The Mortgage Note Podcast

The chief operations officer at National Credit-Reporting System Inc. says it is important for the mortgage industry to understand the latest technology being used by fraudsters. Then, industry leaders need to develop protocols and plans to eliminate their use.“You know, we really need to protect ourselves in mortgage originations to verify the consumer identity,” Lisa Binkley said.This is especially true when it comes to checking incomes in a modern economy.“I think one of the things that stymies the industry, regardless of the type of income, is the thought that all of this just creates friction instead of the thought that this is underpinning your decision for safety and soundness in our financial markets,” she said.Binkley recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about how NCS combats fraud and what keeps her in the industry after nearly 40 years. Binkley told Kimbler she started originating mortgages in the late 1980s.“I started originating mortgages in 1987, and I came out of the securities and insurance licensed world, and I was a part-time worker. I was a stay-at-home mom prior to that. And went from part-time loan officer to fraud investigator to risk manager to COO. It’s just been a fantastic journey, and it’s all been in the mortgage industry. It has been a super industry for me,” Binkley said.Binkley said the team at NCS works hard to combat fraud, which is widespread with today’s fast-growing technology innovations. As companies get smarter, so do criminals attempting to beat the system.“Fraud prevention has escalated to a whole new realm on both sides,” Binkley said. “The other day I was reading an article where a realtor did an online interview with basically what was a fraudster who then scanned her image and voice. And was going to use that as part of a loan package to purchase a property.”When it comes to the mortgage industry, Binkley said in the past it was relatively easy to verify incomes.Over the past decade, the economy has shifted, and more people are doing gig work or have side hustles.“Instead of your 40 or 50-year-olds at IBM or something, you have, ‘I’m an Uber driver part time, I’m a Lyft driver second time, and I work in a family restaurant the rest of the time and here’s my pile of tax returns or tax receipts.’ And so really being able to qualify that consumer based on the money that they earn and the taxes that they pay is really important,” Binkley said.At the same time, this is another area that could be targeted by fraudsters.“It would not be outside the parameters of a fraud organization to go out and create several bank accounts that have 12-months’ worth of assets and deposits and ongoing deposits, and recycle those through many schemes,” Binkley said. “They would reuse these documents. They would, throughout the entire cycle, if you will, of the scheme, they would go into an area and target, say condos, townhomes, and go out and buy them.”Binkley went on to say that systems are becoming far more integrated to include credit, income, employment, and identity verifications, though some in the industry still lag behind available technology.When it comes to what drives her to stay in the industry, Binkley said she is energized by all of the automation that can be created with artificial intelligence.“I’m really excited about that. That’s a big mantra for me this year. And just because I’m coming from the operations world, well, there’s still a lot of manual activity in the operations world. So that’s an excitement today,” Binkley said.“The risk with that will be keeping it smart and keeping it controlled and documented within the organization. I think that new technology provides new ways for processes and procedures to get overlooked and not documented… And I think that we have to make sure that they stay documented.”You can learn more about Nation Credit-Reporting System at NCSTRV.com.

The founder and CEO of Fisent Technologies says modern artificial intelligence is laying the groundwork for a technology revolution just as big as the internet.“You can’t really picture what that will be, but it’s pretty exciting. I think of what it could be,” Adrian Murray said. “I’ve always been incredibly passionate about new technology, always wanting to try out the latest version of whatever it was – a new phone, a new operating system. AI just keeps you going every day because every six weeks, we get something new, or sometimes it’s every other week. Every day, our team is on our internal chat going, ‘Oh my gosh, did you see this release? There’s this new capability, there’s this new parameter. What if we tried that here? What would that do?'”Fisent Technologies is a software company that is working on the development of Applied GenAI solutions. Located in Toronto, Canada, the company was recently named to the KMWorld 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management 2026 list.Murray founded Fisent in 2021. Before that, he spent over 10 years focused on financial services technology and operations, both as an executive and subject matter expert on core and digital banking technology as well as compliance, regtech, and payment systems.Murray recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about how Fisent Technologies and AI have evolved over the past five years.    “Fisent is what we call a company focused around the discipline of applied GenAI process automation. That discipline is relatively new. It’s really the concept of taking generative AI technology and applying it to process automation. So, in the context of most of our customers in financial services, what that means is being able to apply AI to understand and process unstructured content, typically documents, spreadsheets, emails, and images that are coming in as part of a business process, maybe adjudicating a dispute or complaint, onboarding a customer, or reviewing a claim,” Murray said.“We can step into those workflows using our technology and make sense of the content and context of the process and then structure all of that unstructured data to make it usable for the existing workflow, the onboarding process, or the claims process to drive automation where previously typically a human operator was required to step in.”Murray said speed is one of the most important value drivers they bring to these processes. What takes humans minutes or even hours can be completed with the same degree of standardization and consistency with AI in seconds.Murray spoke a bit about his background in finance and how developing the Fisent business model was not his initial intent. With his background in banking technology and operations, Murray originally thought his business model would revolve around something he was a subject matter expert in, but instead, he turned his focus to creating what today is known as Fisent’s BizAI solution, which enables the automation of repetitive business tasks through the application of proprietary and publicly available large language models.“It became pretty obvious to us pretty quickly. The real product is actually this thing we call BizAI. This AI content processing service. And that’s what we’re in the market with today and have deployed in the mortgage industry pretty widely throughout the U.S.,” Murray said.Murray said they work with companies across the spectrum, including Fortune 500 companies.To learn more about Adrian Murray and Fisent, visit Fisent.com.

The president of Spectrum Solutions says timely property preservation protects servicers, improves the safety of neighborhoods, and helps maintain land values.“The minute that you get a property, you want eyes on it. Meaning you want the guy in the field at the property to assess the condition. You want to know, ‘Is the property secure? Does it need to be secured?'” Talia Ramirez said.In addition to assessing the property’s condition, servicers need to know whether it has been vandalized, if there are squatters, and if it is overgrown, she said.Ramirez recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about how Spectrum Solutions fits into the servicing landscape. Ramirez explained that when a property goes into default, the servicer needs a field service preservation provider to step in. Spectrum Solutions is a national provider that specializes in property renovations and preservation.“What do we do? We secure the property. We go out to maintain the lawns. If there’s any emergent issues, let’s say the property is flooding, we immediately cure that. Let’s say it has a roof leak. We’ll tarp the roof. We’ll repair the roof. Anything that needs to be done to help maintain the property so that it does not fall further into disrepair.  And ensure that the lawn is not a blight in the neighborhood,” Ramirez said.As the nation is seeing an increase in the number of foreclosure starts — January saw 42,000 foreclosure starts, the highest monthly total since early 2020 — there is the potential that Spectrum Solutions could see an increase in demand. Ramirez said the most important thing they focus on is educating their clients.With the majority of her career spent in mortgage servicing, Ramirez said her background in the industry helps.“My servicing background definitely helps a ton because I know what it’s like to be on that side. I knew what I wanted from my field service providers. I knew the turn times I needed from them, the communication I needed from them, and the transparency that is so critical when it comes to doing this business,” Ramirez said.“It has also helped me to understand just how important honesty, integrity, and transparency are in being a vendor. My clients truly appreciate that. I may not always have good news for them, but the fact that I am honest about it and that I remediate the issue, they truly appreciate it. And that’s what they value most.”Kimbler and Ramirez wrapped up by talking about what keeps her passionate about her job.“Honestly, it’s the feeling that I get from it. It just makes me feel accomplished, makes me feel good. I love delivering for my clients. I love delivering for our neighborhoods. And it’s that finished product. It’s that property you get that is just falling apart. You know, the yard is just seven feet tall, and you look at this property and go, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know that we’re ever going to get this done.’ And then you just sit down, and you figure it out,” Ramierz said.“Then, when you see the beautiful finished product, and you know what you’ve done for your client, and you know what you’ve done for the neighborhood and for the community, it’s that for me.”The corporate office for Spectrum Solutions is located in Sheridan, WY. They work with mortgage servicers, mortgage investors, and real estate investors.#servicers #propertypreservation #mortgagenews 

The president of NEO Home Loans says they specialize in financial education that goes beyond providing a mortgage.Staying with a borrower after the loan closes gives them an opportunity to build a long-term relationship with borrowers, according to Ryan Grant. "That's where we really lean in. 60% of the value we provide is really post-closing to the consumer," Grant said.He explained that the average person is realizing they need post-close counseling more than the cheapest interest rate or the lowest cost mortgage. When the weight of homeownership is on a person's shoulders, having an ally to help them manage that asset is essential, Grant said.Grant, a $1.9 billion originator before founding NEO Home Loans powered by Better, recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about their national business model, what they offer consumers, and why he believes in building a better borrower experience.Grant said NEO is licensed in all fifty states. They have a local presence in 27 states where there are physical locations.  "What we offer to the consumer is just drastically different. And what I believe to be much more valuable than the average mortgage company. The average mortgage company is going to close the loan on time with good customer service, speed, communication, all those things," Grant said. "But the after part is where we really focused. If you look at a lot of our client testimonials, the reason why so many families are choosing NEO Home Loans is because they didn't even know that they could get help after closing."Grant said they help consumers manage this liability and asset, plan for future real estate goals, and help parents and children retire with real estate. "When we tell our clients what we do and what our commitment is to the long-term generation of wealth, it's awesome to see their response. And we believe that clients will expect that from their mortgage lenders moving forward," Grant said.Grant said that when the loan closes, a client success team trained in personal wealth and generational wealth building shows borrowers how to use their app. They also get a personal home concierge that helps them with home maintenance, repairs, and upkeep. "We make sure that they are connected with all the right partners that are needed. So, if they want to maximize their tax liabilities, we introduce them to tax planning firms," Grant said. "We want to make sure they have the appropriate life insurance. We want to make sure that if they have an estate plan or will or trust in the event that anything happens. And ultimately, we want to make sure that they, with their new mortgage payment and with their new monthly cash flow, know how to manage that to grow their wealth long term."After that, NEO Home Loans provides consumers with annual financial reviews and a goal-setting strategy."We believe that we should be so proactively engaged with our clients that we help them decide when to buy, sell, or finance properties, and then we just work with them, month in and month out, year in and year out, towards those goals," Grant said.Because of their partnership with Better, Grant said they get to work with real estate agents and builders that we may not have had the opportunity to, and they have access to the latest technology.He wrapped up the conversation by encouraging every homeowner to reach out to their own mortgage team or the team at NEO.“I would just encourage people to be curious. And just know that if you connect with a NEO mortgage advisor, no one’s going to sell you anything. We’re just going to ask you questions about your situation. We’re going to understand your financial goals. We’re going to take a look at the entire scope of your generational chain. And then we’re going to give you some really good advice,” Grant said.

The president of CBC Mortgage Agency says down payment assistance can be a game-changer for prospective homebuyers."In today's world, we are so challenged with affordability issues. We're not making any improvements in terms of home ownership rates, particularly in the African American demographic. I think we need all the resources out there to help achieve homeownership. I really am a big supporter of anything that we can do to support down payment assistance," Miki Adams said.Adams recently sat down with The Mortgage Note's Scott Kimbler to talk about CBC Mortgage Agency, what they offer homebuyers, and the importance of educating the public about the availability of down payment assistance."I often come across an Uber driver or taxi driver or even someone in the dental office who asks me what I do. And I talk about it, and they're just surprised. They're stunned. They've been trying to save up their money for a down payment. They figure they'll be ready in about three years. And they're surprised to learn that there is help out there and that they can get started on their home ownership journey now. They don't have to wait three years," Adams said.Adams said CBC Mortgage Agency was founded by the Cedar Band Corporation in May of 2013. It is headquartered in Cedar City, Utah, and offers down payment resources for buyers in 49 states.CBC Mortgage Agency's financial assistance can come in the form of a second mortgage that is forgivable after 36 months of on-time payments of the first mortgage.What makes CBC Mortgage Agency different from other down payment resources is the fact that some of their programs have no income limits. They also offer post-purchase counseling for 18 months, Adams said."Since over 90% of our borrowers are first-time home buyers, we recognize the need that they may want a little bit more coaching through their first year and a half or so of owning a home," Adams said.Adams said CBC Mortgage Agency works with homebuyers from all walks of life, but there is a special interest in helping minorities reach their home ownership goals.“We focus on it, and that's a big part of why we're here. Because there's a huge need. There's a gap in homeownership for some of our minority communities. Right now, roughly 60% of our down payment assistance goes to minority communities. And low moderate-income communities were roughly about 40% or so. So that is a mission of ours. That's a real focus of ours,” Adams said.Adams, who has more than 35 years of experience in mortgage banking, started at CBC Mortgage Agency in November of 2016. She was promoted to president in January of 2021.Kimbler asked Adams what keeps her passionate about her profession, and she said she gets a lot of satisfaction from her job."It’s rewarding. It really is, when you can help people, and help people get into homes," Adams said."This is probably the best way to close out those last years that I may have. And that's because I have this wonderful opportunity to work with a Native American tribe and continue to help people into homeownership.”

Competitive boxer Megan Castleton says many of the principles she learned in the ring can be applied to business.“It’s mental over physical. You know how much you can get done, and you know how much you can withstand. So, you’re balancing a career and a life, and this sport and all the demands of this sport. And I think that translates really well into the corporate environment. It instilled a toughness,” Castleton said.Castleton began boxing as a young woman. What started as a form of exercise and a way to have fun with friends turned into something she has a passion for. And over the years, she has overcome many challenges competing in a sport that is typically dominated by male athletes.Castleton has also made strides in the financial world. She started her career in the 1990s and has been the chief credit officer at Constructive Capital since December 2024.Constructive Capital provides capital to a third-party origination network, mainly made up of mortgage brokers who work with real estate investors who use residential transition loans – also known as fix and flip loans – and DSCR-related products.Castleton recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about how she balances boxing and her career. She said during the interview that she has learned to embrace the challenge of being told, “No.”“Women were not in that sport. You get told, ‘No,’ a lot. That you can’t do this. You can’t do that. You’re never going to be this, you’re never going to be that. And so, you know, for me and my personality, that’s like waving the red flag in front of the bull. It’s like, ‘Okay, well, that’s the challenge, and that’s why I want to take it up,’ And I want to prove that we can,” Castleton said.Castleton’s background in water polo helps her understand the value of a good team. That translates nicely to the corporate world.“You become very self-aware as an athlete of what your weaknesses and your strengths are. And you can go out and find those things in your teammates and your team members, and your coaches, the same way that you do in building teams,” Castleton said. “I would say that’s definitely one of the pieces that I use to this day still.”Sports have also taught her how to handle and adapt to the highs and lows of constantly changing markets.“If you do not adapt and change to your environment in lending, you go the way of the dinosaur, and there’s just nothing here for you. It’s a constant evolution, the same way that it is in an athlete’s body and mind. It’s a constant evolution of who you are, your skill set, and how you translate those things into the environment around you,” Castleton said.Castleton moved from the residential consumer space to residential transition loans and DSCR-related products. She was drawn to Constructive Capital because of the leadership team.“Constructive really understands who brokers are and what brokers need, and what the challenges are that brokers face, and the need for additional revenue streams even in the residential space,” Castleton said.“We’ve definitely put a lot of money and time into building out our technology. So, I think over the next year or two, what Constructive is right now is going to look entirely different. And that’s so exciting to me because it’s a passion. Constructive has a passion for bigger, faster, stronger. How do we make this a better client experience?”Castleton also reflected on what keeps her going to work every day. “Every day it changes. There’s never been a calm market. I guess you’re always waiting for the shoe to drop. What’s the next thing? What’s the next product? How do I improve this?” Castleton said. “It’s always improving. It’s always changing. And I think that’s what gets me out of bed every day.”

Mortgage lenders are adapting to the needs of consumers, whether they be old school or online.That's according to John Hummel, head of retail home lending at U.S. Bank, and Shelly Kobb, head of correspondent, warehouse, and HFA lending at U.S. Bank. Kobb says in many cases, companies are working with clientele who want to work with lenders in person, while also catering to customers who prefer to do as much of the mortgage transaction as they can online. “You actually have both ends of the spectrum, right? You still have a population that wants to sit down face to face with a loan officer to do the application, all the way to, ‘I just want to do it in the evening from home and not travel to an office,'" Kobb said.Professionals in the industry are trained to be able to deal with all types of people, and U.S. Bank gives them the tools to do that, Hummel added. "I think that our position is that we will accommodate you based on what your needs dictate. To Shelly’s point, there are some people that just want to go through our portal and really self-serve. And yet, there are probably still many borrowers out there who really want to sit down in person, or some combination even. Maybe they start by leveraging the technology to get the ball rolling, and then as they get closer to finalizing where they're headed with a transaction, they involve a mortgage loan officer to come in on that end game, so to speak,” Hummel said.Hummel and Kobb recently sat down with The Mortgage Note's Scott Kimbler to talk about how the industry has changed post-pandemic, their predictions moving forward, and what keeps them passionate about their jobs. Hummel said there have been a lot of changes in the mortgage lending landscape since 2019.“We were in a better rate environment pre-pandemic. But I think we were all thinking that things were slowing down a little bit in the industry as a whole. Then the pandemic hit. Rates drop to 3%. And we had a real stretch there between really 2020 through probably 2022, where here at U.S. Bank, we had record-setting volume across really, all the distribution channels," Hummel said.Now, with rates over 6% for longer than expected, and inventory diminished in many areas of the country, it's a different story. "The best way to classify it is as kind of a tale of two cities. We had an extremely low-rate environment during that 2020 to 2022 time period, and now we've seen elevated rates ever since, with those continued challenges with the inventory supply,” Hummel said.Kobb said that even though borrowing has become more difficult, it is still an environment buyers can navigate with the right guidance and understanding.“I think that this is a little bit unique with the housing shortage supply, but I do see more houses on the market for longer. Prices in some areas are dropping," Kobb said. "I think from a lending perspective, it's really keeping in touch with past contacts, working with them, keeping relevant, keeping your name in front of them."People are also using home equity lines of credit and home equity loans to improve where they live if moving isn't necessary. Hummel said he expects more of the same in 2026."It'll still be a predominantly heavy purchase market. If we do see a little drift down in rates, we could see some refinance activity because of all the originations that have occurred over the last year and a half that maybe are between 6% and 7%," Hummel said.U.S. Bancorp, with approximately 70,000 employees and $686 billion in assets as of June 30, 2025, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. #lending #mortgagerates #mortgagenews

The president of Flyhomes says they are seeing more demand as home sellers increasingly want to buy a new place to live before selling the one they are in.Dan Richards said what started as a company with real estate agents, loan officers, and boots on the ground in Washington, California, Texas, and Massachusetts has expanded to 39 states and Washington, DC. And although Flyhomes can cover about 94% of all purchase transactions today, the goal is to be nationwide.“I would actually say that we’re already there, outside of a handful of states on the coasts, and we’re seeing demand, really, across the board,” Richards said. “We found that buy before you sell is becoming very ubiquitous, that demand is definitely prevalent in pretty much any market.”Flyhomes has funded $2.2 billion in loans and works with over 30,000 in-network loan officers, according to the company’s website.Richards said Flyhomes was founded ten years ago as a real estate brokerage in Seattle, Washington.“Over the years, working kind of boots on the ground directly with home buyers, we developed a lot of unique financial products, guarantees, and things like that to help facilitate the real estate transaction. Over time, we developed mortgage capabilities, built up a mortgage company, and for the majority of our existence over the first eight years or so, we were all direct to consumer,” Richards said.“One of the products that we pioneered was the concept of buy-before-you-sell bridge lending in order to cover the gap between selling and buying. That process evolved quite a bit over time. We used to buy properties on behalf of home buyers and then resell it to them. Then we evolved into actual mortgage lending. Now that’s exclusively all we do today. So we are a bridge lender, and we operate exclusively through a wholesale channel.”Richards said that more than 40% of all real estate purchases have some kind of home sale contingency. By allowing home sellers to buy earlier on, it alleviates the stress on all parties in the transaction.If sellers want to move forward and buy before they sell, this is how it works:“Let’s say they submit an offer on a new home, they go under contract, and they want to move forward, we’ll put their departing residence under a backup contract. That backup contract gives them six months plus to go sell their home on the open market without needing to sell to us,” Richards said.“Because we have that backup contract in place, though, the purchase lender who’s working with us can disregard all of the trailing debt on the purchase loan and the DTI calculation that they’re making for the underwriting. And we can also extract equity from their departing residence with our product that we call Instant Equity. It’s a super seamless home equity product, extremely easy and quick to originate. We don’t collect income, assets, employment, verification, anything like that. We rely heavily on the loan officer and the purchase transaction that they’re involved in.  We’re 100% complimentary to the purchase loan that they’re already doing.”Richards said he understands the entire process can seem daunting for home sellers. That’s where loan officers experienced with these transactions are invaluable.“It’s a very emotional process, for sure. And you know, we have seen over our lifetime and in my own personal background in this industry, so many people stop there. They get pre-approved, they start shopping, and they go to some open houses. They get excited. And then they realize, ‘Well, maybe I can’t sell my home as quickly as I want, or for as much as I hope,’ or ‘This is just a really complex process.’  And they pull out of the process. We’re hoping that we can really unlock this and provide a lot of certainty and provide a lot more freedom and more movement and more transparency in this process for our buyers,” Richards said.

The CEO of Longbridge Financial says when it comes to retirement, it is never too early to think about how you will use your home equity as you age."You really should be thinking about the home and the mortgage, your largest asset in retirement. You may decide that a reverse mortgage works. You may decide that HELOC or something else works. But whatever it is, ignoring that asset entirely probably doesn't make much financial sense," said Chris Mayer.Longbridge Financial in Paramus, NJ, is a financial services company. They now offer HELOC for Seniors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington. This program allows borrowers over the age of 62 to make interest-only payments, as long as they live in their home and make other required payments. The balance of the loan is paid back when they move out.This is in addition to their Platinum Preserve and Platinum Peak products.“What happens with Platinum Preserve is, it’s the first product in the market that allows you to take a portion of the home and say, 'I care about giving money to my kids, or I want to put money aside so if I have to sell my home, I may use it for assisted living. I may use it for health care expenses or other things. I want to give it to charity or to somebody else important in my life, if I don't have kids.' So, you can take a portion of your home, say 30% of your home, and say, ‘You know what, I'm going to reserve 30% of my home that I'm going to give to my kids no matter what happens with the reverse mortgage, as long as I pay my property tax and insurance and as long as I cooperate with the lender upon sale the home, I'm going to get 30% of the value of the sale price of that home to give to my kids, to have available to me if I sell the home and move into assisted living, whatever it is I want to do with that portion of the home that's going to be mine or my heirs, to decide what we want,'" said Mayer."And that is something that hasn't really been available before in this market. That you can preserve some of your home value for another use. And so we're very excited to launch Platinum Preserve because we recognize surveys from Fannie Mae and other sources suggest half to two-thirds of people who respond say what they really want to use with their home equity is actually to help the next generation, and this product allows them to do that.”Mayer said leadership at Longbridge knows they are drawing outside of the traditional lines. But it's worth it to find innovative solutions for people in retirement."You have got to think out of the box. Look, we're in an industry where people bring a lot of ideas, a lot of preconceived ideas about reverse mortgages to the table. Some of them are right. Some of them are things that people hear or think they know that may not be accurate. And the thing about this product is it helps you better understand that at the end of the day, this is just a mortgage," said Mayer.Mayer then explained the Platinum Peak program and how it differs from Platinum Preserve.“They're not joined at the hip. They're two different products," said Mayer. "Platinum Peak is designed for people who want to get the most possible proceeds from a reverse mortgage. It allows borrowers to get up to 20 to 25% more proceeds than they would get from an FHA program. In fact, it's the highest proceeds available of any product on the market today that we're aware of. And so that product is really designed for people who want and need to access the most money they can out of their home. And this product is really about serving that demographic."Mayer said there's $14 trillion of home equity for people who are 62 and older. There are about 12,000 people a day turning 65 years old. About 75% of them own a home, he said.#retirementplanning #lending #mortgagenews

The president of regional model offices at a Florida-based real estate services provider is laser-focused on expanding into new markets."It’s safe to say, we’d like to be relevant in about a dozen markets where there is a significant amount of residential growth and single-family rental growth, where we have what I would consider density amongst other businesses that make it a right fit for us,” Julie Joseforsky said.Fay Financial is based in Tampa and has offices in Chicago, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas. Their regional model has expanded to Orlando, St. Louis, and Atlanta this year.Joseforsky recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about what the company is up to and what makes finance personal to her. She said Fay Financial is a specialty servicer and provider of real estate products and services. "We really cover the entire real estate ecosystem. From a servicing perspective, we specialize in both performing and non-performing loans in terms of asset class capabilities and competencies. We have some very good skills in the non-QM and DSCR space. From an overall organizational perspective, we cover retail originations, wholesale originations, correspondent lending, MSR acquisition, title, property and casualty insurance, realty renovations, property maintenance, asset management, property management, and REO. We do REO, not just for ourselves, but for other lenders as well," Joseforsky said.Joseforsky said The Fay Group CEO Ed Fay started the company in 2008 and was able to get contracts with servicers. The business has since expanded into a network of real estate, mortgage, and financial service businesses.Joseforsky began working for the Fay Group four years ago but said she has known Fay since the days they both worked at Household International, which was sold to HSBC Bank in 2003.When Joseforsky first onboarded with the organization, she helped to evolve several other businesses at Fay, which included their originations title as well as their property and casualty insurance business. She then helped to stand up a couple of other businesses for the organization.Today, her title is President, Regional Model, Fay Financial.Joseforsky attributes the company's success to experience and said they are well-positioned for some of the new market opportunities that will evolve over the course of the next several years in the industry.“I think that we have deep roots in the industry and all facets of the industry, on the lending side, on the servicing side, on the real estate side. It gives us an opportunity to really be plugged in to all of what I would consider sort of the centers of influence across the industries. And, in doing so, I think that we have a very good understanding of where a lot of those trend lines are, and we have very deep roots and relationships within the industry," she said.As a former two-sport collegiate athlete, Joseforsky said she is competitive, disciplined, team-oriented, and persevering. Those traits are essential to the role she has taken on with Fay Financial."I think I've pretty much hit just about every highlight that you can hit, and I feel that my sense of experiences, and maybe some of my more personal characteristics, make me right-suited for this particular role. It's been really enjoyable to see our progress and our growth. We utilize these regional expansion opportunities as an opportunity to do significant testing and learning so that we can export what I would consider best practices to our other regional locations, as well as throughout the organization," she said.#realestate #financialservices #mortgagenews

The president of a wholesale provider of business purpose capital for mortgage brokers and their real estate investor clients says technology and talent will drive success for his company.Ben Fertig at Constructive Capital in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note that the company grew 30% in each of the last two years on average.Constructive Capital provides capital to a third-party origination network, mainly made up of mortgage brokers who work with real estate investors that use residential transition loans - also known as fix and flip loans - and DSCR related products.When it comes to technology, modern risk management tools using artificial intelligence help to prevent fraud. “If anything is off in terms of fonts or anything along those lines, it'll detect it. If any of the calculations are off, it'll detect it. It actually will track back the cookies on anything that's been changed relative to a PDF, or anything along those lines. So, I think that's definitely been a big development,” Fertig said.Programs that pull in all the pictures historically from a property relative to its MLS listings are particularly helpful in their space, Fertig said. They also use a tool that aggregates data to create predictive analytics on whether or not a project is likely to get completed on schedule.Another area where technology plays a key role is in project inspections as the market moves towards some virtual inspections. “There's actually tools that can tell, just from a visual, if a project has got, for instance, click wood flooring versus real hardwood flooring. It’s pretty good stuff,” Fertig said.Fertig has been talking about how home mortgage professionals should diversify their business for some time, saying there are opportunities for brokers to expand into residential transition loans and DSCR related products.He said the reasons are multifaceted, but the first advantage of diversification is a different set of borrowers who are less rate sensitive than homebuyers.“Secondly, the acquisition of the borrower is just more efficient because that borrower should be a recurring borrower. Most real estate investors do more than one loan or project,” Fertig said.Most of Constructive Capital’s broker base is made up of industry professionals who generally service residential real estate investors exclusively. Fertig is hoping to develop a relationship with brokers who have historically focused on consumer products, conventional loans, and government loans.The company has just under 1,300 approved brokers and about 500 of them are active, meaning they have sent the company a loan in the last six months.Constructive Capital, which operates in 47 states, was named private lender of the year for 2024 at The National Private Lenders Conference.#lending #realestateinvestment #mortgagenews

Serving a niche market on scale is the secret to success at Lake Homes Realty and Beach Homes Realty.Lake Homes Realty is a tech-enabled, full-service real estate brokerage operating in 39 states. Beach Homes Realty has brokerages in 14 states. And the company’s newest addition, Mountain Homes Realty, covers 21 states and featured more than $100 billion in available mountain properties when it was announced in June.“By using and aggregating data from across the country and limiting it to specific types of property, it makes a totally different experience trying to find a lake home if you’re looking in multiple states,” CEO Glenn Phillips said of the experience they offer buyers.Sellers like using the company’s websites because they get a greater range of exposure, Phillips told Editor Kimberley Haas during an interview.“If I’m selling a home at a lake in Tennessee, most agents would struggle to advertise that to buyers coming from California,” Phillips said.Phillips said that experienced local agents are available to help buyers and sellers with their listings. These people are well-versed in the discretionary housing market.They also understand the nuances that go into buying or selling a home in their particular market. For example, they can navigate permitting requirements for a dock or pier and have a sense of how busy the boat traffic is near different waterfront properties.They can also answer all the questions buyers might have, as well as the things they will need to take into consideration.“Are there access questions? Is this a public beach? Is it a private beach? Is it part of a condo association? Is it a club? If you’re buying just off the beach, which can be a better price point, how can I get to the beach? Or are your pets allowed on the beach?” Phillips said.Phillips said there is no price point associated with the properties they help people buy and sell. Their websites feature vacant lots all the way up to multi-million dollar properties.The market for these types of properties has changed in the last five years. Phillips said that during Covid, they had between seven and eight million people using their website. That drained inventory and increased prices.Now, inventory is back as sellers come to grips with the fact that buyers are holding off on discretionary purchases and are not willing to overpay for these types of properties. Phillips said they are advising listing agents to price things appropriately so qualified buyers will move quickly and offer the asking price or better.Phillips said that with all three websites, the company currently has about 350,000 properties listed for sale.#waterfrontproperties #lakehomes #mortgagenews

Blending artificial intelligence with the power of human connection is the topic of a new book by trainer and coach Ron Vaimberg.Vaimberg specializes in rapid and long-term origination growth, and “The Purchase Shift: Winning Agent Relationships with Authentic Connection & AI” was written for mortgage professionals to provide a clear path for maximizing reach while using the latest technology.He recently sat down with The Mortgage Note to talk about the latest trends and offer advice for loan originators.Vaimberg said the average originator is not using AI as much as they can to make their lives easier and more productive. There are programs that can connect to social media feeds, read other people’s posts, and create a dialogue, for example.When it comes to making sure that interaction is authentic, Vaimberg advises originators to be careful because these tools are not something professionals can set and forget."I've been tiptoeing very cautiously into anything like this because I have found that AI across the board still can't speak like me. I've tried training it to speak like me," he said. "I've made some progress.  But it's becoming easier and easier to detect what's been written by AI. So that's where the authentic communication comes in."Vaimberg said customization is key, and an area where most originators can improve. He said the majority of AI users don’t take the time for customization because it requires additional effort. That’s a mistake."The less effort someone demonstrates that they're making to communicate, the less credibility they're going to have, and the more noise is going to be around. I'm seeing this noise grow exponentially," Vaimberg said.Vaimberg said he never sacrifices quality for quantity and advises others to do the same if they want to stand out in today's market."I feel that the more we trust AI, the less we're going to be able to differentiate ourselves. And the less we can differentiate ourselves, the less of a competitive advantage we're going to have in an industry that is highly emotional," Vaimberg said.  When it comes to ways AI can make an originator’s life easier behind the scenes, Vaimberg said using summaries from Zoom and other services is helpful."I encourage every loan officer or everybody, whenever you have a chance, if you're in a meeting, use a note taker and/or summary," he said. Newer phones are also offering the ability to record and transcribe calls and that can be beneficial as well.According to his website, Vaimberg has played a role in transforming the careers of over 200,000 originators throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia with his in-person and virtual success programs Purchase Mastery, Elite Originator, and the enhanced LOMastery.com platform.#artificialintelligence #loanofficersuccess #mortgagenews

As retirees decide how to ensure their financial well-being for the long term, reverse mortgages are getting a second look from homeowners in their 60s and 70s.With a reverse mortgage, people can convert their home’s equity into income while continuing to live there. That extra money can be used for renovations, to combat inflation, pay for health care, and maintain a good quality of life, according to Patrick Halonen.Halonen was recently named head of credit policy, underwriting, and quality control at Longbridge Financial in Paramus, New Jersey. Longbridge, founded in 2012, is a national reverse mortgage lender that specializes in working with seniors.Halonen recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about stepping into his new role at the company.Halonen has 25 years of expertise in the financial services industry. He worked at TD Bank, where he helped influence lending operations as the senior vice president and head of underwriting for retail mortgage, home equity, personal loans, and credit lines.Previous roles at Citibank and US Bank equipped Halonen with leadership expertise, as he managed high-performing teams across various mortgage operations, including processing and closing.  Halonen said a recent conversation with his uncle drove home the importance of financial options for seniors as they age.“He had come to visit, and we were talking about retirement, just in general, he’s entered retirement. He’s in the early stages, and I’m still in my working years, and we were talking about how in your working years, you attempt to accumulate wealth and accumulate assets,” Halonen said.“And then as you enter into retirement, it kind of flips on its head. You’re starting to then leverage the assets that you’ve accumulated over your lifetime, your retirement savings, the equity in your property, and other ways that you may have saved money or accumulated wealth to then pay for your retirement.”He went on to explain the difference between a home equity loan and a reverse mortgage.“I think home repairs are a good conversation around home equity versus reverse mortgage,” Halonen said. “If you’re okay with having a monthly payment, it could be a substantial monthly payment that you’re going to have to pay back on a regular basis, then a home equity loan might be a good option for you. But in many circumstances, I’d say the majority of circumstances, being able to tap the equity in your home without having to make a payment against that loan is going to be beneficial.”Halonen said that since starting at Longbridge in March, he’s learned new ways the financial industry can help people through all of the stages of their lives, and he is excited to go to work every day to help them.“I really do appreciate a person’s home being at the center of their life. I’ve had so many experiences where I’ve been able to help a person become a homeowner who didn’t think they could potentially become one. Now, I help a person stay in their home who felt like there was no option, that they were going to have to live a much different lifestyle than what they’ve been accustomed to throughout the majority of their life,” he said.    In May, Longbridge introduced a new proprietary reverse mortgage feature that preserves equity for heirs.Leaders at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association in Washington, DC, estimate that home equity for people 62 and older is about $13.9 trillion.#reversemortgage #lending #mortgagenews

The founder of Clarifire in St. Petersburg, Florida, says automation continues to modernize the mortgage servicing industry.Jane Mason is the founder and CEO of the privately held, women-owned corporation that uses a Software-as-a-Service model to reduce manual processes and increase efficiencies.In January, leaders at Clarifire announced that Towne Mortgage Company, a full-service mortgage lender and servicer based in Troy, Michigan, started using their workflow application.Towne Mortgage Company services loans in 47 states.Mason recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about Clarifire and her vision for the company.Mason was running a large law firm when she came up with the idea of using automation to help clients.“I was thinking, and my epiphany was ‘a process is a process’. It doesn’t matter if it’s a legal process, a litigation process, a servicing process, right? Our larger customers at the law firm were large banks and servicers. What we tried to do with them is provide them automated access to legal services that they needed,” Mason said.Mason began thinking about ways to better serve the financial services industry with workflow automation.“When I got my first opportunity to start my own company and create Clarifire, I created an agnostic, innovative product that could handle any process.”Clarifire went live in 2007 with Bank of America as its first official client. Truist Financial has been a client since 2009, Mason said.“We’re a small company with under 100 employees and our clients are under 10, but some of them are extremely large and provide us with ongoing volumes of business,” she explained.Mason said companies can convert to Clarifire software in a relatively short period of time. If they can provide data from their legacy systems, it usually takes 60 to 90 days.Mason highlighted how technology can help servicers who have borrowers impacted by natural disasters.Old school legacy systems are hard-coded, and users in call centers have to go through multiple steps to get borrowers the information they need in times of crisis, Mason said.With Clarifire, users can ask questions and click on buttons to prompt the next question or response. If the borrower is impacted by the disaster, an automated form for forbearance relief can be issued.“I think that is an example of how the automation works, and it’s smart. If you ask one question or they click one radio button, the technology is smart enough to go down a different path based on that click,” Mason said.When asked what drives her daily, Mason said it is making a difference in the lives of clients and their customers.“I believe in our team, and I believe in building good, long-lasting relationships, and I’m making a difference. It might be small in some people’s eyes, but I’m making a difference. And our customers can depend on us and know that we are here, we have integrity, and we are going to deliver and do what we say we’re going to do,” Mason said.Looking ahead, Mason said they are continuing to invest in the product.“It’s a continual evolution of modernization and implementation of different aspects of the latest technologies,” she said. “We’re trying to lead the industry into the future, and we’re going to continue to stay here because we enjoy what we do and we have passion about the successes that we’re getting.”#automation #mortgageservicing #mortgagenews 

With the rising costs of homeowners insurance making headlines, servicers can step in and help people understand their coverage needs, according to the president of Cornerstone Servicing.Toby Wells recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s editor, Kimberley Haas, to discuss the topic. He said that wildfires in the West, hurricanes in the South, and hailstorms in the Midwest are causing more losses than in the past.But it’s not just a high-risk area issue. Wells said homeowners’ insurance costs are going up throughout the country, with a few notable exceptions where prices have leveled off.He said the best thing that a servicer can do is educate customers so they have an awareness of insurance, the risks that exist, and actions they can take.#homeinsurance #mortgageservicing #mortgagenews

The CEO of BSI Financial Services in Irving, Texas, says the key to success in business is to treat every day as a fresh start.BSI Financial Services is working to lead the evolution of mortgage servicing for originators, investors, and homeowners using a mortgage fintech platform. And CEO Gagan Sharma said there isn’t a dull moment.“Sometimes that brings stress and challenge, but I think I enjoy the challenge, the intellectual challenge, the people challenge. Frankly, challenging myself to see, ‘Okay, what can I learn from yesterday? What did we do? What could we have done better?’ Individually, collectively, as a group, as a firm, as an industry, and apply that,” Sharma said.Sharma described the mentality as one similar to a professional athlete.“I approach business almost with that approach that, ‘Hey, I’m an athlete. Maybe I played well yesterday, maybe I didn’t. But either way, what am I going to do today?’ Even if I won the game yesterday, it doesn’t matter because tomorrow is a new game. That is the approach, that’s what gets me going,” Sharma said.Sharma recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about BSI Financial Services and his vision for the company. He started by talking about how he came to be involved with the company.“BSI was a company and a business plan that I was working on when I was doing my MBA at Wharton. This was my second entrepreneurial venture. I founded my first company in the late 90s. Built it, sold it. I actually founded that company in my first year of business school. I dropped out of school to build and run that business, and then I sold it. Then I went back to business school to finish my MBA,” Sharma said.“In my first company, half my business was working with mortgage companies. So, when I was looking to get back on the entrepreneurial path, mortgage was the industry that I felt was interesting. I’ve always had an interest in finance. BSI, as we started it, was a business plan to acquire and get into the mortgage servicing business. That was in late 2005, so almost 20 years ago.”Today, BSI Financial is one of the fastest-growing mortgage servicers across the industry and currently services nearly $50 billion in mortgages. Sharma has a vision of where he sees the company going.“We spend a lot of time thinking about it. What is our vision? What’s our purpose, almost, right? After a lot of thought, the way we would define it is we’re really passionate about homeownership, but also, our role is in what we call fostering sustainable homeownership. We want homeownership where it is sustainable, whether that’s as a servicer or a lender. We want to make sure that the borrower, the consumer, who is the customer who’s in the home, we can make it into a sustainable home ownership experience for them,” Sharma said.To do that, company leaders ask how they can foster this through their different businesses and customer experiences.“Today, we may be touching a quarter million families. Our goal is over the coming years, we believe we have an opportunity to significantly scale that up. So, we want to double our business and more because we think that with our combination of different businesses, we can provide a great value-added solution for all our customers. Whether they be our borrowers or whether they be a lender or other clients,” Sharma said.Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, Sharma said interest rates will play a big factor in what happens in the housing market.“They went to seven and higher, but seem to be coming down a reasonable bit. I would say that interest rates are probably going to be one of the biggest drivers of what happens to housing,” Sharma said.   #technology #financialservices #mortgagenews  

A father and son team that worked together to build a legacy in financial services say there is something special about running a family business.Robert and Curtis Knuth of National Credit-reporting System and Service 1st have the kind of bond that comes with working together for decades. They laugh together easily and can complete each other’s thoughts.NCS was founded in 1978 by Robert Knuth. It has the distinction of being the first organization to offer IRS tax transcript solutions (TRV® Services) nationwide.NCS distributes income, identity, and employment solutions through its Alliance Partner network, which includes its affiliate, Service 1st.Service 1st is a national credit reporting agency providing lenders and other benefit providers with verification solutions, background screening, and other credit-related services to streamline origination and risk mitigation processes.The Knuths recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about their history together and the future of the two companies.Robert Knuth started his career with Equifax. He worked for them for a number of years in locations throughout the United States and remembers the switch from paper to digital files.“And it was not an easy task,” Robert Knuth said.Today, Robert Knuth is retired, but he’s still involved peripherally in the family businesses.Curtis Knuth is president and CEO of NCS. He is also the CEO of Service 1st and remembers going to trade association meetings with Robert as a teenager, where his father introduced him to other families who worked in finance. That included independent mortgage bankers and credit reporting companies.Curtis Knuth said his interest in being part of the business had a lot to do with the technology that was revolutionizing financial services in the late 1990s and early 2000s. By the time his father resigned from his role as president and CEO at NCS to become chairman of the board of directors in 2017, Curtis had served as executive vice president of NCS since 2010.Robert Knuth, who has Parkinson’s disease, explained that he wanted to make sure the company was left in good hands.“Well, you know, the one thing that I was concerned about throughout all of this was my strong belief in quality,” Robert Knuth said. “We are comfortable that this is going to be very well handled by Curtis and whoever he passes it on to.”Both father and son agree that it is a point of family pride, especially for Robert, that Curtis was able to follow him into this field.“Yes, it’s really cool,” Robert Knuth said. “It’s a great opportunity to have your thoughts continue to somebody else.”      Not that having a family business is simple. There is a bit of a balance when it comes to keeping work and home life separated. Curtis Knuth said his mother, Maryann, has always been good at striking that balance. She was a big part of building NCS.“My mother was very instrumental in NCS as the company was growing, running our books and all sorts of different things over there. I certainly don’t want to leave my mother out,” Curtis Knuth said.Looking forward, Curtis Knuth said NCS and Service 1st are on good paths. NCS is continuing to do more on the verification side. Service 1st has expanded its leadership team with four senior hires specializing in mortgage operations, sales, and technology.#familybusiness #creditreporting #mortgagenews 

The CEO of Land Gorilla says his goal is to empower financial institutions with best-in-class construction lending technology.Sean Faries founded the construction loan management software company after seeing the need for a platform that allowed for faster disbursements and a seamless exchange of information between stakeholders.Land Gorilla is headquartered in San Luis Obispo, California. Clients include construction lenders, commercial banks, community banks, credit unions, independent mortgage bankers, and private money lenders.Rally Credit Union in Texas announced a partnership with the company on May 6.Faries recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to talk about Land Gorilla and his vision for the company.Faries said he started the company in 2010 after losing everything during the financial crisis. His home was foreclosed on, he had a newborn son, and he was having difficulty finding a job.“It was just a really low point in my life. And I had a friend call me up and say, ‘Hey, you know, there’s a bank out in the east and they are looking for people who are up for doing inspection work on some construction projects.’ Throughout high school and into my college years, I had done inspections for banks. I loved doing it,” Faries said.Faries created an LLC online, and in his first year of business, he pulled in $8,000 in inspections.With a $500 credit card from Wells Fargo, Faries incorporated the company, got a phone going, and registered a domain.150 employees later, Land Gorilla is a leading technology provider of construction loan management software.“If you keep working hard at something, good things will happen,” Faries said.Faries says he is still excited to see Land Gorilla grow and explained the onboarding process for new clients.“The lenders contract with Land Gorilla, they subscribe to our software platform. In the typical engagement, they configure their platform and onboard all their construction loans. And they get them all digitized and set up on the Land Gorilla platform. Then they send out invites to borrowers and the general contractors that are associated with those loans,” Faries said.The platform uses machine learning and some artificial intelligence to reduce manual tasks. It can be accessed from a mobile device so parties can keep each other updated.Faries says Land Gorilla goes a long way in keeping projects organized.“The borrower and lender had this construction loan agreement, and they have to make sure all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed,” he said. “It is like doing your taxes by hand versus using something like Turbo Tax, where you’re just entering a couple of pieces of information and everything goes to work behind the scenes, and you’re able to file your taxes the same day. It is a very similar experience to Land Gorilla. We make it as easy as possible for people to get that information and exchange information behind the scenes.”The time it takes to onboard depends on the financial institution. Large financial institutions typically take about 90 days.Land Gorilla was recognized as a 2025 Tech100 winner by HousingWire.#construction #constructionlending #mortgagenews 

The new CEO of Dark Matter Technologies is focused on delivering value for clients and helping lenders thrive.Sean Dugan says that it all starts with the company’s culture. “Our clients will absolutely see an impact on their business on whatever culture that we build at Dark Matter, so that culture will be highly communicative, very transparent, and collaborative,” Dugan said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note.Dugan lives in northern California and has been in the industry for over 20 years. The last 14 have been with the company.“I’ve got a strong understanding of the mortgage tech space, really deep and meaningful relationships with clients as well as our employees, and I have a strong vision of where to take Dark Matter,” Dugan said.Dugan’s vision has three tenets: value, growth, and simplicity.Driving value for clients goes without saying, Dugan said.“If we’re not creating efficiencies in automation and driving the cost to originate down, then we’re not spending our time in the right areas, so that will be, once again, a keen focus for Dark Matter,” he said.Dugan said they are looking to grow the organization. They will be active in the acquisition market as they continue to grow the company’s stable of products and services.Dugan said there will be a keen focus on simplicity in their business model and products. That means simplifying administrative tools as well as making it easier and more cost-effective for vendor partners to integrate their services with the Dark Matter ecosystem.Company leaders at Dark Matter announced their expansion into the servicing market in February.At the time, Dugan said adding a servicing platform fulfills a critical need for many of their clients, enabling them to expand servicing operations and improve their flexibility.“The collaboration between our teams is already driving innovation across the product family and will help our clients operate more efficiently and stay in compliance throughout the entire loan lifecycle. We plan on making sure that this industry-proven product becomes a staple within the servicing space,” he said.During his interview with The Mortgage Note, Dugan said their platform supports all types of loans, including reverse mortgages, from a servicing capacity.The servicing technology industry needs competition, he added.“It’s an area that is underserved. There are only a couple of providers,” Dugan said. “We think this is an area of the market that needs competition, and we’re very excited to throw our hat in the ring.”When it comes to artificial intelligence, Dugan said AI is here to stay, but he doesn’t see it taking over the industry completely.Dugan explained that humans will always be needed to make underwriting decisions, but predictive AI and automation can help.They are focused on leveraging AI for document analysis.“We’ve got a very robust decisioning engine as well as the industry’s best exception-based workflow,” Dugan said.He explained that as long as a loan meets a lender’s criteria, it can go through an exception-based process and move forward without being touched by a human. If it falls outside the criteria, then the loan is pulled and delivered to a person who can analyze the loan information more closely.This provides greater efficiency and allows a client’s employees to focus more time on complex, specialized loans, Dugan said.#artificialintelligence #loanservicing #mortgagenews

The president and owner of New Threshold Mortgage Corporation in Atlanta says she gets personal gratification when she sees clients achieve the “American Dream.”Elizabeth Washburn founded her mortgage broker firm in 2004 with over 10 years of experience as a mortgage consultant. She has helped buyers navigate the homebuying journey through difficult markets and extraordinary conditions. “When people come to me, sometimes they're just like, ‘I don't even know if this is possible.’ I love being able to say, ‘Okay, it is possible, but it's possible in six months, and this is what I need you to do.’ When they follow through on taking those steps, it's just incredible to see how excited they are at the closing. They're realizing all of this is going to change their future completely,” Washburn said.Washburn recently sat down with The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler to share her insights and talk about the advantages of working with a mortgage broker. Like many people who work in the mortgage industry, Washburn discovered that a career in the field was possible by chance.“I like to tell the story that when I first got finished with college back in 1992, I was searching for a job. I went back to Agnes Scott College. It is located in in Decatur, and they had a fifth-year free program so I could go back and just take classes. Because the economy was pretty bad at the time, and a lot of people couldn't find a great job, I decided to do that and got a second major in economics,” she said.When Washburn’s sister decided to buy a home, she went to look at it. The real estate agent suggested that she meet the loan officer and after that meeting, Washburn was hooked.Washburn said that independent lenders and brokers differ greatly from larger corporate lenders and many times proves to be a better option for someone who is buying a home. The first advantage for homebuyers is the fact that they can compare different types of loan products while working with just one person.“By using a mortgage broker, you actually have several different options with what kind of lender you need. A corporation would have just their rate sheets, and they have their products, but I can shop. For example, if you needed an FHA loan, I have three different lenders that offer FHA so I can go to each lender,” Washburn said. “So, you're not having to go and shop it out yourself.”Brokers with experience can help homebuyers piece together all the pieces of the puzzle so it’s not just about getting the best mortgage rates. It’s about finding the right fit for their mortgage needs.“For example, you may think you need an FHA loan, but once I look at it, it may be that the scenario is such that you just need this conventional lender that offers this product,” Washburn said. Washburn suggests that buyers get financing squared away before shopping for a home. A letter of pre-approval shows sellers that if their offer is accepted, the buyer can close the deal.To find the right broker for them, buyers can use online reviews, suggestions from people they know, or their realtor. The most important thing is they find someone who they can trust. “I think when you choose your team for purchasing a property, you need to choose people you can definitely mesh with and know you can trust them. It's important that they're looking out for your interest, because you are paying them,” Washburn said.  Washburn added she can operate anywhere in Georgia or Florida and is not bound by a metro area. #mortgagebroker #homebuying #mortgagenews

The founder and president of Blue Sage Solutions says efficiency is the key to success in today’s mortgage industry.Carmine Cacciavillani has over 40 years of experience in the creation of complex software-based business solutions, with over three decades spent in the mortgage industry as a solutions provider. In 2011, he founded Blue Sage Solutions.Blue Sage Solutions, headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, engineers end-to-end lending technology. They offer a lending and servicing platform, working with a variety of clients, from credit unions to independent mortgage banks and top 20 lenders.In December, company leaders announced that they were the first LOS to fully integrate with Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator. This API-enabled integration streamlines income calculation for borrowers with income from self-employment or business ownership, enabling faster, more accurate mortgage approvals for lenders.Cacciavillani recently sat down with Editor Kimberley Haas to share his experiences and talk about the future of data.A competitive person by nature, Cacciavillani is driven to figure out ways to make Blue Sage Solutions products better. He was trained as an engineer, and learning to solve problems through that mindset has helped him find success throughout his career.Cacciavillani said that although they cannot control the economy or mortgage rates, they can help their clients find wins in today’s market.“I think everybody is looking to do things more efficiently. I think that’s something that’s very critical,” Cacciavillani said.He used the example of a credit union that used to take seven days for a mortgage pre-approval. Now, they can produce them in 30 minutes.“That’s a huge advantage for them. Having a combination of APIs, workflows, and a little bit of artificial intelligence enables them to do that,” Cacciavillani said.Cacciavillani said that from the moment someone submits a loan application, they run 13 different workflows to determine their eligibility. To help with the next stages of the mortgage loan process, Blue Sage Solutions has different configurations for lenders to choose from, depending on their needs.Cacciavillani talked about the amount of data that is used during the mortgage process.In addition to being relied on for pre-approvals, data today is used for fraud, compliance, pricing, and fees. Cacciavillani looks forward to the industry moving to an even more data-driven approach in the years ahead.“For the industry to really change, we’ve got to come to the point where there’s data, and we don’t really care about the documents,” he said.Cacciavillani said data is superior to paper documents in a variety of ways.“People can do funny things with paper. People can’t do funny things with data. It’s a lot harder. Data is encrypted,” he said. “Paper makes it very cumbersome. Why do I want to go look at paper to figure out pay stubs or what the appraisal fee was? Why do I care? If the system says it’s X, that’s what it should be.”Paper documents also include information that should not be viewable, such as social security and bank account numbers.Cacciavillani said servicers are especially burdened by the amount of time it takes to compare information provided through data and paper documents.“We have to get away from documents. It’s silly at this point in time,” Cacciavillani said.#technology #lending #mortgagenews

The Mortgage Note’s Scott Kimbler sat down for a conversation with LaTrease Price-Gistard. She is a licensed broker-owner and managing member at ACI Mortgage, based in Sugar Land, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Price-Gistard said when it comes to her job, she gets excited about the prospect of helping people.“I do get a lot of gratification from helping people,” she said. “For a lot of people, this is their first step towards generating wealth. Some people come from backgrounds that don't necessarily have any wealth at all, and for them to be able to become a homeowner and start that process, it's a very good feeling.”

Welcome to The Mortgage Note’s latest podcast series. We’re sitting down one-on-one with industry leaders to learn more about their careers and to find out their perspectives on lending and housing.Our first guest is Ed Pinto, Co-Director and Senior Fellow at AEI Housing Center in Washington, DC. Scott Kimbler recently spoke with him about what they do and how the federal government could approach the national housing crisis.You can read the article at bit.ly/42LTHXW.

Generative AI is helping lenders drive down origination costs while increasing borrower confidence. New products can coach and assist loan officers while offering tools to educate homebuyers.Sundeep Mathur, vice president of fintech AI and business consulting services at Tavant, spoke with Editor Kimberley Haas about LO.ai, which augments the company’s Touchless Lending product, as well as their mission to create the best borrower experience possible.

As lenders work to stay on top of advances in artificial intelligence, companies are hiring the top minds in mortgage technology.Mortgage technology expert Dan Sogorka recently joined Rocket Pro TPO as its general manager. He has been running mortgage tech companies for the last 25 years. Editor Kimberley Haas sat down with Sogorka to learn more about how generative AI will benefit brokers.

As mortgage lenders work to improve efficiencies using artificial intelligence, the concept that large language models could lead to discrimination against Black borrowers is concerning. But researchers say preventing bias is surprisingly easy.Editor Kimberley Haas spoke with Donald Bowen, an assistant professor of finance at the College of Business at Lehigh University. He talked about a recent audit study they conducted which examined loan approval and interest rate decisions suggested by large language models. It showed that racial differences can be moderated through prompt engineering.

People with limited English proficiency can get access to mortgage documents in their native language with advancements in technology.Talk’uments is a digital language technology provider that empowers borrowers with interactive loan information. Company leaders recently announced an integration with nCino, a provider of cloud banking for the financial services industry.Editor Kimberley Haas sat down with George Baker, CEO and founder of Talk’uments, and Ben Miller, EVP of US Mortgage at nCino, to learn more about the integration.

The $418 million settlement that has rocked the real estate industry since it was announced by the National Association of Realtors continues to be a hot topic, and as the dust begins to settle, industry professionals are creating a strategy for what to do once the changes go into effect.Writer Nicole Murray sat down to talk about the agreement with Jules Zaphire, a real estate professional at The Pantiga Group, who is licensed in New York and Connecticut; Shant Banosian, executive vice president of sales at Guaranteed Rate in Waltham, Massachusetts; Gabriella Lisi, a realtor associate at RE/MAX Revolution in New Jersey; and Rob Jensen, broker/owner of the Rob Jensen Company in Las Vegas.Murray also spoke with Professor of Economics Patrick Gourley from the University of New Haven in West Haven, Connecticut. He started the conversation by talking about the current state of the housing market and whether people should wait for mortgage rates to go down before buying a home.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing every aspect of the mortgage industry and as companies create systems that can help from origination to servicing, leaders speak highly of the possibilities ahead when it comes to accuracy, efficiency, and enhanced customer service. Editor Kimberley Haas spoke to leaders at Rocket Companies, mortgage servicers, and people who provide technology to the industry to learn more about what is happening in the market.  Share what you are seeing for future episodes by emailing [email protected].

As the spring selling season continues, there are growing concerns about the state of the housing market. Mortgage rates remain high, inventory is low, and a new Gallup poll shows 76% of Americans they surveyed think it’s a bad time to buy a home.  Writer Nicole Murray spoke with Patrick Gourley, an associate professor of economics at the University of New Haven. He explained how the government’s response to the Covid pandemic helped create this problem, said that mortgage rates are unlikely to go down anytime soon, and talked about what the National Association of Realtors settlement means for the industry.

Spring is here and the home selling season is getting underway. Writer Nicole Murray spoke with real estate professionals and recent buyers to see what they think about the current market.If you would like to participate in future episodes, please email us at [email protected].

It's time to shake off 2023 and move into 2024 with a new perspective. Editor Kimberley Haas spoke with industry leaders who have tips for finding success in the new year and insights into the latest technology.If you would like to participate in future episodes, please email us at [email protected].

The Mortgage Note’s team has been tracking the housing crunch as low inventory, coupled with high interest rates, creates challenges for homebuyers and mortgage professionals.Editor Kimberley Haas interviewed industry leaders to learn more about what they are seeing and what products are being offered for this podcast.If you would like to participate in future episodes, please email us at [email protected].

Christy Moss, chief customer officer at FormFree, sat down to talk with Editor Kimberley Haas about the limitations of FICO scores and their solutions for lenders.

The executive vice president of Rocket Pro TPO says a lack of housing inventory has been hurting mortgage professionals, but he is confident broker partners and loan officers have the tools to help homebuyers achieve their goals.Mike Fawaz recently sat down with Editor Kimberley Haas to talk about this year’s successes and challenges.

The Mortgage Note’s team has been tracking national trends and the ways companies are working to attract buyers and sellers to the market this spring.Editor Kimberley Haas interviewed industry leaders to learn more about what they are seeing and what products are being offered for this podcast.

The Mortgage Note’s Editor Kimberley Haas has been interviewing some of the leaders in the country over the past year. This podcast highlights the successes and innovations taking place in the mortgage industry.If you would like to participate in future episodes, please email us at [email protected].