THIS MORNINGS QUICK LOOK
- TOUR DE MTG FINANCE – Disclosing Rates To Clients
- PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT – Flagstar Merges With NYCB
- MARKETING – The Question Of Integrity
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DISCLOSING RATES TO CLIENTS
Mortgage interest rates are likely the most fluctuating item of the entire mortgage process. I cannot think of another piece of the process that is more important and yet the most unpredictable for clients.
Rates can cause fear, anxiety, loss of sleep and making and breaking of deals.
So when do you tell clients about the change in the markets?
All borrowers are not equal so treating every single client in your pipeline the same from a communicating rate changes is not a great choice. If you have a borrower referred to you and they are not shopping, inquiring, questioning or anything else and they have not locked then do not give them a reason to go looking by bombarding them with intel.
If they have not locked and you see a rate change for the better or worse that can either make or break your deal or offer guidance to allow them to commit then you should figure out what that looks like to you as far as how much tolerance you are willing to give before communicating.
If you have a borrower who wants to know and is a big part of their questions on a daily basis and you know they are checking a rates.com type place then you should be communicating more regularly. Some clients want daily updates and if you do not give them then someone else will. Then you have everyone else in-between.
The information I give you is for your reading and understanding pleasure. It is not designed for you to pass it on to your client in full detail, although you are welcome to. You want to infuse the information at a very high level because they just don’t care about the why but you should care about the why. They only care about the what. What is my rate?
You always want to show you are the expert in the field so stating something like “Hi Mr. or Mrs. Client, we had a great Consumer Pride Index come in this morning that shows inflation is going down a bit and mortgage rates like this kind of news. Today I can get you a rate of %^$#^ if you want to take advantage of the market.
Then if they ask questions go as deep as they want but don’t do it just to do it. Give them what they need to know so they can make the decision to stay with you.
It is also very important to give them the news when it is to the downside as well. Remember, you are the expert in the field. They should trust you to know what you are doing. Give them enough information to make an educated decision on what really matters to them. Their wallet.
But not communicating to your clients is a mistake if they have not locked their loan yet. They need to know you have their backs and if they hear it from Fox News but not you then their trust can wain.
Product & Guideline Highlight Knowledge That Gives You An Edge Over Your Competition
FLAGSTAR MERGES WITH NYCB
Many of you may have heard through the grapevine or through a memo we sent out last week that Flagstar Bank has merged with New York Community Bank.
Why? And what does this mean?
I am personally very excited about the merger and it is going to do some great things for us and for you.
First and foremost, we were two very profitable banks that merged for a common goal and it was not a bailout or buyout of any sorts where one was flailing.
The uniqueness is in that we have completely different footprints with completely different business channels. We have almost no overlap in our territories as well as minimal overlap in our product offering.
Flagstar was and is a huge national lender and a regional bank which is extremely rare. NYCB had no residential mortgage lending but is huge in the multi-family world of lending and in other areas.
By bringing these two banks together we take the skill sets and the already developed business models and we formed 2 great banks in to 1 even better bank.
We are now an 88 Billion dollar bank vs a 28 Billion dollar bank which will help us move forward on releasing bigger and better products, it allows us flexibility in servicing to offer better pricing to you on the street and opens up channels we did not have before.
You will see absolutely zero change in our name or how we function through all of 2023. In 2024 they are rolling out a new brand so whether that means a new name or continuing with Flagstar Bank as the name they have not revealed but we do know everything is business as usual with a much bigger hammer to work with.
The Executive Leadership team was pretty much split down the middle and is a complete mix of NYCB and Flagstar Executives.
Bottom line is all employees are very happy with what is happening on the mortgage side and look forward to being your lender of choice.
If you are not using us then you may want to think about it. We are very strong financially, with our products and our experience. We will not let you down!
Jackism of the Day Truths and Thoughts that make you go hmmm
THE QUESTION OF INTEGRITY
Many people think that integrity is part of what we do on a daily basis. But unfortunately that is not the case.
Integrity is actually who you are as a person. It is one of your virtues that some possess and others do not.
You can certainly make good decisions that look like integrity but if integrity is not who you are then it is just a decision to get what you want or to come across as what you want others to see.
Many people wake up each morning and put on a mask of what they want others to see and of how they want to be viewed. But underneath that mask is a battle within between who they are and who they desire others to perceive them to be.
The values that we possess as a person is so much a part of who we are that we actually cannot separate ourselves from our values. For most people this is a positive part of our nature and for others it is a constant struggle of identity, uncertainty and desire to be something we are not.
The battle between what we want to do and what we ought to do are either in line with one another or are at polar opposites of the spectrum.
I see this so much more this past year with riding the gray areas of getting customers loans approved. The number of times I hear “Hey Jack, I have a hypothetical question?” which I always translate in my head as we are about to leave black and white and head in to the gray misty area of should I or should I not territory.
I have never come across a loan scenario that was worth my going against my integrity as well as risking an originators license over.
The truth I want to get across today specifically as it pertains to making decisions on gray areas of lending or not disclosing what you know, is something I learned a very long time ago.
Borrowers underwrite their own loans. You heard me correct, borrowers are the underwriters of their own files. What that means is their decisions made their credit file, their tax return numbers, their reasons why they were late on those couple accounts and everything in between. You made none of those choices for them so they are their own underwriter by their own decisions.
This does not mean they are bad people or made bad decisions as most of the time it is bad things that have happened outside of their control. It just means you should operate within the limits that the guidelines have set before you to allow.
If you know one of your virtues that you value most is your integrity then it makes the decision during these gray area reviews to just do the right thing.
If you always do what is right then you will never be wrong. If you find yourself having no issue doing whatever it takes to get a deal done then that is ok, you be you. That is who you are. If you find yourself saying no when you know something could be done to rig it then cudos to you my friends as I know your values have prevailed.
Fyi, I am the king of staying within guidelines in gray areas so if you have a scenario let me know. I have no issues letting you know what we can and cannot do. You may be surprised by what is actually allowed.
