Oct. 26: Thoughts on conference tactics, the deficit, HECMs; vendor news; Saturday Spotlight: Cenlar

This business is a marathon, not a sprint, and this should be kept in mind by anyone who arrived yesterday for a conference that goes until Wednesday… 4 days and 5 nights!? (Yesterday’s Last Word featured conference tactics.) This week I spent a few days in Palm Beach, arguably the “epicenter” of Florida’s “condo crisis.” Thank you to Brian B. who sent me an article, not on the lack of homeowner’s insurance and Floridian’s reliance on Citizen’s, but of the big issues being created by the high condo assessments. The highest elevation in Florida is 345 feet above sea level. Conversely, Colorado has the highest mean elevation at 6,800 feet! As thousands of people in the mortgage business are already in, or headed to, Denver, Colorado, and its 2.2 million square foot convention center, basketball fans know that city as the home of the Nuggets (who play at home tonight). The press speaks of “The Wall” of fans who wave their hands when the other team is shooting free throws. This takes place in every arena everywhere, but one wonders if the supporters behind the basket should be guided to all lean slightly in the same direction for an optical illusion effect. You heard it here first!

Saturday Spotlight: Cenlar

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“Your Trusted Partner, Each and Every Day.”

In 3-5 sentences, describe your company (when was it founded and why, what it does, where, recent growth and plans for near-term future growth).

Cenlar successfully services residential mortgage portfolios for clients across the United States and its territories. We have 100 years of financial services experience, first as a savings and loan, and then as a mortgage company, with decades of that time focused on subservicing. Our persistent investment in people, process and technology has enabled Cenlar to deliver a custom, tailored subservicing solution that has fueled our growth and helped retain a stable of blue-chip clients. We are dedicated to innovation. Our mission is to be a Cenlar that redefines what it means to be agile and expert, leveraging the latest in technology and controls.

These efforts not only include foundational work, like our cloud-based environment and our intelligence-driven cyber defense, but also creative endeavors in automation and with information that pushes the boundaries of what is possible with technology.

Tell us about what type of volunteer work employees are encouraged to engage in, or charities your company supports, and why.

For years, Cenlar employees have been brightening the start of another school year for children by providing them with school supplies necessary to receive a great education. This fall, Cenlar collected backpacks, pencils and notebooks that were donated to children in need at schools in Tempe, AZ, Trenton, NJ and O’Fallon, MO. In recognition of International Credit Union Day, our credit union team participated in a day of service at a local food pantry, marking our fifth year volunteering with this long-time partner.

Cenlar has also been a partner with Habitat for Humanity for more than a decade. Our team is also looking forward to participating in the annual Toys for Tots program.

What does your company do to help elevate your employees’ growth? Describe any mentoring programs, outside classes or training, in-house training. How does the company help people develop?

At Cenlar, we encourage everyone to follow their career path. Whether employees want to grow in their current role, or explore new opportunities, we are committed to supporting everyone. Cenlar’s HR team helps employees grow in their jobs and aligns their development and career goals with the organization's education goals that, ultimately, advance the company’s business objectives.

We offer a wide variety of educational resources and certification programs for employees who want to enhance their skill sets. We have a partnership with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and many of our employees have gone through the MBA and completed their certification programs. Over the years, we have had employees participate in the MBA Future Leaders program. Most recently, Director for Subservicing Pricing Tristan Watson, Director of Default Shannon Tomasso and Vice President of Issues and Enterprise Change Management Allyson Kiesel are part of the MBA’s Future Leaders Program for 2024.

Things you are most proud of that don’t have to do with sales.

We are proud of our team. In any business, you are only as good as your team. At Cenlar, we have the best in the business, bar none. Our people know the business and are deeply committed to doing the right thing and understanding what’s important to our clients. Altogether our leadership team boasts an average of 20+ years in mortgage loan servicing experience. And, in the last year alone, we’ve recruited 30 of the most accomplished leaders in our field. From default to IT to client management, we have earned our reputation as a leader and our talent runs deep.

Fun fact about your company.

With locations in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Tempe, AZ, and St. Louis, we have an enthusiastic sports rivalry among our employees.

(For more information on having your firm’s extracurricular activities, employee growth, and your charitable side featured, contact Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt.) 

Don’t forget about the deficit  

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NFM’s Greg Sher recently had some observations about the general tone of the market, and specifically, which caught my eye, the U.S. national debt which no one, including Trump during his administration (it increased by over $7 trillion during those four years), seems able to deal with.

“There's mounting concern over the nation's debt load. While both presidential candidates have discussed plans to address it, the empirical data suggests otherwise. The U.S. national debt stands at $35.8 trillion, according to the Treasury Department, up from $19.6 trillion at the end of the 2016 fiscal year before Trump took office and from $27 billion at the end of the 2020 fiscal year before Joe Biden’s presidency.”

If you’re 62 and older you might qualify for a…

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Dan Hultquist, in Reverse Mortgage Communications with Movement Mortgage, writes, “

I loved the STRATMOR blog, and your example in the opening paragraph is clearly the typical homeowner we are advising today. However, a large portion of the equity ($14T of that $36T) is held by seniors who have a more efficient option for tapping their home equity: the HECM.

“I recently wrote that over the last 15 years, the HECM has undergone significant changes, becoming the popular tool for retirees seeking assistance with cash flow, liquidity, tax planning, and even enhancing their net worth. However, the greatest potential impact of a HECM right now might be debt consolidation. I believe this is a massive opportunity for reverse production!”

Third party provider tidbits

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Call them vendors or third-party providers, nearly every lender would be hard-pressed to do business without them. Who’s doing what?

“Have you considered the potential of becoming a dual-licensed real estate agent? By offering mortgage services alongside real estate, you can guide your clients through the entire home-buying process, including the financial aspects. Realfinity’s embedded lending platform is built specifically for real estate agents and increases your commissions by around 40% per transaction, without changing your current setup. At Realfinity, our mission is straightforward: we aim to become the leading platform enabling real estate agents to offer mortgages to their clients both at the point of sale and post-closing. We know that many of your readers and listeners are traditional lenders or brokers, but we are actively hiring experienced loan officers to serve as account representatives, helping to build a network of dual-licensed real estate agents.”

Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry’s leading technology for connecting homebuyers with homebuyer assistance programs, is highlighting 48 U.S. homebuyer assistance programs in 13 states that are specifically designed to support Native Americans (American Indians and Alaska Natives). While Native Americans may be eligible for all of the 2,400-plus U.S. homebuyer assistance programs, these 48 programs were specifically developed to provide help with down payments and other home-buying costs. The Native American homeownership rate is around 56% which is significantly lower than the national average, with a gap of roughly 15 percentage points compared to white households.

Informative Research, a premier technology provider delivering data-driven credit and verification solutions to the lending community, announced that AccountChek® supports new enhancements to Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) validation service designed to streamline the digital pre-close verification of employment (VOE), significantly enhance overall efficiency and improve the borrower experience. As outlined in Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide, lenders are required to complete a 10-day pre-close verification of employment. Starting September 20, 2024, lenders utilizing the DU validation service can now meet this requirement using an AccountChek deposit-based VOE report (DVOE).

Aduvo, a new platform designed to simplify the marketing efforts of busy mortgage professionals and increase sales with minimal effort, has officially launched. Created in response to existing marketing systems that are difficult and time-consuming to adopt, Aduvo offers loan officers set-it-and-forget it marketing automation that quickly turns hidden opportunities in their contacts into closed loans. Developed by the founders of FocusIT, a provider of software and services for the mortgage industry since 2002, acting as a virtual co-pilot, Aduvo delivers fresh marketing content and automated messages that empower loan officers to effectively engage current and past contacts without wasting time and resources.

Snapdocs announced new products that will automate even more interactions between lenders and title companies across the mortgage closing process and unveiled new branding. These new AI-powered capabilities streamline complex closing tasks to increase customer efficiency and improve the borrower experience. Snapdocs’ press release outlines the complete announcement, while Snapdocs blog post outlines the reason for the rebrand and provides an explanation for each element.

LenderLogix, a leading provider of mortgage point-of-sale and automation software for banks, credit unions, independent mortgage banks, and brokers, announced the release of the Homebuyer Intelligence Report, a quarterly summary of insights into borrower behavior during the home-buying process based on data collected by the LenderLogix suite of tools. The latest report covers data collected during the pre-approval and borrower application process in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024.

“MortgageFlex Systems, Inc. is proud to announce that our Ginnie Mae investor reporting processes have been officially approved. This significant milestone underscores our commitment to providing exceptional mortgage servicing solutions and adhering to the highest industry standards. Our successful Ginnie Mae reporting approval is a testament to our team's hard work, dedication, and expertise. We have invested in state-of-the-art technology and processes to ensure accurate and timely reporting, enabling us to deliver reliable and efficient services to our clients. By achieving Ginnie Mae's reporting approval, we solidified our position as a trusted partner in the mortgage servicing industry. This accomplishment further strengthens our ability to support our client's needs and contribute to the housing market's overall health. MortgageFlex remains committed to providing innovative and compliant mortgage servicing solutions. We look forward to continuing our journey of excellence and serving the needs of our clients with the highest level of professionalism. See you in Denver! To connect with us reach out to John McCrea.”

Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life. As a bagpiper, I play many gigs while trying to keep this in mind.

Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country.

As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and being a typical man, I didn’t stop for directions.

I finally arrived an hour late, and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.

I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started to play.

The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I’ve never played before for this homeless man.

And as I played “Amazing Grace”, the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept, we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full.

As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I never seen anything like that before, and I’ve been putting in septic tanks for twenty years.”

Apparently, I’m still lost…. it’s a man thing.

Visit www.robchrisman.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or to subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. If you're interested, visit my periodic blog at the STRATMOR Group web site. The current STRATMOR blog is titled, “Help Borrowers Tap Into $36 trillion Available in Home Equity.” The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

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(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes visit LenderNews. This newsletter is for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For up-to-date mortgage news visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.robchrisman.com. Copyright 2024 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Occasional paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman. The views and opinions in this newsletter are mine alone unless otherwise specifically stated herein.)