How Can Lenders Create a Winning Culture? >
There’s a saying in college football: “Good records tend to follow good coaches.” Take Nick Saban, for example, who had winning records as head coach of Toledo (9-2), Michigan State (34-24), LSU (48-16) and of course...
Preparing for the Shift to a Purchase Market >
The mortgage industry has been making lemonade out of lemons for quite some time now. The lemons arrived in boat loads with the onset the pandemic last spring — business closures, job losses, and forbearance plans...
Competing for “Raving Fan” Mortgage Borrowers >
Have you ever seen the television show, American Ninja Warrior? It’s one of those thrilling-yet-agonizing competition shows where contestants race the clock while traversing an obstacle course gauntlet of intimidating physical challenges. One wrong step, one...
Is Consistency in Customer Experience Achievable Across an Organization? >
Have you ever wondered why every Target you walk into has a familiar feel to it? Whether you are in Chicago or L.A. or perhaps in one of the 41 Springfields dotted across the U.S., the...
How Important Is an Initial Needs Checklist? >
My wife likes to tell the story of how we first met, which culminates in a teeter-totter moment of decision where she very nearly “swiped left.” To this day, I’m not sure exactly what it was...
What Can Lenders Do to Retain More of Their Servicing Portfolio? >
When a borrower completes the mortgage loan process, there is a strong chance that they will have positive feelings about it. Whether it’s relief that the financial stress is behind them or the excitement of getting...
How Can Originators Navigate Last-Minute Loan Volatility? >
It’s March … again. This week marks one year since I filled out my first-ever 100 percent accurate NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket — I had COVID-19 winning every game. This year I might be returning to...
How Can Originators Delight Their Borrowers When Cycle Times Are Out of Control? >
While the past year has been a gift of high volume for the mortgage industry, it has also been a source of frustration to strained fulfillment teams and to originators trying to communicate with borrowers about...
How Can Originators Ensure a Profitable 2021 Despite a Possible Refinance Cliff? >
After wrapping up a banner year in 2020, the mortgage industry is showing few signs of slowing down. It appears that the downward pressure on rates that created the booming refinance market may be the gift...
Giving Back This Holiday Season >
It’s that time of year when we’d usually be walking around our local malls and humming along to “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Of course, that song typically refers to the holiday season...
What is the Secret to Becoming the Lending Choice of Millennials? >
When was the last time you read an article on Millennials? Roughly a decade ago, we started hearing rumblings about how the mortgage industry had better be prepared for the coming-of-age Millennials. Everywhere we turned, there...
Originator Strategies for Surviving Market Constriction >
There are two types of originators; those in it for the short money and those in it for the long money. In other words, there are fair-weather opportunists and there are career builders. When the rates...
Can Digital Tools Help Lenders Achieve Both Efficiency and Borrower Delight? >
It’s certainly a good time to be in the mortgage business, at least financially speaking. The biggest concern that we keep hearing at our STRATMOR workshops is, “I just don’t know how we’re going to close...
What Does the Shift Toward E-Closings Mean for Borrower Satisfaction? >
Time has taken on a whole new meaning in 2020. While we wade through the likes of a pandemic not seen in 100 years, and experience interest rates lower than they’ve been in 50 years, we’re...
Invest in Referral Partner Relationships in a Refinance-Driven Market >
The wild ride of 2020 continues to bring us new and unexpected turns. Most recently, mortgage rates hit a new all-time low at 3.07 percent, which is allowing lenders to sustain unprecedented...