Mortgage Manager Playbook

Jeff Scheuren, President and COO of Fulton Mortgage Co. discusses Growth in a Down Market. Highlights include: emphasis on referral sources and construction perm; focus on Realtor relationships and partnering; loan officers' sales plan and upselling skills and team relationships. Jeff has spent over 30 years in the mortgage industry.

Teresa Bazemore, President & CEO of the Federal Home Loan Bank of SF discusses Trends in Affordable Housing. Highlights include: housing supply issue; downpayment assistance programs; financial literacy; new pilot programs and old evaluations are relevant for today’s market. Teresa has more than 25 years of experience as a senior executive in the mortgage banking field that includes building both mortgage insurance and services businesses. She also serves on the Board of Directors of T. Rowe Price Funds and First Industrial Realty Trust.

Ellie Fogle, Sr. VP and Divisional Sales Manager at Truist talks about How Leadership has Changed over the Last Decade. Highlights include: lead to inspire action; action trumps everything; pivot to positive; sharp shifts to digital information world and mastering inquiry. Ellie has been in the mortgage industry for over 30+ years.

Marcia Griffin, CEO/Founder of HomeFree-USA talks about the Trends in the Affordable Housing Marketplace. Highlights include: partnerships will drive diverse lending; consumers need a Mortgage Achievement Plan; fear of the credit report; pilot programs are critical and the need for community based organizations. For nearly 40 years, Marcia Griffin has been on a mission to strengthen people of color, elevate partners, and enhance communities across America.

Brent Green, Mortgage Sales Manager-Residential Construction Lending, at Lake Michigan Credit Union talks about Construction Perm Lending: How to do it the Right Way. Highlights include: Ins and outs of builder business; quality of back office is key; knowledge of complex product is important; single note closing and loyal referral source. Brent has been in the mortgage industry for 30 years.

I interviewed author, Erica Acie who has written a great book, We Got This!, A Guide to Securing Your Greatest Future. Erica has had a long career in financial services and is currently Head of Fulfillment & Closing at Truist. Highlights include: helping other people; change is making a decision; what do you want out of life; don’t be afraid to be bold and failure equals learning. Erica is passionate about personal development and you will enjoy our discussion.

Jeff Walton, CEO and Co-Founder of InGenius discusses Selecting Data Vendors for Recruiting: What Really Matters. Highlights include: importance of Trident Mortgage settlement; digital redlining; accuracy is key to data and survival of the fittest. Jeff has been in the industry over 30 years.

Jason Hultgren, SVP and Director of Mortgage Sales at UCB talks about Developing Loan Officers in a Difficult Market. Highlights include: building a high performance team; leaner is better; the importance of listen, learn and lead; CRA top priority and getting out of your comfort zone to move the needle. Jason has been in the mortgage industry for over 25 years and you will enjoy his comments.

Keith Kemph, President & CEO of BlackFin Group, discusses Product Diversification in Today’s Volatile Market. Highlights include: the importance of specialization in mortgage products; how to lower costs per loan; how to invest in operations/technology for the next cycle and the need for mortgage solutions for baby boomers who will need assisted living support. Keith has been in the business for over 30 years and he recently put out a 15-minute video on reverse mortgages on the BlackFin YouTube Channel. Check it out.

Ralph Remy, Director of Client Digital Experience at National MI, discusses What Works in Managing in 2023. Highlights include: back to basics; what type of lender are you; coaching for development; intentional training and training your team to “Think Amazon”. Ralph has over 25 years of experience in leading strategic change and developing successful sales and service teams as it relates to Client Experience and Digital Experience.

Gene M. Lugat, EVP of National Production Strategies & Multicultural Lending at PrimeLending, talks about Retaining Top Producers: Strategies that Work. Highlights include: execution on price and product is key; importance of live sales rallies; pricing strategies for FTHB and the hot topics of education and coaching for top producers. Gene has more than 36 years in the industry and has held a wide range of national roles in the MBA. Recently, Gene was recognized as a mortgage trailblazer and was awarded the 2022 HousingWire Vanguard Award.

Tim Ross, CEO of Ross Mortgage, talks about Managing Successfully for the Long-term. Highlights include: building a fortress balance sheet; the importance of cash; develop a 5-year plan; reduce the friction in the process and the secret sauce of human touch. Tim has been in the mortgage business for 40 years, through good times and difficult times. You will want to hear his thoughts on the outlook for next year and beyond.

Jessica Wright, Advisor for the Future Housing Leaders program at Fannie Mae discusses the program. Highlights include: Developing new partnerships with housing finance, real estate, non-profit entities, and colleges and universities to help close the workforce diversity gap. It connects college students from diverse backgrounds to opportunities for paid internships and entry-level jobs in the housing industry. Educated over 1200 interns through FHL summer program in 2022 with 85 employer partners. Jessica has been featured in Mortgage Women Magazine (July 2022 edition) focused on A Diverse Workforce. She has been at Fannie Mae for almost 20 years.

Gary Culbreath, VP, Learning and Development, Freedom Mortgage talks about Selling Training to Management in a Down Market. Highlights include: understanding the needs of different stakeholders; the importance of cross training in 2022; identify the potential gaps of learners; how to structure the modules; evaluation of managers and live instruction works best. For over 30 years Gary has been involved in recruiting, training and developing mortgage professionals. You will enjoy Gary’s timely comments.

David Stein, Partner at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister discusses the Trident Mortgage Settlement Case. Highlights include: proactive steps a lender can take; evaluate office locations; affirmative employee work force; affirmative advertising and conduct fair lending analysis. David’s firm maintains a national practice in Banking and Consumer Financial Services. For nearly 20 years, David was general counsel for a top fifty lender.

Lyubomira Buresch CMB, Founder & CEO, Polygon Research talks about Using Data to Increase Minority Applications. Highlights include: using data to provide market insights for better decision-making; HMDA – American Community Survey; corporate culture matters on how data is used; “Social Index”-Fannie Mae and the potential is large for Mortgage Ready borrowers. Lyubomira has over 20 year experience in providing analytics to the financial services industry, most recently with KPMG, BofA and Citibank.

John Roberts, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Edge Tradeworks discusses Whole Loan Trading: How it Can Help in Difficult Markets. Highlights include: selling to agencies can be expensive and whole loan trading can be a better alternative; buy and sell loans with transparency and negotiate directly and receive loan prices backed by data and analytics. Throughout his career, John worked with some of the industry’s most well-respected organizations including roles as Managing Director at Barclays Capital, Head of Trading in Fixed Income Emerging Markets at Lehman Brothers, and at J.P. Morgan & Co, Inc. where he served as Head of all Fixed Income Trading and Co-Head of Research for J.P. Morgan Securities in London.

Jeffery Stanton, SVP, Strategic Growth at Guaranteed Rate discusses Today’s Three Mortgage Wars: Pricing, Traditional and Virtual. Highlights include: invent your own market; have a personal spin; importance of understanding your products; know three to five things and go deep and box lunch meet ups. Jeff has been in the Retail Mortgage industry for more than 25 years and has held positions as a Retail Loan Officer, Sales Manager, Broker-Owner and SVP- S&D channel.

I interviewed Brant Pinvidic, Author, of the book The 3 Minute Rule: Say Less to Get More from Any Pitch or Presentation (Portfolio, 256 pp, Available on Amazon). I think it is one of the most important business books written and I highly recommend it. Brant is sharing a step by step guide on how to influence and present an idea or service to a prospect or client in 3 minutes. Brant has a highly successful career as a Hollywood producer who has sold more than 300 TV shows and movies. He’s had hits such as Biggest Loser & Extreme Makeover. Brant is the master of the sales pitch and you learn some insightful tips.

David Lykken, President and Founder, Transformational Mortgage Solutions talks about 2023: Trends and Solutions. Highlights include: seven keys to success; be a true professional; importance of developing personnel; the need for right-sizing and identify your strengths and execute on it. David has been in the mortgage industry for over 40 years and you will enjoy listening to David talk about productivity, recruiting and prospecting. Check out David’s weekly podcast, Lykken On Lending.

Todd Gosden, Senior Loan Officer at Compass Mortgage discusses Top Producer’s Game Plan: Long-term Success in Mortgage Origination. Highlights include: focus on habits; activities matter; partnership vs participate: Big Difference; strive for excellence every day and making a “deposit” every day. You will learn how he and his team provide the highest caliber of service to their clients. Todd has over 20 years of experience in business development and leading his own team of mortgage professionals.

Michael Borodinsky, VP and Branch Manager, Caliber Home Loans talks about a Top Producer’s Game Plan. Highlights include: the importance of developing personal relationships with realtors; value of marketing every day; being active in local groups; the number of calls needed to make each day and keys to long term success. Over the last 35 years, Michael has been ranked among the top producers nationwide and he has funded over $5B in individual home loans to over 12,000 homeowners. You will enjoy listening to Michael’s insights.

Kim Coleman, Associate General Counsel at Primary Residential Mortgage talks about The Value of In-house Counsel and How to Evaluate Outside Counsel. Kim has been an attorney for over 10 years and you will enjoy her insights.

Ryan Todd, EVP Capital Markets at Integrity Home Mortgage talks about Building your own Bot. Highlights include: what is a bot; what tasks are perfect for bots; what activities should humans be working on; how is productivity improved and the importance of cross-training your personnel. Ryan has spent the past 20 years primarily in capital markets. He is owner of Capital Markets Consultant which specializes in capital markets departments buildouts and audits. You will enjoy listening to Ryan’s insightful comments on this timely topic of bots.

Matt Koch, SVP Area Manager at Ruoff Mortgage discusses Transitioning from a Bank to an Independent Mortgage Banker. Highlights include: rising importance of technology/fintech; data integrity is critical; getting to borrowers first; streamline the lending process and world class customer experience. Matt is a mortgage veteran having been in the industry for over 25 years. He has been with Caliber, Fifth Third and PNC to name a few. You will enjoy listening to Matt’s comments.

Ellie Fordyce, Chief People Officer at Westerra CU talks about Implementing Cultural Change in an Organization. Highlights include: defining culture; it’s a complex process; employee engagement is a must; research is important and it’s necessary to stay ahead of the curve. Ellie has been in the mortgage industry for over 10 years in the areas of human resource strategies, leadership development and she is responsible for driving successful implementation of culture change initiatives. She has a Master’s degree in Professional Studies in Organization Development & Change from Penn State. You will want to hear Ellie’s insightful comments on this very important topic.

I interviewed Tony J. Hughes, author of Combo Prospecting: The Powerful One-Two Punch that Fills your Pipeline and Wins Sales (AMACOM, 243 pp. Available on Amazon). This is one of the best books I’ve read on Prospecting. You don’t want to miss this interview. Highlights include: what are the best sales enablement tools for success; the importance of identifying trigger events; optimize referrals to create engagement; nurture an empowering network and develop an online brand that packs a punch. Tony is a respected sales leader and consultant with over 30 years of winning experience. He is an award-winning blogger and top LinkedIn B2B sales influencer. He teaches modernized selling as part of the eMBA program for University of Technology, Sydney.

Elizabeth Million, SVP, Mortgage Lending at Elevations CU, discusses the Keys to Having Two-Thirds of Your LOs Ranked in the Scotsman Guide (Top Originators). Highlights include: the importance of a sales accountability model; remove roadblocks; individual sales process; support team and focus your outreach on like-minded realtors. Elizabeth is an industry veteran with over 30 years’ experience. You don’t want to miss her insights into what it takes to be a top producer.

Ali Nassirian, Director, Home Loans at Golden 1 CU talks on The Race for Talent: Recruiting Differently. Highlights include: scaling for growth; team recruiting starts with a plan; career path is key and the importance of relationship recruiting. Ali has been in the mortgage industry for close to 20 years and you will learn some of his key tips on recruiting in today’s marketplace.

Mike Squire, SVP, Chief Lending Officer at Kinecta Federal CU talks about Managing Volume & Margin in Volatile Times. Highlights include: the importance of collaboration with internal experts; being agile and course correcting; how to handle price concessions; pricing within top 25th percentile and the use of competitive data. Mike has spent over 20 years in the mortgage industry and you will enjoy listening to his insights about today’s volatile times.

Phil Laren, Principal at Actogram Financial, discusses Financing Delinquent Loans in Today’s Market. Highlights include: death of refi market; rise of Fintech; cure loans advantage; Wall Street competition and delinquency arbitrage. Phil has been in the mortgage capital markets for over 30 years, designing and building proprietary hedging, trading and servicing models. You will enjoy his comments on delinquencies and the market outlook.

Pete Roeske, EVP, Retail Lending at AmeriHome Mortgage talks on Starting Retail in Today’s Market. Highlights include: win with consultative approach; the need for more joint ventures; the importance of culture match; data base of drip campaigns still matters and establishing relationships with referral sources is key. Pete has been in the mortgage industry for over 25 years and you will enjoy his perspective about today’s marketplace.

Peter Benjamin, President of American Credit Union Mortgage Association (ACUMA) talks on The Importance of Developing your Personnel. Highlights include: now is a pivotal moment in mortgage; affordable housing is a big issue; career path is critical and training in good and bad mortgage markets. Peter has been in the mortgage industry for over 20 years and you will enjoy listening to his insightful comments.

Leslie Garner, SVP of Sales at InstaMortgage discusses What is Good Sales Training in Today’s Market? Highlights include: train manager first policy; accountability is key; know your numbers—goal setting; technology vs culture; and a career path is critical. Leslie has spent over 30+ years in the mortgage industry starting out as a loan officer and then moving into sales management. Leslie provides some key tips about training and her outlook for the industry that you don’t want to miss.

Edward Jacuinde, CEO & Founder of Edward Jacuinde Real Estate discusses Real Estate Agents & Loan Officers: Relationship Building. Edward was a loan officer, real estate agent and now owns his own real estate brokerage firm in Corona del Mar, CA. Edward shares his thoughts on how to increase referral sources for LOs, what do real estate agents want from loan officers and what type of communications should loan officers provide to real estate agents. Edward has a very unique background and you will enjoy listening to his tips on relationship building.

Dan Habib, EVP and one of the founders of MBS Highway talks about Crypto Markets and Mortgages. Dan provides an excellent primer on Crypto Markets—what they are, how are they used, and how they could be used in the mortgage marketplace. Dan was just honored by National Mortgage Professional Magazine by being named one of the top 40 under 40 mortgage professionals in the country. You will enjoy listening to Dan discuss this exciting topic.

Ed Rogers, Manager, Consumer Solutions/SME at Built Technologies talks about Renovation Lending: What’s it all about? Highlights include: lender differentiation; more than fixer-upper lending; underutilized product—it’s not harder just different and it’s a $25-$40 billion market. Ed has over 25 years of experience in all aspects of residential construction and renovation lending. You will enjoy listening to Ed’s discussion on this timely topic.

Justin Demola, President of Lenders One discusses Emerging Trends in 2022 and the Future Outlook. Highlights include: be aware of where you are in the mortgage cycle; the importance of pivoting fast; more efficiency is critical and technology vs human touch in mortgage. Justin has been in the mortgage industry for over 20 years and is currently a Board Member for the MBA of NJ. Justin has insightful thoughts on the outlook for the mortgage industry in the future.

Greg Decristofaro is currently Business Development Manager at Homebridge Financial. Greg was a top producing real estate agent and national trainer for Keller Williams for many years. He has seen all sides of real estate and mortgage lending. He gives us his thoughts on what makes a successful working relationship between a real estate agent and a loan officer. You will enjoy his candid comments.

Tom Hutchens, EVP of Production at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions discusses Trends in Non-QM: Why it isn’t Subprime 2.0. Highlights include: finding good people and maintaining culture; listening is key; “servant” mentality; profile self-employed; role of technology and the importance of having “skin in the game”. Tom has been in the industry for over 20 years in such areas as mortgage, appraisal and real estate. Tom has some very insightful comments about the non-conforming segment of the mortgage industry.

Pat Aritz has been a top producer in the real estate business since 2013 and is currently with Realty Executives in Arizona. Pat spent over 40 years in the mortgage banking industry. Pat discusses what’s it like being a real estate agent and how to develop successful relationships with loan officers.

Aubri Holler is currently a Real Estate Agent with Fathom Realty after having her own mortgage title business for over 20 years. Aubri talks about being a real estate agent and how to develop a good business relationship with a loan officer.

Shondell Varcianna, CEO & Founder of Varci Media talks about What Types of Social Media Marketing should LOs do in 2022? Highlights include: go where your customers are; importance of customization; what is the art of snippets and repurposing and the magic number 750 for Blogs. Shondell has been in financial services for over 20 years with Bank of Montreal and Canada Mortgage and Housing and the last seven of those years with her own social media firm, Varci Media located in Atlanta, GA. With social media marketing gaining such prominence, you will enjoy Shondell’s insights on this very timely topic.

Stacey Harding, Executive VP at Cherry Creek Mortgage talks about Identifying Talent & Setting them up for Success. Highlights include: due diligence and discovery process when interviewing must be deep; job fit is key; repeat vision monthly; long game strategy and no short cuts and zoom world of recruiting. Stacey has been in the mortgage business for over 30 years and he shares his views on how a company’s hires determine what your company will be in the future.

Scott Johnson, Divisional Executive at Homebridge Financial Services, discusses Why Differentiation Matters in Mortgage Sales. Highlights include: get out and talk to people; leverage the data and target the right people; value proposition is key and recruit talent that fits your culture. Scott has been in the mortgage business for over 30 years and you will enjoy his insightful comments. Also, check out Honor Connor, a nonprofit which focuses on Mental Health—Addiction and Suicide.

Beth Eller, VP of Mortgage Lending at Truliant Federal CU discusses How Processors can become the next Loan Officers. Highlights include: the importance of timing and speed of deals; quality of service; adapting to change; the need for people skills and a future career path. Beth has been in the mortgage industry for over 20 years starting out as a processor, moving to a loan officer position, and then into management. You will enjoy listening to her thoughts on these key positions as we begin the new year 2022.

Jeffrey Walker, CEO & Co-Founder at CredEvolv on Credit Repair: What is it? Highlights include: rapid rescore is not the best solution; HUD Certified Counseling; turning a turndown into a Yes; the importance of offering a path forward and credit well-being for life. Jeff has been in the mortgage business for over 30 years with such companies as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Wells Fargo, Citi and SunTrust (now Truist). You will enjoy listening to Jeff’s comments on this timely topic that is not well understood.

Kurt Reisig, Chairman & Founder, American Pacific Mortgage discusses the Top 3 Emerging Trends for 2022. Highlights include: the importance of pivoting during different market conditions; first customer is branch manager; it is always about the people, scale matters and building trust and embracing technology. Kurt has been in the mortgage industry for over 30 years and as 2022 approaches, he offers some very insightful thoughts on the trends he sees impacting the mortgage industry.

AJ Franchi, President & COO, Gold Star Mortgage Financial, talks about Reputation Management: How to Ensure a Positive Reputation in 2022. Highlights include: building relationships with investors; focus on customer experience; pick a platform to tell your story and thoughts on Net Promoter Score. AJ has been in the mortgage industry for over 13 years and he offers some important tips on Reputation Management.

Randell Gillespie, EVP, National Production Manager at Thrive Mortgage talks about Leading Sales into a New Digital Reality. Highlights include: building customer relationships; scorecard of technology usage; customers want a bigger experience and a culture of learning and growing—hungry, humble and smart. Randell has been in the mortgage industry for over 20 years and you will enjoy hearing his thoughts on the New Digital Reality.