement in the development and oversight of corporate risk management programs. MBA will continue to develop resources to help companies navigate through the security risks facing our industry.”

The Industry’s La

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OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

PROFES

Chief People Officer United Wholesale Mortgage

BY PHIL HALL

aura Lawson holds the title of chief people officer at United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM). Admittedly, it is not the type of title that one would find in most mortgage companies. But Laura Lawson is not the type of person you find in most mortgage companies—nor, for that matter, is UWM your runof-the-mill mortgage company.

National Mortgage Professional Magazine traveled to UWM’s headquarters in Troy, Mich. to learn more about this fascinating individual and her distinctive company.

L

Where did your career begin?

I am a graduate of Michigan State University, with a major in advertising. After graduation, I

“My hope is that UWM continues to gain market share as the number one wholesale lender in the country and are known beyond the mortgage industry for always putting our people first.”

thought that I would do what a lot of professionals do in the metroDetroit area—work with one of the big three auto companies. I tried it, working for Chrysler in marketing and advertising, but I had a bigger dream and vision for myself. I loved entertainment, television and the music industry, and I had a sister living out in Los Angeles. So, I thought “Well, why not? Now’s the time!”

I moved out to Los Angeles to pursue my dream, and I got connected with an executive producer that had an overall producing deal with Fox Television Studios. After working there for nearly three years, I moved with this producer over to Warner Brothers, which was looking to start some talk shows.

Warner Brothers was launching a talk show with Sharon Osbourne

and another show with Ellen DeGeneres. Neither one had ever done a talk show—Sharon was really in the spotlight with The Osbournes reality show, while Ellen was just kind of starting to reclaim her fame. We made the wise choice of structuring a deal where we had the option to choose which of those shows to work on—and went towards Ellen DeGeneres. I was the first staff member that joined The Ellen DeGeneres Show, along with an executive producer, and we hand-picked and grew the staff for Ellen’s show.

What year was that approximately?

It was 2003. At first, there were the test shows, and then from the test shows, of course, it was greenlight. The nature of The Ellen

SSIONAL

What was the title that you were originally hired for? Do you remember the position?

I came onboard as a marketing supervisor to build the marketing team. In reality, it was marketing and anything else related to sales, growth and company culture. We were small and mighty … and made things happen. To be

After experiencing all of that, the excitement of Hollywood, what specific things that Mat said about this position intrigued you enough to step into a field that you had no knowledge of, yet you felt you had the ability to step in and take over?

He was uncertain of the impact that marketing could have on UWM. Mat started here working through every level of the company, but had never really experienced the magic of marketing. So it was the opportunity of him saying, “Well, show me what you’ve got. You’re going to take a gamble on me, I’m going to take a gamble on you.”

He gave me that dose of “prove yourself” that was like “Game on … let’s do this thing and win together.” Mat and I share a competitive nature. My sports background is in soccer; his is in basketball.

I loved the challenge.. And it’s been exciting here ever since.

That’s why I love being here at UWM every day. I park my car every morning and practically run in here because I cannot wait to get started. I cannot wait to see what I can achieve each day, but I know that I’m never going to end the day finishing my to-do list. We are constantly innovating and coming up with new ideas that aren’t just amazing for UWM … they’re amazing for the whole industry! This is what keeps me driven, this is what keeps me excited; it’s that same spirit of my first ever interaction with Mat until today: The constant challenge of how can we do more and get better every day.

Mat infuses a tremendous amount of passion into the corporate culture of UWM. As chief people officer, which is a unique title, you’re the one responsible for delivering a lot of

MONTH

that passion and fun within the workspace. What do you feel makes United Wholesale stand out from the competition?

One of UWM’s key corporate pillars states “our people are our greatest asset.” We know that our secret sauce is our people and that cannot be replicated. It’s something magical we have, and it is part of our model of bringing in and retaining the best of the best in the industry. I feel like it’s rare to go into a company in the mortgage or financial service industry and experience the energy and family feel that we have here.

How important a role do you feel the mortgage broker plays in the current residential finance sector? What do you feel lies ahead for the future of mortgage brokers, and how do you think UWM is going to be able to support the growth of that sector?

Mortgage brokers play a huge role in creating a bright future in this space. We are very focused at UWM on how we can champion their success—letting consumers know that brokers are the best choice when it comes to purchasing or refinancing a home.

We especially love bringing brokers to visit our headquarters— so they can see firsthand all the resources we have put in place to ensure their success—from technology to marketing tools to training and all the speed of service measures we have created. Our hope is that our broker clients see how we do it and can take the tools, coaching and learning from our techniques back to their own respective offices. The same things that work for us here at UWM can work for our brokers, as well. If our clients are successful, then we’ll be successful.

What would you regard as your major accomplishments at UWM since you joined the company five years ago?

My biggest impact here is

proposing new ideas and executing on them. I think a company dies without great minds, brilliant minds and innovators. It’s just pushing the limit on what we can do, it’s taking care of people, and it’s believing that anything is possible.

I want to make sure that when our team members come in every day that they are energized to come to work and excited about what’s ahead. Everyone has had that job where you dread leaving home, you dread the drive, you dread coming to work. Here at UWM, everyone makes an impact and I want everyone to be excited to come into work each day. It gets to be 6:00 p.m. and it almost stinks that you have to leave. We have so much fun, and we always have more great work to do.

Where do you hope UWM is five years from now?

My hope is that UWM continues to gain market share as the number one wholesale lender in the country and are known beyond the mortgage industry for always putting our people first. I’d love for UWM to be nationally recognized as the premier champion of mortgage brokers—the company that put all its effort into helping brokers grow their business, and ultimately, the company that helped brokers make a successful comeback.

When you leave here at the end of the day and you leave your co-workers behind, how do you spend your leisure time?

It’s all about my kids. I have two little boys, a one-year-old and a three-year-old. What I do here in giving it my all and the passion to work, I do that for them as well.

That is what my life is all about now. It used to be about celebrities and living the crazy Hollywood life and all of that excitement … my children are my excitement now!

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

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n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

What year was this?

It was around 2011.

honest, for me I’ve never been about a title in an organizational chart. It’s about the impact that you make; not the titles that you carry.

THE

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

DeGeneres Show was to make people feel good and to appreciate people. I could always be proud to tell my mom to watch the show.

But after five years into the show, my mom was battling cancer back in Michigan. We could never take a break from the show, so I was just waiting for that summer hiatus, so I could come home and be with her. And once I finally got home, 12 days later, she passed away, and that changed my life forever. I realized at that point: I’m single, I don’t have a family. I am “Ms. Midwest Values,” it’s time to be with my family. So, I left all of it. I left this job where I was able to work with all of these idols on the big screen, attend all of the cool parties, and enjoy all of the cool incentives. I came back home to Michigan. But I came back and didn’t worry about what I was going to do next.

After I moved home, I talked to all the TV stations about news reporting. But I could not do the news … it just wasn’t me.

By chance, I met up with someone who was telling me about this great company called United Wholesale Mortgage and its CEO, who was looking to build a dream team. When I met with Mat Ishbia, I thought, “Okay, it sounds a little crazy to come from Hollywood to go into wholesale lending.” And it wasn’t the Google-esque office that it is today, but you could just tell there was this energy and excitement about it, and I took a gamble on it and I believed in Mat’s vision.

OF

Preparing for the Housing Market’s Next Shift

By Danny Jasper As interest rates sank to ultra-low levels after the housing bust, the mortgage industry has become more dependent to an extent on refinance business from clients seeking to save money and cut interest payments. And, while industry experts predicted a lower volume or refinancing business in 2015, banks and mortgage lenders are still profiting from small waves of refinancing opportunities. However, don’t over rely on refinancing to continue to support volume. To be successful in the future, mortgage lenders will need to refocus their business efforts on driving purchase volumes higher.

While a decline in refinance volume may be challenging, the good news for your business is that as the housing market and general economic conditions continue to improve, first-time homebuyers, move-up households and vacation buyers are finding themselves in a position where they are willing and able to buy homes.

For the last two years, prognosticators have forecasted this shift from a refinance-dominated market to a purchase-driven one, and the normalizing of home price growth, increased rates, record-high rents and the improving economy are helping to bring this prediction to a reality.

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Higher rates may entice lenders to think outside the box But, it’s the anticipated rate increase that will serve as one of the major catalysts for a purchase-dominated market. After almost a decade long ultra-low interest rate environment, if rates increase only slightly, the number of people who can benefit from a refinance will dwindle considerably.

As rates began to rally, expect to see more lenders start to think outside of the box with their lending products. Once-conservative lenders will begin to lower their margins and increase their risk tolerance in an effort to keep volumes up and cast a wider borrower net. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have already started to do this with recent guideline changes targeted around more affordable lending products.

Have the proper checks and balances No matter what products you currently have available on your lending platform, it is imperative to have the right operational processes in place to fully evaluate and understand the risks involved. Make sure you’re prepared by ensuring you have the proper underwriting tools, overlays and other checks and balances in place.

For example, at Castle & Cooke Mortgage, we originate FHA loans for borrowers with a FICO score as low as 580 under some circumstances.

However, we do have stipulations clients must meet, such as requiring the borrower to have six months reserves, no more than 150 percent payment shock and one year in the same line of employment, all of which signify a borrower with lower default risks than their credit score would indicate.

Expanding credit can be a double-edged sword. After years of being in a reactive environment, expanding access to mortgages is something the industry needs to prepare for with the upcoming increase in new purchase volume. Although lending standards were not strict enough prior to the housing crisis, we are now in one of the tightest credit markets in over a decade. Understanding there is a medium ground between having liberal lending standards and being too conservative is key to responsible and sensible lending in the upcoming market shift.

Danny Jasper is senior vice president of Capital Markets for Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC, one of the nation’s leading independent mortgage lenders with 38 locations. He leverages more than a decade of experience in investment, research and analysis to expand Castle & Cooke Mortgage’s market share and oversee its pricing analysis.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

nmp news flash continued from page 16

lion. Public construction spending in August was an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate $298.2 billion, 0.5 percent above the revised July estimate of $296.8 billion.

New Statistics Offer a Different View of Millennial Homebuyers The popular belief that Millennials are intentionally avoiding homeownership appears to be a myth, according to new research released by Realtor.com.

According to a Realtor.com analysis of data from comScore, almost 65 percent of Millennials aged 21 to 34 looked at real estate Web sites and apps in August.

Another survey, conducted for Realtor.com through the BDX Home Shopper Insights Panel, found the top trigger concerns for Millennial homebuying were an increase in income (35 percent), unhappiness with the current living arrangements (32 percent), favorable home prices (32 percent), favorable interest rates) and rent increases (22 percent).

However, the main impediments preventing a Millennial homebuying boom have been limited inventory (40 percent), a lack of affordable options (37 percent), the time needed to locate the right house (36 percent), problems coming up with a downpayment (28 percent) and the inability to find the right neighborhood (23 percent).

Furthermore, data produced by Realtor.com in partnership with Optimal Blue found that Millennial buyers who want to close on a home tend to be in good financial shape, with high FICO scores (an average of 714) and low debt-toincome ratios (an average of 36 percent).

“People who believe that Millennials are disinterested in homeownership are grossly mistaken,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com. “This generation hit the job market during one of the largest recessions of all time and they’ve had to work hard to establish credit and save for a downpayment. With the older segment just beginning to enjoy the life events that drive homeownership—marriage and children—now is the most appropriate time for them to consider homeownership, and that’s what we’re seeing.”

chief economist. “However, certain areas are seeing price appreciation that is too rapid compared with income growth, potentially driving homebuyers out of the market.”

The new quarterly report has determined that relative affordability is either approaching or has gone beyond unhealthy levels in the Pacific Coast, Colorado, Texas and parts of the East Coast. The impact of lower oil prices on employment has contributed to four states—Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming and West Virginia—occupying the entire bottom 10 metro areas. But the Lone Star State is something of an anomaly, as the housing markets in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio continue to show significant vibrancy.

According to the report, the healthiest housing markets are, in order, Kankakee, Ill.; Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.; Dayton, Ohio; Yakima, Wash.; Lansing-East Lansing, Mich.; Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Lancaster, Pa.; Niles-Benton Harbor, Mich.; Battle Creek, Mich.; Muskegon, Mich.

Chase RMBS Settlement Monitor Credits Chase With $3.5 Billion in Relief Joseph A. Smith Jr. has released his sixth report on JPMorgan Chase’s progress under its settlement with the federal government and five states concerning claims that Chase, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual packaged and sold bad residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) to investors before the financial crisis.

“I have credited Chase with $3,555,280,673 in consumer relief to 158,107 borrowers through March 31, 2015,” Smith said. “I will continue to monitor and report on Chase’s progress until Chase provides the required $4 billion in credited consumer relief by Dec. 31, 2017.”

The Monitor’s report also contains Chase’s self-reported consumer relief credit for the second quarter of 2015. As of June 30, 2015, Chase claimed an additional $126,253,926 in consumer relief.

“I am in the process of confirming Chase’s additional claimed relief,” Smith said “I plan to report my findings near the end of this year.”

Your turn

National Mortgage Professional Affordability Woes Impact Magazine invites you to submit any information on regulatory changes, legislative One-Quarter of Markets H o m e o w n e r - updates, human interest stories or any ship affordabili- other newsworthy items pertaining to the ty is a growing mortgage industry to the attention of: problem in NMP News Flash column nearly onePhone #: (516) 409-5555 quarter of the E-mail: major metro markets, according to the newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com latest Health of Housing Markets Report released by Nationwide.

“On a national level, housing afford- Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are ability is fairly valued, with little sign of preferred. The deadline for submissions a housing price bubble,” said David Berson, is the 1st of the month prior to the tarNationwide’s senior vice president and get issue.

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Document Management

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E-Sign

heard street ON THE

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

DocMagic Continues to Grow Via New Partnerships

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DocMagic has announced that PHH Mortgage has signed a multi-year license agreement to use its expansive set of products to help ensure compliance with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule that went into effect on Oct. 3, as well as other federal, state and investor requirements.

“We have worked closely with DocMagic for the last year to thoroughly evaluate, test and integrate their technology and compliance solutions, and we will use various components to ensure we are TRID compliant,” said Eric Sadow, chief compliance and fair lending officer for PHH Mortgage. “We are confident that our use of the DocMagic technology and compliance solutions will meet our needs and the needs of our clients, regulators, investors, partners and borrowers.”

PHH, its clients and their borrowers can access DocMagic’s eSign/eDelivery technology that enables the electronic delivery of TRID documents and the electronic viewing of closing disclosures and related documentation.

DocMagic’s Audit Engine electronically tracks and logs transactions touched by all parties working with its Compliance Engine as well as its SmartCLOSE portal, while continuously comparing the initial Loan Estimate against the final Closing Disclosure to ensure RESPA compliance throughout the process.

“For a lender with the size and reputation of PHH to select DocMagic to comply with TRID, speaks volumes about how sophisticated and scalable our solution really is,” said Dominic Iannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic.

DocMagic has also announced that Mid America Mortgage Inc. will utilize DocMagic’s SaaS-based compliance and mortgage loan document engine together with the on-premise solutions of DocMagic’s recently acquired eSignSystems patented eSigning,

eNotary, eVaulting, eRegistration and eRetention solutions. This is the first time since the acquisition of eSignSystems in October 2014 that the combination of technologies will be jointly utilized to facilitate a complete eClosing and validate DocMagic’s eMortgage model.

“We made the decision to sign with DocMagic and its subsidiary division eSignSystems because of the unique capabilities of the combined technology components, together with the most powerful eMortgage reputation and expertise in the industry,” said Jeff Bode, president of Mid America Mortgage. “The blend of these technologies integrated with our loan origination system (LOS), Mortgage Machine, establishes the path for us to close our loans electronically.

DocMagic’s solutions are ready today for eClosing, and now that the GSE’s are accepting eNotes, their advance readiness for electronic closings is critical to Mid America’s short and long-term eStrategy.”

“The marriage of our SaaS and onpremise solutions delivers a unique value proposition for Mid America,” said Iannitti. “DocMagic’s SaaS model compliantly delivers dynamic, intelligent, datadriven loan documents and disclosures with a full eClosing for borrowers. eSignSystems’ on-premise platform provides Mid America with internal controls and tools to configure the solution to their specific business processes and the ability to efficiently work with third parties to achieve an eMortgage.”

FBC Mortgage Partners With SecureInsight to Manage Closing Agent Risk

FBC Mortgage LLC has announced that

it has enhanced its risk management policies and procedures governing its mortgage lending business by requiring independent screening and risk monitoring for all settlement agents having access to a borrower’s loan documents and mortgage proceeds. This is especially important given the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “Know Before You Owe” Integrated Disclosure rule, effective Oct. 3, 2015. The process will be managed for FBC by SecureInsight, powered by Secure Settlements Inc., a vendor management firm specializing in closing table risk.

The company will use both SecureInsight’s ClosingGuard and QuickCheck tools to evaluate the backgrounds, licensing, insurance and trust accounts of agents as a method to identify potential threats before a closing takes place.

SecureInsight’s vendor risk tools feed a shared, nationwide database of rated settlement professionals in the mortgage industry. This database is currently accessed by nearly 100 lenders throughout the U.S. to verify the status of tens of thousands of agents.

“We are pleased and honored to have been chosen by FBC for these critical risk management services,” said SecureInsight President Andrew Liput. “In our extensive dealings with the FBC leadership team we saw first-hand their serious commitment to quality control, consumer protection and overall loan quality assurance. We are proud to be their partner in this important endeavor.”

SecureInsight’s proprietary evaluation process combines automated data analysis with live reviews by trained analysts for the most accurate and informative risk analytics in the industry.

“We recognize our responsibility to protect consumers from identity and mortgage fraud, and our company con-

tinually seeks to not just meet, but to exceed, regulatory expectations for quality control and loan quality assurance,” said Michael Dunn, general counsel at FBC. “We take the management of third-party service providers seriously, both for operational risk and also for investor confidence and consumer protection. We spent several months evaluating various providers to help us address settlement agent risk, and were impressed with what SecureInsight has to offer in its Closing Guard and Quick Check products.”

Castle & Cooke Mortgage Expansion Continues With Two Branches in New Mexico

Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC has announced its expansion into the New Mexico market with new branch in Albuquerque, N.M. and Las Cruces, N.M. “We are thrilled to have two new branches in New Mexico and to expand our home loan services to new customers,” said Adam Thorpe, president and chief operating officer for Castle & Cooke Mortgage. “We will continue to raise the industry standard in every new branch we open by offering exceptional customer service and recruiting talented mortgage professionals for those markets.”

Iris Guzman will manage the Albuquerque location and Kyler Breen will lead the Las Cruces branch. Both locations will offer a full range of residential mortgages, along with the fast loan closings and exceptional service that have become hallmarks of Castle & Cooke Mortgage.

“With its diverse population, Albuquerque is a perfect location for Castle & Cooke Mortgage’s New Mexico branch,” Guzman said. “Our broad array of loan programs combined with our renowned express loan funding will serve a multitude of buyers, including first-time home-

buyers, investors, veterans and repeat buyers.”

Castle & Cooke Mortgage is in the midst of an aggressive expansion strategy with plans to be in 48 states by the end of 2016. This year alone, the company has opened six new branches and is now lending in 19 states.

Levy & Watkinson Joins Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law

address many of the elements of the homebuying, selling, lending, investment and maintenance lifecycle.

“We’re heading into 2016 with strong momentum and a clear vision,” said Goose. “Our new branding weaves a common thread throughout our diverse but related businesses, communicating a unified and forward-looking message to our customers. Our goal is to keep pushing for progress in the mortgage and real estate marketplaces and to be the go-to source where customers can get the help they need to compete and win.” continued on page 42

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ranklin First Financial Wholesle is committed to providing the best programs, pricing and service to the broker community. We offer a full line of products including FHA, USDA and conforming programs. Our team will work hard to help you get your loans to closing fast!

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FRANKLIN FIRST FINANCIAL, LTD. 538 BROADHOLLOW RD, STE. 401 MELVILLE, NY 11747 IS A LICENSED MORTGAGE BANKER-NYS DEPT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES. LICENSE #B500728 NMLS #1630, HUD APPROVED TITLE II NON-SUPERVISED LENDER #17895-0000-0. FRANKLIN FIRST FINANCIAL IS NOT ACTING ON BEHALF OF OR AT THE DIRECTION OF HUD/FHA OR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. ALL LOANS ARE SUBJECT TO CREDIT & APPRAISAL APPROVAL. PROGRAMS, RATES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.OTHER RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY. THIS IS NOT A COMMITMENT TO LEND. COPYRIGHT FRANKLIN FIRST FINANCIAL, LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Levy & Watkinson, a New Jerseybased law firm, has announced that it is joining Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law, a full-service law firm located in the midAtlantic Region. E. Robert Levy and Wayne Watkinson, partners in Levy & Watkinson, will join Offit Kurman as principals and as members of the firm’s Financial Institutions Regulatory Practice Group.

Levy is the executive director of and counsel to the Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey (MBA-NJ), the New Jersey Association of Mortgage Brokers (NJAMB) and the Pennsylvania Association of Mortgage Brokers (PAMB), and he will continue in this role after the merger. He is also the legislative/regulatory counsel to the Mortgage Bankers Association of Pennsylvania (MBA-PA). Levy is the longtime chair of the Industry Advisory Council to the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) and serves on the New Jersey Licensed Lenders Advisory Board. He previously acted as Deputy Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Banking and served as Deputy Attorney General representing the Department.

“It is a natural fit,” said Levy. “We are grateful to have the support of a leading firm in our region, and anticipate a lasting, successful partnership in New Jersey.”

Watkinson’s practice has concentrated on representing mortgage lenders and brokers in compliance, licensing corporate and litigation matters. He previously served as Deputy Attorney General representing the New Jersey Banking Department. In this position, he represented the Department in appellate and administrative courts, and in regulatory and advice matters. He also served as a Regulatory Officer for the Department, drafting Department regulations for banks, thrifts, mortgage bankers and other licensees. He is a former chair of the Banking Law Section of the New Jersey Bar Association. In addition to practicing law, he is a long time instructor for pre-licensing and continuing education classes.

“This affiliation is a mutually beneficial one: For our clients, Offit Kurman, and us,” said Watkinson. “We admire the firm’s entrepreneurial philosophy and appreciate how it prioritizes our practice growth.”

estate buyers and sellers and other marketplace participants.

“Over the past several years, Altisource has assembled and cultivated a portfolio of businesses that are propelling improvements in the Altisource Portfolio Solutions SA has mortgage and real estate marketintroduced new brand positioning: places,” said Barbara L. Goose, chief “Your One Source.” The brand under- marketing officer for Altisource. scores Altisource’s ability to provide a “Altisource has created a 9,000 percomprehensive product set that son strong, global company rooted addresses the fragmented, complex in compliance, innovation, service and often outdated mortgage and and, most importantly, delivering real estate marketplaces. Altisource is solutions that address the challenges delivering critical innovations, our customers and partners face.”

Altisource has consistently found automation and compliance-focused ways to ease pain points in the solutions built on a multi-year track inefficient mortgage and real estate record of results for banks, mortgage servicers, mortgage originators, real marketplaces with solutions that

Altisource Announces Re-Branding

The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales

heard on the street continued from page 41

Kent Wiechert of Weststar even more value to clients and cusMortgage Acquires tomers nationwide.”

Goldwater Bank Kent Wiechert, LRES Forms Strategic owner and Partnership With OSC

No Refi Option for 7.1-Plus Million Underwater Homeowners The challenge to fix this is made to mortgage and real estate industries

By Pam Marron Credit is the first thing that mortgage professionals look at when evaluating a new customer. Everything else can be in order, but if late mortgage payments are present in the credit history, that alone can be the determining factor of being turned down for the best loan, or having no option other than a higher interest rate portfolio loan with a minimum of 20 percent downpayment.

Five years ago, it was found that short seller credit was being erroneously credit coded as a foreclosure. Lenders require mortgage delinquency before assisting a homeowner on a short sale so that the loan can be handled separately in a loss mitigation department. This was called “dual-tracking” and was done to help streamline the process so that if a homeowner was not approved for a short sale, the process did not have to start over again for a foreclosure. But, when mortgage credit is 120 days delinquent, mortgage credit is coded as a foreclosure.

Whether this was known by lenders or not can be debated, but it resulted in the ability of many stunned past short sellers who were eligible for a new mortgage two years after a short sale1 to be turned down for a new mortgage. Why? Their short sale credit was reflected as a foreclosure which required a seven-year wait before a new mortgage could be applied for again, rather than the two-year wait required after a short sale.

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Last credit problem We scrambled for more than two years trying to fix this for hundreds who were receiving a loan denial when the foreclosure code was discovered in both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac automated underwriting systems. After the National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) got involved, two trips to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the U.S. Treasury, a meeting with U.S. Congressman Gus Bilirakis’s (R-FL) office who set up a meeting with staff of the Banking and Finance Committee, it was finally the demand of Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in a Senate sub-committee hearing to the CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “get this problem fixed now!” that prompted an escalation. The initial call for a specific short sale credit code was not accepted but the CFPB worked with Fannie Mae to make changes in their automated system. Within months, Fannie Mae came out with a “workaround” that was released on Nov. 16, 2013. But, the workaround did not work for many and out of frustration, we started submitting complaints on the CFPB Web site, ConsumerFinance.gov. This DID work! Lenders responded within 15 days and miraculously, credit codes were changed … solidifying that another credit code COULD be applied to short sales.

Today, there are still 7.1 million homeowners, or 12.7 percent of total U.S. mortgage holders, who are trying to stay put in underwater homes, where the loan amount is greater than the home value. For these homeowners who have a conventional mortgage not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, there is no refinance option. There is also no refi option for second mortgages and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) for all 7.1 million underwater homeowners! And, guess what they have to do to get help, or a “modification?” Go delinquent on their mortgage and they must show a hardship as well!

This time around, we know that lenders are aware of the damage to credit that the current loss mitigation policy, a policy that requires delinquent mortgage payments first before assistance will be provided, does to consumer credit.

A challenge to the mortgage and real estate industries We cannot wait another two years to fix this again! Your help is needed to join forces and push for a refinance opportunity where delinquent mortgage payments and hardship are not required. This opportunity needs to be made available now for up to 7.1 million homeowners who are still living in underwater properties. We need this now for the stability of the housing market.

Pam Marron (NMLS#: 246438) is senior loan originator with Innovative Mortgage Services Inc. (NMLS#: 250769) in Tampa Bay, Fla. She may be reached by phone at (727) 375-8986, e-mail pmarron@tampabay.rr.com or visit HousingCrisisStories.com, CloseWithPam.com or 8Problems.com.

Footnote 1—The two-year wait still applies but only with proof of Extenuating Circumstances on a manual underwrite.

Otherwise, a four-year wait now applies for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conventional loans.

president of Weststar Mortgage Corporation, has acquired Goldwater Bank NA in a stock purchase. Weststar Mortgage is a privately-owned company established in 1983 in Albuquerque, N.M. where it maintains corporate headquarters to this day. The firm’s primary initial focus was to develop specialized software that enabled the company to deliver best of breed loan servicing solutions to clients who offered seller financing as an alternative to traditional real estate financing.

Weststar provides both private and agency loan servicing to more than $2 billion in loans in more than 30 states.

Beginning in the early 1990s, the business model grew to include a successful retail mortgage origination channel.

Today, Weststar originates retail mortgage loans in more than 30 states covering nearly every market outside of the Eastern Seaboard.

In 2015, Weststar Mortgage expects to report new loan originations exceeding $1 billion.

“We are very excited about this new acquisition, and look forward to offering our clients even more products and services through our new relationship with Goldwater Bank,” said Wiechert.

Goldwater Bank, located in Scottsdale, Ariz., focuses on providing financial services in a variety of different avenues, within all aspects of a client’s life, also known as Lifestyle Banking.

“We’re excited to pair our commercial bank platform with Weststar’s mortgage business and bring our unique approach in banking to even more customers,” said Julie Merhege, president of Goldwater Bank.

On Aug. 28th, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a letter to Goldwater Bank concurring to a plan submitted by the Bank and Weststar Mortgage almost a year prior which allowed Wiechert to acquire a controlling interest in the Bank. The details of the plan include a host of provisions that will align the two firms around their common and complementary business lines; including the integration of the Weststar’s highly successful retail mortgage origination channel into the bank’s already established mortgage division.

“By the time we have fully executed the plan submitted to the OCC the two companies will employ more than 600 professionals spanning 40 states and all aspects of the banking, lending and loan servicing disciplines,” said Wiechert. “This marks a new adventure for both companies, allowing us to offer

LRES has announced that it has formed strategic partnership with OSC, a lender-placed insurance, tracking and compliance services provider.

“Our partnership with LRES greatly enhances our client experience by providing high-quality appraisal management services and critical insights on homeowners’ associations to inform risk exposures,” said Keith Gilroy, president of OSC. Through this partnership, LRES now offers its lender clients OSC’s lenderplaced insurance and REO insurance services to manage the collateral insurance requirements of its customers’ portfolios. In turn, OSC now offers LRES’ full valuation lifecycle management for clients by delivering collateral valuation reports and supporting data in the MISMO industry-standard format. This union drives compliance efficiencies to meet the complex multi-collateral tracking demands of lenders while optimizing and accelerating the valuation ordering process.

“Through our strategic alliance with OSC, we can now offer our customers sophisticated options for collateral tracking and compliance leadership,” said Roger Beane, CEO of LRES.

PrivatePlus Mortgage Receives Approval From the FHA

PrivatePlus Mortgage has received approval from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) Direct Endorsement Program to underwrite and close FHA loans without prior HUD review. This streamlines the process for anyone seeking an FHA home loan.

“There are of course parameters for the loans,” said Dan Smith, president of PrivatePlus, “From qualifying criteria to FHA loan limits, and every individual’s circumstances vary. A PrivatePlus mortgage pro can help consumers determine if an FHA or another type of loan best suits their needs.”

Smith says that the approval is just another way the organization seeks to streamline business processes and expand consumer choice.

“For instance, last fall, we transitioned to a delegated underwriting model, meaning another significant portion of our processes are tackled incontinued on page 46

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NationalMortgageProfessional.com

· Mortgage lates last 12 months OK

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heard on the street continued from page 42

Performance Solution Through Technology

By Joni Pilgrim

OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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Ever since the economic collapse of 2007, the mortgage industry has been the subject of severe scrutiny and regulation. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act called for greater controls over many business environments, but the appraisal of property and the qualification of mortgage candidates came in for a special mention. And with good reason: Over-valuation, fraud and other nefarious practices were rife at the time, and we all bore the consequences when the house of cards came tumbling down.

This post-collapse regulatory environment is far more robust and secure, but it has added enormous pressure to the workload of loan originators, lenders and investors to ensure that the process of loan approval is managed thoroughly and compliantly, from ordering an appraisal to closing and even post-funding.

Common complaints from the industry include the duplication of tasks by different players such as appraisal reviews that have commonly been done by appraisal management companies (AMCs), loan originators, lenders and investors, lack of transparency and fragmented processes.

To complicate matters further, there are hundreds of AMCs and thousands of appraisers all of whom must be managed for performance, suitability and compliance. Typically, originators and lenders often want to use their own selected appraiser panels, but they have a duty to ensure that the appraisers are compliant and suitable for the task with good track records. With time pressures and staff shortages managing this complicated scenario becomes an onerous task.

The demands of high-speed business environments where resources are key and accuracy paramount, have made it critical to employ less manual processing and more technology, but there is a lack of sophisticated software that uses joined up thinking and offers a way to manage all the processes, people, regulations and organizations that are part of the loan approval process in a transparent, efficient and cost-effective manner. At present, the process is cumbersome and creaking along; duplications, manual interventions, and confused processes create quality control risks and unnecessary expense.

There is a definite need for a solution that connects all the dots, puts the user in charge, and gives him or her a 360-degree view of the loan approval process from start to finish, rather than the fragmented, murky and risky environment in which the industry currently finds itself trying to operate ethically and compliantly.

Joni Pilgrim is the founder and director of sales and business development at National Appraisal Network. For more information, visit Nationwide-Appraisal.com or call (888) 760-8899.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

house,” Smith said. “The takeaway for anyone seeking a loan is that we’re always actively working to ensure we can provide mortgage options for most scenarios and that we can control the process from beginning to end, meaning a great consumer lending experience.”

ultimately ensure their future financial security.”

The branch’s team also includes Victor Malone, Jeff Oster, Ken Smith, Belinda Warren and Heidi Yaegel, who serve as loan officers, and Shaun Marsh, who is a processer.

Churchill Mortgage Expands Into the Colorado Region

Indecomm Forms Partnership With LendingQB

Churchill Mortgage announced the opening of the company’s first physical branch in Colorado in Colorado Springs to support the homebuyer demand of its booming population. The branch will provide mortgage products for the Front Range area, which includes the cities of Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland and Longmont and is where more than 85 percent of the state’s population resides.

Jay Garvens will manage the branch, leveraging 16 years of mortgage industry expertise to provide financially tailored loan programs to borrowers in Colorado Springs, as well as the surrounding communities. Garvens, who is a retired Army Aviation officer, previously served as a broker, owner and principal of The Garvens Group in Colorado Springs, which provided lending services for homebuyers, as well VA loan support for members of the military and their families. Currently, Garvens is the treasurer for the Colorado Association of Mortgage Professionals (CoAMP), a member of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals and is also the host of The Jay Garvens Show on KRDO News Radio in Colorado Springs and 760 Real Talk Radio in Denver, where he discusses mortgage and real estate issues.

Also supporting the branch are Kay Fruci and Tanya Cross, who join as vice president of operations and director of marketing, respectively. With 13 years of experience in the mortgage industry, Fruci oversees the branch’s day-to-day operations and works directly with borrowers throughout the origination process. She is also a member of NAMP and CoAMP. As director of Marketing with seven years of experience, Cross leads outreach initiatives to sustain the lender’s local presence in Colorado Springs, while also establishing relationships with borrowers and referral partners in the surrounding communities.

“Jay Garvens and his team have a rich history with the military and we consider ourselves fortunate to have such an honorable team serving the borrowers in Colorado Springs and its surrounding areas,” said Mike Hardwick, president of Churchill Mortgage. “His leadership combined with the staff’s collective industry knowledge will ensure that homebuyers are provided with our trusted, consultative lending services and

Indecomm Global Services has announced the formation of a new partnership with LendingQB, a provider of browser-based, end-to-end loan origination software, offering customers new synergies. The partnership creates processing efficiency with the ability to perform multiple audits through Indecomm’s proprietary solution Kaizen to meet risk management excellence and final document management through ViewPoint, which enables financial institutions of all sizes to reduce business risk on their loans through real-time tracking of final document submissions from title agents and correspondent lenders. Customers can access Indecomm’s robust and realtime risk management and reporting through LendingQB’s LOS. “This partnership is in direct response to our customer’s needs. Time and precision are of the essence,” said Rajan Nair, CEO of the Financial Services Division for Indecomm Global Services. “Our customers will now be able to benefit from the efficiency of LendingQB’s LOS combined with the controllability to track multiple audit workflows through Kaizen. And they can use ViewPoint’s platform to reduce business risk on their loans through real-time tracking of final documents.”

Kaizen audits and tracks loans in: Correspondent pre-purchase and diligence; pre-closing/funding QA; postclosing pre-delivery and quality control (QC); collateral review; regulatory compliance; and servicing.

Kaizen identifies loan level errors and patterns of defects, identifying the responsible parties and loan types. The system categorizes the root causes of the defects it finds, enabling correction before the problem becomes systemic while allowing the ability to outsource none, some or all of the process.

ViewPoint offers lenders data on final documents related to portfolios, agents, and correspondent lenders. It provides performance measures relative to their expected date of return. It also offers scorecards on performance of agents measured against their counterparts. Importantly, ViewPoint can directly access a county’s recording data continued on page 83

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YOU + UWM = YOUNITED | 800.981.8898 | UWM.COM This information is provided to mortgage and real estate professionals only and is not intended nor is it authorized for consumer distribution.

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010110010100111101010101010011100100100101010100010001010100010 001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101010001000101010001 000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010101000100010101000 100010110010111101010101010011100100100101010100010001010100010 001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101010001000101010001 000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010101000100010101000 100010110010100111101010101010011100100100101010100010001010100 YOU+UWM 010001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101010001000101010 001000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010101000100010101 000100010110010100111101010101010011100100100101010100010001010 100010001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101010001000101 010001000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010101000100010 101000100010110010100111101010101010011100100100101010100010001 010100010001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101010001000 101010001000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010101000100 010101000100010110010100111101010101010011100100100101010100010 001010100010001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101010001 000101010001000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010101000 100010101000100010110010100111101010101010011100100100101010100 010001010100010001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101010 001000101010001000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010101 000100010101000100010110010100111101010101010011100100100101010 100010001010100010001011001010011110101010101001110010010010101 010001000101010001000101100101001111010101010100111001001001010 101000100010101000100010110010100111101010101010011100100100101 010100010001010100010001011001010011110101010101001110010010010 101010001000101010001000101100101001111010101010100111001001001 010101000100010101000100010110010100111101010101010011100100100 101010100010001010100010001011001010011110101010101001110010010 010101010001000101010001000101100101001111010101010100111001001 001010101000100010101000100010110010100111101010101010011100100 100101010100010001010100010001011001010011110101010101001110010 010010101010001000101010001000101100101001111010101010100111001 00100101010100010001010100010001011001YOU0111101010101010011100 100100101010100010001010100010001011001010011110101010101001110 010010010101010001000101010001000101100101001111010101010100111 001001001010101000100010101000100010110010100111101010101010011 100100100101010100010001010100010001011001010011110101010101001 110010010010101010001000101010001000101100101001111010101010100 111001001001010101000100010101000100010110010100111101010101010 011100100100101010100010001010100010001011001010011110101010101 001110010010010101010001000101010001000101100101001111010101010 100111001001001010101000100010101000100010110010100111101010101 010011100100100101010100010001010100010001011001010011110101010 101001110010010010101010001000101010001000101100101001111010101 010100111001001001010101000100010101000100 010110010100111101010 101010011100100100101010100010001010100010001011001010011110101

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This information is provided to mortgage and real estate professionals only and is not intended nor is it authorized for consumer distribution.

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

that lets you go from clear-to-close to closing in minutes and puts money on the table in less than an

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IS CUTTING-EDGE TEC

BUILT ON WINDOWS, LINUX, iOS OR BINARY. SERVICE IS OUR PLATFORM OF CHOICE.

LYKKEN ON

leadership

Seven Transformations Every Leader Must Undergo to Move From Good to Great

By David Lykken fter 40-plus years in the mortgage industry, I’ve discovered that the development of great leadership in the

A

business really boils down to one thing: Growth. Those who achieve their highest potential are those who are focused on personal development.

They aren’t stagnant; they aren’t just waiting around for the weekend—or for retirement. They’re always mov-

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Loan Officers, Branch Managers and Teams,

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© Copyright 2007-2015 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC headquartered at 1600 South Douglass Road, Suite s110 & 200A, Anaheim, CA 92806. 800-561-4567. NMLS ID 2600.

Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access Web Site: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. AZ: Mortgage Banker BK-0910745; 2159 McCulloch Blvd 4, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, File 413 0904. CO: Mortgage Company Registration 2600 and Supervised Lender’s Licenses 989668 and 989668-001. To check license status of your mortgage loan originator, visit www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm. GA: Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee 22721. IL: Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee. KS: Kansas Supervised Loan License SL.0000313. MN: This is not an offer to enter into an interest rate lock agreement under Minnesota Law. MS: Licensed by the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance. MO: Residential Mortgage Broker License 09-1746-S. NH: Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department. NJ: Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance. NY: Licensed Mortgage Banker—NYS Department of Financial Services. New York Mortgage Banker License B500980/107664. NC: Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC is licensed under the North Carolina Agency Permits 102107 & 103455 and North Carolina Secure and Fair Enforcement Mortgage Licensing Act. OH: Ohio Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption MBMB.850208.000 (FHA, DE & VA Automatic loans only). OR: Mortgage Lender License ML4886. PA: Licensed by the Department of Banking. RI: Rhode Island Licensed Lender and Broker. VA: Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission MC-5382. WA: Consumer Loan License CL-2600 & Mortgage Broker License MB-2600. Also licensed in AL, AR, CT, DE, DC, FL, ID, IN, IA, KY, MD, MT, NE, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WI, WY. All rights reserved.

ing—always looking for the next opportunity to excel. In short, these leaders are focused on transforming themselves.

In this article, I would like to share with you a few observations on what transformation in leadership really means on a concrete level. In other words, what kind of transformations must a leader undergo? In what ways does a leader need to be transformed?

While this certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, I believe that if you can transform these seven areas in your life and work, you’ll have what it takes to move from the realm of mediocrity to the realm of greatness.

First, if you want to be the best leader you can be you’ve got to transform how you see yourself. Perception is a powerful thing. Henry Ford is famous for saying, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” He was certainly on to something. When leaders stop believing in themselves, they stop taking the necessary actions to develop themselves into better leaders. When you don’t really think you can be successful, you won’t even try. On the other hand, if you see yourself as having potential for success, you’ll do the necessary work to realize that potential.

Moreover, how you see yourself influences how other people see you. If you don’t have confidence in your ability to lead, how can you expect those you are leading to have confidence in you? How you see yourself is the foundation on which all other transformation is based.

Second, you’ve got to transform how spend your time. You’ve heard it before. We all have the same 24 hours, 1,444 minutes, and 86,400 seconds in a day. What sets us apart is how we use that time. It’s like getting

a huge deposit of money every day that must be spent by the day’s end.

Two different people getting the same amount of money can come away with very different outcomes by the way they’ve spent it. So, how do you transform the way you spend your time? First, you’ve got to stop seeing yourself as a prisoner to time.

Manage your time … don’t let it manage you. Don’t tell yourself that you have to do X, Y or Z. Tell yourself that you’ve chosen to do those things. Once you take responsibility for your time, you can then work on investing it more valuably.

Third, if you want to excel as a great leader, you’ve got to transform how you interact with others. The thing about leadership is that it doesn’t matter how much you know or how much you can do—if you cannot deal well with people, it’s all for naught. Why is that the case?

Because, by its very definition, leadership requires followers. If people aren’t following you, it doesn’t matter what it says on your business card—you aren’t a leader. Making the transition from a mediocre leader to a great one is very much about developing the way you interact with people. This could mean your employees, but it could also mean many others on whom you have an influence—investors, suppliers, customers, the general public and even competitors. If you want to be a great leader, focus on developing relationships with those whom you are leading.

Fourth, you’ve got to transform how you handle pressure. The housing crisis and recession of the last decade has been hard on all of us in the mortgage industry. However, I think the challenging environment

“Pressure is the crucible in which truly great leaders emerge triumphantly.” and the legacy they leave behind through their actions. They see working in the mortgage business as their own small way of making the world a better place. If you want to become a great leader, you’ve got to transform how you see your work. It cannot just be for the money. Your work has got to become a mission for which you live and breathe. Only then can it

develop into the kind of work that moves you from good to great.

David Lykken, a 43-year veteran of the mortgage industry, is president and chief transformational officer of Transformational Mortgage Solutions (TMS). David has garnered a national reputation, and has become a frequent guest on FOX Business News

with Neil Cavuto, and has had additional guest appearances on CNBC, The CBS Evening News, Bloomberg Radio and NPR. He hosts a weekly a weekly podcast called “Lykken on Lending,” as well as a consumer facing video called “Today’s Mortgage Minute.” He can be reached by phone at (512) 759-0999 or e-mail David@TMS-Advisors.com.

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has done one good thing for the industry—it has separated the wheat from the chaff. Pressure is the crucible in which truly great leaders emerge triumphantly. Those who don’t have what it takes will not be able to adapt and will falter under pressure. If you want to develop into a great leader, you’ve got to change how you deal with challenging situations. It’s easy to look good when everything is going according to plan, but how do you look when things go awry? Exposure yourself to a little risk and take some chances—that’s really the only way to see if you’ve got what it takes.

Fifth, if you want to reach your highest potential, you’ve got to transform how you deal with unethical behavior. If there is one area in which leaders in our industry need to place an emphasis, this is it. Since the financial crisis, the CFPB and other regulatory organizations have placed quite a substantial burden on the industry. And, arguably, the limitations on lending have unnecessarily slowed recovery. However, I think we as industry leaders can sometimes complain when we should be taking responsibility. I think we sometimes need to place greater importance on our reputations and the public perception of the mortgage industry. In a more concrete sense, that could mean blowing the whistle in our organizations or having the willingness to take some sort of stand against unethical behavior. Wrong is wrong, and truly great leaders will call it when they see it.

Sixth, you’ve got to transform how you embrace technology. In today’s day and age, we are operating in a more competitive market than we ever have before. Lucky for us, the revolution in technology has spread to the industry and there are countless vendors offering solutions from which we can benefit. If you want to survive as a leader in the mortgage industry, you’ve got to stay on the cutting edge of technological developments. Those who reach their highest potential are those who aren’t afraid to experiment with new tools and systems. Moreover, they are often the first ones do it. Technology can be the leader’s secret weapon. The sooner you warm up to it, the sooner you’ll become the great leader you are striving to be.

Finally, for a seventh way you can make that leap from good to great in your leadership, you’ve got to transform how you see your work. If you simply want to earn a good living and retire as soon as possible, punching in and out, and flying under the radar, you can simply see your work as a job.

However, if you want to become a truly great leader, you’ve got to see your profession as a calling. Your work has to matter to you not just as a means to paycheck but also as an end in itself. Great leaders care about impact they have on their industry

Schedule of Events (Subject to change) Friday, October 16

Sunday, October 18

9:00 a.m. ......................Political Action Committee Meeting—Nile C

9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ..NAMB Industry Partners Breakfast (By Invitation Only)—Galleria A

10:30 a.m. ....................Legislative Action Fund Committee Meeting—Nile C

11:30 a.m. ..................Exhibit Hall Opens

11:00 a.m. ....................Membership Committee Meeting—Nile C

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Luncheon Available in the Exhibit Hall (Luncheon Ticket Necessary)

1:30 p.m. ......................Government Affairs Committee Meeting—Nile C 1:00 p.m.-1:15 p.m. ..Swearing in of NAMB 2015-2016 Board of Directors 2:30 p.m. ......................Bylaws Committee Meeting—Nile C 1:15 p.m.-2:00 p.m. ..Keynote Presenter: Sean Becketti of Freddie Mac—Egyptian Room Sean Becketti, Keynote presenter, is vice president and chief economist of Freddie Mac

4:00 p.m. ......................NAMB Plus Committee Meeting—Nile C 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. ......NAMB Board of Directors Meeting—Directors’ Room

2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. ..Keynote Presenter: Brian Stevens of National Real Estate Post— Egyptian Room Keynote Presenter Brian Stevens of National Real Estate Post will deliver his presentation, “We’ll Keep You Posted—Market Yourself With the Personal Touch”

Saturday, October 17 9:00 a.m.-Noon ..........NAMB Delegate Council & NAMB Annual Business Meeting— Galleria A 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Exhibitor Setup—Exhibit Hall Noon ..........................NAMB National Opens/Exhibit Hall Open 1:00 p.m.-1:45 p.m. ..Concurrent Sessions n Compliance Track (Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group): Current Trends in Marketing Services Agreements and LO Compensation—Egyptian Room n Marketing Track (Sponsored by Carrington Mortgage Services): Serving the Underserved Borrower in America—Nile Room B n Innovation Track (Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage): The Evolving Non-QM Market— The Challenges, Opportunities and Growing Role of Non-Bank Lenders—Nile Room C 2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. ..Concurrent Sessions n Maximize Your Profitability and Prepare for 2016—Egyptian Room n Marketing Track (Sponsored by Carrington Mortgage Services): Rethinking Mortgage Marketing With Technology—Nile Room C n Compliance Track (Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group): Deconstructing Renovation Mortgages—Nile Room B n Innovation Track (Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage)—Nile Room A 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. ..Concurrent Sessions n Marketing Track (Sponsored by Carrington Mortgage Services): Turn Trash Into Treasure— Producing Profits With Private Lenders—Nile Room A n Innovation Track (Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage): Millennials—Refueling the Mortgage Industry—Egyptian Room n Compliance Track (Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group): Reinvisioning Mortgage Origination Through Digitization—Nile Room B n How to Take Your Sales to a Billion Dollars—Nile Room C 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. ..General Session: Keynote Presentation How to Make Mortgages Like You’re Seal Team Six—Egyptian Room

2:00 p.m.-2:45 p.m. ..Concurrent Sessions n Marketing Track (Sponsored by Carrington Mortgage Services): Diversify Your Business— Shift Into Reverse—Nile Room B n Compliance Track (Sponsored by Brokers Compliance Group): What’s in Store for Appraisals and What Lies Beyond TRID?—Nile Room A n Innovation Track (Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage): TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures—From the Tech Side—Nile Room C 3:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. ..Concurrent Sessions n Innovation Track (Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage): Fix and Flip Lending—Nile Room A n Marketing Track (Sponsored by Carrington Mortgage Services): Three Simple Strategies to Grow First-Time Homebuyer Business—Nile Room C

4:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. ..Concurrent Sessions n Innovation Track (Sponsored by Plaza Home Mortgage): Grow Your Business With Non-QM & Portfolio Loan Products—Nile Room B n Marketing Track (Sponsored by Carrington Mortgage Services): Mobile Millennials—How to Catch a Unicorn—Nile Room A 4:45 p.m.-5:15 p.m. ..Exhibit Hall Raffles and prizes announced, including the grand prize trip to Hawaii sponsored by Rushmore Home Loans 6:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. ..Mortgage Professionals of the Year Gala Dinner—Egyptian Room A separately ticketed event, the Mortgage Professionals of the Year Gala Dinner is sponsored

by Endeavor America and the reception is sponsored by Best Rate Referrals

Monday, October 19 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. ..Complete 8-Hour NMLS Course—Egyptian Room This separately-ticketed course requires separate, advance registration and payment (walk-in registration, if available, will incur additional fees) 9:00 a.m.-Noon ..........Designation Class—Professional Certification: Obtaining CRMS/CMC Status Certification—Nile C This separately-ticketed course requires separate, advance registration and payment (walk-in registration, if available, will incur additional fees)

5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. ..Opening Reception In Exhibit Hall n Exhibit Hall Reception Food Sponsored by EquityKey n Exhibit Hall Reception Drinks Sponsored by Caliber Home Loans 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. ..Legislative Action Fund Raffle Reception—Galleria A Legislative Action Fund Raffle Reception Sponsored by loanDepot and featuring a special private appearance by Don Mann, author of Inside Seal Team Six

10:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m...Boosting, Hot List, Hashtags and Beyond—Nile A & B 11:00 a.m.-Noon ........Legislative Update—Nile A & B 6:00 p.m. ....................NAMB National Adjourns

OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSORS

Floor Plan

List of Exhibitors (As of 10/02/15) ALPHABETICAL LISTING COMPANY NAME ........................................BOOTH # AFR Wholesale ..........................................................580 American Advisors Group (AAG) ................................520 Appraisal Institute......................................................103 Appraisal Nation ........................................................285 AppraiserVendor.com..................................................— Avantus Credit ..........................................................205 Axis Appraisal Management Solutions ......................503 B2R Finance..............................................................530 Banc of California......................................................570 Best Rate Referrals ..................................................460 Black, Mann & Graham, LLP & Goldome Financial LLC — Brokers Compliance Group ......................................111 Caliber Home Loans..................................................201 Calyx Software ..........................................................420 Carrington Mortgage Services ..................................240 Cisco Systems ..........................................................225 CMG Financial ..........................................................350 CreditPlus..................................................................230 Endeavor America/The Money Source ......................109 Equity Key Services ..................................................560 Equity National Title ..................................................450 Excelerate Capital ......................................................— FirstFunding Inc.........................................................355 Franklin American Mortgage Company ....................325 Freedom Mortgage....................................................475 HomeBridge Wholesale ............................................208 Homes.com ..............................................................260 Lakeview Wholesale..................................................480 Land Home Financial Services Wholesale Division ..485 LendingHome............................................................203 Liberty Home Equity Solutions Inc...............................— Loan Simple ..............................................................280

LoanBeam ................................................................250 loanDepot Wholesale ..................................................— LoanTek Inc. ..............................................................— MB Financial Bank NA ..............................................465 MGIC ........................................................................375 Mortgage Educators and Compliance ......................345 Mortgage Information Services Inc. ..........................335 MortgageMapp..........................................................210 Mountain West Financial Inc. ......................................— NAMB..........................................................................— National Mortgage Professional Magazine ................101 Nations Direct Mortgage ..........................................373 New Leaf Wholesale..................................................117 NYCB Mortgage Company ........................................365 Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. ............440 Parkside Lending LLC ..............................................340 Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. ........................................220 Pre Approve Me App ................................................510 Premier Nationwide Lending ....................................385 Quicken Loans Mortgage Services............................540 Radian ......................................................................360 RCN Capital ..............................................................320 Realty Mogul ............................................................105 REMN Wholesale ......................................................107 Rushmore Home Loans ............................................505 Scotsman Guide Media ............................................550 Security 1|RMS..........................................................265 SimpleNexus LLC ......................................................370 Sourcemedia ..............................................................— Stearns Lending ........................................................501 U.S. Bank ..................................................................455 United Wholesale Mortgage ......................................207 Urban Financial of America LLC................................430 Velocity Commercial Capital......................................115

NUMERICAL LISTING BOOTH # ........................................COMPANY NAME —..................................................AppraiserVendor.com.

— Black, Mann & Graham, LLP & Goldome Financial LLC — ......................................................Excelerate Capital —..............................Liberty Home Equity Solutions Inc. — ..................................................loanDepot Wholesale.

— ..............................................................LoanTek Inc. — ......................................Mountain West Financial Inc. —..........................................................................NAMB — ..............................................................Sourcemedia 101 ................National Mortgage Professional Magazine 103......................................................Appraisal Institute 105 ............................................................Realty Mogul 107 ......................................................REMN Wholesale 109 ......................Endeavor America/The Money Source 111 ......................................Brokers Compliance Group 115......................................Velocity Commercial Capital 117..................................................New Leaf Wholesale 201..................................................Caliber Home Loans 203............................................................LendingHome 205 ..........................................................Avantus Credit 207 ......................................United Wholesale Mortgage 208 ............................................HomeBridge Wholesale 210..........................................................MortgageMapp 220 ........................................Plaza Home Mortgage Inc. 225 ..........................................................Cisco Systems 230..................................................................CreditPlus 240 ..................................Carrington Mortgage Services 250 ................................................................LoanBeam 260 ..............................................................Homes.com 265..........................................................Security 1|RMS 280 ..............................................................Loan Simple 285 ........................................................Appraisal Nation

320 ..............................................................RCN Capital 325 ....................Franklin American Mortgage Company 335 ..........................Mortgage Information Services Inc. 340 ..............................................Parkside Lending LLC 345 ......................Mortgage Educators and Compliance 350 ..........................................................CMG Financial 355........................................................FirstFunding Inc. 360 ......................................................................Radian 365 ........................................NYCB Mortgage Company 370 ......................................................SimpleNexus LLC 373 ..........................................Nations Direct Mortgage 375 ........................................................................MGIC 385 ....................................Premier Nationwide Lending 420 ..........................................................Calyx Software 430................................Urban Financial of America LLC 440 ............Paramount Residential Mortgage Group Inc. 450 ..................................................Equity National Title 455 ..................................................................U.S. Bank 460 ..................................................Best Rate Referrals.

465 ..............................................MB Financial Bank NA 475....................................................Freedom Mortgage 480..................................................Lakeview Wholesale 485 ..Land Home Financial Services Wholesale Division 501 ........................................................Stearns Lending 503 ......................Axis Appraisal Management Solutions 505 ............................................Rushmore Home Loans 510 ................................................Pre Approve Me App 520 ................................American Advisors Group (AAG) 530..............................................................B2R Finance 540............................Quicken Loans Mortgage Services 550 ............................................Scotsman Guide Media 560 ..................................................Equity Key Services 570......................................................Banc of California 580 ..........................................................AFR Wholesale

Pending Credit Legislation Shows Congressional Extremes With Regard to Credit Knowledge

By Terry W. Clemans

OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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On Capitol Hill there are currently two bills intended to address credit reporting issues. Both of these bills illustrate how sometimes legislators have little understanding of the issues they propose to legislate.

These two House bills, HR 3035 and HR 3524, showcase the extremes of credit knowledge—from a true understanding and reasonable proposal for a solution, to a misunderstanding of the industry and a bill that, if enacted, would provide little to no change in the current process.

HR 3035, The Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2015, is a bi-partisan bill sponsored by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN). It shows an understanding of the credit reporting system and spotlights a week spot in the credit reporting system that this bill attempts to correct. HR 3035 seeks to decrease the number of consumers with no credit score, which, as mortgage originators, you understand the importance of a good credit score more than most.

There are 15 bi-partisan co-sponsors to support the bill that proclaim, “To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to clarify federal law with respect to reporting certain positive consumer credit information to consumer reporting agencies, and for other purposes.”

The bill does this by focusing on telecommunications and utility companies to provide “full file” credit data to the national credit bureaus. “Full file” reporting is the reporting of the entire credit transaction, both positive and negative information, the typical credit trade line you see on a credit report.

That would be an improvement to the common practice for telecommunica-

tions and utility companies that today typically only report negative data in the form of collection accounts.

This type of reporting is especially important for younger generations entering adulthood, as many are not inclined to develop traditional credit accounts like the generations before them. These groups are connected to cellphone accounts and are renting apartments instead of buying homes. They also tend to use more non-bank financial services which do not help build credit history and delay them from having a credit score. The lack of a credit score will cost an American consumer more for every transaction of their financial life. Not having a credit score or having a low credit score will cost a consumer more when accessing a mobile phone, insurance, rent, etc., and ultimately make it much harder for them to get ahead financially. Congratulations to Rep. Ellison and Rep. Fitzpatrick for understanding this and trying to get Congress to solve that problem with HR 3035.

HR 3524 is a totally different situation. The Equal Employment for all Act of 2015, sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) along with 17 Democrat co-sponsors, officially seeks: “To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit the use of consumer credit checks against prospective and current employees for the purposes of making adverse employment decisions.” Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of media attention about the use of credit information in employment screening.

Often, the stories talk about credit scores used in hiring decisions. This has led to this bill, and numerous similar bills in various State Legislatures around the county, trying to make sure consumers are not prevented from getting a job due to problems on their credit report. While on the surface, this

seems reasonable, the problem it addresses is more of a media creation than reality.

The use of credit in employment is one of the most over sold media stories of the past several years. First, credit scores are not used in employment decisions. To allege that a credit score is used or even accessed for this purpose is completely inaccurate and every time it is written, it shows the lack of research done by the author. Unfortunately, Congress also does not research sometimes and then joins right in with the media hype. While some employers do use credit information in employment screening, it is not a credit score, and it is only for very specific jobs where there is a direct business necessity for the individual’s credit history to be considered.

This bill, like all of the others, has an exemption for the government and certain other positions that allows for credit to be considered in cases where there is a legitimate business need of the employer. So basically, if the bill is enacted it would really change nothing from what is the current practice.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has stated repeatedly over the past couple of decades that the use of credit information in employment decisions when there is no business requirement for it is a discriminatory practice. Background checks are used to reduce an employer’s legal exposure. Background check fees are structured in part on how much data is being searched and adding credit to the search increases the cost. In the litigious society in which we live, why would human resource professionals whose job is to help reduce the company’s legal exposure, want to spend more money on background checks and increase their legal exposure to both the consumer and the EEOC? National

Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA) members report that credit information is only in about nine percent of the employment screening reports they provide. These are instances in which credit information as part of a background check is required for the specific position applied for and again, it is basic credit report information only, not a credit score.

The financial industry, in particular, is one with a requirement for the use of background checks and a review of credit information as part of employment process and this bill would have no effect on changing that requirement.

With no bi-partisan support, HR 3524 is not headed anywhere fast; even HR 3035 with a strong bi-partisan co-sponsor list is not likely to pass through this Congress. There is some opposition to the bill as some consumer advocates do not buy into the consumer benefit.

Additionally, some telecommunications and utility companies are not supporting the bill as they are happy with the system as is and do not want the responsibilities under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that comes along with full file reporting. A similar bill with the two same primary co-sponsors did not pass in the last Congress due to similar concerns. Regardless of their future, these two bills are a good example of the depth of understanding (or lack thereof) Congress sometimes has on the issues. HR 3035, a valiant attempt at problem-solving and HR 3524, a bill that furthers fiction and would have little to no impact on the hiring practices currently in place.

Terry W. Clemans is executive director of the National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA). He may be reached by phone at (630) 539-1525 or e-mail tclemans@ncrainc.org.

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n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

“By recruiting top-performing loan originators to either join or return to the mortgage broker world, the channel will benefit from an increase in numbersbased productivity, as well as prestige.”

Flexibility and Financial Promise Lead Experienced LOs Back to Brokerage Firms

By Mat Ishbia

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The playing field within the mortgage industry continues to become increasingly level across the board, retail and wholesale lenders alike, as innovative technology and a steady revival of public image continue to serve as great equalizers for companies of all sizes.

The growing appeal of mortgage brokers is becoming more clearly recog-

nized by more than homebuyers—but by loan originators as well.

A rising number of loan originators are flocking to broker shops, either from large banks or mega retail lenders, as the career opportunities in the wholesale segment paint a clearer picture of financial promise, professional freedom and sustained career

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success. The higher training and licensing standards that originators are held to in the broker channel, as well as the ability to easily adapt to changes, provide them with greater control over their business. It’s a demanding, yet lucrative profession for smart and savvy self-starters with strong people skills.

And the proof is in the numbers.

According to numbers produced by the NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals, membership was as high as 23,000 in 2006 before plummeting to 8,500 in 2010 following the housing market crash. As the broker channel has continued to pick up steam and positive press over the last few years, membership has already climbed back to over 16,000 brokers, based on Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System numbers.

This trend cannot be understated.

As is the case with any industry looking to expand its market share, talent attraction plays a key role in making that happen. By recruiting top-performing loan originators to either join or return to the mortgage broker world, the channel will benefit from an increase in numbers-based productivity, as well as prestige.

The mortgage industry is a magnet for knowledgeable, driven individuals.

It satisfies savvy, business-minded professionals who excel at building relationships and producing positive bottom-line results. It also builds upon that innate nature that many people have to compete and be the best. It literally pits you against other professionals; your company against the rivals down the road. Like in sports, in terms of gaining a prospective client’s business, there is always a clear winner and loser.

Along these lines, for professionals who are fueled to compete and be the best, it is only logical that loan originators would want to put themselves in the best possible position to succeed. That position for maximum achievement lies in the mortgage broker channel, as it offers the resources needed to land the most clients.

It is the responsibility of loan originators to find new clients, counsel bor-

rowers on how to choose the best mortgage, and fill out loan applications. The job is tied to providing high-level client service and helping borrowers successfully purchase a home as efficiently and hassle-free as possible. The freedom and range of products available in the wholesalebroker channel enhance the likelihood of successful transactions—and the reasons are incredibly simple.

While large banks and mega retail entities handcuff their loan originators to one specific product, rate or turn-times, brokers have access to hundreds of different options throughout the country.

The loan process is a very personalized experience for home buyers, as no two borrowers are exactly alike—in terms of credit score, savings or personal preferences. One borrower might need to get an accelerated closing because of a job relocation, while another may be more inclined to move at a slower pace in order to get the lowest possible interest rate. Considering the variety of needs from one client to another, it only makes sense for a loan originator to seek an opportunity where they are best able to accommodate those needs. Large banks and mega retail lending institutions are only able to offer the loan products that they have in-house, and pricing is often higher because of the overhead costs associated with their marketing and advertising initiatives.

Loan originators in the broker channel have the flexibility and diversity to strategically match borrowers with specific lenders from all 50 states—that align with their specific situation. They can better specialize in mortgages for clients with complex financial situations, such as selfemployed individuals, second-home buyers and anyone dealing with tricky life matters.

A favorable perception is another element that is rapidly shifting back in support of mortgage brokers over bankers. While the public opinion about brokers may have been a bit jaded following the housing crash,

recent years of top-notch client service, access to innovative tools, and highlevel licensing and standards have continued to shine a more positive light on the profession. Brokers are now recognized as mortgage gurus and trusted advisors, licensed and trained mortgage experts who are in the weeds of the business every single day. They are regular fixtures of their local communities, local to their clients and open for business nearly seven days a week at various non-bank hours. Brokers are much more nimble in their ability to adjust to regulatory changes and are better positioned to handle complicated loans than originators at large banks and mega retail entities.

When the crash hit, talented loan officers and broker shop owners became unsure of the future and opted to take more secure career paths, whether that was the shelter of a mega

bank or a large retail company. It was unclear what regulations would be enforced or what would happen to mortgage brokers, as many media outlets and industry leaders were pinning the crash on brokers. Now, looking at projections of the future growth of the wholesale-broker channel, it’s clear to see the tremendous potential that exists for originators in the broker world.

The ongoing regulatory changes that are implemented continue to level the playing field for brokers, in comparison to mega retail lenders and large banks. Now that the TILARESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule has gone into effect, brokers are able to combine Good Faith Estimates (GFE) and Truth-in-Lending (TIL) into one document, and are no longer required to disclose lenderpaid compensation just as the banks

have never had to disclose this to their clients—making it look like brokers were charging additional fees. In reality, retail lenders and brokers had the same compensation on a loan, but retail lenders and banks were able to hide them because they weren’t being held to the same standards. That has all changed since TRID, and now that brokers are on a level playing field with banks and retail lenders in terms of disclosures, brokers will be able to fully showcase their clear advantages and quickly take over market share.

The launch of TRID removes the final major regulatory hurdle for brokers, at least for the foreseeable future, and originators are realizing that brokers are thriving again.

In a field that it is incredibly competitive and demanding of accuracy and speed, like the mortgage industry is, it’s vital that loan originators put

themselves in the best position to succeed. Knowledgeable professionals in the business can make a great living regardless of the specific path they choose, but the increased earning potential and decision-making freedom that the broker channel offers is an extremely attractive lure for people who are innately driven and want to feel in control. There has never been a better time than now for loan originators to get back into the broker world.

Mat Ishbia is president and chief executive officer of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), one of the largest independent mortgage lenders. With a vision to create a more perfect mortgage world, Mat has changed the game, turning UWM into a $10 billion company and a top national workplace. Follow Mat on Twitter @Mishbia15.

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“We’re probably a lot more likely to buy a driverless car before we can get a completely paperless mortgage.”

Failure to Go Paperless Carries Big Risks

By Greg Schroeder

OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

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Oct. 1 marked the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Electronic Signatures Act, which provided electronic contracts the same legal weight as those signed on paper. The law was created to make remote financial transactions—like getting a mortgage—easier, faster and cheaper, not just for consumers but

lenders and vendors, too.

Yet while most Americans feel at ease using digital signatures—not to mention banking and spending money online—the vast majority are still signing mortgage loan documents on paper, and the process at many companies in our business hasn’t changed much since before

the e-signatures act was signed by President Clinton.

Sadly, we are no closer today to a truly electronic, paperless mortgage process than we were 15 years ago.

We’re probably a lot more likely to buy a driverless car before we can get a completely paperless mortgage.

I think my own recent experience as a mortgage customer isn’t out of the ordinary and is a good example of where we are today in our industry, which often hails itself as being ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and automation.

I’m currently going through the refinance process. I was prepared to expect a lot of paperwork, so it really hasn’t come as a shock to me, but, man, there sure are a lot of things to sign! There is a ton of stuff that requires my signature, mostly for the receipt of one disclosure or another.

So far, virtually none of the process has been done electronically. We haven’t even gotten to the closing yet, where I know about an hour’s worth of signing a stack of papers a foot high awaits.

I thought I was being progressive by trying to send documents electronically to my lender through Dropbox, but they refused to accept them. Although all of my documents were in order, my lender simply wasn’t able to open any attachments or links I sent. I was then required to send them hard copies via a courier service, but two weeks later the lender couldn’t locate my documents and therefore never updated my file. It turns out they were at the lender’s scanning department, eventually destined for a paper folder and one of their thousands of filing cabinets.

By way of comparison, I’ve also been going through the process of getting several new business trademarks, and my experience there has been totally different. The government’s Web site wasn’t much to look at, but I can say that I was able to do everything electronically, including signing the “papers.”

Clearly, the electronic age really hasn’t kicked in yet in the mortgage industry. We lag behind many other industries. So what’s holding us back, and what can we do about it?

Embrace technology or get left behind People get used to the way they’ve always done things and continue to operate the way they always have, even when it no longer makes sense, either financially or logically, or even when tools to improve the process are widely available.

When we founded our company, we saw the need for automating the due diligence and monitoring process for third-party originators and appraisers. We’ve standardized what used to be a fragmented, time-consuming and labor-intensive chore and created a consistent way for third-party originators (TPOs) and appraisers to be vetted and monitored by the lenders they do business with. The system is completely electronically-enabled and eliminates the need for paper documents.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that everything we do is electronic and paperless and the documents are stored in the cloud for easy retrieval, many of our clients still insist on printing everything out and then filing them away. Think of the amount of money they would save by not printing all of those pages, savings that can be passed along to grateful borrowers, the ones who eventually pay for all this waste.

Lenders who rely on third parties, like mortgage brokers and appraisers, for example, already take on inherent risk. Each relationship must be managed for quality, performance, profitability and proper credentials. But then they take on additional risk and expense, needlessly.

At many companies, signing up and then managing their TPOs and appraiser networks is still done manually—on paper, taking hours

to manage just one relationship, often by their most highly paid employees—their account executives. Plus, these tasks must be done annually for all of the third parties they work with. For big companies, that could mean reviewing thousands of client relationships.

Then there’s the lost opportunity cost to consider: your account executives could be doing something a lot more productive—like finding and creating new revenue opportunities—rather than gathering broker applications.

Technology and automation have transformed this antiquated process into an effective business optimization opportunity.

It enables organizations to achieve higher value business outcomes, such as assessing performance, eliminating nonproductive relation-

ships and identifying opportunities to grow productive ones.

A paperless process is also more secure and private. The opportunity for identity theft is huge when you rely on so much paper. Dumpsters are still a goldmine for thieves trailing companies who fail to adequately destroy paper documents. But that risk is eliminated by working with companies that have electronically enabled their services.

Fortunately, the technology to make this process more efficient, cost-effective and safer already exists and has for some time, and many lenders are in fact using it.

Not only can this entire process be automated, enabling the processing of thousands of third-party applications a month quickly and cheaply, but the documents can be stored electronically too. Doing so puts an

end to redundant applications while enabling easy retrieval of documents, when required.

Yet many companies aren’t taking advantage of these systems, and even when they do, they don’t make the most of them. There is still plenty of road that needs paving.

Let me say, though, that things aren’t entirely bleak. Many in the mortgage business are in fact making the necessary changes in technology and efficiencies that will continue to transform our industry.

While some progress has been made, the pace of change has been slower than it needs to be. Many companies have been reluctant to make the reforms they need to make. They prefer the old way of doing things, often only because that’s what they’re used to and comfortable with.

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59

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Pacific Union is committed to meet all of your mortgage lending needs and then some.

From the day-to-day inquiries to managing your pipeline, we offer a full spectrum of products and services you need.

Greg Schroeder is the founder and president of Comergence Compliance, a provider of third-party risk-management platforms for the mortgage industry, specializing in mortgage originator and appraiser due diligence and profile surveillance.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Let us carry the weight for you.

Indeed, if you’re not embracing technology—still doing things manually and keeping paper documents in filing cabinets—you are going to be left behind or put out of business.

To stay competitive, companies must transition to a paperless environment. When a mortgage can be made, start to finish, without producing any paper, not only will the customer’s experience be greatly improved, but all of the players in the process will be able to realize greater efficiencies and cost-savings, while doing so in a compliant manner.

“In the last several years, there has been a drastic downturn in the number of young professionals entering the mortgage industry.”

Why One Mortgage Business Leader is Making Millennials Her Mission

By Casey Cunningham

OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

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In 2008, I began noticing a trend that has continued to negatively impact the mortgage industry today, and probably will for decades to come.

Despite home sales reaching an eightand-a-half year high and a continuous flow of revenue through residential real estate, something (or someone) is still missing that is integral to the stability of today’s industry: Millennials.

What keeps me awake at night? In the last several years, there has been a drastic downturn in the number of young professionals entering the

mortgage industry. Not to mention, the average age of a loan originator is currently 54-years-old. There’s a generational gap already present—how can we expect to gain the trust of the Millennial generation when they aren’t even being represented? It’s especially concerning when you consider that their buying power is over $200 billion every year.

The financial crisis of 2008 hit the mortgage industry hard and many mortgage officers left for other pursuits. Despite the ideal timing and

lucrative rewards that have appeared since then, Millennials just aren’t choosing to become loan officers, despite the 43 percent of their generation who will actively look for a new job this year. With a population surpassing 80 million, Millennials officially outnumber Baby Boomers and will shortly become the largest share of the American workforce.

Therefore, I’ve decided to make it my personal mission and a key business initiative of my company, XINNIX, to make it easier and more enticing for Millennials to choose loan origination as a career path.

I’ve extensively studied Millennials in the workplace and firmly believe that their personality traits as a generation are ideal for the mortgage banking business. Now, I’m out to prove it.

I’m offering complimentary training

classes to those in the industry on how to get the attention of the Millennial generation and to assimilate them into the workplace.

When you think about it, Millennials are really ideal for this business. They are entrepreneurial, collaborative, embrace technology, and are passionate about giving back and making a difference. Millennials like to see the impact their hard work has made— what better payoff than to facilitate a family buying a home?

Casey Cunningham is CEO of XINNIX, having co-founded the company in 2002. She has more than 26 years of diverse retail mortgage sales and leadership experience, beginning her career as a loan officer and quickly became a top producer with an annualized production of $60 million and 500 closed loans.

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

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

WWW.NATIONALMORTGAGEPROFESSIONAL.COM

“…the cost of compliance is going up for creditors: Not only do the new forms and new processes result in more regulatory considerations, the cost of new solutions to address these new rules has also been significant.”

Vision Versus Progress: The Three Drivers That Are Making the eMortgage a Mainstream Reality

By Alec Cheung

The influence and impact of the CFPB

l Reduced cost to originate: Electronic processes are less costly to support.

Savings come not only from less printing and mailing, but electronic workflows are simply more costefficient than manual processes. l Fewer errors: eMortgages and eClosings cut down on some of the most common errors found in mortgage documents, such as missed signatures and inconsistencies in name or address. When governed by electronic processes, consumers cannot proceed until all signatures are complete.

Furthermore, automated data checks can ensure that fields such as name, address, loan amount, and others are consistent throughout all of the loan documents. This cuts down on rework for the lender and makes the experience better for consumers, who avoid having to re-sign corrected or previously un-signed documents. l Easier sale to secondary investors: Because eMortgages are less likely to contain errors (easier to check), secondary investors have better visibility into the portfolio of

In addition to its regulations, the CFPB is also propelling the industry forward through their support for eClosings.

Earlier this year, we took part in the CFPB’s eClosing pilot which was conducted to provide a hands-on test of how eClosings can benefit consumers. Upon publishing their results this past August, they held a private roundtable to solicit input and feedback on next steps. Many at this roundtable, including eLynx, felt that the CFPB could drive progress toward eClosings (and more broadly toward eMortgages) by helping to accelerate acceptance of electronic documents by more and more mortgage participants.

We encourage the CFPB to continue voicing their strong support for electronic processes and promoting the use of technology to address consumer’s expectations. The pilot’s results survey clearly indicated a consumer preference for the electronic process over the paper alternative, with 17 percent finding it more efficient and 15 percent deriving a feeling of greater empowerment in the mortgage transaction. This level of success with the first live test of the eClosing process is positive affirmation for the CFPB to continue championing industry change.

Data standardization has growing momentum A second important trend that is accelerating the move towards eMortgages is data standardization. Through our involvement with the Mortgage Industry

Millennials are a new factor Even with the CFPB instigating change and data standardization making eMortgages more viable, one new factor is contributing to making eMortgages a reality—shifting consumer expectations and preferences. Just this year, the Millennial generation, those under the age of 34 in 2015, became the largest component of the workforce and the largest homebuying segment. This is the first generation that has come of age in a predominantly mobile and online world.

Their preferences and expectations will ultimately compel the mortgage industry to make the changes required to make eMortgages and eClosings a reality.

Earlier this year, the Pew Research continued on page 62

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When the CFPB wrote the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, they were carrying out legislation hard-coded into the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to improve borrowers’ ability to understand and make well-informed decisions when shopping for a mortgage. But the result of actions taken by the CFPB ended up having a much larger effect, some of which will only be fully understood when the mortgage industry has had sufficient time operating under these new rules.

Nevertheless, it is not difficult to recognize some of the early effects of the new regulatory requirements. For example, lenders and settlement agents must collaborate much more closely together and earlier than before. Also, information exchange has to be quicker, more accurate and occur in a timelier manner in order to meet the delivery schedule required by TRID, as well as to meet the responsibility of proper disclosure to the consumer. As a result, the cost of compliance is going up for creditors: Not only do

the new forms and new processes result in more regulatory considerations, the cost of new solutions to address these new rules has also been significant.

Given this new environment, it’s only natural that eMortgages and eClosings are coming back into favor. They both help offset the cost impact of TRID, while also providing better transparency and data-driven evidence of compliance. The cost-savings and other value-added benefits for both originators and consumers include:

l Faster process turn times: Because electronic documents and processes can transact quicker, the total processing time can be much lower.

When this is applied to processes where documents must be sent back and forth, electronically delivered documents result in faster transaction time. This creates a more efficient experience for consumers, real estate agents and lenders alike, since the mortgage transaction is completed more quickly.

Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO), we see the growing success MISMO is having at advancing the standardization of data for the mortgage industry. With programs like MISMO certification at the company and practitioner level, it is becoming easier to recognize and seek out those that are up to speed with the latest mortgage data standards.

Other influential groups are adding their own momentum. A good example of this is how Fannie and Freddie are now actively working towards a Uniform Closing Dataset (UCD) built using MISMO standards. As explained by Freddie Mac, “The UCD is a common industry dataset that allows information on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Closing Disclosure to be communicated electronically.”

As part of the long-standing Uniform Mortgage Data Program (UMDP), UCD addresses the need for better collaboration between creditor and settlement agent on the Closing Disclosure. UCD shows how the GSEs continue to push ahead with data standardization, recognizing the many benefits it brings, including stronger fraud prevention, better credit risk management and improved transparency, all of which are needed to bring private capital back to mortgages in a big way.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

The eMortgage has been an industry vision for years, yet progress toward that vision has been slow, hampered by inertia, acceptance and long-entrenched processes. All that is about to change due to three factors that are converging to finally tip the scale and make eMortgages a reality for the mainstream. The first is large-scale, consumer-focused regulatory change brought about by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB); the second is growing adoption of data standardization; and the third is the consumer expectations of Millennials, the first generation to come of age in a largely mobile and always connected world.

mortgages they are buying. This increase in transparency leads to a more confident buyer and thus a quicker sale.

vision versus progress continued from page 61

Center reported that in the first quarter of 2015, the Millennial generation had become the largest sector of the workforce at 53.5 million. According to Pew’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, Millennial workers now outnumber Generation X, ages 35-50 in 2015, who come in at 52.7 million. Furthermore, the 2015 National Association of Realtors (NAR) Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends finds that Millennials are now the largest segment of recent homebuyeres, coming in at 32 percent of all buyers, ahead of Generation X, who comprised 27 percent of all buyers. Given the size of these groups, their preferences will re-shape how business is done, including the

process of buying a home.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, the research arm of The Economist magazine’s Economist Group, reports that more than 80 percent of banks will use mobile tools as their primary communication channel for Millennials by 2020. But for Millennials it’s more than just communication. Technology is ingrained in their daily lives and the homebuying process will need to change to meet the very specific ways this generation uses technology.

Now, does this mean Millennials care about eMortgages? I doubt it. But Millenials do care about many of the things that will make eMortgages feasible.

For instance, the ability to receive, review and sign mortgage documents via mobile

or tablet devices will accelerate the mass adoption of paperless lending. And not just for portions of the mortgage workflow, but for the entire process. Once this happens, end-to-end data from mortgage transactions will become available, and with MISMO data standardization, it becomes easier to capture, exchange and analyze even across multi-party workflows. Electronic processes will then finally make it to the various downstream activities that have been holdouts and that have inhibited eMortgage and eClosing processes such as electronic notarization, county recorders, and secondary market investors.

The preferences and expectations of the Millennial generation are large enough to provide a demand pull that hasn’t existed before. When paired with the dual push of the CFPB’s influence and the industry’s own adoption of data stan-

dards, eMortgages may soon become mainstream.

When it happens, and paper-based mortgages go the way of rotary telephones and black & white TV, we will wonder why it took so long. Originators will create and close more loans, borrower experiences will be far more pleasant, and investment capital will flow in at levels not seen in a decade—all to the benefit of consumers, the industry, the economy and the nation.

Alec Cheung is vice president of product development and marketing for eLynx, a provider of on-demand Web-based services for secure, paperless document and data collaboration and distribution. He has more than 20 years of experience in finance, technology and mortgage services.

He can be reached by e-mail at ACheung@eLynx.com.

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www.callfurst.com

“… you will need is an encyclopedic knowledge of your product, which is mortgages. Befriend other LOs in the office and share war stories on tough loans.”

Can You Help a Brother Out?

By Eric Weinstein Dear Eric: I read your article in National Mortgage Professional Magazine, and I’m a 23year-old loan originator who has been in the business for about a year now. I had been working to get my license and working in operations to observe what is going on in the operations side of the business. Now, I’m doing full-time sales and was wondering if you had any advice for a young person like myself getting into the business?

Sean T. Bogue Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

next month for my article, but I will just change your name. It is hard coming up with new ideas to write about every month. You will see.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. In 1995, he started a small mortgage company in his basement called Carteret Mortgage Corporation, which in 2003, grew to one of the largest mortgage broker companies in the United States. Eric is semi-retired, doing mortgages by referral only. He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or email eweinstein4u@gmail.com.

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Dear Sean: You are on the right track. My number one piece of advice is to learn, learn and learn some more. Be like a sponge and absorb all of the knowledge you can, from wherever you can. There are two major aspects to being a successful loan officer and a third when you are ready to open your own company. The first is sales and the other is technical knowledge of your product. Later, you will need to learn how to manage and operate and a business.

I credit my own sales ability to Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale. This was my sales Bible. Read it, learn it, memorize it and sleep with a copy of it under your pillow. In fact, I highly recommend all of his books. More than anything, this book transformed me from a meek accounting nerd to a top producing salesman. Spoiler alert: The secret is to just be a good person.

The second thing you will need is an encyclopedic knowledge of your product, which is mortgages. Befriend other LOs in the office and share war stories on tough loans. Talk to account reps about weird scenarios you get and the ones they have gotten. Read their product Web site and learn every ratio, LTV and guideline on ever type of loan.

Read every word of every disclosure.

This is called “paying tuition.” Believe me, it is better than the other type of

“paying tuition” which is where you screw up a deal and lose a commission.

It is much cheaper to hear about how another LO screwed up and lost his commission than losing your own.

Learn to process, lock and do every job in the office. Try to not delegate things, but do them yourself. That is how you learn. You can delegate only after you know everything there is to know about that job.

Soon you will have arrived at the top of your field, and ask yourself, “What is next?” That is the time when you will start thinking about opening your own shop. It doesn’t have to be big or glamorous, but you will proudly be able to say it is your own. Many people are happy to achieve this and remain a one man shop, but if you have the drive and ability, the next step is to start hiring new LOs. If you were smart and did what I told you, you should have also “absorbed” the way your previous mortgage shop was run. You will have identified the things that were right and the things you thought just didn’t make sense. Now that you own the place, you can do it your way. Hopefully, that is a better way.

My background was in accounting and business, so that was the easy part for me. Not everyone has that type of experience. My advice is the play to strengths and staff your weaknesses. You might need to hire in the beginning a bookkeeper/office manager/assistant/everything-else-you-don’tknow how-to-do. You will make less money this way, but that is your own fault for not having learned it.

Here is the deal. I will send you The Mortgage Press article I wrote in July 2011, “This Is My Story and I am Sticking With It.” In it, you will find the exact formula on how to become rich and successful in the mortgage industry.

Basically, exactly what I did. In addition, I will mentor you, respond to your calls and e-mails and help you on your way.

For this, I will require two things from you. Firstly, you will let me publish your questions and my answers so that EVERYONE can benefit from your education as time goes on. Secondly, and most important, you promise, that when you are rich and successful, you will be willing to take the time and make the effort to help the next 23-year-old new LO just starting out in the business. In this way, we continue the chain of helpfulness and compassion to make the world a better place.

If you want the abbreviated version, here it is … Just be a good person and the wealth and happiness will flow to you. If you don’t agree, I am going to use your question and my answer anyway

“Mortgage companies today need to court the Millennials, but also listen to all borrowers and take steps toward creating self-servicing platforms for everyone.”

The Mortgage Industry’s Future is Here

By John Vella

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Mortgage transactions will eventually be an entirely paperless, digital process and more than likely started and finished on a mobile device.

Consumers are demanding it. The technology exists. Obviously this is a more sophisticated transaction than ordering takeout, but we’re on the cusp of being able to offer it. How well a mortgage company adapts to this rapidly approaching reality

means the difference between moving forward as a standout or being forgotten in the past.

The mortgage industry needs a plan to support this full-service, online borrowing experience. Some early adopters already do, which is a good sign for an industry that has always been paper-heavy and slow to adopt new technology. The corners of the real estate industry that have

been most progressive in many cases innovated out of necessity during the credit crisis, creating a “silver lining” out of the housing meltdown now that we’re a few years removed from the most challenging days. Technology showed that more transactions could be closed, and closed faster with better regulatory compliance. There hasn’t been a lull of services and solutions introduced since. We’re not as desperate to overcome the issues that brought us here, like servicing massive amounts of defaults or needing reliable platforms that keep the process transparent and in line with regulations. Instead, this new tectonic shift has rippled out from borrowers’ demand for convenience. And it is now being felt across the industry.

Moving in sync with the push for innovative technology is critical to offering an easier, more efficient home buying and selling experience for the consumer. Importantly, it has the added benefit of helping mortgage brokers want nothing more than more opportunities. A self-service platform where each transaction can be conducted from beginning to end today is a major differentiator, and in the very near future will be mandatory to remain competitive. Too many firms get fixated on the cost of investing in the technology, but taking a step back and evaluating the implications of not doing so will quickly reveal that the question is really, “How long can I get away without offering it?”… one year or two years? Maybe three years?

Timing the market is a risky proposition for buying or selling a home, and the same applies to investing in critical technology to be competitive and soon relevant.

The right tools for the job Self-servicing options start with online loan applications and can carry the borrower all the way through the closing process. In fact, the mortgage aspect of the process is but one piece of online real estate experience, and generally is behind other elements like shopping for a place. The entire

homebuying process is being digitized: browsing for properties, taking virtual walk-throughs, applying for financing, closing financing, and a limitless menu of additional services that can be chosen along the way.

Some are “nice” options that can be offered, such as letting agents and customers send immediate feedback on a property as they visit it. Others are absolutely necessary today, including allowing access to documents and accepting electronic signatures.

The mobile device is at the center of most technology initiatives. As timely connections and communication grow out of the need for better customer service and regulatory compliance, the mobile device is emerging as the tool allowing every participant in the process to communicate in real time. The ability to review and transmit documents at every stage is what keeps the process moving and moving in a direction that is more transparent and regulatory compliant.

Power to the people By now we know the Millennial generation homebuyer is the poster child shaping the industry. This is the new borrower we are clamoring to work with. The Millennial generation expects us to deliver shorter timeframes and immediate, around the clock responses to questions. Service used to mean face-to-face interaction, but today requiring that is often seen as an inconvenience when much of the process can be completed online. Across the industry we are working on ways to make information readily available and delivered to whatever device they want to use. A competitive advantage doesn’t only begin there. This digitally-empowered generation of homebuyers may have demanded we meet them on their own terms and had us rethink the way we interact, but that recognition for simplicity has spread across generations. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are increasingly interested in the convenience of digital solu-

tions, and comfortable making large purchases online.

Baby steps for every generation

TRID won’t be an excuse for long

Some firms have been able to build technology teams outside of those originating loans or working on compliance measures. Each organization should have a technology expert on staff. Reinventing the industry will take technology savvy, which is not a skillset found in every loan officer’s background. What leading firms are doing is building technology Tiger Teams with a single tech-driven mission. They are not relying on their rank and file to make technology and vendor partner decisions. They are removed from the tech team that makes sure compliance software works, and instead are dedicated to using technology to drive business, approaching technology with the objectives of a loan officer.

If building a dedicated tech team feels like too large of a leap, the next best thing is organizing a focus group of employees, vendors and even customers. This is a highly effective way to discern what technology is available relative to what each group needs. Teams can explore topics like how they want to receive and send information from each other. What initiatives are priorities for today, and what can wait until tomorrow?

Vendors should be able to provide a look at what has been done successfully already. There is an expanding foundation on which anyone can build a unique full-service solution.

Of course the single most important starting point will be looking for solutions that are scalable, because inevitably technology will change as fast as the demands of customer. A digital strategy has to be focused on what people want now as well as what they’ll need in the future.

believe anyone would want to do less business. The sooner a firm closes a loan, they have lowered cost, and they are ready to originate the next loan. The customer is online and ready to help; they just need to be given the tools they need.

John Vella is chief revenue officer of Altisource Portfolio Solutions. He has worked in the real estate and mortgage industry for the past 30 years.

www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com 65

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n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

There is reluctance among brokerages that may seem overwhelmed by what is the easiest, lowest-risk place to start. These are brokerages that were constrained with extensive resources tied up in preparation of the October TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule implementations.

Introducing self-service options may have been pushed off everyone’s project list, but when the dust settles around TRID implementation, heading into the first quarter of 2016, finding the resources needs to happen sooner rather than later. It just may be TRID that sparks a firm’s move to technology.

For example, the rules call for accelerated timelines for taking action on documents, so we’re looking to reduce what had taken months into weeks or even days. We need ways to keep the acquisition and origination process moving around the clock. Online and mobile access to documentation and information is critical and really the only way to we’re all going to meet these new deadlines. A good self-servicing system keeps the operation running and

The rise of the real estate tiger

satisfaction and offer better process documentation. We became empowered to let technology handle more of the workload, and that in some cases it was better than we were. Along the way we discovered that technology gave us speed and accuracy. And in the near-term market, where originations may very well stay flat, the industry needs to be faster. Even if a mortgage servicer is reluctant to open up to a new, online direction, I don’t

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Mortgage companies today need to court the Millennials, but also listen to all borrowers and take steps toward creating self-servicing platforms for everyone. Attracting a new wave of borrowers and easing the concerns of those who will fill out second or third loan applications is going to take more work than having a flashy Web site. Our industry still requires a concerted effort to make the process as transparent as possible. Transparency transcends generations and other demographics and of course is a requirement in many aspects of the mortgage process.

While other generations may not have the same expectations as Millennials, the integration of offerings such as advanced Web site designs and well-trained call center staff that comes with a push toward mobile and paperless options are going to be welcomed by all.

with a clean, clear audit trail. We now have opportunity to store, retrieve and sort data in a way that we never could with paper.

“Beyond housing market numbers, when evaluating the industry’s well-being, we must pay attention to consumer debt, which is at an all-time high.”

The Delicate Balance of the Mortgage Industry

By Keith Guenther

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As we look ahead to 2016, the focus on the mortgage industry’s recovery will endure. In discussing areas of growth, it is only appropriate to also discuss the areas of continued struggle. We have made positive strides, but the industry certainly has a long way to go. Right now, the housing market is extremely fragile. To overcome the current

volatility, experience a true recovery and make homeownership viable for more consumers, we must pay close attention to the factors that will impact the market this year and beyond. While it is never possible to know with certainty what lies ahead, by understanding the lingering issues at hand and preparing for forthcom-

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ing ebbs and flows, we can act accordingly to benefit our industry and the consumers we serve.

Moving forward To assess where we must go from here, it is important to look back several years. The government’s decision to lower interest rates to soften the housing crisis resulted in consumers having easy access to capital. The industry largely agrees upon the fact that the access was in fact, too easy. Countless efforts have been made to now soften the impact of the crisis and to limit foreclosures—mostly by imposing regulatory change. While modified guidance has been important to transforming and repairing the industry, without managing the fundamental challenges, we’ll only continue to hinder the economy from growth.

The Fed’s decision in September to leave interest rates unchanged will also influence the market in the coming year. In a Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) survey indicating results from the week before the Fed’s announcement, the Refinance Index had increased by 18 percent from the previous week, bringing the refinance share of mortgage activity to 58.4 percent. In the same week, the unadjusted Purchase Index increased by 20 percent from one week earlier, 27 percent higher than the same week one year ago. With rates remaining low, we can expect this uptick in both mortgage applications and refinance activity to persevere—which begs a few questions: Are we giving ourselves a false sense of security with low rates? When rates do rise, will we be at risk of a collapse? For those refinancing, is a default just around the corner?

A forecast for growth in both volume and price remains contingent on several elements beyond interest rates.

It is important for us to explore additional factors in order to best move forward: l The global economy: Two years ago, the head of the nation’s largest hedge fund nearly predicted the fallout with the notion that the

U.S. economy becomes “not creditworthy.” Today, we are in the midst of the redistribution of wealth and deleveraging. It is not just our own economy that the mortgage industry should be watching closely; it is important to pay attention to international activities as well. For example, continued fallout from China’s currency devaluation and subsequent massive selloff could have a potential negative impact on our market. l Rental rates: Rental rates continue to skyrocket, which, in addition to low interest rates, is driving housing. For many consumers, it now makes more financial sense to purchase a home instead of continuing to rent at exponentially growing prices. Yet, this notion is complicated by the struggle many face—high rental rates and debt pose a barrier to meeting the qualified minimum downpayment. l Job growth and consumer debt: Elements such as job growth not only impact housing, but indicate the health of the economy as a whole. Beyond housing market numbers, when evaluating the industry’s well-being, we must pay attention to consumer debt, which is at an all-time high. Many consumers are in the midst of the short-term debt cycle. Inclined to live off of money they do not have by increased debt, but more importantly by those who cannot pay their obligations; and others continue to be burdened by previous defaults.

Whether it’s a Millennial buried in student loans, or a family working to improve its financial situation following a foreclosure, obstructing the pursuit of homeownership is this combination of damaged credit history, debt issues and inability to save money due to high rental rates. As a result, more lenders are considering and offering sub-prime loans; Equifax’s National Consumer Credit Trends Report found that in the first five months of 2015, the

volume of first mortgage originations to borrowers with subprime credit scores increased 30.5 percent.

“It appears that American lenders still believe in second chances, and without sub-prime loans, there would be no second changes in the housing market,” said Amy Crew Cutts, Equifax’s chief economist.

“The underwriting on mortgages today is tough on everyone, and we believe that the sub-prime lending that is happening is being underwritten even more carefully.”

The mortgage industry is clearly experiencing and working through a very delicate balance. We must continue to find the best ways to provide these second chances and open the door to homeownership, while still limiting risk and evading a potential subsequent downturn.

l Defaults and shadow inventory: The industry’s focus has turned away from talking about homeowners in danger of default.

However, there should be an emphasis on those at risk of default again as well as the persisting shadow inventory. HOPE NOW reported approximately 122,000 non-foreclosure situations and 29,000 completed foreclosures in July 2015. While both numbers are down from this time period last year, they depict the continuing struggle of American homeowners.

The data also emphasizes the ongoing reliance on both formal and non-formal forbearance options and other workout plans, such as deed-in-lieu programs.

When we take a closer look at the number of Americans who remain in these difficult financial

situations we can easily realize, the downturn is not over as many perceive it to be.

Of course, we could talk about heighted regulation for days. For the past few years, compliance has been the primary area of interest. However, in 2016, regulatory oversight will intrigue the industry less. For the most part, mortgage companies have grown more accustomed to the guidelines and to making necessary adjustments. Instead, the conversation will most likely be around potentially loosening lending and other possible solutions to improve the viability of homeownership. Right now, many Americans simply cannot afford to buy homes. Will that be the new reality, or will credit requirements loosen and we return to low downpayments and interest rates? In the meantime,

banks should be assessing their loan programs and developing new ones.

It is critical that, looking ahead into 2016, banks and the industry as a whole work toward reducing debt without igniting deflation and discord. There are numerous considerations that must be accounted for as we explore the future of lending, and at the same time, so much relying on it. Only when we have a clear, holistic understanding of the foundational issues that created the downturn and caused these lasting market challenges can we truly rise above and beyond it.

Keith Guenther is CEO of Lake Forest, Calif.-based USRES Inc. and its whollyowned subsidiary, RES.NET Inc. Guenther oversees all day-to-day activities and drives the strategic and technological initiatives for the companies.

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“MSAs have been frustrating for those who do not benefit from them, and most MLOs are accustomed to being turned away by referral prospects due to preexisting agreements with favored lenders.”

MSAs Going Away? So What!

Smart lenders are moving quickly to embrace the change

By Sue Woodard

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Marketing services agreements (MSAs) have been a way of life in our industry for generations. Varied in their size, shape and effects, MSAs have had great impact on mortgage loan originators. Today, their days appear numbered, thanks to the CFPB. But the situation is far from dire, assuming mortgage loan origi-

nators (MLOs) and their leaders make the right moves—quickly—to solidify relationships with referral partners.

MSAs have been frustrating for those who do not benefit from them, and most MLOs are accustomed to being turned away by referral prospects due to preexisting agree-

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ments with favored lenders. Having been an MLO myself for a large part of my career, I am never far from what’s happening on the street— and the MLOs I speak to who have not been reaping the benefits of MSAs are logically jubilant at this turn of events.

On the other hand, I’ve talked to many who work for large lenders that leveraged MSAs for years and many are indeed sorry to see the agreements start to go away. It’s understandable, since it is human nature to resist change. Yet many MLOs who worked under MSAs will tell you it was not exactly like catching fish in a barrel. You still had to perform or risk losing a deal to another lender, as some MSAs were more like rights of first refusal.

Others will tell you that they saw service levels under stricter MSAs suffer, as the relationship could sometimes be taken for granted.

With the playing field more level, everyone can ultimately benefit from greater attention paid to service levels, better competition and more professional experiences for borrowers and referral partners alike.

But why do I feel this is such a time sensitive issue, which must be acted upon now? Because you, dear reader, are not the only lender or MLO reevaluating their referral partnerships and pondering how you will interact most effectively with them in this new non-MSA era ahead. Thinking about co-branded marketing with referral partners as one key way to solidify a relationship? The first one to the referral partner with this concept wins— they will not typically co-brand with more than one lending partner. So you’ve got to be smarter than those who are faster—and faster than those who are smarter.

Making it happen smart: Technology and automation Technology is a great leveler.

Without it, transactions suffer, and

along with them, relationships.

With the right technology, just about everything becomes easier and more efficient. It is easy to think back a decade or two when we were just starting to see the impact of computers and could scarcely dream of the digital revolution that has permeated every aspect of American life. In lending, technology has seen quantum change that has redoubled every year, and is now so ingrained in the way we do things it is impossible to contemplate doing without.

Technology combined with automation lets us find the best program and rates for each individual borrower’s situation in moments, not the hours and even days once required. Advanced customer relationship management blends with next-level sales automation to create amazing milestone and marketing campaigns that cement the bonds with borrowers and real estate professionals. Mobile device functionality brings immediacy to MLO efforts not possible just months before.

And instead of being intimidating, it is all enabling—especially as we move away from restrictive MSAs. We’re replacing exclusivity with performance excellence that substantially upgrades the state of the mortgage loan origination art.

And automation makes cobranded marketing simple, as it does with so many things—not to mention that it’s critical to the success of this endeavor with a referral partner. Automation keeps your consistent, focused marketing plan on track—and keeps your relationship on track—even when you or the referral partner are on vacation or busy closing deals.

Making it happen fast: Promote benefits of co-branding Now is the time to get to your referral partners with co-branded marketing—but when a MLO presents this opportunity to a referral part-

ner prospect, it needs to be something special. The competitive difference comes when the MLO provides highly sophisticated cobranded automated marketing campaigns that parlay outstanding content, sharp professional design and easy implementation. This potent combination makes referral partners truly look into the future for their businesses and see wonders—with their brand names prominently part of the entire package. Working with the MLO empowers referral partners to flex marketing muscles they didn’t know they had, and all without impact to their current bandwidth, thanks to automation.

With David Letterman retired, top 10 lists may no longer be part of late night television. But here are 10 great examples of automated co-branding features, all readily accessible to MLOs, which can directly improve the lives of real estate professionals:

and frankly that is very difficult in this case. This level of advanced CRM is extremely difficult to replicate, and the content libraries owned and continually refreshed by companies like ours that have been in the space a long time are virtually impossible to duplicate.

MLOs working for most other national, super-regional and smaller firms may have a bit of an advantage here. These companies are generally more inclined toward nimbleness and prompt evaluation of available technologies. Further, the technology providers offering the most advanced co-branded marketing tools are well-versed in dealing with the non-mega lender tiers, making the selection and implementation process a much simpler matter today than in the “big iron = big check� era. Thanks to cloud-based

and SaaS delivery, unit pricing and other considerations, getting up to speed is faster and more cost effective than it has ever been with technology of this game-changing magnitude.

Despite the normal impulse to want things to remain the same, change is your friend—especially if you make your move quickly to embrace the opportunity presented by the collision of old ways of doing business going away and the new era of automation and technology.

Sue Woodard is president and CEO of Vantage Production, a CRM technology provider based in Red Bank, N.J. Prior, she was an award-winning mortgage originator, trainer and speaker. She can be reached by email at swoodard@vantageproduction.com.

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Change comes with the territory

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Even with the knowledge that lenders need to move quickly to embrace this change, the reality is that most people are predisposed against change. So it’s no surprise that some in the lending industry are greeting the emerging trend in MSAs with dismay. British novelist Arnold Bennett once said, “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.� He was quite right, of course, and completely relevant even though he said it about a century ago. But in the case of disappearing MSAs, the drawbacks and discomforts can be limited.

In the long run and in the short run, all MLOs can benefit if MSAs in fact end up fading into history.

Those working under them now can put advanced co-branding techniques to work that will more than make up for the lost exclusivity the agreements provided. Along the way, their service levels will rise and client satisfaction will go through the roof. That said, the most influential MSAs were predominantly with the largest institutions, and those are often the slowest to change course, particularly when technology is involved. Big IT departments frequently prefer to build things rather than buy them,

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1. Advanced, automated capabilities that include a Web presence to centralize each referral partner’s co-branded marketing efforts with the MLO; 2. Co-branded marketing tools that allow the MLO to choose from ready to go campaigns or create customized materials, all cobranded with the referral partner for readily implemented comarketing campaigns; 3. Profile customization that allows the referral partner to easily upload and edit logos, photos, contact information and other essential information used in marketing collateral; 4. A secure list management environment in which the referral partner can comfortably provide campaign recipient information to which only they personally, not the lender, have access; 5. Great designs and sophisticated content for all materials that are beyond virtually every referral partner’s capability to create; 6. A loan status center that empowers the referral partner to check transaction status of all loans they have referred to the MLO, available 24/7 via desktop, laptop and mobile device;

7. Co-branded open house flyers that MLOs can provide for each open house event, with property information and compliant, lender-approved loan information; 8. Full reporting capabilities that allow referral partners and lenders to evaluate the effectiveness of their co-branded marketing efforts; 9. Vastly increased marketing reach for both referral partners and MLOs; 10.Immensely stronger professional bonds for all parties—not only through leads coming back from marketing campaigns, but through greatly improved borrower experiences that increase the real estate professional’s success with their own efforts for borrower referrals.

“How successful are we in nurturing and building long-term relationships when we’re sitting in front of our computers as opposed to engaging in face-to-face interaction?”

The Blueprint for Future Success Lies in People, Not Profit

By Cal Haupt

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In today’s transactional mentality where quotas and the race to close deals has become the cure-all for building profitability and beating out the competition, we often lose sight of the importance of cultivating successful, long-term relationships and delivering exceptional service—the true secret to success.

Before you think to yourself, “This doesn’t apply to me, I communicate with my clients regularly on social media,” it’s important to differentiate between social media communication and interpersonal communication. In the mortgage industry, we understand the importance of developing a social media presence, communicating frequently with our clients on Facebook and Twitter, and monitoring online conversations to resolve potential customer service issues before they erupt.

However, does communicating via social media have the same influence as interpersonal communication? How successful are we in nurturing and building long-term relationships when we’re sitting in front of our computers

as opposed to engaging in face-to-face interaction?

In the last decade, there has been a monumental shift in the way we communicate. As a society, we’ve altered our interaction preferring mediated communication over personal communication.

We prefer to e-mail rather than meet, text rather than talk and post rather than converse—a shift that has opened the door to more social and professional connectivity within social networking, yet it leaves more clients feeling less personally engaged with those whom they choose to conduct business with.

Thus, while we are undoubtedly communicating more with our thousands of company Facebook fans and our impressive list of professional connections, these connections are often weak ties that won’t stand the test of time. Think about your vast number of LinkedIn connections or your Twitter followers for a moment. How many of them have you had direct contact with in the last year?

While there is an element of residual connectivity through status updates, it’s not the type of communiqué that can

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take the place of face-to-face interaction.

In reality, for the vast majority of organizations, future success doesn’t lie within the thousands of relationships we harvest on social media, but rather, with a relatively small number of people who are critically important to the success of our business. It’s these significant relationships that must be nurtured, fostered and safeguarded.

should become a normal part of our daily routine. On average, you should spend five percent to 10 percent of your week dedicated to building relationships.

If you’re accustomed to eating lunch at your desk or you’ve never taken a client to a baseball game or out to dinner, it might be time to rethink your strategy.

Professional relationships redefined

Your clients are your business, so a critical factor in improving your business is to improve your client relationships. To maximize your relationship with clients, or any professional relationship, try incorporating a few of these straightforward strategies into your daily routine.

If we take a step back and view our professional relationships through the lens our own personal relationships, we draw upon key emotional factors that help us establish the bond within those relationships. Loyalty, commitment, trust, dependability, respect and integrity are all words used to describe a level of emotional attachment found in a strong personal relationship. As you can imagine, no matter how much time someone spends tweeting and posting on Facebook, these attributes can be difficult to convey through the channels of social media.

To build strategic relationships, we need to dedicate a significant portion of our time and energy to those relationships that matter most—our current, past and future clients, and those who have been instrumental in our career and success including our partners, the team we work with and our valued professional connections. If we take time to invest in and safeguard these relationships they will be there for us when we need them the most—through challenging times, tight deadlines, when we need a favor, or to share strategies, resources or insight. Most importantly, we need to build relationships before we need them.

Business relationships should be nurtured much like we nurture our personal relationships. After all, they are the fuel that feeds our success and they require effort to fortify, build and maintain them. They must be mutually beneficial and we must be willing to take the time to care, share, listen, laugh and support in order to build long-term loyalty and connectivity. Our efforts should never be forced or fabricated as this will eventually become transparent. Instead, they

Fortifying strategic client relationships

Ask more questions Asking questions opens up a two-way dialogue that allows us to better understand client perspectives, situations and feelings. When you have a conversation with a client, especially a new client, take notes. Jot down important information about them. Ask them whether they’re married, how many children they have, what they do for a living, etc. Ask your client specifically what they are seeking or need from you and be sure to ask for feedback on how well they feel you’re serving their needs and ways you can improve.

Learn the Interests and preferences of your clients Most people love to talk about themselves. Take advantage of this opportunity and get to know your clients on a more personal level by mastering the art of listening. Take the time to learn about their interests and ask about their preferences.

Are they a football fan? What is their favorite type of food or what is their favorite restaurant? Inquire about their hobbies, travels, where they’ve lived, how many languages they speak and when their birthday is. Building lasting relationships doesn’t happen overnight; however, in the long run the return on investment is well worth the effort put forth.

Strive to connect Whether you schedule a time for lunch or

plan an occasional outing at a football game, connecting with your most valued clients is essential. Even if they decline, which they sometimes will, it sends a clear message to your client that they matter, that you’re willing to take time out of our personal life to spend time with them and that you value the relationship. While it isn’t always feasible to carve out time to meet with everyone on your client list, picking up the phone and calling on occasion can do a world of good as well. Calling just to check in, asking how they enjoyed their recent vacation or inquiring feedback on how well you’re servicing them can be a tremendous relationship builder.

Give often, receive occasionally People who have become powerful relationship builders don’t think about

what they can get out of a relationship, but rather, what they can give. To accomplish this we need to be sharply attuned to our clients’ needs and wants.

Answer questions before they ask, deliver beyond the expected, give often and be willing to receive on occasion. It’s this mentality that will help build powerful professional relationships and lasting, loyal clients.

Never underestimate the power of appreciation When was the last time you sent a handwritten thank you note? Saying thank you to your clients should be an active part of your ongoing success strategy.

However, all too often we fall short in delivering this important message to our clients. An expression of gratitude through a hand-written note, a personal phone call or a small gift delivered to their door will convey to them how

much you appreciate them, how important they are to you and that you value their business.

Above all, be genuine Oftentimes, when companies want our business, they’re willing to tell us anything and everything to get our attention and solidify our business.

However, today’s savvy customers are far too sharp to fall for phony sales pitches. They’re also far too savvy to fall for insincere attempts of interest. No matter how you connect and engage with your clients, above all, be genuine. If you’re not comfortable taking a client to dinner, then don’t. If your comfort level lies more with personal phone calls and hand-written notes, then that’s what you should do. Your desire to reach out and connect with clients should never extend beyond your genuine comfort level.

Balance is key As important as it is to connect with clients, it’s equally as important to ensure a healthy balance by not straying too far from the professional proverbial line in the sand. Know when to dial it back a notch and give your clients room to breathe. Every client will be different and every client relationship will yield a slightly different approach, however, it’s important to remember that these relationships are, in fact, professional. When interacting with clients always remember that your actions and the way you communicate with them greatly influences their opinion, attitude and respect for you and your firm.

Cal Haupt is chairman and chief executive officer of Southeast Mortgage, with 13 office locations throughout Georgia and is licensed in Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. He may be reached by e-mail at Cal.Haupt@southeastmortgage.com.

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“Compliance costs, increased requirements from lenders and their investors, and a changing market all mean that a settlement services firm must pay attention to its margins— which means ensuring the most efficient operation possible.” – Michael P. Bell

Making the Case for the Modern Title Agent

By Michael P. Bell & Elliot Liss

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There was a time when a settlement services firm accepted that this was a thin-margin, volume driven business.

However, the typical title firm’s risk now goes far beyond the possibility that its pre-close labor and costs will be for naught should the deal fail.

Compliance costs, increased requirements from lenders and their investors, and a changing market all mean that a settlement services firm must pay attention to its margins— which means ensuring the most efficient operation possible.

The world of title insurance and settlement services has never been one built upon wide profit margins.

At the root of the title agency business model, an agent bears almost all of the settlement service costs: Search, curative, escrow, closing and more. Ours is one of the few types of insurance for which the agent selling the insurance policy actually does the heavy-lifting on the policy up front, rather than reserving much of it for the claims process, as do most property and casualty insurers.

In the early 2000s, when mortgage origination volume was at historic heights, margins weren’t the biggest concern for most in our industry. Instead, the name of the game was volume or gross revenue.

The high order counts seemingly pushed production costs further and further away in the proverbial rear-view mirror.

Today, however, we face a very different world. Ours is now a world where clients, especially mortgage lenders, are facing increasing pressure from investors and regulators alike. As a result, their vendors, the title agent among them, are incurring increased costs. Whether it is updated technology necessary to manage the new settlement process under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule (TRID) or increased staff to assure a more robust quality assurance process; a title agent today likely spends much more to produce a title insurance policy than ever before. As a result, tighter margins and greater expenditures reduce overall profitability.

The new costs of doing business Why did a settlement services firm’s cost of doing business increase so dramatically? Many of the causes are obvious. A stream of new regulatory requirements, in combination with an increasingly active culture of lender and regulatory audits, have any title agent seeking to stay in business on his or her toes. Even though some of those requirements may not apply directly to a settlement services firm, the costs do flow down the vendor chain. The requirements of TRID, for example, apply equally to lender and settlement agent. But, in many cases, it is the settlement services firm responsible (de facto) for educating and counseling his lending client on the new requirements … at its own cost. This, of course, is in addition to the expenses incurred in updating or even replacing technology and systems to come into compliance with the requirements of TRID. It is compounded by the training, oversight and general “tweaking” that comes with rebuilding an entire operational process. It all adds up quickly.

It’s not only TRID, however, driving costs upward these days. The renewed emphasis on lender liability stirred by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s April 2012 bulletin (a lender will be held accountable for the misdeeds, actions or inaction of its service providers) has compelled lenders to ramp up their vendor vetting and oversight procedures. We see more requirements, more constraints and more audits than ever before. For the lender, risk mitigation is essentially at the core of almost any business decision made today.

One final impetus to increased title and settlement costs is the secondary market and investor as well. The mortgage industry experienced a tidal wave of buyback demands in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Investors and the GSEs have since instituted stricter requirements for each mortgage a firm hopes to securitize. The significant increase in the complexity of closing instructions bears witness to the

impact of these changes on the settlement services firm.

The multiple forces driving “back end” costs up is diverse enough to support a fairly simple conclusion: It’s not going to be getting any less expensive to run a settlement services firm any time soon.

Can a title company still make a profit?

Nonetheless, talk of the death of the traditional “mom and pop” title agency is premature. Will it be harder to generate substantial profit for a title company? Absolutely. But it most certainly can be done.

Settlement services firms will survive the landscape change we are experiencing, but the successful businesses will be the ones that take an entirely fresh perspective on the business model. It’s never been fun or popular to spend time scrutinizing one’s costs. But it will be absolutely necessary for the title or settlement firm that wishes to maintain a profit.

The title industry is unique in that the agent typically bears the costs to produce a title insurance policy before the transaction even closes. There isn’t a title agent in America who hasn’t incurred substantial expenses on a transaction that falls through, only to grit his or her teeth at the latest sunken cost.

Maybe it’s time for title companies to reconsider how much financial risk they’re willing to take on before a mortgage closes. This does not mean that title agents should rise up and demand that their clients bear those costs—it simply won’t happen. What it does mean is that our industry needs to revisit previous barriers, requirements and constraints with a fresh perspective.

Perhaps more elements of settlement should be outsourced, providing more flexible options to the agent incurring the cost. Many firms are coming together in strategic partnerships or alliances, pooling resources to offer greater capacity to their clients, while eliminating inefficiencies and redundancies in what

“… talk of the death of the traditional “mom and pop” title agency is premature.” – Elliot Liss

is an otherwise extremely segmented process.

It is time for more settlement services firms to consider how they use their assets and resources as well. It’s pretty standard for such companies to reduce staff when order counts drop. But how productive and effective is your staffing plan? Does your business run more efficiently with versatile employees? More specialists? More contractors or consultants?

There is a tremendous number of hidden costs within the way we deploy our human resources.

It’s not just human resources we need to scrutinize. Just because one

has the latest technology doesn’t mean that firm has automatically maximized its efficiency. Owners and executives really need to determine if they are getting the most out of their technologies and systems; if they are the right fit for the market and business model; and if they are deploying them in the most effective way possible. Are you creating chokepoints in your workflow to accommodate a fancy new production technology? Is the best-in-class system in which you’ve just invested so foreign to your staff that it will take extensive training and management (all at a cost) to get them up to speed and comfortable

using the tools they’ll need to get the job done? There are hundreds, if not thousands, of qualified consultants in our industry who can bring about a very substantial return-on-investment from your systems if you make use of them.

It is important that the mortgage and title industry remember that change brings an opportunity to improve. Simply doing things “the way they’ve always been done” could easily be a recipe for failure in light of the dramatic transformation we’re seeing in the mortgage transaction. It will be those businesses willing and able to think creatively; evaluate their businesses honestly and move aggressively

to adapt that will be the ones to enjoy success.

Michael P. Bell is an avid Web designer and is primarily responsible for the design and implementation of Closeline’s proprietary Web-based software platform. All of Bell’s designs are structured to foster Closeline’s National Closing and Escrow Platform. He also directed the design and implementation of Closeline’s proprietary Web-based software platform. Elliot M. Liss is a principal with Closeline Settlements As a founding principal of the firm in 1993, Liss began his title career servicing bank and non-bank lenders in connection with their nationwide and regional lending platforms.

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“A good lender shouldn’t approve a loan just because an automated underwriting engine says its eligible.”

Community Lenders Are Essential to the Future of Mortgage Banking

By Wes Miller

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“The essential thing is not knowledge, but character.”

—Joseph Le Conte It goes without saying that data is important in determining a borrower’s ability to repay. W-2’s, paycheck stubs, application information, etc., are all essential pieces of information when putting together a mortgage loan.

Yet these pieces of paper are just individual, incomplete snapshots of the applicant’s overall character. While they are hard facts, they can be misleading when gathered without sufficient background information on the person.

A community lender has access to more than just data on the loan applicant—they have a strong foundation of

information built on years of knowing that person. Done appropriately, a judgment-based loan takes into consideration the borrower’s complete profile. In many cases the lender knows the applicant’s family, history, spending habits, special circumstances, etc., which may not tick all the boxes and look perfect on paper, but can nonetheless be a good risk. Such judgment-based loans are a crucial service to local communities.

On the other hand, just because a loan looks good on paper doesn’t mean an applicant should automatically qualify. As one of my mentors used to say, “100 percent of foreclosures were qualified on paper.” A good lender shouldn’t approve a loan just because an automated underwriting engine says its eligible.

The industry, however, has transitioned away from judgment-based lending into rule-based lending. Regulations, as a result of the last financial crisis, are pushing lending toward a heavily dependent data driven model. The qualified mortgage (QM) rule was difficult for community lenders, as it narrowed their ability to lend to those outside the prime “sphere.”

Compliance, in general, is difficult and expensive. However, lack of compliance is even more costly. Many community lenders have either gotten out of the mortgage business or have stopped originating non-GSE mortgage loans.

This has introduced a vacuum that portfolio lending used to address.

The TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID), effective Oct. 3, adds additional complexities with changes in technology, forms and processes. Such high standards come with an equally high price tag that many small lenders

are legitimately worried they will not be able to pay.

TRID is designed to protect the consumer, and is admittedly necessary, as many financial institutions continue to lag behind the technology landscape of the 21st Century. Accommodating TRID can be done with technology that creates efficiencies, collaboration and transparency.

Upgrading technology can be an opportunity for community lenders.

Compliance and judgment based lending do not need to be opposing forces.

Using proper technology can provide the right balance of qualified data and in the hands of a local knowledgeable expert, allow local lenders to continue to serve their communities.

If community lenders are largely pushed out of the mortgage scene, the industry will lose a crucial skill that these professionals bring to the closing table: That of carefully cultivated, judgmentbased lending practices.

We’ve relied, as a nation, on local lenders making loans that help people achieve the American dream of homeownership. That type of loan is now in jeopardy. There should be judgment in lending, and community lenders have serviced that role very well since the beginning of banking.

It would be a shame if community lenders were pushed out of the mortgage sphere.

Wes Miller is the CEO and co-founder of ATS Secured, a new technology category for the real estate closing industry. He has extensive experience in developing and marketing both core and ancillary financial products. He may be reached by email at Wes.Miller@ATSSecured.com.

calendar of events N A T I O N A L

M O R T G A G E

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

see page 93

They'll never be caught.

They're on a mission from God.

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Industry Updates: October 2015

By Gavin T. Ales FHA Single-Family Handbook Changes, Effective Sept. 14, 2015 On Sept. 30, 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) published the FHA’s new Single-Family Handbook 4000.1. The Handbook consolidates (and supersedes) many of the existing HUD Handbooks, Housing Notices, Single-Family Housing Mortgagee Letters and other documents to provide a single, comprehensive reference guide to all lenders that offer FHA/HUD -related single family mortgage products.

An updated Section 6(b) of the Handbook requires that the mortgagee “develop or obtain a separate Mortgage and Note that conforms generally to the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae forms in both form and content, but that includes the specific modification required by FHA set forth in the applicable Model Note and Mortgage,” and complies “with all applicable state and local requirements for creating a recordable and enforceable Mortgage, and an enforceable Note.”

An updated Mortgage and Note are effective for all FHA Case Numbers assigned on or after Sept. 14, 2015.

FHA lenders should make sure to Accordingly, DocMagic Inc.’s Compliance Department has created updated their FHA Security Instruments and Notes to comply with the Model forms as well as the any instructions that FHA has issued for preparing same. These updated documents should be included will return in all closing loan packages that have an FHA Case Number Assigned Date of Sept. 14, 2015 or after.

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Updated Form: Georgia Security Instruments Effective July 1, 2015, Georgia House Bill 322 (HB 322) amended, among other matters, a number of statutes under Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated related to witnessing requirements for deeds, mortgages and bills of sale.

Pursuant to the amendments under HB 322, a security instrument (mortgage) that is secured by real property in the State of Georgia is no longer permitted to be acknowledged. Instead, Georgia Code Ann. § 4414-33, 44-14-34 and 44-14-61 each requires an officer described in Georgia Code Ann. § 44-2-15, which includes a notary public, to attest or witness the mortgagor (borrower) signing the security instrument. Note that a second (unofficial) witness must also attest to the borrower’s execution of the mortgage.

Accordingly, lenders originating mortgage loans in Georgia should ensure that their Georgia security instruments meet the new document recordation requirements under HB 322.

CFPB Releases New Tools for the Know Before You Owe Mortgage Initiative On Sept. 17, 2015, the CFPB released new online tools as part of its “Know Before You Owe” initiative. These new online tools are additions to the CFPB’s “Owning a Home” interactive toolkit aimed at helping consumers navigate the mortgage process. The CFPB added new tools, including a guide to the mortgage milestone, a monthly payment worksheet, and an interactive sample of the new Know Before You Owe mortgage forms.

These forms are available to everyone for free and are encouraged by the CFPB to be used by consumers, real estate professionals and mortgage professionals. Click on this link to access these resources at ConsumerFinance.gov/Know-Before-You-Owe. If you have any questions regarding the contents of this article, please contact DocMagic’s Compliance Department.

Gavin T. Ales is chief compliance officer with Torrance, Calif.-based DocMagic Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 649-1362, ext. 6446 or e-mail gavin@docmagic.com.

Operation VA SITREP

“Your VA Situation Report”

By Richard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHS Please, Don’t be a Pest!

Happy October everyone! I hope you all have a ghoulish good time!

Before we get into this month’s VA SITREP article, I have to ask: How many of my readers are hanging with us at the Luxor in Vegas for NAMB National 2015? If you said YES, I’ll be there … that’s awesome! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time out of your busy schedule to support your industry and your peers! I hope you have a great time … I know I will! Let’s chat VA! Alright, be honest, how many of us on a VA purchase transaction have heard some of the statements below: l From the buyer’s agent: “The seller is not going to be happy with having to pay the pest inspection!” l From a sellers agent: “The seller is not going to pay for the pest inspection.” l From an underwriter: “Evidence … veteran didn’t pay for the pest inspection.”

Okay … I’m going to let you all in on a little secret! The VA issued a Circular back in May of 2014 that moved the Pest Inspection into the Non-Allowable Category. Want a copy of the Circular? I’ll put a link up in the Members Section of the NAMB Web site!

What does non-allowable mean? How can that benefit the veteran? Well, for my VA rookies, there are three categories of expenses in a VA transaction: Allowable, NonAllowable, and Never to be Paid by the Veteran. Without taking 1,000 words to explain each category in detail, let’s just focus on the pest inspection fee!

Simply put, veterans can pay for those fees listed in the Non-Allowable category to an amount equal to one percent of the base loan amount. Now, if you have a one percent origination fee listed on your New Loan Estimate Form (TRID) and are trying to charge some of those Non-Allowable fees, you’ll most likely get a notice from your compliance department that those fees cannot be charged and you exceeded the one percent tolerance! Guess who’ll eat that cost? You! So, it’s important to consider this when originating VA home loans in your particular market. Here in Massachusetts, I never charge a one percent origination fee to veterans. Actually, on most of my VA transactions, the veterans’ only out-of-pocket costs are the home inspection and the pest inspection! A majority of my VA loans possess a combination of lender and seller credits, making the VA loan one of the least expensive options for financing.

I’m sure you are asking, “How does this benefit the veteran?” Well, it’s quite simple!

The VA has done a significant amount of work in ascertaining what could be done to make the VA process easier and help remove seller barriers to increase veteran participation. One of those solutions was to allow the veteran to pay for certain minor expenses, like pest inspections. Contact your VA Regional Loan Center and ask them about the State Deviation List. This List will identify a variety of fees that have been re-categorized and could be help you and your veteran on their VA home loan.

Most of the veterans the VA surveyed and every single veteran client I have worked with in 13 years would never had a problem paying for a $125 or $150 pest inspection fee. They just wanted to move into their new home! Now, if treatment was required, I would suggest you check with your VA Regional Loan Center to see if they’ll allow veteran-paid treatments on a case-by-case basis.

So, what do I take away from this and how can this little piece of information change the way you assist those who did more for us than we could ever imagine? If you are not using or working for a lender with fully-delegated VA underwriting authority, it’s time to switch! A wholesale lender or non-depository with VA underwriting authority has the best chance of following the VA Pamphlet as written, and believe me, that will make your life a lot easier! We’re still seeing many lenders with overlays that limit some of the amazing benefits the VA has created for our veterans.

As an industry, we need to remove as many barriers as possible to assist in increasing our veterans’ opportunity at making the dream of homeownership a reality! We owe it to them!

Until next time, and if you haven’t already, please take a minute today to thank a veteran!

Richard M. Bettencourt Jr., CRMS, CMHS of Danvers, Mass.-based Mortgage Network is secretary of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (978) 304-0818 or e-mail rbettencourt@mortgagenetwork.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

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FBI Fraud Alert Raises Concerns Over Settlement Agent Wiring Instructions

MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance

By Andrew Liput Wells Fargo Bank and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued separate alerts throughout the industry regarding settlement agent wire fraud. The reports, circulated in September, provided details of a widespread scam whereby criminals are hacking attorney and title agent e-mail addresses and changing wire instructions prior to closing. When the new instructions are not validated the criminals make off with the mortgage proceeds.

While most lenders request written wiring instructions, whether to satisfy warehouse bank requirements or their own internal risk management policies, very few verify them. The assumption is made that if the instructions are being sent from the e-mail address of an attorney or title company then they must be valid. Some lenders are taking an extra step and checking the ABA routing number and bank account number with the Federal Reserve Web site to verify that the account is actually at the bank indicated. However, these processes are not a foolproof method to avoid the type of fraud warned of by federal law enforcement.

The most efficient way to protect your bank from wire fraud through this latest criminal scheme is to only wire funds to a verified account. Verifying an account means more than simply checking the Federal Reserve records. It requires true verification, at the source, that:

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A) The account is truly a trust account and not a business or personal account; B) The account holder and authorized signers match the company owners; and C) The account is in good standing and not fraught with bounced checks or fraud alerts.

Once the account is directly verified, then a bank should never wire funds to any other trust account associated with that settlement professional. In the event an account is changed (which does occur occasionally) then the new account must be verified prior to be used in conjunction with a closing.

At Secure Insight we have always prided ourselves in building something more than a “check the box” risk management platform. Built with the input of risk experts at Lloyds, the Secure Insight platform has always included a direct at the source trust account verification and ongoing monitoring component. We are proud to say that none of our bank clients would ever wire funds for any reason to an account that has not been independently verified by our analysts. Perhaps this is one reason why after four years, the vetting of more than 25,000 settlement agents nationwide, and more than 750,000 closed transactions, not one of our clients has ever experienced a loss from escrow and settlement fraud.

Whether you choose to hire a firm such as ours to manage the risk, or you are committed to building, developing and managing your own process, one thing is certain. You should never wire mortgage proceeds to an account that has not been truly vetted and verified. In addition, any last minute requests to change wiring instructions should cause an immediate red flag alert, and a closing delayed until the change can be determined to be legitimate.

Andrew Liput is CEO of Secure Insight, a risk analytics firm offering vendor management services addressing settlement agent risk. He can be reached by e-mail at ALiput@securesettlements.com.

SPONSORED EDITORIAL

A Message From MAA Chairman Fowler Williams y name is Fowler Williams, and I am president of Crescent Mortgage in Atlanta, Ga. … I’m honored to serve as chairman of the Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA). We are a voluntary, non-partisan and free nationwide grassroots lobbying network of real estate finance industry professionals, affiliated with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MAA is dedicated to strengthening the industry’s voice and lobbying power in Washington, D.C. and state capitals across America.

The policies and legislation the industry faces impact our day-to-day jobs in tangible ways. We have a right to join that conversation. We have a duty to speak up on behalf of our industry and the homebuyers whom we serve.

As a representative of an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of Americans, you cannot sit idly by while decisions are made that affect us all.

You have a choice—watch it happen and accept what may come, or be an active participant.

This has been a productive year for MAA and its members. We have weighed in on several pieces of legislation, including efforts by some in Congress to effectively tax homebuying in order to pay for government expenditures unrelated to housing.

Many of you are likely reading this from the MBA’s Annual Convention and Expo in San Diego, Calif. If you are, please join us for a reception on Monday, Oct. 19 from 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. at South Pool Terrace on Level 1 of the Marriott, co-hosted by MORPAC. This event is for current active MAA and MORPAC members only—but you will be able to sign up or renew your MAA membership at the door!

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

If you would like to run an MAA campaign, please contact Peter Shapiro at (202) 557-2933 or e-mail pshapiro@mba.org to receive an enrollment campaign kit and learn more about how you can engage your colleagues and employees in MBA’s advocacy programs.

Real estate finance industry professionals who wish to join or learn more about MAA can do so at MortgageActionAlliance.org. If you have any questions regarding MBA’s advocacy programs, please contact MBA Director of Political Affairs Annie Gawkowski by phone at (202) 557-2816 or e-mail agawkowski@mba.org.

M

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

He may be reached by phone at (800) 851-0263 or e-mail fwilliams@crescentmortgage.net.

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NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S

economic commentary

?

are you

nominated coming in december 2015

LISTENING TO THE FED’S WORDS

By Dave Hershman orget about what the Federal Reserve Board did not do for a minute. Let’s talk about what they said. With the Fed, it is usually more likely that their words will be more important than their actions, or lack of action. This has been a very turbulent end of the summer for the markets. Above all, the Fed is interested in restoring calm and especially making sure that their actions do not add to the instability of the markets. And we certainly have had some unstable markets during the past several weeks.

This is exactly why we were expecting “calming words” from the Fed when they made their announcement. Did we get these words? Absolutely. The Fed 80 said that “recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat.” Two things are important about this statement. First, it is softened by using the word “somewhat,” meaning the Fed does not see a risk of a worldwide economic meltdown. Secondly, the Fed used the words “international or global” more than once. The international issues broaden the scope of the Fed’s focus from just looking at our jobs or inflation numbers.

Bottom line is that the Fed did not raise rates, though they did leave that option open for their last two meetings of the year in October and December.

That is good news for the markets and the consumer. The stock market has already been under pressure lately and it did not need the extra pressure of a rate hike. And rates on home loans are likely to stay low in light of the Fed’s decision. We can’t think of better news for the consumer right now.

What was the immediate reaction? With stocks, there were two possible immediate reactions to the Fed’s decision not to raise rates. First, relief that higher rates are not coming and a positive stock market reaction. It looks as though stocks went to door number two—worrying about what the Fed is worried about, namely slower economies overseas. This is one factor which helped trigger the correction which started this summer and the Fed has solidified the markets’ concerns in that regard.

With regard to rates, if the stock market was reacting negatively to the move, there was no reason for mortgage rates to rise. Indeed, in the first week rates did ease. However, one must remember that one week of reaction does not give the full picture. By the time you read this article, there will be another jobs report released and another meeting of the Federal Reserve Board on the way. It could be a turbulent October …

OCTOBER 2015 n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n

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

We are seeking nominations from our readers for National Mortgage Professional Magazine's "40 Under 40" feature, slated to appear in our December 2015 edition. Anyone who is under the age of 40 and has had a major impact on the industry can qualify for this feature. This could be through innovation, association participation, sales force automation, community activism, management techniques, technology or any other significant method that has influenced our industry. We would need a short, three-line bio on the nominee, along with a color photo and company contact info to complete the profile. To nominate yourself or someone else, visit https://nmpmag.wufoo.com/forms/nmps-40-under-40-2015/.

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1220 Wantagh Avenue Wantagh, New York 11793-2202 p 516.409.5555 f 516.409.4600 e advertise@NMPMediaCorp.com w www.NationalMortgageProfessional.com

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By Originators, For Originators

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

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Last month, I got a mixed response on the independence question. I said that I believe the mortgage loan originator (MLO) should be the most independently informed professional involved in the mortgage process. I heard from some originators that they rely more on their employer’s operations team or underwriters to stay informed on regulations and guidelines due to being tied up in sales. I also heard from others that said they seek their own education and influences in order to counter any potential inaccuracies, or to share an educated difference of opinion should their employer, lender or underwriter potentially make an error on interpretation.

Partnering with the most experienced team in any lending channel is vital, but without self-education and non-bias interpretation, it can get a little messy. Special interests are dominant in our industry and we need to be aware of it. That is where independence is key to best serve your clients and you must take time for self-education. I think it’s good that we all challenge ourselves to learn something new about this business every day. If we do that for a month, think just how much we can gain and how much we can better serve our clients with this knowledge.

In addition, I am certain you would attract more business also over time standing out amongst your peers.

With that said, thank you for sharing and continue to do so. I want to share your stories in this column, so let me make it easy on you. Send me the best and worst stories you have about an interaction with a real estate agent in recent months for the November edition … something that might be unbelievable, funny or makes a great story. I know you’re already thinking of one, so please share your thoughts for additional comments and discussion!

Are you an originator? Send your stories! To have topics considered in future editions, please e-mail me with “OrigiNation” in the Subject Line at AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com. These can be confidential or your name and company can be referenced if you wish.

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

heard on the street continued from page 46

to retrieve the recording status of a mortgage including the underlying data. All of this flows into documentation by state, investor, loan pool, as well as correspondent lender and/or title agent.

Texas Capital Bank Announces Launch of Correspondent Lending Program

Mortgage Professional to Watch l With the imminent retirement of current CFO, Thomas Marvaso, McLean Mortgage Corporation has announced that it has hired industry veteran Greg Crocker as chief finan-

l ReverseVision has announced it has brought experienced mortgage professional and technology sales strategist Matthew Shaffer on board as business development manager. l LRES has named Jeanee Chapman as its new client relations manager, reporting to the director of client relations. l GSF Mortgage has added Jericho Cherry as mortgage loan originator in Sandy Hook, Va., joining GSF with 17 years of mortgage industry experience. GSF has also announced the addition of David Rae as western regional sales manager in San Diego, Calif. continued on page 86

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Texas Capital Bank has launched a correspondent lending program (Mortgage Correspondent Aggregation) to complement its successful, multi-billion-dollar warehouse lending program, further expanding its legacy in the industry.

The new division expects to hire 100 mortgage professionals in Richardson, Texas during the next year.

“We have experienced exceptional growth in our warehouse lending program as a result of our unmatched expertise, superior customer service, customized technology and a commitment to exemplary quality,” said Gary Ort, president of Texas Capital Bank’s Mortgage Finance Division. “We saw an opportunity to leverage these assets— and our track record in the industry— to address a significant gap in the correspondent aggregation market. We designed a program from the ground up with the specialized needs of today’s mortgage bankers and financial institutions in mind.”

The new correspondent lending program will introduce a new way for mortgage originators to work with their take-out investor. Texas Capital Bank is leveraging new technology to bring enhanced due diligence to the loan review process with the goal of reducing the risk of repurchase demands, while improving visibility into the process and reducing purchase times.

“The origination sector needs innovative solutions that address the ongoing challenges of the mortgage industry,” said Jack Nunnery, executive vice president of correspondent lending.

“We have invested heavily in a new paradigm that will better facilitate loan purchasing, while enhancing the profitability of our sellers.”

One of the most unique aspects of the bank’s new service line is the use of new technology developed specifically for the aggregation space. Texas Capital Bank joined forces with a technology partner to develop a new correspondent platform which will be known to Texas Capital Bank correspondent sellers as Correspondent Hub. Texas Capital Bank is the first financial institution to integrate this technology, which launched in July and optimizes the interaction between correspondent sellers and investors.

“Correspondent Hub will provide unparalleled functionality and access

to all of the services they require—from correspondent application workflow and approval processes, to pricing and management of transactions, through loan funding and servicing—all in one, integrated, high-performing platform,” said Nunnery.

cial officer of the company. Scott Cohen has also joined Mortgage Network as a loan officer in the company’s Waltham, Mass. branch office. l With more than two decades of sales leadership experience in the mortgage industry, Kelly Taylor, former senior vice president of sales for StreetLinks, will lead the newly integrated sales and account management functions for Assurant Mortgage Solutions. l Dallas-based residential mortgage originator PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital company, has announced the addition of Stacy Williams as a senior loan officer at the PrimeLending office located in Chandler, Ariz.

Just Ask

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By

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

This month, we are introducing a new column for questions relating to starting a business, managing a business, training, networking, tax-related issues, corporate security policy, fraud alerts and compliance. All answers are for informational purpose only, and are not intended to practice law, or are meant to provide tax advice or tax opinions.

After reviewing our information, we both recommend seeking legal counsel or the advice of a tax professional. Please e-mail us at JustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com to voice

K

any questions or problems. We are here for you!

Stop! Before you read this, look in this month’s magazine for Eric’s other column, “Can You Help a Brother Out?” on page 63.

Read that first. This column will make more sense if you do it in order.

Sean in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. asks …

Thank you for the quick response! I ordered the Zig Zigler book. I have been a sponge and absorbing all that I can the last year in all the areas of operations. I’ve been learning and memorizing all of the different types of loans and their ratios, especially while I was studying for tests.

Also, I have been talking to the other loan officers about their loans and some of the problems they are having. You can publish any of the questions I have as time goes on that will be great for helping anyone else learning the business. You can even use my name it’s not really a big deal to me.

I do promise one day that I will help the next 23-year-old because everyone needs someone to mentor them and help them along the way and guide them in the right direction. I really appreciate you reaching out to me so quickly.

The main problem I have been having is actually getting a chance at doing someone’s loan and gaining their trust. I have

been networking the last few months, going to Realtors’ open houses and making them flyers, and keeping in touch with them.

It seems like some of the real estate agents have been giving out my cards, but some of them have marketing agreements and such. I do have a shot, but I haven’t really gotten a referral yet.

I have also been trying to go to different networking events. I just recently join the local board of realtors as an affiliate member last week and went to a meeting a few weeks before that. I plan on joining the women’s council of realtors and the Young Professionals Network as well. I have just joined a charity networking

k Eric & Laura

The second tip is the one of which you compliment me. Respond to people quickly. If they have to wait for your call, they will start dialing the next loan officer.

Jump on things right away. I do it because I have a horrible memory, and if I don’t do it right away, I will forget. You are probably much smarter and have a better memory than me, but it is a good habit into which to get.

Whenever I get slow, one advantage I have is that I can price real low. Get the deal no matter what it takes. This does a few things. l To make a little money is better than making no money when you have

nothing else to do. l It gives you another satisfied customer who which you can market, get referrals and sing your praises on Yelp! l It boosts your confidence which helps you sell the next deal. Sometimes you have to prime the pump to get the water flowing.

This last idea is not for everyone, but I will throw it out to you. I once had this same situation and asked another loan officer his advice. This is what he said.

“Pray.” I believe the Lord is infinite and open to our prayers. Even if you asked for a million, billion things, that is nothing compared to infinity. Personally, I have been known to give a small donation and ask for continued business to help support my family and keep doing good things for his creation. I can only tell you, it has worked for me. Like I said, it is not for everybody. Business can be like war.

You won’t find too many “naysayers” in the trenches.

Laura’s reply to Sean …

Sean, you have a lot of questions, but it

also seems like you also have answered many of your own questions, or Eric has done that in a previous conversation with you.

When I started in the business, no one would hire me because all they wanted was an experienced loan officer. I was a real estate agent who decided I liked the finance side better. It took me months, but I finally got into a small bank that never had a loan officer before, so basically I told them what a loan officer would do for them. They loved the idea, and they used to say I was out hawking loans for them!

I had a very small base salary, plus commission, but hey, it was a bank with a great office and my foot was in the door.

They didn’t ever have the best rates, or even that many products to offer, but what they did have was a weekly meeting of four or five top level executives, and my boss who met to underwrite the loans. So my niche was simple, I had direct access to the underwriters and I could often participate in their weekly approval meetings. We obviously did not continued on page 88

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Eric’s reply to Sean …

One of the hardest things when you are first starting out is getting business (it’s not

all that easy when you get going, in fact).

It sounds like you are doing all the right things … seeing real estate agents, farming your sphere of influence and networking. Unfortunately, sometimes it can feel like you are taking a shower under a slow drip faucet. You need business and you need it now to pay the bills. I can associate with that. I think most people don’t make it as a loan officer because in the first year you starve. All I can tell you is what I did. It worked for me, maybe it will work for you.

Make about 1,000 flyers, drive around and put them in people’s mailboxes around your neighborhood. Okay, by federal law, they cannot touch the mailbox, but many mailboxes have a small cubby for newspapers and the like. Say something like, “I am a loan officer who lives in your neighborhood. If you are interested in buying or refinancing, give me a call.”

This builds an instant trust with your target market. They know you are a neighbor and they can throw rocks at your window if you do a bad job. The biggest dilemma in advertising is building trust at first glance. These are people that are giving you very personal information that they wouldn’t trust to a computer hacker.

You want them to know you are local and you are a friend.

One of the best ways to get in good with a real estate agent is to put money in their pocket. No, I don’t mean a flagrant violation of RESPA bribery law, I mean, things like: l Go jointly on advertising. This cuts their advertising outlay in half. As long as you are mentioned equally in the ad, no violation. l Refer new customers to the real estate agent. A new deal is money in their pocket. By nature, they will feel the need to reciprocate. l Do an especially hard deal that other loan officers in their office have already turned down. I would advertise, “Give me all of your turned down buyers.” If I could do it, they would love me forever and eventually start giving me their good customers.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

group of about 25 professionals who meet every other Friday for breakfast.

Another thing I’m joining is the Chamber of Commerce in the village I live in (they don’t have a mortgage person in the Chamber). In the meantime, one of my father’s friends is a developer in town and he has a new development that he is just completing and is giving me a shot at the mortgage loans along with this credit union I’m competing with.

The first loan he gave me, I lost out to the credit union that offered a five percent down conventional 7/1 ARM which we cannot do with guidelines. I offered her a great fixed rate FHA loan and a 5/1 ARM that had a better rate because she makes a lot of money, but didn’t have any saved (she’s younger and it’s also a high-cost FHA loan). I kept trying to convince her to go with the fixed-rate that was about a half point more than the ARM since rates are still at historic lows, but she decided to go with the credit union. I was speaking with her and answering all of her questions for a little over a month and lost the loan.

The developer is giving me three more loans this week, and hopefully, I can make all of them work and outbid the opposing credit union. My manager sits down with me just about once a week and we go over what I’m doing and he gives me stuff to do.

Right now, I’m trying to get my sphere of influence of my top 20 referral sources that I will be going after and be in contact with every week. I read the article you sent me about how you got started and how you started up your company and I thought it was a great idea. I also like how you didn’t take all the money for yourself and took care of your co-workers and treated them like friends and family. Greed seems to be a lot of people’s downfall.

The bullet points at the end about not getting mad and angry at your underwriters and processors: I will keep in mind especially because I have been on their end already as well. I do really appreciate you reaching out and contacting me Eric I know, I’m really young in the industry and I can tell that just from networking and being around everyone in my industry but I’m hungry and want to really get my business started. If you have any other advice you can give me or anything else you think I should be doing please let me know.

I have been taking everything one step at a time, and I have a fantastic operations team and management supporting me. I really do believe what you said if you’re a good person happiness and wealth will follow and I have been following that my whole entire life. Hope to continue speaking with you and learning from you.

heard on the street continued from page 83

CHILES

l RPM Mortgage Inc. has promoted Sue Weaver to the role of Seattle regional sales manager. l Fay Servicing has announced the addition of Wanda Montgomery as the firm’s new senior vice president of foreclosure operations.

l Carrington Mortgage Services LLC has announced the promotion of Tom Shaw to senior vice president of marketing where he will lead Carrington’s mortgage lending operation in all aspects of branding programs and deployment of marketing objectives to increase return on investment in the mortgage sector. The Wholesale Lending Division of Carrington Mortgage Services LLC has also announced the appointment of Carmen Alailima to the position of inside regional sales manager of its Wholesale West Division in Henderson, Nev.

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l Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC has announced the opening of a new branch in Western Nebraska, to be managed by Jennifer Urdiales and serve the Western Nebraska region.

Castle & Cooke has also announced the promotion of Jenifer Edwards from licensing and compliance specialist to national compliance manager.

ROBBINS

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l EquityKey has announced the appointment of John Robbins, former Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) chairman and founder of the American Residential Mortgage Corporation, to its advisory board.

MULLINGS

SHAW

l Global DMS has announced that it has hired Mac Chiles as executive vice president of sales.

l Washington, D.C.-based business advisory firm, The Collingwood Group has announced that former Freddie Mac Senior Vice President of Single-Family Business Paul Mullings has joined the firm as a managing director to support the firm in its Business Advisory and Risk Management and Compliance practices. l MCT Trading Inc. has announced that it has hired Paul Yarbrough to manage new client on-boarding, its secondary marketing technology, and solution training. l Catalyst Lending, headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colo. is expanding to Utah under the leadership of Debbie Isaacs, Utah regional manager. l imortgage, a division of loanDepot LLC, has announced the promotion of Dan Peña to senior vice president of national joint ventures. l Veteran mortgage professional Travis O. Smith has joined Mortgage Network Inc. as a senior loan officer in the company’s Brentwood, Tenn. branch office, responsible for serving buyers and homeowners throughout the greater Nashville, Tenn. area. Kathy Eckhart has also joined Mortgage Network as a senior loan officer in the company’s Brentwood, Tenn. branch office. Jamie Tritz has joined Mortgage Network Inc. as a loan officer in the company’s West Chester, Penn. branch office, responsible for serving homebuyers and homeowners throughout the southeast Pennsylvania area.

Your turn National Mortgage Professional Magazine invites its readers to submit any information, events, passages, promotions, personal or professional occurrences that seem appropriate and/or other pertinent data to the attention of: Heard on the Street/Mortgage Professionals to Watch column Phone #: (516) 409-5555 E-mail: newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are preferred. The deadline for submissions is the 1st of the month prior to the target issue.

A National Leader in Wholesale and Correspondent Solutions

Together, we can

reach new heights.

87

Email potentialclient@mynycb.com or contact one of our Sales Executives:

Combined with a comprehensive product menu including Conventional, Jumbo, Portfolio and FHA solutions, you’ll quickly realize why NYCB has everything you need to take your business to the next level.

Together, we‌ Serve the borrower – Your customers want economic value, convenience, expediency and reliable counsel throughout the loan process.

Your expertise and the NYCB platform enable you to originate and close loans faster, easier and at one of the lowest per loan costs of any loan origination channel in the industry.

You are very well equipped to compete on the combined effect of dramatically lower operational costs, service responsiveness, and technological innovation.

Build trusted partnerships – By utilizing our Gemstone technology platform, you gain control over aspects of the mortgage transaction that

experience... for you and your customer. There is no doubt this gives you an edge over your

nycbmortgage.com

This information is for use by current and prospective Clients of New York Community Bank, doing business as NYCB Mortgage Banking, and should not be distributed to or used by consumers or other third parties. Š 2015 New York Community Bank. All Rights Reserved.

National Sales Director Sheryl Heffernan Senior Vice President Sheryl.Heffernan@mynycb.com (310) 678-1613

Western Region Sean Gerrity Vice President Sean.Gerrity@mynycb.com (415) 876-8017

Central Region Debbie Schultz Vice President Debra.Schultz@mynycb.com (832) 317-3931

Eastern Region Jim Ford Vice President James.Ford@mynycb.com (770) 590-7348

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

The NYCB model serves the needs of Correspondent Lenders, Brokers, Community Banks and Credit Unions throughout the nation. Our proprietary web platform elevates your business by offering a

Going up? Let’s reach new heights together.

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

NYCB Mortgage Banking’s core focus is developing lending solutions that enable you to win today while preparing you for even greater heights tomorrow. As the mortgage division of New York Community Bank, we’re proud to be building on the Bank’s over 150 years of strength and stability.

just ask eric & laura continued from page 85

Step Inside Ginnie Mae Where Do We Go Now?

By Ted W. Tozer

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Last month, we welcomed more than 700 housing industry leaders to our third annual Ginnie Mae Summit. Our goal for the event is to provide hands-on training to Ginnie Mae issuers and to foster a dialogue about topics of critical importance in the housing finance industry. We succeeded at both.

The two-day Summit made it increasingly clear that our industry is at a crossroads, welcoming the critical liquidity that independent mortgage bankers (IMB) bring to the secondary market, while acknowledging that the regulatory environment is still uncertain. Add to this landscape, the challenges that Ginnie Mae continues to face in terms of monitoring counterparty risk, while at the same time keeping the door open to liquidity, you can understand our dilemma.

Ginnie Mae’s operating model was created based on the assumption that the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) program would not change, and that issuers would primarily be depositories. Clearly, that dynamic has changed with IMBs now comprising 64 percent of Ginnie Mae’s issuer base, compared to only 18 percent in 2010. Today’s issuers often have a greater dependence on credit lines, securitization involving multiple players, and more frequent trading of servicing rights. Quite simply, the risk is a lot higher and business models of our issuers are a lot more complex. And, today’s Ginnie Mae is not adequately staffed for the kind of complex counterparty monitoring required with the current issuer base.

So, the question is: How can Ginnie Mae effectively monitor counterparty risk and protect the government guarantee? The answer is simple: More resources.

Our budget, which stands at $23 million for salaries and expenses, simply does not allow us to make the changes needed to keep pace with the transformation that has occurred in the industry. And, we must keep pace to keep the liquidity flowing. In the last four years, more than 5.4 million borrowers have benefitted because Ginnie Mae welcomed independent mortgage bankers. In fiscal year 2015 alone, there are over 4.9 million families, most of modest financial means, that have directly benefitted from a Ginnie Mae guaranteed securitization.

Aside from seeking additional funding from Congress, we are considering increased reporting requirements to ensure issuers’ lines of credit and access to cash will be sufficient to carry them through rough spots when liquidity is tight. Any new requirements would apply equally to both depositories and non-banks.

While these recommended changes will not happen overnight, they are critical to Ginnie Mae’s long term success in continuing to efficiently protect the government guarantee. We are committed to working with all of our issuers to provide housing opportunities for Americans, especially first-time homebuyers and our veterans.

The reason for that commitment can be summed up by a comment at the Summit from noted economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics. Zandi stated that without Ginnie Mae, the country would have gone into the abyss during the economic crisis. The U.S. housing system is just too important to the country to let that happen.

Ted W. Tozer is was sworn in as president of Ginnie Mae on Feb. 24, 2010, bringing with him more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage, banking and securities industries. As president of Ginnie Mae, Tozer actively manages Ginnie Mae’s $1.5 trillion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and more than $460 billion in annual issuance.By Ted W. Tozer

sell our loans, we kept them in-house. So with that being said, did we have strict credit guidelines? No, not really, but criteria were always open for discussion.

Ratios, time on the job, everything was a discussion. If it made sense, we did the loan.

The bank also had to meet CRA requirements and lend in all areas in which the bank had a presence. So since I was to hawk their loans, I also had to hawk their home equity loans across a very expansive area. Fortunately for me, I was lucky to have gotten into a position that allowed freedom. Also within one week of my starting, one of the office girls quit and they needed help covering her duties. Thus I had to be in-house two to three days a week. I learned home equity loans, auto loans, student loans, insurance side and commercial lending as we were your small local family run bank.

I did all of the same things you are doing, joined organizations, committees, etc. I wrote an article “Knowtworking: Beyond Networking,” which I will also send you a copy. But here are key elements when networking you can use: l Be yourself, no one likes a phony, different than “faking it til’ you make it!” l Find a niche, and use it! Not to say you don’t do anything else, but as a new loan officer, you cannot possibly focus on all products. Find what your company has to offer that is unique and capitalize on it. An idea for you could be target first-time homebuyers, as they will relate to you. Find out what products and programs your company offers to first-time homebuyers and know what credits your state and the VA also are offering. l Have a signature statement: Which is a one-minute statement of what you do, make it your best byline and mention your niche. l Always ask for the referral and give two business cards, one they can keep, and one they can give away. l Lastly, it takes time, so just keeping doing all the right things (planting the seeds) and the fruit will come, first the plants, then the blossoms and then the delicious fruit!

Cyndi from the Frisco Bay Area asks …

I am trying to make a decision as to whether I should make the switch from broker to banker. Any suggestions for me?

I live in California, and I am contemplating going with one of the big lenders, before I make my final decision, I was looking for some insight from both of you.

Eric’s reply to Cyndi …

Having owned a large mortgage broker operation, I am a bit biased. Like Laura, I

have worked for both. We had a saying at my old broker shop, “You don’t start here.

You finish here.” That means, indeed, you learn a lot being a banker, but you pay for that “tuition” via a lower commission split. Mortgage brokers tend to be more experienced because you end up doing a lot yourself. It is more work, but it always ends up to be more money.

Cyndi, I don’t know where you are in your career to give you informed advice.

That notion that you are even thinking about it tells me you may be going there for a lack of business. Being a broker is hard and if you don’t have a good following, or are missing experience or just need a hand, then being a banker is your ticket. If you know what you are doing, have good referrals coming in and love the ability to shop hard deals, then why are you even questioning the idea?

Laura’s reply to Cyndi …

Great question Cyndi, it also happens to be one of the focus topics this month, so I will briefly address your question here, and will go into more detail in my article.

First, I want you to know I have been both, a banker, a broker, a broker/owner, and back to banker. It’s a merry-goround, sometimes you’re a lion, sometimes a horse, but most importantly, is that you go around and around continuing to make money, which is your living.

Both have advantages and drawbacks, but it also depends on timing as well. I will point out upfront that a banker is most definitely the way for a newbie to go. They offer structure and training. It can seem like they offer reduced commission splits, but it is an offset for what you get in return.

As a broker, you have more autonomy and freedom, but you may have to be disciplined. The number one advantage of being a broker is having the ability to submit different types of loans to different lenders, allowing you to offer a wider variety of products to your clients and real estate agents. There is a gray side to being a banker that allows the brokering of certain loans.

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

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on the commercial real estate side until 1991, when he fell in love with residential lending. He may be reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail eweinstein4u@gmail.com. Laura Burke is an author and trainer with 20-plus years of experience in the mortgage marketplace.

She may be reached by e-mail at lauralynnburke@gmail.com.

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

Time Management for Mortgage Lenders

By Bubba Mills

of money at stake in every deal. And there’s always plenty of industry changes coming down the pipe. For most of us, there’s a constant pressure to follow up with a client, make more sales calls or complete other tasks. It isn’t always easy to draw a line between work and the rest of your life.

In mortgage lending, long hours often come with the territory. But when you fail to set reasonable limits on your time, you risk losing everything you’re working for. When your health or family life begins to suffer, it’s not only going to diminish your quality of life, it will also reduce your productivity.

That’s why I think time management and learning to work smarter, not harder, is key to a successful life in the mortgage industry. No matter how much you enjoy your career, a balanced life is crucial for your health, your happiness and your long-term success. So here are five tips to help you start your time management plan:

Believe it or not, it’s fall.

We have fewer than three months left in 2015.

When I look in my 2015 rearview mirror, the first thing I see is summer. More specifically, summer vacation. That got me thinking: What do I want to write about this month?

When I think about vacations, I think about time management. If I wasn’t good at time management, I wouldn’t have much time to relax and recharge. And those are two key items that make us all more effective on the job.

A few weeks ago, I took the wife and the camper to a lake a couple of hours from my office in St. Louis for a quick, four-day mini-vacation. And as I think back on that time, I remember how completely unplugged I was from work. Work was locked off in a safedeposit box in my mind … completely 1. Look at how you spend your time inaccessible. now. Be honest. Get a small noteThat’s the way it should be for everybook and jot down how long you one in the mortgage business. Let’s spend making phone calls, going face it, it can be stressful. There’s a lot

through e-mails, making appointments, etc. Do this time log for a few days.

2. Prioritize. After you take a look at your time log, you will probably notice that a lot of your time is being spent in areas that have very little to do with making money—yet they are all part of your “job.” Sort out what you should be doing from what you are doing.

3. Delegate the busywork. It isn’t realistic for you to personally handle every administrative detail of your business. And if you have the right systems and processes in place, it shouldn’t be necessary. Learn to let go.

4. Plan your day, and work your plan!

Give yourself a realistic work schedule you can live with, prioritize your income-producing activities, and schedule your appointments within your specified business hours.

Tell me what you’re thinking. How good are you at time management?

“In mortgage lending, long hours often come with the territory. But when you fail to set reasonable limits on your time, you risk losing everything you’re working for.”

How good are you at unplugging from work? Do you believe you’d be more effective if you were able to unplug when you’re away from the office? What can you start doing today to be better at time management? Please send any comments or questions you have to Article@CorcoranCoaching.com or www.facebook.com/CorcoranCoaching.

Bubba Mills is executive vice president of Corcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 957-8353, email Article@CorcoranCoaching.com or visit www.corcorancoaching.com.

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Is Your Company Your Classroom?

Get help to master the learning curve for new products, standards and regulations

By Rey Maninang earning is a lifelong endeavor in any business, but it’s particularly necessary in the mortgage industry, where new products, new underwriting standards and new regulations crop up regularly. In addition, today’s mortgage professionals have education requirements built into the licensing system, and all state-licensed mortgage loan originators have to take at least eight hours of continuing education every year1. Although these requirements can feel like a burden, they really represent an opportunity.

Mortgage professionals who go beyond the required eight hours of continuing education and seek out learning experiences elsewhere position themselves to succeed in an increasingly competitive market. Education helps you not only safeguard your business from regulatory scrutiny, but also safeguard your client base from competitors. If mortgage professionals are armed with the latest knowledge on products, underwriting and regula-

L

tions, they can offer the best service to their clients and move their loans more quickly through to close.

But in order to fulfill not only education requirements but also your desire to learn, you’ll need help. There is a wealth of information available—if you know how to find it—and many online tools to help bring you up to speed on everything from TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) changes to the latest loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. But hunting down information, classes and webinars can take up time better spent on actually learning and serving your clients. Your lending partners or mortgage company should be there to support you and your educational needs.

Are you taking advantage of all that they offer?

Product and company resources Training and educational resources are the first things any mortgage professional should look at when considering working with a new lender or company.

Whether you’re new to the industry, considering changing companies, or

working with a new wholesale loan provider, you want to make sure you are getting the resources you need to improve your knowledge, as well as your business.

When looking at a new company, check out what kind of training they offer to get you up to speed and not only on their specific processes, but also on the products they offer. Some companies work extensively with FHA or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans, and some companies have created their own unique loan products.

Look to see what products the company you’re considering offers. If they work with FHA loans, do they do Streamline loans? Do they work with FHA 203(k) full and Streamline renovation loans? Do they work with a variety of credit profiles, or do they deal exclusively with conventional, high FICO-score clients?

Once you’ve learned what products they offer, dig deeper for resources to support these loans. What kind of documentation is provided for these products? Are there FAQ pages on their Web site? Do they compile the latest news on specific products, like FHA Mortgagee Letters? Does the company offer

Webinars or classroom training sessions on working with these loans? These are just a few of the simple things a company can do to make learning easier for mortgage professionals, and these kinds of resources are critical for originators to hit the ground running with unfamiliar loan products.

By educating yourself on the products your company services, you’ll not only widen your knowledge base, but also your client base. Armed with information on a full range of mortgage products, you will have everything you need to sell you—and your company’s—value to clients.

Regulatory resources Product offerings are just one piece of the puzzle, however. Regulations and compliance are top of mind for many in the industry today, particularly with the recent TRID implementations. These rules can be complex and difficult to understand—kind of like a mortgage may be to your clients. Understanding new regulations and how they apply to you and your work is critical information that all mortgage professionals must have.

Getting up to speed on regulations can require more than a few pages of light reading, however, particularly for independent brokers who may be liable for any lapses in compliance or misreading of a rule. Taking online courses, attending in-person sessions or participating in local panels are good starting points for anyone working in the mortgage industry today.

Some lenders will offer Webinars for their brokers that break down the regulations and what they mean for your day-to-day work. In-house Webinars are excellent, but some lenders may even bring in outside help. Outside law firms can be particularly useful, for example, when considering the legal implications of recent rule changes and implementations.

Of course, one regulation that all mortgage professionals are familiar with by now is the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act)2. This calls for both pre-licensing and continuing education requirements for all state-licensed mortgage loan originators. Pre-licensing education must be at least 20 hours, and continuing education requires eight hours of coursework annually. In order to qualify for the requirement, courses have to be approved by the National Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS). Although this education must be pursued by each originator individually, many lenders and mortgage companies will sponsor NMLS-approved courses.

Borrower resources

Footnotes 1—Mortgage.NationwideLicensingSystem.org/profreq/education/Pages/default.aspx.

2—Mortgage.NationwideLicensingSystem.org/profreq/education/Pages/default.aspx.

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Rey Maninang is senior vice president and national sales director for Carrington Mortgage Services LLC’s Wholesale Mortgage Lending Division.

Under Rey’s leadership, Carrington’s Wholesale Division has increased volume production by over 100 percent within a two-year period, and successfully launched several strategic initiatives resulting in consistent profit increases.

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In addition to offering excellent educational resources to brokers and originators, lenders should also offer educational tools for borrowers. A mortgage is a complex financial undertaking, and the mortgage process can be complicated and trying. Mortgage professionals can assist borrowers in explaining the details of a loan and the loan process, and some borrowers may be hesitant to ask questions if they don’t understand something.

This is where lenders can step in and provide further education for borrowers. What does your lender provide to enhance your clients’ experience with the mortgage process? Clients who understand what they are undertaking and who can get the information they need will be happier with their mortgage, and by extension, their mortgage originator.

One of the simplest ways to help borrowers is pre-qualification or preapproval tools. Determining how much mortgage they can afford is often the first step customers will take toward becoming a homeowner, and the faster and simpler it is, the better. Many lenders offer online pre-qualifications, and this starts the education process for many borrowers. This is also often the first time they start to consider things

like debt-to-income ratio, credit scores and more. By offering tools to determine how much they qualify for, as well as providing explanations of common mortgage terms, lenders can help create an educated and informed borrower.

Once a client is approved for a loan and is moving ahead with buying a home, there’s still more education necessary, and lenders can help their brokers by offering different tools for borrowers. The mortgage process is a complicated one, and many borrowers do not fully understand the financial agreement they are making. Some lenders, however, have created online tools to help borrowers get a better picture of exactly what their mortgage means to their financial future. These loan-review tools will take borrowers through the details of their loan little by little, going beyond the basics of transaction costs, principal amount, term, interest rate and monthly payment.

These tools often even help with a review of the borrower’s current annual and monthly income, and an outline of mortgage payment options, along with budgeting items like non-housing related expenses and other recurring payments. Online tools such as these offer a great service to brokers and their clients, as they allow borrowers to go through the information at their own speed and when it is convenient for them.

Mortgage professionals should consider carefully what resources are available for their clients, as things like loanreview tools and pre-qualification apps can make the loan process more efficient and streamlined. Borrowers will be happy to get the information and education they need, and even happier with the services their lender and broker have provided.

Education is more critical than ever for mortgage professionals. They must be up to date not only on the latest mortgage products and market conditions, but also on industry regulations and standards. There is a plethora of information available, but sifting through it all can take more time than busy originators have. Partnering with lenders and mortgage companies that offer educational resources for their brokers—and their borrowers—will help mortgage professionals succeed in today’s market. With a strong education in hand, originators can spend more of their time helping clients and closing loans.

outstanding

n a t i o n a l

m o r t g a g e

p r o f e s s i o n a l ’ s

o u t s t a n d i n g

p l a c e s

t o

w o r k

places to work

Equity Prime Mortgage

REMN Wholesale

877-255-3554, xt. 600 www.equityprime.com

732-738-7100 www.remnwholesale.com

Equity Prime Mortgage is focused on creating an outstanding work environment. We consider each and every employee as a true partner to our success. This approach, combined with Equity’s industryleading technology and turn times ensures we deliver exceptional service levels to our branches, referral partners and customers alike.

Although REMN Wholesale is part of a large corporation, it feels like a “Mom and Pop”-style company. We encourage our team members to grow and we train and promote each individual to their full potential. As a national company, REMN provides many opportunities for employment from coast to coast.

PRMG

United Wholesale Mortgage

1-866-PRMG-YES (806-776-4937) www.PRMG.net

800-981-8898 www.uwm.com/careers

Built by originators for originators, PRMG was born from a vision of creating a company with a unique culture focused on the successes of the producer. We understand what it takes to be a successful originator and cultivate new business every day.

Voted the #1 place to work in Metro Detroit, UWM is looking for A players to join our talented team. Our business is driven by our culture, and our people are our greatest asset. If you’re looking for the opportunity of a lifetime, apply to UWM today!

Attention Recruiters, Business Development Managers and HR Professionals national mortgage professional’s

Freedom Mortgage (844)-380-8450 www.freedomwholesale.com Freedom Mortgage is dedicated to fostering homeownership in America. A number one ranked lender1, we offer exceptional opportunities for career growth and development. Our employees are dedicated to providing the kind of service excellence, expertise and cutting-edge technology support that have helped us successfully meet the needs of our customers and business partners for 25 years.

1. Number one, overall volume. Scotsman Guide’s Top Mortgage Lenders, 2014.

outstanding places to work

We are pleased to announce a new package that will give your firm the recruiting tools to instantly shift your recruiting efforts into high gear using a multimedia, market-saturating approach. We will utilize the most successful methods that our clients have been using to find, identify and place top talents for your company. We have designed these packages with the concept of making it less expensive to give you the ability to reach more people.

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE 1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, New York 11793-2202 516-409-5555 • Fax: 516-409-4600 • E-mail: advertise@NMPMediaCorp.com

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

calendar of events N A T I O N A L

OCTOBER 2015

M O R T G A G E

Saturday-Monday, October 17-19

Monday-Wednesday, November 16-18

2015 NAMB National Conference The Luxor Resort & Hotel 3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit NAMBNational.com.

National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association 2015 Annual Meeting & Expo The Palace Hotel 2 New Montgomery Street San Francisco, Calif.

For more information, call (202) 9391784 or visit NRMLAOnline.org.

Sunday-Wednesday, October 18-21

Wednesday-Thursday, November 18-19

Mortgage Bankers Association Annual Convention and Expo 2015 San Diego Convention Center 111 West Harbor Drive San Diego, Calif.

For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

2015 Mortgage Star Conference Canyons Resort 4000 Canyon Resort Drive Park City, Utah For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit Mortgage-Star.net.

Thursday-Friday, October 29-30

Wednesday-Friday, November 18-20

NOVEMBER 2015

2015 Mortgage Bankers Association Accounting and Financial Management Conference The Roosevelt New Orleans 130 Roosevelt Way New Orleans, La. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

Friday, November 20

Mortgage Bankers Association Commercial/Multifamily Technology Officer Roundtable Mortgage Bankers Association 1919 M Street NW, 5th Floor Washington, D.C. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

Utah Association of Mortgage Professionals Expo 2015 Canyons Resort 4000 Canyons Resort Drive Park City, Utah For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit UAMPExpo.com.

Monday-Tuesday, November 16-17

DECEMBER 2015

Wednesday-Friday, December 2-4

New York Association of Mortgage Brokers 27th Annual Convention The Melville Marriott 1350 Walt Whitman Road Melville, N.Y. For more information, call (914) 315-6644 or visit NYAMB.org.

MBA 2015 Independent Mortgage Bankers Conference Omni Nashville 250 5th Avenue S Nashville, Tenn.

For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage Professional Calendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with contact information, to newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com. * Looking for additional exposure at key industry events?

Call 516.409.5555, ext. 4 to discover how to maximize your event coverage.

2015 California Holiday Networking Party Atrium Hotel 18700 MacArthur Boulevard Irvine, Calif.

For more information, contact Beverly Koondel at (516) 408-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyk@nmpmediacorp.com.

Thursday, December 10 2015 Texas Holiday Networking Party DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Dallas– Campbell Centre 8250 North Central Expressway Dallas, Texas For more information, contact Beverly Koondel at (516) 408-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyk@nmpmediacorp.com.

Tuesday, December 15

FEBRUARY 2016

Tuesday-Friday, February 16-19 MBA’s 2016 National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo Hyatt Regency Orlando 9801 International Drive Orlando, Fla. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

MARCH 2016

Tuesday-Friday, March 8-11 NAMB East 2016 Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa 2 Grasslawn Avenue Hilton Head, S.C. For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit NAMBNational.com.

APRIL 2016

2015 Florida Holiday Networking Party The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites 5905 South Kirkman Road Orlando, Fla. For more information, contact Beverly Koondel at (516) 408-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyk@nmpmediacorp.com.

Sunday-Wednesday, April 10-13

JANUARY 2015

SEPTEMBER 2016

Thursday, January 21

Saturday-Monday, September 24-26

Mortgage Bankers Association Mergers and Acquisitions Workshop 2016 Hilton Phoenix International Airport 2435 South 47th Street Phoenix, Ariz.

For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

Sunday-Wednesday, January 31-February 3 MBA’s 2016 CREF/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo Hyatt Regency Orlando 9801 International Drive Orlando, Fla. For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

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NAMB 2016 Legislative & Regulatory Conference Washington, D.C. For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit NAMBNational.com.

NAMB National 2016 The Luxor Resort & Hotel 3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas For more information, call (860) 719-1991 or visit NAMBNational.com.

OCTOBER 2016

Sunday-Wednesday, October 23-26 Mortgage Bankers Association 2016 Annual Convention Hynes Convention Center 900 Boylston Street Boston, Mass.

For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit MBA.org.

n New York Mortgage Professional Magazine n OCTOBER 2015

Wednesday-Thursday, November 4-5

Tuesday, December 8

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

Virginia Association of Mortgage Brokers 27th Annual Convention Hilton Garden Inn Richmond Innsbrook 4050 Cox Road • Glen Allen, Va. For more information, call (804) 285-7557 or visit VAMB.org.

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If you find yourself in federal court, we can handle that as well.

Contact Nelson Locke at (800) 656-4584.

Or you may email us at nl@lockelaw.us All inquiries will be kept strictly confidential. This is not an offer for legal services, but rather for his expert review and opinion about your particular compliance situation. All fact patterns are different so the results will vary. No guarantees are expressed or implied. Licensed by California and Federal Bar. NMLS 149450.

The first full-service, mortgage risk management firm in the country, specializing exclusively in mortgage compliance.

Pioneers in outsourcing solutions for mortgage compliance.

Our Compliance Team Will: Leverage your existing employees.

Improve your productivity.

Collaborate on projects.

Make the most of your current technology.

Bring innovation to your company.

Be a strong cultural fit.

Free you to focus on your core competencies.

Give you access to world-class expertise.

Lower your total operational costs.

CONTINUING EDUCATION

BONDS & LICENSING

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

OCTOBER 2015 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n

LOWEST-COST STATE MORTGAGE LICENSE BONDS Support NAMB in supporting you!

Online surety bond applications, instant underwriting approval, and credit card payments administered through The Bond Exchange NAMB's exclusive partner provider for state license surety bonds.

The Bond Exchange is a national surety agency specializing in servicing mortgage license bonds for thousands of mortgage professionals across the country.

Low prices and fantastic service. You really can have them both at the same time!

Titan List and Mailing Services, Inc. is a direct marketing agency that offers a complete range of advertising and design services.

The firm specializes in data lists (mail/phone), printing, direct mail, graphic and website design as well as internet and SEO marketing. Starting in 1998, the company has, since then employed highly skilled individuals who have considerable experience regarding marketing trends. The company manages the complete in-house campaign themselves including Design, Data Lists, Printing, Postage, and Mailing.

EDUCATION

Mortgage Seminars MortgageSeminars.com 248-403-8181

94 The Bond Exchange www.bondedwithnamb.org (501) 224-8895

Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. 1020 NW 6th St Suite D, DeerďŹ eld Beach, FL. 33442 (800) 544-8060 www.TitanLists.com

Cost: Only $19.95 per month per physical office location Jeff Mifsud, a former FHA Direct Endorsed Underwriter trained by HUD and an FHA Originator for over 15 years, is publisher of The FHA Originator, a monthly marketing newsletter which gives you‌ • • • •

FHA guideline news to keep you updated FHA Marketing tips and downloads that are easily customized Personal development tips to help you develop your character Full access to all previous FHA marketing downloads!

BOOTS ACROSS AMERICA TOUR 2014-2015 Beverly@BootsAcrossAmerica.org Certified Military Home Specialist Beverly Ray Frase "Training Boots on the Ground" Since 2009

No contracts so sign up today and give yourself the tools to brand yourself as The FHA Expert in your marketplace.

Cost: Only $19.95 per month per physical office location.

• Trained 3,000 CMHS course grads • Trained for Depts of HUD, Treasury & more • 20+ years' experience in real estate & finance, military life COMING TO YOUR CITY!

COMPLIANCE CONSULTANTS

DIRECT MAIL

MARKETING

Close More Loans!

We’ll Get Your Phones Ringing!

BROKERS COMPLIANCE GROUP 167 West Hudson Street – Suite 200 Long Beach | NY | 11561 members@brokerscompliancegroup.com www.BrokersComplianceGroup.com Division of Lenders Compliance Group, BCG is the first and only mortgage risk management firm in the U.S. devoted to supporting the unique compliance needs of residential mortgage brokers.

Leveling the Playing Field for Mortgage Brokers Low Cost Monthly Membership Includes: • Free Weekly Hotline • Access to Subject Matter Experts • Policies and Procedures • Webinars *Special Pricing* • Quality Control • Exam Readiness • Licensing • Legal Reviews

Real Data. Real Tracking.

Real Results!

We handle the entire direct mail campaign process from A-Z

closely with you to ensure you recieve a postive return on your

Your Success Is Our #1 Priority!

Call Now For FREE Mailers!

1 (888) 277-8816

TagQuest www.myharpleads.com TagQuest.com 888-717-8980 TagQuest is a full service marketing firm created specifically for the ever changing mortgage business. We have tested and proven campaigns for FHA -VA - HARP - CONVENTIONAL loan types.

TagQuest knows what it takes to generate quality leads whether through direct mail marketing, telemarketing, internet leads, data lists, tracking systems, or any combination thereof. TagQuest will brand your company, prepare targeted marketing campaigns that generate interest in your company, and most importantly, show you how to turn sales leads into repeat customers.

Online Marketing

WHOLESALE LENDERS

5 Park Plaza, 10th Floor Irvine, CA 92614 www.HomeBridgeWholesale.com HomeBridge Wholesale is a national wholesale lender offering Conventional, Government, Jumbo, and Renovation Loans. We are committed to providing the highest value to our clients through competitive pricing, unique product offerings, superior customer service, and state-of-the-art technology.

Now Hiring Wholesale Sales Managers/Account Executives Nationwide Please send resumes to Marketing@HomeBridge.com

PRIVATE FINANCING

REMN Wholesale www.remnwholesale.com 866-933-6342

Interested in joining our Wholesale Division?

Send your resume to aerecruiting@remn.com

WHOLESALE/CORRESPONDENT LENDERS

Contac t: info@afr wholesale.com

888.664.2101 AFR Wholesale ranked #1 with the most Sponsor Originated FHA 203(k) closed loans.*

CLOSE MORE LOANS WITH:

FREE PROCESSING - NO LENDER FEES ** •Conventional •USDA •Manufac tured Housing •One -Time Close Construc tion •Fred d ie M ac O p en Access an d Fan nie Mae D URP •VA and FHA, FHA 203(k) and 203(h) Rehab loans •Jumbo loans up to $2,000.000 Lender NMLS:2826 - 9 Sylvan Way, Parsippany - NJ, 07054 - *See website for details: www.afrwholesale.com Equal Housing Lender. Equal Opportunity Employer. **No Lender fees by AFR. Third party fees may apply.

AB071114

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REMN has FHA, USDA, 203k, VA and Conventional solutions to fit the needs of your customers. But, at REMN, our most valuable product is our people. The REMN Sales and Operations Teams give you - and your loans - the time and attention that you deserve. Even better, at REMN, same-day approvals are guaranteed.* You can rely on us to get the little, yet vital, things taken care of on time.

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