P R E S O R T E D S T A N D A R D

U . S . P O S T A G E P A I D
N M P M E D I A C O R P .
N M P M E D I A C O R P .
1 2 2 0 W A N T A G H A V E N U E
W A N T A G H , N E W Y O R K 1 1 7 9 3
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Get Personal With Technology By BJ Bounds 24
Marketing: Remember the Fundamentals By Scott Seroka 25
How to Thrive in the New Mortgage Landscape
By Kurt Reisig 26
Influence the Influential By Andy W. Harris, CRMS 27
Social Media Cant Live With Em
By Mark Anthony McCray and Tonya D. Bradley 28
The Five Essentials of Every Mortgage Web Site
By Joy Gendusa 29
How to Win Customer Confidence, Generate Referrals
and Differentiate Your Business Through Exceptional
Customer Service By Scott Peters 30
E-mail Marketing Plans: A Small Investment in Time
Reaps Big Payoff By Melanie Attia 31
The Secondary Market Overview: From Bonds to Production
The Great Real Estate Debate By Dave Hershman 12
NMP Mortgage Professional of the Month: Chris Frost,
Vice President and Business Development Manager,
Frost Mortgage Banking Group 14
FHA Insider: Compliant Filed With HUD Will Lenders be
Forced to Accept FHA Minimum Scores? By Jeff Mifsud 17
Lykken on Leadership: Leadership and LO
Compensation By David Lykken 18
Leaders on the Frontline: Leaderships Top Priorities
By Stewart Hunter and Jim McMahan 19
The NAMB Perspective 21
Forward on Reverse: FIT for Reverse Mortgage Lenders
(Part VI) Marital Transitions By Atare E. Agbamu 22
Value Nation: Property Value Rebound Challenges
By Charlie W. Elliott Jr., MAI, SRA, ASA 32
Trends in Mortgage Lending for 2011
By Christopher Brown Esq. 33
NMP News Flash: February 2011 4
Mortgage Heroes 15
Heard on the Street 17
New to Market 23
NMP Mortgage Professional Resource Registry 40
NMP Calendar of Events 44
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Visit
NationalMortgageProfessional.com.
COMPANY WEB SITE PAGE
Accurate Quality Control .................................. www.accurateqc.com ..........................................36
BankFinancial .................................................. www.bankfinancial.com ........................................4
Bay Equity LLC ................................................ www.bayeq.com ..................................................34
Benchmark Mortgage ...................................... www.iambenchmark.info ......................................19
Calyx Software ................................................ www.calyxsoftware.com ......................................20
Comergence Compliance Monitoring, LLC .......... www.comergencecompliance.com ..................4 & 38
Elliott and Company Appraisers, Inc................... www.appraisalanywhere.com ................................21
Flagstar Wholesale Lending .............................. www.wholesale.flagstar.com ....................Back Cover
Freedom Mortgage .......................................... www.fmbranch.com ......................Inside Back Cover
Frost Mortgage Lending Group .......................... www.frostmortgage.com/nmp ..............................35
GSF Mortgage Corporation ................................ www.gsfprobranch.com ..........................................9
Guaranteed Home Mortgage.............................. www.joinguaranteed.com ....................................37
HVCC Appraisal Ordering .................................. www.hvccappraisalordering.com ..........................26
MBA-NJ/NJAMB ................................................ www.mbanj.com ..................................................8
MortgageProShop.com .................................... www.mortgageproshop.com ..................................44
Mortgage Concepts .......................................... www.mortgageconcepts.com ..................................5
Mortgage Dashboard ........................................ www.mortgagedashboard.com ................................7
NAMB.............................................................. www.namb.org/legconference ..............................33
Nationwide Equities Corp. ................................ www.nwecorp.com ..............................................11
NMLF, Inc. ...................................................... www.nmlf.us ......................................................32
PB Financial Group Corp. .................................. pbfinancialgrp.com ..............................................32
REMN (Real Estate Mortgage Network)................ www.remnwholesale.com ....................................39
StreetLinks National Appraisal Services .............. www.streetlinks.com/SCORe ..........Inside Front Cover
Terrace Mortgage Company .............................. www.terracemortgage.com ....................................6
United Northern Mortgage Bankers Ltd. ............ www.unitednorthern.jobs ..............................10 & 28
USA Cares ........................................................ www.usacares.org ................................................15
Windvest Corporation ...................................... www.windvestcorp.com ........................................23
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Special Focus on
Its All About Marketing!
Features
Columns
February 2011 Volume 3, Number 2
A Message From NMP Media Corp.
Executive Vice President Andrew T. Berman
How can a reduction of 33 percent in volume actually
be a good thing?
The latest Mortgage Finance Forecast from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is
calling for a drop from $1.5 trillion in originations for 2010 to $966 billion in 2011 and
$976 billion in 2012. However, there is some positivity in that harsh reality. It is fore-
casted that the purchase market will moving from $473 billion in 2010 to $614 billion
in 2011, and then $740 billion in 2012.
If you take into consideration the massive attrition we have seen in the origina-
tor sector, as states like Florida are reporting that only 36 percent of mortgage bro-
kers are currently still in business from last year. Is this a blessing or a curse from the SAFE Act? This
number means now is a pretty good time to be in the mortgage industry if you are a referral-based
purchase-targeted originator. In this months edition, Dave Hershman discusses how the purchase
market will be strong in 2011 on page 12 in months installment of The Secondary Market Overview,
The Great Real Estate Debate.
How do we capture this purchase boom? ... Its all about marketing!
This month, we take a look at marketing strategies that are working in todays marketplace. We all know
that marketing is much more than just sending out postcards or taking out Yellow Page ads. In this special
section, we see that marketing today runs the gamut from making a strong first impression to cultivating
relationships, to quality in customer service to maintaining and following up on referrals. Its managing
and analyzing every step of the process to ensure that you have an everlasting pipeline of loans. I hope you
find some nuggets of info to capture your share of the purchase boom.
NMPs Mortgage Professional of the Month
This month, we had the pleasure to sit down and chat with Chris Frost, vice president and business
development manager of Frost Mortgage Banking Group. With a banking background and philosophy
that puts him in the trenches with his staff, Chris is looking to help guide Frost Mortgage Banking,
Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. (PRMI)s second biggest division, to the $1 billion mark in produc-
tion volume in 2011.
Two new additions to the publication
You will notice two new sections in the pages of National Mortgage Professional Magazine this month. First,
on page 15, you will find Mortgage Heroes, a section provided in partnership with USA Cares. Each
month, Mortgage Heroes will highlight mortgage professionals who go out of their way to support the
men and women who have fought to protect this great country we live in. For our column launch, USA
Cares selected the folks at Kentucky Neighborhood Bank (KNB) in Radcliff, Ky. for all of their work on
behalf of our nations defenders.
Also new to this issue is the column on page 19, Leaders on the Frontline by Stewart Hunter and Jim
McMahan of Benchmark Mortgage. In this first installment, we hear from these two execs who lead from
the trenches about Leaderships Top Priorities.
Rounding out the issue
Other articles of note in the February 2011 issue include the return of Jeff Mifsuds FHA Insider series on
page 17, Complaint Filed With HUD: Will Lenders be Forced to Accept FHA Minimum Scores?; in our sec-
ond installment of Lykken on Leadership on page 18, David Lykken breaks down the 7 Cs or charac-
teristics of what makes a strong leader; The NAMB Perspective on page 21 from NAMB Board member
Deb Killian where Deb shares a real-life example of closing loans in todays tough regulatory environment;
Part VI of Atare E. Agbamus FIT for Reverse Mortgage Lenders series on page 22 discussing reverse mort-
gages and life decisions; Value Nation from Charlie W. Elliott on page 32 discussing a rebound in the
housing market; and a look at Trends in Mortgage Lending for 2011 on page 33 from Christopher Brown
Esq. of the law firm of Begos Horgan & Brown LLP.
Until next month
Andrew T. Berman, Executive Vice President
NMP Media Corp.
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February 2011
Volume 3 Number 2
1220 Wantagh Avenue Wantagh, NY 11793-2202
Phone: (516) 409-5555 / (888) 409-9770
Fax: (516) 409-4600
Web site: www.nationalmortgageprofessional.com
Mortgage
PROFESSIONAL
N A T I O N A L
M A G A Z I N E
Your source for the latest on originations, settlement, and servicing
STAFF
Eric C. Peck
Editor-in-Chief
(516) 409-5555, ext. 312
ericp@nmpmediacorp.com
Andrew T. Berman
Executive Vice President
(516) 409-5555, ext. 333
andrew@nmpmediacorp.com
Domenica Trafficanda
Art Director
domenicat@nmpmediacorp.com
Karen Krizman
Senior National Account Executive
(516) 409-5555, ext. 326
karenk@nmpmediacorp.com
Jon Blake
Advertising Coordinator
(516) 409-5555, ext. 301
jonb@nmpmediacorp.com
Tara Cook
Billing Coordinator
(516) 409-5555, ext. 324
tarac@nmpmediacorp.com
ADVERTISING
To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines and require-
ments, please contact Senior National Account Executive Karen Krizman at
(516) 409-5555, ext. 326 or e-mail karenk@nmpmediacorp.com.
ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS/PRESS RELEASES
To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please
contact Editor-in-Chief Eric C. Peck at (516) 409-5555, ext. 312 or e-mail
ericp@nmpmediacorp.com. The deadline for submissions is the first of
the month prior to the target issue.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
To receive subscription information, please call (516) 409-5555, ext.
301; e-mail orders@nmpmediacorp.com or visit www.nationalmort-
gageprofessional.com. Any subscription changes may be made to the
attention of Circulation via fax to (516) 409-4600.
Statements, articles and opinions in National Mortgage Professional Magazine
are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply the opinion or
endorsement of NMP Media Corp., or the officers or members of National
Association of Mortgage Brokers and its State Affiliates (NAMB), National
Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW), National Credit
Reporting Association (NCRA) and/or other state mortgage trade associations.
Participation in NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA, and/or other state mortgage
trade associations events, activities and/or publications is available on
a non-discriminatory basis and does not reflect the endorsement of the
product and/or services by NMP Media Corp., NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA,
and other state mortgage trade associations.
National Mortgage Professional Magazine, NAMB, NAPMW, NCRA,
and/or other state mortgage trade associations do not make any misrepre-
sentations or warranties concerning the regulatory and/or compliance
aspects of advertisers, products or services and/or the editorial content con-
tained in NMP Media Corp. publications. National Mortgage Professional
Magazine and NMP Media Corp. reserve the right to edit, reject and/or post-
pone the publication of any articles, information or data.
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
is published monthly by NMP Media Corp.
Copyright 2011 NMP Media Corp.
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National Credit Reporting Association Inc.
125 East Lake Street, Suite 200 O Bloomingdale, IL 60108
Phone #: (630) 539-1525 O Fax #: (630) 539-1526
Web site: www.ncrainc.org
The National Association of
Mortgage Brokers
11325 Random Hills Road, Suite 360
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone #: (703) 342-5900 O Fax #: (703) 342-5905
PresidentMichael DAlonzo, CMC
Creative Mortgage Group
1126 Horsham Road, Suite D
Maple Glen, PA 19002
(215) 657-9600 O mjdalonzo@hotmail.com
Vice PresidentDonald J. Frommeyer, CRMS
Amtrust Mortgage Funding Inc.
200 Medical Drive, Suite D
Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 575-4355 O dfrommeyer@amtrust.net
SecretaryVirginia Ferguson, CMC
Heritage Valley Mortgage Inc.
5700 Stoneridge Mall Road, Suite 225
Pleasanton, CA 94588
(925) 469-0100 O hvm1@msn.com
TreasurerJohn Councilman, CMC,CRMS
AMC Mortgage Corporation
2613 Fallston Road
Fallston, MD 21047
(410) 557-6400 O jlc@amcmortgage.com
Immediate Past PresidentJim Pair, CMC
Mortgage Associates Corpus Christi
6262 Weber Road, Suite 208
Corpus Christi, TX 78413
(361) 853-9987 O jlpair@aol.com
Michael Anderson, CRMS
Essential Mortgage
3029 S. Sherwood Forest Boulevard, Suite 200
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
(225) 297-7704 O mikea@essentialmtg.com
Donald Fader, CRMS
SMC Home Finance
P.O. Box 1376
Kinston, NC 28503-1376
(252) 523-5800 O dfader@smchf.com
Deb Killian, CRMS
Charter Oak Lending Group LLC
3 Corporate Drive, P.O. Box 3196
Danbury, CT 06813-3196
(203) 778-9999, ext. 103 O debkillian@snet.net
Olga Kucerak, CRMS
Crown Lending
222 East Houston, Suite 1600
San Antonio, TX 78205
(210) 828-3384 O olga@crownlending.com
Walter Scott
Excalibur Financial Inc.
175 Strafford Avenue, Suite 1
Wayne, PA 19087
(215) 669-3273 O wscott.afcs@gmail.com
Tom Conwell
President
(248) 473-7400
tconwell@credittechnologies.com
Donald J. Unger
Vice President
(303) 670-7993, ext. 222
don@advcredit.com
Daphne Large
Treasurer
(901) 259-5105
daphnel@datafacts.com
Marty Flynn
Ex-Officio
(925) 831-3520, ext. 224
marty@ccireports.com
William Bower
DirectorTenant Screening Chair
(800) 288-4757
wbower@confinfo.com
Mike Brown
DirectorTechnology Chair
(800) 285-6691
mike.brown@ncogroup.com
Susan Cataldo
DirectorEducation & Compliance Chair
(404) 303-8656, ext. 204
susancds@cdsusa.net
Janet Curtis
DirectorNew Membership
& Elections Co-Chair
(212) 224-6121
jcurtis@sarma.com
Renee Erickson
DirectorTenant Screening Co-Chair
(800) 311-1585, ext. 2101
renee@zipreports.com
Nancy Fedich
DirectorConference Chair
(908) 813-8555, ext. 3010
nancy@cisinfo.net
Judy Ryan
DirectorNew Membership
& Elections Chair
(800) 929-3400, ext. 201
jryan@kroll.com
Tom Swider
DirectorLegislative Co-Chair
(856) 787-9005, ext. 1201
tswider@creditlenders.com
Terry Clemans
Executive Director
(630) 539-1525
tclemans@ncrainc.org
Jan Gerber
Office Manager/Membership Services
(630) 539-1525
jgerber@ncrainc.org
President
Gary Tumbiolo, CMI
(919) 452-1529
garytumbiolo@aol.com
President-Elect
Laurie Abshier, GML, CMI
(661) 283-1262
E-Mail: lauriea@gemcorp.com
Senior Vice President
Candace Smith, CMI, CME
(512) 329-9040
csmith@wrstarkey.com
Vice PresidentNorthwestern Region
Jill M. Kinsman
(206) 344-7827
jill.kinsman@usbank.com
Vice PresidentWestern Region
Tim Courtney
(760) 792-5620
desertranchrealty@hotmail.com
Vice PresidentCentral Region
Lisa Puckett
(405) 741-5485
lpuckett@ameagletitle.com
Vice PresidentEastern Region
Christine Pollard
(646) 584-8332
cpollard1046@gmail.com
Secretary
Murielle Barnes, CME
(806) 373-6641
napmw123@yahoo.com
Treasurer
Hulene Bridgman-Works
(972) 494-2788
hulene137@yahoo.com
Parliamentarian
Dawn Adams, GML, CMI
(607) 737-2584
dawnvadams@live.com
NAMB Board of Directors
National Association of Professional
Mortgage Women
P.O. Box 451718 O Garland, TX 75042
Phone #: (800) 827-3034 O Fax #: (469) 524-5121
Web site: www.napmw.org
Officers
Directors
2011 Board of Directors & Staff
National Board of Directors
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Feds Housing Scorecard
Finds High Affordability
in an Unstable Market
The U.S. Department
of Housing & Urban
Development (HUD)
and the U.S. Department of the Treasury
have jointly released the January edition
of the Obama Administrations Housing
Scorecard. The latest housing figures
show increased new and existing home
sales as home affordability remains high,
but officials caution that the market
remains fragile, as prices are unsettled.
Foreclosure starts and completions
remained low at the years end, as lenders
continue to review internal servicing
procedures.
Over the last 20 months, the
Obama Administration has confronted
the nations housing crisis with an
unprecedented effort to promote sta-
bility in the marketkeeping millions
of families in their homes and helping
millions more to save money by refi-
nancing. But the data clearly show that
the market remains extremely fragile,
said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael
Bostic. We know that many responsi-
ble homeowners are still fighting to
make ends meet. Thats why were
committed to continuing to provide
help to homeowners by implementing
the broad range of programs the
Obama Administration has put in
place.
Before the launch of the
Administrations programs, little was
done to offer meaningful assistance to
homeowners struggling to deal with the
worst housing crisis in generations. The
data released today demonstrates that
the Administrations programs are
reaching middle income homeowners
and providing them with real payment
relief, said acting Treasury Assistant
Secretary for Financial Stability Tim
Massad. While we cannot prevent
every foreclosure, it is important to
remember that these programs have
helped to create more options for
affordable and sustainable assistance
than have ever been available before.
Each month, the Housing Scorecard
incorporates key housing market indi-
cators and highlights the impact of the
Administrations housing recovery
efforts, including assistance to home-
owners through the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) and Home
Affordable Modification Program
(HAMP). The January Housing Scorecard
features key data on the health of the
housing market including:
O New and existing home sales
increased in December, but remained
below levels seen in the first half of
2010. Record low mortgage rates con-
tinue to keep home affordability at
record high levels. However, home
prices remain unsettled at this fragile
stage of the recovery.
O As lenders review internal proce-
dures related to foreclosure process-
ing, many foreclosure actions have
been delayed leading to a lower
level of foreclosure activity in
December than in prior months.
The decline is likely to be temporary
as lenders eventually revise and
resubmit foreclosure paperwork in
the coming months.
O More than 4.1 million modification
arrangements were started between
April 2009 and the end of December
2010more than double the num-
ber of foreclosure completions dur-
ing that time. These actions includ-
ed more than 1.4 million HAMP trial
modification starts, more than
650,000 FHA loss mitigation and
early delinquency interventions,
and nearly two million proprietary
modifications under HOPE Now.
While some homeowners may have
received help from more than one
program, the number of agree-
ments offered was more than dou-
ble the number of foreclosure com-
pletions for the same period (1.7
million). View the December HAMP
Servicer Performance Report.
O Homeowners in HAMP permanent
modifications continue to perform
well over time, with re-default rates
lower than industry norms.
December data for the Making
Home Affordable Program (MHA)
shows that after 12 months, nearly
85 percent of homeowners remain
in a permanent modification.
Homeowners in HAMP permanent
modifications have already reduced
their mortgage obligation by more
than $4.5 billion to date.
For more information, visit
www.hud.gov/scorecard.
Apply to any lender with just one click.
No more wasted time lling out applications
Your personal information is now safe and secure
No more photocopying documents or lost faxes
No hits on your credit score
Tell your lenders, I dont do broker packages anymore! Im with
Comergence! Visit us at www.TrustedMortgageProfessional.com

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Iooking foi somerling
diffeienr in 2u11'
Here's to new beginnings.
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wilh c erscncl lcuch, cnc we've ccne jusl
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Rep. Bachmanns
Proposes Bill to
Eliminate Dodd-Frank Act
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-
MN) has introduced HR 87,
legislation drafted to repeal
the DoddFrank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act,
one of the most far-reaching legislative
items of the previous Congress.
Im pleased to offer a full repeal of
the job-killing Dodd-Frank financial
regulatory bill. Dodd-Frank grossly
expanded the federal government
beyond its jurisdictional boundaries. It
gave Washington bureaucrats the
power to interpret and enforce the leg-
islation with little oversight, said Rep.
Bachmann.
The DoddFrank Act (HR 4173) was
signed into law by President Barack
Obama on July 21, 2010. HR 4173 was
originally drafted on Dec. 2, 2009, in
the U.S. House of Representatives by
Rep. Barney Frank, and in the Senate
Banking Committee by Sen. Chris
Dodd. Due to Rep. Frank and Sen.
Dodds involvement with HR 4173, the
conference committee voted to name
the bill after the two members of
Congress.
Dodd-Frank also failed to address
the taxpayer-funded liabilities of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said
Rep. Bachmann. Real financial regula-
tory reform must deal with these
lenders who were a leading cause of
our economic recession. True reform
must also end the bailout mindset that
was perpetuated by the last Congress. I
am proud to work towards repeal of
Dodd-Frank because Congress must
protect the taxpayers, instead of hand-
ing out favors to Wall Street.
Rep. Bachmanns legislation has
been endorsed by the Club for Growth
and Americans for Prosperity. Original
co-sponsors include Rep. Darrell Issa
(CA) of the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform, Rep. Todd Akin
(MO), Rep. Tom McClintock (CA) and
Rep. Bill Posey (FL).
For more information, visit http://bach-
mann.house.gov.
Agencies Announce
Initial Registration
Period Under SAFE Acts
MLO Provisions
The federal bank, thrift and
credit union regulatory
agencies, along with the
Farm Credit Administration, have
announced that the Nationwide
Mortgage Licensing System and
Registry (NMLS) have begun accepting
federal registrations. Under the Secure
and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage
Licensing Act (SAFE Act) and the agen-
cies final rules, residential mortgage
loan originators (MLOs) employed by
banks, savings associations, credit
unions, or Farm Credit System institu-
tions must register with the registry,
obtain a unique identifier from the reg-
istry, and maintain their registrations.
Following the expiration of the 180-
day initial registration period on July 29,
2011, any employee of an agency-regu-
lated institution who is subject to the
registration requirements will be prohib-
ited from originating residential mort-
gage loans without first meeting these
requirements. The rules include an
exception for mortgage loan originators
that originated five or fewer mortgage
loans during the previous 12 months and
who have never been registered; they
would not be required to complete the
federal registration process.
The registry announcement is being
made by the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, Farm Credit
Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), National Credit Union
Administration (NCUA), Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).
For more information, visit http://mort-
gage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org or
www.federalreserve.gov.
MBA Files Suit to
Overturn Department of
Labors Interpretation on
LO Overtime
The Mortgage Bankers
Association (MBA) has
filed suit against the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) in the United
States District Court for the District of
Columbia under the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA). The suit seeks to set
aside DOLs Wage and Hour Division
Administrators Interpretation No. 2010-1
(March 24, 2010) that reversed and with-
drew a 2006 opinion letter from DOL to
MBA. The 2006 opinion letter interpreted
DOLs own regulations and concluded
that typical loan officers were exempt
from Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
requirements for overtime payments
under the administrative exemption.
In 2006, the department issued a
clear opinion to MBA interpreting DOL
regulations that exempted typical mort-
gage loan officers from overtime pay,
said MBAs President and Chief
Executive Officer John A. Courson. If
the Department wanted to reverse that
opinion, it should have provided notice
and an opportunity for public com-
ment. In issuing this administrative
interpretation, the department ignored
that statutory requirement.
The mortgage lending industry has
relied on the 2006 DOL opinion letter to
MBA and the underlying regulations
indicating that a loan officer can qualify
for the administrative exemption under
the FLSA. MBA claims that the abrupt
reversal of this ruling subjects mortgage
lenders to unnecessary litigation.
This abrupt reversal by the
news flash continued from page 4
continued on page 8
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LOS | CRM | MORTGAGE BANKING | CLOSING
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managing in the
brave new world
of mortgage finance
attend the
28
th
Annual Regional Conference of
Mortgage Bankers Associations
March 15 - 17, 2011
Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Atlantic City, NJ
For The First Time: The Residential Program Will Include A
Commercial Track So That Attendees Will Have A Choice As
To Which Sessions To Attend. Both Cocktail Receptions And
The Exhibit Hall Will Be For Both Residential And Commercial
Programs.
Tuesday
Opening Residential Networking Cocktail Reception
in the Exhibit Hall

Wednesday
General Session Topics
The Future of the Securitization Market, Risk Retention,
TBA Market, Reforming the GSEs, Government
Guarantees & More
MBAs Report on Current Legislative/Regulatory Issues
Banks in the Mortgage Market
How to Use Social Networking:
Facebook, Twitter, LO Websites, Blogs
Exhibit Hall with Lunch
Afternoon Session Topics
LO & Broker Compensation
Labor Law Issues (LO Overtime, Department Of Labor
Opinion, Minimum Wage)
Mortgage Bankers & Financial Institutions Panel:
Independent Mortgage Bankers
Mortgage Brokers
(FHA Business, Use Of Compare Ratios, Etc.)
Regulators Roundtable
Regulators from NJ, PA & NY
Mortgage Fraud Panel:
How To Detect And Avoid Mortgage Fraud
Networking Cocktail Reception
Thursday
Critical Issues Day
An in Depth Look at Financial Regulatory Reform
LO Compensation
Risk Retention
Ability To Repay
CFPB Regulations
Fed Reserve Rules
SAFE Act And Related Issues
MIs: Future Of The Private MI Industry
Residential Mortgage Lending For Financial Institutions
Subsidiary vs. Division
Registration Of LOs
Obtaining HUD Approval
Investor Approvals
Underwriting
A View From The Regulators:
OCC, FDIC, State Reg
For Registration Information
visit www.mbanj.com
Department not only opens lenders up
to lawsuits for past actions, but also
could require them to make costly
changes to their internal operations
and compensation structure, costs that
will ultimately be borne by the con-
sumer, said Courson. Requiring loan
officers to be paid overtime will not
increase their compensation and asking
them to now track and report their
hours will deprive them of the flexible
schedules they and their customers
have enjoyed. What we are asking the
court to do is to set aside this ruling,
effectively requiring that, if the
Department wants to reverse the 2006
ruling, it follow the APA and issue a pro-
posed rule for public comment. If the
department were to do that, we are
confident it would find that the existing
ruling providing an administrative
exemption for loan officers from over-
time should remain.
In its suit, MBA asks the court to
declare that the department violated
the APA, vacate and set aside the
Administrators Interpretation (AI) and
prevent enforcement, application and
implementation of the AI.
The suit also urges that, because the
DOLs interpretation in the AI is con-
trary to the plain language of the regu-
lations and the preamble interpreting
them, the AI is arbitrary, capricious, an
abuse of discretion, and otherwise, con-
trary to law.
For more information, visit www.mort-
gagebankers.org.
FHFA and GSEs to Work
on Alternatives for New
Mortgage Servicing
Compensation Structure
The Federal Housing
Finance Agency (FHFA)
has directed Fannie Mae
and Freddie Mac to work
on a joint initiative, in
coordination with FHFA and the U.S.
Department of Housing & Urban
Development (HUD), to consider alterna-
tives for future mortgage servicing struc-
tures and servicing compensation for
their single-family mortgage loans.
Currently, a servicers compensation is
generally based on a minimum servic-
ing fee that is part of the mortgage rate,
which decreases the flexibility necessary
for optimal servicing of nonperforming
loans from both the borrowers and
guarantors perspectives. The current
servicing compensation structure also
results in the creation of a mortgage
servicing right asset, which is difficult to
manage and separate from a servicers
core competency of servicing mortgage
loans.
The joint initiative announced will
consider alternatives to the traditional
servicing compensation structure. The
goals are to improve service for borrow-
ers, reduce financial risk to servicers,
and provide flexibility for guarantors to
better manage non-performing loans,
while promoting continued liquidity in
the mortgage securities market.
Alternatives for consideration may
include a fee for service compensation
structure for nonperforming loans as
well as the possibility of reducing or
eliminating the minimum mortgage
servicing fee for performing loans, or
other structures. Many of these issues
have been the subject of discussion
within the mortgage industry for years.
As the recent problems in managing
mortgage delinquencies suggest, the
current servicing compensation model
was not designed for current market
conditions, said FHFA Acting Director
Edward J. DeMarco. The goal of this
joint initiative is to explore alternative
models for single-family mortgage serv-
icing compensation that better address
the needs of borrowers, servicers, origi-
nators, investors and guarantors.
FHFA will coordinate efforts of the
initiative over the next several months
to gather feedback from the industry,
consumer groups and investors, and
from other regulators and government
agencies. FHFA expects that this effort
will lead to a proposal for a new single-
family mortgage servicing compensa-
tion model that will benefit from broad
public input. Any implementation of a
new servicing compensation structure
would require a significant lead time to
ensure that all participants in the mort-
gage finance process have sufficient
time to adjust to any changes.
Any such implementation would be
prospective in nature and would not be
expected to occur before the summer
of 2012.
For more information, visit www.fhfa.gov.
FHA Seeks to Stabilize
the Housing Market
Through Anti-Flipping
Deadline Extension
In an effort to contin-
ue stabilizing home
values and improve
conditions in commu-
nities experiencing high foreclosure
activity, Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) Commissioner David H. Stevens
has extended the FHAs temporary waiv-
er of the agencys anti-flipping rule.
The extension is intended to accelerate
the resale of foreclosed upon homes in
neighborhoods struggling to overcome
possible property abandonment and
blight.
With certain exceptions, FHA regula-
tions prohibit insuring a mortgage on a
home owned by the seller for less than
90 days. Early in 2010, the FHA tem-
porarily waived this regulation through
Jan. 31, 2011. FHA today posted a
notice extending this waiver through
the remainder of 2011. This action will
permit buyers to continue to use FHA-
insured financing to purchase U.S.
Department of Housing & Urban
news flash continued from page 6
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Development (HUD)-owned properties,
bank-owned properties, or properties
resold through private sales. It will
allow homes to resell as quickly as pos-
sible, helping to stabilize real estate
prices and to revitalize neighborhoods
and communities.
As I noted when we first announced
this policy change early last year,
because of the tightened credit market,
FHA-insured mortgage financing is
often the only means of financing avail-
able to potential homebuyers, said
Stevens. Today, I can report that this
policy change has been effective. Since
the original waiver went into effect on
last February, FHA has insured more
than 21,000 mortgages worth over $3.6
billion on properties resold within 90
days of acquisition.
FHA research finds that in todays
market, acquiring, rehabilitating and
reselling these properties to prospec-
tive homeowners often takes less than
90 days. Prohibiting the use of FHA
mortgage insurance for a subsequent
resale within 90 days of acquisition
adversely impacts the willingness of
sellers to allow contracts from potential
FHA buyers because they must consider
holding costs and the risk of vandalism
associated with allowing a property to
sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.
Because of past restrictions, FHA
borrowers have often been shut out
from buying affordable properties,
said Stevens. This action enables our
borrowers, especially first-time buyers,
to take advantage of this opportunity
and buy a home that has recently been
rehabilitated. It will also help to move
more foreclosed properties off the mar-
ket and reduce the number of vacant
homes in neighborhoods throughout
this country.
The extension is effective through
Dec. 31, 2011, unless otherwise extend-
ed or withdrawn by FHA. All other
terms of the waiver will remain the
same, and HUD continues to invite pub-
lic comment on it. The waiver contains
strict conditions and guidelines to
assure that predatory practices are not
allowed.
To protect FHA borrowers against
predatory practices of flipping where
properties are quickly resold at inflated
prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this
waiver continues to be limited to those
sales meeting the following general
conditions:
O All transactions must be arms-
length, with no identity of interest
between the buyer and seller or
other parties participating in the
sales transaction.
O In cases in which the sales price of
the property is 20 percent or more
above the sellers acquisition cost,
the waiver will only apply if the
lender meets specific conditions.
O The waiver is limited to forward
mortgages, and does not apply to the
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage
(HECM) for purchase program.
For more information, visit
www.hud.gov.
Seven Public Pension
Systems Call Out Major
Lenders on Their
Foreclosure Practices
A coalition of seven
major public pension
systems has called on
the boards of directors
of Bank of America, Citigroup, JP
Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo to imme-
diately undertake independent exami-
nations of the banks mortgage and
foreclosure practices. Led by New York
City Comptroller John C. Liu on behalf of
the five New York City Pension Funds, the
coalition also includes the Connecticut
Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, the
Illinois State Board of Investment, the
Illinois State Universities Retirement
System, the New York State Common
Retirement Fund, the North Carolina
Retirement Systems and the Oregon
Public Employees Retirement Fund.
The coalition of pension funds called
for the banks Audit Committees to
launch independent examinations of
their loan modification, foreclosure, and
securitization policies and procedures.
This will help to prevent future com-
pliance failures and restore the confi-
dence of shareholders, regulators, legis-
lators and mortgage markets partici-
pants, the coalition advised in its letter.
The coalition members insistence on
immediate action reflects the urgency
of their concerns over mishandled
mortgages. In November, the New York
City Pension Funds and Comptroller Liu
made a similar request for bank boards
to conduct independent policy reviews
as part of a shareholder proposal to the
banks annual meetings in the spring.
The banks boards cannot continue to
pretend the foreclosure mess is the result
of technical glitches and paperwork
errors, Comptroller Liu said. There is a
fundamental problem in their procedures
that endangers not just homeowners, but
shareholders, and local economies. Given
the risks involved, only a swift and unbi-
ased audit can reassure shareholders that
the pension funds of 700,000 working
and retired New Yorkers are in safe
hands. The boards of directors have no
time to waste.
continued on page 11
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The coalition represents more than $430
billion in pension fund investments, includ-
ing $5.7 billion invested in the four banks.
We dont know exactly what the banks
were doing, and we dont know if they did
it right, New York State Comptroller
Thomas P. DiNapoli said. Millions of
families have lost their homes, and the
investments of the million members of
the Common Retirement System have
been put at risk. As investors, we need to
understand what happened. A full and
open examination of the procedures used
to foreclose on millions of families is the
only way to make sure our investments
are protected and no one is ever wrong-
fully evicted from their home.
Federal Reserve Governor Daniel K.
Tarullo testified before the Senate Banking
Committee on Dec. 1 that the Federal
Reserves preliminary findings on bank
foreclosure procedures suggested signifi-
cant weaknesses in risk-management,
quality control, audit and compliance
practices as underlying factors contributing
to the problems associated with mortgage
servicing and foreclosure documentation.
The Congressional Oversight Panel has
estimated that banks potential mortgage
liability could total $52 billion, borne
largely by the four banks contacted by the
pension funds. The Panels Nov. 16 report
titled, Examining the Consequences of
Mortgage Irregularities for Financial
Stability and Foreclosure Mitigation, con-
cluded that banks could suffer disabling
damage if they were found to have mis-
represented the quality of loans sold for
securitization and forced to reabsorb bil-
lions in troubled loans.
The responsibility for making sure
that internal controls and compliance
process are in place for mortgage and
foreclosure practices rests squarely with
these Audit Committees, said North
Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell.
The recent testimonies and studies
strongly suggest the need for these Audit
Committees to act swiftly and objectively
in conducting an independent and com-
prehensive review of these practices.
The coalition of pension funds called
for the banks to report the findings of
their independent examinations in their
2011 proxy statements this spring. As of
Dec. 31, 2010, the coalitions combined
holdings in each bank included: 97.1
million Bank of America shares valued at
$1.3 billion; 226.6 million Citigroup
shares valued at $1.1 billion; 40.7 mil-
lion JPMorgan Chase shares valued at
$1.7 billion; and 50.6 million Wells Fargo
shares valued at $1.6 billion.
For more information, visit www.comp-
troller.nyc.gov.
FHA Issues Guidance for
Reverse Mortgage
Borrowers Facing
Foreclosure
The Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) has
released guidance for
homeowners and lenders
that use the reverse mortgage or Home
Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) pro-
gram and are dealing with outstanding
property taxes and unpaid hazard insur-
ance premiums. FHAs guidance is
intended to assist elderly borrowers who
have neglected to pay these expenses
and may face foreclosure.
We understand that some senior citi-
zens have not paid their taxes or insurance
for some time and may be at risk of losing
their home, said FHA Commissioner
David H. Stevens. Todays guidance is
designed to establish a clear framework
that protects both the homeowner and the
lender who participate in our reverse
mortgage program.
HUD regulations allow lenders to
make tax and insurance payments on
behalf of their elderly clients from the
borrowers available mortgage funds.
However, once those resources are
exhausted, the lender must advance
funds to protect FHAs interest and obtain
reimbursement from the borrower.
Over time, however, these unpaid
debts and lender advances have resulted
in an untenable situation that could put
the FHA Insurance Fund at risk and result
in foreclosure proceedings against delin-
quent seniors. While the guidance issued
is intended to help elderly homeowners
avoid foreclosure, lenders may have no
choice if these defaults are not cured.
FHAs Mortgagee Letter 2011-01
applies to all HECM loans where the
lender/servicer advanced corporate
funds to satisfy an unpaid property
charge on behalf of the borrower. It
reminds lenders that foreclosure is to
be a last resort when dealing with their
elderly clients. It also includes sample
letters that lenders may use to make
certain borrowers understand that
property tax and hazard insurance are
required expenses that must be paid
even though the homeowner owes
nothing on their mortgage loan.
Mortgagee Letter 2011-01 precisely
defines the process and reporting
requirements lender/servicers must fol-
news flash continued from page 9
continued on page 12
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low to collect unpaid property charges
from HECM borrowers. FHA is strongly
encouraging HECM borrowers who have
outstanding property charges to work
closely with loan servicers and
approved housing counselors who can
provide free assistance to help them
resolve the situation and avoid any
foreclosure action.
The U.S. Department of Housing &
Urban Development (HUD) is also pro-
viding nearly $3 million to housing
counseling agencies to specifically help
reverse mortgage borrowers facing this
issue. Counselors will help elderly
homeowners work with their servicer to
create repayment plans that cure the
outstanding balance. If keeping the
home is no longer an option, the coun-
selors will help the borrower transition
to alternative housing.
Under this new guidance, lenders
must send letters to borrowers who
recently missed a property charge pay-
ment, borrowers who had an unpaid
property charge balance for an extend-
ed period, and to borrowers with a sig-
nificant unpaid property charge bal-
ance. Lenders have until Feb. 28, 2011,
to send all letters to borrowers with
loans that are delinquent as of the date
of the Mortgagee Letter. Thereafter, let-
ters must be sent as soon as the mort-
gagee receives notice of a missed pay-
ment.
The lender must also offer loss miti-
gation options to allow the borrower
the opportunity to cure the deficiency.
These options must include, but are not
limited to, establishing a realistic repay-
ment plan; contacting a HUD-approved
housing counseling agency to provide
free assistance to the borrower; and
refinancing the delinquent HECM to a
new reverse mortgage if there is suffi-
cient equity to pay off the existing
mortgage and bring the property
charges current.
For more information, visit www.hud.gov.
MBA Study Examines
Foreclosures and Decline
in American Cities
The Great Recession of
2007-2009 has created
new declining cities,
and posed further dif-
ficulties for cities already in decline.
Some cities may not re-attain home
price peaks for many years, and could
see some neighborhoods cease to be
viable economically, according to a
study released by the Mortgage Bankers
Association (MBA). A Study of Real
Estate Markets in Declining Cities, con-
ducted by James R. Follain, Ph.D., sen-
ior fellow of the Rockefeller Institute of
Government and sponsored by the
MBAs Research Institute for Housing
American (RIHA), analyzes the reces-
sions impact on real estate markets in
cities in the midst of a severe and per-
sistent economic decline.
The study includes detailed statisti-
cal analysis of trends in U.S. metro
areas over the past 40 years, paying
particular attention to seven large
metro areas since 2000, and a compre-
hensive review of existing academic
research on this topic.
The primary goal of this paper is to
offer insights on the potential future
evolution of real estate markets in cities
that are in the midst of a severe and
persistent economic decline. Typically,
a declining city is one that suffers a
major loss in population owing to a
dramatic reduction in its employment
news flash continued from page 11
side is winning out. Higher rates are not
necessarily a bad thing in this regard
From a recent Money article:
Some industry experts say the rise in
rates may stimulate a sluggish housing
market. The rising rates create an
urgency for potential buyers. Theyll
have more incentive to buy soon before
rates go any higher. Lawrence Yun, chief
economist of the National Association of
Realtors, doesnt foresee a moderate
hike in rates as a negative for the indus-
try. Instead, he says the real challenge is
getting lenders to approve creditworthy
buyers for a loan. Its less about rates
than it is about underwriting standards
... If lenders return to more normal, safe
underwriting standards for creditworthy
buyers, there would be a bigger boost to
the housing market and spillover bene-
fits for the broader economy, Yun said.
Expect this debate to continue for
some time. This real estate market is
not likely to change on a dime. Job cre-
ation, looser underwriting standards
and a stronger consumer will all come,
but not at breakneck speed. Nor will
higher rates ...?
Dave Hershman is a leading author for the
mortgage industry with eight books and sev-
eral hundred articles to his credit. He is also
head of OriginationPro Mortgage School and
a top industry speaker. Daves NewsletterPro
Marketing System can be found at
www.webinars.originationpro.com. If you
would like to stay ahead of what is happen-
ing in the markets, visit ratelink.origination-
pro.com for a free trial or e-mail
success@hershmangroup.com.
Every day, we hear news about millions of
foreclosures in the pipeline. We also hear
that the delinquency rate on home loans
is improving. In the debate regarding the
recovery of the economy, certainly real
estate is front and center. We cannot have
a strong recovery unless real estate con-
tributes positively to economic growth.
CNN/Money posted an interesting article
during the holidays. On one side, Bill
Ackman, chief executive officer and
founder of hedge fund Pershing Square
Capital Management, and Warren Buffett
both stand on the side of the bulls who say
it is time to start investing in real estate.
Meanwhile, Rick Sharga, senior vice
president of RealtyTrac, an online mar-
ketplace for foreclosure properties,
highlighted the millions of impending
foreclosures to predict lower home
prices in 2011. Who is right?
In reality, the news will probably be
somewhere in between. There are
some strong forces working in both
directions as you will see by the reasons
for and against a real estate
rebound in 2011 we have listed below.
The reasons for the real estate
market to get stronger in 2011:
O Homes are more affordable than
they have been in a generation due
to low rates and lower housing
prices. Yes, rates have risen, but
they are still unbelievably low.
O The economy is improving and jobs
are being created consistently, unlike
the previous three years. As the econ-
omy improves, household formula-
tion will rise as well. Kids will move
out of the basement and more cou-
ples will actually get divorced because
they can afford to be divorced.
O While credit standards are tight, we
have probably reached the height of
the credit cycle, and as real estate
recovers, banks will be more anxious
to lend because real estate will once
again be considered a safe invest-
ment. Along the same lines, as rates
creep upward and refinances dwin-
dle, banks will be competing for a
smaller market share of home loans.
O The population is growing. We are
now at more than 300 million
Americans in the nation. These peo-
ple need to live somewhere. Even
those who are foreclosed upon will
need to live somewhereand not
necessarily in an apartment because
they prefer a house or need a house
because of family size. Hint: These
extra renters make for a great invest-
ment market for decades to come.
Interested in my recent article: The
Demographics of Real Estate? Then
e-mail me at success@hershman-
group.com to receive a copy.
The reasons the real estate market
will not gain strength in 2011:
O Two words: Shadow inventory.
There are millions of homes in the
foreclosure pipeline and millions of
homes that are underwater, and
therefore, are likely to become fore-
closures in the future. Some have esti-
mated as much as four years to clear
out this inventory and thus up to
decades for the real estate market to
recover in some harder hit areas.
O Even with the economy creating jobs
consistently, unemployment is high and
therefore, consumers will react cau-
tiously. The latest jobs report showed
more than 100,000 in jobs created, but
we need more than 200,000 new jobs
each month to change the equation.
The economy is improving, but we have
not reached this level as of yet.
O The debt crisis in Europe and other
economic factors we dont even know
about yet could cause the economic
recovery to slow down or even come
to a halt.
O The recovery has been pumped up by
government stimulus in the past two
years and this effect is ending. As a
matter of fact, with the deficits faced
by the federal and state governments,
government shrinkage is likely to
become a drag upon the economy.
What does this all mean for you? Even
though refinances may be down due to
higher rates, dont expect the purchase
market to fully fill the void. More com-
petition for fewer loans will call for sur-
vival of the fittest. However, the good
news is that these conflicting forces will
allow for the purchase market to move
forward and rates should not move up
so quickly that refis completely vanish. If
rates do rise more rapidly, it very well
means that purchases are just getting
stronger as the bullish on real estate
The Great Real Estate Debate
While credit standards are tight,
we have probably reached the
height of the credit cycle, and as
real estate recovers, banks will be
more anxious to lend because real
estate will once again be
considered a safe investment.
rate underscored that there still may be
some nasty surprises in store even as the
market shows some signs of healing.
For more information, visit www.trepp.com.
Chase Awards HOPE
LoanPort $100,000 Grant to
Facilitate Loan Mod Efforts
HOPE LoanPort
has announced
that Chase Bank has awarded the non-
profit a $100,000 grant to help facilitate
mortgage loan modifications. Formed in
2009, HOPE LoanPort is a Web-based utili-
ty created to improve the execution of loan
modifications. The portal is currently being
used by homeowners, non-profit coun-
selors, servicers and other organizations
involved in the loan modification process.
The Chase grant will provide addition-
al support to HOPE LoanPort, which
allows U.S. Department of Housing &
Urban Development (HUD)-approved
housing counselors to collect all of the
necessary documents from homeowners,
upload the completed package directly
to mortgage servicers and track the sta-
tus of a homeowners application.
Chases mortgage servicing division
has been instrumental in the develop-
ment of HOPE LoanPort since the early
stages. As a charter member, Chase pro-
vided a dedicated project manager dur-
ing the pilot phase and continued guid-
ance for the HOPE LoanPort steering
and outreach committees. Currently, 12
major mortgage servicers use HOPE
LoanPort and three more are likely to
finalize their participation in the next
few weeks. Active users of HOPE
LoanPort include more than 1,700
housing counselors from 448 organiza-
tions in 47 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico.
We are pleased to continue support-
ing HOPE LoanPort in streamlining the
loan modification process, said
Kimberly Davis, managing director,
global philanthropy. This Web portal
enhances communication between
homeowners, housing counselors and
mortgage servicers. Our grant will
enable HOPE LoanPort to continue to
be innovative in helping homeowners
in these challenging times.
We are thrilled by Chases continuing
support as we move into the next phase
of our evolution, said Larry Gilmore,
president and chief executive officer of
HOPE LoanPort. As a non-profit, we
know how important these grants are to
our future success. We are working dili-
gently, with our partners, each day to
provide a top-notch, Web-based, public
utility for all parties with a stake in the
future of the American housing market.
HOPE LoanPort, powered by RxOffice
and developed by the HOPE NOW
Alliance, is a new Web-based tool that
streamlines loan modification applica-
tions on behalf of homeowners at-risk
of foreclosure, allowing housing coun-
selors to efficiently transmit completed
applications to mortgage servicers.
HOPE LoanPort is designed to improve
the quality of both the application itself
and the ability of servicers to make
decisions on that application.
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base, said Follain. These are cities
that lost comparative advantage in the
production of a manufacturing product
like automobile or steel but the newly
identified declining cities are places
that grew substantially during the
housing boom and are now experienc-
ing unprecedented declines in home
prices and increases in foreclosures.
The future viability of these areas may
be threatened by recent economic
events, said Follain. This is a critical
point that should be well understood by
potential home buyers and lenders who
want to avoid places plagued by high fore-
closures, vacancies and a deteriorating
housing stock due to deferred mainte-
nance. Overall, neighborhood choice is
likely to become a more important com-
ponent of housing decisions in those mar-
kets particularly hard hit by the current
housing crisis and the Great Recession.
Michael Fratantoni, MBAs vice pres-
ident of research and economics said,
Though the pace and extent of the
overall economic recovery of these
markets is still far from certain, many
places will likely resume growth and
fully recover within the next decade or
so. This will likely not to be the case for
all metropolitan areas, however. Even
among those metro areas with relative-
ly brighter long-run prospects for
growth, certain segments or submar-
kets within them may remain well
below the peaks reached at the height
of the boom for many years to come.
For more information, visit www.mort-
gagebankers.org.
LendingTree Survey Finds
Consumers Shy Away
From Comparison
Shopping for Mortgages
According to a new
LendingTree survey of
1,317 homeowners con-
ducted online by Harris
Interactive in September, 96 percent of
American consumers compare prices
when shopping for anything, but nearly
40 percent obtain just one home loan
quote. By comparison, when shopping for
a home computer, consumers research an
average of 3.1 models before making a
purchase. This explains why fewer than
three in 10 (28 percent) borrowers are very
confident they received the best possible
deal on their current mortgage.
Based on a nationally-representative
sample of current homeowners who
were involved in shopping for their
home loan, the study revealed 85 per-
cent of consumers use the Web to com-
parison shop, yet just more than one in
five (21 percent) shopped online first for
mortgage rates. Additionally, although
nearly 40 percent obtain just one home
loan quote, more than nine in 10 bor-
rowers (91 percent) understand interest
rates vary between lenders.
Choosing a mortgage is probably
the most important financial decision
most of us will ever make, yet many
consumers simply take the first offer
that comes their way, said Doug
Lebda, chairman and chief executive
officer of LendingTree. Its a gamble
that leaves many borrowers uncertain
theyve received the best deal on their
mortgage. Our research clearly shows
that home buyers and homeowners
need help navigating the often complex
world of home loan financing.
LendingTree strives to simplify the
process and instill confidence by offering
services like our Best Deal Guarantee,
lender ratings and reviews, and the
opportunity to compare multiple offers.
At the end of the day, 30 years is too long
to be in the wrong loan.
Frustration also appears to be at the
root of this shopping dilemma.
According to the survey, 70 percent of
borrowers find shopping for a mortgage
frustrating, citing the complexity of the
terms (21 percent) and time-intensive-
ness nature of the process (20 percent).
This survey was conducted online
within the United States by Harris
Interactive on behalf of LendingTree
from Sept. 28-30, 2010 among 1,317
homeowners ages 18 and older, of
which 659 adults were at least some-
what involved with obtaining their cur-
rent mortgage. This online survey is not
based on a probability sample and
therefore no estimate of theoretical
sampling error can be calculated.
For more information, visit www.lend-
ingtree.com.
Trepp Reports CMBS
Delinquency Rate Hits
Record High of 9.2
Percent in December
Trepp LLC, a provider
of commercial mort-
gage-backed securities
(CMBS) and commer-
cial mortgage information, analytics and
technology to the global securities and
investment management industry, has
released its December 2010 Delinquency
Report. According to the report, the U.S.
CMBS delinquency rate rose again in
December with the percentage of loans 30
or more days delinquent, in foreclosure or
real estate-owned (REO) climbing 27 basis
points to 9.20 percent, the highest in his-
tory for U.S. commercial real estate loans
in CMBS.
The value of delinquent loans now
exceeds $61.5 billion. The decline in the
delinquency rate in October 2010 now
appears to have been a blip, as the rate
has since increased by 62 basis points.
Decembers 27 basis point jump comes
despite the fact that new issues contin-
ued to make their way into the calcula-
tion and servicers continued to resolve
troubled loans. The new dealswhich
theoretically should have low delinquen-
cies for a whilewill continue to put
downward pressure on the delinquency
rate as issuance continues to grow in
2011. Similarly, the resolution of trou-
bled loans will also help to lower the rate.
Many have speculated that between
the emergence of new CMBS lending,
the resolution of many troubled CMBS
loans and an uptick in trophy property
sales, that the commercial real estate
crisis was nearing its final stages, said
Manus Clancy, managing director of
Trepp. The December delinquency
For more information, please visit
www.hopeloanportal.org.
Lenders One Announces
LendRIGHT: The
Mortgage Industry Seal of
Excellence
Lenders One Mortgage
Cooperative, an alliance
of community mortgage
bankers, correspondent
lenders and suppliers of mortgage prod-
ucts and services, has announced a new
national marketing campaign to estab-
lish a seal of excellence for the mort-
gage industry. The LendRIGHT commit-
ment is intended to create a distinct
point of differentiation among lenders
offering home mortgages.
The LendRIGHT program is designed
to allow consumers to easily recognize
lenders who are committed to provid-
ing a premium level of service, expertise
and ethics in communities around the
country. The LendRIGHT mark will indi-
cate to consumers that participating
Members of the Lenders One mortgage
cooperative have pledged to pursue
operational integrity and customer
service excellence.
We want to restore confidence in
the mortgage industry and assure con-
sumers that these lenders have vowed
to provide the highest levels of quality
and performance, said Scott Stern,
Lenders One chief executive officer.
Borrowers should be confident that
the company they select for home
financing is committed to maintaining
the utmost standards in terms of educa-
tion, training, compliance, fiscal
responsibility and service. LendRIGHT
lenders offer that assurance.
The program will be supported by a
campaign that includes a robust national
media program, as well as local-market
implementation tools, for LendRIGHT
lenders to leverage the mark and effec-
tively differentiate themselves. A nation-
al Web site (www.lendright.com) will help
direct consumers to their local
LendRIGHT lender and provide resources
to assist them with learning more about
the mortgage process. LendRIGHT lenders
also will have tools in place to further
educate consumers about the processes
and services that should be expected
from a mortgage provider.
For more information, visit www.lender-
sone.com or www.lendright.com.
Your turn
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
invites you to submit any information on
regulatory changes, legislative updates,
human interest stories or any other
newsworthy items pertaining to the
mortgage industry to the attention of:
NMP News Flash column
Phone #: (516) 409-5555
E-mail:
newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com
Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are
preferred. The deadline for submissions is
the 1st of the month prior to the target
issue.
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Professional Magazine will focus on one
of the industrys top players in our
Mortgage Professional of the Month
feature. Our readers are encouraged to
contact us by e-mail at newsroom@nmp-
mediacorp.com for consideration in
being featured in a future Mortgage
Professional of the Month column.
This month, we had a chance to chat
with Chris Frost, vice president and busi-
ness development manager of Frost
Mortgage Banking Group. Chris was
born in Monterey Park, Calif. and
moved to New Mexico with his parents
when he was eight-years-old at the urg-
ing of his uncle, noted industry speaker
Greg Frost, noted as the industrys first
$1 billion loan originator. Greg was a
graduate of the University of New
Mexico and saw the tremendous growth
opportunity in Albuquerque. Chriss
father, Mike Frost, started his home-
building company shortly after relocat-
ing and has served New Mexico families
ever since. Mike also currently acts as
Frost Mortgage Banking Groups facili-
ties manager.
Chris attended New Mexico State
Chris Frost, Vice President and Business Development Manager
Frost Mortgage Banking Group
University in Las Cruces, N.M., majoring
in finance. While in college, Chris was a
member of the Lambda Chi Alpha frater-
nity, and worked part-time in commer-
cial banking for three years.
He spent a total of seven years in
banking, culminating with his role as
assistant vice president and branch man-
ager at the Bank of Albuquerque. He
made his move to mortgage banking and
Frost Mortgage Banking Group in
December of 2002, learning the business
under the tutelage of his uncle Greg.
Chris has been a top loan originator,
sales trainer, sales manager, and now
serves in his current role as Frost Mortgage
Banking Groups vice president and busi-
ness development manager. Chris is a
member of the New Mexico Mortgage
Lenders Association, the New Mexico
Association of Mortgage Professionals, the
Hispano Chamber of Commerce and the
National Association of Hispanic Real
Estate Professionals.
Under Chriss watch, he has helped
grow the company from five local
branches with $100 million in annual
volume to 20 national branches encom-
passing 13 states and $300 million in
annual volume. Chris and his team cur-
rently have another seven branches com-
mitted and in the process of being vetted
and approved by Frosts parent compa-
ny, Primary Residential Mortgage Inc.
(PRMI). His team has a 2011 divisional
goal of 30 branches and $1 billion in
annual volume. Frost Mortgage Banking
Group finished as the second most pro-
ductive division in the PRMI organiza-
tion. The goal for 2011 is to finish in the
top spot.
Chris has been married to Holly for 10
years and has two children, 15-year-old
Destiney and eight-year-old Ryan. When
not in the office, Chris enjoys traveling
with his family, golfing with friends and
colleagues, participating in parent asso-
ciations at both of his childrens schools
and philanthropic organizations, includ-
ing the Full Plate Society of Roadrunner
Food Bank.
How did you first get involved in the
industry?
I was born in Monterey Park, Calif. and
my uncle Greg [Frost] came to
Albuquerque, N.M. to attend the
University of New Mexico on a football
scholarship. After he graduated, he had
a friend of his who got him into the
financial sector, and at that time,
Albuquerque was relatively small with a
population of around 400,000. Greg saw
tremendous growth opportunity in the
New Mexico market and urged my
father to move here from California.
When I was eight-years-old, my parents
relocated to New Mexico.
My father was in the construction
industry, so he came out here and start-
ed work with a company, ultimately
opening up his own company, Arcadia
Homes. Hes been running that opera-
tion ever since.
I interned for my uncle Greg a couple
of summers while I was going to high
school and I found my path in the
financial services arena. I also worked
for my dad during the summers in the
homebuilding industry, out in the ele-
ments, so I really got to see both sides
of the fence. With my grandmother
being a Realtor, my uncle being a mort-
gage banker and my father a builder, it
was obvious I would be in the residen-
tial home sector in some fashion.
When you started school, were you
looking at a career in retail banking?
Were you planning all along to join
up with your uncle Greg Frost in the
mortgage industry?
No actually when I went to college, I
wanted to be a corporate accountant for
a Fortune 500 company. What I didnt
realize, at the time, is that you actually
have to start at the ground level to get to
one of those spots. They dont just hand
out positions like that. Once I got to
school and started to realize the amount
of time and effort you had to put into sit-
ting in a cubicle and doing nothing but
crunching numbers on a sheet, I realized
corporate accounting just wasnt for me.
I always thought I was going to be inter-
acting with the public and exchanging
ideas and growing, but thats not an
accountants job. Their job is to sit
behind closed doors and maybe give a
presentation, but ultimately, its time
alone behind doors buried in spread-
sheets and I just didnt want to do that.
I chose finance because it was close-
ly related to accounting, but gives me
more of a business perspective. I
interned with Greg [Frost] over one
summer performing entry level tasks:
Driving to the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) office and taking verifica-
tions, picking up mail, going to title
companies and picking up packages,
and sitting in on interviews for pre-
qualifications and applications. Gregs
objective was that everybody in the
organization is integral to the success of
the organization and that I needed to
learn the most fundamental task and its
importance. My take is that it doesnt
matter if someone is simply sitting
behind a desk and answering phones,
you are still the Director of First
Impressions. Everybody in the organi-
zation is a piece of the puzzle. When I
was finished with my internship, I real-
ized this is really where I wanted to be,
helping people achieve the American
dream of homeownership.
Communication is the
lubrication in any well-run
organization.
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I started working for Sun West Bank,
who was ultimately bought out by
Boatmens Bancshares, who was even-
tually bought out by Nations Bank,
who was sold to Bank of America. I
started to work for an offspring of the
merger with Bank of America and
Nations Bank with a bank called Bank
of Albuquerque. I started as a con-
sumer banker and worked my way up
relatively quickly to the position of vice
president and branch manager.
Around early November of 2002 my
uncle Greg was heavily focused in public
speaking, coaching and training sessions
across the country. He was in strong
demand and knew he was going to get
out of the origination business physical-
ly. It was at that time that I moved onto
Frost Mortgage Banking Group.
Is there anything that you feel you
wouldve done differently along your
career path? Looking back at your his-
tory, do you feel like you came in at the
right time or do you feel that you
wouldve liked to have spent more time
on the banking side, learning opera-
tions before you joined Frost Mortgage?
Back when I started working at the bank,
the hours were 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., you
wore a suit and tie, and people came in
to visit you dressed as though it was an
important appointment. That was a
good experience for me to be able to
work up the ranks and learn from the
banking side commercially. I was able to
grow professionally and individually
with each challenge. In the long run, it
gave me a strong foundation.
Our goal with Frost Mortgage Banking
Group is to do $1 billion annually in
funding. That may seem like a lofty goal
and Greg [Frost] wrote an e-mail to our
team that said, Dream dream a big
dream. Make the dream your goal. The
idea here is that if you have a dream and
set a goal, and if you attain 30, 40 or
even 50 percent of what that goal was,
you will have attained more than you
would have had you never set one at all.
Its just a challenge to yourself.
What sort of management philosophy
have you implemented at Frost
Mortgage Banking Group?
Greg [Frost] always says, Communication
is the lubrication in any well-run organi-
zation. The idea behind it is that 99 per-
cent of all errors or failures are based on
communication. Its either a total lack of
clarity with communication, a miscom-
munication, an e-mail to somebody when
you shouldve spoken to them ... its the
execution thats flawed and the reason
why is because the communication didnt
come through.
For example, I took my office from
upstairs at Frost Mortgage and moved it
downstairs into the heart of the opera-
tions center. I wanted my door open for
all to come in and stay on top of day-to-
day operations. To me, effective com-
munication begins with listening to find
out what it is that people want, then
taking a step back, putting a plan
together as a group and then moving
the plan forward. That is what we were
are trying to accomplish.
At Frost Mortgage, we hold monthly
meetings and issue monthly reports. We
address all items of concern, put out a
scorecard and everyone sees what
everyone else is doing production-wise.
The goal is to never be at the bottom of
that scorecard! We use things like this as
a motivational tool and urge them not
to take poor production numbers per-
sonally, but to use it as a means of moti-
vation to work harder and build upon
that the following month. Its constant
evolution that makes you better.
Effective communication is just sim-
ply asking questions and listening to
what your employees say and then find-
ing a way to implement some resolu-
tions on what it is they want.
As a branch partner under the Frost
division, do your branches partners
also receive guidance on how to run
their operations?
Our parent company is PRMI, Primary
Residential Mortgage Inc., headquartered
in Salt Lake City, Utah. Whenever I am
doing a presentation or sales demonstra-
tion to prospective branch partners, I say
to them that they are basically the wall
outlet and Frost Mortgage Banking Group
is the power strip. We plug into PRMI, but
everybody else plugs into us, so their
direct source is us.
continued on page 16
Todays lending environment is
very cumbersome. Its more
challenging than it has ever been.
People must know the ins and outs
of the government product
offerings
It doesnt matter if someone was
simply sitting behind a desk and
answering phones, you are still the
Director of First Impressions.
Everybody in the organization is a
piece of the puzzle.
When we think of Mortgage Heroes, the folks at Kentucky Neighbor-
hood Bank (KNB) in Radcliff, Ky., come to mind. The minute they heard
about the free new USA Cares Military Family Housing Education
course, designed to provide a clear understanding of how to work with
military borrowers, they were eager to take it and get certified. Not only
did all their loan officers take the course, their entire lending staff signed
up! Even though theyve been skillfully serving their military clients for
many years, Loan Officer Ken Dozer remarked after completing his
exam, Everyone who touches a loan should take this course!
Stepping up to help our military service men and women is nothing
new at KNB Bank. They teamed up with USA Cares nearly five years ago
to continue their approach that we can all do just a little bit more to help
our service members, who are friends and family to all of us. They were
already offering a higher than average rate of return on their military de-
posit accounts to further their mission to help. Participating in the red
shirt Friday campaign since its inception, they decided to take it a step
further. Purchasing several hundred long- and short-sleeved t-shirts,
they sold and contributed 100 percent of the proceeds to USA Cares.
Where most donors simply donate the difference between the shirt and
the sale price, KNB has footed the expense for the shirts personally and
then donated the proceeds from the sales without recouping the cost of
the shirts. Thats generosity!
As one more added twist of giving, KNB Bank offers its employees
the opportunity to designate USA Cares as the beneficiary of their pay-
roll-deducted United Way contributions. It all adds up to make a differ-
ence to service members everywhere. Over the last few years, KNB
Banks fundraisers, and just plain giving, have funneled thousands of dol-
lars to help alleviate the many needs that arise in even ordinary military
life, much less the current multiple deployments of guard and reserve
units everywhere.
KNB Bank actively participates in the annual USA Cares golf
scramble held at Fort Knox, Ky. Loan Officer Ken Dozer stepped up
this year as committee member and treasurer for the USA Cares
Wounded Warrior Golf Scramble held at Fuzzy Zoellers Covered
Bridge Country Club in Louisville, Ky. In other words, when USA
Cares mentions another way to help our military service men and
women, the folks at KNB Bank immediately say, Yes!
We extend to everyone at KNB Bank, their lending department,
support staff, indeed all of their employees, our deepest apprecia-
tion on behalf of service members worldwide and congratulate them
for being true Mortgage Heroes!
Are you a Mortgage Hero or know of anyone who might be? We
want to hear from you if youve completed the FREE Military
Family Housing Education Course as Mortgage Heroes deserve
to be recognized for their outstanding service to Americas ser-
vicemen and servicewomen. Please send a short bio to MFHE Pro-
gram Manager Beverly Frase at Beverly.Frase@USACares.org.
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PRMI handles the compliance end,
they have the warehouse commit-
ments, theyve got the correspondent
investors and their products. We plug
into those things. Every branch partner
that is beneath us, including our local
loan officers that work for us, plug
directly into us first.
We have a monthly sales meeting
with our local loan officer staff where
we invite the processing manager and
senior underwriter so that we can share
all the things that are going on specifi-
cally within their marketplace. We
highlight things they need to address
themselves because they are really not
partners managing a branch. They are
loan officers, so their needs are a little
bit different, as they are more of a
microcosm of what the business is. I
also hold an individual monthly call
with each manager of our branch net-
work across the country, where we
spend time discussing the econometrics
in their specific market, analyzing pro-
grams, trends in their local market, net-
working opportunities, etc.
PRMI holds two underwriting train-
ing conference calls each month as well,
in addition to marketing calls presented
by Greg Frost, PRMIs marketing direc-
tor. Our branch partners have the
opportunity to plug into Greg, which is
a tremendous asset to any organization.
Who is the right fit for Frost Mortgage
Banking Company and who isnt the
right fit as a partner?
From an operations standpoint, a staff
member from an underwriter to a proces-
sor, were looking for folks who have been
in the industry for eight to 10 years.
Todays lending environment is very cum-
bersome. Its more challenging than it has
ever been. People must know the ins and
outs of the government product offerings,
whether it be Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs,
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
but they also have to know investor-spe-
cific guidelines in conjunction with any
overlays that you may have in your own
firm. Its a challenge if you take somebody
who came from an assembly line process
where one individual performs five tasks
and then the loan is passed off to another
individual. There wasnt a cradle to the
grave concept where they came from;
therefore, they are sort of shell-shocked.
From a sales standpoint and a branch
partner perspective, we are looking for
much the same kind of concept as far as
longevity goes. We are not looking for
people who came into the industry in
2006, when at the height of the refi-
nance boom, they did a ton of volume
under an old product mix. Those people
are starting to suffer as the referral part-
ner relationships arent there because
they were buying leads and were doing
mostly refinances. We tell people when
they come on board that we want them
doing $3 million in volume monthly
over a 12-month average.
Approximately a year ago, you turned
your organization inside out. How do
you find the balance of being both
consistent and flexible as an organiza-
tion in todays lending environment?
We had to buckle up, pull up our sleeves
and work a little harder than we had
ever before. Im not going to lie to you
its not as though we were working just
8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and then decided to
do this overhaul. We had to put some
work in over the weekends and had
some long nights as well. We had to lit-
erally sit, evaluate our current position
and then make concerted decisions for
change, just like when we were with First
Magnus, for example. Weve always been
a net branch division of somebody since
1991 when we first opened our doors.
We were with First Magnus from 2002
until the day they imploded. When First
Magnus fell apart, we had to scramble
and figure out a way to keep the group
together, keep morale high and also find
the ability to continue to do business.
Greg [Frost] and I decided that we
were going to tear apart several differ-
ent models from different companies.
We had people calling asking, Hey,
come and work for us, but we had to
just break it down and look at several
components: Technology, corporate
platform, pricing, revenue standpoint,
financial stability, etc.
With our analysis, we realized that just
one individual could not do it all, and
that is where we broke down certain tasks
within the organization where Greg
[Frost] is the president, I am the vice pres-
ident and business development manag-
er, and we realized you need additional
components beneath you because you
cannot physically do it all. We decided
that we needed to go with a processing
manager, a closing manager and rely on
a senior underwriter to assist with day-to-
day activities in those respective depart-
ments. There was no way I could do all of
that in conjunction with everything else.
We had to bring on some folks and
incurred increased costs, but it stream-
lined the business model significantly
and enhanced the overall morale of the
company.
What challenges has Frost Mortgage
Banking been faced with in light of
all the regulatory changes that have
occurred over the past year?
Its quite cumbersome actually. Currently,
we have six different investors that we
bank with. When I say bank with, I
mean we are selling our loans to them.
Each of these investors has their own
interpretation of whats going on in the
marketplace, plus their own microscopic
look to protect their company and they
too change their guidelines constantly.
We are facing one of the more daunt-
ing changes right now with the impend-
ing loan officer compensation rule set
for April 1, 2011. Its going to change the
whole scope of the mortgage industry by
virtue of how a loan officer can be paid
and theres so much interpretation out
there. On one hand, you have the
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)
with their perspective, lobbying against
the LO compensation rule, while other
groups such as the National Association
of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) are present-
ing their point of view.
On the flip side, you have investors
like Wells Fargo, who does both bank-
ing and brokering, out there giving two
messages and they dont just want bro-
ker volume to stop, so they are assuring
the brokers they will be okay and are
committed to the wholesale market.
We make sure that we do the best we
can to follow the letter of the law to
make sure our folks can still earn a
competitive living in this industry. We
meet once a week with some legal
experts at the corporate level and scour
new rules and regulations, paragraph
by paragraph, making sure we have all
of our compliance bases covered.
Do you think its possible that a mort-
gage loan originator working within
the Frost Mortgage Banking organiza-
tion could actually make more money
under the new loan officer compensa-
tion rules based on their bonuses/per-
formance overrides?
Yes, I do believe its possible. As a mort-
gage broker, the law says you can only
be paid by one sourceeither by the
lender or by your companyone of the
two and thats it. As a mortgage broker,
you are getting paid on a yield spread
premium (YSP) which is fully disclosed,
so youve really got one option.
In a mortgage banking environment,
we get paid a service release premium
(SRP), which, as you know, is not dis-
closed. So by virtue of that one differ-
ence, we have the ability to set our pric-
ing model at a certain threshold higher
than what a mortgage broker can
because we are correspondent bankers.
What do you do when you are not in
the office?
I spend a lot of time with my family. My
daughter is a high school freshman on the
cheerleading squad and in the chorus. My
wife and I are members of the Parent
Teacher Association (PTA) at LaCueva High
School in New Mexico, as well as the PTA
at Georgia OKeefe Elementary where our
son attends third grade.
We do a lot of philanthropic work
with the Full Plate Society of
Roadrunner Food Bank, an organization
here in New Mexico that gathers food
and feeds the less fortunate.
I am involved with the National
Association of Hispanic Real Estate
Professionals (NAHREP) and the Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce. Greg [Frost], my
father and I all look very Caucasian, but
we come from a Hispanic background.
My mom is of Mexican descent and my
father is of Spanish descent.
My family likes to travel a lot. We visit
San Diego, Calif. at least once a year and
rent a beach house in the area, in addi-
tion to random road trips we take as a
family.
I also like to golf. Its a great sport
thats harder than hell, and its a great
time to be out. The golf course is a great
place to conduct business and cultivate
friendships. You can play golf with com-
plete strangers and you can see a lot of
places you wouldnt normally see just by
virtue of playing golf.
Ive closed a few deals through the
game of golf where I played with some-
one, passed them my business card and
ultimately did a loan through that con-
nection made on the course. We had one
large builder account that we picked up
by virtue of playing in a golf tournament
with these folks. You can really a lot of
connections on the golf course, not to
mention that if you dont build a rela-
tionship thats a direct referral source,
you can pick up a lot of information
thats going on in your community.
mortgage professional continued from page 15
if you have a dream and set a
goal, and if you attain 30, 40 or
even 50 percent of what that goal
was, you will have attained more
than you would have had you
never set one at all. Its just a
challenge to yourself.
Its constant evolution that
makes you better.
Become a NationalMortgageProfessional.com Blogger!
It's free and easy. Just head on over to NMPMag.com, register and
follow the link in the upper right hand side of the page to
become a blogger on our site today!
Got an opinion? Want to share your
thoughts on the industry?
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Major East Texas Mortgage Fraud Scheme: Out of Florida
203(k) Rehab Loan Program: Foreclosures Present Challenges, Opportunity
NMLS and State Testing for Mortgage Professionals
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Complaint Filed With HUD:
Will Lenders be Forced to Accept
FHA Minimum Scores?
In a complaint filed with the U.S.
Department of Housing & Urban
Development (HUD) on Dec. 7, 2010, the
National Community Reinvestment
Coalition (NCRC) alleged that the lend-
ing practices of 22 banks deny Federal
Housing Administration (FHA)-insured
loans to African-Americans and Latinos
by requiring minimum credit scores as
high as 640. The NCRC is an association
of more than 600 community-based
organizations that promote access to
basic banking services. It is interesting
to note that on Oct. 4, 2010, only two
months before this complaint was filed,
the FHA instituted minimum credit
scores (MCS) into its policy with
Mortgagee Letter 10-29 (see below).
Many mortgage loan originators (MLOs)
think that the scores required by banks
are representative of what the FHA
requires, and are unaware that FHA has
established minimum credit scores.
Below is a list of the current FHA
minimum scores established by
Mortgagee Letter 10-29 for all standard
FHA programs*:
1. Borrowers with an MCS at or above
580 ARE eligible for maximum
financing.
2. Borrowers with an MCS between 500
and 579 ARE limited to a 90 percent
loan-to-value (LTV).
3. Borrowers with an MCS less than 500
are NOT eligible for FHA-insured mort-
gage financing.
4. Borrowers with a non-traditional
credit history or insufficient credit are
eligible for maximum financing, BUT
must meet the underwriting guidance
in HUD 4155.1 4.C.3.
*Requirements DO NOT apply to: Title I,
Home Equity Conversion Mortgages;
HOPE for Homeowners; Section 247;
Section 248; Section 223(e), Section 238.
According to the NCRC, their fair
lending testers evaluated the prac-
tices of national lenders, financial
services corporations, and other
regional and local FHA-approved
lenders. In the complaints filed, NCRC
states that lenders were chosen accord-
ing to their market share and volume
of FHA loans.
Im a former FHA underwriter trained
by HUD, and it has always been my posi-
tion (and it was also the position of HUD
until recently) that a borrowers loan
should be underwritten according to
creditworthiness, regardless of the cred-
it score. According to Fair Isaac
Corporation (FICO), approximately 6.3
million people fall within the range of
620 to 640. Its my guess that those who
fall between 580 and 620 number about
another five million. In this estimated
11 million that fall between 580 and
640, a significant percentage of those
wishing to buy a home are also credit-
worthy individuals who would pay their
mortgage on time every month.
It has been my experience that a
substantial percentage of individuals
with lower scores are in that range due
to extenuating circumstances and
events that have little bearing on their
ability to make their payment. The clas-
sic example would be a borrower with
medical collections. These collections
can occur due to billing errors, or from
expensive procedures not covered by
insurance but that can be, or are being,
taken care of with payment arrange-
ments (i.e. the debtor is making regular
payments on time until the bill is paid
off). This type of borrower is very credit-
worthy and, from a traditional under-
writing standpoint, a very good risk, but
their scores will typically be low. This
type of borrower may use very little
credit and is likely to be living within
their means, and as such will buy a
home with an affordable payment and
rations below the 31/43 limits. Sadly, as
of now, this creditworthy person is
denied homeownership because they
lack the MCS necessary to get approved.
On the other hand, look at the classic
American over-spender who doesnt act
their wage, and in spite of being a dual-
income household, manage to over-extend
on their credit cards. They may have ratios
continued on page 22
appraisal management platform.
StreetLinks is so confident in their new
offering that they have put forth a chal-
lenge and a guarantee that any lender
who previews the LenderX platform will
agree that it is the best lender-executed
appraisal management software on the
market or StreetLinks will pay $1,000 to
the lenders favorite recognized charity.
Lenders and servicers deserve and
should demand morethe best prod-
ucts and services that afford them accu-
racy and great service, while allowing
them to run leaner and more efficient-
ly. StreetLinks is that kind of partner,
said Tom Hurst, StreetLinks executive
vice president. Our range of appraisal
management products now allows us to
provide appraisal services to any lender,
exactly the way they want it. In addition,
well bring an innovative approach to
procuring and delivering BPOs to ele-
vate a market segment that has been
stagnant over the past two decades.
StreetLinks full-service AMC offer-
ing, LenderPlus, and their lender-exe-
cuted appraisal management software
platform, LenderX, are currently avail-
able. StreetLinks will be launching its
new brand, along with an updated Web
site showcasing the new products on
Feb. 1, 2011. The BPO product line is
slated for launch on April 1, 2011.
For more information, visit
www.streetlinks.com.
Pro Teck Valuation
Services Forms Partnership
With Collateral Analytics
Pro Teck Valuation Services has
announced that it has entered a strategic
partnership with Collateral Analytics (CA),
a developer of real estate analytic prod-
ucts and tools to support financial institu-
tions, institutional and retail investors, as
well as property capital market activities.
By combining the most comprehensive
and timely data with the brightest minds
in the industry, Collateral Analytics has
developed a suite of automated valuation
models (AVMs) and analytic products that
are more accurate, more useful and more
insightful than any competing products in
the market.
Led by Dr. Michael Sklarz, a pioneer
in the real estate analytic community,
continued on page 19
StreetLinks Unveils New
Corporate Identity and
Expanded Product Offerings
StreetLinks LLC has announced that it
will soon be launching several new
product channels, along with a new cor-
porate identity. With a new name and
new look, StreetLinks Lender Solutions
will soon offer best-of-breed lender-exe-
cuted appraisal management software,
Broker Price Opinions (BPO) and a full
suite of revolutionary automated valua-
tion and review tools. The company pre-
dicts large capture rates of market share
as they experienced for their full service
appraisal management (AMC) channel.
Our vision has always been to pro-
vide the best products and services in
the industry, which until this point, has
been our full service AMC platform.
Weve established ourselves as a leader
in the AMC space by committing to do
business the right way and by bringing
clear differentiation, best execution and
thus, best value to our customers, said
StreetLinks Chief Executive Officer Steve
Haslam. Similarly, we believe there are
current market segments ready for the
same type of revolution. Specifically, the
BPO realm has become a highly com-
moditized product where servicers are
forced to settle for what has always
been. We plan to transform that.
In a recent interview with National
Mortgage Professional Magazine, Haslam
revealed the proprietary technology,
unique data sources, and appraiser-based
regression methodology behind the com-
panys new automated valuation solu-
tion, Intelligent Valuation Model (IVM).
Our IVM products are in the final
phases of advanced testing. While no
automated solution can or should com-
pete or take precedence over the work
of an appraiser, our results are signifi-
cantly outperforming name-brand
AVMs in valuation accuracy and consis-
tency. Our goal is to provide originators
and underwriters credible and reliable
tools to more accurately estimate or val-
idate realistic property value ranges as a
compliment to, not a replacement for,
traditional appraisal products, said
Haslam in the interview with National
Mortgage Professional Magazine which
will appear in the March 2011 edition.
StreetLinks recently announced the
launch of LenderX, a lender-executed
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There is an interesting correlation between
the coming changes in loan originator com-
pensation (April 1, 2011) and leadership.
While I will get into a more in-depth expla-
nation later, I am predicting that the success
or failure of any future loan officer com-
pensation plan will be more about leader-
ship than the comp plan. Leadership is
going to be huge! Sound interesting?
Last month, I wrote about how we, as
a nation and, for that matter, as an
industry, are facing a serious leadership
crisis. Some of you questioned me when
I suggested that extended periods of
prosperity do not foster leadership devel-
opment, but actually seem to cause lead-
ership development to go into remission.
If you are still wondering about that
statement, then ask yourself the follow-
ing questions: During my (your) life,
when was it that I (you) grew the most
personally? Was it during the good times
or during the more difficult times? While
we all enjoy the good times, we undoubt-
edly experience the most meaningful
times of growth and maturity during the
difficult times.
Is there any question about this
the good old days in the mortgage
industry are gone, and we may in fact
find ourselves facing some very difficult
days ahead. This is especially true when
you consider the tsunami of new regu-
lation headed our way, combined with
loan volumes plummeting by as much
as 50 percent. However, if we subscribe
to the theory that good times cause a
remission of leadership and bad times
provide a window of opportunity for
good leaders to rise, then it is fair to
draw the conclusion that because of the
difficulties we foresee, are we going to
see some strong new leaders emerge?
It is in times of economic and social
upheaval that we see significant shifts in
power and wealth. Old leaders fall and new
leaders rise along with the companies that
they represent. Nowhere could this be
more evident than in the mortgage indus-
try. We can quickly identify those industry
leaders of yesterday the chief executive
officers of companies such as Countrywide,
Washington Mutual, IndyMac and a slew of
others, all of which have vanished from the
landscape. The only reason we know that
some of them are still alive is that we read
about the many lawsuits in which they are
still embroiled. What we cannot yet identi-
fy are those companies that are going to
emerge to take their place. However, we
can identify what the characteristics of
future leaders are. These are the seven
characteristics, or the 7 Cs, of what I
believe we will see in the strong leaders of
tomorrow.
I. Character
Character has always mattered, but more
so in the future than ever before.
Character should have always been syn-
onymous with leadership, but regrettably,
that has not always been the case espe-
cially in the recent past. In the last business
cycle, greed seemed to trump good char-
acter. However, the top leaders of tomor-
row will emerge and become evident
because of their strong character. While
they will not be perfect, they will have a
strong sense of what is right and what is
wrong, and will insist on doing what is
right. Character will be their hallmark. A
return to virtue will be the objective and
not viewed as some outdated concept.
II. Conviction
A strong leader has to believe deeply in
their mission and this belief has to come
from their heart. That is why when fol-
lowing a leader, you have to know their
character. If you follow someone with
deep convictions anchored in a compro-
mised character, the mission has a much
higher probability of failure. Real leaders
genuinely believe what they believe and
do so from the core of their being. That
is why conviction has to be anchored in
good character, especially when facing
the challenges we have ahead.
III. Confidence
Because of the difficulties that lie ahead,
a strong future leader is one who portrays
a heartfelt confidence that is birthed
from a deep conviction in sound princi-
ples versus power. We can spot arrogance
from a mile away and people of the right
character will not follow the arrogantly
overconfident counterfeits of yesterday.
IV. Charismatic
Future leaders will have a genuine warmth
about them and are not the full-of-
themselves charismatic types of the past.
They will be real as the expression goes.
Another word that I would use to describe
them is relatable and magnetic.
V. Clear and concise
A good leader eliminates confusion, and
communicates in such a way as to bring
clarity to otherwise confusing matters.
Loan officer compensation is an example
of this as there is so much confusion sur-
rounding the coming changes. A strong
leader intensely studies whatever issue
they are facing and forms a clear plan
understandable by all, and then will be
able to relay that plan very concisely.
VI. Conversant in the facts
Again LO compensation changes are the
confusing issue of the day as there are so
many factors involved in making good deci-
sions about which plan to pursue. A good
leader will have a strong grasp of all the facts
by delving into the details and then effec-
tively communicating their knowledge in a
way that most can understand.
VII. Compassionate
The leaders of tomorrow are going to have
to be more compassionate in nature than
the hard its my way or the highway
stance leaders of yesterday. With so many
going through hard times, it is essential
that the leaders of tomorrow be genuine-
ly compassionate towards those who are
struggling without getting caught up in the
difficulties of those who follow them. This
is a fine line that true leaders seem to
innately know within themselves.
It is my intention to write every month
in this column about each of the above
listed characteristics of good leaders. I am
excited to be doing so and look forward to
your feedback.
Now that I have laid the foundation for
what I believe the characteristics of tomor-
rows leaders should be, where are we going
to find them? Leaders not only deal with dif-
ficulties head-on, they, in fact, attack them
vigorously. So if you want to start looking for
future leaders, go the most intense issue(s) of
the day and there you will find them intent-
ly/intensely focusing on solutions. So, what
are the two most intense issues immediate-
ly before us? Are they not the following?
O Issue #1: The Federal Reserves
New Rule issued on Aug. 16, 2010
This new rule amends Regulation Zs imple-
mentation of the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA)
and the Homeownership and Equity
Protection Act (HOPEA). This new rule effec-
tively prohibits: (1) Compensation to loan
originators based on terms or conditions of
loan, including rate or pre-payment penal-
ty, but excluding the amount of credit
extended; and (2) Steering by mortgage bro-
kers and other loan originators. It defines
the permissible and impermissible methods
of compensating loan originators. The
wording in the new rule is filled with ambi-
guity, and therefore, fraught with legal
exposure risk. But there is an opportunity in
it for strong leaders more on that in a
minute!
O Issue #2: The new Dodd-Frank Bill,
also known as the Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act or the
Financial Stability Act of 2010
If we thought the new (Federal
Reserve) rule above is confusing and filled
By David Lykken
Leadership and LO Compensation
continued on page 20
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heard on the street continued from page 17
network will clearly benefit from the
outreach, training and educational
opportunities that a partnership with
NFHA can offer. This, in turn, will
benefit the homeowners nationwide
that are seeking assistance with their
mortgages.
HOPE LoanPort addresses one of the
biggest hurdles to loan modification:
Lost documents. Because all modifica-
tion documents are uploaded into the
portal, both the servicer and the hous-
ing counselor can readily ascertain
whether an application has been sub-
mitted and whether all required docu-
ments have been entered into the sys-
tem for the servicer to access and
review. Housing counselors also receive
status reports every 10 business days of
the status of the application for a loan
modification.
For more information, visit www.hopeloan-
portal.org or www.nationalfairhousing.org.
Rennell Announces
Launch of Resource Title
National Agency
Credit: Creatas Images
Leslie Rennell, for-
mer president and
chief executive offi-
cer of Cleveland,
Ohio-based Resource Title Agency Inc.,
has announced the formation and launch
of Resource Title National Agency Inc.
which has purchased some of the busi-
ness assets of Resource Title. Rennell will
serve now in the role of owner and chief
executive officer of Resource National.
Resource National will be an inde-
pendent, family-owned agency providing
full title insurance and escrow services.
The company will provide national lines
of service in commercial, real estate-
owned (REO)/default and relocation mar-
kets, as well as traditional title and settle-
ment services in Ohio and nationwide.
We will adopt Resource Titles tradi-
tional focus on meeting customer needs
efficiently and quickly said Rennell.
We will be committed to using technol-
ogy, experience and the work ethic of
our team to be flexible and receptive to
the expectations of our clients.
For more information, visit www.rtnai.com.
Mortgage Professionals
to Watch
O Lisa Schreiber has joined TMS
Funding as vice president of whole-
sale lending.
CA provides innovative, data-rich solu-
tions. Together, Collateral Analytics and
Pro Teck can provide a full suite of real
estate valuation services, said Dr.
Sklarz. The combination brings a strate-
gic blend of data, analytics, and valua-
tion expertise to seamlessly meet the
wide variety of needs in todays mort-
gage and residential real estate markets.
Pro Tecks history as an established and
innovative leader in residential valua-
tion makes them the ideal partner.
Tom OGrady, chief executive officer
of Pro Teck said, Pro Teck is proud to
offer CAs suite of AVM and real estate
analytic products to our customers.
Collateral Analytics reputation for pro-
viding the most accurate and innova-
tive real estate data and analytical
tools aligns well with Pro Tecks cus-
tomer-centric mission. The partnership
will add to the extensive range of qual-
ity services Pro Teck currently delivers,
and we look forward to introducing
CAs products to our customers.
For more information, visit www.protk.com
or www.collateralanalytics.com.
NFHA Partners With
HOPE LoanPort to Offer
Fair Housing Training
HOPE LoanPort and the
National Fair Housing
Alliance (NFHA) have
announced they will collaborate to pro-
mote fair housing for borrowers facing
foreclosure. The organizations will col-
laborate to preserve homeownership
through training and outreach focused
on ending housing discrimination.
NFHA will offer fair housing training to
HOPE LoanPorts network of nearly 500
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban
Development (HUD)-certified counsel-
ing agencies and 15 mortgage servicers
that are already committed to using the
portal.
This partnership is a natural fit as both
of our organizations are dedicated to help-
ing homeowners keep their homes and
helping our neighborhoods stay strong and
viable, said Shanna L. Smith, NFHA presi-
dent and CEO. Fair housing organizations
and housing counselors are often the first
responders assisting troubled borrowers
and can help provide much needed infor-
mation regarding fair housing issues to
borrowers as they navigate the loan modi-
fication process. The partnership will affir-
matively further fair housing and particu-
larly benefit borrowers and communities
of color that have been disproportionately
impacted by the foreclosure crisis.
HOPE LoanPort is committed to the
National Fair Housing Alliance in its
effort to promote fair housing, said
Larry Gilmore, president and chief
executive officer of HOPE LoanPort.
We acknowledge the desperate need
for fair housing education and out-
reach as it relates to housing and lend-
ing markets. The housing counseling
professionals and loan servicers in our continued on page 20
Lisa Schreiber
By Stewart Hunter and Jim McMahan
Every leader working in the mortgage industry today knows that January is a
tough month. Getting your company moving in the right direction in the New
Year is always a challenge and the numbers are never going to be good. But
this year is one for the record books.
Looking back over the past few years, there was always something that a
good leader could build from, a wave of refinances on the horizon or a new
loan program to attract additional borrowers. If you paid close attention to the
market, you could always find something positive even in the darkest years of
the downturn. But this year has been different.
The industry is finally feeling the impact of years of historically low inter-
est rates and tightening investor guidelines. Few who have a mortgage have
the financial incentive to refinance and those who could benefit from a new
mortgage are finding it very difficult to qualify. To get traction in 2011, lead-
ers are going all the way back to the basics.
Good leaders are focusing now on a few key priorities: growth, relation-
ships and resources.
Theres an old adage that says companies are either growing or theyre dying.
Thats exactly right. But growth is not necessarily measured by size. Our own
company has been right-sizing for the past couple of years as a response to
changing market conditions. Weve trimmed from nearly 200 branches to less
than 100, but our profits have surged during the same period.
We have grown as a company by getting closer to our key values and build-
ing out a growing team of leading mortgage lending branch executives. Our
key metrics have changed in the process. Instead of growing in terms of
branches, weve grown in terms of attracting top talent and the results are
showing in our financials.
Todays mortgage leaders must know what growth means for their own op-
erations and be vigilant in moving their companies toward it.
One area where we are always working on growing is in the number and
quality of our relationships, both inside and outside of the firm. On the exter-
nal side, building good relationships with your business sources has been a
near constant mantra of the sales training gurus in our industry for years.
Those firms that took those messages to heart and built those relationships
are in a fairly good position right now. Those that didnt are suffering.
Building external relationships today, when its difficult to offer the value
real estate sales people are seeking due to extremely high underwriting stan-
dards, is much more challenging then it was a year or two ago. Today, lenders
either already have those relationships in place or they do not.
Just as important are the internal relationships that a growing mortgage
company builds upon. Leaders do not underestimate the importance of the
relationships between the companys loan officers, underwriters and man-
agers, but rather see them as the essential building blocks that the firm is
built upon.
These relationships are so important in our company that we have set up a
special website to make sure that our people know each other (iambench-
mark.info) and we build and nurture loan officer-underwriter teams to stream-
line our operation and create excellent experiences for our customers.
At a higher level, the relationship between the company and its branch ex-
ecutives is critical to everyones success. It requires a careful balance between
the needs of the company and the needs of the branch.
And this leads to the third focus for todays leaders, keeping the required re-
sources flowing into the company and on to the people who need them. Much
more than an accounting function, this is where true leaders shine.
With a careful focus on growth, relationships and resources, the best lead-
ers in our industry have taken their teams through a very difficult January and
on to a successful 2011.
Jim McMahan is president and Stewart Hunter is founding partner and core values
officer for Dallas-based Benchmark Mortgage. You can find them both online at
www.iambenchmark.info.
Leaderships Top Priorities
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heard on the street continued from page 19
ed by Credit Plus Inc. to the posi-
tion of Southeast regional sales
manager.
O Real Estate Mortgage Network
(REMN) has added Michael Stallings
as a mortgage loan originator and
Jeff Conn as branch manager in the
companys Kennesaw, Ga. office.
O Calyx Software has announced
the addition of three regional
sales reps: Henry Rosenthal in the
Northeast United States, Jackie
Nickell in the Southeast and
Peggy Rubadue in the Midwestern
region of the U.S.
O LenderLive Network Inc. has
named Stephen Hewins executive
vice president of operations.
O Radian Guaranty has announced
the addition of several new account
managers nationwide: Michelle
Allerton-Teague in the New York
State territory; Karen Bascom in
the Alabama territory; Sharon
Gerritsen in the Pittsburgh and
West Virginia territories; Randi
Gocinski in the Southern Florida
territory; Jeff Petrocci in the New
York territory and Bridget Trevino
in the Houston, Texas territory.
O Sal Mazzocca has joined Pro Teck
Valuation Services as national sales
director.
O Informa Research Services Inc. has
announced the hiring of Chris
Goode as manager of the companys
mortgage lending division.
O Jim Janczy has been named Eastern
regional manager for QuestSoft.
O The Stone Hill Group has hired
Paige Petta as business develop-
ment manager.
O Bob Wexler has been named vice
president of the newly formed
financial services division for New
Penn Financial LLC.
O Todd Salmans has been named
president and chief executive officer
of PrimeLending.
O Steven Winkler has joined WFG
National Title Insurance Company
as chief underwriting counsel.
Your turn
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
invites its readers to submit any infor-
mation, events, passages, promotions,
personal or professional occurrences
that seem appropriate and/or other per-
tinent data to the attention of:
Heard on the
Street/Mortgage
Professionals to Watch
column
Phone #: (516) 409-5555
E-mail:
newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com
Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are
preferred. The deadline for submissions
is the 1st of the month prior to the tar-
get issue.
O Mark W. Boyer has been promoted
to chief executive officer of
Foundation Financial Group. The
company has also announced that
former chief executive officer and
founding partner Paul V. Scott will
take over as chairman of the board.
O REO Allegiance has named Moe
Levine chief operating officer.
O Alan Henricks has been named to
Ellie Maes board of directors.
O Xetus has announced the appoint-
ment of new president and chief
executive officer Scott Stein.
O Paul Levine has been appointed ful-
fillment manager for Guaranteed
Home Mortgage Company Inc.
O Don Clement Jr. has been promot-
e-mail: sales@calyxsoftware.com
visit: www.calyxsoftware.com
lykken on leadership continued from page 18
with ambiguity, wait until you start read-
ing through the massive Dodd-Frank Bill.
The worst part calls for the formation of
yet another new regulator the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
(CFPB). When the CFPB comes into exis-
tence on July 21, 2011 it will have extraor-
dinary power to further regulate the
mortgage industry including its jurisdic-
tion over loan originator compensation.
In the LinkedIn discussion group Loan
Originator Compensation Changes and
New Rules that I started less than 30 days
ago, there are hundreds of posts on these
critical issues. Note that if you have yet
become a member of this group, follow
the instructions in the sidebar entitled
Instructions on how to join the LinkedIn
discussion group on LO Compensation.
You see, the leaders of tomorrow are
already using the new tools of tomor-
row that are available to them today.
Future leaders have a tendency to be
early adopters of newer technologies
and seem to find some way to use it
more effectively than those wannabe
leaders that just dont seem to get it.
What are the New tools of tomor-
row? What comes to mind? If you
answered social media, you got the
answer right. In the last five years, there
has not been a more significant develop-
ment than this which impacts the way we
do business in the future than social
media sites and applications. The leaders
of tomorrow are already using social
media very effectively to communicate
their message and draw like-minded peo-
ple to them. With more than 1,500 mem-
bers as part of this discussion group, it is
a great place to go and read the various
LO compensation ideas presented and
hashed out. As you read the many posts,
keep the 7-Cs I discussion from above in
the back of your mind and see if you are
able to recognize those who are showing
signs of leadership.
Leaders see the above two issues as a
great opportunity to grow their business.
They recognize that the potential disrup-
tion caused by these two issues are creat-
ing opportunities to grow their business.
While these are not the only issues that
will be causing significant disruption with-
in the mortgage industry, they are the two
issues that are on everyones mind today.
The leaders of tomorrow are seizing
what they recognize as an opportunity to
draw top performers into their company.
They will be successful if they can com-
municate with conviction, in confidence
and in a clear and concise manner a fine-
ly crafted better solution. Their compa-
nies will prosper if they possess each of
the 7-Cs previously listed.
Personally, I have never seen an
opportunity as large as this one. There is
going to be a huge potential seismic shift
of top production personnel. We have
already begun to see a mass exodus out
of large behemoth regulated financial
institutions that have the false perception
that they are the leaders of tomorrow by
virtue of their size current market share.
Once again, where the exiting masses go
is yet less clear, but one thing is certain
they will end up working for the compa-
nies that have the strongest leadership
and right character.
As always, I welcome your feedback
on this article.
David Lykken is president of mortgage strate-
gies and managing partner with Mortgage
Banking Solutions. He has more than 35
years of industry experience and has gar-
nered a national reputation, and has become
a frequent guest on FOX Business News with
Neil Cavuto, Stuart Varney, Liz Claman and
Dave Asman with additional guest appear-
ances on the CBS Evening News, Bloomberg
TV and radio. He may be reached by phone
at (512) 977-9900, ext. 101 or e-mail
dlykken@mortgagebankingsolutions.com.
To listen to author David
Lykkens online radio show,
log on to www.blogtalkra-
dio.com and type in Lykken
on Lending in the Search box on
the right-hand side of the page.
A strong leader has to believe
deeply in their mission and
this belief has to come
from their heart.
Mark Boyer
Moe Levine
Alan Henricks
Scott Stein
Paul Levine
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Web: www.appraisalsanywhere.com
For more information on the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, visit www.namb.org.
Not Feeling the Love From Your
Wholesaler Have Some Faith!
By Deb Killian, CRMS, NAMB Board Member
Oh what a web we weave! The entire mortgage indus-
try seems to be a bit out of control these days. Congress,
the Fed Rule, the Dodd-Frank Act, Elizabeth Warren and
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), over-
lays, disclosures I dont know about you, but all of
these new regulations are starting to grate on my
nerves and the nerves of the very customers they are
designed to protect.
Recently, just 48 hours prior to a closing on a pur-
chase, we were told by our wholesaler that they did-
nt realize that the Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) case number was pulled on Sept. 30, 2010, four
days prior to the Oct. 4, 2010 changes in the Upfront
Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) and they
insisted that we pulled the number.
On Oct. 26, a Realtor referred a client whom I had
never met or spoken to before that day. Unlike most
clients, Susie gave us EVERY SINGLE DOCUMENT WE
NEEDED within 24 hours of applying. Susie is the
model customer, and I wish I had a 100 clients just
like her. She was easily qualified for her purchase. Unfortunately, due to too
many property issues, they backed out of the first deal they had.
When we issued her Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and did the calculations on the
1003, we used the new one percent UFMIP and 0.90 percent annual premiums.
For the sake of the lessons learned, put aside whether the old or new guidelines
were better for my customer.
On Nov. 5, she found another property and by Nov. 16, she was under contract
for a January closing. The appraisal was ordered on Nov. 30 and we got it back on
Dec. 7. The file was underwritten and approved on Dec. 22, subject to proof of a
few minor repairs being made. On Jan. 5, we were waiting for those fabulous
words CLEARED TO CLOSE, when we were informed that the loan amount on the
title was wrong because the loan amount needed to be increased to take into con-
sideration the OLD FHA UFMIP of 2.25 percent instead of one percent.
As you can imagine, some interesting conversations took place between my
processor, the underwriter, myself and the account executive. Meanwhile, I have
a first-time buyer e-mailing and calling hourly to make sure everything is okay
and that the closing would still take place on Jan. 7.
On the evening of Jan. 5, I was informed by our account executive that they are
still trying to determine how to deal with this case number. When I asked if this
change in circumstances was going to require an additional three days and delay
the closing, I was informed that it is NOT a change in circumstances, and if it revert-
ed back to prior to Oct. 4 guidelines changes that, the broker (us) would have to
eat the 1.25 percent additional UFMIP. Now I dont know about you, but those
words dont sit kindly in my mind! Are we not the customers of our wholesalers?
Fortunately for everyone, me and my processor both keep every single e-mail relat-
ed to a particular loan file. And there it was on Nov. 30, a string of e-mails between
my processor and the lender employee assigned to overseeing issuance of case num-
bers detailing a conversation regarding the fact that a case number had been assigned
to the property several months back for another borrower. Remember, we did not
meet our borrower until Oct. 26 and she did not find this property until Nov. 5.
So whats the lesson for all of us? There are a few that we learned from and
hope they will help you too!
O First, in this tidal wave of regulation, lenders, underwriters and closers are for-
getting about the people they are supposed to be protecting and serving. We
should all step back for just a moment after we originate the loan and remind
ourselves who we are really serving.
O Second, when a major change takes place, maybe people should pay a bit more
attention to the details most affected by the change. I dont think we will leave
it up to the lender and assume they MUST know everything.
O Third, does a lender really care so little about their relationship with their
wholesaler as to simply say let the broker eat it especially when the docu-
mentation proves they were the ones making the decisions? Sometimes, in all
the chaos, an initial reaction is not the end resolution. Patience goes a long
way in allowing people to react without reacting to their reaction! Got it?
O Fourth, keep all communication and correspondence, no matter now insignificant it
may seem. Thank God for our loan manager program. It keeps track of every docu-
ment, and time and date-stamps every single thing that happens on our files. Making
notes in your point of sale system where no documentation exists is also critical.
O Fifth, let calm prevail. Screaming will never help a conflict. Our policy is that
no matter how bad things are, everyone must maintain a professional attitude.
Our account executive was quick to return calls and e-mails, went to bat for us
and stood up for what was right.
So how did it all turn out? I am watching the clock! Its 9:50 a.m. on Jan. 6 as I write
this. I was told at 9:15 a.m. this morning that it would be resolved within the hour,
and as soon as I get the phone call, I will finish this article. I am still waiting at 10:00
a.m. still waiting at 10:10 a.m. still waiting at 10:19 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. strikes!
Our account executive just called and guess what? Not only is the lender assuming the
additional 1.25 percent cost for the increased UFMIP, but the customer gets the lower
monthly MIP (0.55 vs. 0.90) and the loan is closing on time! Always give your lender
time to work through issues. They will usually come to the right conclusion.
Okay, so we got lucky this time. But if this article can prevent just one customer,
broker, mortgage loan originator or wholesaler from the angst and stress of this
type of situation, it was worth the time to write it.
Deb Killian, CRMS of Brookfield, Conn.-based Charter Oak Lending Group LLC d/b/a Danbury
Mortgage is a member of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers board of directors.
She may be reached by phone at (203) 778-9999, ext. 103 or e-mail debkillian@snet.net.
in this tidal wave
of regulation, lenders,
underwriters and
closers are forgetting
about the people they
are supposed to be
protecting and
serving.
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of 34/46, but they get approved because of
an automated underwriting system (AUS)
decision. According to traditional under-
writing practices, this loan would be
denied because their credit profile is a
foreclosure waiting to happen! All it takes
is for one of them to lose their job, and
theyre no longer making their mortgage
payments.
Something is very wrong with this
picture. I am a very big proponent of
HUD forcing banks to accept the FHA
scores for three main reasons:
1. All Americans deserve a chance to
have their loan application reviewed
from the overall perspective of credit-
worthiness, and not have to fear being
automatically rejected because they
dont have the minimum credit score.
2. It will benefit the housing market.
David H. Stevens, FHA Commissioner,
was quoted as saying that 15 percent
of people between the scores of 620
and 640 are potential FHA borrowers.
3. It will help the mortgage loan origi-
nator by increasing their pool of poten-
tial buyers.
I suspect that there is a very good
chance we will see banks be required to
accept the FHA scores because this prac-
tice does raise fair housing issues. I also
suspect that if HUD wants this imple-
mented, it will happen, since the banks
received bailout moneyi.e., political-
ly they will be pressed to make the
change. From the quote below, made
by HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity John
Trasvia in a Dec. 8, 2010 HUD press
release, the HUD sentiment is clear:
FHA is an important vehicle for
Americans who want to purchase or refi-
nance a home. We thank NCRC for bring-
ing these complaints to HUD. For lenders
to deny responsible home seekers this
source of credit, without regard for their
capacity to repay the loans, would raise
serious fair housing concerns and, if
proven, undermine our nations recovery
efforts; HUD will take appropriate action
against any lender found to be engaging
in discriminatory practices.
If lenders were required to meet the
FHA MCS requirements, it would force
lenders to improve the quality of their
underwriting and assure that their
underwriters have an expert knowl-
edge of FHA guidelines, in both the
technical aspects of the guidelines as
well as the spirit of the guidelines. Lets
hope that this change is made, and that
we can give more Americans a chance
at owing their own homes.
Go FHA!
Jeff Mifsud is founder of Michigan-based
Mortgage Seminars LLC, a former FHA
underwriter with 15-plus years of experi-
ence originating FHA loans, an FHA
expert for LoanToolbox.com and creator
of The FHA Originator, a monthly FHA
newsletter. Jeff may be reached by
phone at (248) 403-8181 or visit
www.MortgageSeminars.com.
Im a former FHA underwriter
trained by HUD, and it has
always been my position (and it
was also the position of HUD until
recently) that a borrowers loan
should be underwritten according
to creditworthiness, regardless of
the credit score.
fha insider continued from page 17
Among the Urhobos of Nigerias turbu-
lent Niger Delta, How are you? is
often followed by a peculiar question-
cum-greeting: Is it well at home?
The home, in Urhobo understand-
ing, is the center of the family and the
person. Harmony at home is well-
being, disharmony is the reverse. If you
care about a person, the thinking goes,
you inquire about the state of their
home.
In assessing whether a senior can
stay at home long enough to reap the
benefits of a reverse mortgage, Is it
well at home? is a good question for
originators to keep in mind. Marital
transitionswidowhood or widower-
hood, divorce, separationare preg-
nant with risks for seniors and lenders.
Lets go back to Lake Matata, Minn. and
to Paul Pumata.*
Pumata, 76-years-old, lost his wife of
54 years six months ago. Ever warm,
always kind and gracious, Sandy
Pumata was Pauls center, the rock of
their home for 54 years.
Two months after Sandy Pumatas
death, their financial advisor, Peter
Puta, delivered another blow: Monthly
income from his bond portfolio will
have to be cut by 50 percent to pre-
serve capital. Puta suggested looking
into a reverse mortgage for cash to
cover the shortfall until the portfolio
rebounds.
Meanwhile, Pumatas only daughter
in Tempe, Ariz., Jennifer Zama, has
been asking her dad to relocate to the
warmer climate of Tempe so that she
could look after him now that her mom
was gone. The relocation idea was per-
suasive because Pumata is very fond of
his three grandchildren. His immediate
need though is cash, and a reverse
mortgage was the best option, but he
was uncertain about his residency in
Lake Matata, Minn.
During counseling, the counselor
spotted his residential uncertainty, they
discussed it briefly, and the Financial
Interview Tool (FIT) summary reflected
it as yellow flag number three. How
should Pumatas loan officer bring up
the issue for discussion at the loan
interview? Here is a suggestion:
Mr. Pumata, at FreeFloat Bank, we
pride ourselves on helping our reverse
mortgage customers think through their
decisions. We know reverse mortgages
are cheaper the longer you stay in your
home. To guide my product recommen-
dation for you, may we discuss how long
you plan on staying in your home?**
This question could help Pumata
and his loan officer, Randy Zeros, dis-
cuss his residency and its implications
for the loan. It could help Zeros recom-
mend the new HECM Saver, a perfect
product for seniors in transitions,
uncertain of their residency. But with-
out the FIT signal and the discussion,
Zeros and Pumata could have decided
on HECM Standard, a decision that
Pumata could come to regret, a deci-
sion that may even bring the thought of
litigation to Pumata and his daughter
when they learn later that there was a
cheaper reverse mortgage for short-
term use.
Other marital transitional situations
involve divorce and separation. Besides
living-aloneness, the absence of a
spouse or partner through divorce or
separation could bring isolation and
trigger depression in some seniors.
Without support for daily living activi-
ties, isolation and depression could
impair their health, calling into ques-
tion their ability to benefit from the
loan over time.
As you go about putting seniors into
the right reverse mortgage, keep the
Urhobo greeting/question in mind: Is
it well at home?
*Names of people and places are fictional.
**Please give me your feedback (e-mail me
at atare@thinkreverse.com) on the strengths
and weaknesses of this question, as well as
your suggestions for improvement.
Atare E. Agbamu is author of Think
Reverse! and more than 140 articles on
reverse mortgages. Since 2002, he writes the
nationally-distributed column, Forward on
Reverse. A former director of reverse mort-
gages at Minneapolis-based AdvisorNet
Mortgage LLC, Agbamu has years of hands-
on experience marketing and originating
reverse mortgages. Through his advisory,
ThinkReverse LLC, Agbamu advises financial
professionals, institutions and regulators
across the country. In a 2007 national
report on reverse mortgages, AARP cited
Agbamus work. He can be reached by
phone at (612) 203-9434 and e-mail at
atare@thinkreverse.com.
Visit author Atare E. Agbamus
blog at thinkreverse.com for
his thoughts and insights
on the reverse mortgage
marketplace.
FIT for Reverse Mortgage Lenders:
Part VI
Marital Transitions
In assessing whether a senior can
stay at home long enough to reap
the benefits of a reverse mortgage,
Is it well at home? is a good
question for originators to
keep in mind.
Daily updated mortgage industry news
Industry blogs
Write your own blog
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Get access to video
Success Relationship Dynamic Excellence
Positive
Attitude
www.IamBenchmark.info | 800-236-1824
"I am part of a real family that cares about my team, my clients and myself. I truly know we are
all in this together. Being part of the Benchmark community has taken my branch to the next
level. Its the best business decision I have ever made!"
- Marty Preston, Kentucky Branch Partner, former Mortgage Company Owner of 12 Years
"Benchmark is a company with a heart for its people. The leadership team is one of the
most dynamic and innovative teams I have ever been around."
- Sally Bucciero, Tennessee Branch Partner, formerly with PRMI/Frost Mortgage
"During one of the most challenging periods our industry has ever faced, Benchmark
confrmed to me that the borrower is still the ultimate focus. This has always been my
philosophy and it is refreshing to be aligned with a company that gets it."
- Tom Sherman, Texas Branch Partner, formerly with Prospect Mortgage
www.IamBenchmark.info
Benchmark is being a part of a dream team whose core values are based around relationships.
The customer service that we receive from each department is the best I have seen in 15 years in
this industry. Having this amazing team of people has allowed us to create relationships that
have taken our business to the next level.
- Roger Medlock, South Carolina Branch Partner, former Mortgage Company Owner of 16 years
"Stewart, Jim and the entire Benchmark leadership team really took the time to get to know
me. Togetherm we crafted a plan for my branch that became something much greater than a
branch partnership. I am truly grateful to be a part of Benchmark."
- Thomas Ray, South Carolina Branch Partner, former Mortgage Company Owner of 8 years
www.IamBenchmark.info | 800-236-1824
Success Relationship Dynamic Excellence
Positive
Attitude
I am dedicated to ensuring the success of my branches by being a team player. I am
very passionate about underwriting and my product knowledge empowers me to be
able to provide the highest level of service. I am accessible!
- Sissy Freudenberg, Benchmark Senior Underwriter
Transitioning your branch is a critical time. You can count on me to navigate you successfully
through the process. I am committed to taking your team to the next level. I am all in!
- Marla Mills, Branch Transitions
I am dedicated to providing you with the highest service levels by being
accessible. I can ensure you the best loan programs with the best execution
everytime because I care about you and your clients.
- Jasper Tadlock, Secondary Marketing Expert
We know what a diference it makes to have docs to title early versus having docs to title at
the last minute. We strive to conduct ourselves as if we were your partner, and we believe it is
our job to make you look like a superstar. Our doc teams make an extra efort to be fawless,
compliant, and responsive with a very quick turn time. We are not satisfed unless the Title
Company, client and branch are all ecstatic with our closing process.b
- Selena Oliver, Doc Prep Team Leader
I am like your private banker. I am at your beck and call to provide you with my undi-
vided attention. I pride myself on being patient, detailed and responsive.
- Christopher Osban, Commission Specialist / Accounting
www.IamBenchmark.info | 800-236-1824
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www.windvestcorp.com
Calyx Software to Offer
Free Online Training
Calyx Software has
announced that all
online training through
the company will
now be offered at no charge to cus-
tomers. The company hopes that more
users will take advantage of Calyxs fre-
quent classes to help them become
more familiar with the many features
and benefits of their software. Users will
have unlimited access to classes on a
first-come, first-served basis.
Calyx Softwares online schedule
includes many classes that will help
users become more efficient by teach-
ing them how to navigate the software
with basic functionality and use many
of the convenience compliance and
processing features. The classes are
taught by experienced industry consult-
ants with deep and thorough under-
standing of the software and how it can
be used in daily operations.
We have found that so many of our
customers are not using the software to
their advantage, said Jody Collup,
director of marketing for Calyx
Software. Free training classes enable
us to increase their awareness of the
remarkable functionality of the soft-
ware, which makes them more efficient
as they find it easier to use.
Regular titles include Getting
Started in Point, Fees Worksheet,
Building Templates, and Marketing
and Custom Forms. For popular or
specialized topics, classes will be added
as necessary to meet the demand.
For more information, visit www.calyx-
software.com.
Veros Meets New GSE
Requirements With
VeroSELECT Platform
Veros, a provider
of collateral val-
uation technolo-
gy, enterprise risk management and pre-
dictive analytics, has announced that its
VeroSELECT valuation management plat-
form is ready to provide lenders with
complete capabilities for ordering, man-
aging and delivering their appraisal in
compliance with the government-spon-
sored enterprise (GSE) requirements
announced for the Uniform Appraisal
Dataset (UAD) and the Uniform
Collateral Data Portal (UCDP). These ini-
tiatives are part of the GSEs Uniform
Mortgage Data Program (UMDP) to stan-
dardize and drive data quality to bene-
fit the entire mortgage industry.
In an announcement made Dec.
16th, the GSEs have indicated that
delivery through the UCDP will be
available in June 2011 with require-
ments in March 2012 for applications
dated December 2011. The announce-
ment provided new and updated
resources to assist lenders and apprais-
ers in preparing for implementation
and the use of UAD and UCDP for pre-
purchase delivery of appraisals in elec-
tronic format.
In addition to industry-leading val-
uation management functionality from
ordering to valuation review, Veros has
incorporated new functionality to help
participants comply with new investor
requirements found in programs such
as UAD and UCDP, said Darius Bozorgi,
Veros president and chief executive
officer. The GSEs have taken a large
step to standardize and drive data qual-
ity that benefits lenders, investors and
homeowners and we at Veros view this
as an important step toward bringing
liquidity back to the mortgage market.
Given the myriad of changes the indus-
try must adapt to, we are ensuring that
lenders using our VeroSELECT platform
are ready for the new paradigm with
the best possible valuation manage-
ment tools well in advance of the newly
announced dates.
The new requirements from Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac define new spec-
ifications for appraisals, among them
the UAD, which includes the data
points required for a complete apprais-
al report and standardizes key data
points. The agencies are responding to
the magnitude of change required to
achieve these important goals and
their impact on a number of industry
players. The agencies are also support-
ing early adoption of appraisal data
standardization and are encouraging
lenders to begin using the portal in
their business processes prior to the
Dec. 1, 2011 application date and
March 2012 required delivery date.
The VeroSELECT platform routes and
returns appraisals and other valuation
products for lenders, including
appraisals, broker price opinions
(BPOs), automated valuation models
(AVMs), and automated risk, fraud, and
data products. With its connectivity
into investor portals, it can assist
lenders in meeting investor compliance
requirements and identify potential
valuation concerns. VeroSELECT
enables lenders to achieve regulatory
and investor compliance through its
flexibility to route valuation orders
across multiple service sources, while
tracking all transactions and data ele-
ments in a real-time, fully auditable
reporting module. Whether it involves
orders to numerous integrated AMCs or
individual appraisers through its panel
management module, VeroSELECT
maintains complete appraisal manage-
ment capabilities and maintains all
data points from the valuation source,
including a first-generation PDF of the
entire report.
For more information, visit
www.veros.com.
PCLender.com Adds
Compliance Functionality
to Its InHouse Mortgage
Product
PCLender.com has announced that it
has extended the compliance function-
ality of InHouse Mortgage, its compre-
hensive loan origination software (LOS),
to further assist lenders in complying
with the disclosure of fee requirements
included in the Real Estate Settlement
Procedures Act (RESPA). With its latest
announcement, PCLender.com contin-
ues in its tradition of staying at the fore-
front of offering innovative mortgage
lending solutions that are compliance-
focused. PCLender.com is a leading
provider of enterprise Web-based mort-
gage software and mortgage lending
technology solutions for mortgage com-
panies, credit unions, and community
banks.
New federal governmental regula-
tions that became effective January
2010 require lenders to monitor annual
percentage rate (APR) changes and re-
disclose any adjustments greater than
.125 percent. This action is necessary
even if there was no change to the ini-
tial loan program or fees, such as
adjustments to mortgage insurance or a
slight change to the adjustable-rate
mortgage (ARM) index. The recent
enhancements to PCLender.coms
InHouse Mortgage software provide
new features and functionality within
its Fees and Disclosure History screens.
This eliminates much of the guesswork
around what required actions, if any,
are needed for the user and provides
customers with a more intuitive user
experience.
Also, within the InHouse Mortgage
software a new RESPA feature was
added to the Fee Edit screen that dis-
continued on page 36
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Get Personal With Technology
Were all busy. Our society is a rushed
society that often leaves little time for
the personalized touches that cultivated
relationships in the age before comput-
ers and e-mail. Those small touches
included thank you notes and birthday
wishes, handwritten and enclosed in
customized stationary, as well as peri-
odic phone calls for a variety of reasons.
Selling was personalnot anony-
mousand clients bought from those
they liked and trusted. Unfortunately,
life has gotten in the way of some of the
more individual tasks of marketing a
mortgage business. But it
doesnt have to be over.
Now that you have tech-
nology, cultivating rela-
tionships has shifted in
delivery, but it is still as
important as ever to per-
sonalize your business.
Personalizing your com-
munications with current
and potential clients is eas-
ier than you think, and you
probably already have the
tools you need to maintain
and build the relationships
that will help you grow your
business. All you need is
your loan origination sys-
tem (LOS) and a Web site.
For some activities or mate-
rials, you might also want
to have Microsoft Word, but
its all in what you choose to do and what
works best in your neighborhood.
Market with clicks
The first element of personalized mar-
keting with technology is a customized
Web site. According to www.internet-
worldstats.com, 77 percent of the U.S.
population has Internet access, which
makes it a great place to start market-
ing your businessand with easy-to-
use Web site templates, the personal-
ization is completely up to you. How
much or how little you personalize can
be a factor in your repeat traffic. Its a
good idea to let your personality shine
through so that potential clients feel
they know who theyre doing business
with. Again, clients are more likely to
do business with you if they can relate
to you on a personal level.
Think about your own experiences.
Does a well-designed site influence your
decision to stay there and browse or move
on? Your Web site should incorporate
information and visuals that work best for
you and your intended target market. It
should be a source of industry updates,
rates, notice of events, neighborhood or
mortgage trendsanything that could
keep a prospective client coming back.
Personalize the site with a video blog or
offer live chat sessions.
Make the right
connections
Additionally, your Web site
should provide an avenue
for prospects to apply for a
loan directly and securely.
And your LOS should be
linked directly to your site
so that all application data
is transferred into your LOS
quickly and accurately to
allow you adequate time
to process and provide the
required disclosures. The
more efficient and accu-
rate your data flow during
the application process
the more time you have to
further build your client
relationships. This is where
further customization of your Web site
will help.
Your online applications can enable
complete mortgage applications, or
you can choose to customize your avail-
able fields. Customizing your fields
gives you the opportunity to contact
your prospects for additional informa-
tion and start a relationship, while
offering you additional time to meet
disclosure deadlines. By allowing your
clients the convenience of online appli-
cations and at the same time providing
an avenue by which you must have per-
sonal contact in order to continue, you
show that you value their time, care
about their specific needs and getting
things done correctly.
Innovate and create
Capturing Internet users is just one way
of using your technology to market and
build your business. There are other
ways your LOS can be used as your
favorite marketing and branding engine.
Its a veritable goldmine of tools that
works beautifully with Microsoft Word to
help you design, create and distribute
your personalized materials.
Using your LOS in conjunction with
Microsoft Word, you can produce creative
and affordable marketing pieces that you
can use repeatedly and repurpose for dif-
ferent outreach activities. Use the pre-built
marketing templates in your LOS to help
you get started. Every piece you create can
be branded with your logo and any other
images or photos you want to use. Using
the templates in Word, you can customize
and personalize your materials and save
them in your LOS as a customized form,
letter or label to send to any number of
contacts saved to your LOS database.
Consolidate your contacts
The database you use for your business
contacts is very important, and its essen-
tial to maintain your complete lists of
associates, adding and removing them as
necessary. If you arent using your LOS for
contact maintenance, you are missing out
on a very useful feature. Rather than stor-
ing your contacts in various locations,
such as Outlook or a stack of business
cards, it would behoove you to make sure
you have them all in one placeonly in
your LOS. If you have multiple users of
your mortgage platform, those contacts
will be available for them to access for
emergency situations when access to
other databases may not be possible.
Once your various contacts are
stored in your LOS with significant
information, such as phone number; e-
mail address; personal info such as
birthday, family member birthdays,
and current mailing address, you are
fully armed with the tools you need for
marketing your business with the per-
sonal touches technology can provide.
Grow your list
If you have a large list of Realtors and
contractors that you do business with, by
all means create several marketing mate-
rials geared toward them. Always ask for
referrals. Referrals help build and main-
tain your pipeline. Think about all of the
business with whom you have contact
from Realtors and appraisers to remodel-
ers, painters, lawn maintenance compa-
nies and foundation repair companies
you already have a huge referral base to
tap into. If you are preparing your flyers
in Word, personalize them further by
including information your associates will
find helpful. Similar to what you can post
on your Web site, providing statistics, loan
rates, industry status or predictions can
potentially boost your referral rate.
Use your LOS to ask for referrals from
former clients as well. You have their
contact informationwhy not ask?
Send a follow-up message to make sure
they are satisfied with your service and
offer an incentive (if you can) for them
to send friends your way. When you are
marketing and building your business,
you must take every opportunity to
make contact with your database and
ask for referrals. Keep your name in
front of them (without being a pest).
Celebrate
Everybody has birthdays. Theyre very
personal, and theyre the perfect rea-
son to keep in contact with your clients
and business associates. Take some
time every month to run a birthday list.
Your LOS can filter by birth month so
this process should be very quick and
easy. Then, tailor your messaging and
design for your intended audience.
If you have a prospect who never com-
pleted an application, your message can
be a combined birthday wish with an offer
to get them the best rate available if they
are still interested. Current clients, former
clients and business associates, such as
Realtors, appraisers, etc., can all have cus-
tomized messages. Personalizing your
message by audience is much easier than
you think. Once you have the templates
created in Wordan e-mail, flyer, post-
card, letter, etc.saving them to your LOS
with mail-merge fields is a piece of cake.
Make technology work
for you
There are many more reasons for com-
municating to your contacts that you may
have thought of while reading this article.
The key is to actually implement your
ideas. You have the ability to optimize
the use of your existing technology, while
maintaining a level of personalization
and sincerity that can make a difference.
By BJ Bounds
Ensuring that you
have the appropriate
marketing materials
is easyensuring
that your intended
recipients actually
receive them is not.
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Marketing:
Remember the Fundamentals
Using your LOS, you have the option
to mix it upto choose various avenues
of marketing to your database. The tem-
plates you customize or create can be
distributed via e-mail or regular mail.
This is why maintaining your database is
so important. Ensuring that you have the
appropriate marketing materials is
easyensuring that your intended
recipients actually receive them is not.
If you choose to mail your materials or
messages via letter or flyer or postcard
any print medium actuallyyou can
embed mail-merge fields from your LOS
database directly into Word. Alternatively,
you can print generic materials or letters
and mail them using a label printing fea-
ture in your LOS. You can also skip the
mail-merge feature altogether and create
flyers that you can print and distribute
personally to businesses or potential
clients in your area, which can provide
you with ample networking opportunities.
Marketing is all about creating and
cultivating the relationships that can
help your business grow. If you arent
using the tools you have at your dispos-
al, specifically in the technology you
use in your business, you could be left
behind. You dont want to be a name-
less, faceless window-front in a world of
colorful possibilities. Get personal. Use
your technologyyour LOSand mar-
ket yourself in front of the competition.
BJ Bounds is the senior marketing com-
munications specialist for Calyx
Software. In addition to media relations
and copywriting, BJ is a contributing
author to the Calyx Software blog,
CalyxCorner. She has more than 10 years
experience in sales and corporate mar-
keting with a focus on technology that
spans several industries. She may be
reached by phone at (214) 252-5617 or e-
mail bj_bounds@calyxsoftware.com.
By Scott Seroka
added many options to the marketing
game, but thats exactly what they are
options. They add to the choices
marketers have to communicate their
messages, win new business, preserve
existing relationships and compete for
market share. Some are more effective
and influential than others. However,
the fundamentals of marketing have
not changed:
1. We need to understand our customers.
2. We need to understand our competitors.
3. Staying on top of consumer and
industry trends is non-negotiable.
4. All of us are in the relationship business.
5. The purpose of marketing is to short-
en the sales cycle.
Understanding customers
There is still too much chest-beating
taking place as companies continue to
focus on how fantastic their products
and services are instead of focusing on
the wants, needs and desires of their
different audiences. We cannot forget
that it really is all about the customer,
not the company. If you find that your
focus isnt where it needs to be, consid-
er this idea: Create separate points of
entry or unique pages on your Web site
for your different types of buyers, such
as for consumers, brokers and residen-
tial sales associates. They each have
unique needs, and once they sense that
you understand their needs and can
provide solutions to their challenges, it
will be much easier for them to make
an informed and educated purchase
decision.
Also, consider evaluating your adver-
tising, marketing and online presence
to your top three competitors. Do you
find that you all pretty much say the
same things, just with different graph-
ics and copy? Are you able to identify
one or two unique characteristics about
your company? If not, you know what
to do next. If yes, those are the charac-
teristics that people need to know
about you so that they can make that
educated, informed decision.
Some marketers choose to look at
what their competitors say about
themselves and then use that as a
benchmark for their own messaging.
That can be perilous. Its one thing to
stalk competitors, learning what they
are up to and watching them closely.
Its quite another to blend in to the
mix because its what everyone else is
doing. Be unique: If you look like
everyone else, you are as good as
invisible.
Understanding
competitors
You and your competitors are courting
the same peopleno big surprise.
Your competitors are also stalking your
customers. This is no big surprise
either, but it is something that needs to
be kept in mind. Youll need a plan to
stay on top of what your competitors
are doing, what they are saying, how
they are trying to win new business and
what they may be saying about you.
You may also want to ask yourself two
powerful questions: If I were on the
other side of the business, with whom
would I do business? Why? Answering
these questions requires a little
research on your part, but it may be
the best way to know who you are real-
ly competing with. It can also provide
you with the extra surge of motivation
needed to make some necessary
changes from within.
The good news is that there are
easy ways of keeping a sharp eye on
your rivals. The most obvious way is to
review their Web site/Web presence
and make notes about what they are
doing that you admire, as well as
where you feel they are vulnerable.
Next, enter their name into Google
Alerts so that you get e-mail updates
every time they make a move or come
up in the news. Finally, make note of
their presence in the industry trade
publications.
These activities can eat up a lot of
your time, but thats what eager and
willing interns are for. Find the right
one for you and insist that he or she
supply you with weekly updates, even
when there is little, if any, change.
Trend watching
Trends can be broken down into four pri-
mary categories: Political, Economic,
Technological and Social (PETS). Whenever
there is movement in any of these areas, it
can have a direct impact throughout the
entire mortgage industry.
Our current administration has
made some very bold, decisive maneu-
vers that will have a lasting impact on
the mortgage industry. The economy
continues to remain under construc-
tion, with some pessimistic (yet realis-
tic) analysts suggesting that the worst is
far from over. These political and eco-
nomic trends are what keep many peo-
ple at bay.
In the 1990s, one of my favorite profes-
sional sports teams was the Chicago
Bulls because it was dur-
ing that time when
Michael Jordan, Scottie
Pippen and Coach Phil
Jackson led the team to
win six championships
within eight years.
Near the end of this
dynasty, I read one of
Michael Jordans books,
The Jordan Rules. Since he
is recognized as one of
the greatest athletes in
NBA history, I figured he
must have plenty of
insightful things to write.
In his book, there was
a philosophy that really
resonated with me and it
has become one that I
now share: Always stick
to the fundamentals.
Sure, Ive heard the
phrase many times
throughout my life, but
when it comes from
someone who was the very best at what
he did, it takes on a much stronger
meaning. So what does this have to do
with marketing? Read on
Top five marketing
fundamentals
Back in the olden daysyou know,
about 10 years agomarketing was still
relatively simple. You had your choice of
broadcast, print, direct
mail, outdoor, trade
shows, Yellow Pages and
public relations. Marketing
was a one-way conversa-
tion, whereby marketers
told people what they
wanted them to know,
think and believe. Many
Web sites were merely
online brochures. Social
media was barely in its
teething stage.
Times have certainly
changed.
It was several years
ago when social media
began to really consume
our personal lives. At the
time, we didnt really
understand their full
potential, particularly as
it relates to how busi-
nesses could benefit.
Today, we do.
When you combine
traditional marketing vehicles with
social media, which has opened the
door to two-way conversations between
people and brands, you can easily
understand how anything and every-
thing related to the Internet has com-
pletely changed the rules of marketing.
Or has it? Sure, social media has
consider evaluating
your advertising,
marketing and online
presence to your top
three competitors. Do
you find that you all
pretty much say the
same things, just with
different graphics
and copy?
continued on page 26
Trends can be broken down into
four primary categories: Political,
Economic, Technological and
Social (PETS). Whenever there is
movement in any of these areas, it
can have a direct impact through-
out the entire mortgage industry.
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EMAIL: orders@hvccappraisalordering.com
The mortgage landscape has changed.
The needs of clients have been shifted.
Rules and regulations are constantly
being revised. Professionals in the indus-
try now look for ways to establish stability
and distinguish their business from others
in the crowd. The successful players have
realized that the best
approach is the one rooted
in traditional foundations
that utilizes modern tools.
The challenge
Each potential client and
stakeholder has individual
needs, but one extremely
common concern is that they
want the job done right the
first time, and done in a
timely matter. An originator
can demonstrate credibility if
they can show that they have
the service model and the
experience to streamline the
process. For many profes-
sionals in the real estate field
today, there is legitimate
skepticism that loans will not
be created in a predictable
time frame, which impacts
all aspects of their business.
Five years ago, many of
the processes mandated
today would be considered
insane. Lenders now do in-depth research
to ensure that they limit their liability in
creating and approving loans. Throughout
each step of the process, there are multiple
reports filed and databases cross-refer-
enced. Unfortunately, these systems are not
perfect and there are times when there is
incongruity in the findings. When this
occurs, more time is spent researching the
applicant and vetting their information
than building the relationship. These mis-
matches consume energy and precious
time, and hinder the ability for all parties
involved to meet necessary deadlines. This
can leave the agent, client and loan officer
feeling like they have been beat up, and
many are exhausted by the time they finish.
The opportunity
In the past, banking giants like Bank of
America, Citi, Chase, Wells Fargo and others
have had great origination strength on the
regional level. These mega banks have
become massive loan aggregators. Between
providing services to the depositors who
walk into branches and the work required
to maintain massive portfolios ($1-2 trillion
in servicing rights), their hands are quite full.
As a result, there is an opportunity for
regional, mid-sized retail mortgage compa-
nies to carve out their market share. This
can be accomplished
through developing rela-
tionships with real estate
professionals, brokers, CPAs
and other real estate and
financial professionals.
Historically, these relation-
ships have been the most
productive referral partners
for mortgage professionals.
If a business or a mort-
gage professional can
prove that they have the
experience and the knowl-
edge to usher a loan
through the origination
process without issue, the
company will have a
tremendous competitive
advantage. Clients will be
more likely to want to work
with them. Many mortgage
companies now realize this
and have shifted their mar-
keting resources into out-
reach in the business com-
munity versus marketing
directly to consumers.
Modern marketing
Many new marketing tactics involving
technology have emerged in the last few
years. While the tools available do help
streamline and measure communica-
tion, the key is to remember that they
should be fully integrated into a market-
ing plan that is focused on relationships.
The best way to develop these relation-
ships is through a real sales interview.
Sales professionals need to do research
before they prospect and set up meetings.
Once the initial research is done, mort-
gage professionals can set up face-to-face
meetings with the stakeholder (a CPA, real
estate professional or broker, for exam-
ple). These meetings can take place at the
stakeholders officeor with the recent
ubiquity of items like the iPad, at a local
coffee shop or over a casual lunch. Giving
a dynamic presentation to a client and
showing how the mortgage professional
Prospecting,
identifying the right
person to meet and
conducting a real sales
interview (for the
exchange of thoughtful
questions and diligent
listening) are all
extremely important
to the traditional art
lost by many.
How to Thrive in the
New Mortgage Landscape
By Kurt Reisig
from different generations, cultures
and social backgrounds view the world.
We are in the
relationship business
People do business with people they like.
Youve undoubtedly heard this philoso-
phy hundreds of times before, because
its true. Youve also heard that people
dont buy from a company, they buy
from people they trust and like. Your
company is a reflection of your character,
integrity and charming personality.
The challenge we are all facing today
is that social media and e-mail interac-
tions are rapidly replacing in-person
communication. It is increasingly more
difficult to establish and maintain per-
sonal relationships in the spirit of
building chemistry and nurturing per-
sonal bonds. Its no longer a question of
who you know, its now a question of
who knows you. Take advantage of
those face-to-face networking opportu-
nities that you may have been blowing
off. Meeting the right person at the
right time will pay off.
Shorten the sales cycle
Ive believed for quite a long time that
the sole purpose of marketing is to
shorten the sales cycle. Building aware-
ness, promoting products and services,
and growth are functions of marketing,
but its real purpose is directly connect-
ed to expediting sales.
As many experts and gurus have said
so many times, nothing happens until a
sale is made. Marketing provides the
tools to make the sale faster, as long as
you dont forget the fundamentals.
Scott Seroka is vice president and princi-
pal with Seroka, a full-service marketing,
public relations and interactive firm that
serves a nationwide client base. He may
be reached by phone at (262) 523-3740,
by e-mail at scott@seroka.com or visit
www.seroka.com.
Technological trends include every-
thing that has to do with how people
interact with each other and with
brands online. If you are wondering
how powerful the Internet is, here are
some figures to put it in perspective:
O In the U.S. alone, there are 20,000
Google searches taking place every sec-
ond. Here is a question When peo-
ple are searching for your services, are
you there to be found? If your site is not
properly optimized, you are missing
quite a few sales opportunities.
O People are watching two billion
YouTube videos, on average, each
day, and 24 hours worth of video is
uploaded to YouTube every minute
of every day.
O Facebook has more than 500 mil-
lion users and the percentage of
business-to-business companies on
Facebook is increasing rapidly.
O LinkedIn has an estimated 70 mil-
lion users. This may pale in compar-
ison to Facebook, but keep in mind
that LinkedIn is strictly for business.
If you dont already have a LinkedIn
account, make sure you sign up for
one today. Why? If you have contact
with customers and other business
professionals, your absence from
LinkedIn will be viewed as, well,
strange.
Social trends (family, community,
personal finance, health, work and
leisure) overlap with technological
trends. I say this because the Internet
and mobile devices have changed the
way we interact with each other.
People communicate through e-mail,
social media sites and texting much
more than picking up the phone and
dialing someones number. There are
also stark contrasts on how people
Successful marketing in the modern world focuses
on relationships with help from technology
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marketing plan and narrowing my tar-
get client. What type of person should I
market my services to that will result in
the highest quality referrals? What type
of clients do I primarily work with that
provide the most favorable outcome?
The answer to these ques-
tions will mold the future
of your database and
business.
I have personally found
that spending time with
the most quality prospects
and those in a position of
influence provides the
most successful outcome
and the highest quality
referral. Others trust their
opinion and counsel
when referring peers,
friends and family. Dont
get me wrong, I am open
to helping all people
regardless of income,
credit, net worth and
social status, and will
always provide the same
quality of service to each
client. However, if you are
spending time and effort
developing your market-
ing plan than its impor-
tant to think about who
you are marketing to.
Indications you might need to revise
your target market:
O You feel like the majority of clients
responding to your efforts are
unable to qualify.
Influence the Influential
Prospecting and marketing is a continu-
ous effort for those of us in the real estate
and finance industries. Successful mar-
keting, followed by a positive transaction
and client experience, results in customer
referrals and database creation. We all
understand that market-
ing will always be an
ongoing priority in our
transactional-based busi-
ness even with these pas-
sive referral sources, but
how do we maximize the
quality and number of
client and business part-
ner referrals?
Target marketing is a
word we hear often as
entrepreneurs and busi-
ness owners. The term is
typically used when
researching or developing
a business plan for a spe-
cific geographical area.
Since many of us in the
industry carry state-specif-
ic licensing and specialize
in somewhat broad areas
around our homes and
place of business, Ive
always carried a slightly
different view with regards
to target marketing. I call it
Influence the Influential.
Like most people, I prefer to maxi-
mize the little time I have each day
and be as productive as possible. I do
this by having a plan in place and
focusing on the tasks that carry the
highest demands and provide the
most positive results. I follow these
same guidelines when developing a
By Andy W. Harris, CRMS
We all understand
that marketing will
always be an ongoing
priority in our
transactional-based
business even with
these passive referral
sources, but how do
we maximize the
quality and number
of client and business
partner referrals?
can fulfill each need helps build credibil-
ity and shows that both parties will work
together to get loans approved in a time-
ly, predictable manner.
The presentation is important to a
meeting, but so is listening. A stake-
holder will often share ways in which
their current mortgage professional is
failing them. Listening to these con-
cerns allows a mortgage professional to
show how they are better able to meet
the stakeholders needs.
One way to build credibility is to take
notes during these meetings and follow
up afterward with a personal note or e-
mail to address the stakeholders key con-
cerns. This note allows a mortgage pro-
fessional to provide specifics on how they
will meet the stakeholders needs.
Refocusing
It might seem odd to focus so much atten-
tion on the marketing and sales tactics of
20 years ago, but they have proven success
and can separate a true mortgage profes-
sional from their competition. Prospecting,
identifying the right person to meet and
conducting a real sales interview (for the
exchange of thoughtful questions and dili-
gent listening) are all extremely important
to the traditional art lost by many.
Leveraging technology is not just a
gimmick. It is a way to meet your cus-
tomers where they are. For example,
bringing an iPad to a coffee shop or
restaurant is much more effective than
lugging a laptop and projector to a con-
ference room for another boring pres-
entation that does not differentiate one
mortgage professional from another.
New technologies also provide a great
opportunity to act as a business coach.
Teaching clients how to utilize platforms
like Facebook or Craigslist to drive traffic
to their listings will help clients and con-
tinue to build a mutually beneficial busi-
ness relationship.
Marketing in todays digital age is dif-
ferent, but the same principles still apply
and service is king. The personal relation-
ships built in todays world can start any-
where. Some will still start at a Chamber
of Commerce mixer, while others will start
on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. No
matter where the relationship starts or
where a particular professional focuses
their marketing dollars, they must know
their customers. Where are they spending
their time online? What are they reading?
How can you, as a mortgage professional,
meet their needs to help your business
grow, and how can you ask current clients
for more referrals?
As compensation reform becomes a
reality, clearly mortgage professionals will
have to sell and close more loans than they
did just a few years ago to maintain the
same compensation level. Closing more
loans often involves two variables: Up-sell-
ing current clients and finding new clients.
It is much more cost-effective to up-sell to
current clients, which requires listening to
their needs, offering superior service and
ensuring that each of their needs is met in
a timely manner.
Marketing is what a business or individ-
ual makes it, but many who have succeed-
ed will say that successful marketing is
based on research, relationships and reten-
tion. Direct mail, social media tools and
search engine marketing are all great meth-
ods of marketing, depending on the target
stakeholder. But without the proper follow-
through and quality service, even the best
marketing efforts will fail over time. Focus
on knowing the potential client and what
will help them achieve their goals, not just
how they can contribute to a sales quota.
Kurt Reisig is the founder and chief exec-
utive officer of American Pacific Mortgage
Corporation. He may be reached by
phone at (916) 960-1325 or e-mail
kareisig@apmortgage.com. continued on page 28
Lead Provider Roundup
A short list of companies offering leads for mortgage professional
Bankrate.com 561-630-1257
www.bankrate.com/cpcprogram/
CEO: Thomas R. Evans
Type of leads: Cost Per Click, Internet leads, performance based
EnVision Direct 800-922-9860
CEO: Christian DeWorken
Type of leads: Our clients stay ahead in this changing market with our
great service and all-inclusive pricing.
MortgageLoan.com (877)-390-4750
CEO: Paul Knag
Type of Leads: Internet Leads, Inbound Calls, Branded Leads
Premier Advantage Marketing 888-799-3959
www.thinkPAM.com
Vice President: Tom Emmerson
Type of leads: Targeted mailings, creative design, direct response campaigns
Split Test Media, LLC
www.Refinance-Mortgage-Leads.com
CEO: Michael Andrew
Type of Leads: Refinance Leads Only. Conventional, FHA, VA, & Jumbo.
Rate-And-Term, Cash-Out, & Debt-Consolidation.
28
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Visit UnitedNorthern.Jobs, email info@UnitedNorthern.Jobs
or call (888) 600-8808 ext 1.
United Northern is Seeking Highly
Qualied, Experienced Mortgage
Professionals To Grow as We Grow
Operations Manager
Production Manager
Senior Underwriter
Virtual Mortgage Loan Ofcers (VMLOs)
In-House Mortgage Loan Ofcers
(MLOs)
Team Leaders/Sales Managers
United Northern Mortgage Bankers, Ltd. Corporate NMLS ID# 7230 New York State Banking Dept. - Licensed Mortgage Banker License #100724 New Jer-
sey Dept. of Banking and Insurance Mortgage Lender License #L0046623 Pennsylvania Dept. of Banking Mortgage Lender License #20887 Connecti-
cut Dept. of Banking - Mortgage Lender - License #20372 Massachusetts Div. of Banks and Loan Agencies - Mortgage Lender & Mortgage Broker License
#MC5070 North Carolina Commissioner of Banks Mortgage Lender License #L140365 South Carolina State Board of Financial Institutions Supervised Lender
License #S7,461 Florida Dept. of Financial Institutions - Mortgage Lender - License #ML0700679 Senior Security Home Advantage is a lending area of United
Northern Mortgage Bankers, Ltd. Direct FHA Endorsed Lender
be present and you have to be strong! If
you invite your prospects to Twitter and
they discover that you
havent tweeted in three
months, your credibility is
gone. Poof! If you arent
going to tweet, dont even
refer people to your
Twitter account.
Another note about
social media: Whatever
you do, and however you
do it, THOU SHALT NOT BE
BORING! Inject your per-
sonality into everything
you do. Be yourself. Share
about your life. If your
only online interactions
are about interest rates,
new listings and begging
for more friends, #fail.
Even if you work more on
the transactional side of
real estate, being active on
these social networking
sites not only creates more
opportunities to sell prop-
erty, but also provides the
opportunity to help more clients succeed
in reaching their real estate goals.
If youre really want to
demonstrate that youre a
leading resource, youll
want to create a personal-
ized Fan page too. Its
customary for these to be
more business-driven.
Use your business or fan
page to be more hard-
core with your real
estate practice.
When you start net-
working socially, you will
build better personal rela-
tionships with people you
already know only as
acquaintances and meet
people whose paths you
would never have crossed
otherwise. In regards to
your current client base,
you can get to know their
needs better. The relation-
ships and influence that
you build on social net-
works improve (even cre-
ate) your reputation and
enhance your value as an
expert. The wider your circle, the more
chances you have to add to your business.
Social Media
Cant Live With Em
Social media cant live with em
cant
How would you finish
the punch line? Cant live
without em? Cant kill
em? However you would
finish the sentiment, the
fact of the matter is that
you are going to have to
make peace with them
some way or another!
Social networking is
the newest, simplest form
of low-cost marketing.
The entire world is on
social networking sites
and the bottom line is
that, as a real estate pro-
fessional, just like any
other business group, you
should be marketing
yourself and your services
where your customers
are. And, dont look now,
but they are all on
Facebook, LinkedIn and
Twitter. There are some
even on ActiveRain, but,
they mostly use it to direct people to
their Twitter and Facebook pages!
Here is the reality of
doing business these days
everyone looks for you
on the Web and on social
networks before they pick
up the phone to call you.
They use it to assess
whether youre person-
able, trustworthy and
responsive. There is noth-
ing wrong with it. Its just a
fact. Your chance to make
your first impression hap-
pens without you even
being there these days.
Heres how the process
goes: An interested
prospect starts by Googling
you colloquial parlance
for putting your name into
a search engine. Then, they
look for you on Facebook.
If you say youre on Twitter,
they look for you on
Twitter. If they think you
two can possibly do busi-
ness together, youll get an
invite via LinkedIn. Then,
and only after passing those tests, you will
get an e-mail or a phone call. You must
By Mark Anthony McCray & Tonya D. Bradley
When you start
networking socially, you
will build better
personal relationships
with people you already
know only as
acquaintances and meet
people whose paths you
would never have
crossed otherwise.
O Your business primarily requires
Federal Housing Administration
(FHA) financing in order to qualify,
thus putting a heavy influence on
your database which could use
more diversity.
O Post-closing client referral quality or
quantity could use improvement.
O Business partner referrals are hard
to qualify or never pan out.
O You find that the type of client your
marketing produces is difficult to
work with or tries to take advantage
of your time.
O The average credit score or applica-
tion-to-closing ratio is below where
you feel should be acceptable
You can also use the same market-
ing guidelines toward business part-
ners and colleagues. If you find that
you receive referrals from others who
are either difficult to qualify or few in
quantity, you might consider their
position of influence and number of
transactions closed annually. Also
strive to be an influential professional
yourself. Partnering with like-minded
and ethical colleagues can be reward-
ing for your business, but more impor-
tantly, rewarding for your clients.
The prerequisite before influencing
the influential is to have confidence,
supreme skills and a heightened level
of service that automatically generates
referrals post-closing. If these things
are in place, then narrow down your
target market by influencing those who
can influence as many other qualified
candidates as possible. Doing this in
your marketing plans will bring more
success to your business and quality to
your referral database.
Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and
owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage
Mortgage Group Inc. and 2010-2011 presi-
dent of the Oregon Association of Mortgage
Professionals. He may be reached by phone
at (877) 496-0431 or e-mail aharris@van-
tagemortgagegroup.com or visit
AndyHarrisMortgage.com.
Mark Anthony McCray
Social networking has
revolutionized the way
businesses function
today and has become
an indispensable part
of every successful
marketing plan.
Frankly, were
approaching a day
wherein you will not
exist if you cant be
found easily online.
Tonya Bradley
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Social networking has revolutionized the
way businesses function today and has
become an indispensable part of every
successful marketing plan. Frankly, were
approaching a day wherein you will not
exist if you cannot be found easily
online.
Still resisting? As some futuristic fig-
ures have reminded us, resistance is
futile. Remember, however, business is
still about personal connections. We are
just doing some of it differently. Think
of social media as the new town square.
Be present. Be yourself. And youll ben-
efit. If you do it right, it will be fun, too!
Mark Anthony McCray is chief executive
officer of Houston, Texas-based First
Capital Commercial Finance and an asso-
ciate with Managed Mortgage Investment
Fund (MMIF). First Capital is a commercial
mortgage banking firm that helps clients
leverage millions of dollars in financing for
their real estate acquisitions, develop-
ments and investments. MMIF is a direct
lender specializing in short-term private
mortgage financing and equity invest-
ments. He may be reached by phone at
(832) 566-2001, e-mail mark@deals-
done.net, follow Mark on Twitter
@markmccray or visit www.markantho-
nymccray.com. Tonya D. Bradley is an
entrepreneur and paralegal in Houston,
Texas. She is the managing member of TD
Bradley Business Group LLC and owns a
few businesses, including Essential Effects
Marketing & Promotions, a Web and
graphic design company. She may be
reached by phone at (713) 965-7306 or e-
mail: info@e2mp.com.
The Five Essentials of Every
Mortgage Web Site
Its 2011, as Im sure youve noticed, and
almost every business has a Web site. We
are living in the digital age and people
expect you to have one too. If your mort-
gage company does not have a Web site,
do you think your business is suffering? In
order to compete in this crowded market-
place, you need a site specifically designed
to attract, guide and cap-
ture your prospects atten-
tion. If your site doesnt do
that, it is costing you valu-
able leads.
Most mortgage busi-
ness owners are not Web
design experts, and even if
you are, you hardly have
the time to build an entire
site. That means most of
you outsource this work.
Too good to be true
pricing is out of control in
the world of Web design.
Its tempting business own-
ers every day. If a company
you are considering has a
much lower quote than
everyone else, you need to
proceed cautiously as they may not offer
all of the services you will need.
There are five essential elements to
Web site design. I call them essentials
because if you are missing just one of
them, your site could collapse. Make sure
your design team is fully capable of han-
dling each of these essentials belowor
its time to look for a new one!
As we go through the list, Im going
to show you how these elements
impact your site through a hypothetical
example in the IN ACTION section.
1. Design
A high-quality, aesthetically appealing
Web site makes your mortgage business
appear top-notcheven
if you still operate out of
the spare bedroom of
your home! Be careful,
though as many design
firms focus exclusively on
this. Incredible design is
great, and you absolutely
need it, but its only one
aspect. It cannot hold up
the Web site on its own.
O In action: You get a
mock-up back from your
design firm and it looks
fantastic. The colors real-
ly pop, the graphics add
to the message without
distracting and its overall
appearance is clean and
easy to look at. Youre
pleased that your site will finally look
professional, instead of the outdated
one youve had since 1996.
When the new site is live, you have a
spike in new visitors, but no noticeable
difference in new leads. Why? The
design doesnt guide your prospects
eye-trail through the page to show
them what action to take.
By Joy Gendusa
Does your site have them all?
If your mortgage
company does not
have a Web site, do
you think your
business is suffering?
2. Marketing
If the design is the face of the operation,
then marketing is the brains. You need
a designer who understands how con-
sumers think who and creates a Web
site layout that guides them through the
sales process and maximizes the
amount of conversions you see. Without
this essential, your site will be just
another pretty face in the mortgage
worldwith nothing to show for it.
O In action: Youve learned your lesson
about aesthetic-only designs and hire a
designer with marketing training. He
creates a page that has one clear action
for the visitor and guides their eye
through the page.
You see an immediate increase in
leads, but it plateaus just as quickly.
You are getting more responses, which
is good, but you need think about traf-
fic, too. If you dont have enough people
coming to your site, you cannot possibly
get enough leads.
3. SEO (search engine
optimization)
SEO is how you improve your rankings in
search engines like Google and Bing. High
search rankings bring you organic leads
(leads that find you without paying
Google). If SEO is ignored, Google wont
send people to your siteeven if it has an
incredible design and marketing strategy.
O In action: Now you have an SEO
expert look at the site. He informs you
that your homepage is too crammed
with keywords (words related to your
industry that help search engines rank
your pages). He suggests two or three
keywords that will help you get the best
response from Google. For example, he
suggests having separate pages to high-
light your services, so you can optimize
each of them with their own keywords.
After a few weeks, you see the traffic
to your site increase, as well as the num-
ber of new leadsbut not in propor-
tion. Whats still missing?
4. Copywriting
Probably the most underrated of all the five
essentials, many businesses provide their
own copy (words) for their Web site. Be
extremely cautious about this! There is a
reason people make a living copywriting
there is an art and science to creating adver-
tising and product copy. To get the best pos-
sible results from your site, hire a design firm
with a professional copywriter on board.
O In action: You decide to have a pro-
fessional copywriter look over your site
to see what hang-ups they find in the
copy. They immediately spot some
areas where the prospect is probably
encountering friction or resistance
when reading through your site.
They do a quick overhaul, deleting some
unnecessary blocks of text and ensuring the
copy flows straight from beginning to end.
As a result, you begin to see the leads from
your Web site go up immediately as
prospects no longer get stuck on confusing
copy. You are pretty satisfied with your sites
performance until you notice that the
bounce rate for your home page is excep-
tionally high, which means most people
that visit your site are leaving without find-
ing what they are looking for.
5. Programming
Programming is vital to the success of
your site. Even the simplest error in
functionality makes a Web site look
unprofessional. On the flip side, excel-
lent programming can make your site
easier and more fun to use than your
competitors and gives your prospect
value they cannot get elsewhere.
O In action: To address a high bounce
rate, you decide to look into it yourself.
You go online, Google your company
name, and click on the link provided. It
takes about seven sec. for your home
page to load completely. You think it
might just be the connection, so you go
back to Google. Lightning-fast. Now you
have a problem.
Even beautiful, well-thought out and
well-written Web sites cannot operate at
full capacity if people do not stay long
enough to see them. People expect things
with immediacy, and thats why high-qual-
ity programming and hosting is essential to
your site. Nobody wants to wait more than
five sec. to see a page, especially if there are
other options. Theyll just use the back but-
ton and go find one of your competitors.
As you can see, having even four of
the five essential elements isnt enough
to have a fully functioning Web site.
However, most design companies do
not offer all of these services. Thats
why you need to be very selective when
you are shopping for a new website.
There are companies who are full-ser-
vice and have competitive pricing, so
its worth the time to search them out.
Make sure your website design firm has
all five elements coveredor kick them to
the curb. After all, these arent optional
add-ons, they are essential to your mort-
gage business success. You need them.
Joy Gendusa is chief executive officer and
founder of PostcardMania. She began
PostcardMania in 1998 with nothing but
a phone and a computer and zero
investment capital. By 2008, revenues
reached nearly $19 million and the com-
pany now employs more than 150 peo-
ple, prints four million and mails two
million postcards each week represent-
ing more than 40,000 customers in over
350 industries. For more information,
call (800) 628-1804, ext. 342 or visit
www.postcardmania.com.
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negative, can have a big impact. Nearly
80 percent of people ages 50-64and
42 percent of those who are 65 and
olderare online, according to the Pew
Research Center.
Customer service so good,
theyll tell their friends
While there is a significant opportunity
for growth among reverse mortgage
lenders, particularly those with a good
reputation, the initial contact is when
the one-on-one personal service begins.
From that point, lenders must be
focused on anticipating the customers
needs. Some will need moderate guid-
ance; others will need hand-holding
throughout the process.
What follows are five strategies to
help lenders deliver the best customer
service, inspiring confidence in their
clients, differentiating themselves in the
marketplace and developing valuable
referral sources.
1. Get personal
Make it easy for potential customers to
connect. Often, the most welcoming
thing a lender can do is to have a per-
sonnot an interactive voice response
(IVR) systemanswer the phone. Older
adults, in particular, do not want to nav-
igate an IVR.
The personal approach also drives
the sales process. Every persons situa-
tion is different and its important to
take a holistic view of a customers cir-
cumstances and understand how the
proceeds will be used. Only then is it
possible to know if a reverse mortgage is
the right solution. This in-depth analysis
should be the focus as the customer
moves to application and processing of
the loan.
Reverse mortgage lenders should
also work to make the process transpar-
ent, understandable and comfortable.
They should explain what the loan
process entails, how long it takes and
what documentation is required.
2. Offer a second counseling session
While the reverse mortgage process is
second nature for origination profes-
sionals, there is a lot for potential bor-
rowers to absorb. They may not fully
understand all the nuances in the first
counseling session. Financial terms that
may have seemed clear can be puzzling
on review. New questions may arise
with the reverse mortgage process, and
family or friends may voice additional
concerns.
Offering a second counseling session
can help in a number of ways. It under-
scores the lenders commitment to act
in the customers best interests, making
the client more comfortable. When the
customer signs off on the mortgage,
everyone can be confident it was done
with full understanding.
3. Encourage communication between
brokers and underwriters
While some lenders do not typically
encourage communication between
brokers and underwriters, it can have a
significant impact. A clear exchange of
information helps the underwriter
make a decision based upon facts, not
assumptions. By helping the under-
writer fully understand the borrowers
situation, the lender can offer a mort-
gage with terms that are most favor-
able to the customer.
4. Work with the customers timeline
Do the customers have an immediate
need for the money, or do they want to
close at a later date? By establishing
challenging cycle-time metrics and
meeting them, lenders can be sure they
can close on the loan when the cus-
tomer is ready. One good goal is to sur-
pass, not just meet, U.S. Department of
Housing & Urban Development (HUD)
requirements. Setting and meeting firm
deadlines also makes the process much
more predictable, thus lessening cus-
tomers stress.
5. Create lifelong customers and
referral sources
The lenders commitment shouldnt end
once the loan is closed. For example, one
consistent stumbling block for customers
is that they must pay their insurance and
taxes separately. Since many people are
accustomed to having insurance and
taxes rolled into their conventional
mortgage payment, they fail to plan for
these expenses and come up short.
By using strategies such as sending a
notice reminding customers before the
payments are due, lenders who also serv-
ice their loans have an opportunity to
once again demonstrate their personal
concern. This avoids complications and
makes the customer feel cared for, which
helps generate additional referrals.
A growing market
The need for reverse mortgages is grow-
ing. Despite the housing bubble, home
equity remains an important resource
for many people. Using a combination of
facts, experience, personal attention and
exceptional customer service, lenders
can offer people the help they need,
often at a critical time in their lives, and
gain a customer and advocate for life.
Scott Peters is president and chief execu-
tive officer of Generation Mortgage
Company. He may be reached by phone
at (404) 995-7870 or e-mail
scott.peters@generationmortgage.com.
How to Win Customer Confidence,
Generate Referrals and Differentiate
Your Business Through
Exceptional Customer Service
Why wouldnt you consider a lender in the
reverse mortgage industry as a helping
professional, such as a doctor or social
worker? If you havent, you
should! A reverse mortgage
company is in the business
of helping provide senior
Americans with an option
that allows them to stay in
their homes and receive
the extra cash needed to
pay bills, cover medical
expenses, or simply secure
a cash reserve. In fact, the
National Council on Aging
(NCOA) estimates that
reverse mortgages can
help 13.2 million people
pay for the services they
need to stay in their
homes.
As lenders search for
ways to distinguish them-
selves in the marketplace,
that same helping mind-
set can give them a valu-
able edge. When lenders
truly care about their cus-
tomers, it shines through
in exceptional customer
service. Customers become advocates
and a rich source of referrals. Word-of-
mouth marketing is very powerful. Its
also free.
Now is a particularly good time for
reverse mortgage lenders to focus on
growth. The reverse mortgage industry is
poised to grow by as much as 20 to 40
percent over the next 12 months, aided
by the new HECM Saver and the
improved HECM Standard, favorable
demographics, and increased advocacy
to raise awareness of reverse mortgages.
Many Americans are confused or
even wary of reverse mortgages. They
dont understand what they are, how
they work and what the benefits are.
While 67 percent of older homeowners
have heard of reverse mortgages, just
nine percent are likely to use this
financing option to pay for assistance
at home, according to the NCOA.
Guidance at a sensitive
time
Great customer service can help allay cus-
tomer concerns, highlight
the benefits and make the
overall reverse mortgage
loan process less over-
whelming. It can also
address customers emo-
tional needs. While a
reverse mortgage is prima-
rily a financial decision, it
also involves sensitive
issues, such as the prospect
of declining health or loss
of independence.
Caring and competent
service at a time when peo-
ple may be feeling vulnera-
ble is a sure path to success
for lenders and the reverse
mortgage industry. But
lenders have to be sincere.
Every company promises
great customer service, but
far fewer deliver. In order
for lenders to succeed, they
need a caring approach,
but they also need a solid
foundation, such as the
right internal systems and technology
and a well-trained staff.
They also need to make sure they
have a solid public image. In large part,
that image is based on the aggregate
experience of many customers, under-
scoring the need to offer each customer
the same high level of service.
Potential customers looking for
information often turn to organiza-
tions, publications and other sources
they trust, such as the AARP or the
Better Business Bureau (BBB). A posi-
tive reputation or a great rating from
the state and national BBB, for exam-
ple, is a significant advantage in attract-
ing new customers.
On the flip side, clients who are dis-
satisfied will make that known by com-
plaining to the BBB or other organiza-
tions or posting negative comments
online. Online comments, positive or
By Scott Peters
Marketing reverse mortgages to
the senior community
As lenders search for
ways to distinguish
themselves in the
marketplace, that same
helping mindset can
give them a valuable
edge. When lenders
truly care about their
customers, it shines
through in exceptional
customer service.
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an action photo within your region, for
instance, lugging a sled in the winter or
showing off your fishing trophy in the
summer, but I digress). The first column
underneath is your update on the
industry. What can you do with the rest
of the space? Here are several ideas to
get you started:
O Take some of the e-newsletter real
estate to highlight a new listing that
matches with your audience,
whether it be first-time buyers, spe-
cific to a school district, empty-
nesters or those looking to downsize.
If you have an ongoing relationship
with real estate agents, suggest pro-
moting their listings in return for
assistance in building your opt-in e-
mail list.
O People enjoy reading about where
they live and the history behind
buildings, parks, street names and
people of interest. Share just enough
to pique their interest and link to a
page on your Web site with more
information, photos and additional
links.
O In the same vein, reach out to local
service providers, vendors, retailers
and small businesses within your
community. People will sign up for
your e-newsletter if you provide
deals, discounts and specials and you
will build a larger network for new
leads and prospects.
O In another section, you may want to
offer tips on growing the nest egg.
Offer recipes like a skinny decaf
caramel mochachino (you will find it
several places online). Making it at
home saves money, not to mention,
calories.
O People love reviews and mobile is
hot. Invest a little time in one new
app each month and report the
good, the bad or your indifference.
For that matter, you can make any
hobby a recurring column. If you
have love for the subject, the words
should come naturally.
O Last, but certainly not least, dont
forget about the holidays. When you
lay out your email timeline, pencil in
the public and local holidays,
anniversaries and festivals. Instead
of searching for the perfect graphic
in the last minute, pull them all at
once or at least make sure your e-
mail marketing service offers good
options that you can drop in when
needed. You can also tie several of
the ideas above into the holiday
theme: Jewelry tips in February from
a local merchant, parade routes in
July and a turkey raffle in November.
Think outside the box in December
with a re-gift exchange. Someone
out there must want to swap a holi-
day fruitcake in return for the
worlds ugliest Christmas sweater!
Accrue interest
on your plan
Now that you have your plan for 2011
on paper, put it up on your bulletin
board or enter it into your calendar on
your smartphone. Make sure you set up
reminders so youre not scurrying
around at the last minute trying to
keep up with the work you did. Its also
a good idea to keep a folder on your
computer with links to online articles
that you can share or review when put-
ting together your own entries for your
e-newsletter.
Take a few minutes each month to
subscribe to newsletters from other
businesses with similar customers.
Great ideas for topics and graphics
come from listening to others and it
helps keep the pulse of your prospects.
And dont forget to keep building
and growing your opt-in e-mail lists. Set
up a Facebook fan page and a Twitter
account for your business and use bits
of your e-newsletter to regularly update
and link to your Web site. When you
add your Facebook fan page, be sure to
include a sign-up form that allows peo-
ple to become part of your e-mail mar-
keting subscriber list. Use any data you
collect here (location, birthday, etc.) to
segment your e-mail list. Keep the
engagement going by sending person-
alized messages that may be more
social in nature or have ties to relevant
conversation on your fan page.
You can also use the segmented list
by the date of sign up to resurrect suc-
cessful e-mail marketing campaigns
that have already been sent to other
lists earlier this season. For a local
option, set up your business on Yelp
and ask friends and fans to review your
service. Keep an eye on other location-
based social networks. Some may come
and go but most have their 15 min. of
fame. So long as youre sharing infor-
mation, not just selling, these are all
great places to build your brand, share
your expertise and find new people
who want to opt-in to your e-mail list.
As your list grows, consider adding a
few of these suggestions to keep your e-
newsletter fresh and inviting:
O Ask your subscribers if they want to
read your e-newsletter on their com-
puter or a mobile device. Then seg-
ment your list accordingly. Use a sin-
E-mail Marketing Plans: A Small
Investment in Time Reaps Big Payoff
Here we are again another new year
and another fresh start. For professionals
in the mortgage industry there is even a
bit of optimism in the air.
The National Association of
Realtors (NAR) reports that
existing home sales rose in
December for the fifth
time in the past six
months, and the Mortgage
Brokers Associations (MBA)
Market Composite Index, a
measure of mortgage loan
application volume, and its
Refinance Index, both saw
an uptick.
While I wouldnt rec-
ommend betting your
house on a fast recovery,
there is good reason to
start smart with a 2011 e-
mail marketing plan.
There really is no down-
side: Its inexpensive,
strategic and with a bit of
prep work, and doesnt
need to take much time at
all. But dont just take my
word for it. Campaigner
recently surveyed its users
about e-mail marketing. Thirty-three per-
cent responded that they were going to
continue with their e-mail programs in
2011, and 61 percent responded that
plans were underway to increase the use
of e-mail in their marketing programs.
There are two things that came to
mind immediately when I read the
results of the survey. First, whether its
used for branding, lead generation or
networking, businesses that use e-mail
in their marketing programs give it a
thumbs up. Second, the majority sur-
veyed sees the value of e-mail marketing
and intends to increase its use as part of
their marketing programs because of its
return-on-investment (ROI).
The message here is that if youre
not using e-mail marketing, try it out.
Almost 100 percent say they are going
to continue or expand their e-mail mar-
keting programs. Thats a pretty good
recommendation. For those of you
already using e-mail marketing period-
ically, ramp it up with regular e-
newsletters with information that will
be of interest to prospects looking for a
mortgage now, considering a home
purchase in the future, and even those
who may think buying is out of the
question because theyre not well-
informed. For mortgage professionals
already sending out newsletters regu-
larly, consider incorporat-
ing some of the fun new
social media and high-
tech options that are
making a buzz on smart-
phones.
Lock-in your
terms with a plan
It doesnt matter if you
are new to e-mail market-
ing or a seasoned veteran,
set or re-evaluate your
objectives to make sure
they are still clear and
realistic. Know the pur-
pose of your e-mail mar-
keting program. You are
setting yourself up for
frustration if you dont
have goals because, there
are no milestones to work
against and the analytics
that come with each e-
mail send will mean little
unless you know what
youre looking for. Its
also a good idea to create a timeline.
Working to a plan is much easier than
realizing that its been a while or
worsesomeone on your prospect list
is working with another mortgage bro-
ker because they are more connected.
I recommend using the months as
your guide. Twelve e-newsletters evenly
spaced out across the calendar delivers
consistency without being overwhelm-
ing for you or your prospects. NAR
releases national and regional existing
home sales price and volume statistics
on or about the 25th of each month,
and the MBA comes out weekly with a
comparison and four-week compari-
son. Use these as a hook to reach out to
your audience with an easy-to-
understand analysis of what is going on
in the market, nationally and locally.
Its a great way to show your knowledge
and experience in the industry and
your community.
You want to keep your e-newsletters
topical so your prospects continue
opening your messages and find a rea-
son to forward it on to their friends.
Lets say the top third of your e-newslet-
ter template holds your logo, contact
information and your photo (consider
By Melanie Attia
It doesnt matter if
you are new to e-mail
marketing or a
seasoned veteran, set
or re-evaluate your
objectives to make
sure they are still
clear and realistic.
Know the purpose of
your e-mail
marketing program.
continued on page 32
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gle column layout if sending to a
mobile device. Its easier to read.
O Give your subscribers the ability to
click through on a link from their
mobile device and make sure the
page they are directed to is also
mobile-friendly. Many content man-
agement systems offer mobile dis-
plays that turn on automatically when
they detect a smartphone browser.
O Have a link at the very top of your e-
newsletter that allows subscribers to
view online if their phone doesnt
display your e-mail correctly.
O Analyze how subscribers interact
with your campaigns. Check what e-
newsletters each contact received,
whether they opened it, and any
further actions (i.e. what links they
clicked on etc.). This unparalleled
level of detail for each contact can
help you refine topics of interest
and how to segment your lists to
better target based on preferences.
O Its not for everyone but the small two-
dimensional barcodes are a hot trend
for 2011 and they dont cost a penny,
so why not try it and then analyze the
results? Mobile users with a camera-
enabled smart phone can scan the QR
Code, which can be coded to do things
such as display text, provide contact
data or even open your Web page in
the browser on a smartphone. Link it
to your Facebook page, a video
embedded on your site or a special
free offer for using the QR Code and
signing up for the e-newsletter.
Ideas for your e-newsletter are endless.
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Property Value Rebound
Challenges
The worldwide recession, which began in
2008, caused a collapse in the values of
most real property. The obvious problem
of property-owner equity depletion,
which typically comes to mind in such
cases, was only one of many problems
created by this monumental event. To be
more succinct, the recession created a
perfect storm of events, mostly caused
and fueled by declining financial and real
estate markets. This has
created a domino effect,
promoting challenges that
rippled throughout the
economy. Those of us own-
ing property found that we
not only lost substantial
portions of our net worth,
but we also had a host of
other financial problems
to deal with.
Some of the collateral
damage resulting from
this storm included fore-
closures, high unemploy-
ment, business failures
and the stock market
crash. We found ourselves
struggling to dig out from
under a mess of rubbish,
much in the same way as
we would have if a real storm had
passed through and physically destroyed
the structures in which we lived and
worked. Those of us who survived had to
dig ourselves out from under the mess
with whatever makeshift tools we could
find. Once we dug out and assisted our
friends to get to the surface, we found
that the real work had just begun. It was
much like finding that we not only had
to deal with replacing our shelter, but
we also had to address the challenges of
finding food, clean water, healthcare,
transportation and all of the other
things we had been accustomed to.
Now that we have come to the surface,
dusted ourselves off, and made emer-
gency and temporary repairs, the longer-
term heavy lifting begins. We find that
much of the underpinning that support-
ed property values has eroded and/or no
longer exists. This thing called supply
and demand has raised its ugly head. We
find that for property values to rebound,
much has to happen to reduce the glut of
property on the market. Those new home
developers with a glut of speculative
homes must find a way to reduce inven-
tories, all of those bank foreclosures must
be liquidated, and those private home-
owners who have offered
their homes for sale for 24
to 36 months must find
buyers. These things must
be done before the home-
builder can begin building
homes again, hiring out-of-
work people, who, them-
selves, would like to pur-
chase homes, and purchas-
ing materials from the local
building supply, along with
all of the other events that
contribute to replenishing
the economic forces that
stabilize our economy and
support property values.
The magnitude of the
current recession cannot
be discounted. Past eco-
nomic downturns occur-
ring within most of our lifetimes have
been less severe. We have experienced
mini-slowdowns that lasted 12 to 24
months, only to rebound and return to
business as usual in a short time. Property
values have diminished in small incre-
ments, say five to 10 percent, and have
rebounded quickly. This recession is dif-
ferent, much different. It is the granddad-
dy of them all of our lifetime. Property
values in many markets have plummeted
to 40 to 50 percent of previous levels. In
addition to homeowners unable to pay
their mortgages, speculators have gone
out on a limb and invested in second
homes and investment homes, and nei-
ther can find buyers. Many of these
homes are in foreclosure. The evidence is
By Charlie W. Elliott Jr., MAI, SRA, ASA
Property values can-
not rebound with mil-
lions of units of unsold
inventory and unem-
ployment hovering at
around 10 percent.
continued on page 34
Frank Paco Torch, CRMS, CITRMS,
of Paco Speaks Founder, NMLF
12 Years of Experience as NAMB Certified Instructor
nmlf@graduate.org
770-751-9820
www.nmlf.us
1400038
NMLF, a non-profit educational foundation, provides licensing and continuing education
training, was the first education provider to be approved by NMLS to teach SAFE-Act
classes in Georgia. Our students high rate of success has resulted in mortgage
companies outside Georgia inviting NMLF to travel and train.
Learn from:
National Mortgage Learning
Foundation, Inc. (NMLF)!
Testimonial, John Parlante,
Sr., VP of Capital Mortgage
Services, Inc.: Of the 15-20
employees of ours who have
taken your pre-licensing
classes, all of them passed
the Federal and State tests
on their first try.
33
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mortgage current. But everyone knows
they really dont want the houses. I expect
those borrowers frustrations with the
banks so-called loss mitigation pro-
grams will boil over next year to the
point where theyll just give up and tell
the banks to take the homes. Borrowers
will say, You wont do a modification and
you wont do anything to help me stay in
the house, so heres the house. Its essen-
tially calling the banks bluff. When that
happens, I predict that the banks will put
What trends will shape the picture of
mortgage lending, mortgage foreclosure
and mortgage investments in 2011? How
will lenders and borrowers react in the
next 12 months after a record number of
U.S. homes went into foreclosure in 2010?
I expect the most significant trend to be a
dramatic shift in the nature of the rela-
tionship between borrowers and lenders.
Here are some of the other trends
that I foresee shaping the mortgage
sector in 2011:
Borrowers will look for
ways to invalidate their
mortgages
I believe the exposure of the banks
questionable foreclosure practices will
cause consumers to consider the legiti-
macy of their original mortgages. Were
expecting to see an increase in the num-
ber of borrowers asking about suing to
declare their mortgages void because of
issue of predatory lending or fraud.
Because of the banks well-publicized
shady foreclosure practices like robo-
signing and documentation issues, we
foresee that consumers will say to them-
selves, If the banks are flubbing docu-
mentation during foreclosures, maybe
they flubbed the documentation when
they originally made the loan. Were
already seeing an increased interest in
forensic audits to look into these issues.
Consumers are hiring people to go back
and look at original loan documents like
the application, Good Faith Estimate
(GFE) and HUD-1 Settlement Statement
to see if there was any wrongdoing at
that point. Consumers hope that these
audits will show technical violations that
could lead to their mortgages being
declared void. This whole idea might be
appealing to borrowers because if you
take it to its theoretical conclusion,
theres a potential that the loan could be
void and youd essentially get your
house for free. But these suits are both
time-consuming and expensive and the
odds of winning are small.
Borrowers will stay in
foreclosure stalemate
longer than ever
Expect to see an increase in the number
of homes in foreclosure stalemate,
where borrowers continue to live in
homes without paying mortgages and
banks continue muddying the workout
process. Banks either have been dragging
their heels in offering borrowers mean-
ingful alternatives or are not offering pro-
grams that provide meaningful alterna-
tives. They do not approve enough loan
modifications or short sales and it takes
them forever to make a decisiongood
or bad. The truth is that during the fore-
closure process, banks want borrowers to
think they want to take the houses, push-
ing them to find the money to bring the
Trends in Mortgage Lending
for 2011
By Christopher Brown Esq.
continued on page 34
the brakes on the foreclosure action and
put borrowers into an ongoing foreclo-
sure stalemate. The borrowers will contin-
ue to live in their houses, not paying their
mortgages and not pursuing any foreclo-
sure alternative. The banks wont push
the foreclosure through to take title
because they wont want the homes.
Borrowers will simply
walk-away
The number of people walking away
from their mortgages will continue to
escalate in 2011. In the past, people
believed they could find a way to work
with the banks, but theres been
enough publicity about this as a false
hope that I forecast more people than
ever will simply walk away from their
homes. In the past, people might just
hang around in hopes of working things
out. All the while, this foreclosure cloud
would be hanging over them. But more
and more people have been in this
cloud for a long time and they just want
to be done with it. Unlike a foreclosure
stalemate, these people will leave their
houses and find new places to live.
Fewer bank takeovers
of homes
The housing marking has been slow to
recover and banks no longer look to a time
when it will improve. When the housing
market first took a dive, banks had a better
appetite for homes because they were
expecting the market to recover and the
assets to become valuable again, thus
The number one reason you should attend this event
is the satisfaction of knowing you are doing your part
to ensure that mortgage broker issues are heard on
Capitol Hill. You are the best spokesperson for our
issues. Your participation benefits you, the industry
and your clients as a whole, by strengthening the
brokers presence in the halls of Congress.
Key Issues in 2011 Include:
O Loan Originator Compensation
Will we see a delay in the rule
Message from SBA on LO Compensation
Status update on Call to Action
O Dodd-Frank Act
O DOL Wage and Overtime
O Safe Act/NMLS
Recovery fund v. Net Worth and/or Bond
Credit reports & Reciprocity
NMLS Modications
Call Reports
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Here are a few reasons you should attend:
Lobby Your Representatives
on Capitol Hill
There is no better way to build relationships with your
senators and representatives than by attending Lobby Day.
Getting face-to-face with the decision-makers who create
important policy is invaluable during such historic and
unprecedented times in our industry.
Bill Kidwell
Dont Miss Out on What This
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it the NAMB 2011 Legislative & Regulatory Conference. It is a
great opportunity to meet with fellow NAMB members and
work together to formulate NAMBs policy agenda.
Don Fader, CRMS
Monday-Tuesday,
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Sandra Braunstein, Director,
Division of Consumer & Community Affairs (invited)
Paul Mondor, Senior Attorney, Division of
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Small Business Administration
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US Department of Housing and Urban Development
Vicki Bott, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Single Family Programs (conrmed)
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vicer paying an insolvent borrowers loan.
Servicers are afraid of that, so they have
been thinking the safest thing for them to
do was to foreclose. This resolution,
although it gets servicer off
the hook, isnt the best
solution for the investor.
Investors now may be
looking at the situation in a
new light. I forecast that
theyll change their tune.
Theyll begin to realize that
its better for them to
approve modifications and
short sales to keep people
in their houses because Id
rather have less money
coming in than take over a
house I cant sell. Expect to
see one of two things:
O More and more investors
will approve loss mitiga-
tion proposals; or
O More and more investors
will remove the specter
of claims that the
servicer didnt act in the investors best
interest.
In short, there will be more modifications
and short sales approved because of this
change in the servicer/investor dynamic.
Heres how I see the next 12 months:
No one involved in the foreclosure crisis
not borrowers, lenders, nor servicershas
benefitted from the existing attempts to
solve it. That means that everyone will be
rethinking how they handle foreclosure.
The focus will be shifting to what is best in
long-run. Only time will tell whether the
convergence of their differing views is a
result that benefits everyone.
Christopher Brown Esq. is a partner in
the Westport, Con. law firm of Begos
Horgan & Brown LLP. He received
national attention for his role in several
ground-breaking foreclosure cases, in
which he took on and beat the mortgage
industry in foreclosure matters. He may
be reached by phone at (203) 226-9990
or e-mail cgb@begoshorgan.com.
34
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the large amount of unsold inventory still
looking to be purchased and continued
high unemployment. Property values
cannot rebound with millions of units of
unsold inventory and unemployment
hovering at around 10 percent.
The National Association of Realtors
(NAR) reports new home sales to be at a
40-year low and that projected sales of
existing homes for 2010 are approxi-
mately 4.5 million. The Mortgage
Bankers Association (MBA) recently
reported that the delinquency rate for
properties that are at least one payment
past due is 14 percent. CNN Money
reported that there are approximately
7.4 million homes with delinquent
loans. It has been reported that Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac hold some $5 tril-
lion in outstanding mortgage loans and
that as much as $1 trillion of this invest-
ment are in troubled assets. My best esti-
mate is that that there are approximate-
ly 55 million outstanding home mort-
gage loans. With so many potential fore-
closures, the demand for homes is not
likely to improve any time soon.
In summary, a rebounding of proper-
ty values is far from being a reality. Such
a recovery is years, not months, away.
Perhaps with a bit of luck, the years can
be few, rather than many. It is conceiv-
able that, given economic improve-
ments, a rebound of most property val-
ues could occur within two or three years
in most markets. Without improvement in
the economy, this could be protracted. In
some of the worst markets, the property
value rebound will probably take longer.
We have seen a liquidation of many dis-
tressed properties, we have seen some
new home communities stabilizing, and
we have seen a few new homes under
construction. We are not out of the woods
yet. We are looking at, under the most
optimistic circumstances, a recession and
property value decline of five years, span-
ning from the beginning, and, on the pes-
simistic side, this could last longer.
Some are looking at this market as a
buying opportunity. Properties purchased
in this market should be approached with
caution. Some will be a good deal, while
others, perhaps not. Expect a minimum
holding period of three to five years for
most properties to reach the levels of
appreciation favorable to a good invest-
ment. Patience and cautious optimism
should be the rule in coping with this eco-
nomic event of biblical proportions.
Charlie W. Elliott Jr., MAI, SRA, is presi-
dent of Elliott & Company Appraisers, a
national real estate appraisal company.
He can be reached at (800) 854-5889, e-
mail charlie@elliottco.com or visit his
companys Web site, www.appraisalsany-
where.com.
value nation continued from page 32 trends in mortgage lending continued from page 33
enabling them to recover the loan. But, the
foreclosure crisis was broader and deeper
than originally anticipated. Banks took title
to properties in foreclosure and borrowers
put their houses up for sale
in order to avoid foreclo-
sure. In the wake of the
mortgage debacle, lenders
were making fewer loans.
This will lead to too many
houses on the market for
the number of available
buyers. Because the housing
market has been so slow to
recover, I believe that banks
will be saying it might be
better to keep people in
their homes to reduce the
glut of homes for sale. With
fewer houses on the market,
prices will rise and theyll be
more likely to recover more
on the loan. Its simple eco-
nomics: Reduce the supply
and the prices will go up.
Changes in the
servicer/investor dynamic
There is likely to be a change in
servicer/investor dynamic in 2011
because investors are going to realize its
better for them in the long-run to stop
putting pressure on the servicer to guess
whats best for the investor. The investor
is the company that owns the loans, but
the investor doesnt deal with the borrow-
ers or handle the day-to-day administra-
tion of the loans. Instead, the investor
hires a servicer to do that and the contract
between the investor and servicer usually
obligates the servicer essentially to act in
the investors best interests. As a result,
when the loan gets in trouble, the servicer
historically hasnt wanted to approve any
loss mitigation alternative, like a loan
modification or short sale, without the
investors approval. The reason for that is
that the servicer didnt want the investor
claiming the servicers action wasnt in the
investors best interest. They could come
back to the servicer and say, You cost me
money and now you need to pay me back
out of your own pocket. Investors liked
the possibility of a potentially solvent ser-
I believe the
exposure of the
banks questionable
foreclosure practices
will cause consumers
to consider the
legitimacy of their
original mortgages.
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36
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new to market continued from page 23
plays all the related details surround-
ing a fee, including indicating a
changed circumstance for the fee. To
provide more detailed information to
the user, an Event Date tab was added
to the Disclosure History screen that
reflects the most recent reason for dis-
closure or re-disclosure. Other features
were expanded including the HUD-1
Compare Value, Disclosure Value and
Actions capabilities.
We strive to provide the mortgage
industry with innovative loan origina-
tion software that is easy to use, effi-
cient, compliance-focused, and stays
ahead of todays ever-growing regulato-
ry mandates, said Cy Brinn, chief oper-
ating officer of PCLender.com. Our lat-
est advancements in InHouse Mortgage
provide mortgage bankers and finan-
cial institutions with straightforward
automation to use to comply with
RESPAs fee disclosure requirements
without feeling overwhelmed in the
process. Our new RESPA capabilities
remove the hassle for lenders in deter-
mining if theyve taken the appropriate
action to meet current mandates and
regulations.
PCLender.coms LOS, InHouse
Mortgage, is an easy-to-use, Internet-
accessible mortgage software system
that can be tailored to a lenders busi-
ness process and workflow. Standard
implementation is fast, well defined,
and affordable and a companys data is
securely hosted, eliminating the need
for additional technology hardware
and service expenditures. .Available in
three separate modules, InHouse
Mortgage can meet the unique needs of
lenders of all sizes and types.
Helping customers stay compliant is
a priority for PCLender.com. PCLender
provides a Compliance Requirements
Summary matrix that details 20 compli-
ance issues that have emerged as busi-
ness fundamentals for organizations.
Included in the document are the new
Good Faith Estimate (GFE), appraisal
rules (HVCC), and the Mortgage
Disclosure Information Act (MDIA). For
each of the 20 items, readers will find
specific regulations, a clear description
of the related issue, lender require-
ments, and specifically how
PCLender.com loan origination soft-
ware can assist customers in staying
compliant.
For more information, visit
www.pclender.com.
Ellie Mae Announces the
Launch of Its Encompass
Product and Pricing Service
Ellie Mae has
announced the
launch of its
Encompass Product
and Pricing Service. This integrated service is
powered by recently acquired Mortgage
Pricing Systems LEAP loan eligibility and
pricing product, which has been
rebranded as an Encompass360 fea-
ture. Ellie Mae acquired substantially
all the assets, including the LEAP loan
eligibility and pricing product, of
Mortgage Pricing System LLC in a trans-
action that closed on Jan. 3, 2011.
Encompass Product and Pricing
Service responds to our clients desire
for a more seamless workflow while
furthering our goal of providing a com-
prehensive solution spanning from cus-
tomer acquisition to investor delivery,
said Jonathan Corr, chief strategy offi-
cer for Ellie Mae. Encompass Product
and Pricing Service adds important
functionality that will enhance our
clients ability to originate high quality
and well executed mortgages.
Encompass Product and Pricing
Service provides loan product eligibility
and pricing information based on the
specifics of each loan. It is available as
an option to all Encompass360 clients
directly from their Encompass360 sys-
tems. Ellie Maes existing relationships
with product and pricing providers on
the Ellie Mae Network will not be
affected so users may also maintain
direct access to their choice of the
approved providers on the Ellie Mae
Network.
We are excited to become part of the
Ellie Mae family, said Tom Lyons, direc-
tor of relationship management for
Mortgage Pricing System. Like MPS, Ellie
Mae is a client-centric company focused
on elevating loan quality. We look for-
ward to extending the power of our solu-
tion to Encompass360 customers.
For more information, visit
www.elliemae.com.
BytePro 5.0 Upgrade
Offers New Risk-Based
Pricing Disclosure and
Updated TIL
Byte Software, a
provider of mort-
gage software for
banks, credit unions,
mortgage bankers
and mortgage brokers has announced the
release of BytePro 5.0. Version 5.0 includes
vital regulatory updates to keep Byte
Software clients compliant and provides
new back office functionality for selling
loans on the secondary market.
As of Jan. 1, 2011, originators are
required to supply each borrower with
a new Risk-Based Pricing disclosure as
required by the Federal Reserve under
the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act (FACT Act). Like previ-
ous credit disclosures, the Risk-Based
Pricing disclosure lists the borrowers
credit score and the factors that influ-
ence the score. In addition, the new
disclosure indicates how the borrowers
credit score ranks in comparison to
other consumers. This score rank can
be in the form of a bar chart or a sim-
ple statement. For instance, for a bor-
rower with a high credit score the dis-
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That would be nice, but sometimes
simply following a regulation or rule
just isnt quite enough. AQCs motto,
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recommendations. Choose AQC for
all of your QC needs, then watch us
go the extra mile to minimize undue
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37
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(888) 329-GHMC
ltesoriero@ghmc.com
www.joinguaranteed.com
Call Louis Tesoriero
Today & Find out what
Guaranteed can do for you!
THEY SIMPLY WANT YOUR VOLUME.
WELL HELP YOU GROW.
Openings for all mortgage professionals, originators, managers, operations.
MORTGAGE BANKING FOR PROFESSIONALS SINCE 1992
888-329-GHMC
Licensed in: AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV and growing.
EXECUTIVE OFFICES: 108 Corporate Park Drive, Suite 301 White Plains, NY 10604
closure may state [your] credit score
ranks higher than 86 percent of U.S.
Consumers.
Over the past few months, Byte Software
has worked diligently with the major cred-
it reporting agencies to update its inter-
faces so that the score rank is imported
from credit report files. The result is that
BytePro version 5.0 can generate the Risk
Based Pricing disclosure free of additional
charge, and can display the score rank as
either a bar chart or a statement.
In a separate regulatory change,
effective Jan. 30, 2011 originators are
required to provide an updated Truth
in Lending (TIL) disclosure as mandated
by the Federal Reserve under the
Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act
(MDIA). For adjustable-rate mortgages
(ARMs), the updated TIL contains worst
case information describing how high
the borrowers monthly payment can
rise if interest rates rise.
The disclosure is also notable for dis-
closing the borrowers escrow payment
and the fact that the borrower may not
be able to refinance the loan in the
future. BytePro version 5.0 contains the
updated TIL disclosure, and allows orig-
inators to use either the new disclosure
or the old disclosure in the interim
period prior to Jan. 30, 2011.
In addition to regulatory enhance-
ments, the Enterprise version of BytePro
5.0 includes a host of new back office
mortgage banking features that support
underwriting, secondary marketing, clos-
ing, funding and shipping. It enables
mortgage lenders to sell loans to
investors via best efforts or mandatory
delivery in the secondary market. New
automation features also allow adminis-
trators to customize the software to meet
their individual business needs.
The recent regulatory changes con-
tained in BytePro 5.0 are just the begin-
ning of an expected wave of changes,
said Joe Herb, Byte Softwares general
manager. The Dodd-Frank Consumer
Protection Act in particular is expected to
trigger an avalanche of new mortgage
regulations over the next two years. Byte
Software is dedicated to provide timely
compliance updates while at that same
time providing new functionality. Version
5.0 in particular takes BytePro to the next
level by providing mortgage banking
functionality that allows clients to take
loans from origination all the way
through sale on the secondary market.
For more information, visit www.byte-
software.com.
XINNIX Announces FHA
Training Course for LOs
XINNIX, a provider
of i nt eract i ve
online training for
mortgage sales and leadership development
programs, has announced the availability of
its Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
training course for loan officers. This
Web-based class provides loan officers
with a working knowledge of FHA lend-
ing guidelines. The current lending cli-
mate has seen a sharp increase in the
demand for FHA loans. With interest
rates rising and refinance activity on the
decline, FHA lending will remain a pre-
ferred option throughout the next year.
To capitalize on this market opportunity,
loan officers must cultivate and actively
demonstrate a working knowledge of
FHA guidelines.
XINNIXs four-part training course
helps loan officers understand FHA gen-
eral guidelines, including applications,
disclosures, lending limits, eligible
properties, underwriting requirements
and refinancing. Loan officers walk
away from XINNIX FHA course with a
comprehensive understanding of the
benefits of FHA versus conventional
lending. The course concludes with a
comprehensive test to validate the
knowledge gained on FHA.
The demand for loan officers well-
versed in the nuances of FHA lending is
critical to address this upward trend,
said Casey Cunningham, president of XIN-
NIX. The successful loan officer must
have FHA lending knowledge in their
repertoire. Our FHA course was designed
to empower loan officers with the knowl-
edge and skills necessary to assist bor-
rowers that qualify for FHA loans.
For more information, visit
www.XINNIX.com.
LeadPoint Launches
LeadClass Quality Scoring
System
LeadPoint, an online exchange facilitat-
ing lead transactions between buyers
and sellers, has announced that the
company has completed the rollout of
their proprietary LeadClass Quality
Scoring System for mortgage leads. The
LeadClass Quality Scoring System bene-
fits buyers by segmenting mortgage
leads based on their expected level of
performance and allowing buyers to
bid on these individual segments. With
this improved segmentation buyers are
better able to acquire the leads that
best suit their operational needs.
LeadClass rewards top marketing
sources with improved monetization of
higher performing leads.
LeadClass has provided a huge win
for our marketing department, said
continued on page 38
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Matthew Dohman, president of
Optimum First Mortgage. The increased
transparency in quality has improved
our effectiveness in purchasing leads.
LeadClass delivers on its promise as we
are able to see clear performance differ-
ences between LeadClass bands and are
able to better optimize our marketing
budget.
Since its inception, LeadPoint has
facilitated nearly 15 million lead trans-
actions.
We are very excited to launch
LeadClass in mortgage, said LeadPoint
Chief Executive Officer Marc Diana.
The mortgage lead industry has strug-
gled since the downturn in the housing
market starting in 2007. The challeng-
ing environment has unfortunately
caused a lack of innovation in the cate-
gory. LeadClass for mortgage leads is a
win for the industry and has been
instrumental in helping us grow this
segment.
For more information, visit www.lead-
point.com.
Credit Union Mortgage
Association Releases New
Harmony Rate-Resetting
Product
Photo Credit: Stockbyte
Credit Union Mortgage
Association (CUMA) has
announced its new resi-
dential mortgage prod-
uct that allows the consumer to initi-
ate the change in their interest rate
mortgage, the Harmony loan. The
Harmony loan is a consumer-initiat-
ed interest-resetting mortgage. It
allows homeowners an automatic
rate-reset modification option, and
no additional paperwork. The con-
sumer manages their own loan and
decides when they want to refinance.
Just a click and the loan is reset.
The consumer does not incur any
costly refinance fees, no lender fees,
no attorney fees, and they will con-
tinue to reduce their principal bal-
ance as schedule.
The Harmony loan is the first prod-
uct in the mortgage industry that is
truly consumer-centric. Consumers
can take advantage of lower rates
without going through the pain of
refinancing each time. The Harmony
loan adapts to lowering interest rates
without the risk inherent in
adjustable rate products.
The Harmony loan works to create
innovative mortgage products and
services that bring long-term stability
to the housing finance industry. The
Harmony Loan minimizes the pre-
payment turnover that causes loss to
market share, service stream and cus-
tomer loyalty. Harmony loans are
now available as 5/1, 7/1, 10/1
adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and
15-year fixed rate.
The Harmony loan removes the
inefficiencies of the mortgage process
that have made putting a new loan on
the books so costly, said Scott Toler,
president and chief executive officer of
CUMA. We are excited to offer an inno-
vative mortgage product that gives a
new meaning to consumer-friendly.
Through access to state-of-the-art, 24/7
Web interface, consumers are able to
monitor and reset their mortgage rate
with literally one click.
After the last few years of turmoil, I
welcome this new consumer-friendly
mortgage option. The Harmony Loan
has tremendous potential to restore
consumer confidence in the real estate
industry, said Terry Belt, a real estate
agent with Keller Williams in Vienna,
Va. and a leader of one of the top
Realtors teams in the nation. With the
Harmony Loan, homebuyers are
ensured a competitive interest rate. I
believe the Harmony Loan will trans-
form the industry and change the way
homebuyers perceive their mortgage.
For more information, visit
www.cumortgage.net.
KeyLink Announces the
Release of Its REO
Management Model
KeyLink Asset Management
has announced the release
and implementation of a
unique asset management model that
assigns dual agents to each asset
throughout the pre-listing and market-
ing stages of the real estate-owned (REO)
process. In addition, the model contains
a task-based commission structure
that rewards listing agents for high per-
formance and creates income opportu-
nities for servicers in the case of low
performance. Dual assignment and
task based compensation are both
industry firsts.
In addition to the Listing Agent,
KeyLink assigns a full-time Surveillance
Agent to every asset, responsible for
weekly reporting on the marketing and
new to market continued from page 37
Comergence is preferred by leading lenders nationwide.
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r
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.
Ahh yes
the broker
approval desk.
At Comergence, helping lenders holistically manage relationships with their
mortgage broker clients is the most important thing we do. And with FHA
now holding lenders accountable and responsible for approving brokers,
theres no better time than the present to have us show you how we can
help with this important change to your business.
For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 714.740.9000
or visit us at www.ComergenceCompliance.com
Gets you all warm and fuzzy just thinking about having to
approve and reapprove your brokers, now doesnt it?
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W E A R E R E M N W H O L E S A L E
At REMN, we understand that theres nothing
ordinary about focusing on whats important:
our customers. We recognize that continued
business from our satisfied customers is the
lifeblood of our business. We believe that every
application is precious and treat each file with
the respect and urgency it deserves.
Even better, at REMN, same-day approvals
are guaranteed. We promise extraordinary
service in an ordinary world.
Real Estate Mortgage Network, Inc. is located at 499 Thornall Street, Second Floor, Edison, NJ 08837. NMLS #6521. This information is for use by mortgage professionals only and should not be distributed to or used by consumers or third
parties. Information is accurate as of date of printing and is subject to change without notice.
* Same-day decisions guaranteed if file is received by 11 a.m. EST.
Learn more at www.remnwholesale.com
Were not
afraid to be
different.
maintenance of the property in addi-
tion to reporting on the responsiveness
and knowledge of the Listing Agent.
The industry has been ready for a
far more managed and high touch REO
solution for a long time, said Ty Reed,
director of KeyLink Asset Management.
We feel we are well ahead of the curve
in that regard.
Currently only servicing a handful of
national companies, KeyLink hopes its
unique model combined with a high
level of performance, will help increase
its industry footprint.
Our unique task-based agent com-
pensation structure creates income
opportunities for our partners where
there were none said KeyLink Asset
Management Senior Managing Director
Damien Chiodo Most importantly, it
holds agents accountable and force
feeds high performance throughout all
stages of the REO timeline.
For more information, visit
www.gokeylink.com.
CoreLogic Launches
IncomeAdvisor to
Minimize Fraud Risk
CoreLogic, a provider of
information, analytics
and business services, has
released IncomeAdvisor,
an income assessment tool for mort-
gage lenders that delivers both a fraud
score and actionable alerts, as well as
an income estimation with measurable
confidence levels. IncomeAdvisor is
based on statistically sound, predictive
analytics and patented pattern recogni-
tion technology that enables lenders
to minimize risk and expediently
extend credit.
IncomeAdvisor comes at a crucial
time when having a reasonable and
real-time estimation of borrowers
income is vital to profitable decision-
making, said Tim Grace, senior vice
president of product management and
analytics at CoreLogic. With CoreLogics
unique data, patented fraud-scoring
technology, and real-time availability,
lenders, issuers and auto dealers will
now have the ability to quickly assess
income and fraud risk and extend their
market reach to borrowers with less
credit history.
Application information is run
through patented pattern recognition
technology and a report is instantly
generated for each borrower. Statistical
models and income percentiles for bor-
rower information are derived from the
vast CoreLogic consortium database
consisting of more than 80 million loan
applications. Each report clearly dis-
plays:
O An overall income risk assessment of
high, medium or low that is
based on model fraud risk evaluation.
O An empirically-derived income fraud
score of 1-999 which predicts the
likelihood that the income provided
by the applicant is false.
O Statistical model-based alerts which
indicate the areas to further investigate.
O A model-generated estimated month-
ly income amount for the borrower
based on common application data
fields.
O Two additional income estimates
for the borrower based on client
configurable options to provide
assurance of claimed income:
Decrease model estimate by X per-
cent to increase confidence the bor-
rower makes at least this much,
and increase model estimate by X
percent to improve confidence the
borrower makes no more than this
much. This is especially useful in
loan modifications and short sales
where applicants tend to under-
claim their income.
CoreLogic conducted extensive test-
ing and analysis of federal fair lending
and other consumer protection laws in
the development of IncomeAdvisor.
The introduction of IncomeAdvisor
helps lenders and card issuers comply
with recent federal mandates requiring
lenders to validate borrowers ability to
pay based on verifiable income and
asset information. The Credit Card
Accountability, Responsibility and
Disclosure Act of 2009 and the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act impose this
requirement on card issuers and mort-
gage loan originators, respectively.
IncomeAdvisor is also able to provide
an accurate income assessment to bor-
rowers with thin or no credit file,
enhancing the ability to lend to an
expanded segment of the population.
For more information, visit www.corelogic.com.
Your turn
National Mortgage Professional Magazine
invites you to submit any information
promoting new niche loan programs,
new products or any other announce-
ment related to the introduction of a
new program, to the attention of:
New to Market column
Phone #: (516) 409-5555
E-mail:
newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com
Note: Submissions sent via e-mail are pre-
ferred. The deadline for submissions is the
1st of the month prior to the target issue.
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Appraisal Management
Company
We are a premier National Appraisal Company since 1970.
We have a complete product line for your entire organization.
We guarantee HVCC and FHA regulatory compliance.
Let our experience work for you. The way valuations should be.
Coester Appraisal Group
7650 Standish Place, Suite 107 Rockville, MD 20855
www.coesterappraisals.com
(888) 485-1999 Ext. 2
Branch Recruitment
Branch Manager
Branch Manager
Freedom Mortgage Corporation, The BEST Branch Solution, Period.
Freedom Mortgage Corporation
www.fmbranch.com
info@fmbranch.com
800.220.9498
iServe offers a complete product mix - aggressively priced, with
hassle-free service & turntimes. Branching & Loan Offcer
opportunities available nationwide. For a change, focus on
production, quick closes & a good night's sleep!
iServe Residential Lending
www.iservelending.com
afriedman@iservelending.com
415-298-2500
Be in business for yourself, but not by yourself. Join GSF Mortgage's
Professional Branch Network. Enjoy freedom and stability and reap
the rewards. Signing bonus for Branch Managers, retain 100% of
your commissions. Absolutely NO files fees, NO splits
GSF Mortgage
15430 W Capitol Dr. Brookfield, WI 53005
1-877-494-4448
www.gsfprobranch.com
Find out what Guaranteed can do for you.
Branch Program for Professionals. It's what we do.
Guaranteed Home Mortgage Company, Inc.
108 Corporate Park Drive, Ste 301
White Plains, NY 10604
888-329-GHMC www.joinguaranteed.com
Established in 1993 and headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin,
Inlanta Mortgage is a multi-state mortgage banking company com-
mitted to delivering superior service to our branch clients.
For more information, call 262-513-9853 or visit www.inlanta.com.
Inlanta Mortgage
W229 N1433 Westwood Drive, Suite 103
Waukesha, WI 53186
www.inlanta.com 262-513-9853
United Northern Mortgage Bankers......888-600-8808
Limited room available for established Team Leaders and
Licensed Mortgage Originators. Become part of an established
30-year Mortgage Banker with a proven track record and success.
RealEstateBestJobs.com....................201-489-0256
Currently working with various bankers & federally chartered banks.
Seeking established, new branches & Loan Officers Nationally. We
are a top recruiting firm handling all types of mtg positions.
Church Financing
Church Purchase & Construction $100,000 to $2,500,00
Church Refnance & Cash Out Churches all 50 states
75% of Appraised Value 20 Yr. Fixed Rate
CONCORD CHURCH FINANCE
NATIONWIDE FINANCING FOR CHURCHES
ONLINE Pre-qualify@ConcordAcceptanceCorp.com
800-926-0399 Fax: 858-756-8108
Brokers United ........................................877-710-0948
Consulting & Branch opportunities. Exclusive opportunities with a
top Federally Chartered Bank, Mortgage Banker and/or Mortgage
Banker/Broker Platform. Email Jeff Flees at jeff@brokersunited.net.
Closing Gifts
Increase your Loans,Get the Edge & Generate More Referrals!
Offer your clients a 5 Day 4 Night Cruise certificate for Two to Mexico,
the Bahamas or the Western Caribbean (up to a $1798.00 value) only
when they close a loan with you. Only $159.00 per certificate!!
Cruise4Two-Loan Incentives
1-866-541-8077
www.Cruise4Two.com
Compliance Consultants
The first full-service, mortgage risk management firm
in the country, specializing exclusively in mortgage compliance.
Pioneers in outsourcing solutions for mortgage compliance.
Our Compliance Team Will:
Leverage your existing employees.
Improve your productivity.
Collaborate on projects.
Make the most of your current technology.
Bring innovation to your company.
Be a strong cultural fit.
Free you to focus on your core competencies.
Give you access to world-class expertise.
Lower your total operational costs.
LENDERS COMPLIANCE GROUP
167 West Hudson Street - Suite 200
Long Beach | NY | 11561 | (516) 442-3456
www.LendersComplianceGroup.com
Theres only one avenue to guaranteed appraisal performance!
With a commitment to doing business the RIGHT way, StreetLinks
is bringing real value as a PARTNER, not a vendor.
We attract and retain the best appraisers Our appraisers set
their own fees and our peer-to-peer approach attracts appraisers
that simply wont work for other AMCs
IQ Select proprietary order assignment methodology assigns
based on proximity, service and quality not lowest fee!
100% Manual Quality Control every report is manually
pre-underwritten by a USPAP certifed appraisal underwriter
Certifed compliance with appraiser independence requirements
AND INTRODUCING SCORe - a revolutionary approach to
appraisal validation. Credible 2nd opinions on comp selection
from licensed, local appraisers. Stop Guessing. Start Knowing!
StreetLinks National Appraisal Services
(800) 778-4788
www.StreetLinks.com
sales@streetlinks.com
We help you Meet & Exceed UMDP enforced by the GSEs
We Improve your evaluation of collateral with REALview
TM

Appraisals submitted in a MISMO/XML or PDF format.
Weve raised the bar for Appraisal Management Services!
HVCC Appraisal Ordering
National Appraisal Management Center
www.HVCCAppraisalOrdering.com
Please call 866-396-6260
Contact Management/CRM
WorkCenter CRM ....................................877.498.6888
A CRM & contact management solution designed for mortgage
professionals. Automated campaigns & LOS synchronization make
WorkCenter an intuitive timesaver for staying in touch with clients.
Call 888-409-9770 ext 4.
to register your company.
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Education
North Lake College - Specialized Education In Mortgage Banking.
Earn An Associates Degree in Mortgage Banking From the First Fully
Accredited Mortgage Banking Degree Program in the U.S. For
Information About Our 30 Year Program email:kbaker1@dcccd.edu.
North Lake College
5001 North MacArthur Blvd, Room T-231-C
Irving, TX 75038
(972) 273-3467 http://www.northlakecollege.edu/
Direct Mail
Specializing in Official Snap Packs for Greater Open Rates
Envelope Mailers, Business Reply, Postcards and Much More
Targeted Mortgage Lists with Many Selects
Complete Design, Printing and Mailing Services
Your Complete Mortgage Marketing Solution.
Call Us Today!
(800) 922-9860
www.envisiondirect.net/catalog/mortgage.htm
Document Preparation
Document Preparation (SaaS)
ProClose provides compliant closing documents and software for
Residential Mortgage Lending. Created with closers in mind,
we help make a lenders staff more efficient and supported.
Mortgage Banking Systems - ProClose
1360 Beverly Rd. Ste 200, McLean, VA 22101
800-783-2283 sales@proclose.com
www.ProClose.com
Mortgage Loan Closing Document Preparation & Compliance Services
Fulfillment Services Including Pre-Funding Review & Post-Closing
Interfaces with Leading Loan Origination Software Systems
Foreclosure Loss Mitigation Services
Robertson | Anschutz
800-343-7160
sbertrand@radocs.com
www.radocs.com/info.html
Mortgage Loan Closing Document Preparation & Compliance Software
Loan Documents and Compliance Web-based/SaaS Easy to Use
Intuitive Secure and Reliable Integrates with Leading LOS
Free Setup and Support Extensive Compliance Audits
Docs on Demand
800-343-7160
stephen.bertrand@docsondemand.net
www.docsondemand.info
Errors and Omissions
Insurance
Doc Management
DocVelocity is an end-to-end paperless solution designed to
simplify the loan origination experience. Imagine having all your
documents in the loan process as electronic files, all online, from
pre-approval to closing. DocVelocity provides: Fast and easy loan
delivery to any lender Automatic doc sorting, naming and filing
Real-time online document sharing for anyone you choose
Friendly and intuitive user interface No start-up fees, and free
training and support. DocVelocity addresses important
compliance issues while giving your office the competitive
advantage of being paperless. It streamlines all aspects of the
mortgage process and most important, it does so in one easy-to-
use and inexpensive package. DocVelocity is the flagship product
of Paperless Office Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Flagstar Bancorp. Visit www.docvelocity.com to find out more.
DocVelocity
www.docvelocity.com
(877) 362-8356
sales@docvelocity.com
Events
The Expo for Real Estate Professionals"
For ongoing Networking Events throughout the year please visit
www.nycnetworkgroup.com.
NYC Real Estate Expo LLC
Anthony Kazazis - Director
apkazazis@optonline.net www.nycrealestateexpo.com
646.210.2545 914.763.8008
Hard Money/Private Lending
ACC Mortgage, Inc.
932 Hungerford Drive #6 Rockville, MD 20850
240-314-0399 240-314-0336 fax
WeApproveLoans.com
We are doing traditional subprime lending, fix & flip lending and
hard money lending.
CB Malaga Insurance Services LLC......877-245-5887
Insurance broker providing errors & omissions (E&O)
insurance to mortgage brokers and bankers. All loan types.
Available in 22 states. www.CBspecialty.com
Windvest Corporation ............................877-285-0777
Specializing in rehab loans for property investors in So. CA.
Up to 60% ARV, 12.99% fixed rate, 3.5-5 points, 1 yr. term.
Fast & professional service since '94! Visit windvestcorp.com!
Time is running out...are you ready?
Pass the S.A.F.E. Act Test, meet your 20 hours of Pre-licensure,
and complete the 8 hours of Continuing Education you need
The Ultimate Test Prep Kit and Test Prep Boot Camps Cover
everything to pass the S.A.F.E. Act Test on your frst try.
20-hour Pre-licensure - Packed with everything to successfully
complete your pre-licensure requirements.
Continuing Education - Exciting, NMLS approved courses that
meet your Continuing Education needs and build your business.
MSS Learning Center
(800) 963-1900
www.MortgageSuccessSource.com
Email: info@MortgageSuccessSource.com
Best Rate Referrals ............................................800-811-1402
Mortgage marketing company with decades of combined expe-
rience providing quality leads, mailers, lists and dialer products.
www.bestratereferrals.com & www.mortgageleads.org
Bookmark this!
Access these
listings online at
nmpmag.com/directory_list
Continuing Education
NMLS approved 20 hour Prelicensing Education
NMLS approved Continuing Education
Live Classroom Instruction, Web Delivery and Private Events
The SAFE-Smart ExamCram, Powerfully Innovative Test Prep
Abacus Mortgage Training and Education
PO Box 780
Summerfield, NC 27358
888-341-7767 www.GetYourEd.com
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Title
Intracoastal Abstract Co. Inc. ................516-358-0505
Privately owned & operated full service title insurance agency
in NY, NJ and FL, with affiliates throughout the US & Canada.
Escrow Agent in Florida. www.intracoastalabstract.com.
Retail Branch
Are you a broker/owner or current branch manager looking to
expand your business into Mortgage Banking with FHA capabilities?
Then our PARTNER BRANCH ADVANTAGE program is perfect
for you. We are offering you all the benefts of partnering with an
established lender while still enjoying your independence.
Mortgage Concepts is a nationwide FHA Direct Lender with a 16
year long reputation of excellence.
YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR SUCCESS!
For more information contact THOMAS R. SIRICO, Vice President
of Business Development at (917) 923-1472 or email at
tsirico@mortgageconcepts.com.
We look forward to sharing our services with you!
(800) LOANS-15
www.mortgageconcepts.com
Regulatory/Compliance
Comergence Compliance Monitoring is the mortgage industrys only
Complete broker desk management software and outsource solution
for TPO management and monitoring. We can supplement lenders in-
house management and monitoring resources departments.
Comergence Compliance Monitoring, LLC
630 The City Drive South, Suite 205 Orange, CA 92868
Office: 714-740-9000
www.ComergenceCompliance.com
Secondary Marketing Consulting
Broker to Banker Services.com ..........(951) 746-3075
We complete your applications for approval
Save the time and hassle
contact: brokertobankerservices.com
Loan Incentives
Increase your Loans,Get the Edge & Generate More Referrals!
Offer your clients a 5 Day 4 Night Cruise certificate for Two to Mexico,
the Bahamas or the Western Caribbean (up to a $1798.00 value) only
when they close a loan with you. Only $159.00 per certificate!!
Cruise4Two-Loan Incentives
1-866-541-8077
www.Cruise4Two.com
Loan Origination Systems
Calyx Software, the #1 provider of mortgage solutions is dedicated
to offering reliable and affordable software that streamlines, inte-
grates and optimizes the loan process. Find out how PointCentral
can streamline your business and create compliant processes today.
Calyx Software
800-362-2599
sales@calyxsoftware.com
www.calyxsoftware.com
End-to-end LOS system for multi-channel lending.
PreQual thru Interim Servicing. Includes all back-office functionality;
Underwriting,Secondary Marketing,Post Closing and much more
SaaS, ASP and Client Server delivery options.
Mortgage Builder Software
24370 Northwestern Highway, Suite 200
Southfield, MI 48075
800-460-5040 www.mortgagebuilder.com
Loan Management Systems
Xetus ....................................................877-GO-XETUS
XetusOne is a powerful, easy-to-use loan management system
that streamlines loan processing. Our affordable SaaS applications
are lenders #1 choice for origination, subordination & modification.
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877.464.0555, option 2
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Our network attract over one million visitors per month. Our paid
lead program as well as our free lender directory will help you con-
nect with targeted new consumer traffc from with high-intent con-
sumers searching online for the right mortgage lender.
MortgageLoan.com
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www.mortgageloan.com 877-390-4750
MortgageLoan.com is the largest online directory
for mortgage professionals and a favorite of
consumers shopping for mortgage loans.
Reach affluent and creditworthy consumers who are in-market and
ready to transact. Bankrate is a consumer direct Web site, NOT a
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Reach self directed, highly qualified consumers that are actively
searching for mortgage loans
Geo-targeting reach the right consumers in the right markets
Our proprietary Advertiser Portal gives you complete control
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YOU determine your daily/weekly/monthly budget
Pay only for consumers who click on your listing
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or visit www.bankrate.com/cpcprogram/ for more details.
Internets Leading Consumer Mortgage Marketplace
Attracting over 7 million unique
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AAA Refi Leads.....AAA Refi Leads.....AAA Refi Leads
Learn how I went from failure to success by mailing cheap refi
letters from home, closed 71 loans & made $248,954.62 last yr.
Ill show you exactly how I did it. Go to: www.Refi-Leads.NET
Wholesale/Correspondent
BankFinancial ..........................................800-894-6900
We have money to lend for apartments, $250M to $2MM, up to
75% LTV. We offer competitive rates, fees & terms. Were com-
mitted to helping you and your clients close the deal. Call us.
Income Verication Services
Advanced Data
(800) 537 - 0458
www.advanceddata.com
verifications@advanceddata.com
Advanced Data is a leading national provider of data services,
streamlining income and employment verification with proprietary
software. Clients can submit 4506-T directly through Encompass360.
Also ask about our AVM and flood services!
Platinum Credit Services, Inc.................631-299-2084
Tax return vertification (4506 tax transcript done in less than
24 hours in most cases). Call Lorenzo Pugliano, President
and CEO at 631-299-2084.
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Wholesale/Residential Wholesale/Residential
Flagstar Wholesale Lending, a division of Flagstar Bank, is one of
the nations largest wholesale and correspondent mortgage
lenders, providing the technology, products, service and support
that independent mortgage brokers, correspondents, and bankers
need in todays mortgage arena. In the ever-changing environ-
ment of mortgage banking, Flagstar takes pride in accommodat-
ing the specific needs of each customer. At Flagstar, we under-
stand that you need every available advantage to stay ahead of
the competition. This is why we provide multiple technology
options to meet your needs to register, lock, underwrite, close,
fund and deliver your loans. Our wholesale website
(wholesale.flagstar.com) and the loan processing tool Loantrac
provides our customers with the functionality that make it easier
and faster to close loans, saving you time and money! Visit whole-
sale.flagstar.com to learn more.
Flagstar Wholesale Lending
www.wholesale.flagstar.com
(866) 945-9872
WLSC@flagstar.com
We offer competitive pricing and fast turn-times for FHA, VA,
Conventional, and USDA programs without having a retail pres-
ence in the industry. We are a wholesale lender with 22 years of
experience and believe in exceptional service.
Terrace Mortgage
4010 W. Boyscout Blvd., Suite 550
Tampa, FL 33607
866-934-4631 www.terracemortgage.com
Wholesale Reverse Mortgages
For Licensed Mortgage Brokers in NY, NJ, CT, PA and FL
No HUD Approval Required Live Help Desk
Will Provide Training at Our Office or Yours
48 Hour Underwriting - Get Paid Within 48 Hours of Funding
NATIONWIDE Equities
Nationwide Equities Corporation
201-529-1401
www.nwecorp.com
Lykken on Lending is a weekly 60-minute show hosted by mortgage
veteran of 37 yrs, David Lykken, along with special guest Alice Alvey
& Joe Farr as well as featured special guests. Each week we provide
our listeners with up-to-the-minute information of what is happening
in mortgage and housing industry.
Sign-on weekly at
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Coming in 2011!
Arizona Nevada Texas
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Phone: (415) 632-5150 Fax: (925) 226-1938
www.bayeq.com
Now Wholesale Lending in:
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FEBRUARY 2011
Wednesday, February 16
Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals
Broward Chapter 2011 Annual Trade Show
The Broward Convention Center
1950 Eisenhower Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
For more information, call (954) 294-6360
or visit www.browardfamp.org.
Tuesday-Friday, February 22-25
Mortgage Bankers Association National
Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo
Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center
1501 Gaylord Trail Grapevine, Texas
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
MARCH 2011
Monday-Tuesday, March 14-15
National Association of Mortgage Brokers
2011 Legislative & Regulatory Conference
Capitol Skyline Hotel
10 I Street SW Washington, D.C.
For more information, call (703) 342-5900
or visit www.namb.org.
Tuesday-Thursday, March 15-17
2011 Regional Conference of Mortgage
Bankers Associations
Trump Taj Mahal
1000 Boardwalk at Virginia Avenue
Atlantic City, N.J.
For more information, call (973) 379-7447
or visit www.mbanj.com.
Wednesday, March 16
Maryland Association of Mortgage
Professionals 2011 March Mortgage Madness
Martins Crosswinds
7400 Greenway Center Drive Greenbelt, Md.
For more information, call (410) 752-6262
or visit www.mdmtgpros.org.
Wednesday-Thursday, March 23-24
Mortgage Bankers Associations National
Policy Conference
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Avenue NW
Washington, D.C.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
Sunday-Wednesday, March 27-30
Mortgage Bankers Associations
National Technology in
Mortgage Banking Conference & Expo
The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa
3555 South Ocean Drive Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
Sunday-Wednesday, March 27-30
Mortgage Bankers Associations National
Fraud Issues Conference
The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa
3555 South Ocean Drive
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
MAY 2011
Sunday-Wednesday, May 1-4
Mortgage Bankers Associations National
Secondary Market Conference & Expo
The New York Marriott Marquis
1535 Broadway New York, N.Y.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
Sunday-Wednesday, May 1-4
Mortgage Bankers Associations Loan
Production Conference
The New York Marriott Marquis
1535 Broadway New York, N.Y.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
Sunday-Wednesday, May 15-18
Mortgage Bankers Associations
Commercial/Multifamily Servicing &
Technology Conference
Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile
540 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, Ill.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
Sunday-Wednesday, May 15-18
Mortgage Bankers Associations Legal
Issues/Regulatory Compliance Conference
Boca Raton Resort
501 El Camino Real Boca Raton, Fla.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
OCTOBER 2011
Sunday-Wednesday, October 9-12
Mortgage Bankers Associations 98th Annual
Convention & Expo
The Hyatt Regency
151 East Wacker Drive Chicago, Ill.
For more information, call (800) 793-6222
or visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
To submit your entry for inclusion in the National Mortgage Professional
Calendar of Events, please e-mail the details of your event, along with
contact information, to newsroom@nmpmediacorp.com.
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Only
$
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& Handling
Atare Agbamu is one of only a handful of people in the reverse mortgage arena
who possesses a commanding understanding of the reverse mortgage industry.
As an originator, he has hands-on experience educating seniors and their advi-
sors. As author of the Forward on Reversecolumn inThe Mortgage Press since
2002, Atare Agbamu communicates nationally with the housing finance commu-
nity, bringing the unique insights and experience of an ardent reverse mortgage
expert into a wider business context.
This book combines Atares keen insights and know-how with extensive re-
search to create a first of its kind resource for the reverse mortgage industry. It offers a comprehen-
sive overview of the industry plus detailed information on marketing and originating reverse mortgages.
Present and future reverse mortgage professionals and senior advisors will profit from
decades of experience skillfully woven into this book. If you plan to succeed in this industry, this
book is the place to start.
Sarah F. Hulbert, President, Senior Financial Corporation and former four-term Co-Chair
of NRMLAs Board of Directors
When I first began reviewing the contents of this book, I became quite jealous ... Atare Agbamu
has set down an impressive amount of information ... And he delivers it in an easy-to-read,
simple-to-understand style that will make this book essential reading for all reverse mortgage
professionals.
from the Foreword by Jim Mahoney, Co-Founder and Former Chairman, Financial Freedom
Senior Funding Corporation, and former four-term Co-Chair of NRMLAs Board of Directors
The stories [Chapter 15: Profiles in Satisfaction] are the best vehicle to increase understanding and
acceptance of reverse mortgages among us laypeople. They are very compelling ...
Therese Cain, Executive Director, Minneapolis/St. Paul Chapter of Little BrothersFriends
of the Elderly
This book should be required reading for all new loan consultants originating reverse mortgages
and is recommended for experienced ones as well. This book provides excellent insight and infor-
mation on preparing ahead to provide the service our seniors deserve, to ensure a smooth loan
process and shorten the time to closing. Most of the problems caused in the processing and clos-
ing of reverse mortgages come from inadequate preparation.
Deanne Opstad, AVP, Senior Underwriter, Generation Mortgage Company
Think Reverse!
Table of Contents
Part I:
The new pillar of retirement security
Part II:
Marketing reverse mortgages: Its all about education
Part III:
Originating reverse mortgages
Part IV:
Enhancing freedom: The essence of reverse mortgages
Part V:
A new frontier in mortgage lending
Lo
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This information is provided to assist business professionals and is not an advertisement extended to the consumer,
as dened by Section 226.2 of Regulation Z. Freedom Mortgage corporate ofce is located at: 907 Pleasant Valley Ave.
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License #9100861. All Rights Reserved.
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800.220.9498
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