pennsylvania mortgage professional magazine november 2014

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If You Could Ask a TopProducer ONE Question,What Would It Be?Wednesday, December 10, 2014

The Triple Play ConferenceAtlantic City Convention Center • Atlantic City, NJ

Check out the Top Producer Round Table on page 25

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

Twitter.com/ntlmortgagepro

facebook.com/mortgageprofessional

LinkedIn.com (search National

Mortgage Professional Magazine)

calendar of eventsPAMB

DECEMBER 2014Thursday, December 11

Eight-Hour PA SAFE Comprehensive:The Informed MLO NationalTopics/Pennsylvania State

Elective #4624The Academy Office

1460 U.S. Highway 9 North, Suite 301

Woodbridge, N.J.9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Friday, December 12Four-Hour NJ SAFE Comprehensive:The Informed MLO New Jersey State

Elective #4699The Academy Office

1460 US Highway 9 North, Suite 301Woodbridge, N.J.

1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

JANUARY 2014Friday, January 23

The New England Mortgage Expo 2015

Mohegan Sun1 Mohegan Sun Boulevard

Uncasville, Conn.8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

For more information, call (800) 356-8805

or [email protected].

MARCH 2015Sunday-Thursday, March 8-12

32nd Annual Regional Conference of MBAs

Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort1000 BoardwalkAtlantic City, N.J.

For more information, contact Monica Cedeno by phone at (908) 852-2498,e-mail [email protected] or visit www.mbanj.com.

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Headlines and breaking news from NationalMortgageProfessional.com.

Headlines and blogs from around the web.

are

NMP Media Corp.1220 Wantagh Avenue

Wantagh, New York 11793-2202p 516.409.5555f 516.409.4600

e [email protected] www.NationalMortgageProfessional.com

We are seeking nominations from our readers for National MortgageProfessional Magazine's "40 Under 40" feature, slated to appear inour December 2014 edition. Anyone who is under the age of 40 and hashad a major impact on the industry can qualify for this feature. This couldbe through innovation, association participation, sales force automation,community activism, management techniques, technology or any othersignificant method that has influenced our industry. We would need a short,three-line bio on the nominee, along with a color photo and companycontact info to complete the profile. To nominate yourself or someoneelse, visit https://nmpmag.wufoo.com/forms/nmps-40-under-40-2014/.

youcoming in december 2014

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THE NATION’S LARGESTREGIONAL MORTGAGE CONFERENCE IS BACK!

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2014

Others Cover the World ...We Cover Yours!

Hard-hitting, fact based look at some ofthe most important issues facing the home

finance industry today – with a bit ofhumor and irreverence thrown in.

Airs every Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern

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The National Real Estate Post, at

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Hash It Out with Frank Garay

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

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 4 l V O

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON “MORTGAGE TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY”Successfully Implementing a Cloud-Based LOS: A Lender’s Perspective By Anthony Pham ......................................66

Using Technology to Better Serve Borrowers By Ray Brosseau ..68

Technology Offers the Opportunity for Mortgage Providers to Meet the Demand for Quicker ClosingsBy Geriel Thornburg May....................................................................70

Turn Your Smartphone Into a Referral GeneratorBy Ben Brashen ..................................................................................72

Are You Sarah Connor? By Eric Weinstein ......................................73

Can Technology Help Identify Loan Defects?By Ramesh Devare ............................................................................74

High-Tech vs. High-Touch By Laura Burke ....................................75

Developing a Web Presence By Ashley Lubey................................77

A Winning Combination for Virtual UnderwritingBy Brent Chandler ..............................................................................78

The Future of Mortgage Marketing By Brent Emler........................80

Treating Integration as an Investment By Matt Seu ......................82

FEATURESThe Elite Performer: The Right Routine Equals ResultsBy Andy W. Harris, CRMS ....................................................................8

Why Video Can Bring Your Brand Story to Life By Brian Karoff....16

Four Direct Mail Marketing Myths Busted By K. Justin Restaino..18

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

What Boy Scouts Can Teach You About Success in Mortgage Lending By Bubba Mills ..............................................24

Using Energy Efficiency to Push Home Sales By Phil Hall ............26

AllRegs.............................................................. www.allregs.com ..........................................................40American Financial Resources ............................ www.afrwholesale.com ......................................Back CoverBetterLoanOfficers.com ...................................... www.betterloanofficers.com ..........................................41Boomerang........................................................ www.boomerangprospecting.com ..................................45Brokers Compliance Group.................................. www.brokerscompliancegroup.com ..................................96CallFurst.com ...................................................... www.callfurst.com ............................................................79Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC ...................... www.carringtonwholesale.com ..............................27 & 33Continental Home Loans, Inc. ............................ www.chlmortgage.com ....................................................5Document Systems, Inc./DocMagic ...................... www.docmagic.com ..........................................7, 39 & 57Easy Mortgage Apps............................................ www.easymortgageapps.com ..........................................76Equity Prime LLC................................................ www.equityprime.com ..................................................75First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. ............................ www.fgmc.com ..............................Inside Front Cover & 73Flagstar Bank .................................................... www.wholesale.flagstar.com ..........................................17Fortune Title Agency .......................................... www.fortunetitle.net ..................................................PA5HomeBridge Wholesale ...................................... www.homebridgewholesale.com ....................................11JMAC Lending .................................................... www.jmaclending.com ..................................................31Listing Booster .................................................. www.listingbooster.com ................................................61Lykken On Lending ............................................ www.lykkenonlending.com ............................................59Maverick Funding Corp....................................... www.maverickfunding.com ............................................35Mortgage News Network (MNN) .......................... www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com ......................................1

V I S I T O U R A

Company Web Site Page

10Surveying the Opinionsand Expectations of theMortgage Industry’s TopBrass By Tom LaMalfa

32The Millennials AreComing, the MillennialsAre Coming ... Sort OfBy Phil Hall

40Lykken on Leadership:Eight Ways a Coach CanMake You a Better LeaderBy David Lykken

47NMP’s 2014 MortgageTechnology ProvidersDirectory

84NMP MortgageProfessional of the Month:Ted Tozer, President ofGinnie MaeBy Phil Hall & Robert Ottone

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

O L U M E 6 l N U M B E R 1 1

Catch Mortgage Fraud Before It Sinks You By Greg Holmes ......28

The End of Interest Rate Selling......................................................30Tales From the Closing Table By Andrew Liput ..............................34

Controlling Multitasking Mayhem With AutomationBy Kelly Booth ....................................................................................36

USDA Confirms Acceptance of Electronic SignaturesBy Melanie A. Feliciano Esq. ..............................................................42

The Unintended Consequences of Basel III By Doug Rossbach ..44

NMP’s Economic Commentary: The Fed Moves OnBy Dave Hershman ............................................................................46

The Simple Way to Plan for 2015 By Tom Ward ............................52

Just Ask Eric & Laura By Eric Weinstein & Laura Burke..................54

Winning With Technology By Garrett M. Kolb ................................56

A Few Quick Tips From AllRegs on Vendor Management............58

The Long & Short: The Business of Short Sales By Pam Marron....58

New Integrated Disclosure Will Test the Mettle of Mortgage Settlement Agents By Andrew Liput ..........................62

Time Traps By Dr. Kerry Johnson ....................................................64

Scenes From the MBA’s 101st Annual Convention & Expo..........86

MBA’s Mortgage Action Alliance By Amy Swaney ........................92

Step Inside Ginnie Mae By Ted W. Tozer ........................................93

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

News Flash: November 2014 ......................................................14

Heard on the Street ....................................................................38

NMP Resource Registry..............................................................90

NMP Calendar of Events ............................................................95

NAMB+ ............................................................ www.nambplus.com ......................................................23NAMBPAC .......................................................... www.namb.org ................................................................3NAPMW ............................................................ www.napmw.org ....................................................65 & 78NAWRB ............................................................ www.nawrb.com ............................................................92New England Mortgage Expo .............................. www.nemortgageexpo.com ..................................PA6 & 71Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. ...... www.prmg.net ..........................15, 55 & Inside Back CoverPath2Buy .......................................................... www.path2buy.com ..............................................63 & 80PB Financial Group Corp..................................... www.pbfinancialgrp.com ..............................................53REMN (Real Estate Mortgage Network) ................ www.remnwholesale.com ....................................PA1 & 13Reverse Mortgage Solutions, Inc. ........................ www.partners.rmsnav.com ............................................81Ridgewood Savings Bank .................................. www.ridgewoodbank.com ..............................................69Streetlinks LLC .................................................. www.streetlinks.com ......................................................19TagQuest .......................................................... www.tagquest.com ........................................................43The Bond Exchange ............................................ www.thebondexchange.com ..........................................46The National Real Estate Post.............................. www.thenationalrealestatepost.com ..........................27, 53Titan List & Mailing Services, Inc. ........................ www.titanlists.com ..........................................................9Top Producer Round Table ................................ www.topproducerroundtable.com ..................................25TPD Marketing .................................................. www.tpdmarketing.com ................................................37United Northern Mortgage Bankers, Ltd............... www.unitednorthern.com ......................................29 & 67United Wholesale Mortgage ................................ www.uwm.com/younited ................................................51

D V E R T I S E R S

Company Web Site Page

Dear Mortgage Professional, My name is John G. Stevens, CRMS. I am honored to serve as the 2014-2015Chair of NAMBPAC, a political action committee dedicated to preserving theAmerican dream and the only PAC working exclusively to protect the interestsof consumers and mortgage professionals nationwide.

NAMBPAC is the non-partisan political action committee for NAMB, The Association ofMortgage Professionals. NAMB is the recognized and respected voice of the mortgageoriginator on Capitol Hill and throughout Washington, D.C., and NAMB supports theoperation of NAMBPAC as authorized by, and in accordance with, federal law.

Funds raised by NAMBPAC are used to support Members of Congress who support astrong mortgage market, fair competition and meaningful consumer protection.

On behalf of NAMB and NAMBPAC, I would like to sincerely thank the followingindividuals and political committees for their generous contributions to NAMBPAC throughOctober 15, 2014:

Mike AndersonChuck AndersonRocke AndrewsFred ArnoldKevin AryJayne BailJim BarryJoel BermanRick BettencourtSharon BitzDoug BradenJoseph CannarozziTerry CaseyDana ChahidiGeorge CharlesKay ClelandTerry ClemansJohn Councilman

Roy DeLoachMichael DeSantisHarry DinhamGeorge DuarteScott DudleyDon FaderGinny FergusonFAMP Federal PACBryan ForemanDon FrommeyerScott GriffinSylvia GutierrezAndy HarrisMelissa HayesLisa HernandezCarla HighlandJohn HudsonEdmund Irwin

Everett IvesHelga JamesErik JaneczkoJon KaempferDavid KaneCharlie KeiserEdmund KingLinda KnowltonTerri KoubekFred KregerOlga KucerakKim LewisLisa LundLinda McCoyTiffany McCoyDanielle NeveuOAMBPACJim Pair

Nathan PierceJohn PorterTina RoseKathy RubinDiego SandovalValerie SaundersAndy SeepersadLisa SeverseikeKane SmeltzJohn G. StevensTAMB Federal PACDavid TimmermanMichelle VelezIrving WebbKimber WhiteCynthia WingoBrain Yampolsky

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

John G. Stevens, CRMS2014-2015 Chair [email protected]

Featured Editorial ContributorsPhil Hall

Andy W. Harris, CRMS

Dave Hershman

Andrew Liput

David Lykken

Pam Marron

Amy Swaney

Editorial ContributorsKelly Booth

Ben Brashen

Ray Brosseau

Laura Burke

Brent Chandler

Ramesh Devare

Brent Emler

Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.

Greg Holmes

Dr. Kerry Johnson

Brian Karoff

Garrett M. Kolb

Ashley Lubey

Bubba Mills

Anthony Pham

K. Justin Restaino

Doug Rossbach

Matt Seu

Geriel Thornburg May

Ted W. Tozer

Tom Ward

Eric Weinstein

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NOVEMBER 2014Volume 6 • Number 11

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

Has Anyone Seen My Okidata 92 Dot Matrix Printer?By definition, the word “technology” is a body of knowledge used to create tools, develop skillsand extract or collect materials. It is also the application of science (the combination of scien-tific method and material) to meet an objective or solve a problem. The technology of todayhas applications that permeate every facet of the mortgage process.

When I look back at the days I was in the mortgage broker industry in the late 1980s andearly 1990s, I remember just how exciting it was to have a computer, fax machine and dot matrix printer.File storage on these machines was done by floppy discs.

Jump ahead 25 years later, and technology has simply re-defined the way in which the mortgage profes-sion operates in today’s fast-paced, high-tech world. Those old clunky machines have been literally down-sized to glass screens that fit in the palms of our hands. Those boxes of floppy discs have been replaced bycloud storage, with data accessible at any time or any place.

How have you embraced this change? Are you adapting to these technological advances of the day or haveyou held out and resisted this change? Today, grasping this change is unavoidable. It’s just a matter of whenand how we will embrace this change. Unlike most other changes we have the power over, adapting to theproliferation of technology in today’s world is inevitable.

Every facet of the mortgage loan process has been streamlined via technology. From house shopping, topre-qualification, to closing, the entire mortgage process has adapted as well by reducing mounds of paper-work.

Your Web presence is your window display. When prospective homebuyers are shopping for a home orpresent homeowners are looking to refinance, does your Web presence serve as that virtual “hook” to reel inthese prospects? Or, does your site need a facelift? Is your site mobile-friendly? That difference of having yoursite load quicker on a tablet or smartphone could be the competitive advantage needed to outlast the com-petition and grab that sale over your competitors.

Embracing technology is not an option if you want to survive and thrive into the future. The myriad ofgrowing compliance requirements can only be met by the assistance of technology. The days that the biggesttechnology fear was the tractor feed of the dot matrix printer failing are quickly slipping away. Let’s keep itsimple … use technology to grow your business profitably and compliantly or like the dot matrix printer, youwill be gone soon as well!

Sincerely,

Joel M. Berman, Publisher-CEONMP Media Corp. • [email protected]

National Mortgage Professional Magazine is published monthly by NMP Media Corp. • Copyright © 2014 NMP Media Corp.

publisher’s deskFROM THE

STAFF

ADVERTISINGTo receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and requirements, please contactNational Account Executive Beverly Koondel at (516) 409-5555, ext. 316 or e-mail [email protected].

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 [email protected]. 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 [email protected] 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. [email protected]

Joey ArendtArt Director


Scott KoondelOperations Manager


Richard ZytaSocial Media Ambassador

(516) [email protected]

Joel M. BermanPublisher - CEO


Beverly BolnickNational Sales Manager


Phil HallManaging Editor


Francine MillerAdvertising Coordinator


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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the just got

L O C A L U N D E R W R I T I N G & P R O C E S S I N GI N - H O U S E C R E AT I V E M A R K E T I N G D E P A R T M E N T

F N M A F H L M C G N M A S E L L E R - S E R V I C E R

S T R E N G T H E N Y O U R S K I L L S A N D I M P R O V E Y O U R R E S U LT S

G R E AT E X P A N S I O N O P P O R T U N I T I E S - C A L L U S T O D A Y !

800 -764 -7763WWW.CHLMORTGAGE.COM

Continental Home Loans has joined forces with

MORTGAGE“YOUR FUTURE STARTS WITH US”

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National PresidentChristine Pollard(607) [email protected]

President-ElectKelly Hendricks(314) [email protected]

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

Vice President–Eastern RegionCathy Kantrowitz (845) [email protected]

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

Vice President–Western RegionAnna Mackovska (323) [email protected]

SecretaryCynthia Nutter(360) [email protected]

TreasurerKimberly Rozell, CME (607) 229-5008 [email protected]

ParliamentarianDawn Adams, GML, CMI(607) 329-4622 [email protected]

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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: [email protected]

Rocke Andrews, CMC, CRMS—President-ElectLending Arizona LLC3531 North Pantano Road l Tucson, AZ 85750Phone: (520) 886-7283 l E-mail: [email protected]

Fred Kreger, CMC—Vice PresidentAmerican Family Funding28368 Constellation Road, Suite 398 l Santa Clarita, CA 91350Phone: (661) 505-4311 l E-mail: [email protected]

Rick Bettencourt, CRMS—SecretaryMortgage Network300 Rosewood Drive l Danvers, MA 01923Phone: (978) 777-7500 l E-mail: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

DIRECTORSKay A. Cleland, CMC, CRMS KC Mortgage LLC2041 North Highway 83, Unit CPO Box 783 l Franktown, CO80116Phone: (720) 670-0124 l E-mail: [email protected]

John H.P. Hudson, CRMSPremier Nationwide Lending1202 W. Bitters Road, Bldg. 1, Ste. 1205San Antonio, TX 78216Phone: (817) 247-4766 l E-mail: [email protected]

Olga Kucerak, CRMS Crown Lending328 West Mistletoe l San Antonio, TX 78212Phone: (210) 828-3384 l E-mail: [email protected]

David Luna, CRMS Mortgage Educators and Compliance947 South 500 E, Suite 105 l American Fork, UT 84003Phone: (877) 403-1428 l E-mail: [email protected]

Linda McCoy, CRMS Mortgage Team 1 Inc.6336 Piccadilly Square Drive l Mobile, AL 36609Phone: (251) 650-0805 l E-mail: [email protected]

Valerie Saunders RE Financial Services13033 West Lindburgh Avenue l Tampa, FL 33626Phone: (866) 992-0785 l E-mail: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

NAMB 2014-2015 Board of Directors

Maureen DevinePresident(413) [email protected]

Mike BrownVice President/Treasurer(801) 925-6691, ext. [email protected]

Daphne LargeEx-Officio(901) [email protected]

Nancy Fedich Conference Committee Chair (908) 813-8555, ext. [email protected]

Julie WinkEducation Committee Liaison(901) 259-5105 [email protected]

Tom Conwell Legislative Committee Liaison(800) 445-4922, ext. [email protected]

Renee Erickson Membership & Elections Chair(866) [email protected]

William Bower Resident Screening Committee Liaison(888) [email protected]

Judy Ryan Strategic Alliance Committee Chair(410) [email protected]

Sharon BieszkDirector(262) [email protected]

Mary CampbellDirector(701) [email protected]

Dean WangsgardDirector(801) [email protected]

Terry Clemans Executive Director(630) [email protected]

Jan GerberOffice Manager & Member Services(630) [email protected]

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

2013-2014 Board of Directors & Staff

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2014www.DocMagic.com I 1.800.649.1362

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elite performerT H E

By Andy W. Harris, CRMS

Ihad a meeting with

some colleagues last

week to discuss some

different things we do

individually to increase productivity

and success. The one trait that stood

out to me that I believe top producers

share is having a simple and consistent routine every work day which they

don’t stray from. A routine is defined as a sequence of actions regularly fol-

lowed, and I believe many just lack the “regularly followed” piece. While some

short-term routines might not be productive, I would assume those sticking to

a consistent routine have found success with it.

So what exactly is a daily routine? In my opinion, it is a set of conscious goals

with subconscious actions laid out to maximize a work day and to be consis-

tently followed for optimized performance. If you don’t have a set routine or

commitments each day, then the inconsistencies could prohibit you from cap-

italizing new prospects from marketing efforts and disorganizing your work

flow. A productive routine helps you mentally prepare each day and stay alert

by being punctual and organized. For those who have a consistent routine, they

know what it feels like when they stray and how it can impact their workday.

Personally, I make it a priority to get up around the same time every day. I

start my day by sitting down and reading something inspirational over a cup of

coffee, followed by a morning workout which stimulates the mind and metab-

olism. I get ready for work, grab my protein shake, and jump in the car. On the

way to work, I find listening to audio books related to your professional trade

and goals can be priceless. My routine includes these audio books for that very

reason, creating more ideas and ambition every day. I try to arrive at work at

or around the same time every morning, and truly believe that those who are

not punctual in their work schedule simply produce less.

Start thinking about what you do each work day consistently that is helping

or hurting your professional life. What changes can be made or what is causing

you to not meet goals or holding the necessary discipline? It is very vital for

those of us that work for ourselves or in a position with flexible schedules to

realize the importance of having a daily routine and continuing to improve and

build from it. We must hold ourselves accountable for our chosen actions each

and every day, and ensure that we monitor our routines to optimize being

punctual, productive and progressive.

Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage

Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 president of the Oregon Association of

Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431, e-mail

[email protected] or visit www.vantagemortgagegroup.com.

The Right Routine

Equals Results

“Routine, in an intelligent man,

is a sign of ambiion.”

—W.H. Auden




Comingin

DecemberLast month, Jonathan Foxx, president and managing

director of Lenders Compliance Group, published

RESPA/TILA Integration–Part I: Overview and Loan

Estimate in the October 2014 issue of National

Mortgage Professional Magazine. This is the first of a

four-part series on the new RESPA/TILA rules.

The article received considerable attention from our

readers–especially the Loan Estimate Table, which

outlined the Loan Estimate in a tabular format. You can

find the article and table in the October 2014 edition of

National Mortgage Professional Magazine, respectively,

on page 28 and page 51.

We want you to enjoy the benefit of reading this

analysis online, so we have placed the entire review on

the Web at http://goo.gl/Z01cXj.

In December, we will be publishing Part II in this

series. This forthcoming article will be devoted to the

Closing Disclosure, and it will also contain an

informative table as well. Be sure to look for it!

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This is the 13th time since 2008that this survey of seniormortgage banking executiveshas been conducted and dis-tributed. It is completed twice

annually, at the MBA’s AnnualConvention in October and at the MBA’sNational Secondary Market Conference inMay.

The purpose of the survey is to capturesome basic data and gather the opinions,attitudes, values and expectations of sen-ior executives on many of the business andindustry’s key issues, topics and concerns.

For this year’s MBA AnnualConvention, 30 meetings were arrangedand 30 surveys were completed. The sur-veyed group consisted of eight mortgagecompany presidents, 10 executive vicepresidents, eight senior vice presidents,and four vice presidents or regional vicepresidents. Excluding the presidents, allof those surveyed work in capital mar-kets, operations or production. Of the 28firms represented in the survey, eightproduced more than $10 billion in 2013,13 others originated between $1-$9 bil-lion, and another seven produced lessthan $1 billion last year.

The executives surveyed represent 16banks, 12 independent mortgage compa-nies, including two homebuilder-ownedfirms, one mortgage brokerage, and onereal estate agent-owned firm. One of thefirms is Internet-based. Thirteen of thefirms originate only through retail, whilethe other 15 produces in at least twochannels. Six of the 28 firms originate inretail, correspondent and broker whole-sale. The surveyed group is structured tobe reasonably representative of the indus-try in firm size and operating channels.

The 65-question survey was draftedseveral weeks before the conference, betatested, and run past several industryinsiders for comprehensiveness and clari-ty. Except for the beta test group, all sur-veys were completed face to face duringmeetings at the MBA Annual Convention,with about 45 minutes reserved for eachsurvey.

The project’s objective is to record theresponses to the questions, compile theinformation, prepare a report of the find-ings, and distribute it to those surveyedand other interested parties.

By design, the survey group consistsalmost solely of industry friends and busi-

ness associates. All are industry veterans.Many have been part of this survey sinceits inception. Some execs are polled bothat the Secondary Marketing Conferenceand again at the MBA Annual Conferenceabout six months later. Most of those sur-veyed are close industry contacts whohave helped keep me informed of intra-industry trends and developments overthe course of years. Most have been col-leagues for decades. Only four of thoseincluded were surveyed for the first time.

Given who is being polled, no thoughtwas ever given to even suggest that thesurvey findings reflect the attitudes oropinions of a broad cross-section of theU.S. population. To the contrary, since itwasn’t a random survey, there is nothingscientific about the results that wouldnecessarily apply outside the mortgagebanking industry. And. of course, respons-es are only valid as of a specific point intime. That said the surveyor believes thefindings well represent the ideas, atti-tudes and expectations of the broad mort-gage industry.

Although some of the questions aretime-specific and appear on these surveysonly once or twice, most of them are

included in each and every survey. Thispolling process provides a dataset ofresponses over time. An analysis of theresulting longitudinal data shows pat-terns and trends along with new develop-ments in the business and industry. Forexample, the reduced demand by thegovernment-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)for the repurchase of loans is reflected inthe moderate improvement noted in thissurvey and the prior one when comparedto the findings in the surveys conductedin 2010 through the first half of 2013.

Past survey results have been the basisfor five recent articles in MortgageBanking, the most recent published in theOctober 2014 issue of the publication.The current plan is to write at least onearticle from this survey’s findings in thenext several months. The purpose ofthese articles is to bring senior execsinto the public discussion of key issuesand topics without drama and despitethe often-controversial nature of theunderlying subjects.

This report’s author finds the informa-tion collected to be relevant, interesting,

Surveying the Opinions and Expectations of the Mortgage Industry’s Top Brass

Inudstry leaders and visionaries weigh in at MBA 2014 Annual ConventionBy Tom LaMalfa

continued on page 30

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Veros Enhances ItsSapphire ValuationManagement Platform

Veros Real Es-tate Solutionshas announced

enhanced features to its property valu-ation management platform, Sapphire,that provides lenders with the ability tosimplify and enrich their valuationreview process, while enhancing theirvendor management capabilities.Sapphire is a SaaS-based property valu-ation management platform thatallows for quick adoption into the loanprocessing workflow, with flexibilitythat enables configuration to specificand unique operational needs. Withmodules including Order, Review,Reporting and Appraiser PanelManagement (APM), Sapphire’s latestenhancements correlate with Veros’objective of continual productstrengthening.

Sapphire offers users increasedflexibility in managing the paymentrequirements associated with theordering of appraisals, broker priceopinions or other valuation tools.Continuing to deliver a secure portalfor sensitive financial data, Sapphire’senhanced payment processing capa-bilities provides versatility in how sys-tem and service fees are routed, aswell as in the management of directpayments to appraisers or other valu-ation vendors. Sapphire allows usersto establish ordering rules for valua-tion providers based upon config-urable ‘zones.’ From geographic areasdown to specific neighborhoods,Sapphire enables users to select theoptimum vendor (appraiser, AMC,broker or other) based upon expertiseto a highly specialized location.

Sapphire users can now instantly seerelevant data culled from reliablesources. Additionally, Sapphire will fil-ter the available data and display themon maps that can be toggled betweenstreet and satellite views. Through thisfunctionality, reviewers can also adjustthe parameters for comparable dataand instantly review new properties inorder to better validate the data con-tained within the valuation, determinenext steps and reduce possible risk.

“Sapphire was designed to enableconscientious institutions to stay com-

pliant with ever-evolving regulationsand requirements in an intuitive anduser-friendly interface for property val-uation management,” said DavidRasmussen, senior vice president ofoperations for Veros. “These enhance-ments are another step down that roadas we continually augment our SaaS-based valuation tools.”

New Credit Plus OfferingHelps Lenders MonitorLoan Quality

Credit Plus Inc. has announced that itwill be offering a new loan quality con-trol (QC) program: QC Review, poweredby the LoanHD Platform. QC Reviewenables lenders to run quality assur-ance checks throughout the entire orig-ination process using real-time QC tech-nology—from pre-closing to closingand beyond.

“Research shows that one-in-fiveloans wouldn’t pass Qualified Mortgage(QM) standards,” said Greg Holmes,national director of sales and market-ing for Credit Plus. “QC Review assureslenders that the loans they fund meetFHA/HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,VA, and private investor requirementsfor prefunding analysis and post-clos-ing audits.”

Using QC Review, lenders can runquality assurance checks to meet theirown policies and procedures before ini-tial disclosure, after drawing docu-ments, upon change of circumstances,during post-funding reviews, and more.The platform provides scalable efficien-cy and an organized method to evalu-ate granular, verified and validateddetail for loan quality audits. QCReview’s insight can help lenders targetloan risk, prepare for agency audits,and improve compliance safeguards.

“Should a lender ever find itself fac-ing an audit, buyback or lawsuit, QCReview’s reports can provide valuableinformation for their defense,” saidHolmes. “The platform also supportslong-term risk mitigation with business

intelligence tools that enable a lenderto track trends, patterns and performroot cause analysis to improve loanquality.”

DLS Servicing LaunchesNew FHA ServicingProduct

DLS Servicing Consultants LLC hasannounced a new boutique FHA servicingprograms aimed at new FHA servicers.

“We’ve been approached by numer-ous small banks and mortgage compa-nies that either have just obtained theirFHA servicing ability, or have traditional-ly sold off their FHA loans and are nowretaining servicing,” said MichaelMeroney, director of business develop-ment and consulting for DLS. DLS isowned and staffed by industry veteranswho have specialized in all aspects ofFHA servicing. It also created and ownsWaterfallCalc.com, provider of FHA lossmitigation decisioning software.

“Mortgage servicing has becomeincreasingly more complicated overthe last five years,” said DonnaSchmidt, owner and founder of DLSand WaterfallCalc.com. “Expert guid-ance will help new FHA servicersreduce the risk of costly mistakes, suchas interest curtailments, indemnifica-tions or treble damages.”

DLS offers consulting and outsourc-ing services aimed at small banks andservicers that are new to the FHA serv-icing game. Assuring that SOP’s are upto date with current FHA and CFPBrequirements, training staff and man-agement, providing preliminaryaudits, and assisting with respondingto post-HUD audits. DLS will also pro-vide due diligence and sample loanreviews for clients that may be acquir-ing FHA portfolios.

“We are uniquely positioned toassist FHA servicers with due diligencebecause of our WaterfallCalc.comproduct,” said Meroney. “We canquickly determine whether transferred

loans in default have been handledcorrectly from a loss mitigation stand-point, which has been a recent focus ofthe CFPB.”

DLS can assist with proactive qualityanalysis of the loss mitigation docu-mentation and calculations, pre-fore-closure sale documentation andacceptable net proceeds and HUD-1configurations, first legal deadlinetracking and warning reports, foreclo-sure claim processing and a host ofother processes. DLS plans to offerthese services at a large discount com-pared to its competitors, who are oftentoo costly for the small servicer.

“I have a real affinity for the smallservicer,” said Schmidt. “I’ve beenthere. Our business model is to offercomprehensive, personalized and cus-tomizable consulting services with thebudget of the small servicer in mind.”

CoesterVMS IntegratesWith a la mode’s MercuryVendor ManagementPortal

CoesterVMS, a nationwide providerappraisal management and technology,has integrated its Cloud Control apprais-al management service into a la mode’sMercury Vendor Management Portal.Mercury users are now able to use thesystem to place appraisal orders into theCoesterVMS platform. Lenders are taskedwith managing the compliance and reg-ulatory requirements associated withfirewalls used to protect systems andinformation. One of the ways to ensurethe methods used for a specific processare predictable and repeatable is to useautomation. This drastically decreasesthe possibility of error.

“This is an intuitive next step in theevolution of automating valuations,”said Brian Coester, chief executive offi-cer of CoesterVMS. “Mercury is a greatplatform and we believe this relation-ship will be very productive as it cre-ates additional efficiencies in theindustry.”


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EWSFLASH l NOVEMBER 2014 l NMP NEWSFLASH l NOVEMBER 2014 l NMP NE

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MBA Forecasts $1.19Trillion in Originations in 2015

The Mortgage Bank-ers Association (MBA)has announced thatit expects to see$1.19 trillion in

mortgage originations during 2015, aseven percent increase from 2014.While MBA anticipates purchase orig-inations will increase 15 percent, itexpects refinance originations todecrease three percent. MBA’s fore-cast predicts purchase originationswill increase to $731 billion in 2015,up from $635 billion in 2014. In con-trast, refinances are expected to dropto $457 billion, from $471 billion, in2014.

“We are projecting that home pur-chase originations will increase in2015 as the U.S. economy continueson its current path of strongergrowth, job gains and decliningunemployment,” said MichaelFratantoni, MBA’s chief economistand senior vice president for researchand industry technology. “The jobmarket has shown sustained improve-ment this year; with robust monthlyincreases in both payroll jobs and jobopenings. We are forecasting thatstrong job growth, coupled with stilllow mortgage rates, should translateto an increase in home sales and pur-chase originations.”

For 2016, MBA is forecasting pur-chase originations of $791 billion andrefinance originations of $379 billionfor a total of $1.17 trillion.

“Our projection for overall eco-nomic growth is 2.9 percent in 2015and 2.4 in 2016, which will be drivenmainly by strong consumer spendingand business fixed investment, ashouseholds continue to spend ondurable goods, such as cars and appli-ances, and as businesses invest innew plant and equipment,” saidFratantoni. “Moreover, after severalyears of contraction, the rate of gov-ernment spending should no longerbe a drag on the economy.”

MBA upwardly revised its estimateof originations for 2014 to $1.11 tril-lion from $1.01 trillion, and for 2013

to $1.85 trillion from $1.76 trillion, toreflect the most recent data reportedin the 2013 Home Mortgage DisclosureAct (HMDA) data release.

“We expect that the 10-YearTreasury rate will stay below threepercent through the first half of nextyear as concerns about broader globalissues have caused a flight to quality,with investors seeking safety in U.S.Treasury securities,” said Fratantoni.“However, if the global turmoil dimin-ishes and U.S. economic growth con-tinues, we anticipate the rate willexceed three percent in the secondhalf of 2015, continuing to increasethrough 2016. We expect the FederalReserve will keep short-term ratesnear zero until mid-2015, when weexpect to see the first fed funds rateincrease.”

SSI Polls Nearly 2,000Closing Agents on DataPrivacy, Training andTrust Accounts

Secure SettlementsInc. (SSI) has an-nounced the resultsof its most recentsurvey of nationwidemortgage settlement

and closing professionals. The surveypolled 1,788 professionals throughoutthe country about such issues as dataprivacy and security controls, trustaccount management and audits, andemployee training. This latest surveyconducted Oct. 7-14, is one of a seriesconducted regularly among the morethan 8,200 settlement professionals inthe SSI nationwide closing agent data-base. The results are offered as aresource to those seeking data intelli-gence on the escrow and settlementindustry to assess the opinions, prac-tices and experiences of these impor-tant professionals.

Some of the highlights of the opin-ion poll include the following:l Only 32 percent of the agents

polled carry cyber liability or data

security insurance, although morethan 80 percent have either errorsand omissions insurance or fidelitybonds or both.

l More than 80 percent say they traintheir employees regularly in bothmortgage fraud and the handlingsensitive borrower information,while only 64 percent train theirstaff in anti-money laundering (AML)rules and risks and 69 percent con-duct training on Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau (CFPB) rules andregulations.

l When asked how often their trustaccounts were audited in the past24 months, nearly a third of theattorneys polled replied “never”while 65 percent of title andescrow agents had been audited atleast once with nearly 15 percenthaving been audited three or moretimes in that period.

l Vetting is the new watchword ofthe day for agents, as 83 percent ofthose polled indicated that theyhad experienced some sort of ven-dor management review in thepast three months, with anincrease in requests for back-ground evaluations from lendersnationally. Twenty-three percentof these agents had been vetted bytheir underwriters, 21 percent bylenders directly, and the balance of56 percent by third-party vendormanagement firms.

l Agents report business is downthe past quarter, with 37 percentof agents seeing lower businessvolume in the past quarter, andonly 11 percent seeing any rev-enue growth. Forty-two percent ofthose polled report no changefrom the second quarter of 2014.The mood for the first quarter of2015, however, is positive. Whenasked about their confidence inthe real estate market in 2015, 55percent see positive growthahead, while 26 percent see atough year on the horizon for the

industry and 19 percent had noopinion.

Multifamily Lending Hits New Record Levels in 2013

n 2013, 2,898 different multifamilylenders provided a total of $172.5 bil-lion in new mortgages for apartmentbuildings with five or more units,according to a report from theMortgage Bankers Association (MBA).The 2013 dollar volume represents an18 percent increase from 2012 levels.Sixty-two percent of the active lendersmade five or fewer multifamily loansover the course of the year.

“Multifamily lending hit a newrecord in 2013,” said Jamie Woodwell,MBA’s vice president of research andeconomics. “A strong appetite forloans led banks to increases multifam-ily lending by 19 percent, life compa-nies to increase by 65 percent and theCMBS market to increase by 119 per-cent. The report shows increases inmultifamily lending among bothsmaller and larger loan sizes and with-in most lender segments.”

The MBA report is based on its sur-veys of the larger multifamily lendersand the recently released HomeMortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) datathat covers multifamily loans made bymany smaller lenders, particularlycommercial banks.

The $172.5 billion of multifamilymortgages originated in 2013 went toa variety of investors. By dollar vol-ume, the greatest share (39 percent ofthe total) went to commercial bank,thrift and credit union portfolios.

The top five multifamily lenders in2013 by dollar volume were JP MorganChase and Company, Wells Fargo, PNCReal Estate, CBRE Capital Markets Inc.and KeyBank.

The MBA report is the most com-prehensive view available of the mul-tifamily lending market and includes:l A detailed summary of the $172.5

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billion multifamily market,l Profiles of distinct market seg-

ments, including the very-smallloan (loans of $1 million or less)lender segment,

l A breakout of 2013 multifamilylending volume by investor group,

l A listing of 2,898 lenders whomade multifamily loans in 2013,including their lending volume,number of loans made and aver-age loan size, and

l A listing of metropolitan areas andthe volume of very-small loansmade in each in 2013.

HAMP Hacker Sentencedfor Fannie Mae DataBreach

Office of the Special InspectorGeneral for the Troubled Asset ReliefProgram (SIGTARP) has announcedthat Sathish Kumar ChandhunRajendran of Sterling, Va., has beensentenced for engaging in unautho-rized access to government serversthat hosted a Fannie Mae Web siteused to support federal mortgageloan modification programs, includ-ing the Home AffordableModification Program (HAMP). U.S.District Judge T.S. Ellis III presidedover the hearing, which took place infederal court in Alexandria, Va.

Rajendran was sentenced to threeyears of supervised release and willbe required to perform 50 hours ofcommunity service. Restitution wasordered in the amount of $69,638,and Rajendran was ordered to forfeitownership of the laptop computerfrom which he accessed federal Website servers without authorization.Rajendran was also ordered to writeand publish online an article detail-ing the particulars of the offense, itsseriousness, its effect on himself andhis family, and why others should notengage in similar behavior.

Rajendran was charged and plead-ed guilty on July 10, 2014, to a one-count criminal information charginghim with unauthorized access to aprotected computer causing damage.In the plea agreement, Rajendranalso agreed, for a period of threeyears following his conviction, torefrain from participating as anemployee, contractor or subcontrac-tor, in any government contractrequiring clearance.

According to court documents,Rajendran worked at Fannie Mae asan IT employee, and was assigned tothe development of thewww.CheckMyNPV.com Web site. Thesite was established under the Dodd-Frank Act by the U.S. Department ofthe Treasury and the U.S.Department of Housing & UrbanDevelopment (HUD) in conjunction

with the government’s Making HomeAffordable (MHA) program. Theonline tool on the site, operated byFannie Mae under the auspices ofMHA, allowed homeowners to deter-mine the net present value of theirhomes and check their eligibility toparticipate in HAMP, a federal pro-gram designed to prevent mass fore-closures.

After being terminated fromemployment in August 2013,Rajendran repeatedly used adminis-trator credentials to log into govern-ment servers and make unauthorizedchanges to the CheckMyNPV site,including disabling the site’s onlinetool for calculating the net presentvalue of homes and for checking

HAMP eligibility. As a result of theseactions, Rajendran caused damageand loss to the site in the amount of$69,638.

“Rajendran, a former federal ITcontractor, crashed the functionalityof www.CheckMyNPV.com which tem-porarily prevented struggling home-owners from using the site’s ‘net pres-ent value’ calculator to determinetheir eligibility for TARP’s housingprogram, HAMP,” said ChristyRomero, Special Inspector General forTARP (SIGTARP). “Those who stand inthe way of homeowners getting thehelp they seek and need throughHAMP will be held accountable andbrought to justice by SIGTARP and ourlaw enforcement partners.”

Nearly $20 Billion inU.S. Mortgage AppsScarred by Fraud

CoreLogic has released its latestMortgage Fraud Report, which foundthat at the end of the second quarterof 2014, the report shows a 3.2 per-cent year-over-year increase in fraudrisk, as measured by the MortgageApplication Fraud Risk Index, and esti-mates that applications representing


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approximately $3.3 billion in mort-gage debt contained elements offraud or serious misrepresentationsin the second quarter of 2014. For the12 months ending the second quarter2014, the report estimates the totalvalue of applications with fraud orserious misrepresentations at $19.8billion.

The analysis found that during thesecond quarter of 2014, approximate-ly 11,100 mortgage applications, or0.69 percent of all mortgage applica-tions, contained elements of fraud, ascompared with 19,700 or 0.67 per-cent in the second quarter of 2013,when the total application volumewas substantially higher.

The CoreLogic Mortgage FraudReport analyzes the collective level ofloan application fraud risk through-out the mortgage industry. TheCoreLogic Mortgage Application FraudRisk Index is based on residentialmortgage loan applications processedby CoreLogic LoanSafe FraudManager, which includes a predictivefraud scoring technology. The reportincludes detailed data for six applica-tion fraud type indices that comple-ment the national index:Employment, identity, income, occu-pancy, property and undiscloseddebt.

Among the highlights of the report:l Nationally, Florida experienced

the highest year-over-year growthin mortgage application fraudrisk; Arizona experienced thelargest decline.

l Of the six components in theCoreLogic Mortgage ApplicationFraud Type Indexes, propertyfraud risk had the largest year-over-year percentage increase at3.3 percent; undisclosed debt riskshowed the largest year-over-yeardecline at 22.7 percent.

l As has been the case for the pastfour years, jumbo mortgages haveexhibited the highest fraud risk,followed by low-downpaymentmortgages.

The year over year differences arelikely driven to some extent bychanges to market conditions includ-ing:l New government programs—

notably the “ability to repay” rulesthat went into effect lastJanuary—that have placed addi-tional scrutiny on debt and irregu-lar income such as bonuses andrental payments;

l Over 3.2 million additional single-family properties added to therental market since 2006, increas-ing both the potential for occu-pancy fraud as well as the numberof consumers showing rentalincome and multiple mortgages.

l Deferred maintenance for some

properties and rapid appreciationfor others leading to large discrep-ancies in value among nearbyproperties, increasing opportuni-ties for incorrect valuation andfraud-for-profit schemes. This wasmost often the case in judicialforeclosure states and high vacan-cy areas.

“Increasing home values haveimproved home equity, enablingmany homeowners with previouslymarginal equity to purchase a differ-ent property, refinance, or obtain acash-out home equity loan orHELOC,” said Michael Bradley, Ph.D.,senior vice president of Analytics atCoreLogic. “Also, job creation, as wellas the aging of negative credit reportrecords from the beginning of therecession, have increased the num-ber of consumers able to qualify formortgages. Finally, more institutionsare beginning to rely on advancedanalytics to relax credit overlays andexpand the credit envelope. All ofthese trends have expanded access tomortgage credit modestly with only aslight increase in fraud risk, as theCoreLogic Mortgage Fraud Reportindicates.”

Fourteen CertifiedMortgage BankersRecognized by the MBA

MBA Education,the award-win-ning educationdivision of the

Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA),recognized 14 individuals whoearned the Certified Mortgage Banker(CMB) designation at a ceremony heldat the MBA’s 101st AnnualConvention & Expo in Las Vegas.Earning one’s CMB is the highest pro-fessional honor within the real estatefinance industry.

The 14 CMBs who received theirdesignations this past calendar yearwill join a group of more than 1,200industry professionals who haveproven their commitment to excel-lence within the mortgage bankingindustry.

“The knowledge that comes withthe CMB accreditation is the most sig-nificant component of this honorbecause it positions one to navigatetoday’s ever-changing landscape,”said MBA Chairman Bill Cosgrove. “Iapplaud this year’s graduates andwish them luck in their continuedcareer advancement.”

CMB candidates must acquire 150points earned through a combinationof professional experience, secondaryeducation, continuing educationthrough MBA-sponsored events andMBA Education courses, as well as

continued on page 39SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Brian Karoff

We sometimes forget why video is important to our market-ing strategy. Back in 2008, I was visiting a film studio in SanRafael, Calif., the same studio where George Lucas made“Star Wars.” The studio executives and I went to see “Up in

3D.” We grabbed our popcorn and drinks, sat down in front of the bigscreen and put our polarized 3D glasses on during the ads. Oddly enough,we kept looking with and without our glasses to see if any of the ads werein 3D. There were none. Disappointed, we came up with the idea to pro-duce 3D commercials prior to the feature. When pitching executives onthe idea, it came down to the numbers and not enough theatres hadrolled out 3D screens yet. Only three ads were produced in 3D prior to therelease of one of the biggest 3D blockbusters of all time, “Avatar.” Thatwas a massive missed opportunity for marketers and if you’re not produc-ing video right now, you’re missing out.

Video can help you emotionally connect with your audience. It gives aface to the brand, and it brings your message to life. The problem brandshave with video is the understanding of production. From creative, script-ing, storyboards, location scouting, set designs, crews, cameras, editing,graphics and so on. It seems like an expensive endeavor just to get started.Times have changed. It’s fairly inexpensive now to produce great contentwith the advent of smartphones, and now is the time to hedge forwardand let the camera roll!

YouTube is great for building an audience and earning subscribers, plusyou can take up pixel space on the first page of Google because the searchengine favors its sister company. Yet, just like my 3D experience, you needto make it contextually relevant and interesting for your audience. Videodoes wonders for real estate agents. So much so, they have gone as far asusing drones to fly through homes to illustrate its features and benefits.Mortgage professionals have the opportunity to do the same. They justneed a few creative ideas, a log line for your brand, and the willingnessto put your message out there.

Car dealerships utilize video very well to personally brand their salesreps and move inventory. Service shops now take videos of their inspec-tions to show customers potential issues. What’s really powerful is a tes-timonial from a customer on video. There’s no greater message than athird-party unconditionally giving you and your company a personal rec-ommendation on film. Introduce yourself, what you represent, how yougot into the business, and why people should work with you.

BetterLoanOfficers.com’s Founder and CEO Rene Rodriguez is produc-ing a series called “Leadership and Influence” that will begin airing thismonth. Tune into www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com for more information.

Brian Karoff is the digital marketing manager for BetterLoanOfficers.com,a powerful and easy-to-use online loan officer review management system.Loan officers can collect, manage and promote their views in order to buildtrust, secure more referral relationships and close more deals. Brian is a dy-namic leader and entrepreneur working with business leaders and executivesfrom all over the world. He has worked with Chet Holmes and Tony Robbinsin producing the Ultimate Business Mastery System and consults clients onbusiness growth through marketing and technology.

�Why Video Can Bring Your Brand Story to Life

VideoMarketing

nmp news flashcontinued from page 15

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Your lender should beyour strongest link.

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SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By K. Justin Restaino

Direct mail can be an effective tool for mortgage brokerslooking to attract new clients. Unfortunately, there are anumber of myths about direct mail that may be holding youback from using it. Below, we examine and dispel some of

the most common myths that brokers have about direct mail:

1. Direct mail is deadWhile direct mail is often regarded as something ancient, its popularityhas grown in recent years. For example, 20.8 percent of marketers in arecent survey said that they plan to spend more on direct mail in the up-coming year than they have in the past. More and more, brokers are dis-covering that direct mail is an effective way to attract new clients.

2. People don’t read direct mailA great deal of mortgage brokers secretly suspect that direct mail is ig-nored. However, studies show that the vast majority (81 percent) of directmail is read or scanned. By contrast, only about 20 percent of e-mails areopened by potential customers. Effectively, this means that your directmail piece is far more likely to be read than any email you might send.

3. It costs too much to use direct mailAdmittedly, direct mail is more expensive than e-mail. But with manymortgage brokers choosing to opt for postcard mailings, direct maildoesn’t have to be cost prohibitive and the return-on-investment (ROI)can be substantial. Consider the case of Riverside Mortgage, which pro-moted refinancing by sending postcards to homeowners. The companywas so successful with the postcards, that it experienced a 2,500 percentROI.

4. Direct mail is not the best medium for my target demographicIf you are trying to capture first-time homebuyers, direct mail mightbe the way to go. According to a recent survey, people between theages of 18 and 32 prefer receiving marketing offers via postal mailthan through online sources. Furthermore, if you’re trying to promotereverse mortgages, direct mail is one of the most effective ways toreach senior citizens.

Direct mail is not only a convenient method of reaching your targetdemographic, but it can also yield huge dividends. That being said, youmay just want to give it a try when you formulate your next marketingcampaign—the results might surprise you!

K. Justin Restaino is vice president of Titan List & Mailing Services Inc. Formore than 13 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 [email protected].

Four Direct Mail Marketing Myths Busted

�

More than 600 of the country’slargest lenders and appraisal manage-ment companies use the MercuryNetwork with more than 20,000appraisal deliveries a day powered bythe network.

“We are always looking for ways toimprove and streamline our operationsthrough automation,” said CoreyDubnoff, chief administrative officer ofAmerican Financial Resources Inc., alender that has recently started usingMercury and has been on CoesterVMS’systems for three years. “Mercury andCoester offer great solutions and havingthe two integrated will help us improvehow we respond to our customers as wehave built a significant part of our valu-ation process into their systems.”

ValuTrac AnnouncesIntegration With FNC’sAppraisalPort Offering

V a l u T r a cSoftware hasa n n o u n c e dthe integra-tion with FNC,

a provider of real estate collateral infor-mation technology. ValuTrac has inte-grated directly with FNC’s AppraisalPortto seamlessly facilitate the appraisalportion of the loan process. The inte-gration is designed to increase efficien-cy and mitigate risk for ValuTrac cus-tomers by automating complicatedappraisal steps.

“We are excited about working withour newest integration partner, FNC,and the trusted value they add to ourcustomizable appraisal managementplatform,” said Clint Cornett, CEO ofValuTrac Software. “By partnering withFNC, our customers have more seamlesselectronic interface options, andValuTrac takes another step in integrat-ing innovative technology into a holisticplatform to further streamline and mit-igate risk throughout the lending valuechain.”

Mike Mitchell, chief strategy officerwith FNC Inc., said, “FNC welcomesValuTrac as an integrated settlementservices provider on FNC’sAppraisalPort. FNC’s CMS platformclients will have the opportunity to ben-efit from this new valuation serviceprovider option.”

Global DMS Releases NewMobile App forAppraisers

Global DMS, a provider of Web-basedcompliant valuation management soft-ware, announced that it launchedAppraisal Tracking On Mobile (ATOM),an application that arms appraiserswith robust functionality, instant accessto information, and communication

capabilities that facilitates greater pro-ductivity in the field.

ATOM gives appraisers easy access toGlobal DMS’ eTrac valuation manage-ment platform, which lenders, AMCsand other real estate entities rely on tocompliantly automate their entireappraisal process.

Using ATOM, appraisers can viewtheir pipelines; accept and declineorders via their mobile device; see allopen, closed and cancelled orders;update order status along with nota-tions and conditions; contact borrowersto schedule inspection dates; andobtain directions to the property beingappraised.

“We want to do everything we can tomake our clients and their customers’jobs as easy as possible,” said VladimirBien-Aime, president and CEO of GlobalDMS. “ATOM is a very effective commu-nication, workflow and task manage-ment tool that helps users who are onthe go quickly and efficiently completeappraisals in full compliance usingcomprehensive mobile technologyautomation.”

The design of ATOM also allowsappraisers to drill down into to thedetails of all orders in their pipelines.Examples include the file number, bor-rower information, property address,lender, loan product, property type,client name and contact information,vendor fees, due dates and more.

In addition, ATOM integrates withappraisers’ mobile devices and GPS toautomatically synchronize their calen-dars with property inspection dates andtimes as well as other tasks, making themanagement of calendar appointmentsseamless and easy. ATOM also has anintegrated help system for whenappraisers have on-the-fly questions.

LoanLogics Upgrades Its LoanHD Tool

LoanLogics has announced that it hasenhanced its LoanHD platform with afully automated signature clipping tool,SignaFacts, that provides visual valida-tion of execution and easy comparisonof signatures. The types of documentsevaluated by this tool include, but arenot limited to, the Good Faith Estimate(GFE), Truth-in-Lending disclosure,mortgage note, deed of trust and U.S.Department of Housing & UrbanDevelopment (HUD) endorsement.

“Because of this enhancement, theactual signatures can be audited, andwhen there are dissimilar signatures, itwill be readily apparent. Until now,underwriters and auditors did not havea reliable method to quickly and easilyinspect signatures side-by-side, which

new to marketcontinued from page 12


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It’s hard to believe notevery mortgage profes-sional is member ofNAMB—The Associationof Mortgage Profession-als. As I think about all of

the challenges we face every day, I amso glad there is NAMB. I don’t say thisbecause I am president of the associa-tion … I have paid my dues since 1986.I know what it is like to operate withoutthe power of community. It wasn’t untilthe early 1990s that NAMB had enoughcredibility to make a difference andwhat a difference it has made! As mort-

gage originators and account execu-tives, we have prospered. Some origina-tors have gone on to create huge com-panies, while others have done verywell just being one-person shops. This isa good business that provides a valu-able service, despite the trials we face.

NAMB is there to help give the indus-try structure. We bring wholesale andcorrespondent lenders into a relation-ship with smaller companies. Our tradeshows and magazine specialize in this.But these avenues bring so much moreto you. The wonderful seminars andarticles keep you informed, and if you

avail yourself of them, you will becomea better originator, processor or under-writer. You will learn from top speakersat NAMB events.

I attended the Southwest Chapter ofthe Florida Association of MortgageProfessionals (FAMP) Monthly Meetingrecently and walked away with invalu-able information. As I looked around atthe small crowd, I thought to myself,“How do people who are not hereexist?” Valerie Saunders delivered atremendous presentation on the newmortgage disclosures coming out nextyear. I cannot imagine being totallyunprepared for all of this complexity. Isuppose many originators will just relyon someone else in their company or awholesale lender to deal with it. Thatmakes me wonder: What kind of com-

pany would not push their employeesto learn all they can? I regularly seehuge mistakes being made by peoplewho take the approach of letting some-one else figure it out for them.

Sadly, there are people who arereading this who are not members ofNAMB. They are satisfied being lessthan their peers. It is never too late tochange that and build your knowledgeand skills, and NAMB membership is agreat place to start.

John Councilman, CMC, CRMSNAMB [email protected]

The President’s Corner: November 2014

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

By Fred Kreger,CMC

This month, I thoughtthat I would bring you allup to speed and intro-

duce NAMB’s focus on a GrassrootsStrategy. So you hear the word “grass-roots” and what comes to mind for you?Is it walking your political district to getagreement with common goals? Is get-ting fellow industry partners and origi-nators to advocate on behalf of theclients you all serve? It is both and more.

What is the etymology of this word“grassroots?” Figuratively it is “at thefundamental level.” In political sense, itis the “rank and file of the electorate.”When NAMB calls something a “grass-roots strategy,” we are talking aboutthe basic fundamental approach to getour talking points out to the masses:The local, state and federal elected offi-cials. The goal of this GrassrootsStrategy is to establish NAMB membersto organize in order to have a relation-ship with “Key Members” of the U.S.House and Senate that affect our busi-ness on a day-to-day and year-to-yearbasis. The fostering of these relation-ships will allow NAMB and its membersto respond to “Call to Action” itemsquicker and more efficient. This strate-gy will also enable NAMB be thought ofas the de facto association to initiatenew legislation to solve new and futurehousing issues.

This strategy will also assist in ourmember meetings in D.C. duringNAMB’s Spring Government AffairsConference. By identifying these con-stituent congressional members andtheir staff of legislative aides, the NAMBGrassroots Team will be able to respond

quicker because relationships will havealready been established so that NAMBmembers will not have to double sellour positions and channels of directcommunication with the Congressionalmember and their staffers has beenestablished. (i.e. who we are and whatNAMB does).

I need all of you to help me with thisstrategy. Everyone reading I hope isinspired to take this strategy and runwith it in your local area. It is aboutgratitude and you need know that youare part of something bigger. I will talkabout the word “gratitude” next month.

Here are some of the basic outlinesteps to the strategy:

l Identify key members of the U.S.House of Representatives FinancialServices and Senate BankingCommittees that have been influen-tial and “friendly” to mortgage orig-inators. These members are our firstlevel of discussions with NAMBmember constituents and enablethem to be introduced as the keypoint of contact within NAMB hous-ing goals.

l Deliver key talking points to theNAMB’s Grassroots Member Team.

l Identify congressional key playersthat may not necessarily be on theHouse Financial Services or SenateBanking Committees, but have origi-nated or co-sponsored housingrelated bills.

l Once all congressional members areidentified, create a script and talkingpoints for NAMB members to origi-nate in district meetings as the con-

gressional member’s constituent.This will reinforce the relationshipbetween NAMB and the congression-al member.

l Create collateral with NAMB talkingpoints to support and continuouslyreinforce NAMB GovernmentAffairs Strategy and distribute dur-ing district days for Congressionalmembers.

l Establish quarterly in-district lobbydays for all NAMB members to visittheir respective Congressional mem-bers. These meetings will initially beto create relationships that have notbeen established and reinforcethose already forged. All talkingpoints and NAMB position paperswill be distributed at this time.Along with an “I Am the HousingExpert” NAMB card.

l Establish an emergency e-mail dis-tribution list to respond to Calls toAction, receive key pieces of data oroverall feed of information that can

be forwarded to Congressionalmembers by their NAMB KeyContacts.

l Establish a blog, Twitter feed,and/or LinkedIn account for thisgroup that will distribute key hous-ing information to Congressionalmembers.

Your NAMB Government AffairsTeam is hard at work to ensure that youbecome an advocate for every stake-holder in the mortgage industry. Ithank you all for your continued sup-port and dedication to your industry.

Fred Kreger, CMC is the branch manager atAmerican Family Funding, a Division ofAmerican Pacific Mortgage. He is also apast statewide president of the CaliforniaAssociation of Mortgage Professionals(CAMP) and currently is the vice presidentand Government Affairs vice chairman forNAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals. He may be reached byphone at (661) 505-4311 or [email protected].

Grassroots Growth of theMortgage Professional

As I start this next year aschief executive officer ofNAMB, I must admit thatas your NAMB president, Iwas working 40 hours aweek in my job and 40

hours a week as the NAMB president.And now, current NAMB President JohnCouncilman is working those hours. Hehas been very active with all of theassociation’s committees and gettingadjusted to his new job. I can tell you

A Message From NAMB CEODonald J. Frommeyer

this, he has had this job as president forabout 45 days and he has jumped rightin. I look forward to the next 11 monthsas he is really working to keep mem-bership going and the committees ontheir toes.

Good job John!

Donald J. Frommeyer, CRMS is chief execu-tive officer for NAMB—The Association ofMortgage Professional. He may be reachedby e-mail at [email protected].

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By JohnCouncilman, CMC,CRMS

Recently, the new andreally, the first Senate-

confirmed Federal Housing FinanceAgency (FHFA) head, Mel Watt, prom-ised to loosen credit for borrowers.That is a tall promise, but not an unex-pected one from the former congress-man. Watt’s predecessor, EdwardDeMarco, was very clearly a conserva-tive. DeMarco flatly refused to writedown underwater mortgages throughprincipal reductions. On the otherhand, Watt, as a Democratic congress-man, was outspoken in favor of them.Interestingly, more recently, Watt sayshe hasn’t decided on them yet.

DeMarco was working to shrink thedominion of the government-spon-sored enterprises (GSEs), a stated goal ofthe Obama Administration. Recently,Watt said he is still committed to wind-ing down both Fannie Mae and FreddieMac. Earlier this year, the president hadintroduced legislation to wind downthe GSEs and replace them with a moreprivatized system. In seeming contra-diction to those goals, the new FHFAhead has plans to expand certain GSEprograms. Undoubtedly, if Watt opensthe credit standards of the GSEs, theywill increase their market share andmake their demise much more difficult.Perhaps eliminating the GSEs is a polit-ical impossibility, so why not use them?

It’s interesting to look back at whatthe Obama Administration presented toCongress in 2011 in its report titled,“Reforming America’s Housing Finance

Market.” The report called for increas-ing pricing for Fannie Mae and FreddieMac loans to encourage private capitalto lend. There was to be a reduction inconforming loan limits, a possible 10percent downpayment requirementand the eventual wind-down. Thatsounds as far removed from Mel Watt’srecent speech as north is from south.Also in the report was a proposal toreturn the Federal HousingAdministration (FHA) to its traditionalrole of providing loans for the less afflu-ent below the median income and bylowering loan limits. The FHACommissioner even promised to cutFHA’s loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. FHA’spremiums were sharply increased torecapitalize it and provide room for pri-vate mortgage insurance (PMI). That isalso somewhat different than the talkon expansion that HUD Secretary JulianCastro presented. What a differencethree years makes!

Keeping all of that in mind, we mustassume that Fannie, Freddie and theFHA are on an entirely different trackthan a few years ago. It hasn’t goneunnoticed that the GSEs have becomevery profitable, and even FHA’s fund isreported to be recovering faster thanoriginally thought. Private capital hasnot returned to any significant extent.Therefore, I believe the thought processin Washington, D.C. is: “Perhaps weshould change our thinking aboutthem.” After all, the GSEs have beenmaking a lot of money and providingthe financing that the housing marketdesperately needs.

Let’s look at what is being proposedfor Fannie and Freddie. First, there are

those who are still underwater or facingforeclosure. Watt was a big advocate ofprincipal write-downs prior to takingoffice at the FHFA. Since taking office,he has been non-committal. This recentspeech indicates he is swinging in favorof borrowers.

One area that could open creditwithout changing any guidelines wouldbe to soften reps and warranties. Thatwill definitely spur lenders to writemore loans that could potentially havea few delinquencies in the first threeyears. Better defining what will trigger arepurchase could also lead to moreloans being made.

Insignificant violations of guidelinesare a primary worry for lenders. Onlyrequiring repurchase or compensatoryfees for violations that were directlyrelated to non-performance wouldmake it easier for borrowers to obtainloans. Trivial details have derailed morethan a few loans.

One proposal that has raised con-cerns from conservatives is the return toloans with only a three percent down-payment. This will be unveiled soon,perhaps by the time this article isreleased. Watt believes that with theappropriate guidelines, these loans canperform well. He has good reason tobelieve that considering how well VAand USDA loans perform without anydownpayment. Could we eventuallyreturn to a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac 100program?

The recent messages from HUDSecretary Castro mirror Watt’s com-ments to increase mortgage lendingthrough the FHA. There is no indicationof a pull-back such as lower LTVs or cut-ting the seller contribution. Instead,Castro indicates he wants to make iteasier to work with the FHA.

The HUD Handbooks were woefullyoutdated. Lenders were often con-cerned that information contained in

them was not accurate and did not pro-vide complete guidance. Castro intendsto continue encouraging lenders tomake FHA loans by making certain theguidelines are clear and up to date.Defects will be streamlined to a farsmaller number that lenders can moreeasily address.

To encourage lenders to make loansto borrowers with lower credit scores,the FHA will no longer compare lendersworking only with high score borrowersto those who primarily serve lowerscore borrowers. Each will have its ownmetric based on the types of borrowersthey serve.

Castro promised that Ginnie Maewill be working to give smallerlenders more access to the market.There already seems to be a discon-nect here since Ginnie Mae justannounced sizable increases in its networth requirements.

Over the last month, there havebeen rumors that the FHA may reduceits mortgage insurance premiums nowthat the agency’s finances are mending.A proposal has already been floated tolower them for borrowers who takehousing counseling.

Overall, it appears we have anadministrative change of course.Rather than further restricting thecredit policies of the GSEs and theFHA, they appear to be headed for alarger share of the market. The prom-ises are hardly radical, but they cer-tainly send a signal that government-related lending is going to be easierrather than more restrictive in thenear future.

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 [email protected].

Will the FHFA and FHAReally Open the Credit Box?

By Rocke Andrews,CMC, CRMS

NAMB—The Association of MortgageProfessionals has entered into a partner-ship with Americas Homeowner Alliance(AHA). AHA’s mission statement is “ToProtect and Promote SustainableHomeownership for ALL Segments ofAmerica.” The AHA serves as the advocatevoice of homeowners and aspiring home-owners. The AHA protects against policiesthat do not promote sustainable home-ownership, while offering a Member

Rewards Program created to help you savemoney. Explore AHA’s Web site atwww.myaha.com, to learn more abouttheir mission and benefits available.

AHA’s goals closely align with thoseof mortgage originators. Their belief isthe American homeowner was the onlyone without a voice in Washington, D.C.during the housing crisis for the last fewyears. Their aim is to get enough mem-bers to have a voice in D.C. to make surethat homeowners’ interests are repre-sented in rule-making and legislation.They believe many current and pro-posed public and business policies arein conflict with their mission of protect-ing and promoting sustainable home-

ownership for all segments of America.The mortgage interest deduction—

until only recently considered untouch-able by policy-makers—is on the tablefor potential significant reduction orelimination.

Interest rates are at historic lows, yetthe availability of low downpayment,affordable credit is excessively tight andgetting tighter.

The outcome of the debate of the gov-ernment’s role in housing finance willdetermine the availability of a 30-yearfixed-rate mortgage (FRM)—the corner-stone of homeownership in America.

Fees associated with obtaining amortgage are ever-increasing and thetightening of credit is making it very dif-ficult for many would-be homeownersto obtain approval.

As of 2012, the federal government—

through the FHA, Fannie Mae and FreddieMac—provided access to more than 90percent of mortgage finance. This trendmust be reversed to ensure that home-owners have access to private free marketsources of capital, balanced by modestgovernment support as needed.

Homebuilders in America do nothave access to adequate acquisition,development and construction financ-ing, leading to a shortage of housingunits in America.

Many prepared to purchase a homeare finding themselves “boxed-out” byprograms that give the advantage to insti-tutional investors over owner-occupants.These investors may have less regard forthe stability of neighborhoods than doowner-occupant homeowners.

Where Do We Go From Here?


In the hopes of partnering and capi-talizing on NAMB’s membership AHA isoffering a free first year membership toNAMB members and their customers.You receive a code and can enroll all ofyour customers for a free membership.Once enrolled, they can receive onlinediscounts to numerous major retailers,such as Home Depot, Sears, Crate &Barrel, Ace Hardware, Office Depot,

Verizon, UPS, Best Buy, Apple, Marriott,Southwest Airlines, Target, Kmart, BedBath & Beyond, Walgreens, Macy’s,AutoZone, iTunes, AT&T, BananaRepublic, Nordstrom, Sam’s Club, BJ’s,Bloomingdales, JCPenney, Linens-N-Things, Pier 1 Imports, and more than1,000 additional merchants.

They receive discounts as well aspoints that can be utilized for rewards,

as well as towards their next year’s mem-bership. If they use this benefit, it is likelythey will not ever have to pay a fee tobelong to AHA while benefitting fromtheir representation in Washington, D.C.

This is a great benefit for NAMB mem-bers to give to their customers, as well asa great marketing tool to contact yourprevious customers. Send them an e-mailor call them and enroll them over thephone while asking if they have questionsabout their mortgage or if they know ofanyone looking to buy a home.

This is a win-win benefit for NAMB, our

member’s customers, as well as theAmerican homeowner. Please visit theNAMB Web site at www.namb.org fordetails. This information should be avail-able by Nov. 15. In the meantime, e-mailme at [email protected] ifyou want details to get started now.

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 [email protected].


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The Certification Committee of NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Profes-sion-als has been very productive to date in2014, obtaining many new loan officerswho have received the CertifiedMortgage Consultant (CMC), CertifiedResidential Mortgage Specialist (CRMS)and/or General Mortgage Associate(GMA) designations.

NAMB will continue to grow itsCertification Program, to enhance itsvalue to our designees, and fine-tuneits structure and procedures. The goalof the NAMB Certification Committee isto raise the number of certified mort-gage professionals to 1,000 by July2015, and to launch a marketing cam-paign to both industry members andthe public at-large about the need toutilize a nationally designated mort-gage professional.

For more information on NAMB’sCertification Program, contact NAMBCertification Committee member JohnStearns, CMC, CRMS by e-mail [email protected] 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, CRMSJan 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, CRMSTerry 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, CRMS

The NAMB Certification Program

General MortgageAssociate

Certified ResidentialMortgage Specialist

Certified MortgageConsultant

where do we go from herecontinued from page 21

Agility Media offers NAMB members 20% offaccount setup or social media setup.

BetterLoanOfficers.com is free to get startedwith the option to upgrade if you’d like. As anNAMB member optional upgrades are discountedby 10%.

As an NAMB member, Birchwood CreditServices will waive the sign up fees! It’s a “NORISK” way to experience the Birchwooddifference firsthand!

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

BusinessETouchCRM provides a Cloud basedCRM for only $29.95 a month for NAMBmembers.

NAMB Members receive a 10% discount off regular prices for all CallFurst.com productsand services.

NAMB members receive a 19% discount forCopyTalk services.

NAMB members receive a 15% discount on allCustom Canvas Prints products and services!

LoanSquatch allows NAMB members to reducetheir monthly pricing from $19.99 per month to $9.99 per month and the first month is just 99 cents!

LoanTek’s platform is designed to save time,create better leads, and convert leads into newbusiness.

NAMB members get a $300 discount oncoaching. NAMB members receive exclusivediscounts training events, including liveseminars and internet-based web shops

NAMB members receive a 10% discount onPath2Buy’s one-on-one coaching service.

NAMB Members will receive a Twenty-FivePercent (25%) discount off of the regular pricewith their NAMB Membership.

If you want a social and mobile marketingstrategy that gets noticed contact Social5 todayfor a FREE consultation and demo and to receiveyour NAMB member discount pricing .

NAMB members get special pricing plus 1 monthFREE.

The Bond Exchange is a national surety agencyspecializing in providing mortgage license bondsto thousands of mortgage professionals acrossthe country.

USA Business Lending is the nation’s premierbrokerage firm representing over 3500 lenders.

Dear Mortgage Professional,2014 is quickly coming to a close and, if you’re like me,you are already starting to make plans and preparationsfor the New Year ahead.

This is a great time to evaluate the relationships youhave with outside service providers to make sure you aregetting the most value for your money, as well as the high-

est quality service. Shopping around for new service providers or negotiating better pricing

can seem like a daunting task to undertake in the midst of everything elseyou are responsible for. However, this is where NAMB+ can and should bea huge asset to you and your business.

NAMB+ has built and continues to grow its list of Endorsed Providers.These companies have been specifically identified by NAMB+ as leadingproviders of products or services for mortgage professionals, like you.What’s more, NAMB+ has already negotiated with each of these EndorsedProviders to arrange for special pricing, discounts, unique products/serviceofferings, and other special benefits for NAMB Members.

NAMB+ Endorsed Providers can help you on a daily basis with every-

thing from compliance to credit reports, lead generation, payroll, phone serv-ice, social media, custom canvas prints for your office or home, and muchmore! Additionally, every time you use a NAMB+ Endorsed Provider youare supporting your industry trade association – NAMB, The Association ofMortgage Professionals.

I urge each of you to visit NAMBPlus.com today, as that is the only placeyou can go to find out about all of the amazing offers from every NAMB+Endorsed Provider!

John G. Stevens, CRMS, PresidentNAMB+, [email protected]

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

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

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!

Christopher Dueffert, CRMSShannon 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

Jim Pair, CMCWilliam Parker, CMC, CRMSJerry Rutledge, CMCApril Schummer, CRMSJeffrey Shealey, GMA

UtahDavid Luna, CRMSNathan Pirerce, CRMSJohn Stevens, CRMS

VirginiaBernice Brown, CRMSJason Crigler, CRMS

Richard L. Gilbert, CRMSDavid E. Shelor, CRMS

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

West VirginiaMarc Savitt, CRMS

WisconsinJohn L. Stearns, CMC, CRMS


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TennesseeSheila 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, CMCRobin C. Morton, CRMS

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By Bubba Mills

When I was growing up inOceanside, Calif. as anonly child to a singlemother—both of us stay-

ing afloat on love and food stamps—something good happened to me.

My grandfather introduced me tothe Boy Scouts of America. It was thelifeline I needed. Troop 750 taught memany of the life lessons I use everyday—to this very day.

In fact, I regularly share those samelessons with groups when I speak pub-licly. And today, I’d like to share themwith you.

Let’s start with the Scout law whichreads: “A Scout is trustworthy, loyal,helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obe-dient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean,and reverent.”

I’d say you could do a lot worse ifyou substituted scout with mortgagelender in that sentence. Not much toargue with there. But again, this is justthe start. Here are six more key valuesall mortgage lenders can tap to be bet-ter at their jobs.

1. Seek advancementThe Boy Scouts are experts at helping kidsimprove themselves. You’ve likely heardabout all the merit badges they can earn.These badges help scouts develop physi-cal skills, social skills and self-reliance—and in so doing—the kids get a healthydose of self-confidence. So, let me askyou this: If you’re not taking continuingeducation courses, why not?

2. Help your communityIt’s the image seared in our brains: Thedevout Boy Scout helping the old ladyacross the street. Community service is anessential part of the scouts and it shouldbe for you, too. You make your livingfrom your community so it’s only naturalthat you give back to it. Please take timeto assess if you’re giving enough time andmoney back to yours. If not, get busy.

3. Be adventuresomeScouts explore new ideas and embarkon innovative adventures that letthem face their fears of the unknownand then conquer those fears. Howmany of these kids had experiencerock climbing, rappelling or whitewa-

ter rafting before the Scouts? Few ifany at all. But that didn’t stop themfrom jumping in feet first. What agreat lesson for those in the mortgagebrokerage business. If you’re afraid ofdoing something, get over it. Be bold.Be strong. Do it!

4. Be preparedThat’s the motto we’ve all heard manytimes. But being prepared for what? ForScouts, it’s about getting prepared foradulthood and life. And in the mortgageindustry, it’s about being prepared for allthe ebbs and flows that are inevitable. Beprepared and always have a businessplan, especially for the lean times.

5. Know it’s always about the groupOne of the first lessons I learned whenI joined the Scouts at the age of sevenwas that my actions were a directreflection of the entire group. Whensomeone got booted from the BoyScouts, it wasn’t the organization thatkicked him out, it was his peers in histroop. Realize that you are part of ateam with your fellow brokers, real

estate agents, attorneys and manyothers. So always do your best.

6. Get outdoorsIt’s probably the first picture that comesto mind when you think of a Boy Scout… being outside building a fire, campingand hiking. I like to compare this to realestate agents because it’s a fine reminderfor you to get out of your office and getsome new business. Hold a mortgageseminar. Give a talk on the industry to acivic group. The business isn’t coming toyou, you must go to it. So get to it!

Let me hear from you. What can youlearn from the Boy Scouts? Do you needto work on advancement? What contin-uing education have you been puttingoff? What about community service? Isthere a local non-profit that’s a good fitfor you and your interests? Please sendany comments or questions to [email protected] or visitwww.facebook.com/CorcoranCoaching.

Bubba Mills is executive vice president ofCorcoran Consulting & Coaching Inc. Hemay be reached by phone at (800) 957-8353 or visit www.corcorancoaching.com.

What Boy Scouts Can Teach YouAbout Success in

Mortgage Lending

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SPEAKERSScott FormanScott is one of the nation's most productive loan originators, having grown his personalincome from $300,000 to over $3,000,000 in four years. Scott also leads a team of 15 loanoriginators. Scott is a National Mortgage Training Coach with The CORE Training, a CertifiedMortgage Planning Specialist, Certified Senior Advisor, Certified Military Housing Specialistand Certified Reverse Mortgage Planner. Scott is a contributor to the WCBS / Wall Street

Journal Report. His insights will help you focus on the right activities to skyrocket your production!

Jennifer Du PlessisJen has consistently generated over $1 million in personal annual revenue as a top loanoriginator over the past 20 years. Jen and her team have been named in the top 200 list ofloan originators in the US. She'll share her systems, structure and implementation strategies.You'll walk away with some great tips to build, structure and lead a high performance team!

Steve GrossmanMany Loan Originators have appeared on the industry’s Top 200 list over the past 20 years,but very few have appeared more than 15 times. Steve is one of the few originators who hasdone so. He's consistently achieved high volume in any market, while managing a team of80 LO's. Learn how he does it!

Brent HicksBrent Hicks has been consistently ranked as one of the top 50 loan originators in the US. Hehas more than 15 years experience in leading and building sales organizations. Brent is anexpert in using technology to create efficient back office systems and cutting edge marketingcampaigns. You'll learn how to save time while connecting better with clients and referralpartners!

Craig StrentCraig Strent is regularly turned to by the local and national media for his opinion on mortgagetrends. He is one of the few originators who has appeared in the mortgage industry's Top 200list over 10 times. Craig has originated well over $1 billion in loan volume in his career, withmost loans coming from Financial Planners, Database Management, Divorce Attorney &CPA’s. Craig has done all of this while building an Inc 5000 Mortgage Company and managing

a team of loan officers. You won't want to miss his insights!

MODERATED BYGibran NicholasFounder, Chairman and CEO of CMPS Institute, an organization that has trained, coachedand certified over 7,000 of the nation's top loan originators since 2005

Join us at the first ever Top ProducerRound Table™ where we'll have live Q andA with some of the nation's mostsuccessful loan originators. We'll answersome of your toughest questions like:l How to STOP getting rate shopped, and

how to stand apart from the 520,000other loan officers selling mortgages

l When to hire an assistant, and what jobfunctions your assistant(s) should perform

l How to compete more effectively with in-house lenders and MSAs

l How to take your business to the nextlevel by working with CPAs, attorneys andfinancial planners

You'll walk away with:l Clear direction on what to do next to grow

your businessl 60-day plan of action that you can

implement right awayl Practical insights and inspiration from

some of the nation's most successful loanoriginators

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

If You Could Aska TOP ProducerONE Question,WHAT WOULD

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Atlantic City Convention Center • Atlantic City, New Jersey11:30am - 1:30pm

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www.TopProducerRoundTable.com

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By Phil Hall

With October hav-ing wrapped as“National Energy

Awareness Month,” a sur-vey by WalletHub sought to identify thenation’s most energy efficient states.The results of this survey, accordingto industry professionals, could con-firm the power of energy efficiency indriving home sales.

WalletHub considered “home-related energy efficiency” by calculat-ing the ratio between the total resi-dential energy consumption andannual degree days–WalletHub notedthe average “American householdspends more than $2,200 a year onenergy bills, almost half of whichgoes to heating and cooling expens-es.” A “car-related energy efficiency”measurement, obtained via theannual vehicle miles driven by thegallons of gasoline consumed, wasalso factored in.

In overall ranking, Vermonttopped WalletHub’s list as the mostenergy efficient state in the U.S., fol-lowed in the top 10 by New York,Wisconsin, California, Rhode Island,Minnesota, Colorado, Utah, Maineand Michigan. South Carolina came inlast on WalletHub’s listing; Alaska,Hawaii and the District of Columbiawere not included in the study due todata limitations.

For Chris West, proprietor of EcoHomes of Vermont LLC and the presi-dent-elect of the Home Builders andRemodelers Association of NorthernVermont, the WalletHub surveyexposes some extreme contradictionsin the Green Mountain State’s hous-ing market.

“Vermont has the oldest existingstock in the country,” West said.“Ninety-seven percent of the housesare old, leaky and not very efficient.And we’re in a part of the countrywith some of the toughest winters.But in terms of new building,

Vermont has been, per capita, theleader in building passive houses andhigh performance houses that use 90percent less energy to heat and coolthan the standard housing code.”

West is also a certified passivehousing consultant, and he has seena dramatic increase in local interestin this European-derived standard forensuring low-energy consumption.

“Since I began my company fouryears ago, this has been my busiestyear,” West stated, adding thatVermont saw its first passive houseconstructed only four year ago. “Sofar, I have seven projects and I havepeople waiting in line to talk to me.Before, I was getting one person peryear.”

While West acknowledged that anenergy efficient property is helpfulfor those seeking to sell existinghomes, many of the upgrades beingdone across Vermont now are basedon economics and meteorology.

“People living in these houses are

seeing fuel prices increase, colderwinters and more expenses,” he said.“That encourages them to make theirhomes more efficiency.”

West pointed to the state agencyEfficiency Vermont has playing amajor role in connecting homeown-ers (as well as commercial realestate owners) in reducing theirenergy costs. Maura Collins, directorof policy and administration withthe Vermont Housing FinanceAgency (VHFA), noted that the state’sbuilding code on new constructionplaced a major priority on energyefficiency.

“We have a relatively high currentstandard of what is required,” Collinssaid. “The state aggressively put poli-cies in place that ensured homescoming into the market are veryenergy efficient.”

Todd Leach, vice president ofLeach Construction of Vermont LLCand past president of the HomeBuilders and Remodelers Association

Using Energy Efficiency to Push Ho

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of Northern Vermont, has empha-sized the energy efficiency in the newhomes his company has designed andbuilt in the state. He also noted thathomebuyers are not viewing this typeof property for potential flipping.

“These buyers are seeking housesfor the long-term–not one of ourhouses that has been resold in thelast 15 years we’ve been doing this,”Leach said. “The customers are usual-ly young professionals with expand-ing families. They want to stay in thearea and are willing to invest inhouse, not just as a commodity thatthey can turn around and trade inafter a few years.”

But the push for improved energyefficiency in housing is more thanjust a Vermont fad. Even in SouthCarolina, the last-place entry in theWalletHub list, homebuyers have aneye on the energy efficiency of apotential property.

“It makes a huge impact,” saidDebbie Crow, broker with South

ome Sales

Carolina Real Estate Investors LLC inDonalds, S.C. “Most of the peoplebuying homes are trying to find prop-erties with the newer heat pumps.”

“It is a critical component intoday’s environment,” said JoeDahleen, senior vice president atSeattle-based Primary CapitalMortgage. “Over 80 percent of hous-ing is more than 20-years-old. This isimportant for anyone thinking ofmoving up or moving down. Theirhouses are going to need to haveenergy efficiency improvements toget the right buyers.”

Dahleen added that energy effi-ciency is especially important for eco-conscious younger consumers whomake their green statements viahybrid automobiles and otherlifestyle choices. “This is not ademand anymore,” he said aboutenergy efficient properties. “It is whatis expected.”

However, Chris Sorensen, directorof mergers and acquisitions atCorona, Calif.-based ParamountResidential Mortgage Group Inc.(PRMG) and author of Financial Senseto White Picket Fence, noted that thissubject is not without its hiccups.

“Surveys reveal that at least onpaper, buyers want energy efficienthomes and to a point, are willing topay for them,” Sorensen said. “TheNAHB survey asserts average buyersare look for an ROI of 14 percent,meaning they’ll pay an additional$7,000 for an annual savings of$1,000. First time buyers require amore robust 16 percent ROI. TheShelton Group did a survey back in2009 that asked homeowners howthey would spend $10,000 on theirhome if given the money, the majori-ty chose remodeling their kitchen orbath, not insulation, or energy effi-cient windows. So, while we claim wewant energy efficient homes, we’relikely to sacrifice such for beauty.”

Sorensen added that federal andstate intervention will play a key rolein driving energy efficiency standardsin housing.

“Because of this, government regu-lation has become the weapon ofchoice for environmentalist,”Sorensen continued. “By imposingregulation, homebuilders will beforced to comply and homebuyerswill be forced to pay, once again.Most accept this is ultimately a goodthing—if not for the environment,then for one’s wallet on a month bymonth cash flow basis. An extra$10,000 spent on a home spread outover a 30-year mortgage is insignifi-cant by comparison to the monthlysavings in energy cost. This fact, cou-pled by public perception, will indeedcontinue to have a greater andgreater impact on what homes con-sumers buy.”

Phil Hall is managing editor ofNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine. He may be reached by e-mailat [email protected].

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Catch Mortgage FBy Greg Holmes

When I was a kid, my grandfather used to take me fishing. Sometimeswe would catch and release, and other times we would bring homefish to enjoy that night for dinner. As I grew older, I realized that oursuccess was determined by our level of preparedness—was the lake

we were fishing known for pan fish, did we have the proper bait, was it the right timeof day, were we fishing in an area that fish frequent, such as in the branches of fall-en trees? I found that if we could answer yes to those questions, we were probablygoing to have a productive day. But, if we took a more relaxed approach, we mighthave gotten lucky—heck, even a blind squirrel catches a nut sometimes—but morethan likely we spent the day frustrated and looking for nibbles.

Catching mortgage fraud is a lot like fishing—before you can begin to hook it,you first need to know what types of fraud are most common and where it is mostprevalent. Once you know what you’re looking for, the proper tools will help youreel in illegal activity.

Mortgage fraud is still bobbing alongAccording to the FBI, numbers of pending mortgage fraud cases dropped a littlebetween 2011 and 2012. But that’s no cause for celebration. Numbers still remainhigh and, in fact, distressed homeowner fraud has replaced loan origination fraudas the most visible threat to the mortgage industry. In fact, some 94 percent of allincidents reported to the most recent LexisNexis Mortgage Industry Data Exchange(MIDEX) in 2012 were for loans originated prior to 2012.1

Even though borrowers face up to 30 years in federal prison and a $1 millionfine, or both, if caught and convicted, those potential penalties aren’t deterrentenough for some people. While there are many different types of mortgage fraud,some are more common than others. These include employment fraud, incomefraud, occupancy fraud, and illegal flipping.The LexisNexis report showed that of all loans investigated in 2012, 69 percent ofthose investigated showed some type of application misrepresentation or fraud—this is a five-year high. Of loans that originated in 2012, 61 percent of loans showedapplication misrepresentation or fraud.Application fraud and misrepresentation includes, but is not limited to: Incorrectname(s) used for the borrower(s); misrepresentation about occupancy, income,employment, debt, or assets; different signature(s) for a name; invalid SocialSecurity Number(s); misrepresented citizen/alien status; incorrect address oraddress history; and incorrect transaction type.

Income fraud, when a borrower inflates his/her income on the mortgage appli-cation, was one of the causes of the 2008 mortgage crisis. At that time, borrowerswere allowed to qualify for mortgages using stated income, without underwritingto verify that income. New underwriting regulations have made it more difficult tocommit mortgage fraud, but it still exists. In a recent high-profile case, a husbandand wife were recently convicted of fraud charges for submitting falsified loanapplications in order to get $5 million in mortgages and construction loans. Thewife, who was unemployed, submitted fake W-2 forms and claimed to be employedas a real estate agent with an income of $15,000/month.

Cast a wide netAccording to Fannie Mae,2 inconsistencies in a loan file are often a tip-off that thefile contains misrepresentations. The presence of such inconsistencies doesn’t nec-essarily mean that the borrower’s intent was to commit fraud, but it may. The moreaware a lender is of the red flags to look for, the less likely they will find their organ-ization sinking under the weight of unrecognized mortgage fraud. Common, high-level red flags include:l Social security number discrepancies within the loan filel Address discrepancies within the loan filel Verifications addressed to a specific party’s attentionl Verifications completed on the same day they were orderedl Verifications completed on weekend or holidayl Documentation that includes deletions, correction fluid, or other alterationl Numbers on the documentation appear to be “squeezed” due to alterationl Different handwriting or type styles within a documentl An excessive number of Automated Underwriting Systems (AUS) submissions

Reel in fraud with the right gearMany types of fraud schemes operate just under the surface, evading detectionbecause they aren’t obvious to the naked eye. To combat this, many companies,including Credit Plus, Inc., are now offering products and tools to help mortgage

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Give us a call!

800-486-3001 or visit www.unitednorthern.com

MPA FIVE STAR LEND

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Fraud Before It Sinks Youprofessionals uncover mortgage fraudbefore it pulls them under. The use oftechnology makes it easy for lenders toquickly verify data, perform a thoroughrisk assessment on each applicant, anddetect problems with applications.Information is collected from varioussources, including data providers, govern-ment services, validating companies,public records, and more.

One of the key benefits is that lenderscan get all the verifications they needfrom one source—they no longer willneed to vet various sources to ensure thedata they are using is accurate. Thismakes the lending process more efficientand gives lenders confidence that theirprocess and borrowers are in compliancewith regulations.

Easy-to-read reports generated by thevalidation technology identify worrisomeareas on each application reviewed.Reports that offer a summary cover sheetenable lenders to see at a glance whetheran applicant is a risk. Such reports canprovide a wealth of information, includ-ing the following and much more:

Identity validationAdvanced technology validates an appli-

cant’s identity, including name, address,Social Security Number, birthdate, andphone number. It often can be cus-tomized to provide other information,such as driver’s license number, otherproperties owned and more. Identifyreports may also include:l Alias information: Other identities the

borrower may be using to acquireloans and debt.

l Other properties owned: Propertiesowned by the applicant that may ormay not be tied to a mortgage areidentified; property taxes and home-owner’s insurance must be factoredinto the debt-to-income ratio for theapplicant on their loan.

l Relatives and associates: Details aboutan applicant’s relatives or associatescan identify any conflicts of interest.

l Voter registration: Provides additionalvalidation of identity.

l Liens/judgments: A separate searchfrom what is reported on the creditreport; includes lien or judgmentrecords associated with an individual.

l Continual monitoring of credit reportand undisclosed debts right up untilloan closing: Ensures the applicant’sdebt-to-income ratio hasn’t increased

to a level that would disqualify him/herfrom qualifying for a mortgage

Employment and income validationTechnology can also be used in a numberof ways to provide information about anapplicant’s employment and income. TheWork Number, a solution offered throughEquifax Workforce Solutions, maintains thelargest collection of payroll records con-tributed directly from employers andoffers accurate verification of employment.Other types of employer verification canalso be conducted, such as searching theemployer’s address and its proximity to thenew house to ensure the applicant will beable to maintain employment after mov-ing into the new home.

Watchlist clearanceThe Office of Foreign Assets Control of theU.S. Department of Treasury maintains alist of foreign countries, businesses andindividuals sanctioned for economic andtrade violations as they relate to nationalsecurity. The Bank Secrecy Act and thePatriot Act require that all money servicesbusinesses make a reasonable effort todetermine if their customers appear on

these lists. Technology can help lendersverify that their applicants are not on anyof these lists: the FBI Hijack Suspects list,the FBI Top Ten Most wanted, HUDLimited Denial of Participation, and more.

Make sure every applicant is a keeperWhile new regulations have helpedreduce mortgage fraud a bit, there willalways be people who try to get ahead bylying and cheating. For lenders, the bestprotection against such predatory bot-tom-suckers is a fraud prevention pro-gram that utilizes the latest technology tovalidate applicant information and mon-itor borrower activity all the way throughclosing. Just as with fishing, preparing inadvance is the best way to ensure yourapplicants are truly worth keeping.

Greg Holmes is national director of salesand marketing for Credit Plus Inc., a third-party verifications company serving themortgage industry. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Footnotes1—LexisNexis 15th Annual Mortgage Fraud Report.2—Fannie Mae.

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Since the market crashed, we’ve been stuck in a world of rate reduction refi-nances. No one has any equity and consumers are afraid of the term “Ad-justable-Rate Mortgage.” So the only refinancing to be done is loweringinterest rates. What are we going to do when rates go back up?

The time has come to change our sales approach from only having ratereduction conversations back to the method of finding out a borrower’s situ-ation and then presenting them with as many options as possible. They willthen be able to choose the one that best suits their needs. This will increaseyour close ratios and bring you more loans and more income each month.

The highest close ratios come from the mortgage professionals who do nothave rate conversations with their borrowers. The conversations are aboutthe borrower’s financial needs and then move to their mortgage, and even-tually to what they qualify for. Home values are stabilizing allowing some bor-rowers to qualify for cash-out refinances so they can do the repairs they havebeen putting off since the market crashed. Borrowers have options besidesrate reduction now and it’s important to talk to them about all of the productsthey may qualify for. Some people would rather have a short-term loan andhave no problem with higher payments to get it. If you were trying to pay offall your debt so you can retire, buy a second home, or put your kids throughcollege, the interest rate doesn’t matter as much because you are paying offthe loan early anyways.

Because the only refinance conversation to have has been rate reduction.Loan officers have become accustomed to asking for the rate first and tellingthe borrowers how much they can save if they lower it. Now, that those sameloan officers are trying to sell mortgage insurance premium (MIP) removal,they are having a hard time conveying the benefits to the borrower. The con-versations still revolve around interest rates because loan officers are still ask-ing what their current rate is. This is putting rate first in the borrower’s mind.

When these borrowers hear that their rates are going up, they don’t seethe value of a lower payment.

When you know what is motivating someone to make a major finan-cial change, it ’s a whole lot easier to explain the benefits in terms theywill understand.

TagQuest Inc. customer spotlight … Santosh ManjrekarEach month, we talk with our clients to find out how their cam-paigns are going. Here’s what we heard from Santosh Man-jrekar, a Colorado mortgage lender.l Product used: Live transfer leadsl Results: Took six applications from first 10 live transfers.

Closed three loans and has at least one more working.

Highlights of the campaign that work well for you …“We have filters that ensure that only the high loan amount leads are trans-ferred, ensuring profitability when a lead is converted.”

Highlights of the campaign that you think might work well others …“Easy to work with and with great customer service.”

Santosh Manjrekar, PresidentVeryNiceHomes.COM4610 S Ulster Street, Suite 150 • Denver, CO 80237Direct: (303) 790-7526 • Cell: (303) 882-4836Fax: (720) 302-0635 • E-mail: [email protected]: NMLS# 302917, Colorado LMB100011395, EA40015300Regulated by the Division of Real Estate"We are the Nordstrom of service and Walmart of rates and we are activelylooking for loan officers to join us.”

Medford, Ore.-based TagQuest Inc. is a full-service marketing firm, built specif-ically for the ever-changing mortgage industry. Utilizing marketing expertise,technology and industry knowledge to generate top quality leads, and most im-portantly, how to convert those leads into customers. TagQuest knows what ittakes to produce unprecedented results in today’s fast-paced mortgage environ-ment. For more information, call (888) 717-8980 or visit www.tagquest.com.

The End of Interest Rate Selling

�

insightful, informative and instructive forpolicymakers at a most challenging timefor the CFPB, the Congress, the FederalReserve, state and federal regulators, theFHFA, the GSEs and the ObamaAdministration.

With that preface it’s off to the ques-tions, with the understanding that whatfollows is intended as only an on-the-sur-face explanation of the responses, not adetailed analysis of them.

l Question 1 asked those surveyed whatthey thought the interest rate on the30-year conventional conforming fixed-rate mortgage would be at year-end2015. The group average weighed in at4.625 percent. The range of expecta-tions was from 3.875 percent to 5.5percent, but most responses were clus-tered around 4.5 percent.

l Question 2 wanted to know how muchresidential origination volume theyexpected next year. The group aver-age—which like all averages citedherein, is not weighted by volume inthis or any of the subsequent answerscited—is $1.06 trillion. The responserange was from $850 billion to $1.5trillion.

l Question 3 asked how much theirfirm’s production was down year-to-date compared to the same period lastyear. The response range was from nodecline—two firms actually were up—to down 60 percent, with the averageoff by 27 percent.

l Question 4 wanted to know whethertheir firms were originating non-quali-fied mortgages (QMs). Of the 30 answer-ing the question, 17 answered in theaffirmative and 13 responded in thenegative.

l Questions 5, 6 and 7 wanted to know,respectively, what percentage of theiryear-to-date originations were in refi-nances, jumbos and then VA and USDAcombined. The average responses were32 percent, 12 percent and 12 percentrespectively, and the ranges were 0-65percent, 0-35 percent and 0-20 percent,respectively.

l Question 8 inquired as to whethertheir firm experienced a decline in FHAproduction since last year’s MBAAnnual Convention. Yes, said 22 ofthose surveyed compared to eight whoindicated otherwise. The averagedecline was 26 percent, with a rangefrom five percent to 70 percent.

l What percentage of your firm’s conven-tional production exceeds 80 percentLTV, asked Question 9. The group aver-age was 29 percent, with a range of fivepercent to 75 percent.

l Question 10 sought to learn if thosesurveyed believed that industry profitswould decline again this year after2013’s drop. Yes they would said 26,versus one lone dissenter.

l Dovetailing the prior question,Question 11 wanted to know by howmuch the respondents felt their firm’s

profitability would be down in 2014compared to 2013. Profits are expectedto be down 30 percent on averagefrom 2013.

l Questions 12, 13 and 14 asked theexecs if their firms were doing more,less or the same amount of high LTVs(>90), high DTIs (>41%) and low FICOs(<680) this year than last. Sixteen firmswere doing more high LTVs comparedto four who were doing less. Four firmsare doing more high DTIs compared to12 doing less. And eight were doingmore low-FICO lending compared to11 doing less. In each category, the bal-ance of those queried was doingroughly the same amount as in 2013.

l Question 15 queried the respondentsabout whether their 2014 volumewould be up, down or flat this year.Eleven said it would be flat, 14 saidtheir volume would be down, whilefour indicated their FHA volume wouldbe up this year.

l Is the Obama Administration’s push onlenders to expand FHA’s credit box agood idea Question 16 sought toknow. It is not, reported 21 of thosesurveyed versus nine who felt expand-ing the credit box was a good idea.

l Following up on this question,Question 17 asked if lenders would goalong with any push to expand credit.No, said 17 of 30, lenders won’trespond favorably to an expansion ofcredit standards (at least not without areasonably ironclad rep and warrantframework).

l Question 18 wondered if adding aresidual income test for FHA loanswould be a good idea. It would indeedsay 26 of the 30 executives asked.

l Neighborhood Watch and the “com-pare ratio” are two metrics used byHUD to measure lenders’ performanc-es. Question 19 asked if these metricswere serving the industry well. Yes theyare, said seven respondents, while theother 17 disagreed with that assess-ment of the two metrics.

l Question 20 wondered if the lenderssurveyed considered appraised valuesa major concern today. They are, said13 executives, but the other 16responding disagreed, saying theywere not a ‘major concern.’

l Do the executives think house priceswill rise in 2015, asked Question 21?Surprisingly, only seven expect houseprices will rise next year, versus 17 whothink not. Of those optimistic enoughto expect higher home prices in 2015,the average expected increase is threepercent. Only one indicated anincrease of over 10 percent.

l Question 22 wanted to know if therespondents expected the overall sizeof the mortgage banking industry toshrink next year. It will, said 22 respon-dents, compared to seven who don’texpect a decline in the number ofoperating firms and the industry’semployment headcount. As for how

surveying the opinionscontinued from page 10

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much shrinkage, the average expecta-tion was down 21 percent.

l Mortgage brokerage market share isoff by nearly three-fourths since itspeak in 2006. Question 23 inquired ifthe executives thought any furthergrowth in broker share would occurover the next two years. The responseswere about as divided as possible, with15 not expecting any further growth inbroker share compared to 14 whoexpect a modest increase.

l How competitive is the primary mort-gage market today, Question 24asked? Very competitive it appears,with the question’s responses garner-ing an eight on a scale of one to 10.Seven of those surveyed rated theirresponse a nine or 10, compared toonly one responder who rated the levelof competition a five.

l Questions 25, 26 and 27 dealt withvarious aspects of mortgage servicingrights (MSRs); specifically whether theirfirms would be retaining or sellingservicing, or doing both; whether theywere buying flow and/or bulk MSRs;and at about what return their firmsconsidered an investment in MSRsattractive. As for retaining or sellingMSRs, 18 firms were retaining, sevenwere selling and five others were doingboth. Only seven of those surveyedindicated they were buying flowand/or bulk servicing, whereas almostthree times that number weren’t. At orabove a 12 percent return, MSRs aredeemed attractive. The average pointof appeal for the group was 14 percent.

l Given enforcement actions taken inNew York State and elsewhere,Questions 28 and 29 wondered ifthese actions were disrupting the nor-mal transfer of MSRs; and if yes, was itadversely affecting servicing sales andMSR prices? Twenty-four of 27 execu-tives indicated that these enforcementactions had disrupted the market forMSRs, and of the 24 responding in theaffirmative, 21 indicated enforcementactions were adversely affecting salesand pricing.

l Questions 30 and 31 wanted to knowif agency buyback demands were up,down or unchanged since last year’sMBA Annual Convention, and howlarge a problem they considered repur-chases to be today. Of the 30 surveyed,20 said repurchases were up, eight saidthey were down, and two saidunchanged. As to the extent of therepurchase problem, it ranked 5.7 outof 10, with six ranking the problem aneight or greater, and 13 ranking theanswer a five or less.

l Underwriting standards were underquestion in Questions 32, 33 and 34.Are GSE standards too tight? Notaccording to 20 who said not, versus 10who thought they were too tight.However, documentation standards atthe GSEs were said to be too stringentaccording to 23 of the 30 executives. Asfor the FHA’s underwriting standards,only four of the 29 respondentsanswered that they were too tight.

l Questions 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39raised questions about Fannie Mae

and Freddie Mac. Specifically, we askedif their firm’s interactions with Fanniewere one-sided; whether both GSEsshould start providing details abouttheir cash window business (volumes,types, etc.); whether their firms feltthey were losing business to the two-some; and based on their individualperformances, what letter grade (A to F)the executives would give each. In thequestion about any one-sidednessamong the two parties, lenders saidFannie was the dominant firm, rankingit at a group average of 7.25, with 13ranking it an eight or higher. As fordetails on their cash window volumes,25 reported that the GSEs should pro-vide market participants with this info.Concerning firms’ loss of business toFannie and Freddie, 18 said no losscompared to 12 who report losing busi-ness to the two GSEs. And, for overallperformance, both got C averages fromthe group, with two A’s and 17 B’sawarded among the 60 responses.

l Question 40 asked about the outsourc-ing of fulfillment services, and whetheror not their firms were doing so. Of the25 executives asked this question, 20indicated that their firms weren’t out-sourcing fulfillment services.

l Question 41 inquired as to where theirfirm’s production operating capacitystood compared to an ideal operatingrate of 100 percent. The group averagewas 80 percent, with 12 claiming tolikely be operating below this thresh-old.

l Questions 42 and 43 wanted to knowabout membership in mortgage coop-eratives and about private label securi-ties issuance. Sixteen out of 30 saidtheir firms dealt with at least one of theco-ops. As for PLSs, 23 of the 30 respon-dents felt confident such issuancewould pick up over the next severalyears.

l Compliance cost was the focus ofQuestions 44, 45 and 46. First, wesought to learn how much they esti-mated their firm’s compliance cost hadincreased since the enactment of theDodd-Frank Act. Second, we also want-ed to know how much of their totaloperating budget compliance account-ed for, and how much it increased thecost of a single mortgage origination. Asfor the cost of Dodd-Frank rules, theaverage total cost has risen nearly five-fold from pre-2010. Twenty firmsreported cost increases of at least atripling of their pre-Dodd-Frank expen-ditures. Compliance now accounts for agroup average of 21 percent of totalcosts, with 11 executives reportingcompliance costs of 25 percent ormore. Regulations have added an aver-age of $1,189 to the average cost of anorigination said the executives, with 15of them estimating the added cost fortheir firms was $1,000 or more per orig-ination and six who reported costincreases of $2,000 or more.

l The housing recovery and its forwardmomentum, if any, was the topic athand in Question 47. Nearly evenly


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By Phil Hall

If you have been follow-ing the headlines over thepast few months, it wouldhave been difficult to

ignore the quantity of coverage devotedto the impact that Millennials may ormay not have on the housing market—as well as the contradictory nature ofthis coverage.

With such headlines including “WhyMillennials Are Hurting the Real EstateRecovery” (MarketWatch, May 12) to“Millennial-Driven Housing Boom CouldBe On The Way” (Time Magazine, June28) to “More Millennials Leave ParentalNest, Without Lifting Housing Market”(Trulia, Sept. 16) to “How MillennialsCould Be Housing Market Heroes”(USNews.com, Sept. 17), it is difficult toknow if this demographic should becourted or condemned.

Complicating matters somewhat isan announcement from Realtor.comthat stated half of all Millennials viewedreal estate Web sites during August, buttight inventory and lending standards

coupled with increasing home pricesmade it difficult for this demographicto pursue homeownership.

“Millennials were hit the hardest byrecession layoffs and job shortages, andmany are still facing the financial after-math of the downturn includingreduced wages and depleted savings,”said Jonathan Smoke, chief economistfor Realtor.com. “Monthly mortgageaffordability and 20 percent down pay-ments have become especially difficultas home prices increase.”

Realtor.com offered a list of 10 mar-kets that it claimed were ideal forMillennials looking to buy a home,based on housing affordability andincreases in inventory. These marketsincluded, in alphabetical order, Akron,Ohio; Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.;Charleston, W.V., Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Mich., Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, Pa.; Indianapolis;Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, Fla.;the Memphis metro market; Peoria-Pekin, Ill.; and Syracuse, N.Y.

“The neighborhoods on our list offerplenty of opportunity for Millennials

looking to get into the market in thenext few months,” Smoke said. “Notonly are first timers more likely to beable to afford homes in these areas, lesscompetition in these markets meansthey are more likely to have their offersaccepted.”

But that is predicated on the finan-cial health of the Millennial homebuy-ers. Irvine, Calif.-based John Burns RealEstate Consulting recently issued areport stating that the onerous burdenof student loan debt amongMillennials–now over $1 trillion–willresult in the loss of 414,000 home pur-chasing transactions this year. The com-pany estimated that if the typical priceof a house is $200,000, the lost volumewould equal $83 billion per year. Thisresearch follows the much-discussedstudy from earlier this year by theFederal Reserve Bank of New York thatfound college graduating Millennialswith student debt are less likely to owna house and a mortgage than those thatnever attended college.

However, research conducted by TheDemand Institute, a New York-based

think tank, found a more positive pic-ture. In a survey of 1,000 Millennials, 74percent of those polled expected tomove in the next five years, while 79percent predicted that their financialsituation would improve. But only 48percent of those surveyed said theywould own their residence rather thanpay rent.

And, of course, there is the questionof jobs–or the lack thereof.

“If you look at the unemploymentrate for 20- to 24-year-olds, it is 10 per-cent,” said Amy Crews Cutts, senior vicepresident and chief economist atAtlanta-based Equifax. “Having an ele-vated unemployment rate like this com-pounds this problem.”

Andy W. Harris, president and ownerof Lake Oswego, Ore.-based VantageMortgage Group Inc., pointed out thateven if Millennials were eager to pursuehomeownership, the loan products thatonce encouraged first-time homebuyersare now unsatisfactory for this demo-graphic.

“FHA is very restrictive now on mort-gage insurance costs,” Harris said. “That

The Millennials Are Coming, the Millen

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makes it a lot less affordable than itused to be.”

Harris challenged Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac to do more to create prod-ucts that would aid Millennials. AndBob Dorsa, president of the AmericanCredit Union Mortgage Association(ACUMA), called on credit unions thatoriginate home loans to make astronger outreach effort to this targetaudience.

“The issue is, and always has been,that young people need and want infor-mation online, but credit unions aresomething that has Grandma andGrandpa affiliated with them,” Dorsasaid. “The ball is in our court–we haveto do a better job in the online net-working community to reach out to theMillennials.”

But Scott K. Stucky, chief strategyofficer at Idaho Falls, Idaho-basedDocuTech, believed that credit unionsare not alone in their failure to engageMillennials.

“This generation has seen peoplelose home and go through foreclosure,and they have a distrust of traditionalfinancial services companies,” Stuckysaid.

Indeed, a survey conducted in Mayby Accenture found 72 percent ofrespondents in the 18-to-34 age rangesaid they were likely to do their bankwith at least one non-financial servicescompany, such as PayPal, Google orother online financial platform. Stuckyalso stressed that today’s originators arenot much help to would-be homebuy-ers in this demographic because of therestrictive nature of the QualifiedMortgage (QM) rule.

“They simply don’t qualify because oftheir student loan debt and the 43 per-cent debt-to-ratio income under QM,”Stucky continued. “But that doesn’tmean they shouldn’t qualify.”

Rick Sharga, executive vice presidentof Santa Ana, Calif.-based Auction.com,observed that the industry has notresponded to this situation.

“There is not a loan product outthere that lends itself to the situationthat Millennials find themselves in,”Sharga said. “We may see a non-banklender try to fill that void with a productthat does not fit nicely into the QM box.But we won’t see that product in any bignumbers due to regulatory concerns theabsence of secondary market opportu-nities.”

Yet Brandon Kekich, real estateagent with RE/MAX Dream Properties inNorthville, Mich., stated that percep-tions of struggling Millennials are oftenincorrect.

“I have this neat mix of Millennials inmy market,” said Kekich, who servesthe Metro Detroit area. “We have peo-ple struggle like everyone else, trying to

going to cut it,’” Kekich said. “They alsowant to be close to shopping, trans-portation, coffee shops–they want areasonable walk from their front door,and they are willing to sacrifice a lot inthe size of a home to get those things.”

But if the Millennials are not in amad rush to flood the housing markettoday, that doesn’t mean they won’t bea factor in a few years from now.

“In terms of numbers, they are big-ger than the Baby Boomers,” said Dr.

pay off their student loans, and we alsohave people whose mom and dad canwrite them a check for a house.”

Kekich also observed that someMillennials are very picky in their hous-ing choices. For example, becauseMillennials usually avoid landlinephones in their residences, the absenceof strong cell phone service impactstheir buying decisions.

“We can walk in somewhere with abad signal and they will say, ‘This isn’t

Mark A. Calabria, director of financialregulation studies at the Cato Institutein Washington, D.C. “Number-wise,there is going to be an increaseddemand for housing.”

Yet Dr. Calabria acknowledged thatreading Millennials by the numbersalone is a mistake, especially whenassuming their belief in contemporaryhomeownership values.

“It is not clear at this time if this is ageneration that buys into the double-digit appreciation/flip it in five yearsattitude,” Dr. Calabria added.

Phil Hall is managing editor of NationalMortgage Professional Magazine. Hemay be reached by e-mail [email protected].

nnials Are Coming … Sort Of

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By Andrew Liput

The mortgage closing transaction is the single largestfinancial transaction in the lives of most consumers,and it is also the riskiest stage of the mortgage processfor lenders. While the vast majority of lawyers and

notaries and title agents are experienced, ethical and diligent profes-sionals, for a few the role of closing agent is too tempting a lure forselfish criminal intent. This monthly column addresses the good, thebad and the ugly …

Top industry news …Big jury award against PHH tossed out: In a major victory for the NewJersey-based mortgage giant and loan servicer PHH, a California judgeoverturned a $16.2 million jury verdict awarded to a California home-owner in connection with a mismanaged loan modification. Thejudge in the case issued a seven-page ruling throwing out all claimsfor negligence, intentional misrepresentation, interference and inflic-tion of emotional distress. A jury had awarded homeowner $513,000in compensatory damages and $15.7 million in punitive damages fol-lowing a 17-day trial in July. The court found “no substantial evi-dence,” in support of $355,000 in compensatory damages or anypunitive damages. It did however let stand breach of contract andgood faith claims totaling nearly $160,000.00. In a statement PHHsaid the company is “pleased” with the judge’s ruling.

The news also gave a sigh of relief to many other lenders and bankswho were concerned the original verdict would create a precedent forevery borrower who was rejected for a loan modification resulting ina firestorm of legal claims and potentially billions in damages.

You cannot make this stuff up!l In New York, a man posing as a real estate agent was arrested in

a scheme that defrauded an investor of nearly $200,000 in downpayments for numerous properties. The Long Island resident rep-resented himself as a real estate agent and negotiated the sale of49 properties that he claimed were distressed to an investor fromQueens. The investor turned over down payments for the proper-ties totaling $191,300.

l Also in New York, a real estate attorney was arrested for allegedlystealing $720,000 held in an escrow account, as well as sellinganother property owned in the name of his law firm and pocket-ing over $700,000 in proceeds.

l A North Carolina closing attorney involved in a massive andwidespread fraud scheme was sentenced on Oct. 27 as a key fig-ure in a conspiracy to defraud numerous banks and lendersusing straw buyers resulting in mortgage loan disbursementsexceeding $20 million, $5 million in loan proceeds, and lossesexceeding $1 million.

l An attorney and radio talk show host from Illinois was convictedon federal charges for engaging in two mortgage fraud schemesthat defrauded lenders of a total of approximately $9.7 million.

l Six people, including a lawyer, real estate agent and funeral homedirector, have been charged with conspiring to steal aPennsylvania home from an elderly widow after she died.

l A California banker who sold mortgages on behalf of GMAC admit-ted receiving more than one million dollars in bribe paymentswhile working on at the bank to use his position and influence toensure that his customers won their bids to purchase mortgagenotes.

Regulatory updates …With the CFPB’s new Integrated Disclosure Rules set to take effectnext year, Wells Fargo has announced a new policy to ensure com-pliance. In September, Wells Fargo announced that beginning Aug.

T A L E S F R O M T H E C L O S I N G T A B L E


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By Kelly Booth

Here’s a question for you:Exactly when did “multi-tasking” become such animportant skill? We’re all

expected to multitask—but what doesthis word even mean?

Well, I looked it up, and discoveredthat “multitasking” is actually a fairlynew term. According to Google NgramViewer (a fascinating online phrase-usage graphing tool), “multitask”began to get notice in 1960, but since1980, the word has taken off, roughlydoubling in use every 10 years. In fact,the “rise” of multitasking seems to mir-ror the growth of personal computingand the Internet, which makes sense,when you think about it. Technologyhelps us multitask. Go to any grocerystore and look at the checkout line. Atleast half of everybody in line is staringat a smartphone!

But is all this multi-tasking such agood thing—especially for today’smortgage professional?

Multitasking: Myth vs. realityWhen we look deeper into multitask-ing, the picture becomes troubling. Agrowing body of research indicatesthat human beings are not naturallyborn multi-taskers. In fact, our brainswere actually created to focus on spe-cific tasks—such as building things,protecting ourselves, or hunting forfood.

Recently, the University of Utahconducted a study on multitasking byrunning 310 undergraduates througha series of tasks. The study found that97.5 percent of participants saw a sig-nificant decrease in performancewhen required to handle two taskssimultaneously. More interestingly,there was sharp divide between thosewho thought they could multitask welland those who were actually good atit.

The problem is that loan officersactually do need to multitask. Likemany sales professionals, loan officersroutinely handle answering e-mails,

sending texts, making calls, forward-ing information, providing counsel,managing pipelines, setting up meet-ings, keeping calendars and a wholerealm of other responsibilities, largeand small. So if you’re in mortgagesales, multitasking is unavoidable.

In fact, according to SibsonConsulting, a Chicago-based humanresources consulting firm, the averagesales professional spends nearly two-thirds of their day performing tasks thatare not related to sales at all. That num-ber was not broken down by industry.But because of all the steps that areinvolved in the rather complicated busi-ness of originating mortgages, I’m will-ing to bet that loan officers have evenless selling time on their hands thanother sales professionals.

The costs of multitaskingFor obvious reasons, excessive multi-tasking costs money. Let’s assume thatone-half of a loan officer’s selling timeis lost due to multi-tasking and thecumulative mental breaks that occur

between every activity. Since there areroughly 215 business days in everyyear—not counting weekends, holi-days and vacation—more than 100days are wasted either through multi-tasking or its effects.

The key to getting more saleshours into your day is deploying workhabits that enable loan officers toprioritize the highest priority taskfirst, then the next highest, and thenthe next highest, and so on in cascad-ing fashion. That way, if disasterstrikes or the loan officer simply runsout of daylight, any remaining tasksthat do not get completed are theleast important.

Prioritization becomes most power-ful within the sales process itself. Inone sense, it doesn’t matter how muchor how little time loan officers spendselling. The time loan officers dospend selling can be greatly improvedby focusing on leads that offer thebest returns. The key is using technol-ogy that can first measure the relativeimportance of every contact a loan

Controlling MultitaskingMayhem With Automation

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officer could be reaching out to at anygiven moment. If they have a list ofnew leads that haven’t yet beentouched, it’s important to look at theattributes of each lead that mightindicate the motivation and ability ofthe prospective borrower to get aloan. If they have a number of leads inthe pipeline that are active but not yetclosed, it is important to determinewhere these prospects are in the buy-ing process and the important followup steps that need to happen in orderto close the deal.

I know many, many salespeoplerely on “gut instinct” when it comes toleads. Years of experience has taughtthem to recognize the signs and keyphrases potential borrowers use thatindicate that they are ready to pullthe trigger on buying a home. I alsoknow that many of these folks feelthey don’t need technology to tellthem how or when to sell. This strate-gy works fine—if such a salesperson isable to respond quickly enough to ahot lead, or is not buried in one ormore, less important tasks.

Automation is the keySo what’s the answer? If I were toidentify the one thing mortgage com-panies and loan officers need in orderto get rid of the ailment I’ll call “mul-titasking,” it’s automation. While newsteps and processes are constantlybeing added to the average mortgagetransaction, across the board, everysignificant innovation that has takenplace in our industry has transformedone or more of these steps throughautomation.

For loan officers, there is obviouslyno shortage of loan production toolsthat automate tasks that historicallyrequired paper, pen and calculator.But when it comes to handling salesleads, companies and mortgage pro-fessionals that utilize what we call“automated prioritization” are achiev-ing much higher sales volumes thanthey have in the past. Companies thatuse automated prioritization tools areable to reach 12 percent moreprospects in the same amount of timethan those who do not use them. Infact, according to our research, sales-people leveraging automated prioriti-zation technology average 88 percentmore talk time with prospects.Meanwhile, they convert 97 percentmore leads overall; almost doubletheir counterparts who don’t use suchtechnology.

Automated prioritization describesa type of technology that automatical-ly makes the decision for sales profes-sionals—or anybody, really—inregards to which tasks to focus on. Itdoes this by looking at all potentialtasks and ranks them in order ofimportance. In a sales environment,automated prioritization is best uti-lized for ranking leads depending oneach borrower’s level of motivationand ability to buy a home. It is alsoused to tell loan officers exactly howto best follow up with each borrower

to ensure the highest chances of clos-ing a loan. In addition, automated pri-oritization tools can help loan officerswith scheduling activities, appoint-ments and follow-ups, to keep activeprospects engaged in the process. Allthey have to do is turn on their com-puter and go down the list. The deci-sion over who they should call first hasalready been made.

Lenders that have automated prior-itization are realizing significantly

increasing revenues, drasticallyimproving conversion rates, and dis-covering a much better throughput ofleads worked for each loan officer.

I know that multi-tasking isunavoidable to a degree in our busi-ness. But for the most sales profes-sionals, and certainly for loan officersin our highly competitive industry, thebenefits of multi-tasking usually don’tadd up. In fact, they subtract down.Fortunately, the same technology that

turned us all into multitasking expertscan also give sales professionals thefocus and power to do what they dobest.

Kelly Booth is the mortgage unit directorfor Velocify, a cloud-based intelligentsales automation solutions, where she isresponsible for helping mortgage profes-sionals improve their sales and leadmanagement strategies. A 25-year veter-an of the mortgage industry, Booth hasserved as vice president of sales forMotivity Solutions and vice president ofsales at Consolidated Business Forms,later known as VMP Mortgage Forms.She can be reached by e-mail [email protected].

“Lenders that have automated prioritization are realizing

significantly increasing revenues, drastically improving

conversion rates, and discovering a much better

throughput of leads worked for each loan officer.”

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.

Visio Financial PartnersWith SSI to Vet andMonitor SettlementAgents

Visio Financial Servi-ces Inc. has announcedthat it has enhancedits risk managementpolicies and proce-dures by requiring all

settlement agents having access to aborrower’s loan documents and mort-gage proceeds to first pass through avetting and risk assessment process.The process will be implemented forVisio by Secure Settlements Inc. (SSI), avendor management firm that special-izes in closing table risk. Visio chose theSSI Closing Guard tool to evaluate thebackgrounds, licensing, insurance andtrust accounts of agents as a method toidentify potential threats before a clos-ing takes place.

Visio’s new quality control (QC)process will encompass comprehensiverisk evaluation, reporting and ongoingmonitoring for all closing agents han-dling its investor mortgage loans in the34 states where it lends. The program isbeing rolled out following severalmonths of discussions, negotiations,vendor management approvals andonboarding.

“We are committed to meeting andexceeding industry expectations forquality control and loan quality assur-ance,” said William J. Kerley, chieffinancial officer at Visio. “We also careabout our borrowers and know thatprotection is a critical part of everylender’s enterprise risk managementplatform. We spent a good deal of timeresearching the right solution and werepleased to find the right tool to fit with-in our operations while offering a reli-able solution to our borrower protec-tion needs in this area.”

SSI President Andrew Liput said, “Weare honored to have been chosen asthe vendor for these critical risk man-agement services. Visio is clearly com-mitment to quality control, borrowerprotection and overall loan qualityassurance. We are proud to be their

partner in that endeavor and look for-ward to working with them.”

Freedom Mortgage toAcquire ContinentalHome Loans, Form NewCHL Mortgage

Freedom Mortgage Corporation hasannounced an agreement withContinental Home Loans (CHL) ofMelville, N.Y. to acquire the assets ofthe Long Island-based mortgagelender. Management and staff formerlywith Continental Home Loans join CHLMortgage, a division of FreedomMortgage. Freedom Mortgage Presidentand CEO Stanley C. Middleman sees thisacquisition as an opportunity to contin-ue its expansion by leveraging a highlyexpert team with deep knowledge ofand an established presence in each ofits real estate markets.

“Continental Home Loans enjoys asterling reputation and takes pride inbeing the largest independent FHAlender in New York State,” Middlemansaid. “They are renowned throughoutthe greater New York area and wellbeyond. From Long Island to the bor-oughs, and from Westchester to upstateNew York and New Jersey, Continentalhas earned a reputation for outstand-ing service that has endured since itsinception in 1984. As FreedomMortgage’s CHL Division, the organiza-tion will continue to be led by its excep-tional executive team, Mike McHugh,Eric Reeps and Sam Barreta.”

The addition of the CHL Mortgageteam brings Freedom to over 2,000employees and $2 billion-plus inmonthly loan volume.

“CHL will continue to operate withthe same staff and enhanced systems.All loans will continue to be centrally

processed and underwritten out of ourMelville, New York office,” said McHugh,president of CHL. McHugh has beenpresident of Continental since 1986 andwas recognized in October 2014 byNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine as the NMP MortgageProfessional of the Month. “All closingpractices and functions will remain thesame, ensuring that our borrowers andreferral partners will continue to receivethe personalized and quality servicethey have come to expect with us. Andnow we will have the strength andnational brand power of FreedomMortgage behind us.”

eSignSystems Acquired by DocMagic

DocMagic Inc. has announced the acqui-sition of electronic software solutionsprovider eSignSystems, from WAVESystems Corp. As part of the acquisition,DocMagic will bring on the entire man-agement team of eSignSystems, includ-ing co-founder and EVP of Sales andMarketing Kelly Purcell and SVP ofTechnology Solutions, Jonathan Kearns.

“The acquisition of eSignSystems byDocMagic is a marriage of extraordinarytalented and visionary people withincredible SaaS and on-premise prod-ucts and services,” said DominicIannitti, president and CEO of DocMagic.“The management team ateSignSystems has done an exceptionaljob bringing innovative solutions to theforefront of e-mortgage adoption, andtheir contribution to the eMortgage rev-olution cannot be overstated. By com-bining the best of eSignSystems on-premise software with DocMagic’s SaaSsolutions, eSignature patent, compli-ance and enterprise infrastructure,there is no question that this acquisition

was meant to be. Simply put, we arejust better together.”

The acquisition adds to DocMagic’salready robust suite of electronic prod-ucts and services. eSignSystems prod-ucts include, SmartSAFE, a solutionenabling the eDelivery, eSigning, andlife-cycle management of the electronicrecord, including short and long termretention of electronic files (eVault),SmartIDENTITY a solution for validatingsigners in real-time, SmartFORMS, asolution for generating proper and per-sonalized forms, and SmartCLOSE, asolution for simplifying the MERSeRegistry Integration.

“The acquisition for DocMagic hasspectacular timing for electronic mort-gage adoption,” said Tim Anderson,director of eServices for DocMagic. “Notonly are DocMagic products and servic-es the most easily integrated tools avail-able in the market, the comprehensive-ness of the combined eSignSystems andDocMagic offerings is now officially offthe charts. That makes DocMagic the e-Powerhouse.”

VA to ImplementCoreLogic’s AppraisalTool for Quality Control

CoreLog i c hasannounced that itsLoanSafe AppraisalManager producthas been chosen by

the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) to help ensure that real estateappraisals meet established VA require-ments and standards. LoanSafeAppraisal Manager will be integratedinto the VA’s WebLGY system, whichmanages multiple aspects of the VA’sreview process when guaranteeingmortgages. All appraisals delivered tothe VA through WebLGY will automati-cally run through LoanSafe AppraisalManager as they are submitted.

The VA processes hundreds of thou-


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nmp news flashcontinued from page 16

participation in MBA at the local,state and/or national level. Afteraccumulating the required pointsand passing a comprehensive writtenexam, candidates must demonstrateindustry knowledge by passing anoral exam conducted by a panel ofCMBs.

“I join MBA Chairman Bill Cosgrovein congratulating all of this year’s CMBgraduates for achieving this notewor-thy milestone,” said Jeff Schummer,MBA’s vice president of EducationDevelopment. “Because of this honor,each now has a new set of skills thatwill serve them well going forward.”

Candidates have the option ofchoosing among the Commercial CMB,Residential CMB or Master CMB desig-nations. The Master CMB is a combi-nation of both commercial and resi-dential mortgage banking disciplines,while the Residential CMB andCommercial CMB focus on theirrespective subfields of the mortgageindustry.

In June 2009, MBA launched theExecutive Certified Mortgage Bankerprogram. Designed for busy profes-sionals, this program allows candidatesto substitute their real-world knowl-edge and experience for many of theeducational requirements of the CMBprogram.

In order to be eligible for the CMBdesignation, candidates must eitherwork for an MBA member company orbe a member of a recognized stateMBA. Every candidate for an ExecutiveCMB is required to have a minimum of10 years of experience in real estatefinance and hold a senior manage-ment position at an MBA membercompany.

MBA Education awarded the follow-ing industry professionals with theCMB designation from November2013 to October 2014: (ResidentialCMB Designees): Daniel H. Aminoff,CMB, AMP, branch manager, EverBankin Alexandria, Va.; Michael Bekes,CMB, AMP, vice president, Wells FargoHome Mortgage in Milwaukee, Wis.;Jonathan M. Grafflin, CMB, AMP, keyaccount executive, Chase in Irving,Texas; Peter A. Hinrichs, CMB, CRU,senior director, AgStar HomeMortgage Services in Rochester, Minn.;Bruce Meyers, CMB, branch manager,First Home Mortgage Corporation inBethesda, Md.; Joe Nunziata, CMB,CRO, chairman, FBC Mortgage LLC inOrlando, Fla.; Joseph Panebianco,CMB, CFA, president and CEO,AnnieMac Home Mortgage in MountLaurel, N.J.; Todd Potter, CMB, nation-al correspondent sales manager,Envoy Mortgage in Brighton, Mich.;David Rembert, CMB, AMP, branchmanager, Cornerstone Home Lendingin Belton, Texas; Matthew J. Whalen,CMB, AMP, assistant vice president,Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in

Champaign, Ill.; and Andrew C.Wideman, CMB, AMP, senior vice pres-ident of national sales, Title Source inDenver, Colo.

CMB Designees from the ExecutiveCertified Mortgage Banker programinclude: Michael Kaysen, CMB, chiefoperations officer, Home Point Capital inAnn Arbor, Mich.; Eduardo Perez, CMB,president, Equity Loans LLC in Atlanta,Ga.; and Souren Sarkar, CMB, managingpartner, Advantium Mortgage Solutionsin Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

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:[email protected]

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

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leadershipLYKKEN ON

leadership

Eight Ways a CoachCan Make You a Better Leader

By David Lykken

When we think oftechnology intoday’s society,

we almost automatically

think of computers. But technology isn’tconfined to contemporary society—ithas existed throughout human histo-ry. At one point, the horse-and-buggywas a technological development fortransportation. At one point, writing

was a technological development forcommunication. Technology is anydevelopment that makes our livesbetter in some way.

Thinking of technology in thisbroader context, I started to wonderabout the technological advance-ments in the art of leadershipthroughout history. What develop-ment in leadership has had the great-est impact on the ability of leaders toimprove themselves and better servetheir organizations, customers, andthe world at large? One “technology”immediately popped into my head,one development, that I believe, hasserved leaders more so than anyother. This advancement is the sub-ject of this article: The coach.

If you ask any great leader, he orshe will tell you about a mentor orcoach that has shaped and moldedthem into better leaders. The greatestleaders, they themselves will freelyadmit, are merely students of thegreatest teachers. And just how does acoach improve the lives of leaders somuch? Well, I’m glad you asked …

First and foremost, a good coachwill provide a moral compass that cankeep your integrity in check. Even ifyou consider yourself a “good per-son,” it can be easy to sacrifice yourethics in the heat of the moment.When you’re trying to advance yourcareer, you can justify to yourselfdoing things that you know arewrong. Your coach can be that con-science whispering in your ear to takea step back and think about the long-term consequences of your behavior.Your coach can keep you in check.

Similar to integrity, a coach canhelp you with accountability. When Isay accountability, I mean sticking toyour commitments and doing what

you said you were going to do. Do youkeep track of your deliverables? Doyou monitor the promises you maketo people, to ensure that you’re keep-ing them? A coach can help you man-age these commitments and encour-age you to keep them.

A coach can also help you tobecome a better decision-maker. As aleader in your organization, you willdeal a lot with complexity. It can behard to think strategically and makethe right decisions at the right time. Acoach can be someone who you canrun your options by. You need some-one to bounce ideas off of and to helpyou weigh the benefits of alternativedecisions. A coach can help you thinkmore strategically and lead you tobecome better at making the impor-tant decisions that affect your organi-zation the most.

In addition to developing youstrategically, a good leader will alsostrengthen your interpersonal skills.In building a healthy organization,communication is everything. You’vegot to be able to clearly communicateexpectations as well as empathy toyour employees, your vendors, yourcustomers, and the public. A goodcoach can help you to hone your writ-ing and speaking skills to communi-cate in a way that the people withwhom you interact with can betterrelate to. You cannot expect people tofollow you if you don’t really connectwith them on a personal level.Developing those personal connec-tions is where you will have the great-est impact. When you get a goodcoach, you’ll be constantly improvingyour communication skills so as toleave a more meaningful impressionon everyone around you.

As a leader in the mortgage indus-

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try, you’ve always got to be learning.You’ve got to pay attention to the lat-est industry news, as well as the larg-er news in the economy. A coach canhelp you improve your knowledge ofthe industry and economy by being afilter for the most important informa-tion that you need to absorb. A solidcoach can assess the things you needto know and show you the mostimportant resources from which youcan draw the knowledge that youneed. Sometimes, the smallest insightcan make the biggest difference inyour day-to-day operations. Beingaware of what’s going on around youcan help you become more compe-tent in the eyes of your people.

One of the most difficult chal-lenges with being a leader in businesscan be finding balance in your life.We hear a lot about work/life balanceand most of us recognize the impor-tance of devoting the appropriateamounts of attention to variousspheres of our lives. But, when itcomes down to it, it can be easy to getsucked into our work and forgetabout our other obligations. A coachcan provide a wake-up call when weget carried away. A coach can soundthe alarm that gets us back on trackfor finding balance in our lives. Acoach can help us understand whenwe need to invest more time in work,in home, in church, or in any otherarea that is important to us.

Even leaders can get discouraged.The more you have on your plate, thecloser you can get to breaking. Stressis a very human thing, and you as aleader in your organization are notimmune to it. The pressures of man-aging diverse interests within yourorganization, dealing with the chal-lenges of the economy, and keepingup with the continually changing reg-ulations can all be very taxing on yourspirt. A good coach can help you stayoptimistic. Your coach can be the onethat keeps you inspired and motivat-ed to continue in doing the work thatmatters. A coach will encourage youand keep you from caving in underthe pressure.

When you first emerged as a leaderin your organization, you probablyheld grandiose notions of conqueringthe world and playing a strategic rolein moving your organization forwardto be at the top of the industry. Ifyou’re like many leaders, though, thefire probably began to fizzle out asyou settled into your role. Being aleader can sometimes feel more tacti-cal than strategic. You can sometimesfeel more like a babysitter than aleader—spending all of your timeputting out fires and settling small,short-term issues. Having a coach canhelp you stay focused on the long-term, strategic issues for which yourleadership is most needed. A coachcan help you to set a vision for yourorganization and develop that visioninto a reality. You became a leaderbecause of your vision; a coach canhelp you keep that sense of vision

Cindy Ertman EVP | National Sales ManagerRPM Mortgage, Inc. NMLS#330850 Cal BRE #00772133

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lishing and communicating a clear cor-porate strategy while focusing onprocess improvement and operationalefficiencies resulting in increased prof-itability. David has been a regular con-tributor on CNBC and Fox BusinessNews and currently hosts a successfulweekly radio program, “Lykken onLending,” that is heard each Monday atnoon (Central Standard Time) by thou-sands of mortgage professionals. Heproduces a daily one-minute videocalled “Today’s Mortgage Minute” thatappears on hundreds of television,radio and newspaper Web sites acrossAmerica. He may be reached by phoneat (512) 501-2810 or by e-mail [email protected].

that made you a great leader in thefirst place.

The greatest mistake that you as aleader can make is to think you cando it on your own. Sir Isaac Newtonfamously said that, if he stood tall, itwas because he was standing on theshoulders of giants. If you are toaccomplish anything meaningful foryour organization and for the indus-try, you’ve got to develop the samementality. You need a leader thatyou yourself can follow. You need amentor. You need a coach. All of thebest leaders have embraced this“technology.” If you want to reachyour full potential, you’ll do thesame. There is no shame in seeking

out help. If you choose a good one,a coach will transform your life,your career, the industry, and socie-ty. Choose wisely … but choose assoon as possible. The world is wait-ing for your greatness.

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 commu-nications, with the objective of elimi-nating corporate dysfunction, estab-

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continued on page 52SPONSORED ED ITORIAL

By Melanie A. Feliciano Esq.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) RuralDevelopment announced on Sept. 23, 2014, that it will ac-cept electronic signatures in connection with its Single Fam-ily Housing Program (SFHGLP), unless otherwise prohibited

by law or regulation. This announcement comes as welcome news forthose lenders that have resisted using electronic signatures because oftheir inability to adopt electronic signatures for the origination of all loantypes, including conventional and all government agency mortgage loans(i.e., FHA, VA, USDA).

The SFHGLP regulations are silent as to whether electronic signaturesare permissible. The regulations require that lenders submit signed doc-uments to the USDA, such as the promissory note, security instrument,etc. In addition, the regulations require that lenders perfect and maintaina first lien position and enforceable promissory note.

Through RD AN. No. 4776, lenders may now use electronic signatures,provided that they comply with the Electronic Signatures in Global andNational Commerce (ESIGN) Act, as well as all other applicable federal andstate regulations and guidelines. In addition, lenders must comply withexisting SFHGLP regulations by perfecting and maintaining a first lien po-sition and an enforceable promissory note, and satisfying all other agencyrequirements.

For more information regarding the USDA’s acceptance of electronicsignatures and details about the two available methods for electronicallytransmitting credit documents to the USDA, please refer to RD AN. No.4776.

Melanie A. Feliciano Esq. is DocMagic Inc.’s chief legal officer and currentlyserves as editor-in-chief of DocMagic’s electronic compliance newsletter, TheCompliance Wizard. She received her JD from the Georgetown University LawCenter, and is licensed in California and Texas. She may be reached by phoneat (800) 649-1362 or e-mail [email protected].

USDA Confirms Acceptance of Electronic Signatures

�

sands of mortgages per year throughWebLGY and previously required addi-tional tools to help manage and moni-tor the appraisal quality. LoanSafeAppraisal Manager will provide the VAand lender-based staff appraisal review-ers with the ability to thoroughly andefficiently examine appraisals. Eachappraisal will be scored and the systemwill produce benchmarking reportsenabling the VA to understand riskacross a variety of dimensions.

LoanSafe Appraisal Manager assessesappraisals from multiple risk view-points, producing a valuation risk scoreand an integrity risk score for eachappraisal. The tool performs an analysisof comparable properties used in theappraisal, and alerts reviewers to areasof the appraisal where a more detailedreview is warranted. The unique valua-tion risk score measures both overvalu-ation and undervaluation risk utilizingCoreLogic market leading automatedvaluation methods together with exten-sive proprietary property, MLS and mar-ket data. The integrity risk score indi-cates the potential risk associated withthe construction of the appraisal. Aspart of the integrity analysis, LoanSafeAppraisal Manager reviews missing orincomplete data fields, validatesrequired and conditionally requiredfields, and verifies compliance with UAD(Uniform Appraisal Dataset), USPAP(Uniform Standards of ProfessionalAppraisal Practice), FIRREA (FinancialInstitutions Reform, Recovery, andEnforcement Act), FHA (Federal HousingAdministration), VA (VeteransAdministration), GSE (GovernmentSponsored Enterprise) and other qualitychecks.

Stonegate MortgageOpens New StonegateDirect Division

Stonegate Mort-gage Corpora-tion has an-nounced that ithas formed a

new division called Stonegate Direct,which will provide consumers across theU.S. with direct access to mortgage advi-sors to facilitate 24-hour, seven day aweek, access to the company’s mortgageproducts and services. The creation ofthis new division enhances and simpli-fies the customer experience and homeloan application process for qualifiedcustomers by providing quick, secureonline access for homebuyers and thoselooking to refinance.

Stonegate Direct is being formedthrough the integration of the call cen-ter operations of Crossline Capital,which it acquired in December 2013.The division will be run by Tim Elkins,executive vice president of StonegateDirect who will report to Lisa Rogers,executive vice president of loan origina-tion. As part of the division’s operating

plan, the company will have offices insouthern California and open a call cen-ter in Dallas, Texas that will provideservice and capabilities to customeracross the country.

“Delivering a superior customerexperience is one of the fundamentalcomponents of Stonegate Mortgage’sapproach to lending,” said Jim Cutillo,founder and CEO of StonegateMortgage. “Younger generations haveenhanced expectations for the efficien-cy of online experiences in all kinds ofpurchases—from buying music, to pur-chasing vehicles and now, even securingmortgages to purchase homes. TheStonegate Direct business is being driv-en by our commitment to provide allcustomers with access to mortgageproducts in an easy, understandableand timely manner and in the way thatthey would prefer to get it. We are tak-ing a customer-focused approach thatwill distinguish Stonegate Mortgagefrom competitors and drive originationsas we continue to grow in 2014 andbeyond.”

eLynx to Acquire DataSolutions and TitleExpertise Firm

eLynx, a portfolioc o m p a n y o fAmerican CapitalLtd., has entered

into a definitive agreement to acquirethe assets of Medallion AnalyticsCompany, a provider of innovative serv-ices that help lenders and settlementservices companies extract data fromdocuments rather than rely simply onimage files. This data can then be usedto pre-populate forms and ensuregreater quality, accuracy and compli-ance in loan documents from pre- topost-close.

The addition of Medallion bringsvaluable expertise in data and settle-ment services to eLynx. Medallion’ssolutions focus squarely on the timelyextraction of valuable data containedwithin documents to ensure betterquality and compliance, enhanceprocess efficiency and facilitatesmoother, timely collaborationbetween workflow participants.

“The best way for lenders to cost-effectively produce high quality loans,keep up with increasing regulatorydemands and meet investor require-ments is to be able to track documentsand the data in them throughout theloan life cycle,” said eLynx Presidentand CEO Sharon Matthews. “Our acqui-sition of Medallion provides a simple,elegant set of solutions to extract andanalyze the data within documents soparticipants can collaborate better inthe loan workflow.”

Both companies bring an emphasison putting customers first and helping

heard on the streetcontinued from page 38

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www.TagQuest.com [email protected]

The Unintended Con

By Doug Rossbach

The Basel Accordsare a set of volun-tary internationalagreements that

establish capital adequacy guidelines,which are then used to measure banksolvency and reduce the risk of bankfailure. Bank capital is divided intotiers based on the source of the capi-tal. Tier One capital or core capital is

primarily composed of common equi-ty. Basel III requires banks to hold 4.5percent of common equity and six per-cent of Tier One capital (includingcommon equity) against risk weightedassets. Basel III introduced additionalcapital buffers which include amandatory capital conservation bufferof 2.5 percent and a discretionarycounter-cyclical buffer which allowsnational regulators to require up toanother 2.5 percent of capital. In the

U.S., banks are regulated by theFederal Reserve, the Office of theComptroller of the Currency (OCC) andthe Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation (FDIC), which are respon-sible for determining the capitalweightings that determine how muchcapital the banks are required to setaside to meet Basel III.

What happened? Under a final rule that was adopted

by the Federal Reserve in July 2013,the amount of capital needed to sup-port mortgage servicing rights (MSRs)and certain types of mortgages wassubstantially increased. Key changesinclude:

l The Federal Reserve increased therisk weighting for MSRs from 100percent to 250 percent for MSR bal-ances representing up to 10 per-cent of the bank’s common equity.

Basel III

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www.BoomerangProspecting.com

l In addition, banks that hold MSRbalances in excess of 10 percent oftheir common equity must deductthe excess from Tier One capital.

These changes increase the capitalcosts of holding MSRs and reduce theamount of Tier One capital availableto support other types of risk assetsincluding mortgages. In other words,holding MSRs is becoming moreexpensive and could crowd out abank’s ability to hold other assetsincluding mortgages.

UnintendedconsequencesThe idea behind Basel III is to reducebanking risk and create a standardcapital model that ensures that banksare well capitalized to withstand theunexpected losses associated with var-ious risk assets. Unfortunately, theunintended consequence of the regu-lation may be to actually increasesome bank risks and to make it moredifficult or expensive for consumers toobtain a mortgage or to obtain help ata reasonable price when faced with afinancial setback.

In reaction to the impending regu-lations, U.S. banks have started shed-ding MSR assets and selling them tonon-bank servicers such as Ocwen,Nationstar and Walter InvestmentCompany. This is illustrated by look-ing at the MSR assets held by the fourlargest U.S. banks (Wells Fargo, Bankof America, Citi and Chase) which aredown 18 percent from June 2012 toJune 2014. During this same period,MSRs held by the three largest non-bank servicers (Ocwen, Nationstar andWalter) have increased by 50 percent(Source: Mortgage Daily).

These changes may actuallyincrease risk to the U.S. banking sys-tem and contribute to higher costs,poorer service levels, more foreclo-sures and a less vibrant home financesystem. Here is why:

l MSRs provide a natural hedge forbanks that participate in the mort-gage industry. The mortgage indus-try is cyclical and is highly influ-enced by interest rates. Wheninterest rates increase, originationvolume and the associated rev-enues earned from new mortgageorigination decline. This drop inrevenue can have a devastatingimpact on large banks that partici-pate heavily in the mortgage mar-ket. Recent bank earnings reflectthis very scenario.

l These are the same banks that his-torically have owned large quanti-ties of MSRs. MSRs can help offsetthese losses because the value of

MSRs rise when interest rates rise.This is because MSR value is basedon the cash flows that banksreceive for servicing the underly-ing mortgages. When interest rates

rise, fewer borrowers are willingto refinance or move because newmortgages become expensive rela-tive to the loans they alreadyhave.

l This increases the life expectancyor persistency of the underlyingmortgages and therefore the cashflows from MSRs. Since banks mustmark the value of MSRs to market,they will show a profit which canbe used to offset the drop in rev-enue from fewer new mortgageoriginations. As banks shed MSRs

nsequences of“The idea behind Basel III is to reduce banking risk and create a

standard capital model that ensures that banks are wellcapitalized to withstand the unexpected losses associated with

various risk assets.”

By Dave Hershman

The volatile market envi-ronment of the month ofOctober made the timingof the meeting of the

Federal Reserve Board’s Federal OpenMarket Committee just before Nov. 1very interesting. With the stock marketgyrating and interest rates and oilprices falling in light of world events,certainly there was concern. Yet, thedomestic economic news was anythingbut negative, with housing starts andexisting home sales rising in Septemberand more jobs being created. Indeed,the preliminary measure of economic

growth for the third quarter was alsoreleased showing a solid 3.5 percentgain, but of course, this is subject tofuture revisions.

Indeed, one would have thoughtthese conflicting factors would providesome confusion for the Fed headinginto the meeting, though the marketsseemed to be optimistic coming up onthe meeting as the stock market recov-ered a good portion of its losses of theprevious month. However, there wasnothing surprising or confusing aboutthe Fed statement. They ended theirbond purchase program as scheduled:

“The Committee judges that there has

been a substantial improvement in theoutlook for the labor market since theinception of its current asset purchaseprogram. Moreover, the Committee con-tinues to see sufficient underlyingstrength in the broader economy to sup-port ongoing progress toward maximumemployment in a context of price stabili-ty. Accordingly, the Committee decidedto conclude its asset purchase programthis month.”

In addition, the Fed continued to usethe term “considerable time” withregard to how long they will keep rateslow. They did insert language that theyreserve the right to shorten that period

if the economy, and especially employ-ment growth, improves more quicklythan anticipated:

“However, if incoming informationindicates faster progress toward theCommittee’s employment and infla-tion objectives than the Committeenow expects, then increases in the tar-get range for the federal funds rate arelikely to occur sooner than currentlyanticipated.”

Meanwhile, speaking of jobs, theFed announcement was released justten days before the release of the all-important employment report. Thejobs data is the first picture we get ofthe last quarter. October’s release ofSeptember’s employment report wasone of the best months for job creationsince the great recession and as themonth wore on, we saw weekly firsttime claims for unemployment move totheir lowest levels in almost a decade.This has made many analysts confidentabout continued success with regard tojob creation. One thing we know aboutthe jobs data—it can be very volatileand subject to future revisions. A sur-prise in either direction could havealready caused more market volatilitybefore this publication went to print.We are not saying it would happen, butalways consider the possibility?

Dave Hershman is a top author in themortgage industry with seven bookspublished. He is also the founder ofthe OriginationPro Marketing System,and currently the director of branchsupport for McLean Mortgage. Hemay be reached by e-mail [email protected] or visitwww.originationpro.com.N

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NMP’s 2014MORTGAGE TECHNOLOGY

PROVIDERS DIRECTORY

Appraisal HostWhy techies love the company: Use current technol-ogy stack. Easy to integrate. Fast. ResponsiveApplication.

Why clients love the company: Most user friendly,feature rich solution in the market today.

Description of products offered: Online Appraisal Order Management Platform toensure regulatory compliance. Free for lenders and AMC’s Better Loan Officers.Integrated with UCDP, CoreLogic, Byte and other platforms.

Phone #: (844) APP-HOST (277-4678)Web site: www.AppraisalHost.com

CoreLogicWhy techies love the company: CoreLogic arrangesits processes to work the way our clients do business.

Why clients love the company: CoreLogic helps clientsknow more about increasing volume and managing risk.

Description of products offered: Rely on CoreLogic to help identify and managegrowth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. CoreLogic is a leadingglobal property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider. TheCompany’s combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includesover 3.5 billion records spanning 40-plus years, providing detailed coverage of proper-ty, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard riskand related performance information. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through uniquedata, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services.

Phone #: (800) 426-1466Web site: www.corelogic.com

Better Loan OfficersWhy techies love the company: The integrity of our reviewecosystem and security with sensitive data.

Why clients love the company: Providing a voice and cur-rency of trust for the mortgage industry.

Description of products offered: We provide tools that giveloan officers a voice that conveys trust and professionalism with consumers andreferral partners.

Phone #: (952) 232-1771Web site: www.betterloanofficers.com

D+HWhy techies love the company: SaaS efficiency-D+Hdoes the regulatory updates and software enhance-ments for you!

Why clients love the company: Streamlined imple-mentations, responsive service and experience.

Description of products offered: D+H’s end-to-endMortgagebot online lending and origination solution helps you sharpen your com-petitive edge to attract borrowers, simplify compliance to minimize risk, and opti-mize back-office processing through post-closing to boost profitability. We workwith you to configure a solution to your lending footprint and will help you achievequick success through a proven implementation process.

Phone #: (800) 815-5592Web site: www.dh.com

Calyx SoftwareWhy techies love the company: Fast imple-mentation, products integrate seamlessly, freesupport, easy to maintain.

Why clients love the company: Intuitive, accu-rate calculations, IT department not required, 200-plus vendor connections.

Description of products offered: Loan origination software (LOS), broker Web siteswith online 1003, electronic signature, custom AUS.

Phone #: (800) 362-2599Web site: www.calyxsoftware.com

DocMagic Inc.Why techies love the company: Integrated security infrastructure,processing power, scalability and storage.

Why clients love the company: Twenty-five years of customerservice, technical support, and compliance expertise.

Description of products offered: For more than 25 years,DocMagic has developed award-winning loan document preparation, compliance anddelivery solutions. Dedicated to providing you with the tools and technology you need tosurvive in today’s complex regulatory environment, DocMagic continues to advance a widevariety of innovative products and eServices while serving the needs of 10,000-plus finan-cial institutions in all 50 states. As the largest provider of end-to-end document prepara-tion solutions, DocMagic has built its relationships and reputation on innovation, quality,service and trust.

Phone #: (800) 649-1362Web site: www.docmagic.com

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NMP’s 2014MORTGAGE TECHNOLOGYPROVIDERS DIRECTORY

Easy Mortgage Apps LLCWhy techies love the company: Techies love us because we are up todate with the newest features on devices.

Why clients love the company: We offer a true solution for companieslooking to implement a mobile strategy.

Description of products offered: Easy Mortgage Apps LLC(EMALLC) develops private label mobile apps specifically designedfor the mortgage industry. Amongst other functionality, EMALLC offers a true solu-tion to the number one issue plaguing the mortgage industry, communication.Borrowers and real estate agents remain engaged throughout the process. The appallows lenders to enhance the experience by creating an unparalleled leadingecosystem where clients and agents can securely communicate, share time sensi-tive data and receive updates in real time.

Phone #: (888) 987-6842Web site: www.easymortgageapps.com

Fast Forward StoriesWhy techies love the company: Cloud-based videocontent system delivers video content with no IThassles.

Why clients love the company: Great content. Greattechnology. Fantastic support. Nothing else like it!

Description of products offered: Instant consumer-friendly branded video contentfor websites, social media, e-mail marketing, mobile and client presentations. Allvideos compliance reviewed. Educate customers and answer questions with thiscomprehensive video glossary of mortgage and real estate concepts. Subscription-based service with best-in-class technology, without the high cost of custom videocreation. Enterprise platform, co-branding and mobile app available.

Phone #: (888) 618-9088Web site: www.fastforwardstories.com

eFace2FaceWhy techies love the company: WebRTC-based eFace2Face is easy to integrate into anyonline infrastructure.

Why clients love the company: eFace2Face iseasy to implement and generates return-on-investment (ROI) in weeks, not years.

Description of products offered: eFace2Face is the world’s only complete Web-basedvideo selling and e-signing solution. Connect consumers to your experts instantly forsecure, high-quality video, audio or chat-based meetings directly from your Web site.During meetings, your experts can share any form of content instantly. eFace2Face alsodelivers real-time collaboration, so customers can complete forms and applications imme-diately. When it’s time to sign on the digital line, eFace2Face’s unique electronic signatureprocess enables all signatories to sign wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them.

Phone #: (727) 439-0393Web site: www.eface2face.com

GeoData PlusWhy techies love the company: Web-basedand mobile-friendly. Get your property dataand comps from anywhere.

Why clients love the company: It’s the trust-ed data source for tens of thousands of realestate appraisals every year. Easy to use, fast and affordable.

Description of products offered: Quickly access detailed property data, comps,and lis pendens with GeoData Plus. Used by thousands of appraisers, lenders, realestate agents and investors.

Phone #: (516) 663-0790Web site: www.geodataplus.com

Ellie Mae Inc.Why techies love the company: We’re a leader ofinnovative solutions for the residential mortgageindustry.

Why clients love the company: We help themimprove compliance, quality and efficiency atevery loan stage.

Description of products offered: Ellie Mae’s all-in-one Encompass mortgage man-agement solution and on-demand services provide loan originators with a singlesystem of record that ensures data integrity and improves compliance, quality andefficiency at every stage of the loan life cycle.

Phone #: (888) 955-9100Web site: www.EllieMae.com

Global DMSWhy techies love the company: We strive to offer the mostadvanced and usable technical product functionality.

Why clients love the company: We care about our cus-tomers and strive to provide the best experience possible.

Description of products offered: Global DMS is a leading provider of commercialand residential real estate valuation solutions catering to lenders, servicers, AMCs,appraisers and other real estate entities. The company’s solution set is cost effec-tively delivered on a Software-as-Service (SaaS) transactional basis that ensurescompliance adherence, reduces costs, increases efficiencies and expedites theentire real estate appraisal process. The company’s solutions include its eTrac val-uation management platform, eTrac WebForms, Global Kinex, AVMs, the MISMOAppraisal Review System (MARS) and AMCmatch.com.

Phone #: (877) 866-2747Web site: www.globaldms.com

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NMP’s 2014MORTGAGE TECHNOLOGY

PROVIDERS DIRECTORY

LoanTekWhy techies love the company: More software tomake more loans for less money—end to endonline origination.

Why clients love the company: We make mort-gage leads become mortgage loans—up to fourtimes higher conversion rates.

Description of products offered: LoanTek is the most complete software suite forthe mortgage industry. Our services include automated best execution pricingengine, interactive consumer pricing, Web site and landing pages, mortgage leadmanagement, sales management, CRM, e-Marketing and more. Of equal impor-tance, LoanTek bundles these applications to create efficiency and value. Moreservice, more markets, more loans, with LoanTek.

Phone #: (888) 562-6835Web site: www.loantek.com

Mortgage MappWhy techies love the company: We provide uniquemobile solution customized for loan officers.

Why clients love the company: Personalized mobile appwhich keeps loan officers engaged with clients 24/7.

Description of products offered: Mortgage Mapp createspersonalized mobile apps for loan officers. It turns theirsmartphones into referral magnets, backed by a powerful tracking and reportingsystem. Features like the mortgage calculator, pre-approval requests and real timemortgage news deliver a seamless end-to-end client experience. These uniquecomponents combine to drive engagement and help users close more leads.

Phone #: (855) 827-7439Web site: www.mortgagemapp.com

matchbox LLCWhy techies love the company: Strong understand-ing of the Encompass LOS from development toimplementation.

Why clients love the company: We speak mortgageand understand workflow from loan origination to pur-chase.

Description of products offered: Mortgage operations expertise with strong tech-nical backgrounds.

Phone #: (516) 802-7375Web site: www.matchboxllc.com

MTS Software SolutionsWhy techies love the company: Open, Webservices platform enables rapid deployment andseamless integration.

Why clients love the company: IntellaLend offers painless processing and auto-matic data validation.

Description of products offered: IntellaLend leverages Intelligent Data Capture and SmartProcess Applications to expedite mortgage processing. Our solution captures incoming filesfrom any source, classifies the documents for routing into workflows while measuring forcompleteness, automatically extracts and compares the data from those documentsagainst other data repositories or sources, and delivers the validated data to existing sys-tems and/or personnel. IntellaLend combines capture, automation and analytics technolo-gies to deliver a solution that is revolutionizing how mortgages are processed.

Phone #: (866) 274-6243Web site: www.mtssoftwaresolutions.com

MortgageFlex SystemsWhy techies love the company: MortgageFlex offerssecure, SSAE-16 hosting services that is scalable.

Why clients love the company: MortgageFlex ensurescompliance, while automating lending processes.

Description of products offered: MortgageFlexSystems was founded in 1980 and provides innovative loan origination and servic-ing software solutions to the lending industry. MortgageFlex brings you the indus-try’s most comprehensive suite of systems that address every aspect of the lendingbusiness from origination/acquisition to servicing and REO. The LoanQuest productplatform supports evolving business processes, as well as government compliancerequirements with business rules, intuitive workflow and an embedded product andpricing engine.

Phone #: (800) 326-3539Web site: www.mortgageflex.com

PreApprovalLetter.comWhy techies love the company: We’ve developed an algo-rithm that streamlines the mortgage pre-approval process.

Why clients love the company: Our platform allowslenders to focus on closing deals for quality homebuyers.

Description of products offered: Our instant pre-approval tool empowers home-buyers with personalized home loan budgeting and a tailored analysis based on cur-rent underwriting rules and guidelines. We formulate using a tri-merged creditreport and follow Fannie Mae DU methodology with conforming underwriting guide-lines to display qualifying options on specific MLS properties nationwide. Forlenders, this translates into the highest quality leads on the market. We have pre-qualified and pre-approved buyers and our concierge service schedules guaranteedappointments. Programs are available for LOs, branches and national lenders.

Phone #: (855) 864-4265Web site: www.preapprovalletter.com

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NMP’s 2014MORTGAGE TECHNOLOGYPROVIDERS DIRECTORY

SimpleNexus LLCWhy techies love the company: Techies love generating leads,LOS integration, and closing. We help them work.

Why clients love the company: We help LOs be loved by compli-ance, IT, legal and their clients.

Description of products offered: SimpleNexus provides white-labeled apps for mortgage companies and banks. Our apps help yougenerate more leads, connect with real estate agents, and staycompliant. SimpleNexus customers collectively increased realestate agents connections by more than 300 percent in 2013. Mortgage companiesrate our customer service 9.8 out of 10.

Phone #: (855) 684-2777Web site: www.simplenexus.com

Titan List & MailingServices Inc.Why techies love the company: We’reable to integrate our marketing services intoCRM platforms seamlessly.

Why clients love the company: Ourunmatched commitment to service, integri-ty and turn around time.

Description of products offered: Complete data, print and direct mail services allin one service provider.

Phone #: (800) 544-8060Web site: www.titanlists.com

SmarshWhy techies love the company: Smarsh offers fast,simple, and smart social media monitoring.

Why clients love the company: Smarsh allowsMLOs to manage compliance and legal risks relatedto social media.

Description of products offered: Smarsh delivers cloud-based archiving solutions forthe information-driven enterprise. Its centralized platform provides a unified compliance ande-discovery workflow across the entire range of digital communications, including email,public and enterprise social media, Web sites, instant messaging and mobile messaging.Founded in 2001, Smarsh helps more than 20,000 organizations meet regulatory compli-ance, e-discovery and record retention requirements. The company is headquartered inPortland, Ore., with offices in New York City, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles and London.

Phone #: (866) 762-7741Web site: www.smarsh.com

TTP Enterprises/MACH3Why techies love the company: Rules-based SaaS enginewith operational efficiency and compliance and control.

Why clients love the company: Technology-driven mar-keting, in-house printing and extensive content library.

Description of products offered: TTP provides compliance-centric marketing solutions that identify targeted opportunities,then shapes these opportunities into a tangible return on marketing investments. MACH3helps lenders broaden their perspective and view every customer, prospect and partner asa constant revenue stream. TTP offers an intelligent approach to automated print and emailmarketing along with a customizable authorization hierarchy. TTP’s in-house print andmailing facility ensures unparalleled quality, service, and speed to market.

Phone #: (888) 887-7880Web site: www.turningpoint.com

StreetLinks Lender Solutions, an Assurant CompanyWhy techies love the company: We’re continually working topropel the lending industry forward.

Why clients love the company: We’re committed to exception-al quality, service and partnership.

Description of products offered: Both StreetLinks and Assurant Specialty Propertythrive on bringing collateral risk management expertise, innovative technology, and best-in-class services to mortgage professionals nationwide. With our combined strength anddedication to quality and service, we deliver a comprehensive suite of valuation solutionsthat covers the loan cycle from origination to final collateral disposition. Partner with usfor full-service appraisal management, lender-executed appraisal software and auto-mated appraisal review technology, as well as property preservation, property inspec-tions, broker price opinions and more!

Phone #: (800) 778-4920Web site: www.streetlinks.com

Waterfallcalc.comWhy techies love the company: The complexity of thealgorithms behind the scenes of this software is amazing.

Why clients love the company: FHA loss mitigation deci-sions are guaranteed. Processing time is cut by 90 percent.

Description of products offered: WaterfallCalc.com assistsmortgage servicers with choosing the best FHA loss mitigation option and performs allcalculations based on the most current FHA Loss Mitigation Guidelines (Mortgagee Letter2012-22 and 2013-32). It is capable of interfacing with any servicing platform to reducekeystroke errors and input times. The average time to determine the correct FHA loss mit-igation decision is under 10 minutes. The cost of the product is approximately four per-cent of the home-retention incentives paid by HUD.

Phone #: (616) 570-0199, ext. 127Web site: www.waterfallcalc.com

TagQuest Inc.Why techies love the company: Merging data files andusing those files to pinpoint target social media ads.

Why clients love the company: We offer one placeto ingrate all of your marketing. Backed by 10 yearsof experience.

Description of products offered: Full-service direct mail with integrated personalURL Web site domains and social media plug-ins to send those same people youroffer with ads on social Web sites like Facebook and Twitter. Mortgage Insights is aprogram that notifies you when your past clients have their credit checked by anoth-er mortgage company. We also offer more than 3,000 separate data selects in ourlists for targeting prospects. Internet leads, live transfer leads, trigger leads, onlinemarketing like SEO, PPC, and Google AdWords Management.

Phone #: (888) 717-8980Web site: www.tagquest.com

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By Tom Ward

As the end of 2014 approaches at a rapid pace, it’s time tostart planning for 2015. When you start to get into a plan-ning mode for the coming year, we often see pages andpages of forms to fill out with so much detail that it be-

comes overwhelming. My attempt today is something that I’ve been toldis one of my strengths, and that’s making the complex simple. As most ofyou have heard me say before, there are six categories of loans in twobrackets: The refinance bracket and the purchase bracket.

The first thing you need to do is to go through your closed loans forthe past year and determine the number of loans you closed. More im-portantly, you must determine the types of loans you have closed. For ex-ample, let’s just say that you closed 50 loans, with 25 of them refinancesand the other 25 as purchase apps.

After the mortgage meltdown, we know that most of those refinanceloans were rate and term. The first question you need to ask yourself iswhat are the market conditions going to look like in 2015? It’s importantto be brutally honest with yourself here. Is the environment for refinancesgoing to be the same, better or worse in the coming year? Most will say itwill be worse than the previous year. Let’s just say that you still get some,say 10 loans.

If you want to maintain the 50 loans you closed last year, you will needto get 40 purchase loans. There are four categories of purchase loans:move-up/move down, foreclosure victim, investor/second home, andrenter (never owned). In the move-up/move down category, do you seean appetite that's going to increase? These folks don't have enough equityjust yet and are still uncertain about the economy and might want to stayput for a few more years. The investors/second home buyers has not beena hot category and all predictions appear that for that continue over thenext few years.

So the two categories that remain are both renters, one that has neverowned a home before, and the other who has lost a home due to foreclo-sure or short sale and is re-entering the marketplace as a buyer. I think abulk of your 40 loans will need to come from one of these two categories.This renter has several idiosyncrasies that we cover on our Web site below.

When you want to just maintain the same number of loans youclosed last year or you are looking to make 2015 your best year ever,you need to learn about these renters. Become an expert in your localmarketplace. I’ve been studying this customer for the past three-and-a-half years, and that’s why we created the Path2Buy program. Ourtraining program will get you up and running fast, and you’ll becomean expert in your local market. For more information, log on towww.path2buydemo.com.

If you’d like to download the planning form, visitwww.2015planning.com. We also have a movie explaining the step-by-step process as well.

Tom Ward is founder of the Path2Buy Homeownership Coaching Program(Path2Buy.com). He may be reached by phone at (847) 970-4295 or [email protected].

The Simple Wayto Plan for 2015

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them by making workflows easier andmore efficient.

“We couldn’t be happier to be join-ing the eLynx team,” said MedallionChairman and CEO Joel Davidson. “Ourdeep expertise in title services is a per-fect complement to their strength inthe closing process, making it a naturalfit for us to be working as one. We sharea common view on the value of dataand its impact when properly appliedin the mortgage closing process.”

Wingspan Gets CapitalInfusion and Names NewCompany President

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors hasannounced a multi-million dollar capi-tal infusion from its stockholderinvestor group. Simultaneously withthe capital infusion, the companyannounced it has divested itself ofDimont & Associates, the insuranceclaims management firm it acquired inMay 2013.

Wingspan also announced thatWingspan Executive Vice President ofNational Operations Jason Spooner hasbeen named as president. Spooner hasmore than 20 years of mortgage indus-try experience, including leadershiproles at Bank of America, Sun Trust, andWells Fargo. Spooner joined Wingspanin 2012 to manage national operations,and as president, he will also overseethe company’s daily operations.

Wingspan’s Founder, CEO andPresident Steven Horne has moved to asenior advisor position.

“We have just finalized a significantstrategic transaction with an investorgroup and we are now debt free,” saidHorne. “The transaction will giveWingspan a stronger financial founda-tion than we have ever had and furtherenhances our ability to deliver excep-tional service to our clients. As the com-pany’s founder, I am excited by theopportunities ahead for Wingspan.Over the past year, like many othercompanies in the servicing industry,Wingspan has experienced a fair degreeof turbulence as the industry is success-fully transitioning out of the default cri-sis. Wingspan has diversified its servicesand aligned its workforce accordingly.With the closing of this strategic trans-action, we have secured the financialsupport we need to continue as theleader in component servicing and out-sourcing solutions.”

GSF Mortgage Becomes a Ginnie Mae Issuer

GSF Mortgage has announced that ithas been approved as a Ginnie Mae

Issuer. Ginnie Mae facilitates the securi-tization of government-insured prod-ucts. They are not in the business ofmaking or purchasing mortgage loansand does not buy, sell or issue securi-ties. Ginnie Mae guarantees investorstimely payments of principal and inter-est on mortgage-backed securities (MBS)backed by federally insured or guaran-teed loans—typically loans insured byFHA and VA. Other loans that are eligi-ble include the Department ofAgriculture’s Rural Development (RD).Ginnie Mae securities are the only MBSto carry the full faith and credit guaran-ty of the United State’s Government,meaning that even in challenging times,Ginnie Mae MBS are one of the safest aninvestor can make.

“We have had our sights set onbecoming a Ginnie Mae Issuer for sometime. We share the same fundamentalmission of expanding homeownershipfor credit worthy borrowers,” said GSFPresident Chad Jampedro. “The abilityto issue Ginnie Mae securities will allowGSF to establish its own underwritingcriteria within agency guidelines andretain the servicing rights of the bor-rower’s loans that we are originating.Our goal is to continue to serve our bor-rowers at the highest-level, beginning atorigination and continuing as their ser-vicer. Customer support and retention isat the core of our business plan andbecoming a Ginnie Mae Issuer will allowus an opportunity to be more to ourborrowers over the life of their loan. Wehad the opportunity to attend theGinnie Summit in Washington D.C. andwere so impressed with the their staffand training presentations. Their mis-sion is clear, they believe in ‘The Powerof Partnerships’ and GSF Mortgage iscertainly pleased to be included as anapproved partner.”

Guild Mortgage AcquiresPortland-Based NorthwestMortgage Group

Guild Mort-gage Comp-any has ac-quired North-west Mort-

gage Group based in Portland, Ore.,with eight branches in Oregon and $842million in loan volume in 2013.Northwest Mortgage Group is one of thelargest purchase mortgage lenders inthe Portland area.

The acquisition is the newest step inGuild’s long range plan to grow throughacquisition, adding branches in newand existing markets and preserving itscustomer service culture with experi-enced, talented loan officers with estab-lished relationships. From 2010 to 2013,Guild grew from its western base intothe Southeast and Southwest, increas-ing its number of branches and satel-lites from 75 to more than 200. Loanvolume in the same period jumped


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Stated Business Purpose Loanson Residential Properties• Refinances up to 65% LTV, min loan amount

50K to 5 million• Purchases up to 70% min. loan amount

50K to 5 million• Loan term, 6 months, 3 year, 5 year, interest only

or fully amortized available• Programs with no PP available• Rates from 8.50% and up depending on LTV term

and prepayment penalty• We have 2nd position loans available for n/o/o and

investment properties up to 55%-60% CLTV• 5-7 days closing available

Apartments and units(5+ residential units)• Up to 70% on refinance and purchases• Stated but verified rental income of property• Loan terms: 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, 7 year

and 10 year; fixed IO or fully amortized• Rates from 8.00% and up• Programs with no PP available depending

on LTV, term and prepayment penalty• We have 2nd position loans available

for our commercial products up to 60% CLTV

• 5-7 days closing available

877-700-3703 Office866-318-4471 Direct Fax

www.pbfinancialgrp.com • e-mail scenarios to: [email protected] Financial Group Corp. NMLS #357614/PB Financial Group Corp BRE #01522495

Disclosures: per FDIC Regulations Section 6500 Part 226, Subpart C, 226.24. The amount of each payment that will apply over the term ofthe loan is based on simple annual interest applied to the unpaid balance. Loans range from 1 day to 60 months, are interest only and in-clude a balloon payment due at term. Finance charges apply. Payments do not include amounts per property taxes or insurance premiums.This is not a commitment to lend. Rates and points are subject to change without notice. NMLS #357614

Commercial (industrial, retail, church,mixed-use, gas station, auto related,manufacturing, etc.)• Up to 55% on refinances• Up to 60%-65% on purchases• Term 1 to 5 years

Land loan (max LTV 35%, refinance, 50% purchase) call for details

We are California’s Premier Direct Private Money and BridgeLender


from $4.1 billion to $7 billion. Servicingvolume more than doubled, from $6.4billion to $13 billion.

Bob Engelke, CEO of NorthwestMortgage Group, started his mortgagebanking career in 1993 and formedNorthwest Mortgage Group with threepartners in 1995. Since then, the com-pany has grown from one branch andsix employees to eight branches withmore than 150 employees and is theleading independent mortgage bankingcompany in the Portland area. He willcontinue as Oregon manager, leadingthe new Northwest Mortgage Groupdivision within Guild. NorthwestMortgage Group currently has offices inPortland, Beaverton, Lloyd Center, NWPortland, Lake Oswego, Clackamas,Newberg, and Scappoose, Ore.

“Northwest and Guild together willbe stronger in every way than eachcompany is today,” said Mary AnnMcGarry, Guild’s president and CEO.“Northwest Mortgage Group has builtan exceptional company, noted forwell-established sales leadership andinsights into every market whereNorthwest competes. Guild brings tech-nology in support of sales, custom-builtsystems, tools, products, a servicingportfolio, a strong balance sheet, andmanagement strength with a group ofowner managers committed to continu-ing success.”

People’s Home EquityPartners Up WithComergence

Comergence, ap r o v i d e r o fthird-party risk-m a n a g e m e n tplatforms forthe mortgage

industry, has announced that it is nowproviding its originator screening anddue diligence services to People’s HomeEquity Inc., a full-service mortgagelender based in Brentwood, Tenn.Comergence offers a full suite of hands-on and automated services for mort-gage originator and appraiser due dili-gence and profile surveillance.

People’s Home Equity recentlybegan using Comergence’s REALM forThird Party Originators, a proprietaryplatform with a comprehensive data-base of over 400,000 records on everylicensed mortgage originator in thecountry. REALM aggregates critical datasuch as: Licensing, criminal and civilrecords, financial sanctions, as well asbankruptcies and foreclosures. Becausethe REALM platform is updated contin-uously, clients are able to keep currenton the status of their third party origi-nators, helping to ensure compliancewith state and federal regulations.

“With REALM for Third PartyOriginators, People’s Home Equity issimplifying its originator approvalprocess and making it more efficient,”said Greg Schroeder, president ofComergence. “By using our due dili-gence and monitoring services, People’sHome Equity is also showing its com-mitment to quality control and regula-

tory compliance. We’re delighted to addthem to our growing client base.”

Ellie Mae EncompassUsers Eclipse the 100,000 Mark

Ellie Mae, a provider of on-demand soft-ware solutions and services for the resi-dential mortgage industry, hasannounced that it has recently sur-passed 100,000 active users of itsEncompass mortgage managementsolution, the mortgage industry’s solu-tion for achieving compliance, loanquality and efficiency.

“With increasing regulatory over-sight and an ultra-competitive market,choosing the right mortgage technolo-gy provider that provides innovativeproducts and enterprise class serviceand support has never been moreimportant,” said Jonathan Corr, presi-dent and COO of Ellie Mae.“Compliance is a key driver for adop-tion of Encompass technology forbanks of all sizes, with significantadoption from very large lenders. Theyrecognize Encompass will not onlyimprove the quality of their loans, butsave them time and money as well. Weare grateful that so many lenders haveplaced their trust in us, and we willcontinue doing everything we can tokeep it.”

The Encompass management solu-tion allows banks, credit unions andmortgage lenders to originate and fundmortgages. The platform has built-incompliance and quality tools, includingthe Ellie Mae Total Quality LoanProgram, that help lenders of all sizescreate loans faster and more efficiently,while staying compliant with regula-tions and investor guidelines.

OpenClose Adds StaffersDuring Record Year

OpenClose hasannounced thatit is adding tech-nical staff toeffectively man-

age a growing demand for its browser-based LOS platform, LenderAssist, andaccompanying solutions. OpenClose isreporting its best revenue growth yearin company history.

“We’re seeing a significant uptick inLOS deal flow, and as such, proactivemeasures are being taken in order tohave adequate resources on hand toimplement and support the on-board-ing of new clients,” said JP Kelly, presi-dent of OpenClose. “Our sales teamrecently signed a number of differentlenders, which includes several mar-quee clients. We treat our customerbase as long-term partners and alwaysstrive to provide excellence in service;the new hires will help us to continual-ly deliver on that promise.”

Part of OpenClose’s rapid growth isthe result of its recent development of a

www.TheNationalRealEstatePost.com

Knowledge is power. Powertranslates to success, whetherit is dollars in your pocket,stronger leadership, in-creased bottom lines or

peace of mind, we are here for you.This month, we are introducing a new

column for questions relating to startinga business, managing a business, train-ing, networking, tax-related issues, corpo-rate security policy, fraud alerts and com-pliance. All answers are for informationalpurpose only, and are not intended topractice law, or are meant to provide taxadvice or tax opinions. After reviewingour information, we both recommendseeking legal counsel or the advice of a

tax professional. Please e-mail us [email protected] to voiceany questions or problems. We are herefor you!

Self-promotionEric from North Carolina asks …I did an e-mail blast flyer about a cer-tain lender’s program which soundedpretty unique to me. Almost immedi-ately, I received several inquiries fromother loan officers asking who thewholesaler was. Do I tell them?

Eric’s reply to Eric …I love your first name. My first inclination

is to say not just “No”, but “Hell, no.” Whenit comes down to it, knowledge is yourstock and trade. You are not really sellingmortgages; you are selling your knowledgeabout certain mortgages. Why would youtell your competition?

But then I thought, maybe you are inNorth Carolina and they are in Marylandwhere they cannot possibly be any compe-tition for you. Then do you tell them? Inthat case, I would say “Yes.” Maybe I amjust an old fool, but I like the idea of help-ing people. That is why I share my knowl-edge of the mortgage industry in thesecolumns. What possible good could comeof helping your fellow man? Possibly theMaryland loan officer has a friend in North

Carolina he informs who works across thestreet from you. Now don’t you feel like anidiot?

It really comes down to your own phi-losophy. It is the same problem with givinga bum on the street a dollar. He says hewill use it for food, but maybe he is scam-ming you for liquor money. What do youdo? A great Rabbi was once asked thisquestion by one of his disciples (I amJewish, so all my stories have Rabbis inthem, but you can change it to Priest,Pastor, Imam, etc. according to yourbeliefs.) The Rabbi said, “Yes, he could belying to me, but I cannot take the chance.”He meant that we have so few chances inthis world to extol our virtues that you

ByEric Weinstein & Laura Burke

Just Ask

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k Eric & Laurahave to grab them when they come up.Read the lyrics to Brad Paisley’s “What IfShe’s an Angel” and get back to me onwhat you decide.

Laura’s reply to Eric …I am impressed! My co-author has a heartand a soul … scary! I agree with almost allthat Eric has said. I truly believe in helpingothers, but I also believe in Henny Penny,the old children’s tale. She was a chicken,I believe, and she thought that she wouldbake some bread, so she planted someseeds and watered the garden. She askedfor help with planting the seeds and noone would help. She asked for help weed-ing the garden and no one would help.She then harvested the wheat she planted,and again asked for help. No one wouldhelp. She asked one last time for help bak-ing the bread and still no one helped. Sowhen it came time to eat the deliciouswarm bread, everyone wanted to join her,and she simply said, “No! I will eat itmyself.”

So if you did the work and spent thetime to find a program to set yourselfapart from your competition, “No, I don’tthink you need to tell them who and howto compete with you.” You have the com-petitive advantage and I would keep it.Obtaining the competitive advantagecame with a cost to you, whether it wastime, expertise, networking or learning anew product, you have put forth an effortto gain what you have. I say to roll with it!

Knowing when to pick yourbattle and when to hold ‘emParker from Virginia asks …I have a small mortgage company inVirginia. We just went through our firstaudit. The examiners found some defi-ciencies which I think are very picky. Howdo I address it? Do I fight them over it orjust give in?

Eric’s reply to Parker …I always took state exams as ways toimprove my operations. The one thing IDID learn is not to fight over it. The exam-iners are hardly ever wrong. Even whenthey are wrong … they are right, if youcatch my meaning. They have so muchpower over you that your company willrarely ever win. The only correct responseto a deficiency is “This is the plan we nowhave in place so it can NEVER happenagain.”

When a traffic cop stops you for speed-ing, are you going to yell and scream athim like an episode of “The Jersey Shore?”No, if you are sane, you take the ticket andmove on. If you are in the right, you canargue it in traffic court, but don’t try toconvince the cop. He is only doing his job.

You can definitely contact the regula-tors, discuss the issue and explain your

understanding of the law, but remember,if they say “No,” then it is a definitive “No.”It is easier to just correct the problem (asthey see it) then to hire a lawyer to try toget your license back. Just my opinion.

Laura’s reply to Parker …Wow, two questions and Eric and I are inagreement. In an audit, I recommendgoing with the flow of least resistance. Givethem what they want, play dumb like a

fox. “Oh, I didn’t know that was whatmeant, let me correct that immediately.”

On the flip side, if it is blatantly anattack against you or your company, and itdoesn’t have merit, than yes, as Eric alsomentioned, let them finish the audit, andmove on out of your office. You can thencontact your attorney and decide whatsteps to follow next. But getting them doneand out the door is the best course ofaction. The longer you keep them, the

more you antagonize them, the more theymight find.

The same often go for authorities likethe IRS. I recently had an agent tell methey never got a return. I argued the pointas I had proof I sent the return via certifiedmail. She said you can argue with me,you can mail me the documentation ver-ifying you sent it in, and I may still be


By Garrett M. Kolb

Throughout 2014, we’ve witnessed more forward lendersentering the reverse mortgage space as a way to service cus-tomers and earn more revenue. In order to be successful,forward lenders must choose a partner with advanced serv-

icing and loan origination technology. Based on our many conversations with forward lenders, they are look-

ing for an origination and servicing system that is easy to access, easy tounderstand and use, with online and offline support and training avail-able. The features forward lenders are looking for include how personalinformation is kept secure, are custom reports available, are all the doc-uments and processes compliant and if there is a disaster recovery plan.These are valuable discovery questions that all forward lenders shouldask when looking for a reverse mortgage partner. The decision to partnerwith a capital market investor carries another critical decision, which loanorigination system (LOS) to utilize.

Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. (RMS) is a full-service reverse mortgagecompany, owned by Walter Investment Management Corporation (WIMC).We believe that servicing the reverse mortgage industry without a spe-cialized technology would be like competing in a Formula One race indriving a street car. RMS’s focus on technology has paid off making us thelargest servicer of reverse mortgages today.

When researching a reverse mortgage servicing partner, it’s importantto make sure they operate under the requirements defined by FHA, FNMAand private investors.

RMS offers a state of the art and scalable reverse mortgage servicingsystem (RM NAVIGATOR) that meets all servicing requirements. Designedfrom the ground up for our partners, the RM NAVIGATOR system meetsall of the requirements of FHA, FNMA, private investors, and provides cus-tomers easy access to monthly reverse mortgage statements and customreporting is also available. For private investors and mortgage-backedbonds, our system operates in a totally secure and redundant environ-ment on a SQL server.

In 2011, RMS entered the origination business serving both the con-sumer direct and wholesale channels. Once again, to meet the specialtyneeds of our Partners, we created a proprietary originations systemnamed RM COMPASS, a Web-based, private label LOS built for the reversemortgage professionals. Through research, analysis and listening to theneeds of our partners, we developed a system that delivers.

By year end, RMS will be offering a streamlined version of RM COMPASSas a part of our Broker Direct initiative. This one-stop solution will allowpartners to be up and running fast.

RMS is a complete end-to-end provider to the reverse mortgage indus-try. From origination to securitization … servicing to asset management,the company is positioned to meet the needs of our partners. If you area forward lender interested in offering reverse mortgages, we highly rec-ommend you spend time researching a partner with strong servicing andloan origination technology. The partner with the best technology will bea partner you can win with.

Garrett M. Kolb is senior managing director of correspondent and wholesalelending for Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc. Garrett joined the RMS produc-tion team in 2011, and brings 35 years of sales management and financialservices experience. He may be reached by phone at (888) 471-7191 or e-mail [email protected].

Winning WithTechnology

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correspondent lending module, whichis being used to help launch new corre-spondent channels or grow existing cor-respondent businesses. The module canwork as a standalone, turnkey solutionor in conjunction with the LenderAssistLOS. In addition, OpenClose’s wholesalelending solution has also generated sig-nificant revenue.

“The correspondent and wholesalecomponents of our technology offeringhave been wildly successful and a majordriver of OpenClose’s growth over thepast year,” said Kelly. “We want to makesure that we are well-staffed and have asolid infrastructure in place to effective-ly support clients. Our plan is to keepadding personnel in an effort to man-age company growth at a healthy, con-trolled rate.”

The addition of staff will largely focuson software development, solution imple-mentation and technical support.OpenClose has offices in West Palm Beach,Fla. and Seattle, Wash. The company saysmost new hires will reside out of its corpo-rate office in Florida.

First American’s MortgageSolutions Group Named aFreddie Mac Distributor

First American Financial Corporation hasannounced that its Mortgage SolutionsGroup is now a distributor of Freddie Mac’sHome Value Suite, a defined set of valua-tion modeling tools that automate,streamline and drive down the cost of col-lateral valuation in the housing market.First American Mortgage Solutions wasnamed as an approved distributor basedon the company’s long-standing history asa leading reseller of several automated val-uation models (AVMs)—specificallyFreddie Mac’s AVM, Home Value Explorer(HVE)—to lenders, servicers and investors.The distributor arrangement is an exten-sion of the current reseller agreements inplace since 2000.

“First American Mortgage Solutions iscommitted to Freddie Mac’s HVE and weare thrilled to be an approved distributorso we can provide mortgage lending cus-tomers with lower product pricing andincreased certainty in their lending as theycontinue efforts to produce defect-freemortgages,” said Kevin Wall, president ofFirst American Mortgage Solutions.

As an approved distributor of the HomeValue Suite, First American MortgageSolutions provides AVM services to a broadsector of the mortgage industry via directconnection with Freddie Mac. This distrib-utor relationship also provides increasedreliability in model performance due todirect connections, an improved focus onAVM evaluation criteria, and the ability tooffer Freddie Mac products, including bothHVE and Calibrator, directly to lenders andreseller clients.

Supreme LendingContinues MidwestExpansion

Supreme Lending, a Dallas-based nation-wide mortgage banker, has opened twonew branches, in Overland Park, Kan., asuburb of Kansas City, and the other inKansas City, Mo. This is the second SupremeLending branch in Missouri, and the first inthe Kansas City area. The move is part ofSupreme Lending’s growth plan to developits presence in this strong market.

Industry veteran David Curry joinedSupreme Lending as branch manager forboth branches. Reporting to him are fiveloan originators and one operations man-ager—four originators in the Kansas officeand one in the Missouri branch.

Curry has worked in the mortgageindustry for more than 25 years. Prior tojoining Supreme Lending, he served as abranch manager and senior loan officerfor Prime Lending, where he managedfour branches and 19 loan officers. Prior tothat, Curry served as senior division presi-dent and senior loan officer with DiamondResidential Mortgage, where he focusedon FHA/VA, USDA and conventional loans.

“We are looking forward to servinghomeowners in Kansas City and the sur-rounding areas with Supreme Lending’shighly acclaimed customer service,” saidRick Hogle, CSO of Supreme Lending. “Weknow David and his team will use theirknowledge and experience to differentiatethemselves in the marketplace.”

Fay Servicing Named anApproved Fannie MaeServicer and Ginnie MaeIssuer

Fay Servicing has received approvals as aGinnie Mae issuer and Fannie Mae ser-vicer, enabling the company to expandinto additional business lines within origi-nations, servicing and sub-servicing.Receiving both Fannie Mae and GinnieMae approvals is a positive validation ofthe firm’s servicing expertise, complianceregime and financial strength. This is animportant step for Fay Servicing thatbroadens its servicing product mix andorigination capabilities in multiple distri-bution channels.

“Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae approvalsadd meaningful opportunity for us togrow both our servicing and originationbusinesses,” said Ed Fay, CEO of FayServicing. “We look forward to applyingour highly differentiated and borrower-centric business model in the agencyand Ginnie Mae markets.”

Fay Servicing plans to both buy serv-icing rights and sub-service for counter-

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20141.800.649.1362 I www.DocMagic.com

A Public “Thank You!” to Fannie Mae and a Request for Conventional Hardship Counseling Certification

for Past Short SellersAn Open Letter to Mel Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance

Agency (FHFA)

By Pam Marron

Dear Mr. Watt:First, thank you to Fannie Mae for the Aug. 16, 2014 Desktop Originator“fix”1 that provides for past short sale credit reported as a foreclosure tobe corrected! This allows thousands of eligible past short sellers to againre-enter the housing market!

Now, there is another problem we need your help with: The confusion of real hard-ship with strategic defaults.

Underwriters are now reviewing more borrowers who had a past short sale. Manyunderwriters have a problem with the fact that the mortgage was on time, and thenall of a sudden, went delinquent right before the short sale and assumes these folkswere strategic defaulters. However, an overwhelming majority of underwater home-owners were told by their lenders that they could not receive help unless the mortgagewas delinquent. A massive number of short sellers will tell you they went delinquentbecause it was the only option given to them by their lender to get a short saleapproval. Further, it can be proven that a massive number of these folks stayed in theirhomes until they could not do so any longer.

Staying current was a struggle: Hardship is what forced the short sale.In the midst of the worst recession in U.S. history, many underwater homeowners

wiped themselves out, emptying 401(k)s and savings to stay afloat. The hardship wasthe circumstance that occurred when these folks were at the end of their rope, and hadno option left except to short sale their home.

And, yes, there were those who took advantage of the system. But the great major-ity continued to make payments, expecting to gain back equity and eventually moveon. However, there are areas across the U.S. where appreciation has not happened fastenough and life events have resulted in continued short sales for underwater home-owners (approximately 9.1 million per RealtyTrac in July of 2014).2

FHA has “Back to Work” CertificationThe Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has a “Back to Work” program3, where those whohave had a past short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy can get a certificate from a HUDApproved Counselor where hardship existed and where a 20 percent reduction inincome was sustained for six months or more. In acceptable circumstances, a new FHAmortgage can be approved one year after the short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy asanother option to the three-year wait required now.

Could the FHFA allow a Hardship Certification from a HUD-approved counselingagency or private mortgage insurance (PMI) company for conventional mortgages?

Why? Because underwriters unfamiliar with problems surrounding short sales areturning down qualified conventional borrowers with extenuating circumstances at thetwo-year mark after a short sale.

Real hardship examplesA husband loses his job after a brain aneurysm. The medical crisis causes the couple tofile for bankruptcy, but they continue to pay the mortgage on the wife’s salary alone.Soon, it is evident the husband will no longer be able to work. It takes 18 months to getSocial Security Disability for him and the underwater home is put up for a short sale. Theshort sale takes almost two years with two contracts that fall apart due to the lengthyshort sale process. The employed wife struggles to make the house payments, wiping outthe 401(k)s of both her and her husband. The wife is told she must go delinquent in orderto get a short sale approval, so she does. Two years later, the wife attempts a new mort-gage. The underwriter turns her down, stating she made the mortgage payments afterthe bankruptcy. The wife asks, “How hard does my hardship have to be?”

Another couple kept their underwater property as a rental. Both moved to anotherstate for jobs, rented out their home and paid monthly for the difference between rent

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The Long & Short:The Business of Short Sales


Vendors pose a risk for banks and non-banks alike … and the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is monitoring those risks.

“Consumers are at a real disadvantage because they do not get tochoose the service providers they deal with—the financial institutiondoes,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a release from the CFPB.“Consumers must not be hurt by unfair, deceptive or abusive practices ofservice providers. Banks and non-banks must manage these relationshipscarefully and can be held accountable if they break the law.”

The CFPB has specified that “supervised entities” are responsible forensuring that their vendors and service providers are in compliance offederal financial laws.

Here are few items you should know about vendor managementcompliance.

1. There is a difference between a vendor and a service providerA vendor is a person or organization that vends or sells a product. A serviceprovider sells a service, like consulting or staffing. In the mortgage arena,vendors do not come in contact with consumers or client files. The “ven-dors” who usually cause the extra compliance risk are in fact “serviceproviders.” These companies offer services that bring them into contactwith consumers, consumer data, loan files, and decision-making processeswhich are regulated by the government. You are liable for your serviceproviders when they are in contact with your consumers or loan files.

2. Be diligent about ensuring vendor/service provider compliance,or you put your own organization at riskWhen you hire a vendor or service provider, they may seem like they areresponsible and compliance-ready. You may feel confident to trust thatthey are compliant since they are a reputable company and actually doingthe work that requires compliance. Do not follow this route.The law holds you liable for their actions. Make sure you have policiesand procedures in place to monitor their activities to ensure complianceof the law. More importantly, make sure you have a Compliance Manage-ment System in place for all aspects of CFPB compliance.

3. Get your senior management and board of directors involvedCFPB guidance clearly conveys the expectation that the board of directorsand management will “develop a plan of action for oversight of service-provider (vendor) relationships.” Your vendor management policy requirestheir final approval. To take it a step further, your staff vendor manage-ment training should also reflect the internal policies of your business.

So, how do you manage vendor compliance?The AllRegs Compliance Management System gives you the tools you needto ensure that your entire organization is compliant with the CFPB throughtechnology and professional services. Our system gives you access tocourses like Examining Vendor Management to train your staff. You canalso work with the AllRegs Professional Services Group on a customizedVendor Management policy.

To learn more, visit us at www.allregs.com or contact your dedicated accountexecutive at (800) 848-4904.

A Few Quick TipsFrom AllRegs

on Vendor Management

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2014www.LykkenOnLending.com

just ask eric & lauracontinued from page 55

unable to locate it. Or you can simply re-mail me the missing return. Which do youwant to do?

I re-mailed the return in question. Theold adage comes to mind here, “You cancatch more flies with honey.”

Too many questionsStan from Iowa asks …My manager doesn’t always answer myquestions, and often leaves me hanging.Should I go around him or above him toget the assistance I need for my loans andclients? I don’t want to make the situationworse, but I need timely answers.

Eric’s reply to Stan …I feel you. I had the very same situationwith my first boss when I just got into themortgage business. He told me he was toobusy doing his own loans, but really, Ithink it is a power trip to block the flow ofinformation to make himself feel betterabout his petty little life … but I digress.The best advice he gave me was by throw-ing a big lender’s binder manual at meand said, “Look it up yourself.”

Yes, back then it came in a binder, butnow it is all online. Ask yourself honestly,are you really maybe just asking a lot ofsimple questions because it I might be eas-ier to ask rather than take the time to lookit up? I have had employees like that andindeed, it does get tiresome. Go to yourlender’s wholesale manual online andstart looking up your questions. Soon, peo-ple will be asking you the questions youare now asking your manager. Knowledgeis power my friend. The more you learn,the more you will make. The first part oflearning is how to look things up.

Laura’s reply to Stan …All too often, we take the easiest path,which is to ask someone the questionswho always knows the answers, or knowswhere to find the answers. The reason thatperson knows the answers is because theyhave been looking them up for quite a

while. So I agree again, with Eric. If they arequestions relating to products or vendorsand you can do the research yourself, thenstart doing it. The best way to learn some-thing is to teach it. The more you learn, themore you can share.

However, I have also had multiple man-agers whom I had no choice but to ask spe-cific questions relating to company soft-ware, phone systems, permissions, humanresources inquiries and pricing that need-ed to be answered by your manager. I rec-ommend here asking them first, andmaybe even a second time. If, by the sec-ond time, you have asked the question andhave given it a good 24-36 hours for aresponse (unless your manager is out oftown), then I would go either to their boss,to HR, or pricing—whatever it is you arelooking for an answer to.

Never let your manager coerce you in todoing something unethical or illegal. Justbecause the manager is telling you to do it,don’t. This is where you go to their super-visor immediately, and if needed, go abovethem until you get to someone who will lis-ten and can rectify the situation.

Disclaimer: All answers are for information-al purpose only, and are not intended topractice law, or provide tax advice or taxopinions. After reviewing our informationwe recommend seeking legal counsel or theadvice of a tax professional.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, on thecommercial real estate side until 1991,when he fell in love with residential lend-ing. In 1995, he started a small mortgagecompany in his basement called CarteretMortgage Corporation, which in 2003,grew to one of the largest mortgage brokercompanies in the United States. He maybe reached by phone at (703) 505-8692 ore-mail [email protected]. LauraBurke is an author and trainer with 20-plus years of experience in the mortgagearena. She may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

Eric & Laura welcome your questions, please send your inquiries [email protected].

received and the mortgage payment.One’s 401(k)s and savings reserves werewiped out to cover the difference of fundsneeded. When they lost their final tenant,the options were to short sale or go intoforeclosure, as all funds were depleted.They short sold the property.

Please allow trained HUD counselorsor PMI underwriters to provide a certifica-tion for hardship to prove extenuating cir-cumstances.

Lenders will not approve a short saleunless a hardship exists. Questioninghardship requires that borrowers mustrevisit a difficult time all over again.Allowing those trained with allowablecriteria to determine real hardship andprovide borrowers with an option tolayout their story to an unbiased thirdparty can make a difference in the

growth of the housing market.Sincerely,Pam MarronNMLS#: 246438

Pam Marron is senior loan officer withInnovative Mortgage Services Inc. She maybe reached by phone at (727) 375-8986 or e-mail [email protected].

Footnote1—Desktop Originator/Desktop Underwriter ReleaseNotes/DU Version 9.1 August Update/June 17, 2014(www.fanniemae.com/content/release_notes/du-do-release-notes-08162014.pdf).2—U.S. Homes Underwater Stalls at 9.1 Million inSecond Quarter as Home Price Appreciation Slows inMany Markets, July 24, 2014, RealtyTrac (www.realty-trac.com/content/foreclosure-market-report/us-q2-2014-home-equity-and-underwater-report-8118).3—Back to Work Program: Get Your Certificate(http://backtoworkprogram.org).

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the unintended consequencescontinued from page 45

due to Basel III, they lose this nat-ural hedge and become more sus-ceptible to large earnings swingsas interest rates change.

l Moreover, the shift to non-bankservicers driven by Basel III injectsadditional risks into the financialsystem at precisely the time whenthe U.S. economy most needs sta-bility in the housing finance sys-tem. Non-banks do not fall underBasel III and do not have to holdequivalent capital. What happensif the economy falters, defaults

increase, and servicing becomesless profitable? One plausiblescenario is that these non-bankservicers will strive to reducecosts. As a result, service qualitycould drop, more loans woulddefault, foreclosures wouldincrease, pressure on housingprices would increase, andinvestors and insurers wouldincur higher credit losses.

Another potential pitfall of theBasel III guidelines is that the regula-

tors are raising the capital requiredto support MSRs just as the creditquality of the underlying loans isimproving. The point of Basel III is toensure banks have the financialresources to manage through stressscenarios. A major stress scenariorelated to mortgage servicing rightsis that large numbers of underlyingloans default, raising the costs tomanage them and putting pressureon bank earnings. However, underBasel III there is no correlationbetween the credit quality of theunderlying loans and the capitalrequired to support the servicingrights. Additionally, Basel III is beingimplemented on top of other regula-tions, such as Dodd Frank, that have

mandated tighter underwriting andproduct guidelines resulting in sub-stantially better credit quality.

Consumers may also suffer as aresult of Basel III. By increasing thecapital costs associated with mort-gage servicing, the regulations makeit more difficult for banks to make aprofit providing home loans. Thiscould result in fewer loans beingmade, even tighter underwritingguidelines, and/or cost increases tothe borrower. Moreover, non-banksdo not have the same relationshipwith borrowers that banks have andmay be less motivated to providehigh levels of customer service orinvest in customer support when aborrower gets in trouble.

Non-bank servicers, lacking abroader relationship with the bor-rower, may also be incented tocharge higher collection fees andpass on higher workout expenses.The Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau (CFPB) which regulatesmortgage servicing has recentlystarted to look at non-bank ser-vicers and raise red flags. TheSecurities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) has also raisedconcerns regarding cross ownershiprelationships between one of thelargest specialty servicers and com-panies that provide loss mitigationservices.

There is no simple fix to ensurebanks have just the right amount ofcapital to support the risks theyincur. However, Basel III could beimproved by scaling the amount ofcapital required to support MSRs tothe credit quality of the underlyingmortgages. Banks that hold riskierMSRs would be required to holdmore capital. This would ultimatelyraise the costs to the most risky bor-rowers while keeping prices lowerfor others. This would also allow theBasel III guidelines to be coordinat-ed with other regulations like DoddFrank, which determines the condi-tions under which a loan is consid-ered a qualified mortgage. To createa more even playing field, the BaselIII capital requirements related toMSRs should also be extended tonon-bank servicers.

Doug Rossbach is a vice presidentwith North Highland, a global man-agement consultancy, and the mort-gage banking leader within the firm’sfinancial services network. Doug hasmore than 30 years of industry andconsulting experience working direct-ly with financial institutions such asBig Four banks, credit unions, mort-gage insurers and service providers,and warehouse lenders. For moreinformation, visit www.northhigh-land.com.

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presented quality control issues for mort-gage lenders,” said Craig Riddell, SVP andchief business officer for LoanLogics.“This innovation in a pre-close audithelps identify potentially fraudulent sig-natures before the loan is closed, and inthe process, protects borrowers andlenders. Additionally, we have spent con-siderable time with industry leadingCorrespondent lenders who are confi-dent that SignaFacts will be a very valu-able feature in further reducing the costsof their pre-funding audits. It has alwaysbeen difficult and time consuming tocatch differences in signatures across thehundreds of pages contained in loan filedocuments that often arrive at thelender’s offices at different times. Tocomplicate matters, the number of loandocuments in a file has increased dra-matically and staffs are stretched as theiraudit check lists have grown exponen-tially in the wake of new regulations andheightened investor scrutiny. Not onlyare individual documents assessed butresults compile into defect reports tohelp identify which employees and doc-uments are most often involved.

LendingQB AnnouncesIntegration WithQuestSoft’s ComplianceEAGLE

LendingQB, a provider of loan origina-tion software (LOS) has incorporatedCompliance EAGLE, QuestSoft’s automat-ed compliance solution, into its LOS plat-form to further enhance complianceautomation and provide end-to-end reg-ulatory and investor assessmentsthroughout all stages of the loan origina-tion process. QuestSoft’s ComplianceEAGLE enables LendingQB customers tomaintain data integrity and uphold com-pliance throughout the loan originationlifecycle by providing loan-level reviewsprior to closing. The platform also allowslenders to enhance data collection andreporting capabilities by easily generat-ing reports for investors, auditors andexecutives. Additionally, the softwareenables customers to minimize compli-ance errors and reduce risk while opti-mizing performance and ensuring thathigh levels of accuracy are met from startto finish.

“The partnership with QuestSoft wasdriven by customer demand, and wedecided an integration would help usmaintain the best compliance standardsin the industry,” said Chris Anderson,chief business development officer forLendingQB. “The challenges imposed bytoday’s regulatory environment createthe need for quality compliance that canbe carried out on all levels. ComplianceEAGLE offers a suite of automated andcomprehensive compliance tests thatgive our customers the technology theyneed to remain compliant at all times.”

Velocify Introduces New CRM Tool

Velocify, aprov iderof cloud-b a s e d

intelligent sales automation software,has announced it is now offering tomortgage lenders Velocify forSalesforce, a unique application thatintegrates high-velocity sales tools intothe market-leading CRM technology.Velocify for Salesforce extends the valueof Salesforce by removing the guesswork

for loan officers on the highest priorityborrowers and increasing the number ofcontacts lenders make with potentialborrowers, thereby helping lenders reachand exceed their sales goals.

Matt Baker, a senior loan advisorwith the Bookspan Baker Team ofCobalt Mortgage based in Scottsdale,Ariz., and an early adopter of Velocifyfor Salesforce, says the solution hashelped his 12-person team create a win-ning call strategy while eliminating gapsin the company’s contact rate and in-process mortgage applications.

“Our biggest gap was in the salesopportunity stage,” Baker said. “We did-n’t have a great system that could tellus, ‘Hey, call these people again.’Velocify for Salesforce solved that prob-

lem for us by making sure everybodywas accountable in the lead and appli-cation process. It’s having a directimpact on our bottom line.”

AXIS AppraisalManagement LaunchesNew QC Report

AXIS Appraisal Manage-ment Solutions hasa n n o u n c e d t h elaunch of Appraisal

Quality Compliance (AQC) Report. AQCprovides a reliable nationwide solutionfor independent appraisal review, includ-ing the stringent AMC review require-ments required by the Texas Appraiser



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New Integrated DisclosureWill Test the Mettle of

Mortgage Settlement Agents

By Andrew Liput

In September, WellsFargo announced that,beginning Aug. 1, 2015,

it will control the genera-tion and delivery of the borrower’sclosing disclosure form in anticipa-tion of the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau’s new TILA-RESPAIntegrated Disclosure Rule that takeseffect the same day. The new disclo-sure is a combination of the existingTruth-in-Lending (TIL) disclosure andthe HUD-1 Settlement Statement.Wells Fargo stated they will be takingover this process in order to meetinternal compliance and governmen-tal regulatory compliance expecta-tions on the bank.

Wells said the reason they will bedelivering the new IntegratedDisclosure Form is to maintain evi-dence that the borrower received thedisclosure at least three days prior tothe closing, a key compliance require-ment, in the event this evidence isrequired during a regulatory audit.

Although other lenders are expect-ed to follow Wells’ example, the newdisclosure rule does not establish thatthe supervision and delivery of the dis-closure is no longer a responsibility ofthe settlement agent, who continuesto be responsible for the seller’s infor-mation and will, in most instances,prepare and deliver the seller’s closingdisclosure. The ability of settlementagents to effectively manage the prop-er execution and delivery of this docu-ment, while complying with theadvanced disclosure time periodrequirements is being called intoquestion. The reason for this is that,while the title industry, largely due tothe efforts of the American Land TitleAssociation (ALTA), have been proac-tive in educating themselves aboutcompliance, there is very little evi-dence that real estate attorneys andnotaries, who may also have responsi-bility for the delivery of this documentin various states, have likewise beenprepared.

I had the opportunity to speakbefore a state bar association’s real

estate college recently. There weremore than 300 attorneys present whospend the bulk of their practice han-dling mortgage closings. I was intro-duced as someone who was going tospeak about CFPB rules that “maypotentially be enacted” and that“might impact the industry.” The firstwords I uttered were that “these rulesare already here, and have been forquite some time, that this is not an ‘if,’this is a ‘now.’” Over the next 45 min-utes, I spoke about the vast changes tothe industry enacted by the CFPB to agroup of professionals who appearedto be hearing about them for the firsttime. I was quite frankly shocked.

As they were with the third-partyvetting rules, many in the mortgagesettlement field seem woefully unpre-pared to meet the compliance require-ments imposed upon them by lenderswho must answer to CFPB audits andenforcement action threats. Althoughagents rely upon lenders for theirbusiness, there are far too many whofail to educate themselves and takethe appropriate measures to meet

compliance directives on thetimetable established by the govern-ment, resulting in surprise, shock,anger, bitterness and resentment …followed by grudging acceptance.

The time is now for all settlementagents to become familiar with thenew integrated disclosure rules and toreach out proactively to their lendersto ensure they can work together,hand in hand, in generating and deliv-ering the Closing Disclosure Forms. Indoing so, they may help to avoidunnecessary costs and expenses fromconsumer litigation and audit issuesstemming from the CFPB’s RESPA-TILAIntegrated Disclosure rules.

Andrew Liput has been a corporate, realestate and banking attorney for morethan 25 years He is the founder, CEO andpresident of SSI, the first data intelli-gence and risk analytics firm to offer spe-cialized vendor management servicesaddressing settlement agent risk to mort-gage lenders and banks nationwide. Hecan be reached by e-mail [email protected].

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Visit www.Path2Buy.com

Visit www.the15minutesalescall.com

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By Kerry Johnson,Ph.D.

John needed to processfive more loans by noonand had another 10

issues to iron out in underwriting. Hewas falling behind in his client callsand couldn’t even get the standardpaperwork done. His wife was gettingticked at him claiming he wasn’t theguy she married. He hadn’t spentmore than 10 minuteswith his kids in the lastweek. All this andhe wasn’t evenmaking moremoney.

John wasfeeling morestressed as theweek went on.It didn’t makesense. He shouldbe able to coast alittle after all theseyears. But the mort-gage business was moredemanding than ever and he wasenjoying it less. There must be a busi-ness out there that wasn’t so pressur-

ized. Maybe there is a course he couldtake that would teach him how tocope. Could he? But John rationalizedthat where else could he make thismuch money? As if money made upfor the stress.

If you are like the majority of mort-gage professionals, your companyprobably isn’t considering hiring staffto support you. In fact, they are likelythinking of who they can fire toincrease return. Can they get another

two percent output and makemore money? The same

goes for the supportpeople you work

with. They aren’tgetting back toyou in a fewhours. It’s nowdays or weeks.There are twoways to cope. Take

a course on copingwith stress or learn

some techniques ongiving yourself more time

to get things done. Have you ever said you don’t have

enough time. I love talking to meetingplanners who wait to book a speaker

two weeks before the event and tellme they didn’t have time to coordi-nate all the details. When I arrive, themeeting room is too small, the AVwasn’t ordered and the attendees feellike they wasted a week at an eventthat caused them to fall even morebehind. We all have the same amountof time. We just choose to prioritize itdifferently. You make time to get donethe things that matter. Saying youdon’t have enough time is an excuse.You are really communicating that theperson you reject due to time pressureisn’t important enough to give time to.Australians have a quaint expression,“I’ve got time for her.” This means thatsomeone is important enough to givetime to.

The truth is that all of us have thesame amount of time. Some of us justuse it better than others. When time islost, it is never to be used again. TheChinese demonstrated that to stu-dents in Temples during ancienttimes. Inventors of the first clocks,they would dangle a rope from theceiling rafters with knots representinghours. They would then light a flameat the bottom which would burn even-ly indicating to the viewers duration of

time. This representation would alsoshow children once time was gone, itcould never be recaptured. Theyburned a lot of temples back in thosedays. So the elders changed to meas-uring time using water buckets. Priestswould punch a hole in the bottom ofthe bucket to allow water to pass. Butthen the temples got water logged. Sothe early clock inventors finally creat-ed the mechanical clock.

We no longer have the sense oftime escaping from a water bucket orbeing burned on a rope. But we feelthe pressure of time as if we werebeing burned by it. You do have thesame amount of time as your com-petitors and everyone else on theplanet. But there are things you cando to maximize the time you do haveto get more done. Here are seven tech-niques you can use today.

1. Stop fighting firesIf you are spending more than 25 per-cent of your day fixing problems, youmay be causing the difficulties in thefirst place. A few years ago, a brokercalled me to complain his businesswas hurting because he couldn’t spentenough time on gaining new clients. I

“You don’t need to learn more about the

mortgage business ... youneed to become moreeffective at doing the

things you alreadyknow.”

Coping With Time Demands in an “I Want It Now” Business

Time TrapsTime Traps

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65

Helping You Get Plugged Into Your Business

If you believe in helping to elevate the educational standards of this industry, or assisting in developing the most competent industry work force, then NAPMW is for YOU! NAPMW is a community of mortgage and banking industry professionals across the Country; men and women from all backgrounds have joined NAPMW because they want to excel at what they do. NAPMW membership gives you exclusive access to timely education regarding the regulations affecting your career such as a FREE TO MEMBERS webinars on industry updates. To Join NAPMW visit www.napmw.org or call 1.800.827.3034

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analyzed his day hour by hour anddetermined that he indeed wasn’t sell-ing, but was instead fixing computers,amending forms, and rectifying mis-takes by staff. Surprised, I workedbackwards and learned that he hiredpeople but only gave them about a dayof training and then sent the new staffto the wolves of work. The problemwas those same wolves came back tobite him daily. Poor training createspoor motivation. Poor motivation cre-ates black holes of wasted money.When you hire, take 25 percent moretime to train than you think is needed.Practice this plan. Tell your staff, showyour staff, then let them show it toyou. Wait a day and ask them to showit you again. Only then can you possessthe ability to trust someone’s compe-tence to get things done.

Also, fight fires only in the after-noons. This may not work for prob-lems that will stop your business cold.But it will train your staff to approachyou only during certain windows of theday you are available. The alternativeis to fight fires all day long. If they cancome to derail you they will. I believein O’Toole’s law. O’Toole thoughtMurphy was an optimist.

2. Write out your one-,three- and five-year goalsKeep them on your desk in plain view.I have written often on the importanceof always being proactive in yourcareer. It is so easy to maintain yourbusiness. But I guarantee maintenancetoday will mean deconstructiontomorrow. By adhering to your goalsdaily, you will keep your businessgrowing instead of dying. If this soundstrite and obvious, you’ve been jaded.The brokers and loan officers in thisbusiness who are regularly in theindustry’s top five percent stick to theirdaily goals like glue. They review themin the morning before the day startsand plan out the next day before thecurrent one is done always with thegoal in mind. They also hold planningretreats monthly trying constantly tostay on track. This doesn’t mean theynever derail. But when they do take adetour, it’s only a short distance backto the main track.

It is often difficult to do less appeal-ing activities even though you need toget them done. Helen Gurley Brownfounder of Cosmopolitan Magazinesaid she always did the most unpleas-ant things on her list first to get themout of the way. Give the most undesir-able jobs the highest priorities.

3. Sharpen your axThis is an era of constant improvementof both sales and systems. I spoke atthe California Association of MortgageProfessionals Annual Conference a fewyears ago. Sally Ride, the first femaleastronaut in space was the keynotespeaker. My presentation was in theafternoon and I arrived an hour earlythat morning to a get a good seat inthe auditorium of 1,500-plus. Only 150showed up out of the 3,000 attendees

registered. What does this person haveto do to get an audience? Catch a bulletin her teeth? Compare that to the LifeInsurance Industry’s Million DollarRound Table annual meeting. I spoke attheir June meeting of 6,000. There wereexactly 6,000 seats in an auditorium. Ifyou weren’t there by 8:00 a.m., you did-n’t get in. A few were late and therewere none in the foyer chatting. No onestayed at the hotels enjoying late break-fasts. People came to learn, to get anedge, to make more money.Incidentally, to be invited to the meet-ing, your income level had to be at least$75,000 in commissions. Obviously,most in attendance made far more.

Two lumberjacks years ago startedwork one day with a bet. Each wageredthat they could cut the most timber.Both started out well, but one clearlycut more wood at the end of the daythan the other. The losing lumberjackaccused the winner of cheating. He sawthe winner taking a two-hour lunch andloaf for much of the day. The winnersaid, “What you didn’t see was mesharpening my ax.” The mortgage busi-ness is legendary for requiring brokersand loan officers to work extremelyhard with dull axes that haven’t beensharpened for years.

4. A messy desk is a sign of a messy mindIf you were to clean your desk and findJimmy Hoffa’s body, you may be wast-ing time looking for items you needright now. Much psychological researchover the past decades has shown thatwe strive to be organized no matter howbad the mess. Has anyone ever straight-ened your desk slightly while youbecame upset that you couldn’t findanything? Even a mess is organizedsomewhat. The problem is that you aresacrificing time to look for things youshould not take time to look for. Onlyhandle messages once. Read an e-mailand file it, forward it or discard it. Takea sheet of paper and do the same. If youwant to keep a paper, jot a post it noteand stick it on the sheet, then file it.That way you won’t have to read itagain.

5. Stop sitting at your sit downsHave you ever noticed how much timeis wasted at meetings you didn’t want toattend in the first place? Start holdingthem standing up. This is useful ideavoiced a few years ago, but it still worksnow. Meetings stay on issue and endquickly when you don’t let people relaxso much that they digress to other top-ics. Your meetings will end 50 percentmore quickly if you keep those involvedon their literal toes.

Another good idea is to scheduleappointments and meetings at oddtimes. If you schedule a meeting for10:00 a.m., most people expect it to lastuntil 11:00 a.m. unless otherwise stat-ed. But if the appointment is 10:20 a.m.or 10:17 a.m., you are seen to be very


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By Anthony Pham

Many established lenders have experi-enced an on-premise loan originationsystem (LOS) implementation. The com-prehensive, organizational change ofthese implementations were lengthy,costly, expended more resources thananticipated and caused the lender tomiss their return-on-investment (ROI)targets. Moreover, these implementa-tions were particularly burdensome forthe limited resources of small- andmedium-sized business.

Over the last few years, lenders havebegun transitioning to a cloud-drivenSoftware-as-a-Solution (SaaS) LOS plat-form. Since many have already transi-tioned to cloud-based services such asGoogle Apps, Salesforce and Documentvendors, it is not surprising to see morelenders opting for SaaS implementa-tion. After all, SaaS consumes less inter-nal resources, provides integration withother Web-based software, and allowsfor custom software enhancements.Although there are new security risks

posed to sensitive consumer data, thesecan be mitigated by having proper duediligence and controls in place.

SaaS applications provide small- andmedium-sized businesses with the oppor-tunity to narrow the competitive advan-tage that larger lenders have with their ITinfrastructure. Choosing the right vendorwill allow these businesses to focus ontheir core business. Evaluating key SaaSdifferentiators in vendor capabilities andavoiding the common pitfalls with imple-mentation will allow you to experience amore expedient, cost-effective and effort-less transition that will reduce your cost-per-loan and increase your ROI.

LOS evaluation: Key differentiatorsThe first step for any lender is to com-pile and weigh the LOS functionalrequirements for each department.Lenders often overlook or undervaluethe key differentiators that SaaSproviders offer.

Choose a vendor that owns the initialdeployment and is responsible for con-figuring their system. Their cumulativeknowledge of prior configurations willstreamline testing and enhance train-ing. An ideal vendor will have an estab-lished project management processthat will ensure the lender’s workflow isstudied and transformed properly intothe LOS platform. While the majority oftheir project plan will revolve aroundconfiguration and implementation,yours will focus on testing and training.

Once implementation is considered,choose a vendor with the developmentresources to simultaneously adapt toregulatory changes and provideenhancements that align with yourgoals. With the cost to manufacture aloan gradually increasing, working witha strong development partner will off-set these increases and keep costs low.To understand the vendor’s develop-ment process, review the past product’senhancements and current productroad map to see if the enhancementsalign with your business objectives.

Finally, consider the platform’s abili-ty to integrate with other Web-basedsoftware and your own custom-devel-oped systems. Although LOS vendorspromote their end-to-end solution, it’scritical to see what functions are miss-ing and weigh the costs of any potentialcustom development or integration. Forexample, if the platform’s businessintelligence (BI) is inadequate for yourbusiness needs, you may spend moremoney and waste more resources tocompensate for deficiencies.

Implementation effectiveness: The PPTT emphasisOnce a vendor is selected, these fourcommon pitfalls influence the successor failure of your implementation:l Poor planning that underestimates

resource needs and overlooks keydeliverables.

l Ineffective project management thatundermines communication andcoordination.

l Incomplete testing that neglectsconfiguration errors and issues afterrelease.

l Limited training that results inlower user adoption rates.

Let’s examine how to avoid these pit-falls.

PlanningPlanning will be a collaborative processwith the vendor that will combine theirpast experiences with your company’sorganization and timeline.l The LOS vendor should provide you

with a detailed project plan thatidentifies the responsible party foreach activity, the expected time ofcompletion, and the number ofhours required for task completion.

l The LOS vendor and your projectmanagement team should conductjoint planning sessions to revise theinitial vendor plan and reach a con-sensus on configuration, testing,approach and timelines.

l Once the project plan is defined, yourproject manager should gain manage-ment’s approval to utilize thoseresources “when needed” as opposedto “when available.” Often, delays inimplementation are caused when theresources needed are not available fortimely task completion.

Project managementEffective project management beginswith well-designed management process-es, focused leadership, clear communica-tion and consistent coordination.l Visible executive involvement:

Select an executive sponsor who willrepresent the project, defend forresource allocations, advocate inter-nal process changes, and requestkey enhancement requests.

l Solidify communication channelswith the vendor: Working with anexternal company requires a strongcommunication framework, espe-cially when there are issues withimplementation. Platforms likeSmartsheet or Basecamp can be uti-lized to update all parties on theprogress instantaneously.

l Establish a culture of change:Moving to a new LOS means intro-ducing and establishing new work-flow processes across all depart-

“SaaS applications provide small- and medium-sizedbusinesses with the opportunity to narrow the competitiveadvantage that larger lenders have with their IT infrastructure.”

Successfully Implementing a Cloud-Based LOS: A Lender’s Perspective

www.nationalmortgageprofessionalmagazine.com

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*

urnpike, Suite 300, Levittown, NYT601 Hempstead 3United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home

Y** This doc**FOR PROFESSIONAL USE ONLLY 1756 • Licensed Mortgage Banker • NYS Department of Financial Services License #B500040 • NMLS # 7230 • 1urnpike, Suite 300, Levittown, NY

United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home Y** This document is not an advertisement as defined in 12 CFR 226.2(a)(2). This is a business to business communication and i

oal. All loans ar*This is not a commitment or loan appr

1756 • Licensed Mortgage Banker • NYS Department of Financial Services License #B500040 • NMLS # 7230 •United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home

s intended for LICENSED MORY** This document is not an advertisement as defined in 12 CFR 226.2(a)(2). This is a business to business communication and i

oval.e subject to approal. All loans ar

AL, CA, CO, CTA, MA, MD,, NJ, PPALicensed in NYY,1756 • Licensed Mortgage Banker • NYS Department of Financial Services License #B500040 • NMLS # 7230 •Advantage, Senior Security United Northern Mortgage Bankers Limited, DBAs: Senior Security Home

Y and is NOTTGAGE PROFESSIONALS ONLLYs intended for LICENSED MOR • additional licences avAATX, WTN, , FL, GA, NC, SC, AL, CA, CO, CT

AdvisorsAdvantage, Senior Security Y and is NOT INTENDED TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE CONSUMER OR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

• additional licences available upon requestAdvisors

Y and is NOT INTENDED TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE CONSUMER OR THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

ments; therefore, verify that allmanagers receptive and open to thechanges.

Test everythingTesting the platform allows for the cre-ation of internal workflow procedures,reveals areas that need improveddevelopment and leads to less produc-tion delays and errors. l Dedicate a minimum of 10 percent

of your resources in the testingprocess and ensure that the majori-ty of the team is comprised of man-agers or team leaders. This allowsfor the testing to be completed effi-ciently and gives your team owner-ship to become effective trainers.

l ompare loan documents and dataextracts generated in your existing LOSwith your new one … use the same

loan file for both. This process willensure that you generate the sameproduct as your prior LOS system.

l Develop a comprehensive and rou-tine testing process for each depart-ment by creating testing checklistsbased on the role (underwriter, forexample) or loan status (suspended,for example), and testing differentloan scenarios to ensure that all sit-uations are evaluated.

l Maintain a list of key issues anddesired enhancement requests tocontinuously improve the function-ality of the LOS for your company.

Train everyoneProper training allows the user to utilizeand interact with the system’s full capa-bilities, as well as understand additionalfeatures and identify system errors.

l Managers and team leads that wereinvolved in the testing phase shouldbe responsible for training their staff.

l Develop a comprehensive trainingmanual for users, and publish itonline for convenient accessibility.

l Create a dedicated internal supportdesk for platform related questionswith procedures for internal escala-tion and software that categorizesissues. Review these issues monthlyto determine and communicate thekey issues and system improvementsto your vendor.

With the transition to a SaaS-basedLOS solution, it is imperative to evaluatethe vendors’ delivery and developmentcapabilities. Selecting the right vendorand focusing on core competencies willstrengthen the planning and imple-

mentation, accelerate timelines, andimprove user expertise. Implementinga LOS in six months is achievable by set-ting attainable goals and emphasizingclear communication channels.

Though the road to SaaS stillrequires substantial planning, the ven-dor carries a greater burden. Small- tomedium-sized businesses can techno-logically keep pace with the largerlenders, while maintaining the agilityto quickly respond to changes in thischallenging market.

Anthony Pham is the controller and ITdirector at JMAC Lending. In 2014, he hasdriven key technology change initiativeswith business intelligence, loan originationsystems and financial forecasting. He maybe reached by phone at (949) 390-2616 ore-mail [email protected].

By Ray Brousseau

There is little doubt that the realestate industry has felt the significantimpact of technology in recent years.From real estate agents reachingpotential homebuyers via Twitter orFacebook, to mortgage originatorsusing electronic signatures to closeloans, the latest technological toolsare making their presence known.Much has been made of apps thatallow consumers to more easily findhomes or locate potential lenders,but are these tools really improvingthe homebuying process for con-sumers? Are consumers actuallylearning more about what it meansto be a homeowner?

The answer to these questionsisn’t a simple “Yes” or “No.”Information about finding and buy-ing a home abounds on the Internettoday, and consumers have unprece-dented access to the details of homefinance. Access to information does-n’t mean comprehension of thatdata, however. Many consumers arestill undereducated about the home-buying and mortgage lendingprocess. Presenting the complexity ofhomebuying in a way that is easy forthe layperson to understand remainsone of the challenges facing theindustry. As more and more con-sumers look to the Internet and spe-cialized apps, mortgage professionalsmust be armed with technologicaltools that not only help consumersfind the houses and loan productsthey need, but also help themincrease their financial literacy.

Serving the underservedMost mortgage professionals knowhow to work with the ideal client—one with a high FICO score and a sig-nificant downpayment, who is maybeeven a previous homeowner. Butdealing with first-time homebuyers

or those with lower FICO scores rep-resent challenges in today’s lendingenvironment. It is here, perhaps, thattechnology can best step in; it is herethat mortgage professionals andtechnology can combine to aid thisstruggling market segment.

Historically, first-time homebuyerstypically make up around 40 percentof all buyers, but that number hasbeen much lower in recent years. Infact, according to the NationalAssociation of Realtors (NAR), first-time homebuyers made up only 29percent of the market this pastAugust, and that percentage hadremained below 30 percent for 16 ofthe previous 17 months.1 AsMillennials struggle to live on theirown, household formation figuresalso have been declining. Accordingto the most recent figures from theU.S. Census Bureau, household for-mation dropped to just 476,000 inthe year spanning from March 2013to March 2014. This is significantlylower than the average of 1.3 millionin each of the previous two years.2

By targeting this first-time home-buyer market, mortgage profession-als can reap the benefits of serving anunderserved market. CarringtonMortgage Services has a dedicatedstrategy to serve these potentialhomeowners, and their first-timehomebuyer numbers reflect that.This past September, 71 percent ofthe company’s purchase business wasfirst-time homebuyers—almost triplethe 25 percent to 30 percent that therest of the market is seeing. By mak-ing homeownership possible forthese consumers, we are not onlyhelping the underserved population,but also improving business.

Another of the issues keepingtoday’s consumer from becoming ahomeowner is the tightened lending

criteria that have narrowed the mar-ket considerably since the financialcrisis. According to industry experts,an estimated one in three consumershas a FICO credit score below 650. Forthese potential homebuyers, it can bechallenging to gain access to theappropriate financing vehicles. Inlight of this, some mortgage lendersare lowering their minimum creditrequirements, extending eligibility tomore property types, and reducingoverlays. These are just some of thesteps necessary to serve this market,however. Technology can help takethese improvements even further.

Moving the market forwardAs the market continues to evolveand lending criteria continues tochange, mortgage professionals mustbe prepared to best serve today’s bor-rowers, especially the segment of themarket that has been underserved.Information and education are key tohelping the underserved and allhomebuyers to better understandtheir financial position and the loanproducts available to them. Lendersshould support both a transactionalconsumer and a relational consumer(one who wants the full story beforedeciding) through technology, cus-tomer experiences and processes. Forall potential homebuyers—but par-ticularly the underserved—techno-logical tools can go a long way towardhelping them achieve the dream ofhomeownership.

The first tool that any potentialhomebuyer needs is a simple one:Prequalification. Most lenders havesome kind of mechanism on theirWeb site or app that allows con-sumers to get a quick look at whatkind of home they can afford.Although this is a somewhat obviousand simple first step, its importanceshould not be underestimated.Prequalification is critical to gettingconsumers to understand their finan-cial standing and what kind of mort-gage they can afford. This is oftenfirst-time homebuyers’ initial expo-sure to how lenders look at their

financial standing, and it can be aneye-opening experience for many.The prequalification process is reallyjust the first step toward financial lit-eracy.

Once pre-qualified for a mortgage,consumers then must actually under-stand the financial instrument thatwill be securing their house. Themortgage process is a complex one,and many consumers don’t fullygrasp the rights and responsibilitiesthat come with owning a home whenthey sign the many papers that comealong with a mortgage. And by thetime closing comes around, manyconsumers are eager to simply com-plete the transaction and move intotheir new home. This is where tech-nology can help educate the con-sumer about their loan. Technologycan help further a review of the bor-rower’s current annual and monthlyincome, and an outline of mortgagepayment options along with budget-ing details, including non-housingrelated living expenses and othermonthly debts. Unlike the plethora ofinformation available on theInternet; however, this information istailored to the consumer’s specificsituation, and most companies willrequire its customers to completethis education before funding.

Although providing informationlike this is critical to improving con-sumers’ financial literacy, lendersshould also offer products that sim-plify the mortgage process, particu-larly for the underserved market. Bysimplifying the actual mortgageitself, lenders can increase the trans-parency of the lending process andoffer better products to the under-served market. These consumers typ-ically have less cash to close, and eas-ier or better technology will not solveoffline challenges that lenders cansolve with better loan programs.

With a complex financial instru-ment like the mortgage, consumersneed information, education, andsimplification to best comprehendtheir undertaking. In terms of tech-nology, the mortgage industry cantake a page from the Apple brand,

“As lenders and mortgage professionals continue to focus onimproving the market, particularly for the underserved, moretools to help the consumer will come about.”

Using Technology to Better Serve Borrowers

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where an elegant interface makesusability a priority and makes thedevice consumer-friendly. Like this,lenders’ technology and processesshould strive to make the customerexperience better for all involved.

Signs of improvementThere is little doubt that technologyhas already improved the mortgagemarket in many ways. In fact, accord-ing to Ellie Mae’s Origination InsightReport, the average mortgage closingtime hit a three-year low this pastJuly. Loans that closed that monthtook an average of 37 days fromapplication to funding. Ellie MaeChief Operating Officer Jonathan Corrattributes some of that to lower vol-ume, but he also points to lenders’investments in technology and efforts

to improve workflow efficiency3 asfactors in the decline in closing times.

Improved closing times and effi-ciency, increased transparency, andbetter consumer education are justsome of the ways that technology canhelp the mortgage industry, however.As lenders and mortgage profession-als continue to focus on improvingthe market, particularly for theunderserved, more tools to help theconsumer will come about.Technology is a vital part of the mort-gage industry today, and creatingtools to increase consumers’ financialliteracy—as well as to improve andstreamline the loan process—willhelp move the industry forward into abrighter future for all.

Ray Brousseau is executive vice presi-

dent of Carrington Mortgage ServicesLLC, Mortgage Lending Division, respon-sible for all day-to-day operations andP&L management. Ray has 26 years inthe mortgage banking and consumerfinance business. Prior to joiningCarrington in 2011, he spent 23 yearsleading various segments of Citi’s con-sumer finance business, CitiFinancial.

Footnotes:1—www.realtor.org/news-releases/2014/09/exist-ing-home-sales-slightly-lose-momentum-in-august-as-investor-activity-declines.2.—blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/09/22/rate-of-americans-starting-own-households-dis-turbingly-slow.3—www.nationalmortgagenews.com/news/origi-nation/survey-shows-average-mortgage-closing-time-hits-three-year-low-1042432-1.html.

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www.mortgagenewsnetwork.com

By Geriel Thornburg May

Advances in loan processing technol-ogy during the past several yearspresent an exciting opportunity formortgage lenders to narrow the gapbetween initial loan submission andapproval, helping them deliverquicker loan closings and, in theprocess, differentiate themselves inthe marketplace.

According to a recent survey of 300housing executives at the 2014 MBAAnnual Convention conducted byGenworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance,52 percent of mortgage professionalsconsider the loan processing processto be either below technologicalstandards or outdated, underscoringthe need for mortgage providers toinvest in new technology.

Mortgage insurers have long recog-nized the importance of leveragingtechnological advancements tostreamline the MI order process,

automate repetitive work tasks andsimplify the exchange of loan dataamong trading partners. Here is arun-down of key technologies thatcan improve productivity and closingspeed for mortgage lenders of allsizes.

Document image managementA document image management sys-tem is used to convert paper loanfiles into electronic images that arestored for easy retrieval. Most docu-ment image management systemsallow for the definition of standardnames for each type of documentthat is stored in the system. Forexample, underwriters may see a“1003,” “Income Document,” or“Asset Document.” Once loan docu-ments are indexed or identified, theimages are available for use by all

users of the system. The mortgageindustry started adopting documentimage management platforms in theearly 1980s and many companiescontinue to refine their use of thispowerful technology today.

Most lenders have created apaperless office where all underwrit-ing is done from images. But there isa big difference between beingpaperless, and being an efficient“paperless office.” Becoming an effi-cient user of imaging technologyrequires a strong commitment frommanagement to take a fresh look athow work gets done on the produc-tion floor. Without this importantstep, existing workflow is simplyautomated without regard for effi-ciency or maximizing throughput ofwork.

Document image management sys-tems allow a lender to change theway work is assigned and completed.File ownership, where one individualowns the entire loan file from origi-nation through closing, is no longerthe standard. Instead, work is dividedand separated by skill set, whichallows for resource specialization bytask. This specialization greatly sim-plifies worker training and enablesmore work to occur simultaneouslysince the loan file is now available tobe viewed by multiple users at once.As compared to paper loan files, doc-ument imaging management systemsprovide a more secure environmentfor storing confidential borrowerinformation and simplify the distri-bution of work for remote users orwhen working with disaster-recoveryplanning. Additional cost-savings aregenerated by the elimination ofpaper storage fees and associatedshipping charges.

Lenders should also look foropportunities to leverage their docu-ment imaging systems to streamlinethe delivery of loan documents tovendors and service providers in theloan underwriting process. If imple-mented properly, document imagingtechnology can help a lender reducecosts and accelerate the application-to-closing timeframe.

Rules engine/workflowengineIf you’ve ever used DesktopUnderwriter or Loan Prospector, youhave interacted with a rules engine. Arules engine supports the definition,testing and application of regulatory,investor, or company-level datachecks without the need to changeprogramming. Mortgage lenders canleverage rules engine technology toaccelerate the underwriting processby focusing processors and under-writers on concerning data anomaliesand guideline violations as soon asthey occur. Rules engines can also beused to improve loan quality byadding checks for frequently-occur-ring errors or guideline exceptions.

A workflow engine is the same ideaas a rules engine, but it works with theflow of work rather than checking ofrules. The system administrator of theworkflow engine defines the pathsrequired to move a work item from thebeginning to end of a loan process. Theyalso define what happens if a processexception occurs. Most workflowengines also provide an auditablerecord of each step the loan takesthrough the process, which is helpful foraudit and compliance checking. Oncebasic workflow is defined, advancedtechniques can be used to route workbased on the level of difficulty and/orworker experience. These advancedworkflow capabilities can also be usedto establish and maintain service levelsby monitoring the time allocated foreach step in the process and escalatingto management when service level per-formance is in jeopardy.

Product pricing engines(PPEs)Product pricing engines or “PPEs,”are systems that automate certainsecondary marketing functions andhelp loan officers match loan prod-ucts and guidelines to borrowerneeds. From configuring loan pro-grams, to locking the pipeline,today’s PPE tools are easier to usethan the specialized spreadsheets ofthe past. Advanced PPE tools providedirect access to MI rate estimates

“Lenders should also look for opportunities to leverage theirdocument imaging systems to streamline the delivery of loandocuments to vendors and service providers in the loanunderwriting process.”

Technology Advances Offer the Opportunity for Mortgage Providers to Meet the Demand for Quicker Loan Closings

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which enables the loan officer toquickly compare rate quotes for dif-ferent MI products and select the onethat best fits the borrower’s needs.

Loan origination systems (LOS)All loan origination system (LOS) ven-dors work hard to ensure that theirtools are compliant with the mostrecent grouping of regulatorychanges. But what else do they offerto help a mortgage lender to reducethe cost of originating and provideborrowers with the best possible cus-tomer experience? Look for the fol-lowing features and functions tomake your LOS best-in-class:l Support of the lending process

from lead generation and pre-qualification through post-closing

and loan delivery. Some LOS ven-dors also provide integrated sec-ondary marketing and servicingfunctionality.

l Built-in workflow and businessrule engine capabilities that allowthe lender to customize the LOSworkflow to fit their needs.

l Document image managementcapabilities that enable the cre-ation of a paper office and speedthe delivery of documents to trad-ing partners, borrowers andinvestors.

l Built-in support for loan closingdocuments to eliminate the needfor third-party doc prep fees.

l Support for e-Signing and the abil-ity to delivery documents elec-tronically.

l A consumer portal to satisfy

today’s Internet-savvy customerslooking for rate quotes and loanapplication submission 24/7.

l Integrated electronic interfaces tosimplify ordering from industry serv-ice providers like credit, flood andmortgage insurance. Interfacesshould pre-populate order datawithout the need to re-key and auto-matically return and store the orderresults. Integrated electronic inter-faces help lenders increase workerproductivity and eliminate mistakescaused by re-keying errors.

When shopping for a new LOS, youmay find that all LOS tools are simi-lar, yet different. For instance, someare stronger in secondary marketingcapabilities, while others may pro-vide more customizable underwriting

policy tools. Be prepared to weighthe options and select the featuresthat will make the most positiveimpact on your institution’s valueproposition.

As a final word of advice, makecertain you are working with an LOSvendor with a good market reputa-tion, a track record of meeting dead-lines for regulatory changes and ahistory of supporting customer needswith timely responses to customiza-tion and error correction requests.

Geriel Thornburg May is the director ofcustomer experience for Genworth’sU.S. Mortgage Insurance Division.Geriel has created innovative solutionsfor mortgage industry customers since2001. She may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

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By Ben Brashen

The ever-changing dynamics of themortgage and real estate space keepsindustry professionals on their toeswhen it comes to adopting to new mar-keting techniques. Newsletters, searchengine optimization (SEO), trade showsand buying leads … we try it all.However, every so often, new technolo-gy comes along that improves the waywe do things.

“Go mobile” is the new buzzword inmarketing. With more than three mil-lion users worldwide, phone users and10 times as many consumer accesspoints as the wired Internet, it is clearthat the mobile marketing industry ispositioned for unprecedented growthin the real estate space. Does that meanit is meant for you and why you maywant to go mobile now?

Here are some statistics to consider:1. Eighty-five percent of smartphone

users would rather “give up drink-ing water” than delete their mobileapps (Source: Apigee).

2. Mobile marketing ad spending grewmore than 100 percent in 2013(Source: Mobile Marketing).

3. Seventy-six percent of Millennialsown a smartphone, and 73 percentown a laptop (Source: The SocialMedia Hat).

Getting a mobile app is the new“cool” thing to do. The question iswhich one is appropriate for your busi-ness? Here are a few pointers that willhelp you cut through the clutter andchoose a mobile app solution that willhelp seasoned mortgage and real estateprofessionals get quality leads and growtheir network.

Customize the way you want itIf it’s not personalized to you, then it’snot your app! For the best marketingeffect, ensure that your mobile app ispersonalized with yours or your team’sbranding, including your photo or logo,contact information and more.Personalized apps can be customized tofit a variety of internal and externalneeds. Each app should be able standon its own or be a part of a searchablenetwork. This way, within seconds, you

can find and connect with peopleimportant for your business and startbuilding strategic relations.

Loaded with cool featuresYour clients are very likely going to usean app during their home purchase. Wecan at least agree on that. At some pointin time, they are going to search for aproperty, use a mortgage calculator orcheck out rates.

The successful agent or broker of thefuture will have an incredibly highengagement between their app andtheir clients. It is absolutely crucial toget your clients engaged with your app.Homebuyers have hundreds of placesthey can get a loan, and every one ofthose places is begging for the opportu-nity to answer even just one questionfor a potential client. The answering ofa simple question becomes an nice leadfor your competing broker. Keepingyour prospects tied in to your app withfeatures like a mortgage calculator,property search and real-time realestate news adds to the engagement ofyour clients and the app. The more rel-evant data they can get from you, thelower the chance that they have to gosomewhere else (your competitor) to getthe information. You can even link yoursocial networks to the app and engagewith them on social media!

So a mobile app with your picture ismore than the new age fridge magnet–

it doesn’t just keep you in front ofclients like never before, but keeps youconnected with them.

One-touch referralsThe biggest reason to have your mobileapp is to be a click away from yourclient network and referral partner’snetwork. The lifeblood of a mortgagebroker is their referrals and now youhave that needle that can constantly tapthat vein. Having an app that gives peo-ple a one-touch way to refer you isundoubtedly going to grow your busi-ness with new clients. Confirm that yourapp is easy to share, so that growingyour referral network is super easy.

Real-time reporting and superlative clientmanagementTiming is the key to success. Ensure thatyour app provides unparalleled clienttracking that empowers you to reachout to your prospect right at themoment when he or she is looking foryou! Even better is a daily report of yourapp activity e-mailed to you guarantee-ing that you do not miss a businessopportunity!

A good app will allow a user torequest a quote or home showing rightfrom the app. No phone calls, no textmessages … a bona fide request forservice right from the app that makesyou money.

Mobile technology is here and it isnot going anywhere. As with anything,you can be an early adopter or you canwait. If you don’t take any action soon,however, you may allow your competi-tors get quality leads while you arestuck e-mailing people or hoping theycheck your Facebook page!

Ben Brashen is chief executive officer andpresident of CardTapp. Ben createdCardTapp with the mission of makingmobile marketing a successful tool forreal estate professionals and their clients.CardTapp’s products—Mortgage Mappand AgentTapp—create personalizedapps for users, creating an opportunity toengage with clients 24/7 on a mobiledevice. Ben may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

“The successful agent or broker of the future will have anincredibly high engagement between their app and theirclients.”

Turn Your Smartphone Into a Referral Generator

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.

W W W . 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 . C O M

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By Eric Weinstein

I have always been a huge fan of sci-ence fiction. What kills me are the oldsci-fi movies and just how wrong theygot it. Everyone in the future seemedto wear those shiny jumpsuits, theastronaut’s microphone still had acord attached to it and the spaceshipcontrols used dials.

One movie that got it right was“Terminator.” If you remember (spoil-er alert), the computer system finallydeveloped self-awareness when all thecomputers in the world were linkedup. Based on the latest fraud detectionsystems out there “Skynet” cannot belong to follow.

Right now, various databases likethe IRS, The Work Number, banks andthe credit bureaus, just to name a few,don’t talk to each other. I can easilyenvision a day when they are all con-nected (if they aren’t already by theNSA for Homeland Patriot Act reasons.)

Spy satellites become Google Earth,rocket launches are made by privateindustry and everyone now has GPSwhich was originally developed strict-ly for the military. Fast-forward a fewyears. How long will it be before someprivate company bundles all thefinancial records into one endlessdatabase merging in property valua-tion systems, public land records andmore?

It will go something like this … acomputer bank in some dusty ware-house crunches algorithms based onthe current mortgage rates and coststo refinance in a certain municipality.A positive result triggers an automatede-mail to the borrowers that a prede-termined margin of cost/benefit hasbeen reached. With the customer’saffirmative e-mail reply, the systemautomatically reaches out to the IRSand The Work Number to verify cur-rent employment and income. Bankdatabases are queried to fill in theasset portion of the virtual 1003.Property valuation systems spit out the

home’s value at the speed of light.Credit bureaus respond instantaneous-ly, like they do now, downloading pay-ments, credit history and liens. LP orDU approves the loan without humaninput.

Before the customer even has achance to respond to their next e-mail, their loan approval is sitting intheir inbox. All they have to do is clickon the approval and the loan is auto-matically recorded in the landrecords. The cost is added to the loanamount or deducted from their check-ing account. The automatic monthlypayment is adjusted and the newamount is now deducted from theiraccount each month. Total elapsedtime: Five minutes. Loan officersemployed: Zero.

If you are wondering about all ofthe mortgage processors, appraisersand settlement agents who might beunemployed in that future, just lookat the automotive workers who wereonce on the assembly lines and arenow replaced by robots. If somethingcan be automated, it will be automat-ed. For more information, ask yourlocal grocery checkout clerk, gas sta-tion attendant and bank teller. Ohwait!

If you are a real estate agent, don’tbe so complacent. You can just as eas-ily be replaced with lockboxes elec-tronically changed for each visitingbuyer, a virtual online tour and interi-or security cameras when visitorscome. A home data sheet generatedonline giving every single aspect of thereal estate is practically here now.

Okay, so now that you are thor-oughly depressed, what is to becomeof us? Ask the people who sold pagersin the 1990s. You change, you adaptand you survive. You move on to thenext thing. There are entire indus-tries around now that were not evendreamt of in 1991. By the time thisfuture comes around, there will be

other jobs of which we have not yeteven conceived.

The future is going to happen andthere is nothing we can do about it. Thebiggest mistake one can make is not tochange with the times. And when thetimes change and you are automated outof a job, get a new job in a new field.Look back and say, “It was a good runwhile it lasted.” Then move on to the nextthing. Did Sarah Connor give up inTerminator? No, she ran and fought anddied a horrible death. But that’s not thepoint. What I am really trying to say is,smash your laptop now, get out of themortgage industry and leave all the loansfor me to do. My toaster will thank you.

Eric Weinstein worked in banking, onthe commercial real estate side until1991, when he fell in love with resi-dential lending. In 1995, he started asmall mortgage company in his base-ment called Carteret MortgageCorporation, which in 2003, grew toone of the largest mortgage brokercompanies in the United States.These days, Eric is semi-retired, doingmortgages by referral only. As helikes to put it, “He is either savingpeople money per month or helpingthem buy a new home. What a greatjob!” He may be reached by phone at(703) 505-8692 or e-mail [email protected].

“How long will it be before some private company bundles allthe financial records into one endless database merging inproperty valuation systems, public land records and more?”

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By Ramesh Devare

The mortgage industry has spent nearlya decade in the incremental reboundfrom the last market crash. Duringthis time, stakeholders have experi-enced the challenge of managinggood loans that eventually pay in full,as well as foreclosures, short sales andloan modifications. Technology canhelp lenders identify, early in the loanorigination process, those loans thatare defects and can provide methodsto address and remedy them.

The housing crisis went into fullswing when more than just one ortwo borrowers in a loan portfoliobegan defaulting on their mortgagepayments. It was like a house ofcards that just began to crumble,one card falling after another.Lenders tried to determine what thebest procedure should be for eachdefaulted borrower: A loan modifica-tion, a short sale or a foreclosure?However, it was not a cut and dry sit-uation though as everyone had dif-ferent circumstances, some moresevere than others.

A recent news article pointed outthat nearly half of all of the foreclosedhomes from December 2013remained on the market as of August2014. And now the situation has stillnot really improved. Loans that werefunded on the good faith that borrow-ers would be able to repay are stillbeing modified, foreclosed or sold forless than the amount owed to thebank. In fact, more loans are goinginto these categories every day, andnow in retrospect, all of these loanscan be categorized as having loandefects.

This has made some professionalsin the industry pose some very point-ed questions. Can lenders reduce loandefects moving forward? Is there tech-nology available to help identify theseloan defects in the loan origination

process? The answer is yes. There is atechnology that is designed with built-in data intelligence, pro-active alertsand strong quality control (QC) gover-nance that can certainly help to iden-tify the loan defects and/or reducetheir occurrences.

Here are some examples of howtechnology can be used effectively earlyin the lending process to avoid the loandefects:

l Technology can collect data intelli-gence, such as demographics,spending behavior and spendinghabits, that can help determine aborrowers’ ability to repay theloan.

l Technology can connect dots byanalyzing a maze of patterns andtrends and then develop artificialintelligence to assist lenders inmaking the right lending decisions.

l Technology can also help lenderstarget a specific demographic thathas a strong financial foundationtrack record and would be lesslikely to have a loan defects.

With the results derived from thedata analytics, technology can beused to build a dashboard to enablethe decision-makers to make wiserlending decisions during the loanorigination process.

Loan defects, however, may occurwhen a borrower does not provide atrue or accurate financial picture ordoes not share any changes that mayhave occurred in their situation. Tocurb these types of situations, certainfinancial data (such as bill payments,additional or reduction in debt, influxof cash, etc.) can be tracked duringand even after the loan originationprocess. Technology can providealerts to the decision-makers so thatthese situations can be avoided.

Deeper involvement in analyzing datapatterns and effective QC mechanismsduring the loan origination processwill also positively impact the overallloan origination process.

Compliance will play a major rolein strengthening QC framework, andlenders will not have to spend unnec-essary time in the later stages of theprocess. Having a QC process in placeto identify issues effectively will resultin better performing loans for lendersbecause they will be able to addressthose issues early on in the life of theloan.

Officials at the Federal HousingAdministration (FHA) have said theywant lenders to make fewer mistakesin the loan origination process. Inorder for this to happen, lenders needto more carefully review the credit-worthiness of each borrower morediligently in order to have fewer loandefects. Technology can help ensurethat lenders have the required docu-ments and the necessary informationtracking that meets company and reg-ulatory requirements.

The September 2014 issue ofLender Insight, a newsletter publishedby FHA’s Single Family Office ofLender Activities and ProgramCompliance (OLAPC), shared findingsof 5,217 loans reviewed and includedin a quarterly review program. Thereview found that 47 percent of theloans were initially unacceptable and34 percent were deficient, while 49percent of the loans had issues relat-ed to file documentation.

Lenders must ensure that they haveelectronic document managementimplemented for their loan portfolios,have a governance dashboard in placeto review each loan carefully and setpro-active alerts to indicate defects inthe loans early stage to reduce theoverall defects. Implementing an elec-tronic cabinet for maintaining loandocuments by the borrower can elim-inate this as well as most commonerrors. Business rules can be set totrigger a notification or alert mecha-nism that can be easily traceable if arequired document is missing.Borrowers can also be notified with a

message protocol.Technology can help build the

common platform for various stake-holders involved in the process, tosee where challenges in the loanexist and to identify and eliminatecommon obstacles in the loanprocess. Now with mobile technolo-gy, lenders can quickly reach out toborrowers, which improves commu-nication and reduces loan turntime.

Based on historical data, lendershave had to endure lawsuits anddeal with penalties from the govern-ment-sponsored enterprises (GSE)—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Toeliminate the defects and improveloan manufacturing process, GSEsare now expecting lenders to pro-duce quality loans with no defects.

In further analyzing loan defects,lenders need to start measuring thecurrent loan defect baseline, identifyopportunities of improvement, ana-lyze the patterns and determinetrends to improve further.

Technology has been evolving andwill continue to evolve to come upwith newer and more effective waysto solve the industry problem. It willalways have a major role in helpingorganizations reduce loan defects,prepare a strategy to fix the currentloan defects and put in place theappropriate business rules duringthe pre- and post-loan manufactur-ing process to pro-actively monitordefects and take timely action. Withthe advancements available today,the mortgage industry should startseeing more quality loans beingmade which will help the industryrebound more quickly.

Ramesh Devare is COO at Columbia,Md.-based IndiSoft. Ramesh is respon-sible for products and services deliv-ery in the healthcare and securitydomains. He has more than 25 yearsof global IT experience in managingkey strategic accounts in banking,financial services and insurance forNorth American and European cus-tomers. He can be reached by e-mailat [email protected].

“Technology has been evolving and will continue to evolve tocome up with newer and more effective ways to solve theindustry problem.”

Can Technology Help Identify Loan Defects?

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By Laura Burke

“High-Tech vs. High-Touch” … wheresocial media meets the road. Has socialmedia taken the place of networkinglive and building tangible relation-ships? I have a LinkedIn account,Facebook account, Twitter account …and others seem to pop up almostdaily.

I used to like LinkedIn, but don’tcare for it too much anymore. To

me, it’s a big data gathering hole.Everyone and anyone gets theirLinkedIn page up and running. Theyhave their resume, recommenda-tions, and of course, endorsementsmeticulously posted for all to read.The endorsements really get me. Ihave numerous LinkedIn contactscontinuously ask me for endorse-ments. I will not endorse anyone I

do not know. Call me old-fashioned,but what good are endorsements ifthey are phony in nature. I don’twant others to endorse me either, ifthey don’t know me. But they do sothey can get their name attached tomy network.

In 2012, I was appointed byLinkedIn as one of the top five presentmost viewed LinkedIn profiles, a timein which LinkedIn had 200 millionmembers. What did it do for me? I gota big thank you from LinkedIn forbeing a part of their community. Sowhat. I didn’t get a job offer, I didn’tget a new client, nor did I make a true

friend. What I did was connect to abunch of people I don’t know, andprobably never will.

Facebook, is fun … but it too getsold. Do you have that one personwho you don’t really know who“Likes” everything you ever post, andeveryone else’s too? What does “Like”really mean? I like your picture, I likeyour post, I like your comment … it’sa sea of “Likes.” Have you ever post-ed a picture and then wondered whyso and so didn’t “Like” it? I startedthinking I must be crazy to spend

“Keep in mind, the data you gather is only beneficial if youuse it, and use it properly.”

High-Tech vs. High-Touch


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even a few minutes thinking aboutwho will like my pictures or posts.

I will admit Facebook, unlikeLinkedIn, has kept me in contactwith old friends, classmates fromyears past, cousins and friends.Businesswise, I am not connected toany business clients on Facebook, asit is for my private life and not forsharing with my clients.

So with all of that being said,where does that leave me withsocial networking for business?

I think that the next big wave ofcommunication and business build-ing is “Big data, and data mining.”

Keep in mind, the data you gatheris only beneficial if you use it, anduse it properly. Otherwise it is ahuge waste of time and money. Thenew buzz is, “Data information isthe next hottest commodity.” Areyou prepared? Are you mining theright data? How are you using it?How do you plan to use it? If youplan now, it will lead to betterusage later. No planning now leadsto waste and additional costs downthe road.

Is data management only for bigcompanies? What about small- tomid-sized companies, what about

the individual loan officer. Whichleads me to the next question;“Whose data is it, the company’sinformation or that of the loan offi-cer? The loan officer developed therelationship, built it, wrote the loan,but it’s the company’s data. How areyou as a company protecting thatdata, from outside sources, fromhackers and yes, from your own in-house employees? Here’s a hint … aCorporate Security Policy.

I think social networking will beone of the best, if not the best, wayto gather data from potential clients,current clients and existing clients.The more data you gather, the bet-ter. Data can be used in many ways,such as target marketing, strength-ening relationships, customer serv-ice, new business, related businessservices or products. The new gener-ation is so used to the Internet andsocial media, they don’t even thinktwice about using it to search forinformation, compare prices andmake purchases. The same comfortlevel needs to be matched by yourindustry to attract the Y Generation.

In mortgage lending, so muchdata is easily gathered, by multiplefacets within the industry. Is anyonestudying the data, its patterns, theneeds, the wants, the fallout? If not,then why not? You are paying forthis information. Use your data asyour “game changer.” Be the first toharness the power of data mining.The economy will turn around andthe country will see prosperoustimes again, and prepare to planyour best strategies now, use yourdata. I cannot say it enough.

Forget about the time spent onTwitter and LinkedIn, and building aFacebook Page if you are not proper-ly gathering your data you arethrowing away time and money.

Hire the right team to work with,along with the right chief informa-tion officer, chief security officer,chief data officer you choose whoand what your team needs, but takeaction today. You still can have thepick of the best in the data andinformation industry. But wait untilit’s too late, and the good ones willbe gobbled up.

As a loan officer, I strongly recom-mend following up with hot contactsmade online with a personal e-mail,live card (could be something funny

or generic, include your tangiblebusiness cards). If the contact isnearby, meet them for coffee, dropoff a small gift if a referring source,a real estate agent, an attorney, etc.

What if it’s a client? Extra careneeds to be taken to make themfeel like you care, and they areimportant to you. If nearby, meetthem, drop off papers to sign, picksomething up. If they live too far,send them a thank you note, a cardor something to strengthen therelationship. Otherwise, you’re justsomeone they met online or onFacebook. You want to becometheir friend, their “go to” personwhen they have a question. Youwant to give them the same “High-touch” you would give a live con-tact, and get away from the “high-tech” feeling.

One way I have found to do this isto find something in common, out-side of the workplace that you aredoing for them. Perhaps their sonplays football and yours does aswell. Perhaps they like a certainrestaurant and you do … build onit. I have always found it easy to beopen and more personal with myclients, giving me that edge of beingmore than just their “loan officer”. Iwill always go that extra mile forthem. Over the years, I have hadthem go the extra mile for me aswell.

One thing to remember …whether you are old school, newschool, high-tech or high-touch,your business is based on referrals.You live and breathe for referrals. Aclient referred is so much easier towork with, and so much easier toplease than a random client. Startnetworking today, with the high-touch and watch your businessgrow.

Laura Lynn Burke, EA, CFE, MBA, MSMIS (2015) has gone from Avon ladyto chief executive officer of her ownmortgage company, residential andcommercial. She currently ownsGlobal Tax Masters, along with a taxschool, The Global Tax TrainingInstitute. Laura is a Certified FraudExaminer, and studied informationsecurity along with digital forensics.She may be reached by phone at(708) 692-6199 or e-mail [email protected].

high-tech vs. high-touchcontinued from page 75

www.easymortgageapps.com/signup

By Ashley Lubey

Recommendations from family andfriends go a long way when it comesto making decisions about virtuallyanything. Whether it be buying ahome, which school to attend, orwhat to have for dinner, many ofour decisions are heavily influencedby those around us whose opinionwe value and respect. But what isthe next step taken in the decision-making process? We gather moreinformation. Most people turn tothe Internet and browse the Website of the product or company inconsideration. Is your site up to thetask of being the persuading factorin that final decision?

Consumers spend less than 15seconds on average determiningwhether a Web site is worth thetime to continue browsing or if theyshould move on to the next site in along list of search results. With thisin mind, it is essential to immedi-ately establish a rapport with youraudience and provide them with theinformation they are searching foror the tools they need to dig deeperand obtain answers. Capturing youraudience as soon as they enter yourWeb site is important. Create a well-constructed landing page that issure to showcase your site as awhole in a positive light.Consumers’ time is valuable, andwith so many distractions thesedays, it is easy to lose a customerbefore you even have your hook inthem. An easy-to-navigate site com-pels consumers to remain on yourpage and continue searching for theinformation they originally sought,or to search for new informationsince they have found your Web siteto be a valuable resource. Avoidcomplex, overly-programmed com-ponents of a Web site that are hardto use and simply get to the point.Nothing is more appreciated thanbeing clear, concise and straightfor-

ward when you are trying to findclarity on an unfamiliar subject.

However, providing an easilyaccessible site will only get you sofar. You still need to provide theinformation that originally drovethe consumer to your website.Developing relevant content is noteasy but it is incredibly important.Not only does it allow you to estab-lish yourself as a knowledgeableresource on the topic, but it alsoincreases your search engine opti-mization (SEO). Higher quality SEOmeans your Web site will appearhigher in a list of results when thetopic is searched for online. Usekeywords that will assist searchengines in determining the topics ofyour articles and landing pages. Butavoid keyword stacking at all costs.Search engines such as Google knowwhen a Web site is using the sameword repeatedly simply to helptheir SEO so stick to professionalcontent. Don’t overload your web-site with nothing but keywords andrethink naming that landing page“Mortgage, Mortgage, Mortgage!”The more traffic you are able todrive to your site and page viewsyou accrue, the higher your site willbe displayed in search results. TheInternet has opened the competi-tion for search result listings to any-one with a Web site. All the morereason to ensure your content is rel-evant, useful, and accessible. Don’tjust write to write. Make it valuableand keep your audience engaged.

Having recently been part of acouple new site launches, the bestadvice I can give is to create adetailed plan and develop a spectac-ular Web site based on your perfectsite architecture the first timearound. Sounds easy enough, right?The truth is the development of arobust Web site takes time, dedica-tion and many revisions to get it just

right. Be ready to make adjustmentsif something isn’t working. If a tab ishard to notice, move it. If a page iscluttered and full of too much infor-mation, cut it down and clean it up.Be prepared to spend hours editingyour Web site for the optimal userexperience. How often have you lefta site because you were frustratedwith the layout, overwhelmed withtabs, or got lost trying to navigate toa specific page? Don’t be that site! Ihighly recommend setting aside atwo to three week period for testing.Allow a set group of users to clickaround the site and provide feed-back without any direction fromyou. Other audiences won’t haveinstructions on how to navigate yournew site, so the test group shouldnot either. They will catch thingsyou don’t since you have been star-ing at it so long. Take their feedbackand make revisions. Edit until yourred pen runs out of ink and the finaltouches ultimately makes the newsite completely different from theoriginal plan.

One of my pet peeves is going to aWeb site and finding the informa-tion to be ridiculously outdated.Don’t lose credibility by havingincorrect or old information posted.Continuously updating your site is amust. Keep your eyes open not onlyfor the latest content that should beposted, but also on site features thatcould be implemented. Technologyis constantly improving. By keepingup with the latest trends appropri-ate to your product and audience,you establish a positive reputationwith the consumer. They view you asa proactive, reliable and trustworthyresource they will continue to returnto for the most recent information,the information that will help inmaking that final decision. Proveyour dedication to providing rele-vant and pertinent information byremaining on top of your game.

I have found a successful Web sitelaunch to be pulled off with theutmost professionalism and a touchof grandeur. Whether you’re goingfor the build-up to an ultimate sur-

prise launch to the public or reveal-ing new website features as you go,make sure your audience knows!Email current customers and sub-scribers of your latest feat andencourage them to give it a look.Blast the site link and highlightimproved features or new informa-tion on social media. Be proud ofyour new site and make it knownyou are ready and able to be anexpert in your field by providingyour audience a quality experiencewith knowledgeable content andinformation. Enjoy and relish youraccomplishment, while at the sametime, knowing and understandingthat your celebration is just for theinitial launch. There is a long roadahead of maintaining, updatingand improving the Web site as timegoes on.

While developing a strong Webpresence may appear to requiretoo much time and money, you areultimately establishing your brandand voice. Your presence on theInternet is not something to takelightly. Don’t let the opportunitypass you by when it comes to hav-ing a conversation with your cus-tomers and being where your cus-tomers are. Staking your spot inthe industry and sharing yourknowledge and expertise on yourspecific subject will allow you todevelop a voice in your field. It isknown that customers will turn tothe Internet to explore theiroptions and find more informationbefore making a final decision.Take advantage of this opportunityby taking the time to expand yourweb presence in a professional andsophisticated manner. Before youknow it, you will be the go-toresource for information.

Ashley Lubey is copywriter and pub-lic relations specialist for CMGFinancial. She graduated from SaintMary’s College of California with abachelor’s degree in communica-tions. She may be reached by phoneat (925) 983-3207 or [email protected].

“While developing a strong Web presence may appear torequire too much time and money, you are ultimatelyestablishing your brand and voice.”

Developing a Web Presence

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By Brent Chandler

It hit me recently that some of our nation’sgreatest discoveries, innovations or leapsin societal progress were the result ofpairs. Lewis and Clark, Wozniak and Jobs,the Wright Brothers, and (in moments ofweakness), Ben and Jerry, all come tomind. It also occurs to me that innovationsthemselves come in pairs. And when theydo, the results can be extraordinary.

For example, the mortgage industryseems to be on the verge of not just one,but two technological revolutions in lend-ing. The first is the adoption of paperlesstechnology, as domino after domino con-tinues to fall, bringing the day closer whenloans can be fully electronic. The second, Ibelieve, is mobile technology, which ismaking it possible for everyone to work,

play and communicate from virtually everycorner of the earth.

It’s truly an extraordinary time. The keyfor mortgage professionals is to leveragethese innovations to create a fast, efficientand compliant virtual underwriting strate-gy, which is difficult considering the inno-vations are happening so fast. The lendersthat choose wisely, however, will have aformula that will help differentiate them-selves in a challenging and highly compet-itive market.

The constantly movingmortgage professionalA mortgage is not the sort of thing someonecreates on a smartphone, or even an iPad.And yet, mortgage professionals—like pro-fessionals in most industries—are quicklyadopting smartphones and tablet comput-ers for work purposes, for multiple reasons.

For one, the mortgage industry hasrarely been more competitive. Rates arenear historic lows and home prices are ris-ing—and yet inventory levels are downand sales volumes are extremely low. Everyloan counts and lenders are scraping forany edge they can get. They are keenlyaware that responding quickly to a con-sumer’s request for information can makethe difference between a deal or no deal.Not only can a loan officer check the statusof a loan and call a borrower by smart-phone, the loan officer can also send outtexts, the preferred method of communi-cation by more borrowers, especially thecoveted Millennial consumer.

The second reason is efficiency. Whilecompetition is tight, lenders are forced tospend more resources to meet the require-ments of investors and regulatory agencies.This has caused per loan costs to rise as aresult. Handling relatively “light” loantasks, such as communicating with bor-rowers and underwriters, tracking incom-ing appraisals and ordering and receivingelectronic bank statements, can be accom-plished by smart phone or tablet devicewhile on the go, or even while waiting fora call. The upside is that a loan officer canbetter spend precious time prospecting orconsulting with borrowers one-on-one.

How the paperless process-es fits into the mobile worldOver the past 15 years, paperless processes

have completely transformed the mortgageindustry. We are closer than ever to the dayin which the entire mortgage process ispaperless. Indeed, virtual underwriting isno longer a fantasy. Tasks that used to bedone on paper that can now be done elec-tronically include verification of a borrow-er’s identity, credit history, income andemployment status, not to mention mort-gage applications and the requisite mort-gage disclosures. Unfortunately, manylenders still do not use electronic, web-based tools to automate these documentsand processes. Such tools are plentiful, andlenders are increasingly moving in thisdirection every day.

In addition to the growth of paperlessprocesses, electronic signatures are alsonow widely accepted on all pieces of themortgage transaction. The recent decisionby the Federal Housing Administration(FHA) to accept electronic signatures onloan documents—one of the last dominosthat needed to fall in order to make main-stream paperless lending possible—willmake the mortgage transaction easier formillions of additional homeowners, specif-ically first-time borrowers who rely on FHAloans to achieve the American dream.

But one of the most significant holdupsto getting loans approved—and a keystumbling block when it comes to a bor-rower’s ability to get an offer on a homeaccepted—are asset checks. Many lenderscontinue to rely on paper-based processesand restricting their efforts to merely check-ing a borrower’s account balances. As aresult, they are wasting days filling out, fax-ing and waiting to receive paper docu-ments from borrowers. And because bor-rowers also have to provide paper bankstatements, the process can take a week ormore and expose lenders to the uncertain-ty of fraud.

However, more and more lenders areusing Web-based solutions to receive paper-less bank verifications. These virtual under-writing tools are so quick and inexpensive toobtain, and they can help lenders monitor aborrower’s assets through the life of themortgage application, as well. The algo-rithms and artificial intelligence features ofa market-tested and investor-approvedVerification of Deposit and Asset (VODA)solution can help lenders red flag potentialissues before they develop. Should the bor-

“Not only can a loan officer check the status of a loan andcall a borrower by smartphone, the loan officer can also sendout texts, the preferred method of communication by moreborrowers, especially the coveted Millennial consumer.”

A Winning Combination for Virtual Underwriting

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The National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW) Partners in Progress sponsor program is designed for companies of all sizes interested in enhancing their national presence with NAPMW, the premier community of professionals in the mortgage banking industry.

NAPMW’s sponsor packages are priced to encourage participationby businesses of all sizes. The fee for each package is affordableand all maximize sponsors’ exposure beyond what would be received if purchased individually.

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©2014 North American Title Group and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. North American Title Group and its subsidiaries are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. | TX14-5945 R 10-22-14

Provided by North American Title Company

rower’s financial picture change significant-ly before closing, the lender can instantlyre-pull the documents and take a closerlook before they possibly take a loss on theloan.

It’s clear to see that mobile computingand paperless processes will be increas-ingly important because of the many ver-ifications borrowers must submit to inorder to get a loan approved. As it stands,these steps of verifying income, employ-ment and assets extend the loan process,adding costs and increasing risk. In manycases, borrowers have to wait days oreven a week just to find out how muchhouse they can afford. And in fast-mov-ing markets, that delay could cost themat the closing table or even to lose thehome of their dreams. Together, mobiledevices and paperless processes arealready speeding up mortgage timelinestremendously.

The security factorBut for all the benefits technology provides,it also opens up risks that lenders need tobe aware of. Americans are only nowbecoming aware of the perils of large-scaleconsumer security breaches such as therecent Heartbleed virus and this year’sTarget and Home Dept debit and creditcard data breaches. Mobile data hacking isa growing threat of its own, especially inlight of the number of businesses that areadopting mobile technology. The threat ismagnified considering how much personaland business information both consumersand loan officers now store on their smartphones and other mobile devices. The factthat the devices are small and thus easy tomisplace compounds the risk.

Security attacks on smart phones typi-cally target text messaging, WiFi,Bluetooth, as well as weaknesses on adevice’s Web browser and operating sys-

tem. All lenders should have policies forusing smartphones and restrictions on howthey are used. For example, transmittingpersonal borrower information, such asSocial Security Numbers and bank accountnumbers by text message, is probably nota good idea.

All in all, the advances of paperless andmobile technology will make the next yearan exciting one for the mortgage industry.Projections of mortgage volume remainmodest, but assuming the economy con-tinues to grow, I think we’ll see stronggrowth in the housing sector throughout2015. I predict that a year from now, thewinners in this market are going to be theones who embrace and integrate safe stan-dards in both mobile computing andpaperless technology.

Both innovations make the mortgageexperience faster and more convenient forlenders and borrowers, and give mortgage

www.callfurst.com

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companies the potential to produce loans atmuch higher volumes and lower costs.Besides the quality and virtual underwritingbenefits, growing mortgage companies arelooking for an edge when recruiting new tal-ent, and technology is a leading influencerfor top originators. Like all great pairs, theseare clearly two great innovations whose des-tinies are not only intertwined, but are alsomore powerful together than apart.

Brent Chandler is founder and CEO ofFormFree Holdings Corporation. Brent hasmore than 20 years of experience in thefinancial services and technology industries.He helped create the CheckFree online trad-ing platform and led the development of theCashEdge wealth management platform(both now part of Fiserv). Brent has also heldsenior level positions at Merrill Lynch andFidelity. He may be reached by phone at(800) 334-1406 or visit www.formfree.com.

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By Brent Emler

It’s easy to look back at previous mar-keting strategies and through theanalysis of actual results, develop anopinion around which methods result-ed in the most success. It’s much moredifficult, however, to look into thefuture and accurately predict the suc-cess of different types of marketing. It’schallenging because the mortgageindustry evolves at almost super-sonicspeeds. Keeping up with current regu-

lations, cutting-edge technology, andheavy competition gives us little time tolook very far forward and developstrategies that put us ahead of thiscurve.

We’ve all sat around campfires ordining tables, or perhaps over a drinkwith friends and colleagues and imag-ined the results of “what if …” In fact, Iwas a part of a group of friends andbusiness owners who would gather for

the express purpose of exercising ourability to imagine how we might growour respective business ventures. Therewere no rules and no limitations. Theideas of improbability and impossibilitywere given no space in the exercise.This might sound like a waste of timebut it was where the tiny seeds of futurerealities began to germinate. Sure,there were and are limitations but theexercise of imagining processes throughto success without giving credence toimprobability or impossibility gave us abasic roadmap and helped us find away to navigate the realistic challengeswithout losing focus.

What do you imagine mortgagemarketing to look like for you in thefuture? What technologies and mar-keting principals are here to stay andwhich ones are guaranteed to launchyou into the next generation of suc-cessful marketing? Where should youinvest your time and marketing budg-et to stay out in front of this genera-tion of overstimulated, advertisement-weary consumers?

I recently spoke to MatthewVanFossen, CEO of Absolute HomeMortgage Corporation, and undoubted-ly, a visionary. Impressed with his “outof the box” approach and forward-thinking strategies, I asked him to sharesome of his thoughts about mortgagemarketing and how we can implementfresh marketing plans that have gen-uine impact.

Matt’s first statement was, “Puteverything you know about marketingin a box and throw it away!” The for-merly “tried and true” methods justdon’t cut through the deafening com-mercial static. People are numb andimmune. It takes real forethought and areal education in the available tech-nologies to hit home with consumers.Be clever, but be real.

The dynamic has dramatically shift-ed. Consumers are not as often look-ing for a product or company becausecompanies are so busy putting theirproduct(s) in front of their audience.How do they do it effectively? Themajority of people who make up yourtarget audience are, for the most part,on the Internet, and this is where the

majority of your marketing energyneeds to be spent.

If you haven’t taken the time to real-ly learn about marketing throughFacebook, Twitter, and Google+, youare already behind the curve. It’simpossible to come up with a forward-thinking marketing strategy if you’renot well-versed in the methodologiesand capabilities of these social mediaplatforms. Get there first, and thenyou’ll be in a position to strategizetowards the future.

Facebook isn’t necessarily a powerfulmarketing tool because it’s popular—although that doesn’t hurt. It’s power-ful because there is so much valuableinformation with which targeted cam-paigns can be deployed.

Consider this: Let’s say your strengthlies in closing first-time homebuyers.Well, what group of people might thatapply to? Well, for starters, couples thatare engaged would be one segment ofthe population who are likely to bethinking about purchasing a home. Didyou know that Facebook can tell youwho is: (a) Female, (b) Between the agesof 26-35; and (c) A relationship status of“Engaged?” You suddenly have a verytargeted group of people who mightrespond well to an article titled, “IsYour House Hunting Getting in the Wayof Your Wedding Plans?”

The data that you have at your fin-gertips is a goldmine. People very open-ly disclose their name, age, profession,education history, special interests,relationship status, and many morepertinent details. Based on that infor-mation, you can design and implementcampaigns that attract very specificgroups of people.

Did you know that Facebook justmade local advertising even simpler?Local awareness ads allow your busi-ness to be found easily by groups ofpeople who are in your immediatelocal. Creating an ad takes just a few,simple steps.

1. Head to the “Ads Create Tool” andselect “Local Awareness”

2. Select the Page of the business youwant to promote

3. Enter your business address

“By creating marketing campaigns that are highly specific andthen keying off important data, we can make marketingautomation more powerful than ever.”

The Future of Mortgage Marketing

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4. Stipulate the radius around whichyou want to advertise (a map willshow you the area covered by yourad)

Facebook’s system uses all of thisinformation to create an audience forthe ad that includes people who livenearby or were recently near your busi-ness. How cool is that?!

Beyond that, you can drill downeven further and choose the age andgender of your audience, set a budgetand duration for your ad. Based onyour settings, Facebook will show youhow many people you can expect toreach each day that your ad runs.

For further information, go to:https://www.facebook.com/business/news/facebook-local-awareness.

While Facebook is “where we’re at”,services such as Hearsay Social are defi-nitely taking things to the next level.

Hearsay Social is a Web-based solu-tion that uses the best in modern tech-nology to bring all of your social mediamarketing initiatives under one roofand provides a sleek, user-friendlyinterface through which you can post toall of the social media platforms:Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter andGoogle+.

Hearsay Social takes what we’veimagined possible through Facebookmarketing and facilitates such initia-tives by tracking and providing noticeson “Social Signals,” highlighting con-tacts that “may have just gotten mar-ried,” “may have just had a baby” or“may have just landed a new position”to name just a few. These queues giveone the opportunity to provide valu-able content directly to that contact inan easy, efficient way.

Imagine a marriage of this type oftechnology with your LOS and automat-ed marketing system.

Marketing automationand technologyWhile I’ve primarily profiled socialmedia sites that certainly enhanceyour ability to capture new business, Iwould be remiss if I didn’t highlightthe importance of technologies thathave the intelligence required tomaintain and facilitate database mar-keting for repeat and referral busi-ness. All things being equal, statisticsshow that you will spend less forgreater return by marketing to your

current book of business. How does one do that effectively?

Every mortgage lender has a huge data-base of past clients, prospects, andreferral partners. If harnessed and pre-sented properly, the existing informa-tion has immense potential for yourbusiness.

When I was speaking with MatthewVan Fossen at Absolute Mortgage, hereiterated the idea that the marketingof the future has to connect loan offi-cers with their clients, prospects, andreferral partners in a very personalway.

“During the mortgage loan process-es, we’re collecting a wealth of infor-mation about the customer; whetheron the application or just during thecourse of conversing with a prospec-tive client,” said Van Fossen. “In thefuture, we’re going to be able to usethat information to automatically dis-tribute e-mails and printed materialbased on the very unique qualities ofan individual contact.”

Matthew gave me this example:Say, for instance, you discover yourborrower is a golfer. Imagine puttingthat information into your automaticmarketing platform and develop anin-process campaign that incorporateslanguage that likens the loan processto a round of golf. The initial intro-ductory content might say somethingto the effect of, “We’re ready to tee off!Here are some of the items you’ll needto provide …” The goal of marketing isto make sure you’re connecting in avery personal way. By creating market-ing campaigns that are highly specificand then keying off important data,we can make marketing automationmore powerful than ever.

New technologies like AngularJS,Breeze and Mongo Database providedevelopment teams who support busi-ness analysts and marketers the abilityto create incredibly complex queriesand work flows with lighting speed.While some of the marketing capabili-ties are still conceptual, some market-ing platforms are already laying thefoundation for extremely specific cam-paign configurations.

I spoke to Joe Puthur at MortgageCoach recently about the value of theirpresentations and loan scenario tools.As many of the readers already know,Mortgage Coach’s “Edge” product isabsolutely fantastic. We envision the

ability to utilize their powerful engineto provide highly specific detailed infor-mation that can be merged into emailsand print marketing.

Imagine a scenario where a presen-tation link is converted into a QR Codeand added to a “Rent vs. Purchase”Postcard. When the recipient scans theQR Code with their mobile phone, wecapture that scan and the subsequentviews of the presentation, and reportall of this back to the loan officer andthe executive team. This simpleprocess would effectively provide“open rates” for printed material. Wecan then couple open rates, presenta-tion views, and pull through reports toprovide a detailed return-on-invest-ment (ROI).

The future of mortgage marketing isreplete with opportunity and the most

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exciting part is that technology is bring-ing development costs down. Thismeans more access to more robustsolutions. In the past, only the largestorganizations have had the ability toconnect to their contacts in a deep andmeaningful way. With the strides beingmade in social media and marketingautomation, the holy grail of big busi-ness marketing with a small businessbudget is within reach.

Take the time to understand andexploit the value of such systems andyou’ll be the one exclaiming, “Thinkoutside the box!”

Brent Emler is director of sales and mar-keting at Velma.com, a customizablemarketing software provider exclusive tothe mortgage industry. He may bereached by e-mail at [email protected].

By Matt Seu

In today’s market, lenders and theirservice providers are struggling tobalance the demands from fiercecompetition, the need to meet regu-latory requirements, and still meetbottom line expectations. Not onlyare the regulators asking for moreinformation, but now there needs tobe transparency on how decisionsare made and the ability to prove itis imperative. Additionally, theConsumer Financial ProtectionBureau (CFPB) is mandating newforms for loan estimates and clos-ings that require significant processand technology changes. It is hardto imagine adding any more pres-sure to the situation, but if lenderscould step back and understandhow integration of processes andtechnology can ultimately savetime, money, and reduce regulatorypressure they would look at it as aninvestment rather than a cost. Thisarticle will suggest some of the pit-falls of less optimal integrationmodels and the true benefits ofintegration.

Let us start by looking at mortgagetechnology over the last 15 years andhow things have evolved. During the1990s, companies began to moveaway from desk top technology tomore modern architectural patternsthat have evolved over time toinclude the use of the internet andnow cloud computing. The constantfrom the very beginning is that com-panies have anchored their businesson a loan origination system (LOS).From there, companies may also usesecondary marketing software, com-pliance tools, pricing engines or serv-ices, document preparation softwareand a general ledger application.Many companies actually use more

than one tool for each businessapplication and others use spread-sheets and other manually intensivemethods. Additionally, many compa-nies need to integrate with one-to-many investors and servicers. Thereare three integration models thathave some major pitfalls that are dis-cussed below. We will discuss theseand end with a more optimal inte-gration that can transform a lender’sbusiness (see Chart One).

Companies often use a point-to-point solution that integrates eachtool separately. This is usually just anevolution that occurs over time. Asmore tools are added, the companysimply creates single interfaces toconnect them. This approach is prob-lematic because each tool may havea different connectivity protocol.Even if the company can initially linkeverything together it requires a verybroad set of technology expertise dueto the multiple protocols and lan-guages. For small- to mid-sizedlenders, this pattern is very expensivefrom a staffing perspective. Itrequires knowledge of multiple toolsand requires manual checks toensure that data are transferredproperly. Also, think about what hap-pens if one tool needs to be replaced.You will have to rewrite each inter-face that connects to the tool. Oftenthis problem keeps companies fromreplacing obsolete tools and “holdsthem hostage.”

We also see companies thatignore most integration challengesand simply upload and download inwhat we refer to as a manual inte-gration. This pattern is not just forsmall lenders. We have seen thispattern exist with top 20 lenders.There are two major problems with

this pattern. The first is fairly obvi-ous and is the lack of controls anddata quality filters. This approach isprone to manual errors, data beingoverwritten, lost, etc. It is nearlyimpossible to have an audit trailusing this pattern. A less obviousissue is the inability to scale. We seecompanies struggle to add products,add channels, and increase purchasevolume because this patternrequires so much manual interven-tion and oversight. Eventually acompany using manual uploads anddownloads will need to add staff andeventually automate or they willimplode.

The final pattern which we callproprietary is also very common inthe industry and is often the one withthe most risk. This pattern usuallyrevolves around an LOS package.Many lenders pick an LOS and thenuse the LOS proprietary data struc-ture as the basis for everything thatthey do. These lenders will imple-ment an LOS and then build connec-tions to other tools. Most of the timethis is done via batch processes thatmove large amounts of data fromtool to tool over night or at specifictimes during the day to provide morereal time updates. Many LOS vendorshave a suite of products that connectto the LOS or they partner with othercompanies. On the surface, thisseems like a reasonable approach tointegration especially since the LOSvendor has more “out of the box”connections. However we believe thatthis can actually be the worst casescenario for a lender. One issue isthat lenders create a business processaround the LOS and other toolsrather than defining processes in away that is optimal. However, thelargest issue that we see with this pat-tern is that it becomes a monumentalundertaking to replace the LOS orwhatever tool is responsible for theproprietary data set. Many companieswe work with want to use a best inbreed approach to technology, butthe proprietary pattern is often soengrained that they cannot move offof it. In fact, we often see companies

add new LOS packages withoutremoving the original one because itis so difficult to do while running thebusiness.

There are some significant issuesthat are created with every patternalthough some are worse than othersdepending on the implementation.Each pattern is expensive to main-tain. Whether it is business staff ortechnology resources, these patternsrequire a lot of maintenance.Regardless of pattern it is very diffi-cult to extract key information forreporting, analytics, regulatory com-pliance and even accounting. Itrequires either a separate data ware-house or a team of analysts to accu-mulate, scrub, filter and manage thedata. Each pattern is susceptible todata quality issues simply due to themultiple data interfaces, languages,data definitions, and transforma-tions. Finally, none of them scale.Ultimately each of these patternswill paralyze a lender and hold themhostage.

The good news is that there areother alternatives that are becomingeasier to implement due to changesin mortgage technology and stan-dards that are being widely imple-mented throughout the industry. Theindustry is moving to a more stan-dards based implementation model.We have seen standards emanatefrom the CFPB, the GSEs, and HUD.One example is the regulationregarding the qualified mortgage(QM). Another is the new regulationthat goes into effect next Augustrelated to the Loan Estimate andClosing Disclosure Statements, againcoming from CFPB. These regulationsassume a standard operating proce-dure and processes. In addition, theFHFA and the GSEs have createdMISMO-based data standardsthrough the Uniform Mortgage DataProgram (UMDP) for appraisal anddelivery and are working on similarones for application, loan estimate,closing and servicing. Ginnie Mae isworking on similar standards.

Here are the keys to success whenthinking about integration of

“Integrating processes along parameters that are dictated tothe lender will provide several benefits including the ability tocross-train workers, management of busy and slow periods,and the ability to have a clear audit trail of every transaction.”

Treating Integration as an InvestmentHow Business and TechnologyIntegration Can Save Money and AvoidRegulatory Pressure

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processes and data to leverage thestandards.

l Define and integrate your manu-facturing processes based onindustry standard events whenev-er possible.

l Create a data infrastructure that isstandards based and that is basedon the manufacturing processes.

l Continuously keep an eye on themarket.

Lenders should decide what busi-ness they are playing in and createand document business manufactur-ing processes that are based onindustry standard events. An exam-ple is the new CFPB regulation forloan estimate and closing. In theregulation, there are specific time-lines that must be followed.

Similarly, there are timelines andstandard events that occur if alender is selling to Fannie Mae,Freddie Mac, others. Be resistant tothe urge to try to fit every internalprocess into one box. Instead, createprocesses that align with investors,servicers and other counterparties.Document the processes and createtraining manuals and proceduresthat are easily understood by thestaff. This will allow for specificworkflows internally that are easilytracked and measured. Managementmust manage by measurement sothat they can make minor changes tothe processes to optimize operationsand identify where staff may needadditional training or development.Integrating processes along parame-ters that are dictated to the lenderwill provide several benefits includ-

ing the ability to cross-train workers,management of busy and slow peri-ods, and the ability to have a clearaudit trail of every transaction.Ultimately, using standards basedprocesses will allow for a reductionin processing time, a reduction insecond and third level reviews, andwill result in a more effective andmotivated work force.

Next, a data infrastructure shouldbe implemented that is the center ofall operations. Make sure that thedata infrastructure is based on anindependent data model that isresilient to changes in the marketand that is not tied to any one ven-dor or tool. MISMO has been thestandard for messaging in the mort-gage insurance (MI) community foryears and is also the reference modelof choice for FHFA, Fannie Mae and

Freddie Mac when transferring infor-mation via Uniform Loan DeliveryDataset (ULDD), to the AppraisalPortal, and for other processes in thefuture. Ginnie Mae is also moving inthis direction and has announcedtheir Pool Delivery Dataset (PDD)requirements recently. When creat-ing the data infrastructure use thedata standard as the core to a meta-data model that can be insulatedthrough translators to each tool. Adata change in one tool can bequickly accommodated throughtranslation language and can bepropagated downstream to consum-ing tools with far less complexitythan in the three integration modelsmentioned earlier. This will requirean upfront investment to create adata model and infrastructure thatmeet these requirements, but thepay back will be quick and the costof IT will go down immediately dueto the far fewer moving parts thatmust be changed when any one toolchanges. It will also provide the abil-ity to plug and play additional orreplacement tools in the future. Anexample of such a data infrastruc-ture could look like (see Chart Two).

The last key ingredient is the payattention to the market. Keeping aneye on the regulatory environmentand changing mortgage technologywill allow any lender to be proactive.Think of the entire environment asan opportunity to compete. Knowingwhen changes are coming and hav-ing the ability to react quickly willsave time, money, reduce risk andprovide a key differentiator forlenders relative to the competition.If lenders take a step back and lookat how their processes and technolo-gies currently resemble some of thepatterns I describe in this article theyshould contemplate how they arepositioned going forward. An invest-ment today when volumes are lowerthan in recent years could pay enor-mous dividends in the future.Staying with a less than optimalmodel could result in major prob-lems down the road.

Matt Seu is a partner and owner ofActualize Consulting and is a member ofthe MISMO Strategic PlanningCommittee. He may be reached by e-mailat [email protected].

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CHART 01

CHART 02

Ted TozerPresident of Ginnie Mae

B Y P H I L H A L L & R O B E R T O T T O N E

NMP M O R T G A G E P R O F E S S

“IT’S TRUE THAT WE’VE GROWN, BUT ONE

OF THE THINGS WE’VE TRIED TO DO HERE

AT GINNIE MAE IS TO MAKE PEOPLE

CUSTOMER-CENTRIC. OUR GOAL IS TO

MAKE SURE OUR SECURITIES TRADE WELL,

AND TO MAKE SURE OUR PROCESSES ARE

AS BUSINESS FRIENDLY AS POSSIBLE.”

On Feb. 24, 2010, Theodore W.“Ted” Tozer was sworn in aspresident of the GovernmentNational MortgageAssociation, more commonlyknown as “Ginnie Mae.” Hisarrival in the federal govern-

ment capped a three-decade career ofleadership in the private sector.

Born in 1957, Tozer graduated fromIndiana University in 1979 with a bach-elor of science degree in accounting andfinance. Following his graduation, hejoined BancOhio National Bank as vicepresident and investment operationsmanager. From 1986-1989, he was vicepresident and chief financial officer atBancOhio National Bank. In 1989, hebecame senior vice president of capitalmarkets at National City MortgageCompany, which was later absorbedinto PNC Financial Services Group.

During his years in the private sec-tor, Tozer served as a trustee of theOhio Mortgage Bankers Associationfrom 1999-2001, as a member of theFannie Mae Midwest SecondaryAdvisory Group from 1994-1999, andas a member of Freddie Mac’s NationalLender Advisory Board in 2002. Healso served as chairman of the

Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA)Secondary and Capital MarketsCommittee from 2002-2004. In the lat-ter chairmanship, he also served on theMBA Residential Board of Governors(RESBOG) and worked with Ginnie Maein the overhaul of the GNMA II pro-gram. Tozer also served as a chartermember of Fannie Mae’s NationalLender Advisory Board in 2008.

When President Obama nominatedTozer for the Ginnie Mae position in late2009, his nomination was greeted enthu-siastically by John A. Courson, president

and CEO of the MBA, who claimed, “Icannot think of anyone better suited torun Ginnie Mae.”

Did you originally intend to becomepart of the mortgage industry?Ted Tozer: I take the belief that mort-gage banking is the industry ofrefugees–because nobody ever startsout to be a mortgage banker. I cameout of college with a degree in account-ing and finance, and ended up runningthe investment operations side forBancOhio National Bank!

And how did you wind up at GinnieMae?PNC bought National City at the end of1989. In 2009, PNC wanted to get out ofthe mortgage business. I was contactedby the White House and asked inSeptember 2009 if I would be interest-ed in this job. I sent my resume in. Atthe beginning of that month, I wasn’tcertain what I was going to do. By theend of September, I had a new job.

But you were no stranger to GinnieMae before taking the lead at theagency?PNC was approved by Ginnie Mae asfar back as 1987, so I had been deal-ing with them for almost 27 years.When I was chairman of the MBA’sCapital Markets Committee, I wasdealing a lot with Ginnie Mae. I knewmost of the people here, so it was arelatively easy transition.

Under your leadership, Ginnie Mae’sportfolio has seen remarkablegrowth. How was this accomplished? It is a great tribute to the people hereand what we are doing. It’s true thatwe’ve grown, but one of the thingswe’ve tried to do here at Ginnie Mae is

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to make people customer-centric. Ourgoal is to make sure our securitiestrade well, and to make sure ourprocesses are as business friendly aspossible.

Still, your growth can be credited tomuch more than just a successfulcustomer experience … is this true?First, our guarantee is not at the indi-vidual loan level. We’re very similarto the Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation (FDIC) in that sense. Forexample, let’s say Wells Fargo comesto us and gets their securities guaran-tee. Our guarantee only comes intoplay with Wells Fargo if they go bank-rupt. As a result of that, our oversightis only limited to the lenders them-selves and not the individual loans.So if Wells Fargo were to double theiramount of securities or loans, there isstill only one counter party for us toworry about.

There is a correlation between theamount of securities and our risk–ourrisk is more focused on the number ofissuers. In past years, we’ve seen adoubling of the number of issuers, sowe’ve had some growth in that per-spective. But not as much as youwould think, because what happenedis that the issuers were doing more.

As with the FDIC, if bank depositsgrow across the country, but thenumber of banks stays the same, theFDIC has the same amount ofresources they need to spend on thesame number of banks. That is kindof the way our model works, and thatis the beauty of our model. Our guar-antee is on the issuer’s ability to pay.It limits our oversight to them andnot the loans themselves. If an issuerdefaults, we don’t have to take on theposition of covering the credit losses.We liquidate the servicer and transferthe servicing to a new Ginnie Maeissuer that continues the obligation.And our guarantee is only affected tothe amount we have to subsidize thetransfer of that servicing. It is not tiedto the credit losses in that portfolio.

Our model is totally different fromFannie and Freddie in that we don’ttake any credit risk except the count-er-credit risks from the issuers.

Didn’t this apply to Lend America,when Ginnie Mae stepped in follow-ing the company’s collapse in 2009?Yes. When Lend America could notfinancially continue its obligations,we seized their servicing.

Yet your monitoring is defined byyour resources. How is Ginnie Maeable to monitor fiscal feasibilityand integrity across the expansivemortgage industry, consideringwhat is taking place at this point?The way Congress funds us requires

S I O N A L O F T H E M O N T H

the salaries we can pay to beapproved through the appropria-tions process. But if Congress wantsus to contract additional resourceson a separate basis, we are given alimited amount of funding.

In the past, Ginnie Mae would hireone of the big CPA firms to go downand audit people. Now, I am tryingto get enough funding from Congressto bring that function in-housebecause the CPA firms don’t alwaysdo as thorough a job as you wouldlike them to do of our issuers. Havingour staff doing it would be a littlemore thorough. I am trying to getCongress to get me to hire these peo-ple, rather than bringing a contrac-tor in.

Have your reviews traditionallybeen handled on regular basis, orwere they more of a response to adistress beacon that appears?In the past, they were done as a bea-con, and this was a problem If therewas a red flag that came up, we’dsend in an audit team. But therewere flags that did not come up until[the companies] were on the verge ofbankruptcy–that’s why it would bebetter to build up a staff here, so wecan send Ginnie Mae teams out amore regular basis, as well as havingrelationship managers inWashington, D.C. that are contactingthe issuers’ organizations on a dailybasis and asking to see the quarterlyfinancials.

I need to hire another 30-40 peo-ple to staff up my issuer managerarea. Right now, with salaries andtravel, I have a budget of $19.5 mil-lion. I’d like to get somewhere closerto $35 million to bring some of thestuff in-house.

Is the Ginnie Mae monitoringprocess more proactive or reactivetoday?We are building models based ontrends with lenders that tended tofail. Now, we have a scoring mecha-nism based on the probability ofpeople failing—using such factors asliquidity and delinquency. If a lenderis high risk, we will spend more timeand effort and resources workingwith them based on the screening.

We have built a spotlight processout to anticipate that the lender willbe in trouble, so we can put moreaccount executives on them—we willspend more time with them and getmore information from them. Weeven ask for lenders management tocome into Washington, D.C. to meetwith us, so we can have a betterunderstanding of where they aregoing. This helps us stay ahead of theprocess. Our goal is not to haveanother default with an issuer.

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In your view, what are the mostcommon reasons for default?People default because they are doinginappropriate things or because theydon’t manage well. Either way, thingshappen—it doesn’t mean it is a risk-free business. The more we educatepeople on that, the more this helpspeople understand the mortgage busi-ness better.

Your term at Ginnie Mae has alsoseen a high-tech modernizationeffort. How has that progressed?We are in the process of overhaulingall of our technology. When I got here,the systems were all basic systems thathad been in place since the 1970s and1980s. We had modernization in 2000,but it was pretty minor.

We are looking at everything—all ofthe systems from the ground up, andwe want to move them off the main-frame and into the 21st Century infra-structure so we can leverage all of thenew technologies. This way, we canhave lenders shift pools using differ-ent devices, whether it is an iPad orwhatever they want to use. Right now,they have to use desktops. Plus, ourrollout of new products will be a lotquicker.

We already started several changesalready, so issuers are already seeingsome improvements. For example, lastfall, issuers that wanted to issue a poolhad to reserve funds ahead of time.Now, we are in a situation wheremoney can be requested online. Whatused to take days is now taking min-utes.

We are hoping to have it all of theupgraded completed in the next 18months or so.

Ginnie Mae continues to be verypopular with internationalinvestors. What is the appeal to theoverseas markets?Investors like it because they are notconcerned about the actual credit

losses. If you are an insurance com-pany in Taiwan or a bank in Tokyo,you’re in a situation where you knowthat you will get your principal back.Even though people say housing isweak, the government guarantee isthere to ensure that you get yourprincipal back, no matter what. AndGinnie Mae will help in the recovery,because we’ve been able every yearto raise $3-$4 billion for the housingsector.

The biggest thing is that peoplelook at us as an organization, andnot a government agency. They holdus to a higher standard—they lookat us as doing things in a way thatmakes people think we’re a partnerwith them.

How long would you like to stay atGinnie Mae’s helm?I’d like to stay for as long as I feelthat I can make a contribution, andto stick around to make sure that thechanges I have made are permanent.I am a presidential appointee and Iassume that when there is an admin-istration change there will be a dif-ferent person in this position.

We’ve been talking all about yourwork. What do you do in your off-time?Probably the biggest hobby I enjoy isjust being here in Washington, D.C.—the chance to play the role of atourist, to go around and see all ofthe historical sites here. My wife andI went over to the Blue RidgeMountains to spend a weekend. It isnice to be in this part of the countryand to see different Civil War battle-fields in the area. That is how I’vespent a lot of my free time in D.C.over the last four years.

Phil Hall is managing editor ofNational Mortgage ProfessionalMagazine. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

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MBA’s 2014 Annual Convention & ExpoOctober 19-22 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas

Scenes From the MBA’s 101sOctober 19-22 at the Mandalay B

Credit photos to Rick Grant (credit Mortgage News Network photos to Michael J. Citak)

Larry Zastrow from AllRegs on the exhibit hall floor of theMandalay Bay Hotel & Casino

A Plaza Home Mortgage rep chats with an attendee during theMBA Annual Expo

Phil Hall (right) interviews BriCoester VMS, for Mortgage Nehall floor of the Mandalay Bay

Attendees are welcomed to the MBA’s 101st Annual Convention &Expo in Las Vegas

Michael Chaney and Dominic Iannitti from DocMagic were onhand to discuss their company’s product offerings during theMBA Expo

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st Annual Convention & ExpoBay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

The Calyx Software booth featured a number of demos of thefirm’s software solutions

Jacob Gaffney (right), executive editor at HousingWire, isinterviewed by Mortgage News Network leadanchor/commentator Phil Hall (left) in Vegas

ian Coester (left), CEO ofews Network on the expoy Hotel & Casino

A rep from Credit Plus Inc. chats with an attendee about thefirm’s QC review product offerings

Phil Hall with Elizabeth Green of Rel-E-Vantn Solutions onthe set of Mortgage News Network’s broadcast plaza

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License and Certification Board.“As GSE and lenders seek to reduce

appraisal errors, it’s essential to have arobust independent appraisal quality andreview program,” said Kim Perotti, EVP atAXIS. “AQC is a nationwide solution thatprovides a consistent review and gradingprocess that exceeds the USPAP Standard3 desk review requirements.”

AQC leverages AXIS proprietary work-flow and forms of technology to enablereviewers to efficiently perform consis-tent and reliable appraisal reviews. At thestart of an order, the appraisal data isextracted from the original appraisal andprovided for analysis and review.Supplementary public records data isprovided to ensure accuracy at everystage of the process. Lastly, as the review-er assesses appraisal report violations andseverity of, the system dynamically assistsin recommending a consistent overallgrade to the reviewer.

“In my experience, one of the biggestchallenges that AMCs and lenders face isensuring high-quality and consistentappraisal review,” said Todd Rasmussen,VP of sales for AXIS Appraisal ReviewDivision. “AQC overcomes many of thesechallenges by developing reliablemethod for grading appraisals that pro-vides an effective solution for targetingand identifying deficient appraisals.”

As part of its new Appraisal ReviewDivision, AXIS leverages its panel of expe-rienced appraisers to perform AQCReview Reports. Each reviewer is requiredto be licensed or certified in the state ofthe original appraisal, as well as haveaccess to local-market MLS and datasources. In an effort to fully support theirpanel with this process, AXIS AppraisalManagement not only provides training,but also an additional in-house qualitycontrol review team to ensure reliableand consistent results.

Collateral AnalyticsEnhances to Its Credit Risk Model

Collateral Analytics has developed animportant enhancement to its Credit RiskModel (CRM) to now provide similaranalysis for seasoned loans. The CA CRMprovides information about the creditrisk associated with a mortgage whichhas been originated at some point in thepast. This product combines CA’s industryleading AVM with its proprietary homeprice forecasts and metro level defaultand prepayment models to predict theexpected profitability of a residentialmortgage.

“Our CRM product is designed forlenders who seek additional informationabout the credit risk in their portfolio andthe capital required to meet stress sce-narios,” said Michael Sklarz, presidentand CEO of Collateral Analytics, a leadingprovider of comprehensive automatedvaluation solutions and real estate ana-

lytic products for large lenders and thefinancial services industry. “It can be alsoutilized by investors to assess the potentialvalue and risk associated with individualloans or mortgage portfolios or RMBSpools. A Collateral Analytics case study ofstill performing loans conducted with theCRM is available online.

The study suggests that lenders wouldbe justified in providing much lower capi-tal amounts than would typically beassigned for UPBs unadjusted for predictedrisk. It also concludes that potentialinvestors may wish to use the informationto help establish bid prices for the loans.Another application of the seasonedmodel highlighted in the case study is itsability to help lenders decide upon the riskof a second lien or home equity loan ontop of the first.

Data Facts Releases NewThird-Party ManagementSolution

Data Facts Inc. andTemenos have part-nered together tooffer banks andlenders a solution to

help meet today’s regulatory guidelines:Banker VMS, powered by Temenos, a com-prehensive, third-party vendor manage-ment software. Banker VMS is a Web-based, central data repository for all ven-dor information and the business process-es associated with them. This software willassist banks and lenders complete anongoing annual supervision and monitor-ing of all critical vendors identified in therisk assessment, in an easy to view dash-board format.

“By offering our clients innovative solu-tions to industry regulations, we enablethem to focus on the more profitable sideof their business—closing more loans,”said Julie Wink, executive vice president ofData Facts Inc. “We are committed to doingmarket research, and then offering ourclients the best in technology products andcompliance solutions, keeping them com-petitive in the marketplace.”

Banker VMS provides vendor manage-ment policies, due diligence checklist, riskmanagement, and a disaster recoveryproduct. The risk compliance feature is auniform, systematic approach to vendorrisk assessment based on FFIEC guidelines,keeping banks and lenders compliant withnew industry regulations.

Mortgage BuilderUpgrades Its Architect LOS

Mortgage Builder Software hasannounced the introduction of its ArchitectConnect enhancement to its flagship LOS,Architect. Architect Connect allows borrow-ers to directly interact with the systemthrough their computers and mobiledevices, adding convenience for con-sumers and saving time and money forlenders.

“Architect Connect brings borrowersinto the loan experience online from wher-ever they happen to be, anywhere in theworld,” said John Vella, chief operatingofficer of Mortgage Builder and Equator,both Altisource businesses. “They canupload required information, communi-cate with their lender via the LOS on a 24/7basis and check real-time loan status fromtheir tablet, smartphone or computer. It’sinstant gratification for borrowers andlenders alike.”

Architect Connect provides benefits toboth lenders and borrowers. Lenders cannow offer customers more services via theircomputers and mobile devices includinglead capture, prequalification and interac-tive Form 1003 loan applications, and thereporting and analytics they need to staycompliant. Borrowers can now useArchitect Connect to quickly check the sta-tus of their loan on a computer or mobiledevice, avoiding constant time-consumingphone calls that have long been a costlyfact of life for lenders.

“Architect Connect enables a secure,completely transparent process that allowslenders to know exactly how their salesefforts are doing at any time,” said BrianAbbott, Mortgage Builder’s director of cor-porate initiatives. “Many tasks that used totake hours on the phone with a loan offi-cer or a processor can now be completedon a self-service basis by the borrowerusing Architect Connect.”

Mortech Announces Web Offerings forMortgage Lenders

Mortech, a Zillow business providing mort-gage technology software solutions formortgage bankers and secondary marketteams, has announced the launch oflender Web sites, which will allow mort-gage lenders to quickly and affordably cre-ate a custom WordPress-powered site fortheir personal brand and business. Customlender sites from Mortech are designed forlenders who do not have an existing Website or want to improve their current site.No prior Web design expertise is requiredto create and maintain content and theWeb sites come with online mortgage toolsand smart 1003 applications built-in.

Key features of the Web sites include: Apersonalized domain name of the lender’schoosing; a variety of templates, themesand colors; the ability to add custom,search engine optimized (SEO) content;responsive design for smartphones, tabletsand desktop computers; real-time ratequotes and rate search; loan officerlookup; and mortgage calculators and edu-cational resources

“With borrowers increasingly using theinternet to find their mortgage lender, it isimperative that lenders have an onlinepresence, yet lenders shy away from it dueto the perceived complexity,” said DougForal, general manager of Mortech. “Withlender Web sites from Mortech, we’vetaken the complexity factor out of theequation by building a Web platform thateven the least Internet-savvy lender canuse. With lender Web sites from Mortech,

there is no longer a good reason for not hav-ing a dominating brand presence online.”

Capsilon DocVelocityLaunched to Amp Up Loan Quality

Capsilon has announced the release of itsnew flagship product, CapsilonDocVelocity. Recent regulatory changeshave forced lenders to reevaluate theiroperations to ensure that their documentmanagement operations have adequatedata integrity controls to satisfy compli-ance requirements. Data extraction andvalidation is the cornerstone of dataintegrity, and lenders must harness tech-nology to move their operations toward adata-centric model.

Capsilon’s vision defines a new standardfor the future of mortgage document man-agement—a standard that brings the con-cept of straight-through processing (STP) tothe mortgage industry, where a technology-enabled model is used to extract data fromloan documents to move quality control tothe front of the loan process.

The mortgage industry can realize simi-lar benefits, and others, by applying theconcepts of STP to the loan originationprocess. This STP model automates much ofthe loan process, reduces manual interven-tion, and speeds processing while ensuringloan quality.

The practice of “stare and compare,” inwhich a human being looks back and forthacross two or more documents to verify thatthe information is consistent across docu-ment types, is time-consuming and error-prone, not to mention costly. Plus, usingthis approach, it’s only feasible for lendersto send a small percentage of loans throughquality control (QC). Capsilon’s vision incor-porates an exception-based processingmodel in which human intervention isrequired only when something that isflagged by the automation engine needs tobe validated.

“The pressure on mortgage lenders toQC one hundred percent of their loans,while keeping the cost per loan in check,has never been greater,” said SanjeevMalaney, CEO of Capsilon Corporation.“With Capsilon DocVelocity, large lendersnow have the enterprise-level featuresand the capabilities they need to auto-mate much of the loan originationprocess, from loan intake to post-closing,using automation engines coupled withexception-based processing to speed timeto close while ensuring data integrity.”

Your turnNational Mortgage Professional Magazineinvites you to submit any information pro-moting new “niche” loan programs, newproducts or any other announcement relat-ed to the introduction of a new program, tothe attention of:

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

E-mail: [email protected]

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are pre-ferred. The deadline for submissions is the1st of the month prior to the target issue.

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parties seeking a reliable partner. FayServicing will leverage its unique rela-tionship-based servicing platformthat it has developed in the wholeloan and non-agency sectors to maxi-mize value and minimize the risks ofservicing portfolios with innovativedeal structures that effectively aligninterests.

Mortgage Professionalsto Watch

l Paramount Residential MortgageGroup Inc. (PRMG) has announcedthe hiring of Scott Thompson asretail branch manager for the firm’sCincinnati branch. PRMG has also

announced the opening of threenew branches nationwide, as RetailBranch Manager Laurie Gable willserve as branch manager of PRMG’sSt. George, Utah branch; Mark Tothwill lead the new Brick, N.J. retailbranch office; and Dean Adler willserve as manager of the Weston, Fla.branch. PRMG has also announcedthe additions of Michael Skimel asDenver retail branch manager andMauricio Perez as retail operationsmanager, as well as Jodie Johnsonas retail operations manager ofPRMG’s retail branch in Seattle,Wash.

l HomeBridge Financial ServicesInc. has announced the addition ofSteve Stapleton in the role of seniorvice president to oversee the firm’sMidwest expansion. HomeBridge hasalso continued its nationwide expan-sion by adding new mortgage loanoriginators joining across Texas andArizona including: Charlene Sharp,Devin Fremouw and Jason Fremouwin Peoria, Ariz.; Donna Lafont inSugar Land, Texas; Glyn Brady andJack Feise in San Antonio, Texas; LisaWarren in Southlake, Texas; MarkCandelaria in Casa Grande, Ariz.;Michael Collins in Phoenix, Ariz.;Richard Lindemann in Park Cities,Texas; and Richard McClain Jr. inGlendale, Ariz.

l LenderLive Network hasannounced the addition of DavidGrief as regional account executivecovering the Florida region forLenerLive’s Correspondent LendingDivision. LenderLive Network hasalso announced that Dan Biebel hasjoined the firm as regional accountexecutive covering the states ofIowa, Illinois, Minnesota andWisconsin for the company’sCorrespondent Lending Division.


are




We are seeking nominations from our readers for National MortgageProfessional Magazine's "40 Under 40" feature, slated to appear inour December 2014 edition. Anyone who is under the age of 40 and hashad a major impact on the industry can qualify for this feature. This couldbe through innovation, association participation, sales force automation,community activism, management techniques, technology or any othersignificant method that has influenced our industry. We would need a short,three-line bio on the nominee, along with a color photo and companycontact info to complete the profile. To nominate yourself or someoneelse, visit https://nmpmag.wufoo.com/forms/nmps-40-under-40-2014/.

youcoming in december 2014

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The Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA) has never beenstronger. Our grassroots networks have picked upmomentum, and with more than 8,200 active MAAmembers, we are larger than ever. This is just the

beginning. Our advocacy efforts are firm and our networkwill continue to grow.

This cycle, we employed some new and creative ways to spread theword about MAA. We went into the cycle with the goal of engaging ourstate leaders, and as we had hoped, state associations welcomed thisresponsibility. We worked with state associations to run MAA campaigns,and earlier this fall, the State MAA Enrollment Challenge increased ouractive membership by 1,556 members in just one month. States compet-ed for recognition and complimentary attendance to a number of MBAevents throughout the year.

The enrollment challenge was a great lead into MBA’s AnnualConvention, where 2015 MBA Chairman Bill Cosgrove stressed the impor-tance of active advocacy in our industry. As Bill mentioned, advocacymust become a part of our company culture and—simply put—signingup for MAA is the easiest thing you can do to support our industry.

I could not agree with our chairman any more. The future of our advo-cacy efforts in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals across the countryrelies heavily on the ability our company and state leaders to set the“advocacy example.” When our leaders make active advocacy important,it becomes a part of our company culture. Mortgage banking is our nineto five, but we cannot forget that the fate and health of our industryrequires us to spend from 5:00 p.m.-5:15 p.m. being active mouthpiecesfor the real estate finance industry.

I’m proud to work with such a dedicated team of advocates, and Ihope we can finish this cycle strong. For those who have run MAA cam-paigns—thank you. For those who have not, I challenge you to becomea leader for the industry and be an active participant in moving theindustry forward.

If you would like to run an MAA campaign, please contact StephanieGraham at (202) 557-2818 or e-mail [email protected] to receive anEnrollment Campaign Kit and learn more about how you can engage yourcolleagues and employees in MBA’s advocacy programs.

Real estate finance industry professionals who wish to join or learnmore about MAA can do so by logging on to www.mortgageactional-liance.org. If you have any questions regarding MBA’s advocacy programs,please contact MBA’s Assistant Director of Political Affairs AnnieGawkowski at (202) 557-2816 or e-mail [email protected].

Amy Swaney, CMB is governmental relations officer and branch manager withScottsdale, Ariz.-based Citywide Home Loans. Amy is also chair of the MortgageAction Alliance (MAA), a voluntary, non-partisan and free nationwide grass-roots lobbying network of real estate finance industry professionals, affiliatedwith the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Amy may be reached by phoneat (480) 822-6262, ext. 2164, e-mail [email protected] or visithttp://mba.org/Advocacy/MortgageActionAlliance.

MBA’sMortgageActionAlliance

A Message From MAA Chairwoman Amy Swaney

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split, 14 of the respondents indicatedthat they felt the recovery was gainingmomentum, whereas the other 16 did-n’t agree. Those saying yes ranked themomentum a modest four on a scaleof one through 10.

l Question 48 wondered whetherlenders thought they could be in fullcompliance with the disparate impact-treatment theory under the FairLending Act and not end up originatingtoo many risky loans. Overall, mostlenders, by a response tally of 22 toeight, don’t think they can meet thedisparate impact and treatment legalinterpretations and not go overboardwith loans they otherwise wouldn’tmake.

l For at least a year, lenders have beensaying what a challenge it has beenrecruiting and retaining strong LOs.Question 49 asked the respondents torank the extent of the challenge doingso. The group average was 7.3 of 10.Seventeen ranked the challenge ofrecruiting and retaining strong LOs aneight or better.

l Question 50 wanted to know if theirfirm’s LOs were encouraged to partici-pate in their state and local trade asso-ciations. Twenty-one executives report-ed providing such encouragement,versus eight that indicated little suchencouragement.

l The CFPB was the subject of Questions51-59. The specific issues inquiredabout included: The clarity of the loanoriginator (LO) compensation rule,qualified mortgage (QM) rule clarity,the size of the challenge involved inpreparing for the August 2015 imple-mentation of the new RESPA/TILA dis-closures, the difficulty and cost ofimplementing QM/ATR, the idea of apublic consumer complaint database,the challenge of the vendor manage-ment compliance rule, the expansionand use of HMDA data, and whetherthose surveyed think that mortgageconsumers are benefiting from theadvent of the CFPB on the basis of athorough cost/benefit analysis. Yes,clarity has been brought to the issuesof LO compensation and QM, say smallmajorities of six and four respectively.However, the RESPA/TILA disclosurerule was ranked an 8.1 on the 10 pointscale, with 24 ranking it an 8 or moreand eight ranking it a 10. The difficultyand cost of QM/ATR implementationwere both ranked 6 out of 10. Nineexecutives ranked the difficulty aneight or greater, while 12 ranked thecost to implement QMs an eight orhigher. As for establishing a complaintdatabase, the idea received supportfrom six executives, while 24 indicatedit wasn’t a good idea. Meanwhile, onlytwo of 27 respondents thought that thenew data being collected under theHome Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)would be used to help not harmlenders.

l The response to Question 59 indicatedthat only five of 29 executives thoughtthat a cost/benefit analysis would indi-cate that the consumer’s benefit fromthe CFPB would be outweighed by itscost.

l Questions about the affordability ofhousing are hot issues in the media,among lenders, and at the FederalReserve. Respondents to Question 60reported by nearly two-to-one that theythink affordability is waning nation-wide. As for how much, the affordabil-ity problem ranked a group average ofthree out of 10, indicating it’s stillviewed as a minor problem.

l Question 61 inquired about the per-formance of FHFA Director Mel Watt inhis first 10 months at the helm of theFHFA. According to the respondents,Director Watt currently scores a 5.3 onthe 10 point scale.

l The mortgage banking industry hasbeen hearing about GSE reform anda major restructuring of the second-ary market since at least 2010. Askedin Question 62 if they expect such amajor restructuring, 21 said not inthe next two to three years com-pared to eight who felt it was possi-ble in three years depending on theWhite House.

l Looking out to 2017, Question 63 won-dered how attractive those surveyedthought the mortgage business wouldbe in the next several years. The groupresponse averaged a 4.8 of 10, withonly five ranking it an 8 or higher.

l Question 64 asked who was familiarwith the National Mortgage Risk Index.Twenty-four of 30 indicated an aware-ness of the index, the introduction ofwhich was launched one year ago.

l The final question, Question 65, waswhether the executives thought theRepublicans would win the Senatenext week. If they are correct, it won’teven be close, as five times as manyrespondents said the Republicanswould take over in the Senate asthose predicting the Democratswould retain the majority.

My thanks to all those who participatedin the survey and especially to Tom Millonand the Capital Markets Cooperative foragain sponsoring the survey and the report.

Tom LaMalfa is a 34-year veteran mort-gage-market analyst and researcher. Hehas done pioneering work in the areas ofsecondary markets, wholesale mortgagebanking, mortgage brokerages, financialbenchmarking and GSE reform. Tom con-tinues since 1977 to co-author an old-fash-ioned mail newsletter, The Holm MortgageFinance Report. In the aftermath of thefinancial crisis, his focus is on Washington,D.C. and the regulatory burden it is impos-ing on consumers and lenders. His 20-plus-year-old research firm, TSl Consulting, doessurvey research. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Step Inside Ginnie Mae

By Ted W. Tozer

Formed in 1968 to provide a guaranty backed by the full faith andcredit of the United States government for timely payment of prin-cipal and interest on mortgage-backed securities (MBS), GinnieMae issued the first MBS in 1970. From the time of our inception

and up to the most recent housing crisis, with the Savings and Loan crisis of the1980s being an exception, the housing finance industry has been fairly steady. AsFreddie Mac and Fannie Mae were viewed as the dominant players in the hous-ing finance industry, Ginnie Mae was often regarded as the “Little Sister.”

However, with the rapid changes now facing the industry as a result of thehousing and global financial crisis, today’s environment is vastly different than itwas in 1968. Yet, Ginnie Mae has flourished while many others, including Freddieand Fannie, have withdrawn or stayed on the sidelines.

Through this period of change, Ginnie Mae has continued to grow, returninga healthy profit each year during the housing crisis. Each year since 2009, GinnieMae has returned revenues in excess of $1 billion, and those in the housingfinance industry have taken notice. In fact, Ginnie Mae’s profits have reduced thegovernment deficit by over five billion dollars since 2008.

But the changing environment in recent years has led to a transformation inwhich commercial banks are retreating from mortgage lending and servicing,with non-depository institutions filling that void. We see increasingly more com-plex financial and operational structures. This has notably changed Ginnie Mae’sissuer base and represents a significantly different operating environment, onefor which the Ginnie Mae program was not originally designed. This evolvingmarket is also seeing a credit tightening that is keeping many locked out of thehousing market. Our new program with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicagodemonstrates that Ginnie Mae can effectively open up credit availability to con-sumers who are being shut out of the American dream of homeownership.

However, we are taking a leadership role in the housing finance industry toensure that we continue to manage risk effectively and remain a cornerstonewithin the industry. We are modernizing our mortgage-backed securities (MBS)program and securitization platform to strengthen and expand our capacity toensure that low-cost credit continues to be available across the single family,multifamily and health care sectors, while insulating the American tax payeragainst losses. We are focusing on closer scrutiny of an issuer’s liquidity, provid-ing more detailed and more frequent mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfoliovaluations, and publishing data-driven operational performance metrics.

In the wake of the housing crisis, many of the legislative proposals inCongress, as well as other reform proposals, envision a larger role for private cap-ital in the market. However, a growing consensus has emerged that a govern-ment guarantee is essential to ensure a well-functioning mortgage market in theUnited States. I believe that the Ginnie Mae business model is more relevant thanever in the current environment. We know from experience that our modelworks, we have 433 approved Ginnie Mae issuers to prove it! Between 2007-2014,Ginnie Mae’s total MBS outstanding nearly tripled, as government-backed MBSprograms became virtually the only means of financing residential real estate.

By modifying our MBS program to meet changing conditions while maintain-ing the key principles and features that have contributed to our long-term suc-cess, Ginnie Mae will continue to ensure a healthy housing finance market formany years to come. In fact, given our extraordinary growth and industry lead-ership, industry analysts predict that we will surpass Freddie Mac in MBS out-standing within the next nine months.

Given all that, it’s easy to see that Ginnie Mae, Freddie and Fannie’s “little sis-ter,” is all grown up now.

Ted W. Tozer is was sworn in as president of Ginnie Mae on Feb. 24, 2010, bringingwith him more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage, banking and securitiesindustries. As president of Ginnie Mae, Tozer actively manages Ginnie Mae’s $1.5trillion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and more than $460 billion inannual issuance.

The Little Sister, All Grown Up

surveying the opinionscontinued from page 31

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time trapscontinued from page 65


l TrakLogix has hired blogger BarbaraEubanks from Mindstorm Media tofocus her efforts on updating individu-als of the mortgage industry’s latestheadlines. TrakLogix has alsoannounced the addition of Gary Bryanas its new national director of sales.

l The Compliance Group Inc. (TCG) hasannounced it has hired JeremyBurcham as chief strategy officer.

l Primary Residential Mortgage Inc.(PRMI) has announced that ScottMattern has joined the firm as aregional manager.

l Lenders Compliance Group Inc. (LCG)has announced that Matt Strahl hasjoined the firm as director of compli-ance solutions.

l David H. Stevens, president and chiefexecutive officer of the MortgageBankers Association (MBA), hasannounced the appointment of Lisa J.Haynes as chief financial officer.Haynes joins MBA from Fannie Mae,where she was most recently vicepresident for operational accounting.The MBA has also announced that Dr.Lynn M. Fisher has joined theAssociation as vice president ofresearch and economics.

l LDWholesale, the third-party origina-tion division of loanDepot LLC, hasannounced that Jack O’Brien hasjoined LDWholesale as vice president,east regional sales.

l GSF Mortgage has named BruceOlster to its corporate team as direc-

tor of capital markets and corporatedevelopment. GSF has also addedTeresa Nelson as branch manager inthe firm’s Iola, Wisc. branch.

l FirstService Residential hasannounced the addition of Scott Langas senior vice president of finance forthe Mid-Atlantic region where he willbe responsible for driving revenueenhancement and cost control initia-tives across the region.

l CoreLogic has announced that DavidMartin, a financial services, sales andmarketing veteran, has joined thecompany as senior vice president,global head of sales and marketing.

l Fairway Independent MortgageCorporation has announced that ithas added a new branch in Scottsdale,Ariz., to be managed by Jon Tobias, atop mortgage originator in Arizona’sMaricopa County.

l The Data and Analytics Division ofBlack Knight Financial Services (BKFS)has named Ben Graboske to assumeits chief technology officer role.

l Comergence has named RebeccaAtchison as marketing director.

l Anne E. Sutherland has joinedBallard Spahr as of counsel in thefirm’s Mortgage Banking andConsumer Financial Services Groups.

l Timothy J. Hatter has joinedMortgage Network Inc. as a salesmanager in the company’sDoylestown, Penn. branch office. With30-plus years of experience creatinghigh-performing mortgage sales oper-ations, Larry Gunnin has joinedMortgage Network Inc. as the com-pany’s Southeast regional manager.

l ClosingCorp has announced theappointment of Kamel Boulos aschief technology officer.

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: [email protected]

Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are pre-ferred. The deadline for submissions is the1st of the month prior to the target issue.

busy, and I guarantee the meeting willhave the expectation of being shortunless you extend it. Also arrive early toplan your ideas. If you aren’t early,you’re late. If your mind isn’t preparedto start when your body is present, youare wasting time that could be spentdoing more important things.

6. Make time to sell everydayIt is so easy to come up with excuses toavoid marketing yourself or your busi-ness. The sad fact is, the landscape is lit-tered with mortgage brokers andbankers who think they are in the mort-gage business instead of the sales busi-ness. There is a problem with under-writing, so you avoid making phonecalls. A staff dilemma and you procras-tinate setting an appointment with areferral source. Do that for few monthsand your business looks like OprahWinfrey’s weight loss plan. A constantroller coaster of up and down. Do yousell when you are desperate and pro-crastinate making calls when business isgood? A wise and wealthy mortgage proloved to see his competition get toomuch business. This was his sign to sellharder, gaining market share whichmeant referral sources giving him busi-ness he didn’t have to pay advertisingdollars for.

7. Don’t get trapped into“Hurry Sickness”Do you rush around even when you don’thave to. Do you become inpatient in lineseven on Sundays? Do your thoughts turnto work on your time off? You are suffer-ing from “Hurry Sickness.” Dr. JamesDobson had a spot on his show a shorttime ago in which a prominent psycholo-gist described this malady. He talked

about a focus so intense that even youroff time became on. This is “Type A”behavior pattern gone wild.

Sam Walton of Wal-Mart fame statedon his death bed that he blew it. Theemployee listening to his last statementsthought he was about to hear a scandalthe dying CEO regretted. Worse yet, afinancial goal that went unrealized.Instead Walton said he blew it with hisfamily. The only thing important in thefinal hours of one’s life isn’t the money orthe conquests, it’s the people. Waltonsaid he barely knew his youngest son. Hiswife stayed with him out of commit-ment. He even neglected his grandchil-dren. No one in the last stages of life hasever looked back to take stock andregretted not making more money. It isalways the relationships they missed.

You don’t need to learn more aboutthe mortgage business … you need tobecome more effective at doing thethings you already know. This meansdiscipline, focus and most importantlymaking the time for the most impor-tant staff support group in your life,your family. You can do that and stillearn a decent living.

Dr. Kerry Johnson is a frequent speakerat mortgage industry conferences on top-ics like “How to Read Your Clients Mind”and “How to Increase Your Sales by 80Percent in Eight Weeks.” He is the authorof six books, including Mastering theGame: The Human Edge in Sales andMarketing, WILLPOWER: The Secrets ofSelf-Discipline and his newest book, WhySmart People Make Dumb MistakesWith Their Money. For more informa-tion, visit www.kerryjohnson.com/coach-ing, call (714) 368-3650 or [email protected].

1, 2015, it will control the generation anddelivery of the Borrower’s ClosingDisclosure form in anticipation of theCFPB’s new TILA-RESPA IntegratedDisclosure Rule that takes effect the sameday. The new disclosure is a combinationof the existing Truth-in-Lending (TIL) dis-closure and the HUD-1 SettlementStatement. Wells stated they will be takingover this process in order to meet internalcompliance and governmental regulatorycompliance expectations on the bank.

On the lighter side …The Top Five Things You Don’t Want toHear From Your Realtor When You Closeon Your New Home1. “I think unexplained crop circles adda unique flair to any home’s garden.”2. “Yes, the last owner did donate thehouse to the Hell’s Angels, but I’m told

that the judge has ordered them not tocome within 50 feet of it.” 3. “Your neighbor has assured me that,technically, they’re not ‘killer’ bees.”4. “It’s quite common for roaches togrow that big even when not in thepresence of radioactivity.”5. “It’s true that they died in the house,but the prosecutor was never actuallyable to prove it was murder.”

Andrew Liput has been a corporate, realestate and banking attorney for morethan 25 years He is the founder, CEO andpresident of SSI, the first data intelli-gence and risk analytics firm to offer spe-cialized vendor management servicesaddressing settlement agent risk to mort-gage lenders and banks nationwide. Hecan be reached by e-mail [email protected].

tales from the closing tablecontinued from page 34

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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 con-

tact information, to [email protected].

* Looking for additional exposure at key industry events?Call 516.409.5555, ext. 4 to discover how to maximize your event coverage.

DECEMBER 2014Wednesday-Friday, December 3-5

Mortgage Bankers Association IndependentMortgage Bankers Conference

Hotel Del Coronado1500 Orange Avenue

Coronado, Calif.For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or

visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

JANUARY 2015Monday-Friday, January 12-16

MISMO Winter 2015 Educational Summit & Workshop

Hotel Contessa Luxury Suites on theRiverwalk

306 West Market StreetSan Antonio, Texas

For more information, [email protected] or visit www.mismo.org.

Thursday-Friday, January 29-30California Association of Mortgage

Professionals 2015 Sales & MarketingConference

Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City555 Universal Hollywood Drive

Universal City, Calif.For more information, call (916) 448-8236,

e-mail [email protected] or visit www.thecampsite.org.

FEBRUARY 2015Sunday-Wednesday, February 1-4

Mortgage Bankers Association’s CommercialReal Estate Finance (CREF)/Multifamily

Housing Convention & Expo 2015Manchester Grand Hyatt

1 Market PlaceSan Diego, Calif.

For more information, call (800) 793-6222 orvisit www.mortgagebankers.org.

Tuesday, February 17Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals

(FAMP) Broward Chapter 2015 Annual Trade Show

Bonaventure Resort Conference Center and Spa

250 Racquet Club RoadWeston, Fla.

For more information, call (954) 986-0808 ore-mail [email protected].

Monday-Thursday, February 23-26Mortgage Bankers Association National

Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo 2015Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center

1501 Gaylord TrailGrapevine, Texas


MARCH 2015Wednesday-Saturday, March 4-7

Mortgage Bankers Association Mid-WinterHousing Finance Conference 2015The Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch

130 Daybreak RidgeAvon, Colo.


Sunday-Thursday, March 8-1232nd Annual Regional Conference of MBAs

Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort1000 BoardwalkAtlantic City, N.J.

For more information, call (732) 596-1619 orvisit 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 [email protected].

Sunday-Wednesday, March 29-April 1Mortgage Bankers Association’s National

Technology in Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo 2015

Hyatt Regency Orlando9801 International Drive

Orlando, Fla.For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or

visit www.mortgagebankers.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 [email protected] or visit

www.txmortgageroundup.com.

Wednesday, April 292015 Midwest Mortgage Matchmaker

ConferenceAmeristar Casino Resort & Spa

1 Ameristar BoulevardSaint Charles, Mo.


www.mortgage-matchmaker.com.

MAY 2015Tuesday, May 12

2015 Great Northwest Mortgage ExpoCrowne Plaza Downtown Portland

1441 NE 2nd AvenuePortland, Ore.


www.greatnorthwestexpo.com.

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

[email protected].

JUNE 2015Thursday, June 4

2015 Southwest Mortgage FestSandia Casino & Resort

30 Rainbow RoadAlbuquerque, N.M.

For more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail [email protected] or

visit www.swmortgagefest.com.

Monday-Wednesday, June 22-24Ultimate Mortgage Expo 2015

The Hotel Monteleone214 Royal Street • New Orleans, La.

For more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail [email protected] or

visit www.ultimatemortgageexpo.com.

AUGUST 2015Thursday-Friday, August 20-21

Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association(LMLA) 2015 Education Conference

The Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel2 Poydras Street • New Orleans, La.

For more information, call (225) 590-5722 or visit www.lmla.com.

OCTOBER 2015Wednesday-Friday, October 7-10

American Land Title Association 2015 Annual Convention

Westin Copley Place Boston10 Huntington Avenue

Boston, Mass.For more information, call (202) 296-3671,

visit www.alta.org or [email protected].

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 [email protected] or

visit www.nambnational.com.

Sunday-Wednesday, October 18-21Mortgage Bankers Association Annual

Convention and Expo 2015San Diego Convention Center

111 West Harbor DriveSan Diego, Calif.

For more information, call (800) 793-6222 or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

NOVEMBER 2015Wednesday-Thursday, November 18-19

Mortgage Star Conference 2015Canyons Resort

4000 Canyon Resort Drive • Park City, UtahFor more information, call (860) 719-1991,e-mail [email protected] or

visit www.mortgage-star.net.

Friday, November 20Utah Association of Mortgage Professionals

(UAMP) Expo 2015Canyons Resort

4000 Canyon Resort Drive • Park City, UtahFor more information, call (860) 719-1991, e-mail [email protected] or

visit www.uampexpo.com.

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WE BUILT OURTEAM TO MOVEYOUR BUSINESS

FORWARD

AFR Wholesale is committed to improving the lender experience and building lasting relationships through exceptional service, which is why we made significant changes that provide you consistent service from a reliable and dedicated team.

Lender NMLS 2826. AFR Wholesale is a division of American Financial Resources, Inc. - AFR is a nationwide wholesale and correspondent lender. This information is provided to assist business professionals only and is not an advertisement extended to the consumer as defined by Section 226.2 Regulation Z. - EHL / EOE - 9 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, NJ 07054 - www.afrwholesale.com

FROM THE GROUND UPWe restructured our production and support staffs to deliver more responsive file processing and quicker suspended item resolution. We strive to offer personalized service to each and every one of our lending partners.

WITH YOU IN MINDResponding to the needs of our clients is what earns us trusted business. Our improved structure means you spend less time working in-process files and more time building your business and gaining new clients.

JOIN OUR TEAM BY VISITING AFRWHOLESALE.COM OR CALL US AT 877-552-8737

pennsylvania mortgage professional magazine november 2014

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