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First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation is an FHA Approved Lending Institution, and is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of HUD/FHA or the federal government. First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation Headquarters is located at 1900 Gallows Road, Suite 800, Tysons Corner, VA 22182 (800) 296-2275. Company NMLS ID 2917. This information is solely for mortgage professionals and should not be provided to consumers or third parties. Information is accurate as of 10/13/14 and is subject to change without notice. First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation: 1900 Gallows Road, Suite 800, Tysons Corner, VA 22182 (NMLS ID 2917) is licensed in the following states. For additional branch licensing information, please visit www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Alabama: Licensed by the Alabama Banking Department, Licensee No. 21332; Arizona: Licensed as an Arizona Mortgage Banker under the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, 4347 W. Bell Road, Suite 1, Glendale, AZ 85308, Licensee No. 0907158; Arkansas: Combination Mortgage Banker-Broker-Servicer, Licensee No. 11884; California: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, Licensee No. 6037237; Colorado: Regulated by the Colorado Division of Real Estate; Connecticut: Licensed by the Connecticut Department of Banking, Licensee No. 10162; Delaware: Licensed by the Delaware State Bank Commissioner to engage in business in this State under License No. 2403 (renewed through 2014); District of Columbia: Licensed by the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, Licensee No. MLB2917; Florida: Florida Mortgage Lender Licensee No. MLD333; Georgia: Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee, No. 13967; Idaho: Licensed by the Idaho Department of Finance, Licensee No. MBL-5032; Illinois: Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee, No. MB.0005484; Indiana: Indiana First Lien Mortgage Lending License under the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions, Licensee No. 11058; Iowa: Licensed by the Iowa Division of Banking, Licensee No. 2004-0309; Kansas: Kansas-Licensed Mortgage Company, Licensee No. SL.0000212; Kentucky: Licensed by the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions, Licensee No. MC16957; Louisiana: Residential Mortgage Lending Licensee No. 1421; Maine: Supervised Lender Licensee No. SLM5962; Maryland: Maryland Mortgage Lender Licensee No. 1731; Massachusetts: Massachusetts Mortgage Lender Licensee No. ML 2917; Michigan: 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant, Licensee No. FR0714; Minnesota: Minnesota Residential Mortgage Originator License No. MN-MO-20399083. This is not an offer to enter into an agreement under Minnesota law. Any such offer may only be made pursuant to the requirements in Minn. Stat. Section 47.206 (3) and (4); Mississippi: Licensed by the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance, Licensee No. 2917; Missouri: Licensed by the Missouri Division of Finance, Licensee No. 14-2178; Montana: Licensed Mortgage Lender under the Division of Banking & Financial Institutions, Licensee No. 8453; Nebraska: Nebraska Mortgage Banker Licensee No. 1470; Nevada: Licensed by the Nevada Division of Mortgage Lending to make loans secured by liens on real property, Licensee No. 1047, First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation, 1489 West Warm Springs Road, Suite 215, Henderson, NV 89014, Phone No. 702-454-4212; New Jersey: Licensed by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, Licensee No. 9700530; New Mexico: New Mexico

Mortgage Loan Company License No. 01085; New York: Licensed Mortgage Banker - N.Y.S. Banking Department and Exempt Mortgage Loan Servicer Registration, Licensee No. B500800 (d/b/a FGMC In Lieu of True Corporate Name First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation); North Carolina: North Carolina Mortgage Lender Licensee No. L-100362; North Dakota: Licensed in North Dakota as First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation dba FGMC, Licensee No. MB101924; Ohio: Ohio Mortgage Broker Act Mortgage Banker Exemption No. MBMB.850010.000; Oklahoma: Oklahoma Mortgage Lender Licensee No. ML002709; Oregon: Oregon Mortgage Lending Licensee No. ML-2634; Pennsylvania: Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, Licensee No. 20768; Rhode Island: Rhode Island Licensed Lender; South Carolina: South Carolina Mortgage Lender/Servicer Licensee No. MLS-2917; South Dakota: Licensed by the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Division of Banking, Licensee No. ML.05077; Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions Mortgage Licensee No. 109451; Texas: Licensed by the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending; Utah: Utah Mortgage Entity Licensee No. 5491155; Vermont: Licensed by the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, Licensee No. 6644; Virginia: Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission as a Lender and Broker, Licensee No. MC-436; Washington: Washington Consumer Loan Company, Licensee No. CL-2917; West Virginia: West Virginia Mortgage Lender Licensee No. ML-20742; Wisconsin: Licensed Wisconsin Mortgage Banker, Licensee No. 26835BA; Wyoming: Licensed by the Wyoming Division of Banking, Licensee No. 1831.

F I R S T G U A R A N T YY O U R S U C C E S S

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation® (FGMC), is 100% committed to our Correspondent, Wholesale and Retail origination channels. Together with First Guaranty's Capital Markets and Warehouse Lending Divisions, we provide a full spectrum of lending products and services nationwide.

First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation® is an Approved Single Family Issuer for Ginnie Mae; an Approved Fannie Mae MBS Issuer; Approved by HUD; an FHA Approved Lending Institution; Approved for VA; and Approved by USDA.

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PENNSYLVANIA EDITION

calendar of eventsPAMB

MARCH 2015Sunday-Thursday, March 8-12

32nd Annual Regional Conference of MBAsTrump Taj Mahal Casino Resort

1000 BoardwalkAtlantic City, N.J.

For more information, contact Monica Cedeno by phone at (908) 852-2498,e-mail mcedeno@njamb.org or visit www.mbanj.com.

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MAMP is proud to host an exciting, dynamic, fun-filled, sales motivation extravaganza

for mortgage professionals throughout Maryland!

Are you ready for the HUD-1 changes that will go into effect next August? Learn every-

thing you'll need to know at the MAMP Annual Conference on April 9 at the Turf Valley

Resort. Maryland mortgage legal guru Steve Lovejoy will present "Preparing You for the

New TILA RESPA Disclosure Rules."

You can't afford to miss this dynamic presentation and rare networking opportunity with

mortgage professionals from across the state!

2015 MAMP Annual Conference

Thursday, April 9, 2015Turf Valley Resort • 2700 Turf Valley Road • Ellicott City, MD 21042

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Others Cover the World ...We Cover Yours!

Recap of key economic events that took place over the past week and a look ahead to events that will potentially impact interest rates in the housing market.Airs every Monday at 11 a.m. EasternGain access to an exclusive FREE TRIAL OFFER from MBS Highway for Mortgage News Network viewers. Visit www.MBSHighway.com/mnn

Master the Markets with Barry Habib

Visit to see these videos and a lot more and to sign upto receive the Mortgage News Network show alerts!

If you have a product or service for mortgage professionals you can be a sponsor for these videos. For more information about these sponsorships or Mortgage News Network custom video productions please send an email to

Info@MortgageNewsNetwork or call Beverly Bolnick, VP-Sales & Marketing, at 516-409-5555 ext. 4and she'll tell you how you can be part of the action!

www.MortgageNewsNetwork.com

Hard-hitting, fact based look at some of the most important issues facing the home finance industry today – with a bit of humor and irreverence thrown in.Airs every Thursday at 7 a.m. EasternGet more content from Frank and Brian on their daily show, The National Real Estate Post, atwww.TheNationalRealEstatePost.com

Hash It Out with Frank Garay & Brian Stevens

What are the top loan originators doing right now to be successful? How can you implement their strategies to grow

your business? Find out this and more.Airs every Tuesday at 7 a.m. Eastern

For information on the Top Producer Round Table Series coming to your city,

Visit www.TopProducerRoundTable.com

Top Producer Round Table

ROUND TABLE

SPONSORED BY

SPONSORED BY

WEEKLY PROGRAMMING

COMING THIS MONTHGrow Your Business

with Greg Frost, Sr., PRMI, V.P. National Training, sponsored by Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

Compliance Matterswith Jonathan Foxx, sponsored by Lenders Compliance Group

table oN A T I O N A L M O R T

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 l V O

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “IT’S ALL ABOUT MARKETING”How to Increase Your Business 80 Percent This Year by Building Client Relationships By Kerry Johnson, Ph.D. ........52

Customer Relationship Management Systems:

Why They Should Matter to You By Ericka Smith ......................54

One-on-One Marketing By Tory Tarsitano, CRMS......................55

Why You Need Mobile in Your Marketing StrategyBy Ben Brashen ............................................................................57

The Number One Way to Generate New BusinessBy Brain Sacks ..............................................................................58

Conquering the Borrowers Who Just Won’t ShopBy Kelly Booth................................................................................60

Short Attention Span Goldfish By Eric Weinstein ......................62

What Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey Teaches Us

About Marketing By Marc Wayshak ............................................63

FEATURESHow Top Producers Create Value By Gibran Nicholas................8

The Elite Performer: Wants vs. NeedsBy Andy W. Harris, CRMS ..............................................................8

Get Your Year in Gear By Bubba Mills ........................................10

Marketing for FHA-MIP-REMOVAL ............................................16

Lead Your Mortgage Sales Team to Greater SuccessBy K. Justin Restaino ....................................................................18

NAMB Perspective ......................................................................20

Agility Resources Group ...................................... www.agilityresourcesgroup.com ......................................65

AllRegs.............................................................. www.allregs.com ..........................................................60

American Financial Resources ............................ www.afrwholesale.com/partnership ....................Back Cover

B2R Finance ...................................................... www.b2rfinance.com ....................................................33

Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................72

Caliber Home Loans.............................................. www.caliberhomeloans.com ............................................29

CallFurst.com ...................................................... www.callfurst.com ............................................................56

Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................27 & 62

CMPS Institute .................................................. www.cmpslive.com ..........................................................5

Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ........................................................7

Equity Prime LLC................................................ www.equityprime.com ..........................................53 & 64

First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmc.com ..............................Inside Front Cover & 42

Fortune Title Agency .......................................... www.fortunetitle.net ..................................................PA2

HomeBridge Wholesale ...................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................19

iServe Residential Lending, LLC .......................... www.joiniserve.com ......................................................17

JMAC Lending .................................................... www.jmaclending.com ..................................................31

Lending Manager .............................................. www.lendingmanager.com ............................................63

Listing Booster .................................................. www.listingbooster.com ........................................43 & 51

Lykken On Lending ............................................ www.lykkenonlending.com ............................................49

MAMP .............................................................. www.mdmtgpros.org ..................................................PA3

V I S I T O U R A

Company Web Site Page

26Mortgage Industry Mournsthe Loss of NAMB PastPresident GeorgeHanzimanolis By Eric Peck

35Recruiting in a Blue OceanBy Mike Maida

36The Lead GenerationCompany: Managing theRisksBy Jonathan Foxx

42Lykken on Leadership:The Seven Steps toBecoming a BetterCommunicatorBy David Lykken

66Step Inside Ginnie Mae:Lowering of MortgageInsurance Premium Goodfor Middle Class Families,Housing IndustryBy Ted W. Tozer

f contentsT G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L

O L U M E 7 l N U M B E R 2

An Interview With Terry W. Clemans, Executive Director of the National Consumer Reporting AssociationBy Dave Sullivan ............................................................................28

RESPA/TILA Integration: The Rest of the Story …By Joy K. Gilpin..............................................................................30

The Long & Short: The Business of Short SalesBy Pam Marron ..............................................................................32

NMP’s Economic Commentary: The Best of All Worlds Revisited By Dave Hershman ......................................................34

A Message From E. Robert Levy ................................................44

Just Ask Eric & Laura By Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke ............46

CFPB Finalizes Amendments to TILA-RESPA Integrated Mortgage Disclosure (TRID) Rule By Gavin T. Ales ............................................................................48

The Buy-to-Rent Mortgage Opportunity By Mark Mohl ............50

MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance: A Message From MAA Chairman Fowler Williams ..................50

NAPMW Report: A Visionary Sees Light in the DarknessBy Nikki Bell & Cynthia Nutter ......................................................65

COLUMNSNew to Market..............................................................................12

News Flash: February 2015 ........................................................14

Heard on the Street ....................................................................40

Outstanding Places to Work ......................................................68

NMP Calendar of Events ............................................................69

NMP Resource Registry..............................................................70

Maverick Funding Corp....................................... www.maverickfunding.com ............................................39

MBA-NJ/NJAMB .................................................. www.mbanj.com ..........................................................23

Midwest Mortgage Matchmaker Conference.......... www.mortgage-matchmaker.com ....................................65

Monroe Capital, Inc. .......................................... www.monroecap.net ......................................................61

Mortgage News Network (MNN) .......................... www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com ......................................1

NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................25

NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ....................................................58 & 66

NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................67

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................15, 41 & Inside Back Cover

PB Financial Group Corp..................................... www.pbfinancialgrp.com ..............................................47

REMN Wholesale ................................................ www.remnwholesale.com ....................................PA1 & 13

TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................45

Texas Mortgage Roundup.................................... www.txmortgageroundup.com ........................................59

The Bond Exchange ............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................35

The National Real Estate Post.............................. www.thenationalrealestatepost.com ..........................55, 64

Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. ........................ www.titanlists.com ..........................................................9

Top Producer Round Table ................................ www.topproducerroundtable.com ....................................5

Ultimate Mortgage Expo .................................... www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com ......................................3

United Wholesale Mortgage ................................ www.uwm.com ..............................................................11

D V E R T I S E R S

Company Web Site Page

Featured Editorial ContributorsRocke Andrews, CMC,CRMS

John Councilman, CMC,CRMS

Jonathan Foxx

Donald J. Frommeyer,CRMS

Andy W. Harris, CRMS

Dave Hershman

John H.P. Hudson, CRMS

David Lykken

Pam Marron

Linda McCoy, CRMS

Ted W. Tozer

Fowler Williams

Editorial ContributorsGavin T. Ales

Nikki Bell

Kelly Booth

Ben Brashen

Laura Burke, EA, MBA,MS

Joy K. Gilpin

Kerry Johnson, Ph.D.

Mike Maida

Cynthia Nutter

Tory Tarsitano, CRMS

Bubba Mills

Mark Mohl

Gibran Nicholas

K. Justin Restaino

Brian Sacks

Ericka Smith

Marc Wayshak

Eric Weinstein

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FEBRUARY 2015Volume 7 • Number 2

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

Is it really all about marketing?This month, we are focusing on the topic of marketing. Marketing is defined by the American MarketingAssociation as “The activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating, delivering andexchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at-large.” Now with thebenefit of that definition, go forth and “market.” Oh well, the process of defining marketing is, withoutquestion, a lot easier than deciding “how” to market. In the mortgage profession, that definition needs

to be revised to read “exchanging offerings compliantly,” since marketing in the mortgage profession today, withoutconcern for compliance, may lead one to a rapid and costly exit from the profession.

So with that foundation set, how does one go about marketing? I have a few ideas of my own I’d like to share:

Adopt a new language and use it wisely: Digital!While the mortgage industry still has the brick and mortar model as the mainstay for the consumer, the use of the dig-ital environment is still a gateway for many consumers to identify and reach your brick and mortar solution. Add thelanguage of “digital” (both Internet and mobile accessible) to your brain. Use your digital footprint to establish yourselfas an expert and also use your Web site to give consumers resources to help them understand the mortgage process. Alocal company on Long Island used to use the slogan, “An Educated Consumer is Our Best Customer.” That applies tothe mortgage profession as well. Let your Web site be a soft market approach that clearly shows you are a trusted advi-sor and will work for the customer to not only deliver but to set the bar high to get referrals from them.

The complexity of the “digital world” is not a frontier you should pursue totally on your own. Be willing to engageindividuals and companies with knowledge of the mortgage profession who can assist you to improve SEO (searchengine optimization) in a compliant manner. You know what you do best and the “digital” world has the experts at yourdisposal that will dramatically increase the success of your digital campaign. I know the Internet is filled with competi-tion, but if you develop your “digital footprint” wisely and follow up leads, you can translate your newly acquired lan-guage “digital” into one that translates into business growth

Direct mail marketingChoose a vendor that knows the mortgage market! This is still a very valid option to add to your marketing campaignin today’s tech world. The very pages of this magazine include advertisements from direct mail companies specializingin the mortgage industry and help you reach your target audience. Don’t make the mistake of enlisting a generalist indirect mail marketing.

So to answer my opening question … yes, it is all about marketing. The only difference today is the infusion of tech-nology in marketing methods you use today. Arm yourself with the experts who can assist you with these methods andyou too can answer loudly with a yes as well!

Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEONMP Media Corp.joel@nmpmediacorp.com

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

publisher’s deskFROM THE

STAFF

ADVERTISINGTo receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and requirements, please contactVP-Sales & Marketing Beverly Bolnick at (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail beverlyb@nmpmedi-acorp.com.

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

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

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

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

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

Eric C. PeckEditor-in-Chief

(516) 409-5555, ext. 312ericp@nmpmediacorp.com

Joey ArendtArt Director

(516) 409-5555, ext. 307joeya@nmpmediacorp.com

Scott KoondelOperations Manager

(516) 409-5555, ext. 324scottk@nmpmediacorp.com

Richard ZytaSocial Media Ambassador

(516) 409-5555richardz@nmpmediacorp.com

Joel M. BermanPublisher - CEO

(516) 409-5555, ext. 310joel@nmpmediacorp.com

Beverly BolnickVP-Sales & Marketing

(516) 409-5555, ext. 316beverlyb@nmpmediacorp.com

Phil HallManaging Editor

(516) 409-5555, ext. 312philh@nmpmediacorp.com

Francine MillerAdvertising Coordinator

(516) 409-5555, ext. 301francinem@nmpmediacorp.com

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE’S

E D I T O R I A L C O N T R I B U T O R S

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CMPS® Certification, Training & CoachingGet certified with five new mortgage planning skills to grow your business; stay focused with our weekly coaching that helps you implement.

CMPS® Content Marketing SystemShare engaging articles with the click of a button; teach continuing education courses to financial advisors using our turn-key system.

CMPS® TechnologySimplify your life with our fully-compliant CRM that includes built-in campaigns, activity tracker, loan comparison reports,

and real-time MBS market updates.

Includes one-year of CMPS® membership!

DianeCrosby

ScottForman

SteveGrossman

BrentHicks

KellyMarsh

GibranNicholas

JenDu Plessis

CraigStrent

WEST COASTMon., Feb. 23 San Ramon, CATues., Feb. 24 Portland, ORWed., Feb 25 Seattle, WAThurs., Feb 26 Scottsdale, AZFri., Feb 27 Las Vegas, NV

EAST COASTFri., March 13 Long Island, NYMon., March 16 Boston, MATues., March 17 Westchester, NYWed., March 18 Philadelphia, PAThurs., March 19 Washington DCFri., March 20 Baltimore, MD

Monday-Wednesday, May 13-15, 2015 • Marina Del Rey, CAMonday-Wednesday, May 18-20, 2015 • Boston, MA

Monday-Wednesday, May 13-15, 2015 • Marina Del Rey, CAMonday-Wednesday, May 18-20, 2015 • Boston, MA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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NAMBThe Association of

Mortgage Professionals2701 West 15th Street, Suite 536 l Plano, TX 75075

Phone: (972) 758-1151 l Fax: (530) 484-2906Web site: www.namb.org

OFFICERSJohn Councilman, CMC, CRMS—PresidentAMC Mortgage Corporation10136 Avalon Lake Circle l Fort Myers, FL 33913Phone: (239) 267-2400 l E-mail: jlc@amcmortgage.com

Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS—President-ElectLending Arizona LLC3531 North Pantano Road l Tucson, AZ 85750Phone: (520) 886-7283 l E-mail: randrews@lendingarizona.net

Fred Kreger, CMC—Vice PresidentAmerican Family Funding28368 Constellation Road, Suite 398 l Santa Clarita, CA 91350Phone: (661) 505-4311 l E-mail: fred.kreger@affloans.com

Rick Bettencourt, CRMS—SecretaryMortgage Network300 Rosewood Drive l Danvers, MA 01923Phone: (978) 777-7500 l E-mail: rbettencourt@mortgagenetwork.com

Andy W. Harris, CRMS—TreasurerVantage Mortgage Group Inc.15962 SW Boones Ferry Rd., Ste 100 l Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035 Phone: (503) 496-0431, ext. 302E-mail: aharris@vantagemortgagegroup.com

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS—Immediate PastPresident/NAMB CEOAmerican Midwest Bank200 Medical Drive, Suite C-2A l Carmel, IN 46032Phone: (317) 575-4355 l E-mail: donald.frommeyer@gmail.com

DIRECTORSKay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS KC Mortgage LLC2041 North Highway 83, Unit CPO Box 783 l Franktown, CO80116Phone: (720) 670-0124 l E-mail: kay@kcmortgagecolorado.com

John H.P. Hudson, CRMSPremier Nationwide Lending1202 W. Bitters Road, Bldg. 1, Ste. 1205San Antonio, TX 78216Phone: (817) 247-4766 l E-mail: jhudson@pnlending.com

Olga Kucerak, CRMS Crown Lending328 West Mistletoe l San Antonio, TX 78212Phone: (210) 828-3384 l E-mail: olga@crownlending.com

David Luna, CRMS Mortgage Educators and Compliance947 South 500 E, Suite 105 l American Fork, UT 84003Phone: (877) 403-1428 l E-mail: david@mortgageeducators.com

Linda McCoy, CRMS Mortgage Team 1 Inc.6336 Piccadilly Square Drive l Mobile, AL 36609Phone: (251) 650-0805 l E-mail: linda@mortgageteam1.com

Valerie Saunders RE Financial Services13033 West Lindburgh Avenue l Tampa, FL 33626Phone: (866) 992-0785 l E-mail: valsaun@gmail.com

John Stevens, CRMS Bank of England d/b/a ENG Lending11650 South State Street, Suite 350 l Draper UT 84062Phone: (801) 427-7111 l E-mail: jstevens@englending.com

NAMB 2014-2015 Board of Directors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Judy RyanDirectorCredit Plus(800) 258-3488judy.ryan@creditplus.com

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

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

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

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

National Association of Professional Mortgage WomenP.O. Box 451718 l Garland, TX 75045

Phone: (800) 827-3034Web site: www.napmw.org

2014-2015 NAPMW National Board of Directors

National Consumer Reporting Association701 East Irving Park Road, Suite 306 l Roselle, IL 60172

Phone: (630) 539-1525 l Fax: (630) 539-1526Web site: www.ncrainc.org

2014-2015 Board of Directors

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elite performerT H E

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

As commissioned

sales profession-

als, we are al-

ways prospecting

and looking for new clients while retain-

ing existing clients for any future trans-

actions and referrals. I’ve always been

interested in watching different mort-

gage loan originators (MLOs) in our industry and what different behaviors create

success or failure. Over the years, I’ve found that there are certainly similarities

between those that thrive and those that struggle, but none more than the confi-

dence portrayed on wanting the business versus needing the business.A need is something you have to have, but a want is something you would

like to have. The challenge in a commissioned- or performance-based career isthat most people are usually on one end of the spectrum or another. Somebounce back and forth, but when production is down or if an MLO is struggling,they find themselves needing the new business to survive or continue down thesame career path chosen. Unfortunately, when your balance sheet controls youand not vice versa, some bad habits can further negatively impact your chancesfor success.

If you have struggled in the past or present, here are a few things to be awareof and look out for if becoming a needy MLO:

l Behavior when interacting with clients can come across with a feeling of anxi-ety or desperation, reacting unprofessionally to objections or not remainingrelaxed and professional.

l The level of confidence can be low due to the financial stress experienced ornegative thoughts about the future.

l There is unfortunately an elevated level of risk for some that could result inunethical and possibly even illegal activities motivated by desperation.

l These behaviors can develop added stress and continue to worsen the situa-tion by turning off potential prospects, among other significant issues for thefuture and integrity of our industry.

So what can you do to make sure you’re an MLO that is motivated more bywanting the business over needing the business? Well, the first step of course is toget your financial life in order and have a marketing and follow up plan to buildand sustain new clients. Having control over your balance sheet will help you bemore confident and professional, while hopefully maintaining strong integrity lev-els. Simply control and prioritize your wants by not being controlled by yourneeds.

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

Wants vs. Needs

“To be happy in life, youmust learn the differencebetween what you want

vs. need.”

—Rita Ghatourey

SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Gibran Nicholas

Everybody talks about "creating value.” It's an overusedbuzz-phrase in the mortgage industry and the businessworld in general. But what does it actually mean? Specifi-cally, what does it mean to "create value" in today's mort-

gage environment? Here are three specific tactics I've observed from topproducers who create unique value in today's mortgage industry:

1. Understand what the other person valuesMost mortgage originators propose value (sell solutions) to borrowers, realestate agents and financial advisors without first understanding what theother person values. For example, your value proposition to a financialadvisor may be, "I can send you referrals." However, what if the financialadvisor doesn't really care about that at the moment? What if the financialadvisor's main issue right now is creating a competitive advantage vs. thefull-service financial company that just opened next door? In that case, atop producer would likely change his/her value proposition to somethinglike, "I can help you protect your clients from being poached by the newfinancial services company that just opened next door." Top producersmake it a habit to understand what the other person really wants beforeoffering to give it to them.

2. Don't be genericA value proposition is nothing more than a proposal of value. Not every-one values the same things. So why be generic and propose the samevalue to everyone you talk to? Top producers understand that it's not somuch about an "elevator pitch," but it's more about an "elevator ques-tion.” What's the number one challenge that the person you're speakingwith is facing at this particular moment in time? The specific solution toTHAT specific challenge is your new value proposition for that person.

3. Be creative: Leverage your relationshipsOne top producer I know recently started doing homebuyer employeebenefit workshops with a builder she works with. She discovered a needin her market: A new company is moving into town and relocating peoplefrom out of the area. She leveraged her existing relationships: A builderfriend is building new homes in the area where the new company is relo-cating. She creatively used her resources to meet the need: help the newcompany relocate employees by offering education and incentives withthe builder. Your relationships are your biggest asset. Leverage them inthe way you create value.

Gibran Nicholas is the founder, chairman and CEO of CMPS Institute andTop Producer Round Table Series—TopProducerRoundTable.com. Since2005, he's helped more than 7,000 of America's top loan originators to growsales and improve their relationships. He may be reached by phone at (888)608-9800, e-mail gibran@CMPSInstitute.org or visit CMPSInstitute.org.

How Top Producers Create Value

�

A production of

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By Bubba Mills

Baloney! That’swhat I say tothose who thinkbuilding a busi-

ness plan should take days, weeks oreven months. And I say baloney againto those who think a plan has to havea bunch of pages with graphs andcharts.

I know for a fact mortgage brokersdon’t have that kind of time. But I alsoknow every serious broker needs agood plan. That means if you’re read-ing this, you’re in the right place. Stickwith me and you’ll end up with a planthat can make your 2015 a much bet-ter year.

A comprehensive business plan(two pages max) can help you:

l Account for what you accomplishduring 2015

l Clarify your lifel Keep track of each of your goals l Manage your timel Determine if you’re heading in the

right direction

So let’s get right to it. Here are the

steps to take to get your plan in placeand your year (and rear) in gear:

Create a mission statementThis gets right to the heart of your lifeand addresses why you’re in mortgagebusiness. It answers why you’re here,what your pur-pose is andwhat your busi-ness is trulyabout. Use pos-itive, presenttense state-ments such as“I am,” “I pro-vide,” and/or “Istrive” as youdefine who youare and whatyou provide your clients. Take 10 min-utes now to brainstorm some possiblemission statements.

Perform a SWOT analysis (Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities andThreats)For strengths, maybe you’re tech

savvy. For weaknesses perhaps you’reunorganized. With opportunities itcould be that a large firm is relocatingto your city. And for threats, maybeinterest rates are rising. Take 10 min-utes now and fill in a few items foreach category. If you get stuck, ask aco-worker or friend, who knows you

well enough, forsuggestions.

Write yourbusinessobjectivesIn this section,I’d like you toconsider whatyou want yourbusiness to looklike in the

short-term, sixmonths; in the mid-term, one year;and the long-term, five years. Also,in this same section, write your per-sonal objectives. We cannot be bal-anced in life if all we focus on isbusiness so consider what your idealsituation would look like with yourfamily, your spiritual life and yoursocial life. Spend 10 minutes now onthese topics.

Create your sales goalsHere’s where I don’t want you to beafraid to think bigger. Take 15 min-utes here for this section. As part ofthis segment, here at CorcoranConsulting and Coaching Inc., weinclude what’s called a goal achieve-ment system that helps you stay ontrack with your goals. So for each goal,we include a why, excuses for failure,resolve and action items. I believe thisis a vital step because it allows you toexamine why you might hesitate incompleting parts of your businessplan.

Develop action itemsTo wrap up your plan, you need toget specific about how you’ll achieveyour goals. So for each goal youshould have action items, due dates,who will complete the items and astep-by-step daily and hourly planwith what has to be done. Take 15minutes and do it.

Bubba Mills is executive vice presidentof Corcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc.He may be reached by phone at (800)957-8353 or visit www.corcorancoach-ing.com.

Get Your Year in Gear: How to Create a Business-Winning Plan for 2015 in One Hour

“Stick with me and

you’ll end up with a

plan that can make

your 2015 a much

better year.”

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VISIT THE NEW UWM.COM

CREATED FOR YOU.

800-981-8898 | UWM.COM

Introducing the new EASE, a reimagined loan origination platform created by mortgage experts for mortgage experts. With an intuitive and user-friendly design, you will submit and process loans faster than ever. UWM is revolutionizing lending with an experience like never before. Join the revolution today at 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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United WholesaleMortgage Launches New LOS

United WholesaleMortgage (UWM) hasannounced that itofficially launched a

completely new loan origination sys-tem (LOS) loaded with features andtools for brokers and correspondents.The proprietary technology replacesUWM’s previous LOS and offers manybenefits for its broker and correspon-dent partners. UWM built the solutionfrom the ground up using its in-houseteam of more than 150 IT profession-als. The completely customized tech-nology called EASE took almost a yearto develop, test and implement, whichUWM says is a testament to its unwa-vering commitment to excellence.

“Making it incredibly easy to partnerwith us is a huge focus at UWM,” saidMat Ishbia, president and CEO at UWM.“We spent significant time and moneyto develop this technology, which wasdone exclusively to benefit our brokersand correspondents. We want to be themost service-focused wholesale lenderin the country. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology is a big part of the valuewe deliver to our partners.”

EASE allows brokers to effortlesslyuse drag and drop technology through-out the site. This feature is used todeliver FNMA 3.2 files and other vari-ous documents, which auto populateinto EASE’s proprietary product andpricing engine, Easy Qualifier (EQ), thussaving tremendous amounts of time.EQ qualifies and provides live pricingon multiple programs while simultane-ously providing UWM’s brokers and cor-respondents with the ability to instant-ly give their borrowers the best possibleoptions.

With the click of a button, the bro-ker can select the product, MI and cal-culate the interest rate. They areempowered to pull DU or LP whichinstantly provides an automatedunderwriting decision. Pipeline man-agement, date tracking and lock expi-ration alerts are also provided on aneasy-to-read dashboard.

“We didn’t want to just purchase acommercially available loan origina-tion system, as many of today’s systemsfall short from the high expectations of

UWM. We attempt to always deliverabove and beyond technology and theonly way to do that was to build it our-selves,” said Justin Glass, chief digitalofficer at UWM. “We feel that this is themost advanced mortgage-based tech-nology solution and is head and shoul-ders above other wholesale lenders,giving our partners an unparalleledcompetitive advantage.”

Along with the launch of EASE, UWMalso concurrently rolled out a new cor-porate website to reflect its new brand-ing identity, which places a strongemphasis on the company’s corporateculture that treats its clients as long-term, highly valued partners.

REMN Wholesale to OfferFannie Mae 97 PercentLTV Loans and NewIncentives

REMN Wholesale has announced that itwill begin offering loans under theFannie Mae 97 percent LTV program. Inline with REMN Wholesale’s commit-ment to quality in the modern housingindustry, these loans will allow mort-gage brokers a very relevant option asthey broaden their ability to sourceproducts for responsible buyers byoffering a very affordable downpay-ment scenario. Offering Fannie Mae 97percent LTV mortgages is a natural stepfor REMN in providing brokers with thebest tools and resources to see successin the current housing landscape.

REMN Wholesale has teams ofaccount executives strategically locatedacross the country, management hubson both coasts and a dedicated helpdesk team. In addition to being one ofthe leaders in renovation lending, thecompany received numerous industryaccolades in 2014 as a result of its com-mitment to providing the ideal brokerexperience.

“REMN Wholesale’s overall mission isto make the mortgage experience aseasy as possible for qualified borrowers

every step of the way. In addition tooffering the best possible mortgageproducts, it’s incredibly important thatthe brokers are supported by a teamcommitted to helping ensure the bestpossible experience for everyoneinvolved,” said Carl Markman, directorof national sales for REMN Wholesale.“We’re offering the Fannie Mae productat just three percent down becausewe’ve seen before that there are credit-worthy borrowers out there who aremore than capable of making theirmortgage payments, but haven’t had thetime yet to accrue the necessary downpayment to get the process started.”

REMN Wholesale has alsoannounced multiple pricing specials inJanuary, including 0.625 for VA fixedrate high balance submissions over 720FICO, 0.375 for VA fixed rate for con-forming submissions in select statesand 0.25 for all conventional submis-sions over $200,000 with a 720-739FICO score, in addition to many others.

Credit Plus Partners WithAccountChek onVerifications of Depositsand Assets

Credit Plus has announced that it willbe offering instant, electronicVerifications of Deposits and Assets(VODAs) through AccountChek, aprovider of automated deposit andasset verifications. This fast and securesystem is changing the traditionalmortgage verification process.

“Say goodbye to the paper chase,”said Greg Holmes, national director ofsales and marketing for Credit Plus.“Lenders will no longer need to manu-ally gather print copies of an appli-cant’s bank statements.”

Electronic verification of depositsand assets has been approved by bothFannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Eachorganization recently revised its guide-lines to allow acceptance of electronic,third-party VODAs.

“By partnering with AccountChek,

we’re able to provide lenders withdeposits and assets verification rightaway,” Holmes said. “Not only does itsave time, but because data is provideddirectly from financial institutions, therisk of fraud is virtually eliminated.”

The system is simple and can beaccessed by smartphones, tablets orcomputers. Lenders quickly receive areport that contains the necessaryaccount documentation.

Lenders have the ability to re-pullreports for up to 90 days. “ElectronicVODAs help instill confidence thatlenders are meeting the Ability-to-Repay Rules and have accurate data forunderwriting decisions,” said Holmes.

MBA Education LaunchesNew Initiative for CollegeStudents

MBA Educationhas announcedthe launch ofMortgage Bank-

ing Bound, a program designed to edu-cate college students about the mort-gage banking industry and job oppor-tunities in the loan-process cycle.

By enrolling through Mortgage-BankingBound.com, students canaccess “Careers in Mortgage Lending,” asix-lesson, instructor guided onlinecourse designed to familiarize themwith the residential mortgage lendingindustry starting on Feb. 10. Upon suc-cessful completion of the course, stu-dents will be awarded a certificate rec-ognized by MBA. Community collegeand university administrators can alsouse the site to find out more informa-tion about Mortgage Banking Bound.

“Real estate finance is a dynamic$13 trillion industry and companies inthis field will need new and diverse tal-ent to meet growing demand,” saidJeffrey M. Schummer, MBA’s vice presi-dent of education development.“Mortgage Banking Bound will helpeducational institutions translate aca-demic excellence into productivecareers for their students.”

Mortgage Banking Bound will offerstudents attending community colleges

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EWSFLASH l FEBRUARY 2015 l NMP NEWSFLASH l FEBRUARY 2015 NMP NEWS

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SEC Reaches AgreementWith S&P on MisleadingCMBS Ratings

New York State Attorney General Eric T.Schneiderman has joined the U.S.Securities & Exchange Commission(SEC) and the office of theMassachusetts Attorney General inannouncing a settlement withStandard and Poor’s Financial ServicesLLC regarding false and misleadingstatements made by S&P in connectionwith its rating of certain commercialmortgage-backed securities (CMBS).From February 2011 to July 2011, S&Ploosened the criteria it applied to rateeight CMBS, failed to disclose this factto investors, and misled market partic-ipants into thinking that the ratings fortheir investments were based on moreconservative assumptions than wasactually the case.

As a result of Attorney GeneralSchneiderman’ s investigation, S&Phas agreed to pay New York a penaltyof $12 million and to cease and desistfrom committing violations of theMartin Act and Executive Law §63(12). Massachusetts will receive $8million in penalties; while the SECwill receive $35 million in penalties,as well as $7 million in disgorgementand interest for these eight CMBS rat-ings. Finally, S&P has agreed torefrain from rating any new U.S.CMBS conduit/fusion transaction for aperiod of 12 months.

The SEC has also resolved two othermatters related to S&P. In all, nearly$80 million in settlement agreementswere announced today between S&Pand the three government entities.

“In the wake of the housing crisisand the collapse of the global econo-my, credit agencies like S&P promisednot to contribute to another bubble byinflating the ratings on products theywere paid to evaluate. Unfortunately,S&P broke that promise in 2011, lyingto investors to increase their profitsand market share,” said AttorneyGeneral Schneiderman. “Today’s joint

actions are an unprecedented effort tohold a ratings agency accountable forupholding its basic responsibility—toprovide rigorous and honest ratings toinvestors. I thank the SEC and theMassachusetts Attorney General’s officefor their terrific work in this case.”

As part of the settlement, S&P admit-ted specific facts concerning its misrep-resentations and omissions in connec-tion with its rating of CMBS.

In the aftermath of the 2008 finan-cial crisis, S&P represented to investorsthat it had tightened the standards itused to provide credit ratings, and hadadopted strict analytical independencethat was free from commercial consid-erations. Between February and July2011, in connection with its ratings foreight “conduit/fusion” CMBS, S&P pub-licly told investors that its ratings werebased on specified, conservative criteriafor calculating the debt service coverageratio, an important factor that relates tothe protection afforded to investors.S&P was paid approximately $7 millionto rate and conduct surveillance on sixof those transactions.

However, contrary to its representa-tions, S&P departed from its publishedcriteria and calculated the debt servicecoverage ratio, a key component indetermining credit ratings, in a mannerthat was less conservative, provided lessinvestor protection, and made its rat-ings more attractive to fee-payingissuers. As such, S&P misled market par-ticipants into thinking that the ratingsfor their investments were better andthat their investments had more protec-tion than was actually the case.

Investors depend on the credit rat-ings issued by credit rating agencies,including those issued by S&P, in mak-ing decisions relating to buying andholding investments such as CMBS.S&P’s statements regarding its ratingsfor the eight CMBS at issue were falseand misled investors. If S&P had usedthe criteria it disclosed to investors, itwould have afforded additional protec-tion to those investors.

Applications for NewHome Purchases Drop in December

The MortgageBankers Asso-ciation (MBA)Builder App-lication Sur-vey (BAS) data

for December 2014 shows mortgageapplications for new home purchasesdecreased by 0.4 percent relative to theprevious month. This change does notinclude any adjustment for typical sea-sonal patterns. By product type, con-ventional loans composed 70.8 percentof loan applications, FHA loans com-posed 15.3 percent, RHS/USDA loanscomposed 1.2 percent and VA loanscomposed 12.7 percent. The averageloan size of new homes increased from$306,975 in November to $311,398 inDecember.

The MBA estimates new single-fami-ly home sales were running at a sea-sonally adjusted annual rate of 409,000units in December 2014, based on datafrom the BAS. The new home sales esti-mate is derived using mortgage appli-cation information from the BAS, aswell as assumptions regarding marketcoverage and other factors.

The seasonally adjusted estimate forDecember is an increase of two percentfrom the November pace of 401,000units. On an unadjusted basis, the MBAestimates that there were 28,000 newhome sales in December 2014,unchanged from November.

MBA’s Builder Application Surveytracks application volume from mort-gage subsidiaries of home buildersacross the country. Utilizing this data,as well as data from other sources, MBAis able to provide an early estimate ofnew home sales volumes at the nation-al, state, and metro level. This data alsoprovides information regarding thetypes of loans used by new home buy-ers. Official new home sales estimatesare conducted by the Census Bureau ona monthly basis.

CFPB Charges Wells Fargoand JPMorgan WithRESPA Violations

The Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau (CFPB) has joined forces withMaryland Attorney General Brian Froshagainst banking titans, Wells Fargo andJPMorgan Chase, charging them with vio-lating the Real Estate SettlementProcedures Act (RESPA) by running an ille-gal kickback scheme in conjunction withthe now-defunct Genuine Title. In pro-posed consent orders filed today in feder-al court, the CFPB and Frosh’s office areseeking $24 million in civil penalties fromWells Fargo, $600,000 in civil penaltiesfrom JPMorgan Chase, and $10.8 millionin redress to consumers whose loans wereinvolved in this scheme.

Also being charged is Todd Cohen, aformer Wells Fargo loan officer, alongwith his wife Elaine Oliphant Cohen.Under the proposed consent orders, theywould be required to pay a $30,000 fine.

According to the CFPB, Genuine Titlewas a Maryland-based title company thatoffered real-estate-closing services thatwent out of business in April 2014. Theagency accused the companies of oper-ating a marketing-services-kickbackscheme, where Genuine Title offered loanofficers services that resulted in anincreased amount of loan business.Genuine Title allegedly purchased, ana-lyzed and provided data on consumersand even went so far as to generate letterswith the banks’ logos that it then mailedto prospective borrowers. The banks, inturn, referred homebuyers to GeneralTitle for its closing services. Such actionsviolated RESPA provisions against a “fee,kickback, or thing of value” in exchangefor referrals related to a real-estate-settle-ment service.

Todd Cohen was employed by WellsFargo between April 2009 through August2010, and the CFPB accused him of taking“substantial cash payments in exchangefor referrals.” Elaine Oliphant Cohen wascharged in participating in a subterfugeby receiving payments from Genuine Titlethat were destined for her husband forhis referrals. The CFPB and Frosh are also

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seeking to have Todd Cohen banned frommortgage banking for two years.

“Today, we took action against two ofthe nation’s largest banks, Wells Fargo andJPMorgan Chase, for illegal mortgage kick-backs,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordrayin a statement issued by his office. “Thesebanks allowed their loan officers to focuson their own illegal financial gain ratherthan on treating consumers fairly. Ouraction today to address these practicesshould serve as a warning for all those inthe mortgage market.”

“Homeowners were steered towardthis title company, not because they werethe best or most affordable, but becausethey were providing kickbacks to loanofficers who referred consumers tothem,” said Maryland Attorney GeneralBrian Frosh. “This type of quid pro quoarrangement is illegal, and it’s unfair toother businesses that play by the rules.”

Survey Finds the Majority Doubts Obama’s Housing Plan

A new survey,the Col l ing-wood MortgageOutlook Reportfor February,finds that mort-

gage and housing industry professionalsbelieve President Obama’s recentannouncement to reduce the price of FHAannual premiums will have a minimalimpact on the size of the home purchasemarket. The White House says thePresident’s plan to reduce fees, which theFHA charges borrowers, is designed tohelp jump-start the housing market. But47 percent of respondents to the reportsay that President Obama’s estimate that250,000 new mortgage borrowers will beadded as a result of a reduction in the FHAannual premium is “too high,” while only34 percent said it is “on the mark” and 19percent said it is “too low.”

In addition, approximately 25 percentof respondents opined that this announce-ment was more of a political move by theObama Administration than a majorchange in the market. They said theimpact, while positive, will be minimal.

Respondents also were harsh on theFHA, with 55 percent agreeing with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wholate last year said, “The real questionfor me is should we be in the FHABusiness at All.” One lender who agreeswith Dimon expressed that, “FHA hasturned into a minefield for lenders and(mortgage) servicers.

False Claims Investigations placed firston the survey’s list of the most concerningtype of FHA monitoring and associatedenforcement actions.

On a brighter note, 80 percent of sur-vey respondents believe business will getbetter this spring. This is the most positiveresponse since Collingwood began collect-ing this data in September of last year.Several respondent pointed to lowermortgage rates to explain their positiveoutlook. Most people surveyed agreed therates will continue to be relatively low forthe foreseeable future.

Data was collected via an online sur-

vey from Jan. 12-21, 2015, with the helpof The Five Star Institute. It was distrib-uted to a diverse group of mortgageindustry leaders. The mortgage and hous-ing professionals surveyed represent var-ious originators, lenders, servicers andother industry participants.

FHA Issues ReverseMortgage ForeclosureSolution Policy

The FederalHousing Admin-istration (FHA)has issued Mort-gagee Letter2015-03 under

its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage(HECM) Program giving FHA-approved

lenders the option to delay callingHECMs with eligible ‘non-borrowingspouses’ due and payable. A delaywould postpone foreclosure normallytriggered by the death of the last surviv-ing borrower. FHA’s new guidance willallow reverse mortgage lenders toassign eligible HECMs to HUD upon thedeath of the last surviving borrowingspouse, thereby allowing eligible surviv-ing spouses the opportunity to remainin the home despite their non-borrow-ing status.

Last year, FHA amended its HECMpolicies to allow for the deferral of fore-closure, or ‘due and payable status’ forcertain Eligible Non-Borrowing Spousesfor case numbers assigned on or afterAug. 4, 2014. Today’s action allows

lenders to offer similar treatment foreligible HECMs and Eligible Non-Borrowing Spouses with FHA case num-bers issued before Aug. 4, 2014.

Under the FHA’s new policy, lenderswill be allowed to pursue claim paymentsfor HECMs with Eligible Surviving Non-Borrowing Spouses and Case Numbersassigned before Aug. 4, 2014 by: Allowingclaim payment following sale of the prop-erty by heirs or estate; foreclosing inaccordance with the terms of the mort-gage, and filing an insurance claim underthe FHA insurance contract as endorsed;or electing to assign the HECM to HUDupon the death of the last surviving bor-rower, where the HECM would not other-

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wise be assignable to FHA.By electing the Mortgagee Optional

Election Assignment, lenders will be per-mitted to modify their FHA mortgageinsurance contracts to permit assignmentof an eligible HECM to HUD despite theHECM being eligible to be called due andpayable as a result of the death of the lastsurviving borrower.

Pending Home Sales Slow in December

Despite interest rates being at their lowestlevel of 2014, pending home sales cooledin December, but remained above year-over-year levels for the fourth consecutivemonth, according to the NationalAssociation of Realtors (NAR). All majorregions experienced declines in December.The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), aforward-looking indicator based on con-tract signings, decreased 3.7 percent to100.7 in December from a slightly down-wardly revised 104.6 in November, but is6.1 percent above December 2013 (94.9).Despite last month¹s decline (the largestsince December 2013 at 5.8 percent), theindex experienced its highest year-over-year gain since June 2013 (11.7 percent).

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist,says fewer homes available for sale and aslight acceleration in prices likely led toDecember¹s decline in contract signings.

“Total inventory fell in December forthe first time in 16 months, resulting infewer choices for buyers and a modestuptick in price growth in markets through-out the country,” Yun said. “With interestrates at lows not seen since early 2013, thestrength in existing-sales in upcomingmonths will largely depend on the willing-ness of current homeowners to realizetheir equity gains from the past coupleyears and trade up. More jobs, increasingconsumer confidence, less expensivemortgage insurance and new low downpayment programs coming into the mar-ketplace will likely lead to more demandfrom first-time buyers.”

The PHSI in the Northeast experiencedthe largest decline, dropping 7.5 percentto 82.1 in December, but is still 6.3 percentabove a year ago. In the Midwest, theindex decreased 2.8 percent to 97.1 inDecember, but is 1.9 percent aboveDecember 2013. Pending home sales inthe South declined 2.6 percent to an indexof 116.6 in December, but are 8.6 percentabove last December. The PHSI in the Westfell 4.6 percent in December to 94.0, but is6.3 percent above a year ago.

Total existing-homes sales in 2015 areforecast to be around 5.26 million, anincrease of 6.6 percent from 2014. Thenational median existing-home price forall of this year is expected to increasebetween four and five percent. In 2014,

existing-home sales declined 3.1 percentand prices rose 5.8 percent.

Discover Home Loans Poll:Technology Has Improvedthe Homebuying Process

With interestrates still com-paratively lowand the 2015homebuy ingseason about to

begin, many buyers are turning to tech-nology to make the homebuying processeasier. A poll commissioned by DiscoverHome Loans found that nine out of 10 sur-vey respondents used some sort of onlinetechnology to help them with the homefinancing process. Eighty-one percent saidthat technology made it easier to sharefinancial information with their lenderand 69 percent said it helped them keeptrack of important financial documents.

Thirty-six percent of homebuyers saidthat completing the entire financingprocess online with no phone calls or in-person meetings would make the processeasier. However, the majority still preferto have a relationship with their mortgagebanker:l Nearly all homebuyers surveyed com-

municated with their lenders byphone, 94 percent, or email, 88 per-cent, while 67 percent of respondentsmet in person.

l Among those who used electroniccommunications, 68 percent felt itmade it easier to work with theirlenders.

l More than half, 54 percent, filled outtheir mortgage application online.“As technology continues to become an

integral part of our daily lives, it’s only nat-ural that buyers also use it to make thehome financing process easier,” said TJFreeborn, senior manager of customerexperience at Discover Home Loans. “Notonly are homebuyers using the Internet tolook at homes and neighborhoods,they’re also using it to submit documentsand complete applications online.”

Four out of five homebuyers submit-ted documents electronically to a lender,real estate agent or at closing. Of those,nine out of 10 say it was easy to do andsaved time. Also, recent homebuyers feltsecure submitting documents virtually.Eighty-six percent felt comfortable shar-ing personal and financial informationelectronically with their lenders.

Homebuyers who used online tools tosubmit documents said it saved time (92percent), helped them stay organized (83percent), and cut down on paperwork (68percent).l More than 70 percent of homebuyers

submitted lender documents throughe-mail, an app or a Web site.

l Almost half, 47 percent, were pre-qualified for a mortgage through alender’s site.

continued on page 33SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

We all want quality leads right? Why is it so hard to find them? Its hightide again on FHA streamlines and now is the best possible time to capi-talize. Here’s what top companies around the country are doing to closeFHA streamlines with the new guidelines in place.

With as much as 97 percent of the population on the Do-Not-Call List,it’s becoming increasingly difficult to generate leads via telephone. Until2013, telemarketing was a major contributor to the mortgage industry.Telemarketing was used to generate interest and also to verify leads andensure accuracy. With the new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)guidelines in effect since 2013, telemarketing is much less cost-effective,and in some cases, it’s even illegal.

Internet leads are losing their luster. Somehow it’s become almostimpossible to find an Internet lead that will close any higher than fiveto 10 percent. Even if you are paying for premium leads, there’s a goodchance they are being generated or sold by a company that’s also a li-censed originator. It’s no wonder they don’t work as well as they usedto. You used to buy them from lead generators. Now you’re buyingthem from direct competitors.

So here’s the tip that all the nation’s leading marketers don’t want youto know: Direct mail and trigger leads are working better than ever. Goback to direct marketing and you’ll close more loans. Send a letter toeveryone that matches the new guidelines for the new FHA streamlinesand call the small percentage of them that still allow it. One hundredphone calls will produce at least one closed loan on the books. One thou-sand letters will produce at least one closed loan on the books. Get thedata, decide how you want to market to it, and get to work. Companiesstarted marketing for the new FHA guidelines before the new guidelineswere even announced. So if you’re just getting back into it, hurry up.There’s plenty of business to be had. Make sure your marketing directorknows the right qualifications you need and let them go to work for you!

TagQuest Inc. customer spotlight … Zack M., a Nevada mortgagelenderEach month, we talk with our clients to see how their campaigns are per-forming. Here’s what we heard from Zack M., a Nevada mortgage lender.

l Marketing method: Direct maill Volume: 14,000 pieces dropped bi-weeklyl Results: 0.85 percent response rate (30 percent application rate on in-

bound calls)

Highlights of the campaign that work well for you“Ease of the process. Everything from ordering to taking calls takes littleeffort on my part. Even the free tracking helps ease the time trackingdown information. It has been that way for two years now.”

Highlights of the campaign that you think might appeal to others inyour industry“One-stop shopping with proven results. Would recommend this to any-one.”

Based in Medford, Ore., TagQuest Inc. is a full-service marketing firm devel-oped throughout the ever-changing mortgage industry. Utilizing industryknowledge, marketing expertise, and technology we implement any or allaspects of your marketing and/or advertising campaigns. With a proventrack record, more than 10 years in business, and decades of experienceTagQuest knows what it takes to produce unprecedented results in today’sfast-paced mortgage environment. For more information, call (888) 717-8980 or visit www.tagquest.com.

Marketing for FHA-MIP-REMOVAL

� nmp news flashcontinued from page 15

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By K. Justin Restaino

Over and over again, we hear about the importance of greatleadership. But what does this mean exactly? It seems thatsuccessful leadership is often difficult to characterize. How-ever, more often than not, one key trait that great leaders

have is the ability to engage effectively with their team members. Ifyou’re a team leader who would like to improve in this regard, try thefollowing:

1. Regularly communicateMake an effort to touch base with every member of your team on a reg-ular basis. In doing so, you’ll be able to nip problems in the bud quickly,foster stronger relationships, and keep your team members aligned withyour strategic goals.

2. Offer feedbackWhile feedback in an annual performance review is useful, don’t makethe end of the year the only time you discuss performance issues withyour team. For example, if someone surpasses his or her sales goals, ac-knowledge their success. Likewise, if you have a team member who couldhave handled a sale better, provide them with constructive criticism. Byproviding regular feedback, you’ll coach your team to greater victories.Also, you’ll be able to prevent the fallout that typically occurs when aweakness is addressed for the first time in an annual review.

3. Foster camaraderieAvoid creating a competitive, cutthroat environment. While you want thepeople working for you to be highly motivated, you don’t want to createunpleasant working conditions that lead team members to undermineeach other. Instead, focus on achieving a common vision through sup-portive behavior.

4. Value all of your team membersNot only do you want to value your top performers, but you also want torecognize the contributions of newcomers and administrative staff—thesepeople have much to contribute to the organization. And when they feelappreciated, they’re far more likely to try to help you achieve your strate-gic vision.

When you’re trying to lead your team to higher sales, it’s important toeffectively engage with your team members by communicating often, pro-viding valuable feedback, fostering a supportive environment, and appre-ciating others. In doing so, your mortgage sales team will unite aroundits goals and experience even greater success.

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

Lead Your Mortgage Sales Team to Greater Success

�

and universities the chance to learnfrom real estate finance industryexperts, network with leading organiza-tions, and access the latest industryinformation, job boards, career events,and educational offerings with an MBAStudent Membership. Qualified appli-cants from diverse backgrounds will beable to apply for a $250 educationalscholarship through MBA Education’sspecial Career Connections ScholarshipProgram.

Keep Launches toManage Post-ClosingMarketing

Keep, a newpost-close mar-keting tool forreal estate andlending profes-sionals, has

launched, providing a unique automat-ed solution for keeping in touch withclients after they close on their homepurchase. Keep provides homeownersregular financial updates about theirhomes and mortgages. This allows thehomeowners to make the best decisionsabout refinancing or selling. Keep alsohelps real estate professionals to cap-ture repeat business by notifying themwhen their clients may be back in themarket.

“One of the biggest missed opportu-nities for real estate and mortgage pro-fessionals is getting repeat business andreferrals from past clients,” said RobertReich, founder and chief executive offi-cer of Keep. “Traditional post-closemarketing doesn’t garner effective loy-alty or notify the professional whentheir client is ready to act. Keep pro-vides those professionals with an ele-gant solution.”

Keep generates and sends reports tohomeowners including valuable dataabout their home value, equity, mort-gage balance and interest rate, andrecent sales in their neighborhood.Keep data is easy to read and under-stand, presenting information thatevery homeowner needs to know.

Each e-mail is branded to the realestate professional in an effort todemonstrate a professional brand aswell as helping him or her to stay top ofmind for future transactions and refer-rals. In addition, Keep uses behaviortracking technology to give valuableinformation back to the real estate pro-fessional.

“Keep provides the only automatedpost-close marketing for the real estateand mortgage industries that is basedon custom data tailored specifically foreach recipient,” said Reich. “This notonly helps your past clients rememberyou for next time, but also helpsincrease referrals to others. What’s dif-ferent about Keep is the custom datathat makes for relevant content everytime, substantially increasing the odds

your client will open the email andappreciate you for sending it.”

Arch MI Set to LaunchArch Mortgage Guaranty

Arch MI, Arch Capital Group Ltd.’s U.S.mortgage insurance (MI) operation, hasannounced the launch of ArchMortgage Guaranty Company (AMG), amortgage insurance company specifi-cally created for mortgage loans thatoriginators intend to retain in theirportfolios or include in private securiti-zations. AMG has been issued a newinsurance financial strength (IFS) ratingof ‘A3’ by Moody’s Investors Service,representing their highest IFS ratingwithin the U.S. mortgage insuranceindustry.

“Arch MI is very pleased to announcethe launch of our newest mortgagecredit enhancement solution, ArchMortgage Guaranty, and its ‘A3’ IFS rat-ing from Moody’s Investors Service,”said David Gansberg, president andchief executive officer of Arch MI. “ArchMI continues to provide unique andinnovative mortgage insurance solu-tions to our customers, including thefirst and only master policy offering‘Day 1’ rescission relief. AMG providesyet another solution to support our cus-tomers’ product expansion in today’sevolving mortgage marketplace andpositions us to support our customers’goals of expanding homeownershipopportunities.”

AMG is a separately capitalizedentity and not subject to GSE require-ments. AMG is uniquely positioned toinsure various types of prime, stan-dard and non-standard mortgages,including jumbo, non-qualified mort-gage (QM) and portfolio mortgages onan individual, bulk, or pool basis.With AMG’s highest Moody’s IFS ratingin the U.S. mortgage insurance indus-try, its unique master policy offeringthe opportunity for ‘Day 1’ rescissionrelief without the need for the bor-rower to make 12 consecutive pay-ments, and the ability to insure a widerange of mortgages, Arch MI bringsanother superior and innovative valueproposition to the mortgage insurancemarketplace.

Zillow Set to LaunchZillow Pro for BrokersPlus

Zillow Inc. hasannounced thatthe Zillow Pro

for Brokers program will be launching anew version in 2015: Zillow Pro forBrokers Plus. Brokerages that sendZillow their listings directly will be able

new to marketcontinued from page 12

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Jumbo Loans to $2.5 Million

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Last month was a blur ofactivity for me. There wasso much regulatory andindustry action that oftenI had to juggle a confer-ence call with an industry

affiliate or member at the same time.I’m not complaining. I’m glad peopleare realizing how important NAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals is to their livelihood and

to the industry in general, even to oureconomy. I write many articles, moder-ate LinkedIn and am editor of “NewsFrom NAMB.” Last week alone, I didinterviews with The Wall Street Journal,The New York Times and other majornews outlets. NAMB is on the forefront,supporting you tirelessly.

The only part that confuses me iswhen I get an e-mail or call telling mehow NAMB should work on this or that.

The person is full of opinions and ideasthat often have a lot of merit. Then, Ilook on the NAMB membership rosterand find that person isn’t even a mem-ber of the association. How silly is that?NAMB membership is so cheap thateveryone in the mortgage businessshould be a member.

We need membership to supportNAMB financially, but membershipmeans much more than that. When we goto Congress, they always ask how manymembers NAMB has. While our member-ship is currently in the thousands, thereare more than 100,000 licensed origina-tors in the United States alone. If every-

one became a member of NAMB, wecould easily level the playing field.

If you already are a member, I thankyou. Please go out and recruit somenew members so we can truly serve youbetter. If you are not a member, thereis no better time than now to go towww.namb.org and become one today.

John Councilman, CMC, CRMSNAMB Presidentpresident@namb.orgwww.joinnamb.com

The President’s Corner: February 2015

N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

Why Do I NeedNAMB?

l NAMB Testifies Before Congress

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.

In all of my years withNAMB, I have probablywritten 70-plus articlesfor you in the pages ofNational Mortgage Pro-fessional Magazine. Cal-

culate that along with my 52 issues ayear of The Monday Morning Messengerand I got to believe that is way over 300written articles. So trying to come upwith something for all of you I justwanted to again maybe fill you in withsome information and get you to thinkabout what all of the Board Members ofNAMB are doing for you.

The amount of hours that yourGovernment Affairs team is putting inon behalf of the industry is overwhelm-ing. And the one item that you need to

know is that they are really smart peo-ple. Rick Bettencourt, your GovernmentAffairs Committee chair and Fred Kregerand Valerie Saunders, your GovernmentAffairs Committee vice chairs, are intel-ligent, creative, forward-thinkers andvery much into their positions. Theywork very tedious hours for you, theNAMB member. They want to makesure that you, the member, are fullyaware and fully informed about what isgoing on in Washington, D.C.

You have Kay Cleland, theMembership Committee chair that eats,drinks, sleeps and promotes NAMBevery minute of every day. She goesover and beyond her normal duties tomake sure that you, the member, areaware of all of the membership benefits

that are available to you. She workswith these companies to make sure thatyou, the member, can use these compa-nies to make your life better and easier.

You can also say that NAMB+ is run-ning very smoothly and that is becauseNAMB+ President John Stevens is outthere with his Board trying to get com-panies to offer you and your companiesprograms and benefits to be successful.His Board consists of NAMB BoardMembers Don Frommeyer, LindaHudson, Fred Kreger, and NAMB+Committee members Nathan Pierce,George Burkley, Laurie Christiansen,Kelly Hamilton and Joel Berman (fromNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine). They are joined by theNAMB Legal Council Ryan Riesterer.They are always looking for companiesthat can offer products and servicesthat can make your life easier andmore productive.

To complete the people on theNAMB Board of Directors, you havePresident-Elect Rocke Andrews, whoalso serves as NAMB EducationCommittee chair; Andy W. Harris, who isyour Treasurer and the By-LawsCommittee chair; you have OlgaKucerak, NAMB director who also helpschair the Legislative Conference andserves on four other NAMB committees;Linda McCoy, who is heavily involved asa regional vice chair for theMembership Committee and serves onthree other NAMB committees; JohnHudson, NAMB director, who serves ontwo committees and is theCommunication Committee chair;David Luna, who serves as NAMBEducation Committee vice chair and onthree other committees.

The final board member who keepsit all together is John Councilman, yourNAMB president. He has replaced me insome of the travels that I did the lastfew years and he has kept quite busy.One of the things that most don’t real-ize is that as president of NAMB , youare also your own secretary. All of theagendas, writing articles, returningphone calls and written e-mails are

tasks performed by you. So we truly arean all-volunteer association.

Now I have given you all of theboard members, but to be very truth-ful, they all do more than I have toldyou. This is just a general review ofeach of them so you can get to realizewho they are and what they generallydo. When I was NAMB president, Iprobably worked 40 hours a weekdoing my real paying job and another40-50 per week as NAMB president. Soit takes dedication to do this.

I have to tell you that I have beenon the NAMB Board for eight yearsand I still feel that this has been oneof the most rewarding and excitingtimes in my life. The people who youget to know, to see, to listen to, to talkwith … is just fantastic. And I havemade friends and more friends inthese travels across the NAMB nation.When I travel to different cities, I getcalls from people who I have met thatwant to know “Can you give me fiveminutes and have a cup of coffee?” Itis truly a great experience and I prom-ise you that I would not have traded itfor $1 million.

I will be continuing to travel thisyear, but not as much. I will be inTexas, Utah and New Orleans, just toname a few of the destinations. If youare attending any events in thesecities, please reach out and we canhave some coffee or libation. Butremember, as chief executive officerof NAMB, I am here for you. Don’t hes-itate to reach out and let me knowwhat is on your mind.

And one last thing, please joinNAMB. The cost is minimal and you doget so much more. Visit www.join-namb.com to join today.

And if you are a member, thanksfor being a member, and if you arenot a member, please join today!

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS is chiefexecutive officer for NAMB—TheAssociation of Mortgage Professional.He may be reached by e-mail atnamb.ceo@namb.org.

A Message From NAMB CEODonald J. Frommeyer

The CEO Perspective

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N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

By Linda McCoy,CRMS

This year, I have the goodfortune of serving on theNAMB Industry Partners

Committee, along with several othercommittees. This is one of the mostimportant programs that NAMB has.Without Industry Partners, we couldnot survive. Since I joined NAMB manyyears ago, I have gotten involved a little

more every year. I was thinking abouthow you can join a trade group becauseyou want to learn more about your pro-fession and then before you know it,you are helping to make decisions inthe organization. How did that happen?Most people do not start out knowingwhat they need to do when they accepta “Would you like to help question?”You have to learn from experience.

Membership fees provide a smallportion of the funds needed to repre-

sent our industry. Industry Partners arecompanies that are vital to NAMB beingable to fund programs such as theLegislative & Regulatory Conference,our Summits, national conventions,regional conferences, education eventsand just keeping our organization mov-ing in the right direction.

By partnering with NAMB, you helpto bring lenders, originators and serviceproviders together forming a strong vis-ible representation for our industry.You should become an IndustryPartner, putting your company’s faceand voice at the forefront of all NAMBevents. NAMB is getting more and morevisible every day. Would you like to

help? Partner with NAMB!Go to the www.namb.org Web site

under the “Industry Partners” Tab. Takea look at the levels of partnershipoffered by NAMB and choose which oneyou feel would be right for your compa-ny. We would love to have a DoubleDiamond Partner this year. Call me at(251) 650-0805 for more information.

Linda McCoy, CRMS is broker/owner ofMortgage Team 1 Inc. in Mobile, Ala., amember of the NAMB Board of Directorsand serves as NAMB Industry PartnersCommittee co-chair. She may be reachedby phone at (251) 650-0805 or e-maillinda@mortgageteam1.com.

NAMB’s Industry Partner Program

By Rocke Andrews,CMC, CRMS

The new year’s DelegateCouncil kicks off with aconference call meeting

Friday, March 6 at noon EST. As areminder per the NAMB Policies andProcedures, the Delegate Council is thebody responsible for representing andbeing a forum for expressing and real-izing regional interests and concerns.The Delegate Council amends the

Bylaws, determines the membershipdues, nominates officers and directorsto the Board of Directors and adoptsrules and procedures for the conduct ofits business not otherwise in conflictwith the Bylaws or Board policies.

Each state and/or regional chaptershall appoint two delegates who must bemembers in good standing of NAMB. So ifyour state has not designated their repre-sentatives yet now is a good time to dothat, and notify NAMB and me of theirnames. If you or your state affiliate has

any agenda items, please forward themto me. As president-elect of NAMB, I willchair the Delegate Council Meeting.

This teleconference meeting is to getall updated and prepped for the face-to-face meeting in Washington, D.C. atthe Legislative Conference, April 11-14.Depending on need, we may haveanother teleconference between theLegislative Conference and NAMBNational, which is scheduled at theLuxor in Las Vegas, Oct. 17-19.

The Delegate Council serves as thecommunication device between NAMB’snational Board of Directors and mem-bership at the state level. Please getyour delegates ready and start makingyour air reservations now before the

cost goes up. Upon registration for theevent, you will receive a link to receivespecial pricing in the hotel rooms at thenew Hyatt Place Hotel in Washington,D.C. right next to our friends at theConsumer Financial Protection Bureau(CFPB).

We look forward to seeing all of youin D.C., as well as hearing each other onthe upcoming conference call. My e-mail is randrews@lendingarizona.net.

Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS of LendingArizona LLC in Tucson, Ariz. is president-elect of NAMB—The Association ofMortgage Professionals. He may bereached by phone at (520) 886-7283 or e-mail randrews@lendingarizona.net.

NAMB’s Delegate Council:Goals for 2015

By John H.P.Hudson, CRMS

In case you did not know,the word “Communicate”has a Latin derivative

meaning “To share.” And as I sit herewriting this article about the mortgageindustry and the current state of thehousing market, I cannot help butthink about the importance of theword, its roots, and how different themortgage world would look if we did abetter job of communicating.

This April, mortgage professionalsfrom all around the country willdescend upon Washington, D.C. withone goal … to communicate withtheir representatives about the hous-ing issues and regulatory burdenswhich have a profound impact onconsumers access to affordable cred-it, the ability for small businesses toremain intact in their communities,and the overall health of the econo-

my. In order for these delegates of themortgage industry to be effective, thecommunication must be both direc-tions. At this point, you might be ask-ing, “What is John rambling about?”Well, here it goes. As CommunicationsCommittee chair for NAMB—TheAssociation of Mortgage Professionals,I am enlisting your help to join meand our delegates in Washington asCommunication Committee co-chairs.As a co-chair, you are responsible forhelping NAMB spread the messageabout the state of the housing market,the impact of regulatory overload onconsumers and small businesses, andthe perception that those Washington,D.C. does not hear our voices. You canhelp us and your livelihood by reach-ing out to your colleagues and insist-ing that they join their trade associa-tion and support their PAC. You canreach out to your housing industrycolleagues in the real estate or home-building communities and make them

aware of the changes taking place andthe impact they will have on con-sumers access to credit. Most impor-tantly, you can call you representa-tives in Washington, D.C. and makesure they are aware of the unintendedconsequences taking shape across thiscountry. Two, out of the three tasks,are completely free but be for a mini-mum few minutes of your busy day.

NAMB’s advocacy has been effec-tive over the years because our mem-bers get involved. NAMB members areleaders within the mortgage businessbecause of their experience andexpertise. They are widely regarded asleaders within their communitiesbecause they recognize the impor-tance of getting involved and makinga difference. In order for NAMB tocontinue to be an effective advocatefor mortgage brokers and mortgageprofessionals, you must participate inthe political process.

Communication works when allparties are listening. And in the wakeof the current economic conditions inthe U.S., all parties these days should

be listening. Let your voice and thevoice of millions of Americans hopingto participate in the dream of home-ownership be heard. As co-chairs ofNAMB’s Communication Committee, Ihope you will follow the lead of yourtrade association, NAMB, and spreadthe messages we carry forward sup-porting consumer choice, the preser-vation of and promotion of home-ownership and small business mort-gage professionals.

If you are a member of NAMB,thank you for your support. If you area future member of NAMB, we look-ing forward to working with you toprotect and promote your profession.

John H.P. Hudson is a retail and whole-sale production manager for PremierNationwide Lending and serves NAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals as a member of the Boardof Directors and CommunicationsCommittee chair. He may be reached byphone at (817) 247-4766, e-mail jhud-son@pnlending.com or follow him onTwitter at @premier_hudson.

Let Your Voice Be Heard

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By JohnCouncilman, CMC,CRMS

Recently, the ConsumerFinancial Protection

Bureau (CFPB) put together a group oftools for consumers to be better informedabout shopping for mortgages. As part ofits Dodd-Frank charge, the CFPB isrequired to educate consumers on finan-cial decisions. Better educating con-sumers is a noble goal that no one shouldoppose. However, a question arises as towhen the consumer is being educatedand when the consumer is being led. Ibelieve one of the consumer tools, theRate Checker, leads consumers to adesired price rather than merely inform-ing them. Let’s explore why that is my con-clusion.

The Rate Checker is supposed toinform consumers what interest rate is“normally” being offered to borrowerswith similar characteristics. The tool asksthe state, loan amount, loan term, loantype, property value and credit score. Itthen spits out an interest rate. Hardly rev-olutionary. The first problem arises with

the interest rate presented. Along with therate, one would expect to see an APR orclosing costs. Numerous other sites pro-vide far better information in this area.Any site that quoted rates and failed togive an APR would be severely fined by theCFPB. That is because anyone can quoteany rate if it is absent closing costs. I couldgive a person a zero percent rate if theypaid sufficient fees. As I have said publiclybefore, this alone renders the RateChecker useless as a consumer tool.

But there are more problems with theRate Checker. It states that it only usesrates from large banks, regional banks andcredit unions. Interestingly, they neglectedsmaller banks. Why is that a problem?Because it automatically presumes banksare the most reliable sources of mortgagequotes. How dare non-banks intrude intothe world of lending when there aredepository institutions doing that? Theyforget that sometimes non-banks offerbetter rates, lower costs, more flexible cri-teria, faster turn times, more personalservice, and on and on. Then, as a slam tomortgage brokers, they proudly assert thatthese are rates offered by “actual lenders.”I presume that means you can rely on

these rates, but not those offered by bro-kers. All of this without a shred of evidencethat banks are a more reliable source.

The CFPB presumes that all desirableloans are generally going to be sold tosome government-backed entity, such asFannie Mae. The Rate Checker only fits theGSE/FHA paradigm and pushes peopleeffectively in that direction by focusing ona government-guaranteed rate. This is anattempt to mold public opinion in such away that rate is the only focus. Many peo-ple would gladly take a higher rate with aloan that would meet their needs and per-haps escape the mindless underwritingprocess we have at the moment. We canbe certain these loans will not developwith the official “CFPB stamp” of what ratethe borrower should have gotten sinceregulators, courts and even the CFPB itselfwill view (and does view) everythingthrough a GSE prism.

One aspect that has been overlookedby every article I have read so far is howInforma powers the Rate Checker. Peoplehave mentioned Informa, but it appearsnone are aware of how Informa works. Ihave used it and understand it. First,Informa is an advertising medium. It isstructured to bring borrowers to your busi-ness. You load in parameters that allowyour company to quote rates based on abase criteria. They key to using Informasuccessfully is to observe your competitionand target a niche in the marketplace thatis not being pushed by other companies.For example, you may want more FHAloans with a high credit score this monthto make certain your NeighborhoodWatch ratio is where it needs to be. So, youwould price FHA loans with a 720-pluscredit score below market. On the otherhand, you may not want FHA loans with ascore below 720 so you will price theseover market. This will skew the average forthese loans in Informa that would bereported to the CFPB. There is no way forInforma to know other important criteriayou may have or how many loans areactually being done at that rate. To use anadvertising media, such as Informa, toadvise consumers of what is happening inthe market is misleading and inappropri-ate. This is an advertising tool and no onecan be certain if consumers are actuallyreceiving these rates. The CFPB does notguarantee the accuracy of the RateChecker nor could it. Let’s call it what it is,advertising, and essentially illegal adver-tising by any normal standard. To pretendthat this is something consumers can relyupon is highly misleading.

Consumers could be harmed even ifthe rates accurately reflected the market.A borrower could look at a four percentaverage rate for their criteria and acceptthe first four percent offer, not realizingthat a mortgage broker could have gottenthem 3.5 percent. On the converse, anoth-er borrower could turn down 4.5 percent,thinking it was too high, find an unin-formed originator or Internet portal that

would offer four percent, only to find itwas really not applicable to their situa-tion. They may have to start over with theoriginal lender who accurately quotedthem while the seller decides they haveanother buyer, causing them to lose theirdream house.

Another issue associated with all of theCFPB consumer tools is the question ofwhether we really need them or they area waste of taxpayer money. Since the con-sumer must go to the CFPB Web site tofind these tools, they have access to hun-dreds of sites that are as good or betterthan the CFPB’s site. In the area of rateand fees, all of them are better. Could themoney being spent on tools such as thesebe better spent on more counseling andseminars? Uninformed consumers oftendon’t use the Internet. Those who do areunlikely to search out these tools or theywould already be informed.

It appears the CFPB thinks borrowersdon’t shop enough and therefore pay toomuch for their mortgage. If the CFPBthinks borrowers are at risk when dealingwith trusted referrals, what do they thinkwill happen when they send them outsearching the Internet for a rate that maynot even be accurately represented? Whathappened to the days when you did busi-ness with companies you trusted? We builta great country that way. Our businesseshave thrived on “consumer loyalty.” I, forone, think it is still a great idea.Apparently, a lot of other people feel thesame way. They value a company they cantrust, good service and an appropriateproduct more than an 1/8th or 1/4th inrate and the possibility that they will betaken in by someone they don’t know.You can always find someone with acheaper product. Rarely is cheaper better.

It sets a bad precedent for a govern-ment agency to start advising consumerswhat the appropriate price is for any com-modity. Is the next step to advise howmuch to pay for a car, insurance, a poundof ground beef? Where does it end? Thistype of mentality harms companies thatoffer a superior product or service byimplying the government has done yourshopping for you and it is all about price.

With all of the potential for harmfound in the Rate Checker and perhapsother government consumer tools, who isto protect the consumer from this sourceof misinformation? It appears Congressand even the executive branch may bepowerless to provide oversight. Everyoneneeds accountability. The Rate Checker isa prime example of why. It is time tostop leading consumers in the name ofeducation and take down the RateChecker.

John Councilman, CMC, CRMS of AMCMortgage Corporation in Ft. Myers, Fla. ispresident of NAMB—The Association ofMortgage Professionals. He may bereached by phone at (239) 267-2400 or e-mail jlc@amcmortgage.com.

A Deeper Dig on theCFPB’s Rate Checker

N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

Are You an NAMBLending Integrity Seal of

Approval Holder?(No additional costs to NAMB members)

How to Apply for your National LendingIntegrity Seal

www.lendingintegrity.orgClick on EARN the Seal

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

Lending Integrity RequirementsThe Lending Integrity Seal of Approval is awarded only to mort-gage originators who meet specific requirements. To earn theprivilege to display the Seal, mortgage brokers and loan offi-cers must:

l Be an NAMB memberl Meet the requirements of the SAFE Actl Pass a national criminal background checkl Attend eight hours (or equivalent) of professional development educa-

tion each yearl Attend two hours (or equivalent) of ethics training every other year or

each license renewal cyclel Provide professional referencesl Subscribe to NAMB’s Best Business Practicesl Agree to NAMB’s Code of Ethics l Must be renewed annually

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N A M B P E R S P E C T I V E

The Certification Committee of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Profes-sionalshas been very productive to date in 2014,obtaining many new loan officers who havereceived the Certified Mortgage Consultant(CMC), Certified Residential MortgageSpecialist (CRMS) and/or General MortgageAssociate (GMA) designations.

NAMB will continue to grow itsCertification Program, to enhance its valueto our designees, and fine-tune its structureand procedures. The goal of the NAMBCertification Committee is to raise the num-ber of certified mortgage professionals to1,000 by July 2015, and to launch a mar-keting campaign to both industry membersand the public at-large about the need toutilize a nationally designated mortgageprofessional.

For more information on NAMB’sCertification Program, contact NAMBCertification Committee member JohnStearns, CMC, CRMS by e-mail atjstearns@afmsi.com or call (262) 478-1154.

AlabamaLinda McCoy, CRMSPenny H. Phillips, CRMS

Arizona Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMSCal Carlson, CMC, CRMSBert Carpenter, CMC, CRMS, GMARandall E. Hotchkiss, CMCWilliam R. Howe, CMC, CRMSBrian Jacenko, CMCRoss Jameson, CMCGilda Kemp, CRMSGary G. Kiehlbaugh, CRMSHratch K. Panosian, CMCJoseph P. Paonessa, CMCMark L. Ross, CMC, CRMSGary N. Smith, CMC

Stanley Y. Wang, CMC, CRMSLinda M. Wright, CMC

ArkansasShane Lester, CMC, CRMS

California Fred Arnold, CMCMichael Dorr, CRMSGeorge L. Duarte, CMCJane Durant-Jones, CMCVirginia Ferguson, CMCLinda Fleischmann, CMCDean Henderson, CRMSAl Hensling, CMCPeaches Jensen, CMCFred Kreger, CMCJessica Lanning, CMC, CRMSJoshua Lewis, CMCC. Kent Miller, CMCJames O’Dea, CMCPeter Ogilvie, CMCNancy Osborne, CMC, CRMSDonald Petty, CMCRobert S. Schwab, CMCGuy Schwartz, CMCChristopher Taylor, CMCRichard Vujovich, CMCSusan Wingate, CMC

Colorado Kay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMSTarius L. Derritt, CRMSGary Salter, CMCMichael Thomas, CMC

ConnecticutDebra Killian, CRMSLisa Moriello, CMC, CRMSHector Rodriguez, CMCLou-Ann Smith, CRMS

District of ColumbiaDiane B. Cook, CRMS

Jan Hix, CMC

FloridaTillis Churchill, CRMSFrank Cicione, CMC, CRMSJohn L. Councilman, CMC, CRMSMatthew Daly, CRMSJoseph L. Falk, CMC, CRMSDan C. Longman, CRMSJulie Wheeler, CRMSKenneth Zorovich, CRMS

GeorgiaMichael Sean Collett, CRMSDeborah L. Switts, CMCFrank P Torch, CRMS

HawaiiDonna Dodd, CRMSPatricia K. Morimoto, CMCGlenn Takasato, CMCBarbara Welsh, CMC

IllinoisKenneth J. Amstutz, CMC, CRMSGilbert M. Antokal, CRMSBrian Augustine, CRMSLeticia Avina, CRMSJackie Bulava, CRMSAngelo Cusinato, CMC, CRMSTony Davis, CMC, CRMSJohn Dedes, CRMSDorothy P. Desmond, CMC, CRMSBrian Dixon, CRMSCharles E. Eck, CMCAdenike Fasanya, CMCCarol Gardner, CMC, CRMSJorge G. Gomez, CRMSScott T. Guzik, CMCRobert J. Kenney, CRMSSteven M. Levitt, CRMSRobert C. Moos, CMC, CRMSAndrew G. Palomo, CMC, CRMS

Terry Pogofsky, CRMSJudith Santefort-Frey, CRMSShelly Straim, CMCTory Tarsitano, CRMSPrince Williams, Jr., CRMS

IndianaFrank Andriole, CRMSDonald J. Frommeyer, CRMSRobert E. Sweeney, CRMS

IowaCharles D. Chedester, CRMS Kevin Kirsch, CRMSBrian E. Lampe, CMC, CRMS

KansasA.W. Pickel, III, CMCLynn Smith, CMC

KentuckyNicolas M. Ellis, CMC, CRMS

LouisianaMichael Anderson, CRMSTracy Lynn West, GMA

MaineElizabeth Monaghan, CMC

MarylandTheresa Amos, CRMSAdrian F. Citroni, CRMSJason Fox, CRMSEric D. Gates, CRMSPatricia McGill, CMCRick Rall, CMCCraig Strent, CRMSKen Venick, CMC

MassachusettsRichard M. Bettencourt, CRMSGeorge F. McLaughlin,III, CMC, CRMS

MichiganTimothy Baise, CMCChip Cummings, CMCEric Kistka, CMC, CRMSPava J. Leyrer, CMC, CRMS

MinnesotaJason Decker, CRMSChristopher Dueffert, CRMS

The NAMB Certification Program

General MortgageAssociate

Certified ResidentialMortgage Specialist

Certified MortgageConsultant

Hello NAMB members andother non-members whoplan to join after readingthis message. Yes, I’m talk-ing to you. If you are in themortgage industry, now is

the time to join your trade associationand get involved. Members shape thisassociation and the future of the mort-gage industry.

Why am I a member of NAMB? Well,for starters, NAMB is older than I am. Irespect that and they’ve been around for

over 40 years now, and I’ve seen what wecan do with combined efforts. We’re nowin a new industry going forward, and I’mpersonally “very” excited about it, but thenew generation needs to step up.

Listen, I have a lot of respect for thosethat have shaped and protected our tradeover the years, but many will be facingretirement soon and now is the time thenew generation gets involved. I urge manyof you to participate with your state chap-ters in committees and leadership, as wellas attending the NAMB events to under-

stand the benefits volunteering andawareness can provide to your businessand clients. So there you have it, join andbecome a member without needing a rea-son other than being in the business.

Remember, the “reason” is fullydependent on what you take from itand provide to it, not from what some-one tells you or needs to tell you.Excuses are boring.

Now moving onto the financials as yourNAMB treasurer. I am proud to say thatNAMB continues to show a comfortablesurplus each year and in setting our 2015-2016 budget this will continue. We’realways working on cutting expenses andadding value in areas that can benefitmembers in our non-profit trade associa-

tion. Financials have been simplified andorganized under my watch and as long asI am your Treasurer, I will continue to beclear and candid with financial trends. Asalways, feel free to reach out to me any-time if you’re a member. If you’re not,that’s okay because I know you’ll be amember now that you’re done readingthis. You’ll thank me later.

Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president andowner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based VantageMortgage Group Inc. and treasurer ofNAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals. He may be reached by phoneat (877) 496-0431, e-mail aharris@van-tagemortgagegroup.com or visit www.van-tagemortgagegroup.com.

A Message From NAMBTreasurer Andy W. Harris, CRMS

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Dear Mortgage Professional,For the past several months now I have used this space to urgeyou to check-out the special promos and discounts availablethrough NAMB+’s Endorsed Providers. I know that many ofyou are taking advantage of these money-saving offers al-ready, which is fantastic! However, I’m sure some of you arestill scratching your head wondering what exactly NAMB+ is

really all about. If you are not yet familiar with NAMB+, it is the wholly owned, for-profit,

marketing and communications subsidiary of NAMB, The Association of Mort-gage Professionals. NAMB+ was created by NAMB to explore business op-portunities that will deliver added value for NAMB Members, while allowingNAMB to continue to advance its core non-profit mission and maintain its po-sition as the preeminent trade association for mortgage professionals.

The NAMB+ Endorsed Provider program is just one way that NAMB+ isworking to help NAMB Members enhance and improve their businesses. TheNAMB+ has formed strategic relationships with product and service providers,

which have been carefully identified, considered and approved by the NAMB+Board of Directors and have demonstrated an interest in and a commitment tosupporting you as a mortgage professional and a member of NAMB.

If you have any questions about NAMB+ or the Endorsed Provider pro-gram, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to speak with you.Also, please do visit www.NAMBPlus.com and take advantage of one or moreof the valuable discounts and promotions available to you!

John G. Stevens, CRMS, PresidentNAMB+, Inc.John@JohnGStevens.comNAMBPlus.com

See below for a complete listing of the current NAMB+ EndorsedProviders and visit NAMBPlus.com for more information.

NAMBPLUS Login InstructionsUsername = 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 visitNAMB.org and join today to gain access

to NAMBPLUS.com and the many benefitsNAMB members receive!

Shannon Roepke, CRMSJayne B. Sims, CRMSJ.J. Sims, CRMS

MississippiRobert D. Capps, CRMSDaniel J. D’Amico, CRMSVickie S. Graves, CRMSKenneth A. McNeal, CRMS

MissouriAndrew Conner, CRMS

MontanaRni Arnett, CRMS, GMA Tavell Peete, CMC, CRMS

NebraskaBrent Rasmussen, CRMS

New HampshireMichael Loffredo, CMCPaul R. Sliker, CMC

New JerseyRichard L. Jarocki, CMC

New MexicoGinger Bell, CRMSWes Moore, CRMS

New YorkJim Barry, CMCDonald Henig, CMCSeth Rapport, CRMSJessica Schoen, CRMS

North CarolinaDonald E. Fader, CRMSNeill E. Fendly, CMCDavid M. Overcast, CRMSJeffrey Trout. CRMS

OhioKevin Ary, CRMSDennis Fisher, CMC, CRMSRobert Mahaffey, CRMSJim Nabors, II, CMC, CRMSErick A. Parker, CMC, CRMSDuy Vu, CRMSPhenon Walker, CRMS

OregonAndy Harris, CRMSMatt Jolivette, CMCTami Konkel, CRMSStephen C. Salveson, CRMSKerry L. Vasquez, CMC

PennsylvaniaWayne Angelo, CRMSMichael J. D’Alonzo, CMCGeorge Hanzimanolis, CRMSJames E. Martin, CMC, CRMSStephen M. Matthews, CRMSMark Mazzenga, CMCKevin McElwain, CMCDaniel Thierry, CRMSDeborah A. Webb, CMC

South CarolinaJames Taylor, CMC

Robin C. Morton, CRMSJim Pair, CMCWilliam Parker, CMC, CRMSJerry Rutledge, CMCApril Schummer, CRMSJeffrey Shealey, GMA

UtahDavid Luna, CRMSNathan Pirerce, CRMSJohn Stevens, CRMS

VirginiaBernice Brown, CRMS

N A M B P E R S P E C T I V ETennesseeSheila Lipman, CRMSBrian C. Short, CMC, CRMS, GMA

TexasHarry H. Dinham, CMCJohn H. Hudson, CRMSJolene Jaehne, GMAOlga Kucerak, CRMSKarl LeBlanc, CRMSHenry Lesmeister, CRMSStacy London, CMCTerry J. Morrow, CMC

Jason Crigler, CRMSRichard L. Gilbert, CRMSDavid E. Shelor, CRMS

WashingtonStephen Bozick, CMCEdward Irwin, CMCPatricia L. Naselow, CMC

West VirginiaMarc Savitt, CRMS

WisconsinJohn L. Stearns, CMC, CRMS

On Feb. 5, the mortgage industry got the sad news that longtime active member of the Pennsylvania Association of Mortgage Brokersand NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals Past President George Hanzimanolis of Bartonsville, Pa. passed away aftersuffering a heart attack at the age of 53. George is survived by his wife of 31 years, Kimberly; his son, James; and his parents, Jamesand Sharyn Hanzimanolis.

Over the years, George accomplished much locally and nationally, first with his involvement with the Pennsylvania Association ofMortgage Brokers, and his involvement on the national level with NAMB. He was honored by his industry peers both locally and national-ly with the honor of Broker of the Year for the state of Pennsylvania and was named Mortgage Broker of the Year by NAMB. His volunteerefforts grew from his time spent on the Board of Directors of PAMB, rising to the position of PAMB president, leading to a long-term tenureand involvement on the NAMB national Board of Directors, eventually leading to his taking the gavel of NAMB’s presidency.

“George was one of the great NAMB presidents,” said John Councilman, CMC, CRMS, current president of NAMB and president of AMCMortgage Corporation. “George fought tirelessly for mortgage brokers and originators. But more than that, he was a man with a big heart.It was never about George; it was always about NAMB, his friends or his clients.”

According to a write up in the Pocono Record, George first worked at The Spa, a family restaurant in Harrison, N.J., before moving toPennsylvania in the late 1980s. He built a successful business, Bankers First Mortgage Inc. of Tannersville, Pa., and was requested to speakabout ethics on the floor of the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., and on CNBC.

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS, chief executive officer of NAMB, recalled his time spent on the board of the association with George.“From my first day on the Board, George made me feel like an equal in the mortgage business and in serving on the Board,” said

Mortgage Industry Mournsthe Loss of NAMB Past President

George Hanzimanolis

B Y E R I C C . P E C K

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Frommeyer. “His compassion for theindustry and for the membership ofNAMB were always in the forefront ofwhat he accomplished in his term of hispresidency. His devotion to his family,especially his son, was evident from thefirst time that I met him. His genuinesmile was his introduction to you, andhe always listened to anything that youhad to say. I was honored to call himmy friend, and he will be greatlymissed.”

“George was a gentle giant that wasboth a great friend of mine and themortgage profession,” said Joel M.Berman, publisher of NationalMortgage Professional Magazine. “Hisleadership of NAMB as president stoodout, as he sacrificed both his businessand family to accomplish his agendafor the industry. When he was movingup the ladder to president at the NAMBAnnual Convention, he proudly broughtmany members of his family to share inthis moment. I also remember yearsago, after his presidency, he joinedmyself and my former partner, RussSickmen, to meet with a potentialNAMB Industry Partner. He drove 14hours round trip that day fromPennsylvania to Long Island, N.Y. forthat meeting. His passion for the mort-gage professional was second to none,and came across strong because he leftLong Island that day with a commit-ment for a new NAMB PlatinumIndustry Partner and a $100,000 pledgeto NAMB. He just wouldn’t take no foran answer. His smile and passion willbe missed, and I extend my deepestcondolences to his family at this time.”

George’s longtime friend from hishome state of Pennsylvania, Michael J.D’Alonzo, CMC of MB Financial Bank,NAMB 2010-2011 president, said,“George was an exceptional leader,mentor and friend. He was a selflessperson who constantly gave of himselfand asked for nothing in return. He wasan incredible advocate of the mortgageindustry, but an even bigger advocateof his family and friends. George wasbigger then life and he will be missed.”

In lieu of flowers, George’s family isrequesting that donations be made toBoy Scout Troop 85 of Bartonsville,Pa. He was a lifelong active memberof the Boy Scouts of America and anEagle Scout, and more recently, aScoutmaster for Troop 85 inBartonsville.

Harry H. Dinham, CMC, NAMB pastpresident and member of the associa-tion’s board under George’s presidency,said, “He was a good friend and a trueambassador for the mortgage industry.There were many things that he waspassionate about, but the ones thatstick with me most were his dedicationto his family, the Boy Scouts and help-ing families get their dream homes. Heused to talk about the consumers hehad helped like family because that’swhat they were to him. He will bemissed by all of those whose lives hetouched.”

“George deserves to be recognizedby every mortgage professional for his

enormous contributions to the mort-gage industry, his successful leader-ship of NAMB, and as a loving anddevoted husband, father and son whoalways put his family and friendsfirst,” said Russ Sickmen, former presi-dent of National Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine and longtime acquaintanceof George. “It is my privilege to havebeen able to call him a friend. I knowhe will be enormously missed bymyself and his family, friends and thethousands of individuals he hashelped throughout his personal andprofessional life. George was a truecommunity leader.”

“George served in many positionswith NAMB, but he should be remem-

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bered most for his willingness to listenand extend a helping hand to anyonewho needed it,” said Jim Nabors, NAMB2005-2006 president. “His generositywill be missed as much as his knowl-edge and love of our industry. I consid-ered George one of my closest friendsand hope that everyone will rememberhim for all he did and wanted to do tomake our industry a better place.Mostly, I want his son Jimmy to knowhow much his dad loved him and howhe was constantly in his father’s mind.No matter where we were at or what wewere doing, our sons always becamepart of our conversations. I’ll miss himgreatly.”

Donald E. Fader, CRMS of SMC Home

Finance in Kinston, N.C., 2012 NAMBNational Mortgage Professional of theYear and former director of NAMB,fondly remembered his first meetingwith George.

“My first memory of George was atthe 2002 NAMB Annual Convention inBaltimore,” said Fader. “At that time,he was bigger than life and wearingmultiple ribbons denoting awards,achievements and his involvement withNAMB. I served on the board during histerm as president and can only say thatour industry has lost a good friend anda tireless defender of the small inde-pendent mortgage professional. Hemade a difference. My thoughts andprayers are with his family.”

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Special correspondent toNational Mortgage Profes-sional Magazine, DaveSullivan, recently had theopportunity to sit down withTerry W. Clemans aboutchanges coming to the creditindustry. Terry is currently

the executive director of the NationalConsumer Reporting Association (NCRA), anational trade organization of consumerreporting agencies and associated profes-sionals that provide products and servicesto hundreds of thousands of creditgrantors, employers, landlords and alltypes of general businesses.

Headquartered in the Chicago suburbof Roselle, Ill., NCRA serves members in theU.S. and Puerto Rico. NCRA’s membershipincludes two of every three mortgage cred-it reporting agencies in the U.S. that canproduce a credit report that meets therequirements of Fannie Mae, Freddie Macand HUD for mortgage lending.Additionally, our members producereports for employment screening and ten-ant screening.

What does NCRA stand for and whatdoes the association symbolize? Whatis the association trying to accomplish?Clemans: We represent the housingconsumer reporting industry. Any timea consumer is obtaining housing,whether they are buying a home orrenting a home, the credit and back-ground report for the rental or thecredit report for the mortgage transac-tion is likely done by a member ofNCRA. About 80 percent of the mort-gage credit reporting agencies in theUnited States are members of NCRA.Additionally, we have some of thelargest resident screening companiesin the U.S. as members of the NCRA.NCRA members provide millions ofconsumer reports a month for thehousing industry.

How long has the association beenaround?Clemans: NCRA was founded in 1992.

How long have you been associatedwith NCRA? Clemans: Well in one form or another, Ihave been with the NCRA since it wasfounded. I was an owner of a consumerreporting agency when NCRA was found-ed, and was one of the 100 companiesthat were reached out to by a dozenindustry leaders who felt they neededtheir own industry voice back in 1992. Ibecame what was called a charter mem-ber, as one of 38 companies that said“Yes, we agree with that original dozen,”the steering committee members ofNCRA and the association’s first board ofdirectors, and here is $1,500 to seed thelaunch of the association.

I was a member for many years, servedon a couple different committees, includ-ing the board of directors. After selling mycompany in 1998 to Factual Data, I wasapproached by NCRA in 2000 to becomeexecutive director. I have been in thatposition since January of 2001.

I wanted to discuss some of the confu-sion over FICO 9. There has been a lotof talk about how FICO 9 is really goingto help people get a mortgage. I knowthe National Association of Realtors(NAR) has come out with a press releaseabout how great FICO 9 is going to befor people getting mortgages. I wantedto get your take on it and your expec-tations on where FICO 9 is.Clemans: I agree with the thoughts andinitial reactions about how FICO 9 willimprove things. I was listening to a pres-entation about FICO 9 by one of the FICOdevelopers at NCRA’s Conference recentlyin Palm Springs, Calif. There are somegreat features to FICO 9 similar to whatthe Vantage score’s most recent version.Unfortunately Dave, you are right in that

FICO 9 is not currently used in the mort-gage industry.

Actually, the announcement is alwaysleading, prior to the availability of thescore for use. FICO 9 is only now becom-ing available for a variety of lendingoptions and mortgage will likely be thelast industry to utilize FICO 9. The currentrequirements for mortgage scores fromFannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S.Department of Housing & UrbanDevelopment (HUD) are actually two gen-erations behind FICO 9. The requiredscore to be provided to mortgage lenderscurrently is almost 10-years-old, so histo-ry shows it is going to be a while beforeit’s in use, but there is hope.

One other thing about FICO 9 that I’mconcerned about is if people pay off acollection. That collection will nolonger impact a credit score, is thatcorrect? Medical collections in particu-lar have a lower impact on the FICO 9score. Do you think that people, forthat reason, will see FICO scores for themost part be higher than FICO 04scores across the board, over the entirepopulation, scores will be higher now? Clemans: I am sure some lenders aregoing to have some concerns about thatconversion however, if they look at theresearch that was done by Fair Isaac andremember that, it supports the sameresearch found by the people at VantageScore and the FICO changes are similar tothe newest Vantage Score model thatshould provide some relief to the con-cerns about this change. The researchfound that paid collections in general,and specifically paid medical collectionsreally had very little predictive value withregards to the consumer’s ability to repayother credit obligations. The conversionto a new score gets into a lot of other fac-tors of course due to scoring models beingvery complex. But the bottom line is theresearch showed there is less and less pre-

dictive value in collection accounts, espe-cially when it they are paid.

That is probably the most confusing partabout credit scoring for people who arecurrently going through the mortgageprocess. They feel like they need to payoff all the collections and hope thatthey’ll be improving the score, in reality,they wind up tanking their score initial-ly and then it recovers later and I thinkit’d be a great improvement.Clemans: Don’t forget “paid collections”are the ones that have the less predictivevalue. If the consumer still has unpaidcollections there is definitely a negativeimpact that will be factored into thescore due to that unpaid collection.

Sure, I think it is an improvement. Ihope that Fannie and Freddie eventu-ally move over to something moremodern. Clemans: There have been some greatmovements in that regard just recently,and even going back to November of lastyear. Very recently, there was aCongressional hearing with Mel Watt, thedirector of the Federal Housing FinanceAgency (FHFA). In that hearing, theDemocratic Senator from Oregon, JeffMerkley, who has been a longtime sup-ported the Medical Debt ResponsibilityAct, put a lot of pressure on Mr. Watt toget updated credit scores into use at theGSEs. The Medical Debt Responsibility Actis a bill that NCRA has supported in thelast three Congresses that is a very simpleone-page bill simply requires a medicalcollection to be removed entirety fromthe credit report within forty five daysafter payment.

Unfortunately, the bill is not going topass in this lame duck session ofCongress; however we are hoping it willbe back in the next Congress. There ismovement to rectify that scoring problemoutside of the bill as you can hear at the

An Interview With Terry W. Clemans, Executive Director

of the National Consumer Reporting AssociationBY DAVE SULLIVAN

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one hour and forty minute point of thehearing where Sen. Merkley really putsome heat on Director Watt about the oldscoring models that Fannie Mae andFreddie Mae are using. Since Mr. Watt isthe Director of the FHFA, the regulator forFannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he has a lotto say in regards to a matter like this.

I’m sure he did, that’s good news forconsumers and that’s all that we’re try-ing to do.Clemans: Yes, other good news recentlyis that the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau (CFPB) has weighed in on thistopic as well. The CFPB recently held afield hearing in Oklahoma City all aboutcollections, more specifically, the impactof medical collections on a consumer’scredit report. The CFPB has also beendoing research on this topic. The CFPB’sresearch found that 43 millionAmericans have had a negative impacton their credit report specifically due tomedical collections.

Fair Isaac spoke at the CFPB field hear-ing with similar information that they pre-sented at the NRCA Conference regardingthe loss of predictably value regarding theconsumers ability to repay debt based oncollections in general. Again, medical col-lections were especially lacking in valuewhen they are paid. This may be due tothe complex system in place within themedical billing industry today. Insurancecompanies and third-party billing compa-nies make this a very tedious process andthen the collections agencies can makethe billing process even more complexwhen they get the account. It is not a sim-ple system to work through, and there area lot of problems in this space.Unfortunately, a lot of people have beenharmed by it and that is why you see bothFair Isaac and Vantage score moving awayfrom using paid medical collections inparticular as they are just not very predic-tive to someone’s future ability to pay.

I have been through that too recently;we have had some hospital bills comein this year. I always pay them whenthey come in because I am so paranoidabout my credit score. It would be veryeasy to let those go, thinking they aregoing to be covered by insurance. Thenthe bills wind up not being covered orsome portion of them not being cov-ered by insurance. Even though collec-tion companies are required to contactyou 30 days prior to putting the collec-tion on your credit report. Many times,I know people miss those notifications.It is really unfortunate they have tosuffer the way that they do because ofa medical insurance glitch.Clemans: There are all kinds of horrorstories out there about that very issueand that is the reason why the CFPB hasissued a 53-page report recently on theirWeb site including a consumer advisoryabout medical collections. Most of theconversation at that field hearing inOklahoma City was specifically regardingthis topic. We are hopeful that this pres-sure from the CFPB and the instructionsthat were given to Mr. Watt by Sen.Merkley will help expedite a newer cred-

it scoring model into Fannie and Freddie.We are hopeful that this is going to createa situation where we will see FICO 9 orVantage Score put to use in the mortgageindustry much sooner rather than later.

I would love to say that this will hap-pen around the first quarter of 2015, inall honesty it might be closer to the firstof the year 2016 or 2017 rather than 2015considering we are still using scoring

models right now that are based off ofconsumer spending and payment pat-terns that are from prior to the 2008financial crisis of almost 10 years ago.Any modernization in this area would bean improvement.

Even moving to FICO 8 would havebeen a great improvement for as longas we have both been in the business,

I never thought Fannie or Freddiewould ever move off of FICO 04. Ifyou are saying it could be in a yearthat would be big for the mortgageindustry. That update would wind uphelping a lot of people and thatwould be wonderful, you mentionedVantage Score. I wanted to bringthem up they have been around for alittle while now and they have beentrying to get into the mortgage mar-ket and have been unsuccessful.Another scoring model that I thoughtwould never be used in the mortgageindustry but now you are saying theyare looking at that as well?Clemans: I believe they are, there have

“The current requirements for mortgage scoresfrom Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the

U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development(HUD) are actually two generations

behind FICO 9.”

continued on page 32

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Joy K. Gilpin

Today, the lending industry is abuzz with all the prepara-tions necessary to implement Integrated Disclosures underRESPA/TILA this coming August. As well we should be, afterall this is only going to change the way we’ve done business

for the last 30 years. That’s right, we are bidding farewell the old ways ofproviding a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and an initial Truth-in-Lending (TIL)as part of the application/initial disclosure process. So long are the daysof closing out transactions with a Final TIL and the HUD-1 SettlementStatement. Soon we’ll be moving to the new Loan Estimate and ClosingDisclosure, both hitting the scene on Aug. 1, 2015. And while there ismuch to discuss on the new Integrated Disclosure rules, that’s not whatwe’re discussing today. Instead, in the words of the late Paul Harvey, weare going to explore … the rest of the story. What do I mean? Think aboutevery single time or place your organization references one of the follow-ing in some written format:

l GFEl RESPAl TILAl HUD-1l Settlement Statement l Closing Statementl Initial Disclosuresl Or some variation of these terms

What sort of documents might be impacted? That’s an excellent ques-tion. Since my team is responsible for the authorship and maintenanceof about 40 compliance policy manuals (www.AllRegs.com) in the mort-gage lending space it is a question we’ve been asking early, and often, toensure we’re accurately addressing the needs of our clients and businesspartners. For all of us out there working hard to remain ahead of the curveand compliant, there’s more to do.

For example, we have identified that of our roughly 40 documents,nearly half reference the traditional RESPA/TILA requirements I mentionedabove. Think about that. Fifty percent of our material requires a touch inorder to adjust for Integrated Disclosures.

What does that mean to you? Well, I’m not sure, but I’m certain itmeans something.

For example, what about your training materials? Any references there?Job aids? Do they reference any of the terms listed above? What aboutyour form letters, or system guidance?

What about marketing materials or borrower education content? The point I’m trying to make is there is more to the process than just

taming the RESPA/TILA beast (ROAR)—which is a significant endeavor. It’sabout understanding and responding to the MANY rolling impacts theseregulatory changes present to us all. Set aside some time to review yourdocument libraries and find the language, references, and links that mightbe affected. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure—especiallywhen prescribed by an auditor.

Good luck and stay compliant.

Joy K. Gilpin is professional services manager with AllRegs. She may bereached by phone at (800) 848-4904.

RESPA/TILA Integration: The Rest of the Story …

� new to marketcontinued from page 18

to take advantage of the new features,which are designed to increase broker-age visibility and branding. The newfeatures will have a phased rolloutthroughout 2015.

“These new features enhance thebrokerage branding on for-sale listingsas well as in our powerful directory,”said Greg Schwartz, Zillow chief revenueofficer. “Brokerages will now have theability to showcase their brands in sev-eral new and prominent ways on everysingle one of their agents’ listings, whilehaving complete transparency to thesites where their listings appear.”

New features in Zillow Pro forBrokers Plus include: Additional, highvisibility brokerage branding on all list-ings; new, dedicated brokerage pagesshowcasing agents, agent reviews, list-ings, a company video and agentrecruiting tools directly on Zillow; andenhanced company information(including a company video) directly onlistings.

Zillow Pro for Brokers Plus is free forbrokerages and will include all the orig-inal features of the initial program,including Zillow’s rigorous data trans-parency standards. A direct data con-nection with Zillow ensures that brokersretain complete control over their list-ing data, guarantees better listing accu-racy and that listings are never redis-tributed to unwanted sites. Listingagents benefit from having their datasent directly to Zillow as often as every15 minutes. Listing agents will alwaysbe displayed first next to their listings,and listings will include a brokeragelogo and outbound link to their Websites.

Accurate GroupAnnounces ComplianceSupport for Fannie Mae’sCollateral Underwriter

AccurateGroup, aproviderof real

estate appraisal, title and complianceservices, has announced support forFannie Mae Collateral Underwriter(CU) in the form of enhanced apprais-al processes, updates to its ValuationCompliance Report and comprehen-sive training and certification of itsappraisal review team. Fannie Mae ismaking its Collateral Underwriter toolavailable to lenders and appraisalmanagement companies, enablingthem to take full advantage of thisapplication for quality control and riskpurposes. This action moves appraisalrisk, data integrity and overallappraisal quality from the back end ofthe loan sale process to the front end.This change could have an immediateimpact on lender underwriting proce-dures.

Accurate Group has been proactive-ly communicating with Fannie Mae toincorporate the new requirements

into its turnkey service offerings toensure a seamless transition for itslenders. In addition to putting itsentire appraisal review team througha series of Fannie Mae training andcertification sessions, Accurate Grouphas modified its appraisal reviewprocesses to incorporate CollateralUnderwriter into the workflow. Inaddition, the company has enhancedits proprietary Accurate VCR(Valuation Compliance Report) prod-uct to include new rules necessary toensure all hard stop proprietary mes-sages are addressed. Accurate VCR willnow automatically alert AccurateGroup’s in-house appraisal reviewteam to potential red flags, allowingthem to address the issues prior tosubmitting the appraisal to the lenderor to Fannie Mae. With Accurate VCR,Accurate Group can enforce the ruleseither at the appraiser level or at itsreview team level for added flexibilityin delivering the best possible serviceand quality to its clients.

“Our clients rely on us to stay aheadof the compliance curve, so we’vebeen proactively planning for theFannie Mae CU changes,” said PaulDoman, president and CEO of AccurateGroup. “We have the processes, tech-nology and team in place to helplenders adhere to the new Fannie Maerequirements and are prepared tomake this change a smooth transitionfor them. This is one of the benefitsour clients gain by choosing anappraisal management and compli-ance company such as AccurateGroup, over just a standard AMC. WithAccurate Group, compliance is neveran afterthought—it is engrained inour business and in every product andservice we offer.”

HomeUnion Upgrades,Now OfferingComprehensiveInvestment PropertySearch

HomeUnion has announced that it hasadded comprehensive search capabili-ties to its investment managementWeb site. Now, investors can entertheir investment preferences andautomatically search investmentproperties in 12 of the top SFR mar-kets. HomeUnion applies its propri-etary algorithms to filter through tensof thousands of available properties toidentify the best investment opportu-nities. The filtered properties are thenreviewed by on-staff, local marketexperts, who have an intimate work-ing knowledge of a particular realestate market to create a final vettedlist that is displayed on HomeUnion’sonline investment portal. The factorsinvolved in choosing markets, neigh-

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PULL QUOTE:“Many large companies are familiar with

operational risk audits and do them regu-larly. But for many smaller and growinglenders who have never done a properoperational risk audit, getting the processstarted can seem daunting.”

borhoods and properties includehome prices, rents, vacancies, histori-cal performance trends, employmentdiversity and population growth.

The interactive property searchcapabilities allow investors to see theinvestment potential based onwhether they will finance their invest-ment or pay cash. Investors can alsosearch the HomeUnion property data-base based on a variety of variablesincluding: Projected return-on-invest-ment (ROI), price range, market, prop-erty type, investment amount, appre-ciation and year built.

“We are providing investors withtools that enable them to do due dili-gence and select properties based ontheir investment criteria. While cash-flow and appreciation are the mostimportant factors for investors whenchoosing single-family rental invest-ments, investors also are concernedwith price range, property type, andof course ROI,“ said Don Ganguly,founder and CEO of HomeUnion.

NewOak Releases Non-QM Support Servicesto Assist Originators

NewOak has announced the launch ofits new Non-QM Support Services plat-form. Developed by NewOak’s CreditServices Division, the program pro-vides a range of solutions to addressthe demands on originators andinvestors in non-QM products to man-age increasing regulatory and enforce-ability risks. NewOak’s Non-QMMortgage Support Services provide arange of targeted offerings based onits deep mortgage expertise and scala-ble technology, including due dili-gence and quality assurance consult-ing services, customizable underwrit-ing applications that ensure accurateand defendable data and work flows,and its innovative Mortgage DefensePackage, a proprietary electronicrepository of all key documentationand decision-support data needed todefend the loan approval.

“NewOak has created a state-of-the-art services support platform thatintegrates our unmatched skillset inmortgage underwriting, data manage-ment and analytics with flexible high-tech functionalities to service the fullrange of products covered under non-QM,” said Partner Chad Burhance,head of NewOak Credit Services. “Thereality is that there is a very largeaudience of attractive borrowers whoare not able to obtain a new mortgageor refinance an existing one. Whetherit’s the loan amount, blemishes on theborrower’s credit or a change inemployment, these factors as well asothers can adversely affect borrowers.However, many originators andinvestors deem these characteristicsas both acceptable and desirablerisks, but their existing operations arenot configured in accordance with

many of the new regulations, includ-ing the ability-to-repay analysis.”

NewOak’s non-QM platform isdynamic and designed to be tailoredspecifically to each client’s uniqueneeds. “Some clients are not comfort-able with the entire operation beingoutsourced for these critical func-tions,” said Burhance. “Our platformallows for integration across points oforigination, compliance and risk man-agement workflows. Depending onwhere a particular client’s needs are,we can integrate a solution to satisfythem.

FDIC Releases AdditionalTechnical AssistanceVideo on CFPB MortgageRules

The Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation (FDIC) has announced therelease of the second in a series ofthree new technical assistance videosdeveloped to assist bank employees inmeeting regulatory requirements.These videos address compliance withcertain mortgage rules issued by theConsumer Financial ProtectionBureau (CFPB). The first video,released on Nov. 19, 2014, coveredthe Ability-to-Repay (ATR) andQualified Mortgage (QM) Rule.

The second video covers the LoanOriginator (LO) Compensation Rule,and the third video, expected to bereleased in February, will cover theServicing Rule. The three technicalassistance videos are intended forcompliance officers and staff responsi-ble for ensuring the bank’s mortgagelending operations comply with CFPBrules.

“Today’s release of the second tech-nical assistance video on the newmortgage rules represents FDIC’songoing commitment to informingcommunity banks about importantregulatory issues and to help themmanage regulatory changes in theconsumer compliance area,” saidMark Pearce, Director of the Divisionof Depositor and ConsumerProtection.

Your turnNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine invites you to submit anyinformation promoting new “niche”loan programs, new products or anyother announcement related to theintroduction of a new program, to theattention of:

New to Market columnPhone #: (516) 409-5555

E-mail:newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail arepreferred. The deadline for submissionsis the 1st of the month prior to the targetissue.

The Long & Short:The Business of Short Sales

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been comments regarding some looksinto the new scores being offered andVantage has been mentioned for poten-tial use at Fannie and Freddie. Vantagehas a very good product and althoughthey are not in the mortgage industrycurrently, they have captured a majorityof the credit card industry and haveworked into several other industriesincluding the auto industry and personalloans. Vantage Score was created by thethree major credit repositories,TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.Barrett Burns, the VantageScore CEO, hasbeen very active in the industry. He is agreat guy who is on the board of directorsof the Mortgage Bankers Association.Vantage is very active in pursuit of themortgage industry.

I believe you will see in the not so dis-tant future, with all the changes going onat Fannie, Freddie and HUD, to see theGSEs open it up and have an option forVantageScore or FICO 9. I would hate tosee it go to FICO 8, but that is a possibili-ty and ultimately Fannie and Freddie willlikely hold that information closely untilthere is an announcement. As soon asthere is something concrete, we definite-ly be letting everyone know.

It will be big news! The biggest thingthat has happened in the credit indus-

try over the last 10-15 years. Almostsince credit scores were invented.Clemans: It will be a definite majorchange to a very pro-consumer score anda very pro-consumer change at a timewhere it can help a lot of people and fur-ther the housing industry’s recovery bytreating people a little more fairly andequitably with regards to the medicalcollection issue. We have just seen toomany instances of consumers scoresbeing harmed by medical bills that werenever really their responsibility. Theinsurance company ultimately paid thecollection, but because it took the insur-ance company so long to pay the bill thecollection agency had marked the con-sumers report and it is just not fair topenalize the consumer for two-, three-,or maybe five-years for a problem in themedical billing processes. Ultimately, thecollection account is on their record forseven years, but for the scoring purposesthe account really starts to have a verylimited impact after four years on mostcredit score models.

Dave Sullivan is special correspondent forNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine and marketing director forCredit Technologies Inc. He may bereached by phone at (248) 891-2205 or e-mail dsullivan@credittechnologies.com.

Potential Homebuyers and Drive to “Get Credit Right” Prompts Florida Mortgage Broker to Open Web siteRealtyTrac and NCRA to assist with intro Webinar

By Pam Marron

Make no mistake, the economy appears to be roaring back!However, as of the fourth quarter of 2014, RealtyTrac reported1

there are still more than seven million homeowners or 13 percentof all residential mortgage holders, that are more than 125 percentunderwater.

Large pockets of seriously underwater homeowners still exist in Florida,Nevada, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Georgia. For many in these states, positiveequity is not coming back soon enough.

And, contrary to past press about “strategic defaulters” defining a great numberof these folks as leaving homes even though they could afford to pay but chose notto, evidence points to unemployment and not enough assets leaving little choicebut to exit these homes.2

Most shocking, but cited by nearly all short sellers was that the only way to gethelp was to be delinquent on their mortgage payment first … an option mostoften told to them by their own mortgage lender. And when that mortgage delin-quency exceeded 120 days, credit often showed as a foreclosure even when thehome closed as a short sale.

But a recent report by RealtyTrac focuses on “Boomerang Buyers,”3 or thosewho lost their homes to foreclosure or short sale and may now be eligible forhomeownership again.4 “We expect about 500,000 potential boomerang buyersnationwide in 2015, but that number will nearly double to more than a millionpotential boomerang buyers in 2016-2019,” cited Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vicepresident.

This is good news for the mortgage and real estate industries! However,problems surrounding the credit of past short sellers persists to this day.The lender loss mitigation policy that requires mortgage delinquency inorder to provide a short sale approval has inadvertently wrecked futurecredit options for many past short sellers. Clear wait timeframes before anew mortgage approval are in writing for both foreclosure and short sale,but because there is no specific short sale credit code, short sale creditmost often shows up as a foreclosure.5 A foreclosure requires a seven-yearwait before a conventional mortgage can be approved, rather than the two-year wait minimum after a short sale. And past short sellers who tried toget this fixed are finding that “disputes” put on the erroneous credit fortheir short sale must be taken off. The result is that erroneous credit ofthese past short sellers gets worse, and costly and time consuming rapidrescores are holding up the reentry of those who can positively affect thereal estate market and the U.S. economy.

The National Credit Reporting Association introduced the QMCR (QualifiedMortgage Credit Report) which provides a deeper review of the consumer’s creditand includes verifying disputed data, the inclusion of non-traditional data andalternative data not currently reported to credit reporting agencies. Credit report-ing agencies can accurately code a short sale with proper documentation provid-ed by the past homeowner or creditor. But, because of a desire for credit report-ing in seconds rather than the 72 hours needed to accurately document, there ispushback to this idea.

Here are four areas of great importance to “get right” for more than sevenmillion severely underwater homeowners and another 7.3 million BoomerangBuyers potentially able to come back into the housing market within the nexteight years:1. Dissect the real hardship for why a short sale was done. Allow third-party certi-

fication to be done by those trained to verify for conventional mortgages, sim-ilar to HUD’s option that provides for HUD Approved counselor certification on

the “Back to Work” program.

2. Seriously look at the NCRA’s idea forthe QMCR (Qualified Mortgage CreditReport). 72 hours is not long to wait to“get credit right!” Lenders would berelieved to have accurate information,and affected consumers would havean option to correct credit with otherthan a dispute.

3. Loss mitigation policy for short salesneeds to be changed to allow under-water homeowners that must shortsale to continue making paymentsthrough a short sale if they can.

4. Make HARP 3 refinancing available tonon-Fannie Mae and non-Freddie Macmortgage holders, and discount ratesfor a shortened term, the quickestsolution to gaining equity back!

A new Web site calledwww.HousingCrisisStories.com was creat-ed to provide support for affected under-water homeowners and past short sellers.The site will promote lenders, originators,credit reporting agencies, HUD approvedcounselors, PMI companies and govern-mental agencies that can help affectedconsumers. Please call Pam Marron at(727) 375-8986 or e-mail pmarron@tam-pabay.rr.com for further information.

Marron is a mortgage broker inFlorida, a state severely hit with under-

water properties. Marron, along withDaren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice presi-dent, and Terry W. Clemans, executivedirector of the National ConsumerReporting Association (NCRA), will pro-vide a Webinar through NationalMortgage Professional Magazine inFebruary 2015 to introduce the Website and discuss credit issues and num-bers of those affected.

Pam Marron is senior loan officer withInnovative Mortgage Services Inc. She maybe reached by phone at (727) 375-8986 ore-mail pmarron@tampabay.rr.com.

Footnotes1—RealtyTrac, Jan. 22, 2015 (www.realty-trac.com/news/mortgage-and-finance/year-end-2014-underwater-home-equity-report/).

2—Unemployment, Negative Equity, and StrategicDefault, K. Gerardi, Aug. 4, 2013(www.urban.org/events/upload/Gerardi-Kerkenhoff-Ohanian-Willen-Strategic-Default.pdf).

3—RealtyTrac, Jan. 26, 2015, 7.3 MillionBoomerang Buyers Poised to RecoverHomeownership in Next Eight Years (www.realty-trac.com/news/foreclosure-trends/boomerang-buyers).

4—Where Boomerang Buyers Will Emerge Overthe Next Eight Years, RealtyTrac Report, Jan. 28,2015 (www.realtytrac.com/news/realtytrac-videos/where-boomerang-buyers-will-emerge-over-the-next-8-years-realtytrac-report).

5—Short sale credit is coded from borrowedMetro 2 credit coding.

an interview with terry w. clemanscontinued from page 29

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l Four in 10 read online lender reviewsto help them choose a lender.When thinking back about the lending

process, homebuyers believe onlineimprovements would have made it easierto work with their lender, including:l Secure ways to submit electronic doc-

uments, 77 percent.l Easy-to-use online applications, 72

percent.l 24-hour support, 52 percent.

The national survey of 1,003 recenthomebuyers was commissioned byDiscover Home Loans and conducted byVersta Research, an independent surveyresearch firm. The sample was carefullybalanced and weighted using AmericanHousing Survey and National Associationof Realtors (NAR) data to ensure an accu-rate representation of homebuyers byregion, age, marital status and first-timeversus repeat homebuyer status.

ICBA Reports 73 Percent ofCommunity Banks FindRegulations StuntingMortgage LendingCommunity banks want to lend more to

drive economicgrowth in theircommunities,and they havethe capital to doso. However, a

new survey by the IndependentCommunity Bankers of America (ICBA)found that approximately three-quartersof community bank respondents said newmortgage regulations are keeping themfrom making more residential mortgageloans in their communities.

“ICBA’s 2014 Community BankLending Survey validates what commu-nity banks have long predicted—thatnew restrictions on mortgage lendingare reducing much-needed access tomortgage credit for many Americans,”ICBA President and CEO Camden R. Finesaid. “The results show that Congressshould act quickly on ICBA’s Plan forProsperity legislative platform, whichwould implement common-sensereforms to support continued access tocredit without compromising consumerprotection or safety and soundness.”

The 2014 Community Bank LendingSurvey found that community bankswant to continue lending, with mostcommunity banks serving as full-servicelenders and reporting a positive outlooktoward most lending areas. However,the survey also shows the avalanche ofnew regulations coming down on com-munity banks from Washington is hav-ing a negative impact on their lendingand consumer choice.

According to the survey:l Seventy-three percent of community

bank respondents said regulatoryburdens are preventing them frommaking more residential mortgageloans, significant percentages ofcommunity banks are no longer

The survey also found that 66 per-cent of respondents said they do notprovide loans that are outside theConsumer Financial ProtectionBureau’s Qualified Mortgage definitionor would only do so in special cases.Just 25 percent of community bankerssaid they are providing loans that donot fit the CFPB’s QM definition, show-ing that the new restrictions haveshrunk the credit box and taken awaylender discretion in granting credit.Meanwhile, half of all rural banks saidthey do not qualify for the QM rule’s“rural” exception, which demonstratesthat exemptions from the standard aretoo narrow, limiting access to credit forconsumers who need it.

active in the residential mortgagemarket, are considering an exit fromthis line of lending or are exiting themarket;

l Seventy-eight percent of respon-dents reported increasing the num-ber of staff members dedicated tolending compliance over the pastfive years; and

l Forty-four percent said they origi-nated fewer first-lien residentialmortgage loans in 2014 comparedwith the year before.

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Your turnNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine invites you to submit anyinformation on regulatory changes, leg-islative updates, human interest storiesor any other newsworthy items pertain-ing to the mortgage industry to theattention of:

NMP News Flash columnPhone #: (516) 409-5555

E-mail:newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail arepreferred. The deadline for submissionsis the 1st of the month prior to the targetissue.

nmp news flashcontinued from page 16

economic commentaryN A T I O N A L M O R T G A G E P R O F E S S I O N A L M A G A Z I N E ’ S

T H E B E S T O F A L L W O R L D S R E V I S I T E D

By Dave Hershman

Afew months ago, weproposed a possiblescenario in which

we could witness the“best of all worlds.” In

this case, we were referring to astronger economy and continued lowinterest rates. No, it appears that theprediction could come true, but withan emphasis on the word “ALL.”Because not only has the year endedand began with lower rates andstronger economic news, but also lowoil prices which is sure to help the con-sumer, though it certainly does nothelp consumers and companies in theoil industry.

For years, we have been wadingthrough a very slow and tedious recov-

ery from the deep recession. We knewat some point we would reach a tippingpoint which is called the “virtuouscycle.” It now appears that we may beat the beginning of this virtuous cyclethough the first measure of economicgrowth for the fourth quarter last yeardoes show that we are not growing atthe robust pace of the second and thirdquarters. The number is subject to revi-sions and also did contain good news inthat there was solid growth in con-sumer spending for the quarter. Theweak retail sales report for Decemberalso gave us some concern about thepace of the recovery since this reportcovered the holiday season.

Despite this, we are expecting theeconomy to eventually shine if theslowdown overseas does not reach ourborders. What we were not expecting

was the potential for lower interestrates and dramatically lower oil pricesat the same time. Theoretically, whenthe economy gets stronger, rates and oilprices should rise. As we have men-tioned, international factors have con-tributed to a changing of the paradigmfrom our nation’s perspective. And wemust say, the American consumerdeserves some better than expectedtimes after several years of recessionand a tediously slow recovery.

So, the next question is, how longcould these better times last? We can-not predict how strong the economywill get and for how long. But the morethe economy heats up, the more likelythat rates and oil prices will rebound.For now, it is a good time to take advan-tage of this situation, whether yourclients are thinking about purchasing or

refinancing real estate or purchasing acar. If they do, we have a feeling thatthey will not be alone. We absolutelybelieve that if these lower interestrates, low oil prices and stronger econ-omy stay in alignment, this will trans-late into a stronger real estate marketthis year. Almost ten years ago, Americaled the world into a recession. Could itbe that now we are getting to lead theworld out of its economic doldrums? 

Dave Hershman is a top author in themortgage industry with seven bookspublished. He is also the founder of theOriginationPro Marketing System, andcurrently the director of branch supportfor McLean Mortgage. He may bereached by e-mail at dave@hershman-group.com or visit www.origination-pro.com.

NMP Daily is the mortgage industry's sourcefor news, insights, trends and tips.It keeps subscribers informed of the regulatory and legislative updates, latest industry happenings and breaking news about the mortgage technologies and services.

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By Mike Maida

When it comes to growingyour mortgage lendingbusiness, it can some-times feel like you’re

searching the ocean for the rightemployees. It’s easy to go on a hiringspree when the capital is in place to doso, but simply bringing on folks whohave “experience” in the mortgageindustry isn’t going to elevate yourbusiness. Nor is having great employeeswith lackluster leadership.

A successful lending business beginsand ends with the work ethic of thepeople who operate it, from the front-line employees and loan officers, toupper management professionals.These are the people who are going togo the extra mile, not only for the com-pany, but for their customers as well.

With a whopping 70 percent ofAmerican employees admitting tobeing disengaged in the workplace, itshould come as no surprise that lendersare doubling-down on efforts to retaina talented and engaged workforce.

In the mortgage industry, we facenot only high competition, but alsodiminished morale following the hard-ships endured during the housing crisis.As many big-box and boutique lenderswent belly up during the recession,many mortgage professionals lost theirjobs or jumped ship to avoid walkingthe plank.

According to a 2013 workplace studyby Gallup, the top 25 percent ofemployers have significantly higherproductivity, profitability and customerratings, as well as less turnover andabsenteeism rates. In opposite effect,people who are discouraged in theirchosen trade can bring a businessdown. Gallup estimates that active dis-engagement costs the U.S. between$450 and $550 billion in lost revenuesper year.

With the economy and housinglargely in recovery, it’s time to growagain. So, how do we overcome theindustry’s PR problem and captureengaged workers? Like many business-building endeavors it is a determina-tion far easier said than done. At theend of the day, it’s not prices or servicethat will recruit talented employees butthe work culture and support you pro-vide to them that will ignite a turn-around.

Cooperative business model If ever there was a time to capitalize onthe state of business, it’s now. The lin-

gering apprehension over the recessionhas transformed a significant part ofthe workforce into an entrepreneurial,progressive-thinking populous.

These people are not necessarilystaged at the biggest lending firms,either. They are the ones who’ve beenoperating independent firms, or havebeen searching for a firm footing with-in the industry under another compa-ny’s umbrella. They are persistent,experimental and looking for ways tomove the mortgage industry forward.

There’s been a changing of theguard, if you will. Millenials especiallycrave this ascension, and more estab-lished mortgage professionals contin-ue to be eager to succeed, as well—aslong as the right support systems arein place.

Yet, as ambitious as these profes-sionals may be, they often lack thecapital, compliance intelligence or thecompulsory assets to take their busi-ness or career to the next level. As youcan imagine, the absence of theseresources can create a difficult workenvironment, not to mention createan air of fear, as these individualsremain locked in panic mode, simplytrying to stay afloat in unsteadywaters.

Endorsing a recruitment programthat incorporates the cooperativebusiness model offers a solution thatis two-fold: lenders are able to expandtheir network and business, whilethose who sign on to the archetype

benefit from working in a largelyautonomous environment with thebacking of a company that has the sta-bility and hard-earned reputation ofan established mortgage lender. Theyare able to absolve the risks presentin the market, as well as gain equi-ty in the parent company.

And these newly plantedbranches get something else prettypertinent, too—access. To the lat-est technology and lending plat-forms, to marketing and advertisingmaterials, to sales tools and support,and above all, to funding. It’s a win-win for both parties.

Searching the blue oceanAt least that remains the goal. Manymortgage companies have been forcedto learn some tough lessons when itcomes to recruiting and expandingtheir business. Like many lenderspoised for growth, they hired high andoften, and hoped for the best.Sometimes it’s the “win-win” theywere searching for, and other timesthey ended up with folks who weren’ta great fit for the organization.

Looking back, they’ve likely realizedthat they’ve wasted a lot of precioustime and energy trying to “fix” theproblems that surfaced out of theirfutile attempts at growth.

It’s a common miscalculation.Perhaps, the candidate interviewedwell, the employee seemed more

motivated than they actually were, orthe new branch was slow to adoptinternal procedures or embrace cus-tomer service best practices. Whateverthe inadequacy may be, ignoringthese red flags or hoping they willrepair themselves will always be detri-mental for business.

Gallup warns against these work-ers—sometimes referred to as coun-terproductive employees—who mayactually end up jeopardizing yourcompany and its reputation, some-thing that is especially vital whenyou’re trying to capture new markets.

Taking the time to fine-tune your

“According to a 2013workplace study by Gallup,

the top 25 percent ofemployers have significantly

higher productivity,profitability and customer

ratings, as well as lessturnover and absenteeism

rates.”

continued on page 51

Recruiting in a

Blue Ocean

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Generating leads is animportant way to reachconsumers. It is alsofraught with regulatoryrisk. A lead is consumerinformation that signals

consumer interest or inquiry into prod-ucts or services offered by a business,such as residential mortgage lendersand originators. There are several fac-tors to be considered, not just licens-ing. I will list some rudimentary guide-lines in this article, specifically withrespect to contact with the consumer.Caution is urged to consult with a riskmanagement professional to ensurecompliance with federal and stateguidelines required by a marketingcampaign to generate leads. Althoughmy focus is primarily on the onlinelead generation process, virtually allthe guidelines provided herein may beextrapolated for use in offline leadgeneration campaigns.

My firm often is requested by clients

to vet a lead generator, which I will calla Lead Generation Company. Carefulrisk management advice should be con-sidered when developing and managingleads, whether obtained from an out-sourced entity or a loan originator’sown website, in-house, or throughonline lead generation advertisements.Certainly, any loan originator that usesleads must have an internal compliancefunction that accounts for properlicensing of the Lead GenerationCompany (where required), monitoringof the data integrity derived therefrom,testing conformance with the origina-tor’s policies, and training of staff in theappropriate use of lead generated, con-sumer data.

Banking departments these days arenot just looking at licensing qua licens-ing. They are looking for loan originatorcompensation violations that are trig-gered by lead generation. For instance,they know that loans may have differ-ent cost structures depending on how

the loans were initially received by thelender. A lead generated by the loanoriginator may be compensated differ-ently than those generated by the cred-itor. As long as this doesn’t constitute aproxy for a loan term or condition, it isgenerally acceptable; that is, the loanofficer may also be reimbursed for leadgeneration and other legitimate busi-ness costs, but the creditor must bewareof how this may serve as a proxy forterms and conditions. It is up to thelender to make this determination (andproperly document it).

Four rulesIn any lead generating marketing,the following four rules should beimplemented:

1. Complete, accessible, and straight-forward disclosure of all parties’intent regarding data collection andusage is essential;

2. Data should not be brokered or sold

without consent (or notice andchoice) of all parties involved,including the consumer and theloan originator;

3. Both the consumer, Lead GenerationCompany, and the loan originatorshould be made aware, throughclear notices, of all parties involvedin data collection and sharing; and,

4. All parties should be educated andaware of current regulations regard-ing consumer protection and privacy.

These four rules become the bases ofthe policies, procedures, contractualarrangements, and protocols thatensure a viable marketing campaignthat relies, in whole or in part, on leadgeneration.

Regulatory focusThe regulators involved in enforcementof compliance with lead generationrules include, but are not limited to,state banking departments, state

The Lead Generation Compa

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Attorneys General, the Federal TradeCommission (FTC),1 and the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Wealready know that the CFPB examinesfor whether the lead generator is a third-party provider and reviews the termsand appropriateness of the relationship.The CFPB reviews advertisements andadvertising sources. It will review TV,radio, print media, Internet, scripts,recordings, and so forth. It will deter-mine if there was proper consumer dis-closure all along the way, from point ofcontact with the consumer to point ofcontact with the lender, including anyintimation of fees and other terms andconditions. Plus, a review is conducted

for online data security and sharing ofconsumer information.

Although the new loan originatorqualification standards do not imposelicensing requirements, every lendermust ensure that each loan originatorin its employ is licensed and registeredin compliance with laws related toSecure and Fair Enforcement forMortgage Licensing Act (SAFE), if appli-cable. Further, entities engaged in leadgeneration and marketing activities, aswell as the companies that do businesswith such entities, need to pay particu-lar attention to their activities to ensurethat they do not inadvertently engagein loan originator activity. If they do,they’ll need to make sure that theymeet the new loan originator qualifica-tion standards, including licensingrequirements. Failure to meet thesestandards will give rise to severe civilliability that could impair the collec-tability of the loan.

The CFPB has stated that anytime aconsumer gives out sensitive personaland financial information on the Internetthere are risks involved to the consumer.In the context of Pay Day Loans, forinstance, the Bureau has already warnedconsumers that if a consumer applies fora loan online, the consumer could beincreasing risk significantly.

The CFPB has expressed concern thatan online application or form that con-sumers fill out could be sold to a loanoriginator that offers to originate a loanon behalf of the consumer. Indeed, theCFPB also has indicated it has concernsthat multiple lenders or other settle-ment service providers could pay forthis information, thereby causing themto contact or email the consumer.

Consumer advocacyIn a Nov. 11, 2013 announcement toconsumers, the CFPB stated, “Lead gen-erators might not find you the lowestcost loans, and you should be cautiousof sites that promise they will. Manyconsumers can also be confused about

who actually made the loan, whichmakes getting help when you need itharder.”2 In addition, the CFPB has pro-vided caution regarding key words, tagsand tactics.

Importantly, the CFPB’s view towardthe Pay Day lead generator should beapplied to residential mortgage lendersand originators that purchase leadsfrom a Lead Generation company.Here’s the point: The CFPB has clearlyissued an answer to the question, “Whatis the difference between an online pay-day lender and one with a storefront?”Its answer was that consumers need tomake sure the online website islicensed to do business in the con-

sumer’s state and whether the lead gen-erator follows the state’s [payday] lend-ing laws. Consider it a warning to allresidential loan originators!

Therefore, when the CFPB startslooking at online lead generationinvolving residential mortgage loans, itis somewhat certain that it applies aneven stricter standard to the LeadGeneration Company that solicits mort-gage information or a mortgage conver-sation from consumers and sells it oreven passes it on to a loan originator.Questions that the CFPB would resolve,either by promulgating rules or throughenforcement action, will likely be:

1. Is the Lead Generation Company vio-lating the SAFE Act if it is notlicensed in the state it is operatingin?

2. If it is licensed under SAFE will it beviolating the broadly defined LoanOfficer Compensation Rule?

Lead generation as advertisingDepending on the advertising used tofind a consumer for a loan originator,the Bureau may deem the communica-tion to be an advertisement to generatea lead by using certain phrases, suchas “Let us help you find a mortgage!Call us or click here for more informa-tion!” If deemed an advertisement,the CFPB will move to the view thatsuch advertising is a solicitation for amortgage conversation from a con-sumer. The outcome of that positionwould likely lead to a violation of theSAFE Act, because most states considersuch a solicitation a violation of SAFEeven if no payment is made by thelender or loan officer to the LeadGeneration Company—because thistype of solicitation would trigger alicense requirement.

Even if the Lead GenerationCompany is properly licensed under aparticular state’s SAFE Act, if it sells thatlead to an unlicensed loan originator in

that state the Bureau could pursue anaction against the Lead GenerationCompany because it assisted or facilitat-ed a consumer’s information to be soldto an unlicensed entity, pursuant to var-ious third party vendor managementbulletins.

Some states already require a LeadGeneration Company collecting con-sumer information to be licensed as“mortgage brokers” such as Arizonaand Virginia. The licensing require-ment varies from state to state.Referencing Pay Day lenders, most ofthe Pay Day lenders in Ohio, for exam-ple, have become mortgage brokersunder the SAFE Act as it takes them

out of the state usury statute for PayDay lenders.

Three concernsWhat type of online Lead GenerationCompany could cause issues of concern?

1. Unlicensed Lead GenerationCompany that tells consumers, forinstance, whether they are“Qualified for a Loan or Not”

2. Online Lead Generation Companythat collects any sort of non-publicpersonal information data (the defi-nition of what is “NPI” may varyfrom state to state, but is also feder-ally settled in Gramm-Leach-Bliley,et alia) and fails to inform andobtain the consumers consent thattheir information will be shared witha third party; and,

3. Online Lead Generation Companywhere it has spoken directly with theconsumer and then transfers the“Live Handoff” over to the loan orig-inator (especially if the LeadGeneration Company is not licensed,where required by state law). If theLead Generation company acts as aspecial kind of mortgage broker thenit may be best to stay away becausethis could violate the standards asso-ciated with the Loan OfficerQualifying Rule, mentioned above,which became effective on Jan. 1,2014.

Additionally, please note that theCFPB has broad authority to enforceFair Lending Laws, the TelemarketingSales Rule, Mortgage Lending andRegulations, Mortgage Acts andPractices Advertising Rule, and mostcertainly Unfair, Deceptive and AbusiveActs or Practices (UDAAP).3

Scope of lead generation reviewThe scope of review involved in manag-ing the relationship with a LeadGeneration Company or administering

an in-house lead generating campaignis complex. A loan originator shouldretain competent risk management toensure that the entire campaign is fullyvetted and is based on statutory andcase review, as well as clear and unam-biguous regulatory compliance man-dates.

I suggest that you consider adoptingthe following guidelines for lead gener-ation marketing.4 The list is not exhaus-tive, because each loan originator oftenhas different ways to generate leads,and the overall review should reflect aloan originating company’s size, riskprofile, and complexity.

Privacy Policy Disclosuresl A privacy policy is essential to prop-

erly obtain permission and commu-nicate the intended use of the datacollected from consumers.The privacy policy should:

l Disclose and outline the practice ofdata collection, usage, and sharing.Data practices should be easy tofind, easy to read and easy for con-sumers to act upon.

l The privacy policy should be postedin a clear and conspicuous fashionwhen accepting the consumer’sinformation on the Lead GenerationCompany’s and/or loan originator’sregistration page and online leadgeneration form.

l Consumers should be given ade-quate notice of any privacy policychange.

l Lead Generation Company and/or aloan originator’s in-house campaignshould have notice on their homepage(s) that their privacy policy hasbeen updated. Highlight theupdates and list the dates of therevisions at the top of their privacypolicy. Strongly consider e-mailnotification to all consumers cov-ered by the original privacy policy.

l Implement technical and manage-ment controls to comply with theprivacy policy.

l Conduct a regular, periodic evalua-tion of their privacy policy to ensurecompliance.

Data collection disclosuresl Do not hide fields without consumer

disclosure.l For both simple and custom offer

types, if the Lead GenerationCompany chooses not to show oneor more fields, it should either:

l Include clear and conspicuousnotice prominently on the offerpage or via a prominently displayedlink indicating which fields will becollected and shared with the loanoriginator(s), or

l Include text next to each offer onthe page that specifically lists eachfield that will be collected andshared with the purchaser of thelead.

l The Lead Generation Companyshould include a clickable link to its

any: Managing the Risks

continued on page 38

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privacy policy within each offer.l The Lead Generation Company

should not sell data that the con-sumer has provided during registra-tion or on an advertised offer formto other companies to use to marketitself to the consumer without theconsumer’s knowledge or choice.

Data licensing and list managementl The Lead Generation Company

should disclose if the data collectedwill be shared with third parties.

l No sharing of NPI with third partymarketers for the purpose of send-ing e-mail, without the consumer’sconsent.

l Loan originators that use third par-ties to manage their e-mail listshould have a formal data licensingagreement.

l Loan originators working with listmanagement partners should alsocreate a review process to monitortheir partners’ activity.

l Loan originators should appoint acompliance manager who is knowl-edgeable in Controlling the Assaultof Non-Solicited Pornography andMarketing Act (CAN-SPAM) and addi-tional privacy law and standards tooversee the review process.

Consumer experiencel The Lead Generation Company

should allow consumers to easilyskip offers if they do not want toshare the data being requested bythe loan originator or if they are nolonger interested in the offer.

l The Lead Generation Companyshould ensure that the skip functionis clear and conspicuous and is nothidden or difficult to locate on theoffer. In addition, the skip functionshould be displayed in equal promi-nence to the submit function.

l In a Web page set-up, a LeadGeneration Company may pre-selectloan originator offers on a multi-listing page to present consumerswith offers they believe may best fittheir needs. Pre-selected offers areacceptable for custom offers whereadditional data is collected, butshould be considered opt-out.Importantly, offers made based onthe Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA)require very careful implementa-tion and only after thorough reviewby a risk management professional.

l Simple offers: Usually not asking foradditional information or customform fields and generally character-ized by only a “yes/no” answer oropt-in box—should not be pre-selected. Note: The practice of pre-selecting the “yes” or the opt-inbox—which, in effect, automaticallysigns up the consumer for that offerwithout the consumer having totake any further affirmative

action—is considered to be an opt-out offer and therefore should notbe used.

l The Lead Generation Companyshould use clear language whenusing pre-selected custom offers;and it should not insinuate that theconsumer must select an offer inorder to continue through the regis-tration process.

Software applications(Internet)l The Lead Generation Company

and/or the loan originator mayrequest that consumers downloadsoftware applications that can con-nect through the Internet to theircomputer or mobile device. Anysuch download should only be initi-ated after affirmative consent fromthe consumer.

l After completion of the download,Internet-connected software appli-cations should:

l Only launch with the consumer’sknowledge; that is, be visible to theconsumer and not run invisibly inthe background, until such time as aconsumer configures options toallow such behavior;

l Clearly indicate the name and con-tact information of the loan origina-tor and provide a reasonablemethod to obtain further informa-tion about the loan originator; and

l Provide functionality that enablesan average consumer to completelyuninstall the application fromhis/her computer or mobile devicewithout any negative impact on theconsumer’s device.

Consumer Data Sharingfrom Loan Originatorl After submission, the lead data

should be transferred from the LeadGeneration Company in real-time orbatch in a standard, secure format.

Disclosure: Offer requirements and obligationsl Prior to accepting any consumer

information, the terms and condi-tions must be clearly and conspicu-ously disclosed so that a reasonableconsumer may understand theessence of the proposed exchange.The terms and conditions should becompiled, reviewed and updated bya risk management professionalwho is knowledgeable about, amongother things, consumer disclosuremandates.

l Terms and conditions should beaccessible and prominent during theregistration or offer selectionprocess.

l When using the term “free” or “com-plimentary” or other similar terms,the loan originator should ensureproper disclosures are made in prox-

imity to the term, if some form ofobligation is needed by the consumerto receive the offer. Note: Such termsare considered “trigger terms” underthe Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA). Seekprofessional guidance prior to usingany incentive language.

l Loan originators should include asummary of consumer obligationsand requirements. Note: the sum-mary of obligations and require-ments is used to additionally edu-cate consumers and not to replace adetailed terms and conditions linkthat should be prominently dis-played for consumers.

Promotional site disclosuresPromotional sites offer consumersrewards such as a free gift, a freenewsletter, a free quote, or otherreward items when registering. A subsetof promotional sites may include leadgeneration offers that are incentivized.Incentivized offers are offers that arerequired for the consumer to select inorder to qualify for the reward.

The Lead Generation Company mayrun a combination of incentivized andnon-incentivized offers throughout itsregistration process and Web site flow.The offer type—either required oroptional—should be clearly and con-spicuously articulated to the consumeron the offer pages. This disclosureshould be at the top of such page beforethe consumer engages in any loan orig-inator offers. If multiple pages are usedwith various offer requirements, con-sumers should be able to navigatefreely between the “offer pages” to bet-ter understand the scope of the incen-tive requirements.

Promotional sites that have incen-tivized offers should follow all disclo-sure points outlined above and take thefollowing additional steps:

l The Lead Generation Company mustdisclose directly on the registrationpage exactly what the consumerneeds to do in order to receive thereward.

l A summary of key requirements ofthe consumer should be disclosedon the first registration page.

l If the consumer must sign up forvarious offers to qualify for thereward, the Lead GenerationCompany should disclose to the con-sumer the cost associated with eachoffer presented.

l If there is some form of monetaryobligation needed to qualify for agift, the Lead Generation Companyshould, at a minimum, provide theconsumer with a representative esti-mate of such costs.

Planning for the CFPB’s visitThe CFPB will surely look to the sourceand use of a loan originator’s leadsfrom a Lead Generation Company. Itwill hold the loan originator responsi-ble for leads obtained from a LeadGeneration Company as seamlessly as if

the lead was generated by an in-houselead generation campaign.

Areas subject to the CFPB’s and/or afederal or state regulator’s examinationwould include determining if the rela-tionship with the Lead GenerationCompany is properly disclosed; whethera review was implemented for privacyand how the consumers’ data wasshared; that there is identificationwhether the party is a third partyprovider or not; if there was a thor-ough, documented review of the leadgeneration Web site or advertising por-tal itself; and whether the consumerwas appropriately notified of all fees,terms, and conditions throughout thelead generation process.

The CFPB will investigate a LeadGeneration Company involved in gener-ating leads on behalf of residential mort-gage lenders and originators. Any com-pany involved in the lead generationbusiness, and any loan originator using aLead Generation Company, shouldactively assess the compliance risks asso-ciated with online lead generation.

Indeed, each state where the LeadGeneration Company is licensed (orought to be licensed) must be researchedfor statutory licensing requirements andcompliance therewith.

Jonathan Foxx is president and managingdirector of Lenders Compliance Group,Brokers Compliance Group, ServicersCompliance Group and VendorsCompliance Group, national companiesdevoted to providing regulatory compli-ance advice and counsel to the mortgageindustry. He may be contacted by phone at(516) 442-3456, by e-mail atjfoxx@lenderscompliancegroup.com orvisit www.LendersComplianceGroup.com.

Footnotes1—For instance, see United States ofAmerica, Plaintiff, v. IntermundoMedia, LLC, a limited liability company,also doing business as Delta PrimeRefinance, Delta Prime Mortgages, andAmerican Dream Quotes, Defendant.FTC Matter/File Number: 122 3225,Federal Court: District of Colorado,Sept. 12, 2014.

2—“Is Applying for a Payday LoanOnline Safe?,” 11/06/13 (www.con-sumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1577/apply-ing-payday-loan-online-safe.html).

3—Section 5(a) of the Federal TradeCommission (FTC) Act prohibits “unfairor deceptive acts or practices in oraffecting commerce.” The FTC stan-dards are broad and apply to any unfairor deceptive practices affecting con-sumers or commercial businesses. TheDodd-Frank Act introduced UDAAP anddirected the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau to issue regulationsdesigned to prevent UDAAP.

4—In preparing this section, I foundhelpful and relied partly on OnlineLead Generation: B2C and B2B BestPractices for U.S.-based Advertisers andPublishers, February 7, 2008

the lead generation companycontinued from page 37

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Maverick Funding Corp. NMLS#7706, Executive Offices, 9 Entin Road, Suite 200, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Toll Free 888-616-6866. Licensed by the California Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, License #4131048. Licensed by the California Department of Corporations under the California Finance Lenders Law, License #603H799. Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee, License #33540; Illinois Residential Mortgage Licensee, License #MB.6760891, Indiana Residential Mortgage Licensee, License #10981; Massachusetts Lender License #ML3257; Michigan 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant #FR0018028; Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department; Licensed Mortgage Banker—NYS Department of Financial Services License #108708; Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance; Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; Rhode Island Licensed Lender; Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, License #MC5352; Oregon Mortgage Lending License ML-4961; Licensed Lender SC; Texas Mortgage Banker Registration; Washington

Consumer Loan License #CL7706, Licensed Wisconsin Mortgage Banker, also Licensed in AL, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, IN, KY, ME, MD, MN, NC, OH, TN, VT, WV. Equal Housing Lender. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) NMLS #7706

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O N T H E

heardstreet

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.

FFC Mortgage AcquiresUniversity Mortgage

FFC MortgageCorporation, aNew York-basedlender foundedin 1987, has

announced the acquisition ofUniversity Mortgage. Led by ChiefExecutive Officer Steven LoBue, theUniversity merger brings more than 20full-time employees to FFC, and addsan estimated $15 million in monthlyclosed loan volume to FFC’s existingproduction.

“We are pleased to add such a pro-ductive and talented group to our FFCfamily,” said Doug Reilly, president ofFFC Mortgage. “This merger is yetanother step in our continually expand-ing footprint. Steven [LoBue] and histeam have established themselves asleaders in their New Jersey marketplaceand we look forward to continuing ourgrowth together.”

LoBue brings more than 15 years ofindustry experience to FFC in all aspectsof mortgage sales, management, mar-keting and start-ups. After the initialonboarding and integration are com-plete, he and his leadership team ofBrian Kelly and Shawn Miller will man-age and grow the existing location, beginto pursue additional M&A opportunities,and recruit new branch locations.

“Not only am I looking forward tothe new dynamic with FFC, but I amalso pleased to be working again withmy leadership team of Brian Kelly andShawn Miller,” said LoBue. “As the for-mer partners of One Source Mortgage,we established systems and practicesthat we are confident will contribute toFFC immediately.”

Bay Equity andApex Home LoansEmploy SSI’s Tools toManage Vendor Risk

Bay Equity LLC and BayEquity Home Loans haveannounced a partner-ship with SecureSettlements Inc. (SSI),

the first vendor management firm tospecialize in closing table risk. Bay Equitychose SSI’s Quick Check, Closing Guardand Vendor Check tools to ensure all itsthird-party service providers pass inde-pendent risk evaluation, rating, monitor-ing and reporting in order to gain accessto a borrower’s loan documents andmortgage proceeds.

“Third-party service provider over-sight is increasingly important in thelending industry,” said Bay Equity ChiefOperating Officer Sue Melnick. “Afterseveral months spent evaluating solu-tions to mitigating settlement agentrisk, Secure Settlements’ products sim-ply stood out as the best in the indus-try. As a leader in mortgage lending,our company continually seeks to notjust meet but to exceed regulatoryexpectations for quality control andloan quality assurance. We take themanagement of third party serviceproviders seriously in terms of opera-tional risk, investor confidence andconsumer protection.”

SSI monitors thousands of title com-panies, settlement agents, real estatelaw firms and other professionalsthrough its proprietary technology andthe mortgage industry’s only sharednationwide database. The database isaccessed daily as a fraud preventiontool by state and federal banks, mort-gage lenders and credit unionsthroughout the U.S.

“We are pleased and honored tohave been chosen by Bay Equity forthese critical risk management servic-es,” said SSI President Andrew Liput.“In our extensive dealings with the BayEquity leadership team, we saw first-hand their serious commitment toquality control, consumer protectionand overall loan quality assurance.”

Apex Home Loans Inc. has alsoannounced that it has enhanced its riskmanagement policies and proceduresgoverning its mortgage lending busi-

ness by requiring all settlement agentsto pass independent risk evaluation, rat-ing, monitoring and reporting in orderto close their residential mortgageloans. The process will be managed forApex by SSI. Apex chose the SSI ClosingGuard tool to evaluate all settlementagents who wish to close loans withApex.

“We are committed to meeting regu-lator and consumer expectations for riskmanagement and loan quality assur-ance,” said Judy Blank, chief compli-ance officer at Apex Home Loans. “Wetake seriously the management of set-tlement agents who have access to ourfunds and borrower personal and finan-cial information and can impact opera-tional risk, investor confidence and con-sumer protection. After months ofresearch we concluded that SecureSettlements’ products stand out as thepremier solution to manage this processfor us.”

VirPack Forms DocManagement PartnershipWith BofI Federal Bank

VirPack has announced that BofIFederal Bank has selected and deployedVirPack’s Document Management andDelivery System (DMDS). BofI FederalBank is a nationwide bank that providesfinancing for single and multifamily res-idential properties. With more than $4.8billion in assets, BofI Federal Bank pro-vides consumer and business bankingproducts.

“BofI Federal Bank selected VirPack’sDocument Management and DeliverySystem because we wanted to create atrue end-to-end paperless manufactur-ing process,” said Brian Swanson, execu-tive vice president and chief lendingofficer for BofI Federal Bank. “We’veleverage this technology because of the

advanced, intuitive features that speedup and improve processes. These capabil-ities mean we’ve been able to avoid thedelays that have afflicted many lendersbecause of new regulations, swollen loanfiles, and reduced staff levels.”

Among the reasons BofI selectedVirPack was to be able to annotate docu-ments digitally and without having toprint them out. Borrowers will haveaccess to electronic signature technologyand that will speed the originationprocess, make it more accurate, efficient,mobile and less expensive. Also, DMDSenables BofI to electronically recognizeand index documents without manualintervention, a feature that reduces thelabor and time it takes to identify and filedocument images by an average of 85-95percent per lender.

“There is no question that VirPack hasdeveloped a sophisticated platform, thatdelivers on our promise to clients of pro-viding a very effective document manage-ment and delivery technology thatimproves throughput, while shorteningturn-times and cutting costs,” said CyBrinn, VirPack’s chief operating officer.“In an environment in which lenders areforced to deal with greater regulatoryscrutiny and economic pressure than everbefore, lenders rely on DMDS to ensurecompliance, increase capacity, and deliv-er high levels of service without having tohire additional staff.”

Ellie Mae Becomes theNewest Member of ESRA

Ellie MaeInc. hasjoined the

Electronic Signature and RecordsAssociation (ESRA), a trade associationrepresenting electronic signatureadopters and providers. ESRA wasfounded in 2006 to educate businessesand the public about the legal, publicpolicy, regulatory and operationalissues involved with using electronicsignatures and records. Its membersinclude insurance and financial institu-tions, document and e-signatureproviders, and innovative technologyproviders such as Ellie Mae.

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continued on page 44

Used by more than 100,000 mortgageprofessionals, Ellie Mae’s flagship prod-uct, Encompass, is an all-in-one mortgagemanagement solution that enablesbanks, credit unions and mortgagelenders to originate and fund mortgagesefficiently with built-in compliance andquality tools.

“Digital signatures and electronic clos-ings are a vital part of Ellie Mae’s missionto bring efficiency, loan quality and com-pliance to the mortgage industry,” saidJoe Tyrrell, Ellie Mae’s senior vice presi-dent of corporate strategy. “By collabo-rating with ESRA and drawing on theirexpertise—as well as sharing our ownexperiences—we will all move muchcloser toward industry-wide acceptanceof electronic signatures.”

As an ESRA member, Ellie Mae willhave the opportunity to become involvedin various public policy initiatives andpromote the organization’s efforts andleadership by participating in ESRA-host-ed events throughout the year.

“Ellie Mae is committed to providingseamless e-disclosures and e-closings aspart of Encompass’ end-to-end automa-tion capabilities,” said Harry Gardner,Ellie Mae’s vice president of eStrategies.“Electronic mortgages provide anadvanced framework for addressing therequirements of RESPA-TILA, and canincrease efficiency and data qualitythroughout the loan process. We look for-ward to working with ESRA to help theindustry reach the tipping point of main-stream e-mortgage adoption.”

McLean MortgageCelebrates Seven-YearAnniversary With Strong2014

McLean Mort-gage Corpora-tion has an-nounced thatthe company

closed more than $1.33 billion in resi-dential mortgage originations in 2014,which was within 90 percent of their all-time production record achieved in 2013.This level of closings was achieved despitethe fact that the Mortgage BankersAssociation (MBA) indicated residentialloan volumes for the industry droppedapproximately 40 percent in 2014 whencompared to 2013.

During its young seven-year history,McLean Mortgage has become an indus-try leader. having been ranked as an Inc.5000 company by Inc. 500 Magazine.McLean Mortgage Corporation has beenable to continue to outperform industryaverages by delivering excellent customerservice and a support culture which con-tinues to attract quality loan officers andsupport staff.

“We have grown to become one of thelargest in the industry purely by way oforganic growth through referrals insteadof purchasing other companies,” saidNathan Burch, president of McLeanMortgage. “These referrals enable us togrow while still keeping our family-likeculture which strengthens our ‘cus-tomer is first’ mission.” Burch wasinstalled as a member of the Board of

Directors of the MBA in 2014.“The journey we have embarked on

during the past seven years has been grat-ifying for all of us,” said Pat Peavley, CEOof McLean Mortgage. “We have become acompany of choice for those desiring along-term career helping others achievethe dream of homeownership.”

Comergence Tapped toProvide Due DiligenceServices to Bayview andLakeview Wholesale

Comergence Compliance has an-nounced that it is now providing its

originator screening and due diligenceservices to the combined Bayview LoanServicing and Lakeview Loan Servicingwholesale lending platform, a provider ofreal estate loans for agency borrowersand high-quality portfolio borrowers whofall outside the narrow conforming creditbox. Comergence offers a full suite ofhands-on and automated services formortgage originator and appraiser duediligence and profile surveillance.

Bayview & Lakeview Wholesalerecently began using Comergence’sREALM for Wholesale Originators, a pro-prietary platform with a comprehensivedatabase of over 400,000 records onevery licensed mortgage originator inthe country. REALM aggregates critical

data such as: Licensing, criminal andcivil records, financial sanctions, as wellas bankruptcies and foreclosures.Because the REALM platform is updatedcontinuously, clients are able to keepcurrent on the status of their third-party originators, helping to ensurecompliance with state and federal regu-lations as well as monitor risk.

“Bayview is streamlining its origina-tor approval process by using REALM forThird Party Originators,” said GregSchroeder, president of Comergence.“We’re delighted to add Bayview to ourgrowing client base. By using our duediligence and monitoring services,

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leadershipLYKKEN ON

leadership

The Seven Steps to Becoming a Better Communicator

By David Lykken

When I speakwith leaders inthe mortgageindustry about

the challenges with which they grapple

on a daily basis, there are several thingsthat come to mind. Of course, I hear agreat deal about adapting to the regula-tory environment. I also hear a lotabout vendor management and techno-logical change. The list goes on and on.But, when I dig deeper, I found the

heart of what makes all of these issuesso challenging centers around a singlevariable: Communication.

The real difficulty in most businessissues lies in how the messaging with-in those issues is sent and received.Are new regulations going to be prop-erly understood so that they are prop-erly accounted for? Are there going tobe misunderstandings in the vendoragreement that causes resentment, oreven litigation, later down the road?Have the benefits of the new technol-ogy been properly explained so thatyour people understand why they’reusing it? Do some brainstorming.Think about any issue your dealingwith, ask yourself what really bothersyou about it, and I’ll bet that a strug-gle with communication is going to bein there somewhere.

At its core, good communication isall about clarity. Organizations oftenfail with their compliance, becausethey lack a clear understanding of theregulations—a breakdown of commu-nication. Relationships with vendorsoften sour because clear expectationsare not set for each party—anotherbreakdown in communication. And, asI mentioned, people are often resist-ant to adopting new technologiesbecause they down have a clear graspon its purpose—communicationbreaking down yet again. Clarity is atthe heart of great communication. Asa leader in your organization, it’ssomething that should always be atthe forefront of your mind.

So, how can you become a bettercommunicator? It isn’t just about takinga class on public speaking. You’ve got todevelop your character—who you areas a person and how you relate to peo-ple. To be a better communicator,you’ve got to be a better human being.Here’s how to do it …

The first rule of communicationisn’t about how you send the mes-sage—it’s about how you receive it. Ifyou want to become a better commu-nicator, you’ve got to start withbecoming a better listener. In his clas-sic book, How to Win Friends andInfluence People, Dale Carnegie tellsthe story of how he once met abotanist at a party. He was fascinatedby botany and knew little about it, sohe asked the man to tell him about hisprofession. All night long, he listenedand begged the man to go on. Finally,at the end of the night, Dale Carnegiewas told that he was the greatest con-versationalist the man had ever met—even though he had hardly said aword! Here’s the thing, you cannotreally know the best way communi-cate a message to people until you’veheard from them first. When you lis-ten, you discover what stage peopleare at in their knowledge. And youmay even learn something you didn’tknow that could cause you to alter themessage you wish to convey. Always,always listen before you speak.

The next step to becoming a bettercommunicator is related somewhat tothe first. You listen before you speak,not just because it helps you deter-mine what words to say, but becauseit helps you determine how you willsay them. Because the message isn’tjust about what you tell people—it’salso about how you make them feel.As you’re becoming a better listener,you should also focus on becomingmore empathetic. You should alwaysstrive to put yourself in the other per-son’s shoes. Ask yourself, how would Ifeel if I were receiving this message?When you can identify with someoneon an emotional level, the right wordsto say will come naturally to you. And,more importantly, the people with

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whom you are speaking with feel likeyou care about them. And, as the say-ing goes, people don’t care how muchyou know until they know how muchyou care.

Lately, I’ve been really interested inthe idea of transparency in leader-ship. Being more transparent canmake you more trustworthy and buildstronger character in you as a leader.And it is also absolutely essential inbecoming a better communicator.Why is transparency so important incommunication? Because it providesconsistency. When you are open andhonest in your communications, anddon’t hide your intentions or haveulterior motives, you won’t be as like-ly to give people mixed signals. Peoplewill have a clearer idea of your expec-tations in your communications,because you will always be the same.People will be able to read you,because you will be an open book.

The next step to becoming a bettercommunicator is being more accessi-ble. No matter how good of a commu-nicator you are, people are likely tohave questions about your expecta-tions. If they can’t reach you, the com-munication will dissolve into confusionover time. Is your door open to yourpeople? Can they reach out to you withtheir questions? How often to youcheck your email and other communi-cations? If people can’t get a hold ofyou when they need you, they will mostlikely simply guess about what youwant from them. Don’t give them thatopportunity—be available.

Even if you have mastered all ofpieces of communication so far, it willbe all for naught if you disregard thisnext step. After you’ve covered thebasics in becoming a better communi-cator, you then have to become moreorganized. Because, here’s the thing—you can’t remember everything. Youcannot remember all of your commit-ments. You cannot remember all of thepeople with whom you need to followup. You probably cannot remembermuch of what you say. So, you’ve got tokeep track of it. Do you take notes onyour conversations, meetings, andother interactions? You probablyshould. Communication without organ-ization is unreliable; keep your com-munication on track by keeping track ofyour communications.

As you become a better communica-tor, you will always need fuel for yourconversations. So, the next step tobecoming a better communicator is tobe more informed. If you have a firmgrasp on what’s going on in your com-pany, the industry, and the world, yourcommunications will have more con-text. You’ll speak with knowledge andauthority, and people will listen towhat you have to say. Keep up on thecurrent events—things that are hap-pening from around the office toaround the world. An informed com-municator is an effective communica-tor.

Finally, after you’ve done all of this,yes, you can take a class on public

ing corporate dysfunction, establishingand communicating a clear corporatestrategy while focusing on processimprovement and operational efficien-cies resulting in increased profitability.David has been a regular contributor onCNBC and Fox Business News and cur-rently hosts a successful weekly radioprogram, “Lykken on Lending,” that isheard each Monday at noon (CentralStandard Time) by thousands of mort-gage professionals. He produces a dailyone-minute video called “Today’sMortgage Minute” that appears on hun-dreds of television, radio and newspaperWeb sites across America. He may bereached by phone at (512) 501-2810 orby e-mail at dlykken@mbs-team.com.

speaking. The final step to becoming abetter communicator is becoming morearticulate. Yes, it will help to strengthenyour oral communication skills. But itwould also be helpful to broaden yourvocabulary. Learn new words by readingliterary fiction or long-form journalism.If you have the time, you might even trylearning a new language. Either way,the final step is about improving thewords you use and the way you usethem so that the people with whom youare communicating can be betterreached.

Going into the future, great commu-nication is going to be what really setsgreat leaders apart from those who aremediocre. For the most part, all prob-

lems are—at their very core—peopleproblems. When you can properlycommunicate with the people withwhom you interact on a daily basis inbusiness, you’re well on your way tobecoming the great leader I know youcan be.

David Lykken is 40-year mortgageindustry veteran who has been anowner operator in three mortgagebanking companies and a softwarecompany. As a former businessowner/operator, today David loveshelping C-Level executives and businessowners achieve extraordinary resultsvia consulting, coaching and communi-cations, with the objective of eliminat-

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The Residential Segment of the Regional Conference ofMortgage Bankers Associations this year (its 32nd) will pro-vide mortgage lenders with a combination of quality pro-gramming, unmatched networking opportunities at twococktail receptions, lunch in the exhibit hall, two continen-tal breakfasts, a first-class hotel at the Borgata … all at an

excellent conference rate of $109. Once you pick up your badge, our entireconference is yours to enjoy!

The event’s program starts with Barry Habib, who will tell our attendeeswhere he believes the industry is headed in 2015. Barry’s bond and inter-est rate predictions for 2014 were very accurate! Barry will be followed bytwo great General Session panels: Regina Lowrie’s panel, one of the in-dustry’s most popular in 2013 and 2014, will give you insight from key in-dustry leaders who will discuss their views on where the industry is headedin 2015. Our second General Session panel, “The Future of GovernmentPrograms,” will be led by former FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery,currently vice chairman of the Collingwood Group.

The first session in the afternoon on Wednesday will feature Ken Mark-ison, a much sought after speaker, and his panel of experts who will diveinto RESPA and TILA to get you ready for the Aug. 1 deadline!

Our Regulatory Panel will bring together speakers from the Pennsylva-nia Department of Banking & Securities, the New Jersey Department ofBanking & Insurance, the New York State Department of Financial Serviceswho will discuss common or recurrent problems discovered in their in-dustry exams. For the first time, the panel will include attorneys that workclosely with state regulators and who are familiar with recurrent violationsthey see in their practices. This is a unique opportunity to get a “headsup” on what your company should be prepared for before the state ex-aminers come in. You can avoid the potentially costly problems that othercompanies have experienced by having a roadmap of obstacles to over-come!

On Thursday, we will begin with a panel on vendor management, ledby Ari Karen and Regina Lowrie. The CFPB holds the mortgage lender re-sponsible for their vendors and third parties they deal with in originatingmortgage loans. This is an opportunity to learn how to avoid the poten-tially expensive liability when vendors make mistakes that cause problemsfor consumers!

Our second panel features two CFPB and legislative experts, Ken Mark-ison and Jack Konyk, who will look at all of the other actions and proposalsof the CFPB that can impact your production and profitability. While theindustry has been focused upon RESPA and TILA issues, there are manyother issues that you should know about and this panel will bring themto your attention.

For those who are interested in commercial mortgage lending, the con-ference offers two days preceding the Residential Program with a GeneralSession, special panels, two lunches (one with a speaker and the other inthe commercial exhibit hall), and two cocktail receptions (commercial at-tendees are also invited to the opening residential cocktail reception onTuesday evening, March 10).

Well, now you will have to admit this is a very special conference, as italways has been a one-of-a-kind event

See you at the Borgata!

E. Robert Levy is chairman of the Regional Conference of the MortgageBankers Association and Executive Director & Counsel of the MortgageBankers Association of New Jersey, New Jersey Association of Mortgage Bro-kers and the Pennsylvania Association of Mortgage Brokers. He may bereached by phone at (732) 596-1619.

A Message From E. Robert LevyChairman, Regional Conference of the Mortgage Bankers

Association and Executive Director & Counselof the MBANJ, NJAMB and PAMB

�

Bayview has demonstrated a strongcommitment to client experience, qual-ity control and regulatory compliance.”

“REALM for Third Party Originators issimplifying our mortgage brokerapproval process, adding ease of access,consistency and speed to an alreadystreamlined process,” said MarcellaDeCerbo, vice president with Bayview.“We especially like the monitoring andrenewal process provided byComergence. Comergence monitors theactivities of our originators and alerts usof any changes and helps us easily renewour customer database with the mostupdated and current information.”

Wholesale One Adds to Its Charter Memberships

Wholesale One has announced threecharter mortgage broker members andthe addition of two wholesale investorsto the cooperative platform. WholesaleOne is managed by a division ofAltisource Portfolio Solutions.

“The mortgage market is seeking costeffective and efficient access to lendingproducts and services that drive produc-tivity and help address important com-pliance needs,” said Greg Murray, chiefexecutive officer of Wholesale One.“With our relationships in the mortgageindustry we have quickly convertedWholesale One from a concept to anentity delivering value to members.”

New charter mortgage brokers toWholesale One include The AdvantageMortgage Group of Scottsdale, Ariz.;Advantage Rate Mortgage of Matthews,N.C.; and Ultimate Rate MortgageCompany of Des Plaines, Ill.

“The cooperative model is attractivefor independent brokers for the way itstreamlines our fragmented market-place and helps us drive efficiency andproductivity,” said Stan Wang, presidentof The Advantage Mortgage Group. “Wejoined Wholesale One to help us growour business and know our borrowerswill benefit from the access to products,services and expertise while we benefitfrom reducing costs and getting assis-tance meeting complex regulatoryrequirements.”

In addition, two charter wholesalerswill participate on the Wholesale Oneplatform and work with brokers to findthe best loan product for their borrow-ers. The charter wholesalers are AngelOak Mortgage Solutions of Atlanta, Ga.and SterneAgee Mortgage of Orlando,Fla. The addition of the charter whole-salers immediately offers WholesaleOne members the ability to accessagency and non-agency loans.

“Many brokers may not be aware ofthe lending options available for non-agency borrowers, so Wholesale One isexpanding the exposure to borrowing

alternatives and giving us new ways togrow our business,” said Tom Hutchens,senior vice president of sales and mar-keting for Angel Oak MortgageSolutions. “By being a part of theWholesale One cooperative, we’re givingbrokers confidence that we have beenvetted as a lender for their non-agencyloans.”

LRES AnnouncesAcquisition of New AMC

LRES, a pro-vider of resi-dential andcommercialv a l u a t i o n s

and asset management for the mort-gage, banking, credit union and realestate industries, announced that it hasacquired Lenders Choice, a residentialreal estate appraisal management com-pany (AMC) providing valuation servicesspecifically for the mortgage industry.

Headquartered in Tulsa, Okla.,Lenders Choice specializes in fast andthorough completion of appraisalsthrough its communications technologyand software platform, expandinggrowth opportunities for LRES whichproudly maintains nationwide compli-ance.

Through this acquisition, LendersChoice is now fully incorporated underLRES’ AMC licenses, gaining the abilityto conduct business within all 50 U.S.states and jurisdictions. Lenders Choicecustomers are also exposed to LRES’enhanced technology solutions, includ-ing easier systems connectivity and bulkupload capabilities through itsDirectConnect Integration Hub, which iscurrently integrated with two loan orig-ination systems and five loan serviceplatforms. The acquisition enhancesLenders Choice’s current infrastructurewith the ability to handle more volume.

“We are pleased to welcome LendersChoice into the LRES family and mergeour best-of-breed solutions to enhanceservice levels for our customers,” saidRoger Beane, LRES founder and CEO.“The acquisition aligns with the strate-gic vision of LRES as we continue toexpand our national reach.”

Mortgage Professionals to Watch

l The Mortgage Bankers Association(MBA) has announced that FowlerWilliams, CMB, president of CrescentMortgage Company in Atlanta, Ga.,has been appointed chairman of the

heard on the streetcontinued from page 41

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www.TagQuest.com info@tagquest.com

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Knowledge is power. Powertranslates to success, whetherit is dollars in your pocket,stronger leadership, increasedbottom lines or peace ofmind, we are here for you.

This month, we are introducing a newcolumn for questions relating to starting abusiness, managing a business, training,networking, tax-related issues, corporatesecurity policy, fraud alerts and compli-ance. All answers are for informationalpurpose only, and are not intended topractice law, or are meant to provide taxadvice or tax opinions. After reviewing ourinformation, we both recommend seekinglegal counsel or the advice of a tax profes-sional. Please e-mail us at

JustAskEricandLaura@gmail.com to voiceany questions or problems. We are here foryou!

Sokhea Ean, president ofEan Homes LLC asks …This may sound like a really dumb ques-tion, but how important do you think itis to utilize all social media outlets:Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram,etc. for a new mortgage broker?

Eric’s reply to Sokhea …My personal advice is to have a pres-ence, but to not spend a lot of timeand/or money on it. It is like the oldYellow Pages. You had to be in it toprove you were a real company, but

you never really got any customersfrom it unless you paid for a full-pagead which only the big boys couldafford.

I have tried it all and never receivedone lead from any of it. Of course, itwill be argued (mainly by vendors ofsuch products), I did not spend the“investment” it would take. Then itbecomes a cost/benefit analysis, but Ireally don’t believe it would be costeffective for me. Mainly, my borrowersare previous customers or referralsfrom real estate agents or other peo-ple who have heard of me. This is thecheapest form of advertising and theend result someone starting outshould strive for. I think all the hype

about the results are way overblown.Again, this is my opinion

Laura’s reply to Sokhea …I do believe there is a benefit to hav-ing a presence in most social net-working media. It is here to stay, andyes, I have gotten business fromusing it, not a lot but a few pastclients who saw me at the right timeand it triggered their memory, “Ah, Ineed to call Laura, instead of so-and-so.” It can be used as a subtlereminder that you are in the busi-ness without hitting everyone overthe head with a hard sell, and busi-ness blasts nightly, unless you are acompany and you choose to market

ByEric Weinstein & Laura Burke

Just Ask

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continued on page 48

k Eric & Laurathe company that way.

I think as a private individual a nicemention from time to time is the bestway, subtle undertones that won’tturn friends away on Facebook,Twitter and I personally feel you couldbe a little more aggressive withLinkedIn, but remember that LinkedInis a business network, so you reachingout would probably be better servedamong those that you have a familiar-ity with versus an unknown onLinkedIn.

None of the social media have ahigh cost, if any for the use of it. Myrecommendation is you have nothingto lose, so use it for 90 days, and thenmake an evaluation, was it worth yourtime? If so keep on using it, maybeincrease your use, add more attrib-utes, the more benefit to the user, thestronger your response rate will be.

Roy Turr in Pennsylvania asks …Does writing this column get youmuch business?

Eric’s reply to Roy …I cannot speak for Laura, but all I do isloans. I very much doubt any poten-tial customers subscribe to NationalMortgage Professional Magazine. I do,however, get tons of spam since my e-mail is in the bio. I have gotten callsfrom out of state mortgage brokerswho have promised to send me aVirginia deal, but I have never actual-ly gotten one. Sometimes, I will con-nect with someone who likes readingmy articles and are very complimenta-ry, but I have never gotten a plug nick-el out of it. Being a scribe is a lonelyprofession. You don’ do it for themoney … hell, I don’t know why I doit. Laura?

Laura’s reply to Roy …Nice, Eric! My take on it is similar onlyI convince myself there is an intrinsicbenefit. For me I love to write, so shar-ing my knowledge or lack thereof, issomething I enjoy doing. I don’t thinkthe readership of National MortgageProfessional Magazine are looking forloan originators, but I did thinkmaybe once I would get a call relatingto taxes, but like Eric I have not.

But, there are benefits. Especially ifyou are trying to expose yourself as anexpert in your field, there is nogreater compliment than to have yourarticle chosen for publication. I havewritten articles for other types of jour-nals, and also for a local newspaper,that have brought me business. So Iwrite for the enjoyment and challengeto write with new angles, new eyesand of relative importance to ourreaders.

Unbalanced in Chicago asks …I am wondering if all origination jobsare strictly commissioned-based. Ihave been in the business for threeyears and with a family I find it verydifficult to budget my income, as myclosings tend to fluctuate. Are thereany salary-type paid positions for loanoriginators. If not how did you man-age your budget when you guys wereoriginating?

Eric’s reply to Unbalanced …Yes, I am sure there is a bank some-where that probably pays a salary forloan originations, but I would notwant it. The whole purpose of beingon commission is to motivate employ-ees to go out and get business. If theyare paying you a salary, they are pret-ty much saying, we got enough busi-ness coming in, we just need someoneto work the files. Someone like that isan “order-taker” not a salesman.

“Order-takers” do not get paid verywell. Salesmen are paid very gener-ously.

If it is a matter of not gettingenough business, I understand yourpoint. Just be aware, you can probablyfind something in a different industrythat makes you more money thanbeing a mortgage drone in a largebank. On the other hand, if it is a mat-

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CFPB Finalizes Amendmentsto TILA-RESPA Integrated

Mortgage Disclosure (TRID) Rule

SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Gavin T. Ales

On Jan. 20, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau(CFPB) finalized minor amendments to the TILA-RESPA Inte-grated Disclosure (TRID) rule, dubbed the “Know Before YouOwe” mortgage rules.

These minor “tweaks” to the rule address the requirement for providingrevised disclosures when a consumer locks a floating interest rate, addi-tional spacing for language regarding construction loans that may takemore than 60 days to settle, the provision for the placement of the NMLSRID on the disclosures, and other non-substantive corrections such as minorwording changes and regulatory clarifications.

The amended rule requires creditors to issue revised disclosures withinthree business days of a borrower’s election to lock a floating interest rate.Before this amendment, the rule would have required creditors to providerevised disclosures on the same day the borrower opted to lock a floatinginterest rate. In October 2014, the CFPB issued a proposed rule that wouldhave extended this timeline to the next business day rather than the samebusiness day. However, the amended rule recognizes the logistical diffi-culties a same-day requirement would present to creditors, including pos-sible restrictions as to when a borrower would be able to lock a loan so asto allow sufficient time in the day to provide revised disclosures. Creditorsare currently required to issue a revised Good Faith Estimate (GFE) withinthree days of locking a floating interest rate, so this amendment providesconsistency with current requirements for providing revised disclosures.

Additional amendments to the TRID rule identify a particular locationon the Loan Estimate form where creditors could include language in-forming consumers that they may receive a revised Loan Estimate for aconstruction loan that is expected to take more than 60 days to settle. Theexisting rule allows creditors to issue a revised disclosure prior to 60 daysbefore consummation if the original Loan Estimate clearly and conspicu-ously states that a revised disclosure could be provided. The amended ruleprovides that the placement of such language regarding a revised disclo-sure included under the master heading “Additional Information AboutThis Loan” and the heading “Other Considerations” would satisfy the “clearand conspicuous” standard.

Finally, in addition to some minor word-changing and clarifications toregulatory text, including correction of some regulatory cross-references,the revisions include an amendment to a previously reserved section ofthe 2013 Loan Originator Final Rule to require placement of the loan orig-inator’s NMLSR ID on the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.

Gavin T. Ales is chief compliance officer with Torrance, Calif.-based DocMagicInc. He may be reached by phone at (800) 649-1362, ext. 6446 or e-mailgavin@docmagic.com.

� just ask eric & lauracontinued from page 47

ter of you never having had to learn tobudget, that is a simple fix. Take howmuch money you made last year anddivide it by 12. That is your monthlybudget. When your commissionchecks come in, put them in a sepa-rate bank account. Every month, onlydraw out your budgeted income. Ingood months, there will build up acushion for the bad months. In badmonths, you will dip into your sav-ings. That’s how grown-ups do it.

Laura’s reply to Unbalanced …Eric, nice reply. I like the idea of put-ting the money in separate bankaccounts, what a great way to keepyour hands out of the reserves. All toooften, new and old loan originatorslive paycheck to paycheck, once inthe cycle, it is difficult to come out of.If you are accustomed to a weeklypaycheck, the company you are work-ing for will pay you an hourly mini-mum wage and some banks may alsopay out an additional set amounteach month called a draw againstcommission.

When I first started in the business,the bank I worked for did it that way,we all got a small amount I think itwas something like $1,500 a monthon our first paycheck and our secondcheck covered the draw. We got paidevery two weeks. If you didn’t coveryour draw I think they let you go intotwo draws totaling $3,000 before theyturned off your draw. For most loanoriginators at that time this wasn’t anissue at all.

I do agree that being on commis-sion has its advantages. You are acontract employee, you can work thehours you choose. I do know thatwith all of the new changes in thelaws and compliance that many loanofficers are now considered employ-ees instead of contractors. They arepaid minimum wage plus commis-sion. But by being an employee youmust come in and leave when your retold, and follow the lenders/banksrules on time off.

Back in the day, we could come inwhen we needed to and we stayedout in the field producing loans, net-working and building relationships.We never had to punch a clock. I onlyhad to attend mandatory meetings.

If I were you, I would plan anincome strategy, determine howmuch money you must have eachmonth, let’s use $4,000 as an exam-ple: $4,000 X 12 = $48,000. You knowyou need to make $48,000 annuallyand $4,000 per month to make yourbudget work, and anything over isplentiful, and less is a shortfall.

The next step is to determine youraverage commission on both refisand purchases. To make it simple forthe ease of this explanation let’sassume my average loan size is

$225,000, and I make about $2,000per transaction. I need two transac-tions per month to close. Let’s planfor some fallout so let’s try to close athird transaction every month, thiswill help alleviate any shorterincome, lower priced closings, andcover any fall out.

This is similar to Eric’s plan now,start banking the amount you needfor each month you have overage,pay the bank first building your nestegg. You can determine how youwant to spend, or save your overageafter you know you are covered for atleast three to four months, as a cush-ion. I hope this helps lend someinsight into how others are handlingtheir commission based incomes.

Friendless in Seattle asks …I recently tried to close a refinancefor a friend that did not go as well asI thought it would. They were upsidedown on their property and we werenot able to get them the loan pro-gram and interest rate I quotedthem. I don’t want to lose our friend-ship, have you had any experiencesin the past that caused a family mem-ber or friend to be upset with youprofessionally? If so what would beyour advice on handling working withfriends and family?

Eric’s reply to Friendless …I have closed loans for relatives mak-ing zero money and they haveaccused me of ripping them off. First,you should be open and honestthroughout the loan. Pre-explain tothem the process and the potentialpitfalls. Do your best to check prop-erty values before wasting theirmoney on appraisals you think mightnot come in at value. I have hadplenty of loans for friends, relativesand customers go sideways, but usu-ally they understand it was not myfault because they were aware of thefacts and the consequences if thingsdid not go as planned.

In this case, it sounds to me likeyou did not warn them what mighthappen if the value came in too low.That makes it your fault they wastedthe appraisal money. They shouldhave gone into it knowing it was arisk. I would give them back theappraisal money if you want to makeit right.

Relatives, friends and customersyou just met should all be treated thesame. There is no reason for them toget upset with you unless you didsomething wrong. Everyone makesmistakes. If you do err, own up to it,fall on your sword and pay the dam-ages. If they understand the process,how can they blame you if you didnothing wrong?

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15www.LykkenOnLending.com

Laura’s reply to Friendless …I too have had things go awry. It wasalways a standard joke my processorand I had, the people you work themost for appreciate it the least.Oftentimes, I have dug into my com-mission to give a friend or familymember a great deal, often to mydetriment.

I have taken a solemn vow not giveadvice on rate locking to anyone, andin 20 years, I have been pretty goodabout the routine, “I don’t have acrystal ball, if I did I could predict somany things in advance.” My cus-tomers always understood the volatil-ity of the market. I could tell them,there was going to be a market factorhappening the next day and let themmake their own choices.

Well, I’m sure you guessed it, theone and only time I gave advice, Itold my daughter not to lock and waituntil the next day. Yes, the rates wentup and never came back down untilway after she closed. I felt horrible, Iwas already giving her what I wasallowed to give her out of my com-mission, but I did feel terrible andended up giving her another conces-sion out of my pocket.

I agree with Eric, if you make themistake, own up to it. If you didn’tthen it’s your choice as to how youwant to handle it. Clients often haveselective amnesia, so how far do youwant to go to make peace. Know thatno matter what you do, it will still bea memory of the incident that hap-pened. Best of luck to you!

Roomless in Seattle asks …When is a room, a room? I have a logcabin home where the appraiser saysthere are no bedrooms, which is adeal killer. There is an enclosed foyerwhich the listing agent calls a room.The appraiser says it is not a bed-room.

Eric’s reply to Roomless …Four things a room must have to beconsidered a bedroom:

1. Entrance: A bedroom needs atleast two methods of egress, so itshould be accessible from thehouse (commonly through a door),and then have one other exit (win-dow or door).

2. Ceiling height: A bedroom ceilingneeds to be at least seven feet tall.It’s okay if some portions of theceiling are below this level, but atleast 50 percent of the ceilingneeds to be a minimum of sevenfeet in height. Most ceilings tendto be at least eight feet tall, soceiling height is not usually anissue

3. Escape: A bedroom must have one

other method of egress beyondthe entrance point. A door to theexterior works as an exit point,and so does a window. Accordingto the International ResidentialCode, a bedroom window can bebetween 24 and 44 inches fromthe floor, it needs at least 5.7-square feet for the opening, andit must measure no less than 24inches high and 20 inches wide.

4. Size: The room should be at least70-sqare feet, and more specifi-cally, the room cannot be smallerthan seven feet in any horizontaldirection.

A bedroom should probably havea closet since most buyers expectone, but technically theInternational Residential Code doesnot mandate a bedroom to have acloset. Nevertheless, Underwriterswill request a value adjustment ifthere is no closet in the room.

Laura’s reply to Roomless …WOW, Eric has really done his home-work on this one, nice job! I thinkyou have adequately addressed thequestion of when a room is a room?I would like to add the condition ofa room is also very important. It’sthe appraiser’s job to check allrooms for defects, and/or problemssuch as mold, leaks, broken win-dows, peeling paint, and the list goeson.

If the room has removable items,these items are not included in theappraised value. For example, alarge book case that is not attachedto the wall, gives no added value tothe appraised value.

I am wondering if different areasof the country have different meth-ods of classifying a room, as I dobelieve internationally it would bedifferent.

Disclaimer: All answers are for infor-mational purpose only, and are notintended to practice law, or providetax advice or tax opinions. Afterreviewing our information we recom-mend seeking legal counsel or theadvice of a tax professional.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, onthe commercial real estate side until1991, when he fell in love with residen-tial lending. In 1995, he started a smallmortgage company in his basementcalled Carteret Mortgage Corporation,which in 2003, grew to one of thelargest mortgage broker companies inthe United States. He may be reachedby phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-maileweinstein4u@gmail.com. Laura Burkeis an author and trainer with 20-plusyears of experience in the mortgagearena. She may be reached by e-mail atlauralynnburke@gmail.com.

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

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Mark Mohl

Since 2012, Wall Street investors have spent upwards of $25billion to snatch up between 150,000 and 200,000 single-family homes, which they then put up for rent. While big in-vestors could self-finance their acquisitions, smaller

landlords intent on cashing in on distressed properties were forced to en-dure the residential mortgage underwriting process for every home theyadded to their portfolio, each one becoming more difficult to finance.

Today, there are millions of these smaller buy-to-rent landlords whoare creditworthy and eager to borrow, but with few good options for fi-nancing. And there is still no shortage of the kinds of properties they wantto buy on the market. This is an excellent opportunity for lenders whoknow how to meet their unique needs.

Someone who understands their business modelBuy-to-rent investors may consider themselves commercial enterprisesbut they’re still investing in residential real estate, which lenders are con-ditioned to think of in a certain way—and not just lenders. Both FannieMae and Freddie Mac impose limitations on the number of investmentproperties a borrower can own before their financing options dry up.While they can always seek financing from hard money lenders, the pricesis high.

In today’s market, the buy-to-rent investor can make good money, buy-ing up real estate at distressed prices and then renting it out to a largebase of potential renters. Without a lender who understands how thisbusiness works, financing is very difficult.

Access to loan products that fit their needsEven when they find a lender who will finance initial purchases, it can bevery difficult for these investors to refinance them later in order to pullcash out to expand their portfolios. Traditionally, these investors have hadto beat the bushes to find partners or hard money lenders to finance theiracquisitions, when cash wasn’t available.

Before the foreclosure crisis, investors could approach homeownersand secure owner financing for investment properties, but when the banksbecame the owners, this avenue was no longer available. The broker whocan bring the right financing tools to the table will succeed.

A streamlined application processThe right products still will be of no benefit to the investor who cannotmake it through the laborious underwriting process. Loans to buy-to-rentinvestors are not like any other loan product. Why then should they beunderwritten like other loans?

Only recently have lending partners entered the game who can providethe kind of forward thinking underwriting that can make these deals easyto originate, for both the broker and the real estate investor.

A real financial partnerUltimately, what these landlords need is a real financial partner who willhelp them build their businesses. This has not been the way these smallerinvestor owners were viewed by the industry in the past. Brokers thatbegin to see this opportunity clearly and find ways to serve this niche willfind a new source of revenue and a line of business that could quicklyeclipse the broker’s traditional business.

Mark Mohl works with B2R’s wholesale lending platform, advising third partiesand facilitating access toB2R’s financing options for their clients. For more in-formation, call (888) 495-7731 or visit http://info.b2rfinance.com/NMP.

The Buy-to-Rent Mortgage Opportunity

�

As we gear up for a new political cycle, I’d like to intro-duce myself as the new Chairman of the MortgageAction Alliance (MAA). My name is Fowler Williams. Iam president of Crescent Mortgage in Atlanta, Ga., and

I’m honored to serve as your MAA Chairman for the next twoyears.

I’m thrilled to be taking over where outgoing MAA Chair Amy Swaney leftoff. MAA is larger and stronger than ever, and I’m excited to be joining a win-ning team. I have strong ties to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), hav-ing been a featured speaker on panels at previous MBA Annual Conventions,and Secondary and Independent Mortgage Bankers Conferences. I also serveon the MBA President’s Advisory Group at the request of Dave Stevens, MBA’spresident and chief executive officer. I have been deeply involved with MBA’sprior industry advocacy efforts, and I’m dedicated to continuing and improv-ing the MAA’s very real and positive impact on the issues facing the realestate finance industry.

I believe our strength is measured not only through our aggregate num-bers, but also through intensity of involvement. Our “Calls to Action” via MAAare key elements of our overall advocacy strategy. I hope you take theseopportunities to connect with your elected officials, and educate them aboutthe consumer impacts of policies forged both in Washington, D.C., and statecapitals throughout the country. For the next two years, we need you asmortgage professionals—and advocates, to take even greater advantage ofthe opportunities that MAA offers the industry. Specifically, I’d like to workwith individual companies and state associations alike to broaden MAA’senrollment, which will allow us to be more effective at the state and federallevels in realizing our advocacy needs.

I tip my hat to Amy Swaney and the incredible work she has done overgrowing MAA these past two years. I hope to maintain the momentum she’sestablished as I take the reins. I have no doubt that we will continue to seeour enrollment numbers and effectiveness increase. These next two years, wehave a great opportunity to make this program even more effective andcohesive at a regional and national level. The larger the group, the louder thevoice!

If you would like to run an MAA campaign, please contact StephanieGraham at (202) 557-2818 or e-mail sgraham@mba.org to receive an enroll-ment campaign kit and learn more about how you can engage your col-leagues and employees in MBA’s advocacy programs.

Real estate finance industry professionals who wish to join or learn moreabout MAA can do so at www.mortgageactionalliance.org. If you have anyquestions regarding MBA’s advocacy programs, please contact MBA’sAssistant Director of Political Affairs Annie Gawkowski at (202) 557-2816 or e-mail agawkowski@mba.org.

Fowler Williams is chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s MortgageAction Alliance. He is also president of Atlanta, Ga.-based Crescent Mortgage.Williams speaks regularly to financial institutions and their respective organi-zations on compliance, regulatory changes in mortgage lending, and assessingtheir overall mortgage operations to maximize income, while minimizing therisks associated in today’s mortgage lending environment. He may be reachedby phone at (800) 851-0263 or e-mail fwilliams@crescentmortgage.net.

MBA’sMortgageActionAlliance

A Message From MAA Chairman Fowler Williams

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w w w . l i s t i n g b o o s t e r . c o m

recruiting process is crucial. Begin byassessing how and where your compa-ny guises new employees, and educateleadership on recruiting best prac-tices. The key lies in identifying yourcompany’s mission and goals, makingthose initiatives clear to candidatesand then recognizing individuals whoare up to the task.

Many of these methods are bor-rowed from the business book andphilosophy, The Blue Ocean Strategy,written by W. Chan Kim and ReneeMauborgne. The Blue Ocean Strategyis based on the idea that businessescan “create uncontested marketspace, while making the competitionirrelevant.” According to the book,the aim of applying the Blue OceanStrategy is not to outperform theexisting industry competition, per se,but to create entirely new marketavenues (the “blue ocean”) fromwhich you can then draw actual capi-tal opportunities.

For example, the book suggests re-focusing recruiting efforts away from“the big fish.” Instead, look forgrowth opportunities in markets thatare smaller or brushed over by someof the industry’s larger players—areas where you know that you as amortgage lender can make animpact. More importantly, look forindividuals or lenders who can bene-fit from partnering with you.

Employees who feel comfortable,motivated and supported by theiremployers are highly engaged—andthat is the foundation to your com-pany’s success.

In fact, Gallup reports that organi-zations with an average of 9.3engaged employees for every activelydisengaged worker experienced 147percent higher earnings per share(EPS) when compared to their compe-tition. That’s no small potatoes.

Smaller and mid-sized lendersbenefit from their economy of scale.They can seize opportunities withcompanies that are both proficient inwhat they do and community-cen-tered, so they can quickly implementtheir processes (without all thebureaucracy of a larger corporation)and get out of the way.

That being said, it’s important notto jump in with both your feet wet. Itcan be easy take a candidate’s wordregarding their work experience andlevels of ambition. Instead, take yourtime to “get used to the water;” i.e.getting to know the candidate beforeyou invest in their services.

Building better relationships withpotential partners well before anoffer letter is even on the tableensures that the candidate is a goodfit for your company. When you finda perfect match, your company blos-soms—and benefits—in big ways.

Successful recruitingstarts with leadership Of course, what you do after a newrecruit is on board is what determinesyour employee’s and your company’ssuccess.

Gallup has found that managerswho focus on their employees’strengths can practically eliminatedisengagement and increase produc-tivity and profitability. On the otherhand, employee engagement falls flator falters, when left unmanaged.

According to the Blue OceanStrategy, successful leadership: l Focuses on what acts and activities

leaders need to undertake to boosttheir teams’ motivation and busi-ness results, not on who leadersneed to be.

l Connects leaders’ actions closelyto market realities by having thepeople on the frontline definewhat actions would enable themto thrive and best serve customersand key stakeholders.

l Distributes leadership across all lev-els because outstanding organiza-tional performance often stems fromthe motivation and actions of middleand frontline leaders who are in clos-er contact with the market.

Once successful leadership is inplace, lenders can be sure theiremployees have the proper resourcesand support, which leads to higherengagement and productivity levelson the job—and raises your compa-ny’s bottom line.

A 20-year veteran of the mortgage indus-try, Mike Maida began his career in loanorigination and secondary market lend-ing, before becoming national salesdirector for GSF Mortgage Corporation.Maida currently oversees branch devel-opment, including retail, wholesale andcorrespondent relationships, as well asrecruitment. He enjoys volunteering withhis wife and daughter, and is an avidgolfer—for business or for leisure.

recruiting in a blue oceancontinued from page 35

By Kerry Johnson, Ph.D.

Tim was on the verge of bankruptcy.Nobody seemed willing or motivatedto refinance or purchase. Still, Timdidn’t want to have to start a newcareer. Real estate agents seemed tospin his wheels. While he was able tomeet with CPAs and financial advi-sors, they seemed more willing toreceive referrals than to give them.Tim did five loans in June and onlythree in July. A classic downward spi-ral. Not enough business even tokeep the doors open. Then he decid-ed to do something about it. Hebecame proactive about salesinstead of reactive hoping businesswould just call in. He became asales-focused mortgage brokerinstead of one waiting for the phoneto ring.

This month, Tim put 15 loans inthe pipeline. He hired another twosales pros, instead of standard cook-ie cutter loan officers waiting for thephone to ring. Tim is on track to

originate 180 loans this year whilemany other brokers are closing theirdoors. How did Tim do it? How didhe turn his company around from amoney loser to a money maker?

Years ago, prospects shopped yourrates. If you were the lowest, you gotthe business. Often prospects wouldeven call asking for your rates andfees, and then hang up without evensaying thank you. Prospects haven’tchanged, but you should. Accordingto the University of Connecticut, 87percent of your clients care moreabout their relationship with youprices. This seems illogical unlessyou consider why they bought in thefirst place.

Al was like that. He refinanced myhouse in 2008 and didn’t even somuch as dial the phone to say thankyou for the business. Although I didget a postcard telling me how muchhis company has grown. I have refi-nanced once since then, with anoth-

er lender. I added 3,500-square feetto my home, did a new first for $1million with a different originator. Ididn’t use Al. Why? Did Al do a goodjob? Yes. Didn’t he lower my monthlypayment? Yes. Why did I use the com-petition? Al lost the relationship. Hedidn’t keep in touch. While Al didsend a postcard every six months, hemade me a transaction, instead of aclient.

What clients wantAccording to the National ConsumersUnion., only 17 percent of productspurchased last year for more than$500 used the previous lender. Thismeans that you have likely lost con-tact with your clients. Many produc-ers are still waiting for the phone toring. But when customers were askedif they would purchase again fromthe last vendor, 89 percent said yes,if their vender had bothered to fol-low up on the relationship.According to Forrester Research, thethree key items your clients wantmost are:

1. A working knowledge of what they boughtYour clients really want to know whatthey bought and a contrast aboutother options. They don’t want tobecome experts. They depend on youfor that. But they do want to knowwhat they have and what is available.

2. They want you to monitor theirmortgage as if it were your ownYou are constantly looking for waysto gain more value. You are privy tothe most current products on themarket. Your clients want the sameconsideration.

3. They want frequency in their relationshipThey want to hear from you at leastevery three months. I mentioned thisto one originator who sends a newslet-ter every quarter, didn’t that make adifference? The answer is, would yourather hear from a trusted advisor per-sonally or see her name on a sheet ofpaper every once in a while?

How to triple your sales this yearPeter, a mortgage broker in Atlanta,has 3,000 clients from business hehas originated over the past 10 years.A treasure chest of future business.Lately, he has been striking out call-ing realtors who are also suffering.They are sometimes rude and oftenflaky.

So Peter started calling his pastborrowers. At first it was awkward.He felt guilty calling borrowers whohadn’t heard from him in the pastthree years. But he sucked up his callreluctance and dialed anyway.Surprisingly, nearly everyone seemedglad to hear from him. They askedabout his family and even expressedgratitude for the great job Peter didon their last loan. Peter is now usinga three-step process that is earninghim an 11 percent closing rate on allpast borrower calls.

Here is his three-part strategy:

Catch up, update, referrals1. Catch upPeter calls the client and catches upon their family. He asks about littleJohnny’s soccer schedule and did dadvolunteer this year again to beJohnny’s coach. Is mom working ordid she realize her dream staying athome?

2. UpdatePeter then tells the client whererates are right now and how that willaffect their home value. This apprais-al estimate is the silver bullet for realestate agents helping them motivatesellers to list their home. But evenwhen the client doesn’t want to sell,they still want to hear about theirhome’s current value and what islikely to happen over the next year.Peter did some research on their ratebefore the phone call. He also knowsahead of time if he can save themmoney. He asks them if they wouldlike to combine the first and secondto save another $500 a month. Mostsay yes. But even when he cannotoffer savings, he knows how to follow

“Your business has changed. No longer will you be able tostare at the telephone hoping it will ring.”

How to Increase Your Business 80 Percent This Year by Building Client Relationships

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up with a product they can’t say noto.

The average American householdhas $17,000 in credit card debt.Peter pitches that for effect. He thenasks if the client has more or lessthan $17,000 to get the conversationstarted. He then trial closes by askingif they could write off the interestpayments on their credit card debtand save 30 percent, would they beinterested? At that point, Peter startsthe discussion about a home equityline of credit and/or a second mort-gage. Eleven percent of all past bor-rowers ask to start an application.

3. ReferralsAfter the questions about loan pro-grams and consolidating debt, Peterasks for referrals. He knows that

every client knows 250 friends, rela-tives and neighbors they could refer.So he expects to get three referralson every phone call. In fact, 55 per-cent of all his clients will refer atleast five friends. All Peter has to dois ask. But he doesn’t make the mis-take of advertising for referrals asmost LOs do. He doesn’t say, “If youknow anybody, please tell themabout me.” He says, “Who do youknow who could benefit from thekind of relationship we have had sofar.”

Five-hundred committed relationshipsWe know that a typical buyer makes acar purchase every five years, leases acar every 3.2 years, refinances theirmortgage every seven years, makes a

major financial investment everynine months and purchases aninsurance product every 10-18months.

Mortgage Broker David’s formula forsuccess is 5-2-11: Five contacts a day,two appointments a day, and 11 closedsales a month. The math is simple. Theresults are spectacular. David cannothire enough new sales producers totake up the overflow. Originators whowill make outgoing phone calls arehard to find. But the ones who do arenow making $200,000 a year. Even in aflat economy.

Your business has changed. Nolonger will you be able to stare at thetelephone hoping it will ring. Thereare strategies you can use to evendouble the business you were able tosnare over the last three years. Your

business now is all about relation-ship, rapport and trust. The betteryou can manage them, the morebusiness you will gain.

Dr. Kerry Johnson is a frequentspeaker at mortgage industry confer-ences on topics like “How to ReadYour Clients Mind” and “How toIncrease Your Sales by 80 Percent inEight Weeks”. He is the author of sixbooks, including Mastering theGame: The Human Edge in Sales andMarketing, WILLPOWER: The Secretsof Self-Discipline and his newestbook, Why Smart People MakeDumb Mistakes With Their Money.For more information, visit www.ker-ryjohnson.com/coaching, call (714)368-3650 or e-mail kerry@kerryjohn-son.com.

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By Ericka Smith

It’s a new year and it’s a pretty safe betthat we’re all looking at how we canimprove our businesses. We’re looking atour 2014 business practices and trying tosee what we can do to take our produc-tion up a notch. We’re estimating thenumber of prospects we will contacteach day, the deals we will close, andreferral partnerships we hope to gain.This is great stuff, but we should alsoevaluate the systems we’ll use to manageall this.

So where do you start? Before we cananswer that, let’s ask ourselves a fewmore questions. How manymeetings/calls do I plan to schedule on aregular business day? How will I trackwhich prospects, clients, or referral part-ners I need to call back and when? Howmany people will I talk to and what will Ido with the notes I take? These are veryimportant questions that are easily man-aged if you have access to the right tool.

So, what is the right tool? A CRMsystem.

At its core, a CRM system, or“Customer Relationship Management”system, allows businesses to managerelationships and the data associatedwith those relationships. In our industry,there are several types of CRM systemsavailable. While we might not all agree

on which CRM solution is the best, I thinkwe should all agree upon a CRM’s valuein general.

Why you should utilize a good CRM systemA good CRM system helps you manageyour time and tasks more efficiently andcan improve your productivity. A CRMimproves efficiency by enabling you toview all of your customer’s data in oneplace, preferably, using a cloud-basedplatform. Cloud-based software can beespecially useful to teams that shareresponsibilities for a specific client. DidMary already e-mail that prospect orsend that Realtor the new FHA MIP infor-mational email? If the data associatedwith a client, prospect, or referral partneris all in one place, confusion is eliminat-ed. It’s 2015—stop writing importantclient information on sticky notes orother random pieces of paper! A goodCRM allows you to open your customer’srecord, review notes from previous con-versations, and update notes as youspeak with them. This practice keepseveryone in the loop and helps providebetter customer service.

A good CRM system also helps youschedule tasks associated with arecord. For example, if John Q.

Customer says that he is getting marriedand will be looking to purchase a newhome in four months, what would youdo? Don’t pull out a sticky note andpen! With a CRM, you can add this infor-mation into John Q. Customer’s recordand assign yourself a task to call himback in two or three months. The sys-tem should also put John on an auto-matic periodic email campaign to keepyour name in front of him. Additionallya good CRM system would have a nicecard to send John congratulating himon his marriage. Now imagine you haveten, fifty, or one hundred prospects youneed to keep track of and call back atcertain times. How would you managethis without a CRM?

Now what about messaging? In theage of CAN-SPAM, we can’t write an e-mail message and blast it out to 100 peo-ple through your personal accounts. Sohow do you accomplish this? By using aCRM with e-mail messaging capabilities,you can send CAN-SPAM compliant mes-sages to an individual, to specific seg-ments of your database, or to everyone atone time. Some systems provide compli-ant email templates, on a variety of top-ics, for you to use any time you want. Nomore waiting for compliance approval.Admit it … your spreadsheets and stickynotes cannot do that.

Even better CRM solutionsAn even better CRM system will evaluateyour customers’ data and alert you whenit may be time for them to refinance ornotify you when they have listed theirhome for sale. You should also be able tosort your database by pertinent loandata. For example, recently announcedchanges to the FHA MIP premiums hasmany loan officers mining their FHA cus-tomer data for refinance opportunities.

A good system will also offer a calen-dar that populates with tasks related to aspecific customer. Remember John Q.Customer? If you didn’t, you wouldreceive a reminder to call him anyway. Inaddition to tasks that you assign yourself,a good system will alert you to customerbirthdays and loan anniversaries. It neverhurts to have another reason to reach outto someone and start a dialogue.

Top-notch CRM systems have sophisti-cated campaigns that you can assignyour records to receive based on recordtype—referral, client or prospect. For thesake of clarification, a campaign is a setof events (e-mails, reminders, tasks,direct mail pieces) that are scheduled todeploy based on certain dynamic dates(birthday or closing dates, for example)or time periods (30 days after closing).Ideal systems will allow you to keep trackof any marketing messages you have sentto a particular record and determine ifthe recipient even opened them.

For the busy loan officer who wantsto stay top of mind with their customersbefore, during, and after the loan clos-es, a robust CRM system is best whenthere is full integration between theCRM and your LOS system. Full integra-tion, or syncing, ensures the data inyour CRM matches your LOS. Syncingallows automated messages to deployto clients based on their loan status. Forexample, if your LOS system recordsreceipt of an appraisal, an automatedmessage can deploy to your customerletting them know that the appraisalhas been received. Good communica-tion during the loan process ensures ahappy borrower.

Time is your most valuable assetWhat’s worth more than a good CRM?Your time. There’s not a person in thisindustry who can say they don’t wantmore time. We’re all trying to originatemore loans, get more leads and acquirenew referral sources. Since there’s no sys-tem that will develop referral partners orattend networking events for you, youneed to do the next best thing: find a sys-tem that allows you to spend more timedoing those high-level activities.Investing in the right CRM system is aninvestment in yourself, your prospects,your clients, and your partners. 2015 canbe a different year if you make the rightinvestments.

Ericka Smith is marketing coordinator forBrookfield, Wis.-based Inlanta Mortgage.She may be reached by phone at (262)439-4283 or e-mail erickasmith@inlan-ta.com.

“While we might not all agree on which CRM solution isthe best, I think we should all agree upon a CRM’s valuein general.”

Customer Relationship Management Systems: Why They Should Matter to You

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55continued on page 56

By Tory Tarsitano, CRMS

We utilize a one-on-one marketingapproach tailored to each loan officers’individual vision and we have manytools in place that enable us to accom-plish this. For starters, my company’sloan officers have weekly meetings withtheir marketing manager. This hasproven to be highly advantageous inregards to highest and best use of loanofficers’ marketing time and their over-all increased productivity. By meetingone-on-one with their marketing man-ager this helps them maintain theirclientele within their CRM (CustomerRelationship Management system),manage their day-to-day marketingobjectives, supply their currentprospects and referral partners with rel-evant market information via e-mailcampaigns, and brainstorm ideas onother marketing opportunities.

The CRM provides an array of com-munication geared toward customers,prospects and referral partners. Themarketing manager uploads allprospects and closed loans from theirLOS system to the CRM system weekly.The marketing manager will meet withthe loan officer weekly to guide themthrough the fundamentals of the CRMand help ensure the most efficient andeffective way to utilize the system. Inthat weekly meeting, they will pull areport showing the new prospects andclosed clients from the prior week andcan simply put them on the appropri-ate email campaign that best suits theirneeds, this also serves as a reminder tothe loan officer that this is an “active”new prospect in their pipeline or arecently closed client. The e-mail cam-paign will serve as a back-up to ensurethat the client is getting informationfrom them and the loan officer can callat their convenience to follow throughwith more details specific to that client.

Our key to e-mail marketing successis our ability to ensure that the rightmessage is being delivered to the rightcontact at the right time. The system is

setup for the loan officer to input spe-cific criteria to be triggered to hit their‘Hotlist’ based on the following: Ratesdrop a certain percentage, savings forsaid customer is a certain amount,equity has reached a certain amount,appreciation, ARM re-pricing soon, loananniversary as well as the client’s birth-day and so on. The system runs themarket data against the current loanproduct and rate in each LO’s system andtherefore creates a loan officer’s ‘Hotlist’for the day. The loan officer will get an e-mail showing how many deals are ontheir Hotlist for each particular day andhave icons to show what it’s on theHotlist for i.e. rate has dropped 0.75 per-cent; savings over $100, loan anniver-sary, etc. You can also filter the Hotlist byloan amount, loan program, closed date,rates, savings and the list goes on and on.There is a multitude of ways to utilizethis system and you can select whateveryou choose for that specific day so tryingto find leads should not be a problem …trying to keep up with them should bethe biggest problem.

The e-mail campaigns are automat-ed, and the system manages the ongo-ing delivery for the loan officer. Yousimply select from a list of e-mail cam-paigns that are set up in your account(some have been created by the CRMcompany but most are developed in-house by the marketing manager sothey are specific to our loan officers’)and there will be an e-mail sent everyweek or so depending on the campaignselected. Some examples of the e-mailcampaigns are: Introduction to ourCompany, First-Time Homebuyer, FHACampaign, Refinance (with rates andwithout), Purchase, Post-Close cam-paigns, Holiday, Credit Repair, and RealEstate Agent campaigns.

There are also an abundant numberof letters in Word Doc format that havebeen created to mail out (specific to theloan officers wants or needs for thatparticular client) to anyone who does

not have an e-mail or if the loan officerwants to be connecting with them fromall ends to the spectrum; e-mail cam-paign, mailed letter and phone call.

Past customers appreciate that theloan officer is staying in contact withthem and provides them with personal-ized relevant information. All they hadto do was add them to their databaseand make sure to follow up with themat the appropriate times. Even if a clientcannot be helped, the loan officer willstill reach out to them. For example, aclient’s loan anniversary is coming upand the terms of their mortgage com-pare favorably against the marketplace,we will notify them that they are good

where they are at and we will continueto track their loan and contact them assoon as a more beneficial opportunitybecomes available. The first-rate cus-tomer service remains to be the biggestreason the majority of our clients are aproduct of referrals from previousclients we’ve worked with.

We can also pull reports within theCRM to show what e-mails went out, whoopened them and when they openedtheir e-mails. This can be targeted by cer-tain date timeframes or specifically toone campaign or email sent out by theloan officer. By looking at this report and

One-on-One Marketing

“When the customer comes first, the customer willlast.”—Robert Half

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seeing who opens their e-mails, the loanofficer can then prioritize who theyshould be calling on first. The prospectthat is opening their e-mails should mostlikely be called first because they nowknow they are more engaged in theprocess. This is just a great tool even justto see at a glance who is opening your e-mails. What stands out to us when open-ing these reports is what is “working” andwhat is not in regards to e-mail cam-paigns or e-mail blasts. Who is engagedand who is not.

We also utilize dual marketing withour real estate agent partners, via postcards, flyers and direct door mailers.They can be very general, i.e. rates arelow, home prices are too good to be

true … to an actual rate comparisonshowing a current rate/payment andthe assumption rate toward the end ofthe year being much higher and whatthat rate/payment would be. Statingsimply that now is the time to purchasethe home of your dreams and waitingcould cost you a lot of money comparedto the current market. The loan officermeets with the marketing manager andprovides her with an idea and they willcollaborate on what the final pieceshould look like or what the overallmessage should be.

Once we have created a marketingpiece we push it out to all of the loanofficers so they can mimic someoneelse’s idea without having to reinvent

the wheel. It also helps to get the juicesflowing on someone else’s take on thesame topic or something similar.Another resource, direct door mailings,is fairly inexpensive and you can targetcertain cities, neighborhoods or a spe-cific distance from your business.

After speaking to many realty com-panies on what they are looking forfrom their lending counterparts; whatthey find useful and what is just takingup space in their inbox. We’ve foundthat they want current mortgage newsand rates. Therefore, we have puttogether a piece that entails that criteri-on and send it out on a weekly basis toeach loan officers’ specific real estateagents. They want to have an ideaabout where the rates are at when theyare speaking to their clients and if thereis something new in the mortgage/lend-ing world they want to have that knowl-

edge as well. We are always trying tokeep ahead of the curve on what isgoing on in the mortgage world andgetting that information out to ourcounterparts first!

Overall, we have found by the loanofficers utilizing a marketing managerand having that additional one-on-onesupport keeps the loan officer on targetfor reaching their weekly goals whichcontributes tremendously to their over-all success. The fact that everything is sostreamlined on the loan officer’s partallows them to focus on new business,which is a win-win for everyone.

Tory Tarsitano, CRMS is executive vicepresident of Schaumburg, Ill.-basedPacor Mortgage Corp–Capital FinancialGroup. He may be reached by phone at(847) 944-1470 or e-mail tory@pacor-mortgage.com.

www.callfurst.com

one-on-one marketingcontinued from page 55

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“Traditional marketing techniques have lost theireffectiveness due to the enormous advertisement clutterthat clients and prospects receive every day.”

The world has gone mobile and thepower of mobile marketing is a game-changer. Rapid advancements in cellu-lar hardware and software along withthe widespread proliferation of cheap-er data connections has led to a changein our behavior. American’s researchand decision making has evolved to relyheavily on the smartphone devices wecarry with us 24/7.

With more than 35 billion mobileapp downloads, companies have newopportunities to communicate andengage with their target audience.Communication through mobiledevices has proven to be more effectiveand profitable driving additionalinvestment in to the mobile marketingspace.

What does this mean for loan officers?Smartphones and tablets are every-where. They’ve evolved into theremote control for the world aroundus. Clients and prospects are loadedwith information and connected likenever before. The future belongs tothose who are leaders in the connect-ed client revolution.

For loan officers, mobile technologyrepresents a paradigm shift for themortgage industry. Traditional market-ing techniques have lost their effective-ness due to the enormous advertise-ment clutter that clients and prospectsreceive every day. E-mail, newsletters,and business cards are losing theireffectiveness. The three-fold brochureis a thing of the past. Now, loan officershave the opportunity to market on theone device that people spend their timeon!

Why do loan originatorsneed a mobile app?Mobile is the NOW of marketing. If

you’re not implementing some kind ofmobile marketing strategy, you’realready behind! Clients use smart-phones to stay in contact with theirfriends and family. Walk around anymajor city and you will find morethan just a few people with facesglued to their smartphone screens.According to ComScore, 55 percent ofusers’ Internet time is spent onmobile devices, which means simplyignoring the rise of mobile just isn’tan option. Loan officers need amobile app because their clients arenot using their desktop or laptop tobegin their home loan searches.Missed opportunities arise when aloan officer is not present on thedevice that potential clients use themost to find suitable mortgagelender. You can also be sure that ifclients and prospects are not usingYOUR mobile app, they are usingsomeone else’s.

Gain a competitiveadvantage with a mobile appThe mortgage industry is a hyper-competitive environment. Generatingleads, keeping prospects working withyou from pre-approval through clos-ing, and getting referrals are the mostcrucial tasks for a loan officer. Havingyour own personalized app createsthe following opportunities:

l Cut out the competition: Whenyour app has the right tools suchas a mortgage calculator, rateinformation, and news along withinstant access to you, you’ll cut outa prospect’s need for competition.

l Referral generation: With a clickof a button right from their mobilephones, clients can now sharetheir loan officer’s information

with their friends and family.l Easy connect: When loan officers

get any lead, or preapprove a bor-rower, they can instantly sharetheir app as a first touch point sothe borrower immediately feelsthat they can easily access the loanofficer.

l Competitive advantage: Whenborrowers are looking for houses,they are bound to meet other loanofficers. While loan officers canshare their business cards andeven email a potential borrower(probably from their phone!), theapp ensures that they are presentat the ‘last point of defense’ righton the device where they aresearching for homes, looking uprates and calculating mortgagepayments. Being on the borrow-er’s phone, increases the possibili-ty of staying connected which willlead to less competition and morebusiness.

l Seamless loan process: From getpre-approved to closing the loan, amobile app connects clients with aloan officer and their team atevery step. During the transaction,it is important for clients to feelsthat their loan officer is availableshould questions arise. Clients donot have to browse through earliere-mails or look for a business cardto get their loan officer’s phonenumber. It is all available to themon their mobile phone.

Mobile app marketingbest practicesSome quick mobile marketing tips tomake sure you make the most ofmobile app strategy

A. Plan your approachLike any other business strategy, usingmobile apps is best planned. Thinkthrough:l What you want to achieve?l Who you are targeting? Prospects?

Referral partners? Both?l What you want your audience to do

with the app?l What tasks will be executed to reach

your goal?l How you will know it is working?l Developing a simple action plan is a

good way to be clear about why andhow you would use mobile apps.

B. Integrate apps with your other marketingMobile apps work best when they’reused with other marketing and busi-ness tools, including social media. Anapp is unlikely to be a marketing strat-egy in its own right—it’s more likely tobe a component of a campaign or strat-egy. Remember that your app willrequire a marketing campaign to reachyour referral partners, leads, andclients.

C. Track your mobile app resultsIt’s worthwhile to monitor the impactof your mobile apps on your business,so you know what works and whatdoesn’t.

You can evaluate success by seeinghow many people download your app,but it’s much more meaningful to trackoutcomes like impact on sales.Attaching a coupon or promotion codeto an app may help you track sales gen-erated from it. You may be able tomeasure visits to your website that aregenerated by an app, using a websiteanalytics tool.

Loan officers thrive on strategic rela-tionships, be it with their clients, or realestate agents. In the mobile world, it ismore important than ever, to be con-nected via the medium and providetools that are used most by their audi-ence. Mobile is here to stay, and if youdon’t have a mobile marketing strategy,it is time to get going.

Ben Brashen is chief executive officer andpresident of Mortgage Mapp. He foundedMortgage Mapp with the mission of mak-ing mobile marketing a successful toolfor loan officers. Mortgage Mapp createspersonalized apps for users, creating anopportunity to engage clients 24/7 ontheir smartphone. Ben can be reached bye-mail at ben@cardtapp.com.

By Ben Brashen

Why You Need Mobile in Your Marketing Strategy

By Brian Sacks

When I travel around the countryspeaking and consulting I am alwaysasked what is the top way to generatenew business? When I respond, manyof the loan officers and companyowners seem a bit confused. Ofcourse, there must be some “fairydust” or magic potion that they think

I simply refuse to share.The reality is that there is no such

thing as a “best” way to get clients.While there is no one way to get 100new clients there are 10 ways to getone client and I will share some ofthem here. You should be trying atleast four or five of them each month.

But before I go into that, I want tomake sure that you avoid one of thebiggest mistakes that has the poten-tial to destroy your career and earn-ings. Ready?

You must never rely on any one sin-gle source for your business.

I have seen many originators relyon one or two agents or one office forthe majority of their production. Overthe years, I have also seen loan offi-cers rely on just one marketingmethod for generating new businesswhich is equally dangerous.

Think back to the days of faxing.Think back to the phone rooms beforethe Do-Not-Call (DNC) lists. Think backto the days of pay per click on line.Think back to the beginning ofFacebook ads. Yes, I know that’s a lotof thinking, but it’s critical that younever ever be a one trick pony withyour marketing or your sources ofnew business.

So what should you do?I will share some tactics that are

working for me right now, but beforeI do let’s just jump into two moreissues that are important here. Inaddition to being asked what the bestway to generate business is, I am alsoasked if online marketing is betterthan offline marketing.

The truth is that you should beusing both online and offline market-ing. I am, by nature, a contrarian.While everyone is now using socialmedia and online marketing, my sys-tem involves both.

Have you looked into your mailboxrecently? It’s not as full as it once wasis it? There are way fewer direct mailpieces right? Well that’s good news ifyou are now using direct mail sinceit’s easier for your piece to getnoticed.

Here’s how the system works:

1. Target the buyers you want to dobusiness with. This can be rentersor folks who have had a creditchallenge (my favorite) like a bank-ruptcy or foreclosure.

2. Send them a direct mail sequence

of three pieces of mail. In my case,I send them a postcard and followup with a letter, then another let-ter. Most originators send onepiece of mail and then declaremail doesn’t work. But it’s thesequential mailing that makes thissuccessful. If you were going tosend 3,000 pieces of mail it wouldbe better to target 1,000 peopleand send them three spaced outpieces of mail than to send onemailing to 3,000.

3. The mailing sends them to an on-line website that captures their e-mail and offers them a “FreeReport.”

4. The Free Report is the entire con-versation you would be havingwith them on the phone and alsoincludes testimonials and answersto their questions. The reportoffers them a free, no obligationconsultation.

5. If they grab the report but don’tcall for a consultation, we are ableto “drip” on them with e-mailsthat have been pre-programmedto go out until they do call. Thissystem is almost like having a salesrobot working for you 24/7.

As you can see, this system is pow-erful and once it’s set up can work onauto-pilot generating new deals on aconsistent basis for you.

But as I mentioned earlier in thisarticle you should NEVER rely on anyone method so here are a few addi-tional ways to generate new business.

Let’s start with referrals from otherprofessionals:

l Realtors: Get active in your localboard of Realtors. Teach classesthere and show them your expert-ise. You can also get active in localbuilder associations. You shouldalso connect with attorneys, CPAsand financial planners. That goeswithout saying right?

l Hospitals: Every city has a num-

“The key to success in marketing is making sure that youare being found wherever your client is searching. At thesame time, it’s easy to get distracted by any one of thesemethods and forget about the others.”

The Number One Way to Generate New Business

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ber of hospitals. These hospitalsalways have new residents andspecialists coming into town. Getto know the human resource peo-ple in these facilities and theycan send you business.

l Credit unions and small banks:Many small credit unions don’toffer mortgages or may havevery strict guidelines. Some mayoffer loans, but don’t handlegovernment loans or jumboloans.

As I write this article, I just fin-ished speaking to a borrower whowas referred to me by their cred-it union since they don’t handlegovernment loans. You may havethe opportunity to also refer carloans, equity lines or other typesof loans back to them.

l Churches and religious groups:Many churches have financialministries who would welcomeyou and allow you to educatetheir members. Probably wouldbe a few real estate agents whoare members you could alsobuild a relationship with.

l Other loan officers: Be honest, Ibet you didn’t think of that onedid you? I have breakfast everyquarter with my “competitors.”They each do a different type ofloan like Reverse mortgages, con-struction loans, 203k loans andother specialty programs. I referthem for the loans I can’t do andthey refer me.

Other ways to create new businessBefore we jump into some of thetactics here, I want to tell you that Iprefer to control my income and mydestiny and I hope you do too. Thebest scenario is when you can gen-erate a lead directly from the con-sumer, get them pre-approved, andthen use that as leverage with yourreferral partners.

First I must also tell you that Ibarely graduated high school and donot have a college degree. I tell youthis because of the little voice thatwill go off in your head once youcontinue reading this that will tellyou that you can’t do this.

l Free publicity: Become a resourcefor your local TV, radio and printpublications. There is alwayssomething important changing inour industry and the market itselfis always in flux. Contact the mediaand offer to be their resource andexpert.

l Radio show: Every town has talkradio and sports radio stations thatwill allow you to have your ownshow. I don’t have room to go intoall of the details in this articleunfortunately, but I have personal-ly helped more than two dozenoriginators with their own success-ful radio shows. If you don’t wantto have your own show, you couldalways go on as a guest on existingshows that are running in yourtown.

l Webinars and seminars: Want tomeet new real estate agents, attor-neys and accountants? Of courseyou do! Each of them have a tradeassociation that would welcomehaving you come in and teach on aparticular subject. Instead of meet-ing these partners one at a timeand building a relationship, youcould now have a room full ofthem who already see you as theexpert, since you are educatingthem.All of these professionals need con-

tinuing credit hours so it’s best tocheck with the trade association andget your courses approved. Oh, andeach of them also has a publicationjust like this one. Why not write forthem as well?

A marketing conversation wouldnot be complete without discussingsocial media. You must have a pres-ence on You Tube, Facebook andLinkedIn. They are important piecesof a comprehensive marketing plan.

The key to success in marketing ismaking sure that you are being foundwherever your client is searching. Atthe same time, it’s easy to get dis-tracted by any one of these methodsand forget about the others. Don’t letthat happen to you.

My suggestion is to pick four or fivetactics to work on. Make sure they areworking and generating business foryou before you move on to more. Ifyou choose to do everything you will

often wind up overwhelmed anddoing nothing.

Brian Sacks is a nationally-renowned mort-gage expert who has career closing of morethan 5,924 transactions for in excess of $1billion. He has trained, consulted andcoached, tens of thousands of loan officers

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www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com

and company owners over the past 29 yearson how to close more loans, make moremoney and still have a life. You can down-load his report, “The Four Tools You Can Useto Immediately Grow Your Business,” awww.AgentsChaseYou.com. Brian may bereached by phone at (443) 324-8424 or e-mail loanofficertips@gmail.com.

By Kelly Booth

When it comes to getting a mortgage, youwould think that most borrowers wouldtake their time and compare differentlenders and products before signing onthe bottom line. After all, a mortgage isthe largest financial transaction most of usmake in our lifetimes. But apparentlythat’s not the case—many borrowers

don’t shop at all, and lenders that don’trealize this and act accordingly are payingthe price.

According to a recent voluntary surveyjointly conducted by the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau (CFPB) andthe Federal Housing Finance Agency(FHFA), nearly half of all people who got a

mortgage do not shop around betweenlenders and products, and three out offour consumers applied for a mortgagewith only one lender or broker.Consumers put far more effort into thehouse they buy than the mortgage theyget to finance it.

Of course, the big question is why.Perhaps some borrowers think all lendersare the same and offer the exact sameproducts, even though this is not so. Orperhaps other borrowers believe they aretoo busy to look at more than onelender—even though the time it takes toshop around is miniscule compared to the$300,000 or more they will pay over thenext 30 years.

Whatever the case may be, it certainlydoesn’t make the job of a bank, lender orloan officer any easier. I have a few tips tohelp increase the odds of converting mort-gage shoppers who aren’t inclined to shoparound:

1. Getting there first It’s a key factor of sales that deservesrepeating: Being first matters! Lendersthat respond the quickest to borrowerinquiries—no matter if they are madeonline, or by e-mail, or by phone—willalways have an advantage, whether thatborrower decides to look at other lendersor not. Yet you’d be surprised how littleeffort some lenders make to respond tomotivated borrowers.

Our own surveys found that mostlenders fail to reply to mortgage leadswithin 24 hours after someone hasexpressed an interest in getting a loan.Some lenders don’t respond at all.

Even 24 hours is longer than most bor-rowers will wait these days. Today’s con-sumers are always online and craveinstant gratification—in fact, theydemand it. According to a recent FannieMae study, more than half of all mortgageborrowers find their lenders online. If youcannot quickly respond to a borrower thatsubmits an online application or requestfor more information, there are plenty oflenders that will.

For this reason, more lenders andmortgage professionals are turning tosales automation tools, which enablethem to respond to borrowers quickly,while a borrower’s interest level in buying

a home or getting a mortgage is high.These tools have gotten incredibly power-ful in recent years. It’s not uncommon forour mortgage clients, for example, to beon the phone with a potential borrowerwithin seconds after the borrower submitsan online request for information.

As important as it may be, being first isnot a guarantee of a sale. It may turn outthat a borrower decides to use his or herbank after all, or the loan officer who wasreferred by a friend. But lenders and loanofficers that can give borrowers fastanswers are likely to win their trust. If bor-rowers aren’t inclined to shop around,being first will at least increase yourchances of being “The One.”

2. Make them smarterFrom a borrower’s point of view, takingout a mortgage is a very complicated andemotional process. Many borrowers maychoose to go with the first lender they con-tact because they just want to “get it overwith.” Others might be thinking about get-ting a loan—that is, until their “DreamHouse” hits the market. Then all of a sud-den, these borrowers need money now.Once borrowers begin the process withone lender, there’s a tendency is to not“mess around” with another lender, evenif they could save money.

Of course, neither approach is verysmart. Ignorance is definitely not blisswhen it comes to getting a home loan. Thisis why smart lenders and mortgage profes-sionals are constantly educating potentialborrowers and their past clients abouteverything from rates to recent marketevents, such as Fannie Mae’s lower down-payment guidelines, or changes to theFHA’s mortgage insurance premiums.

If you need further evidence that thisstrategy works, the CFPB report also foundthat consumers are more likely to shop forloans if they are familiar with currentmortgage rates. So stay in touch with bor-rowers about rates. Let them know what’sgoing on in the market, and that rates andfees can vary greatly between lenders.

Also keep in mind that borrowers don’tknow what they don’t know. Many areunaware, for example, what “points” are.They don’t know closing times can be dras-tically different from lender to lender, orthat their financial behaviors can impact

“Lenders that respond the quickest to borrowerinquiries—no matter if they are made online, or by e-mail,or by phone—will always have an advantage, whetherthat borrower decides to look at other lenders or not.”

Conquering the Borrowers Who Just Won’t Shop

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how much money they are able to borrow. Even if a borrower is just in the plan-

ning stages, you can still act as an advisor.The key is to provide objective, accurateinformation, without harassing prospectsinto a hard sell. By the time they are readyto apply, you’ve already earned their trust,so the choice becomes easy. Educatingborrowers also paves the way for asmoother transaction, too.

3. Follow up and don’t stopYes, speed is vital. So is educating poten-tial borrowers, so they make sound deci-sions. But the most critical piece of anymarketing plan is follow through—because without it, you may never see theclosing table.

According to third-party studies andour own research, as many as a third of allpotential borrowers do not close becausethe lender never follow ups with them.

The data also shows that responding to aborrower’s request once or twice isn’tenough. According to our own research,the odds of converting a borrower contin-ue to rise after up to six contact attempts.

There is simply no substitute for dili-gent follow through. Not only does itensure that you stay top of mind with yourprospects, but it also shows you are dedi-cated and can remember where your cus-tomer is at in the loan process. Humanbeings usually need help to follow throughconsistently, which is why many of thefastest-growing lenders and mortgage pro-fessionals are turning to technology asinsurance against the follow-up failure.

There is no shortage of technology thatcan help lenders organize contacts andleads. The very best tools are those thatcan help professionals prioritize leads,automatically distribute them to theirsales staffs, and put loan officers in direct

contact with potential borrowers immedi-ately—and then keep following up until apotential borrower makes a decision.

Sales automation technology is soadvanced these days that it can get resultseven if a lender has trouble reaching apotential borrower. As a part of the follow-up process with someone who is ready toapply for a loan but that has been moredifficult to contact, indicating they may beworking with a competitor, a lender canactually leave a prerecorded voicemail orautomated e-mail. The message can letthe borrower know that there are advan-tages of having lenders compete for theirbusiness. That’s pretty savvy.

It’s also important to remember thatgetting borrowers to fill out loan applica-tions the first time they are contacted israre. It may not happen after the secondor third contact, either. But when a bor-rower is ready to move forward, a regi-

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Gary RobinsonVice President, Commercial Loans

Taylor WoldCommercial Loan Officer

Sarah MontzCommercial Loan Operations

Commercial Real Estate Financing up to $10,000,000• Acquisition, Renovation, Bridge and Mezzanine Financing

• Typical Loan Term 12-24 Months

• Interest Only Payments

• Closings Generally Within 30 Days of Commitment Issuance

• Brokers Protected

mented and consistent contact strategy,with an effective mix of e-mail, phone andeven text messages, will put you in the dri-ver’s seat when that moment happens.

The bottom line is that even thoughmany borrowers don’t shop around, itdoesn’t mean they should be ignored—orthat they won’t change their minds,either. Lenders and mortgage profession-als that focus on speed, advising, and con-sistent follow through will see most oftheir other issues fall into place. Becauseonce you’ve caught a few non-shoppingborrowers, and converted a few moresales, you’ll quickly be onto the nextinvestment.

Kelly Booth is the mortgage vertical directorfor Velocify, a market leader in cloud-basedintelligent sales automation solutions. Kellymay be reached by e-mail atkbooth@velocify.com.

By Eric Weinstein

My kids have the attention span of agoldfish!

That, however, is nothing compared tomy customers. I just had a client call me forthe rate on a 7/1 ARM. After we spoke andI quoted the rate, he thanked me, but hewanted to shop around. I figured he wouldcall back since, basically, we are all sellingthe same bananas here and anyone hecalled would have a similar rate. Besides, Iam such a lovable personality, how could

he go to someone else? Then a day goes by.And another. Nothing. So I called him. Isaid I just wanted to follow up; did he wantto complete an application? “

“No, I went with somebody else,” hefinally acknowledged.

“Why?” I stammered.“I called three people; you all had the

same rate, so I just went with the last guy.”By the third call, he totally forgot

who I was.

An attention span of a goldfish!I send out e-mails to my customers.

After doing a loan with someone, theyalways end up loving me. I am just thatsort of guy.

Recently, I called one of my customerswho had a high rate and recommended herefinance.

“I just did,” he said. “But why didn’t you call me?” I said

heartbroken.“Oh, I forgot. I got a mailer and it

reminded me, so I just went with them.”So, the key to marketing is not to just

get the message out, I learned. You have toget it out at the EXACT moment they aremaking their decision. But, how am I sup-posed to do that? That is why the check-outlane at a grocery store has its overpricedcandy right there as you are about to payfor everything. People are a slave toimpulses.

The trouble is that you cannot con-stantly hammer your customers with e-mails reminding them of who you are.After a while, they just get irritated and putyou in the SPAM folder. It is dark andcramped in there. Believe me … you don’twant to end up in there.

So what is the answer? Huh? I am sorry, I just got distracted.

What were we talking about again?Oh yeah … short attention spans. Back when I was a kid, there was no

such thing as ADHD and Attention DeficientDisorder (or ADD since they are too busy tosay the entire disease). Nowadays, the kidsget a pill and a special teacher to cope withtheir needs. All I know is when I didn’t payattention, my father gave me a cuff at theback of the head and I turned out okay. Idon’t have ADD anymore, but I still get dou-ble vision sometimes.

I would like to blame the kids of today,or as they are called, the “Millennials.”Them, with their SnapChats and theTwitter, it is no wonder they can’t payattention. But really, you have to blamethe current technological environment.Every day all of us are consistently bom-barded with advertising. Ads are on ourphones, Web sites, mail boxes, social net-works, search engines, everywhere! In fact,I will bet if you looked around the roomyou are sitting in right now, you will find acompany logo somewhere within eyeshot.

Kids today grew up with conflicting adver-tising messages constantly screaming fortheir attention. It’s not that they can’t payattention, it is that they are used to split-ting their concentration in a hundred dif-ferent directions at one time.

I think the key to good marketing is notjust getting their attention but, keepingtheir attention. You must market to yourcustomers enough where you stay in theirface, but not to the point where you startto annoy them. One thing I have figuredout is to use humor. If they genuinely enjoyyour advertisement, in fact, look forwardto it, and then they don’t seem to get both-ered as fast. AND, they remember you.

Remember, it is not enough to just getin their face. Anything, given enoughtimes, people will just tune out. If you mar-ried, you know what I mean. You con-stantly have to re-invent yourself and themessage. For example, if I see the GEICOduck one more time, I am throwing myshoe at the TV.

Say you have two hot dog vendors onthe same block. Both are selling the samehot dogs at the same price and both areequidistant from you. Which do you go to?You go to the one wearing the silly hat, ofcourse. People are attracted to a spectacle,or humor or something just plain unusual.That’s why traffic slows down on the otherside of the road at the scene of an accident.You just can’t help but look.

You must be like that bubbling diver ina fish tank. Reintroduce yourself to thatgoldfish every time he swims around. Tellhim a joke. Wear a silly hat. Maybe one dayhe will remember you and apply for amortgage. Hell, his property is probablyunderwater … never mind.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on thecommercial real estate side until 1991, whenhe fell in love with residential lending. In1995, he started a small mortgage companyin his basement called Carteret MortgageCorporation, which in 2003, grew to one ofthe largest mortgage broker companies inthe United States. These days, Eric is semi-retired, doing mortgages by referral only. Ashe likes to put it, “He is either saving peoplemoney per month or helping them buy anew home. What a great job!” He may bereached by phone at (703) 505-8692 or e-mail eweinstein4u@gmail.com.

“I will bet if you looked around the room you are sitting inright now, you will find a company logo somewherewithin eyeshot.”

Short Attention Span Goldfish

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© Copyright 2007-2014 Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC headquartered at 1610 E. Saint Andrew Place, Suite B150, Santa Ana, CA 92705. Toll Free (800)561-4567. NMLS ID

2600. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access Web Site: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. AZ: Mortgage Banker BK-0910745; 2159 McCulloch Blvd 4, Lake

Havasu City, AZ 86403. CA: Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act, File No. 413 0904. CO: Check the license status of

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By Marc Wayshak

As a teenager, Jack Dorsey developeddispatch routing software for taxicabs. During this time, he wasintrigued by the way taxis couldbriefly update others on their where-abouts. Soon, he began to contem-plate developing an online programthat would allow everyday people tosend short messages to others in theironline community. Just a few yearslater, he and co-founders Biz Stoneand Noah Glass started Twitter.

Twitter has become an integral partof our lives, and the mindset that led toits creation is just as critical to thoselooking to market their organizations.Dorsey speaks passionately these daysabout creating a “user narrative” whendeveloping a product that tells a storyof the user’s day-to-day life. This allowshis companies, like Twitter and SquareReader, to create products that arebuilt with the sole intention of filling aparticular need.

This same mindset can also beapplied to marketing. All too often,businesses market themselves with-out the prospect in mind. But suc-cessful marketers of the future willbegin to align all marketing effortswith a prospect narrative. Creating aprospect narrative is an easy andpowerful way to put yourself intoyour prospect’s shoes—and ultimate-ly increase the effectiveness of yourmarketing.

Here are five questions to considerwhen developing a prospect narrativefor your company’s next marketingcampaign:

What is your prospect doing during his or her day?Most organizations create their market-ing materials without considering whata prospect will be doing when theyreceive a marketing message. Prospects

are busier than they have ever been inhistory. In fact, they are spending overa quarter of their day just responding toe-mails. In order for your campaign tobreak through the clutter, you mustconsider how your ideal prospect isspending his time.

What is keeping them up at night?Usually, a company centers the majori-ty of its marketing efforts around thecompany itself or the features and ben-efits of a specific product. However,prospects don’t care about us, our com-pany or our offerings. All they careabout are the issues they are dealingwith right then and there. What are thechallenges that your ideal prospecttakes home with him each night? If youwant your marketing to elicit a particu-lar behavior, then think about what willmost effectively catch the attention ofthe intended prospect. Most commer-cials, for example, are generic andunmemorable, so in order for yours tostand out, you need to develop a mes-sage that is so appealing or jarring toyour prospect that he has no choice butto react to it.

What action will he most likely take?So many marketing campaigns are sole-ly focused on increasing awareness ofan organization, rather than encourag-ing a prospect to take some action. Thisis tantamount to burning cash in a bar-rel. Think about what action yourprospect would most realistically takeafter absorbing your message. Wouldthey most likely go to a Web site, send atext, pick up the phone, send some-thing through the mail or find you onTwitter? Once you know which mediuma prospect is most likely to use, thenyou can develop a call-to-action thataligns with it.

How will you keep themengaged?Rarely do companies develop market-ing campaigns that create long-termengagement. However, those that doreceive dividends over and over again,all from that initial investment.Therefore, the question great marketerswant to answer is, given the prospect’snarrative, what are realistic ways toengage him in the long run? This will bethe difference between developing aone-time customer and a long-term fan.

By formulating answers to thesefive questions, you begin to create a

story of what your prospect is doingand what he is thinking about. Afterthe prospect narrative is created, yourmarketing team should channelDorsey by fitting campaigns preciselyinto that narrative.

Marc Wayshak is the author of two bookson sales and leadership, Game PlanSelling and Breaking All Barriers, as wellas a regular contributor forEntrepreneur Magazine and theHuffington Post Business section. He maybe reached by phone at (617) 203-2171,e-mail info@marcwayshak.com or visitwww. marcwayshak.com.

“…successful marketers of the future will begin to alignall marketing efforts with a prospect narrative.”

What Twitter Founder Jack DorseyTeaches Us About Marketing

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www.TheNationalRealEstatePost.com

Wrestling the daily mortgage news soyou don’t have to!ou donymor

estling the dailWr

e to!v’t haou donge news sotgamor

y estling the dailge news so

y Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA) forthe 2015-2016 political cycle by BillCosgrove, MBA chairman and CEO ofUnion Home Mortgage.

l Elliot Bauer has joined theAnnieMac Home Mortgage team asbranch manager in Connecticut.

l Primary Residential Mortgage Inc.(PRMI) has announced that five newmembers have joined the Baltimoreteam: Jeff Gunther as branch man-ager, George Kuda as senior mort-gage specialist, Chad Piunti as loanofficer, Krena Falen as executiveloan coordinator, and Andrea Pascoas a loan processor.

l Linda Bomar has been named vice

president of sales for IndecommGlobal Services.

l Andrew Pettola has been namedregional vice president of theNortheast Region for EnvoyMortgage.

l John Vella has been named chiefrevenue officer for AltisourcePortfolio Solutions SA.

l The National Association ofHispanic Real Estate Professionals(NAHREP) has announced that cele-brated writer, director, actor andauthor Rick Najera has beennamed to the newly created posi-tion of director of new media andentertainment for the association.

l Darien Evans has been named exec-utive vice president of operationsfor iMortgage.

l Ellie Mae has announced thatJoe Tyrrell, the company’s seniorvice president of corporate strat-egy, has been appointed to atwo-year term on the board ofdirectors of the MortgageIndustry Standards MaintenanceOrganization (MISMO).

l 1st Alliance Lending LLC has namedRick Cardillo as its national directorof business development.

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Helping Mortgage Associations GrowFrom affordable association management services to creating

vibrant and profitable conferences, Agility Resources Group can

help your mortgage association achieve a stronger bottom line.

Ask us about our creative approach to partnering with you. We’ll

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A VisionarySees Light

in the DarknessBy Nikki Bell & Cynthia Nutter

Have you ever been told: You can’t, you won’t, you’ll never … ?Would that make you want to say: I can, I will, just watch

me … ?In 1964, nine women not only said it, they did it. Fifty-one

years ago, nine visionary ladies with an entrepreneurial spiritchartered the Seattle Association of Professional MortgageWomen. I wonder then if they envisioned this far into the future.If they knew the positive influence their dream would have onso many others through the years. What began as a small asso-ciation in Seattle, Wash. has grown into the National Associationof Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW). Our members havecherished memories of the events, conferences and the peoplethey have come in contact with over the years. We have learnedfrom the education, created networking channels throughout

the country, prospered from the job opportunities, and realized we also havean entrepreneurial spirit along the way.

After half a century, it is prudent to look back so we can move forward. Theyear 1964 was a turbulent time in our country. The “Original Nine,” as weaffectionately call them, saw the light in their darkness. They were visionar-ies. This foundation, this dream, is what we must hold true to. To light thepath of those around us and to those who will come after us. As an associa-tion and as individual members, we must ask ourselves: What legacy do wewant to leave in the real estate industry? Just as in the beginning, each one ofus plays a part by being engaged, enthusiastic and creating synergy in all thatwe do. We are an association with members that are passionate about pro-viding mortgage education and networking opportunities on a local level withthe additional benefit of offering NAPMW’s National Education Conferenceeach May to expand on those business connections, as well as personal andprofessional growth.

We invite you to become one of our members on this journey. We inviteyou to join NAPMW and become part of something big; something with asolid history and a passion for growth and vitality. NAPMW will help you fos-ter new relationships and new business opportunities, while you gain knowl-edge for your own personal and professional growth.

So the question I ask you is: Do you want to be a visionary?

Nikki Bell is the vice president of business development for BrandMortgage. Sheserves as president for NAPMW Atlanta and is a member of the board for theMortgage Bankers Association of Georgia (MBAG). She may be reached by phoneat (678) 442-3966 or e-mail nbell@brandmortgage.com. Cynthia Nutter sits onthe NAPMW National Board as secretary, and is an escrow officer with FidelityNational Title. She may be reached by phone at (360) 258-2206 or e-mail nat-secretary@napmw.org.

NAPMW REPORTF E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5

Nikki Bell

Cynthia Nutter

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Step Inside Ginnie Mae

By Ted W. Tozer

President Obama’s recent announcement that the FederalHousing Administration (FHA) would lower its mortgageinsurance premium (MIP) by a half a percentage point fornew and refinanced loans, from 1.35 to 0.85 percent, high-

lighted one of Ginnie Mae’s most important priorities—maximizing theavailability of low cost funds for home loan credit to low- and middle-class Americans. This is critical to the continuing housing recovery sincelowering the MIP could bring in more than 250,000 new homebuyers intothe market and homeownership currently is at a near 20-year low.

Despite the lower homeownership rate, the overall economy is show-ing significant improvement. The President, who was joined by U.S.Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary JulianCastro during the announcement, said “Home sales are up nearly 50 per-cent from where they were in the worst of the [housing] crisis.Homebuilding has more than doubled. That’s created hundreds of thou-sands of construction jobs. New foreclosures are at their lowest levelsince 2006. Since 2012, nearly 10 million fewer Americans have theirhomes underwater. Rising home prices have put hundreds of billions ofdollars of wealth back in the pockets of middle-class families.”

The President’s FHA move is aimed at the key problem, first-timehomebuyers, said Secretary Castro. Typically, such buyers account for 40percent to 45 percent of home purchases. In the years before the crash,they made up half of all homebuyers. Now it is estimated that first timehomebuyers are less than a third.

Still, many have voiced concerns about lowering the MIP by half a per-cent, citing increased risk and looser lending practices, but, as thePresident’s announcement made clear, this decision was both prudentand fiscally responsible: “We want to make clear the days of making badbets on the backs of taxpayer money and then getting bailed out after-ward, we’re not going back to that,” he said.

As Secretary Castro pointed out, HUD has already taken steps to reducerisk in the mortgage market, including tightening underwriting standardsand bolstering its capital reserves, making this the right time to reducethe MIP a half percentage point. The result? The reduced MIP will savecurrent FHA borrowers an average of $900 a year.

For Ginnie Mae’s part, we fully expect to continue playing an indis-pensable role of making sure lenders have an abundant supply of lowcost funding in the effort to bolster the housing market, and contributeto the strengthening of the nation’s economy. I expect the lower MIPalong with Ginnie Mae’s ability to attract low-cost funding from aroundthe world will continue the upward trajectory of the American housingmarket.

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, bank-ing and securities industries. As president of Ginnie Mae, Tozer activelymanages Ginnie Mae’s $1.5 trillion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities(MBS) and more than $460 billion in annual issuance.

Lowering of MortgageInsurance Premium Good

for Middle Class Families,Housing Industry

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l DocuTech Corp. has named TonyInskeep to the position of senior VP ofsales and has named Don Scales asmanager of the Western Region

l Data Facts Inc. has named AlisonMitchell as lending sales account exec-utive in South Texas, covering theHouston, San Antonio and Austinregions. Mitchell’s hire coincides withthe acquisition of One Source CreditReporting Agency in Houston, Texas.

l The Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau (CFPB) has announced the fol-lowing new additions to its leadershipteam: Anthony Alexis as assistantdirector of enforcement, LeandraEnglish as deputy chief operating offi-cer, Agnes Bundy Scanlan as Northeastregional director of supervision exam-inations, and Jeffrey Sumberg as chiefhuman capital officer.

l Valuation Partners has named MarkLyons to the new role of senior vicepresident, corporate sales develop-ment; Clint Reinhardt as senior vicepresident, national sales and market-ing manager; and Robert Gans as vicepresident, national account executive.

l Jim Owen has been named vice presi-dent, divisional building manager of

the National Builder Division forCaliber Home Loans.

l Ocwen Financial Corporation hasannounced that it has named two newindependent directors to its Board ofDirectors: Phyllis R. Caldwell, vice chairof Community Preservation andDevelopment Corporation andDeForest Blake Soaries Jr., senior pas-tor, First Baptist Church of LincolnGardens, N.J.

l Open Mortgage LLC has announced thehiring of Cher Kilgore as businessdevelopment manager.

l Carrington Mortgage Holdings hasnamed Rudy Orman as managingdirector of business development.

l RealtyTrac has announced that 30-plusyear data industry veteran and productmanagement innovation executive JonCohn has joined the company as seniorvice president of data products.

l LenderLive Network Inc. hasannounced the addition of AndrewLion and Wendy Lovett as regionalaccount executives for LenderLive’sCorrespondent Lending Division.

Your turnNational Mortgage Professional Magazineinvites its readers to submit any informa-tion, events, passages, promotions, per-sonal or professional occurrences thatseem appropriate and/or other pertinentdata to the attention of:

Heard on the Street/MortgageProfessionals to Watch column

Phone #: (516) 409-5555E-mail:

newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are pre-ferred. The deadline for submissions isthe 1st of the month prior to the targetissue.

heard on the streetcontinued from page 64

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calendar of eventsN 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 69

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, tonewsroom@nmpmediacorp.com.

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Equity Prime Mortgage877-255-3554, xt. 600www.equityprime.com

Equity Prime Mortgage is focused on creating an outstanding workenvironment. We consider each and every employee as a true partner

to our success.  This approach, combined with Equity’s industry-leading technology and turn times ensures we deliver exceptional

service levels to our branches, referral partners and customers alike.

REMN Wholesale732-738-7100

www.remnwholesale.com

Although REMN Wholesale has over 1,000 employees, it feels like a“Mom and Pop”-style company. We encourage our team members togrow and we train and promote each individual to their full potential.

As a national company, REMN provides many opportunities foremployment from coast to coast.

PRMG1-866-PRMG-YES (806-776-4937)

www.PRMG.net

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 ittakes to be a successful originator and cultivate

new business every day.

United Wholesale Mortgage800-981-8898

www.uwm.com/careers

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 forthe opportunity of a lifetime, apply to UWM today!

places to workoutstanding

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

Attention Recruiters, Business Development Managers and HR Professionals

We are pleased to announce a new package that will give your firm the recruiting tools to instantly shiftyour recruiting efforts into high gear using a multimedia, market-saturating approach. We will utilize themost successful methods that our clients have been using to find, identify and place top talents for yourcompany. We have designed these packages with the concept of making it less expensive to give youthe ability to reach more people.

places to work

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AAA Lenders, Inc000-000-0000

www.aaalendersinc.com

We’re a company that’s focused on creating a corporate

culture that inspires originators to serve their local com-

munities with the best service, best technology and

fastest App to Closing Table processes.

BBB Lenders, Inc000-000-0000

www.bbblendersinc.com

We’re a company that’s focused on creating a corporate

culture that inspires originators to serve their local com-

munities with the best service, best technology and

fastest App to Closing Table processes.CCC Lenders, Inc000-000-0000

www.ccclendersinc.com

We’re a company that’s focused on creating a corporate

culture that inspires originators to serve their local com-

munities with the best service, best technology and

fastest App to Closing Table processes.

DDD Lenders, Inc000-000-0000

www.dddlendersinc.com

We’re a company that’s focused on creating a corporate

culture that inspires originators to serve their local com-

munities with the best service, best technology and

fastest App to Closing Table processes.EEE Lenders, Inc000-000-0000

www.eeelendersinc.com

We’re a company that’s focused on creating a cor

culture that inspires originators to serve th

munities with the best servicfastest App t

XYZ Lend

NATIONAL MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, New York 11793-2202

516-409-5555 • Fax: 516-409-4600 • E-mail: advertise@NMPMediaCorp.com

NationalMortgageProfessional.com

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calendar of eventsN 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

To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage ProfessionalCalendar 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.

MARCH 2015Thursday, March 5

Florida Association of MortgageProfessionals Palm Beaches Chapter

2015 Annual Trade ShowEmbassy Suites

1601 Belvedere RoadWest Palm Beach, Fla.For more information,

call (561) 320-3267 or e-mailfambpb@bellsouth.net.

Sunday-Thursday, March 8-1232nd Annual Regional Conference

of MBAsTrump Taj Mahal Casino Resort

1000 BoardwalkAtlantic City, N.J.

For more information, call (732) 596-1619 or visit

www.mbanj.com.

Wednesday-Friday, March 18-20American Land Title Association (ALTA)

2015 Business Strategies ConferenceSheraton Philadelphia Downtown

201 North 17th StreetPhiladelphia

For more information, call (202) 296-3671, visit www.alta.org

or e-mail service@alta.org.

APRIL 2015Thursday, April 2

Texas Mortgage Roundup 2015Hyatt Regency San Antonio

123 Losoya StreetSan Antonio, Texas

For more information, call (860) 922-3441, e-mail

info@agilityresourcesgroup.com orvisit www.txmortgageroundup.com.

Thursday, April 92015 Maryland Association of Mortgage

Professionals Annual ConferenceTurf Valley Resort

2700 Turf Valley RoadEllicott City, Md.

For more information, call (410) 752-6262, e-mail

mamp@assnhqtrs.com or visitwww.mdmtgpros.com.

Saturday-Tuesday, April 11-14NAMB—The Association of Mortgage

Professionals 2015 Legislative &Regulatory Conference

Hyatt Place Hotel33 New York Avenue NE

Washington, D.C.For more information,

call (972) 758-1151 or visitwww.namb.org.

Wednesday, April 292015 Midwest Mortgage Matchmaker

ConferenceAmeristar Casino Resort & Spa

1 Ameristar BoulevardSaint Charles, Mo.

For more information, call (314) 690-1504, e-mail

information@mamp.biz or visitwww.mortgage-matchmaker.com.

MAY 2015Tuesday, May 12

2015 Great Northwest Mortgage ExpoCrowne Plaza Downtown Portland

1441 NE 2nd AvenuePortland, Ore.

For more information, call (503) 567-9326, e-mail

info@oamponline.com or visitwww.greatnorthwestexpo.com.

Thursday-Sunday, May 14-17National Association of Professional

Mortgage Women’s 51st AnnualEducation Conference & Business Meeting

Hilton Dulles Airport13869 Park Center Road

Washington, D.C.For more information,

call (800) 827-3034, e-mailnapmw1@napmw.org or visit

www.napmw.org.

Monday-Wednesday, May 18-20American Land Title Association 2015

Federal Conference and Lobby DayMandarin Oriental Hotel

1330 Maryland Avenue SWWashington, D.C.

For more information, call (202) 296-3671, visit www.alta.org

or e-mail service@alta.org.

JUNE 2015Friday, June 5

2015 Southwest Mortgage FestEmbassy Suites Hotel & Spa

1000 Woodward Place NortheastAlbuquerque, N.M.

For more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail

info@agilityresourcesgroup.com orvisit www.swmortgagefest.com.

Monday-Wednesday, June 22-24Ultimate Mortgage Expo 2015

The Hotel Monteleone214 Royal StreetNew Orleans, La.

For more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail

info@agilityresourcesgroup.com orvisit www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com.

AUGUST 2015Thursday-Friday, August 20-21

Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association(LMLA) 2015 Education ConferenceThe Hilton New Orleans Riverside

Hotel2 Poydras StreetNew Orleans, La.

For more information, call (225) 590-5722 or visit

www.lmla.com.

OCTOBER 2015Wednesday-Friday, October 7-10American Land Title Association 2015

Annual ConventionWestin Copley Place Boston

10 Huntington AvenueBoston, Mass.

For more information, call (202) 296-3671, visit www.alta.org

or e-mail service@alta.org.

Saturday-Monday, October 17-192015 NAMB National Conference

Luxor Resort and Hotel3900 South Las Vegas Boulevard

Las VegasFor more information,

call (860) 719-1991, e-mail info@agilityresourcesgroup.com or

visit www.nambnational.com.

Sunday-Wednesday, October 18-21

Mortgage Bankers Association AnnualConvention and Expo 2015

San Diego Convention Center111 West Harbor Drive

San Diego, Calif.For more information,

call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

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StreetLinks Lender Solutions provides an innovative andcomprehensive suite of valuation and service solutions used bylenders, servicers and appraisers nationwide to improve everydaybusiness operations.

StreetLinks industry-leading products include LenderPlus™ full-service appraisal management, LenderX™ lender-executedappraisal management software and SCORe™ appraisalreviews and a series of valuation analysis tools for services.Our commitment to quality and service, embodied by ourpartnership approach to clients and appraisers, continues toset us apart as the nation’s premier lending solutions partner.For more information, visit www.streetlinks.com.

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AllRegs offers mortgage professionals fast, reliable answers need-ed to conduct their day-to-day business. From research and ref-erence to business intelligence, from education and training toprofessional services, we are your definitive source for mortgageindustry information. With tools for originators like NMLS-approved CE training, regulatory content libraries for compliancestaff, guidelines for underwriters, policy  manuals for operations,and business intelligence for business development – we have youcovered as the leading information provider for the mortgageindustry. If you have a specific need, our professional servicesteam can help with thing like policy, procedure or guideline devel-opment, as well  as custom training or publishing resources.Contact us to learn how we can help you – visit www.allregs.comtoday.

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Titan List and Mailing Services, Inc. is a direct marketing agencythat 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 market-ing. Starting in 1998, the company has, since then employed high-ly skilled individuals who have considerable experience regardingmarketing trends. The company manages the complete in-housecampaign themselves including Design, Data Lists, Printing,Postage, and Mailing.

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TagQuest is a full service marketing firm created specifically forthe ever changing mortgage business. We have tested and provencampaigns for FHA -VA - HARP - CONVENTIONAL loan types.TagQuest knows what it takes to generate quality leads whetherthrough direct mail marketing, telemarketing, internet leads, datalists, tracking systems, or any combination thereof. TagQuest willbrand your company, prepare targeted marketing campaigns thatgenerate interest in your company, and most importantly, showyou how to turn sales leads into repeat customers.

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