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Thursday, September 09, 2010
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| Todd Ballenger |
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| Lou Barnes |
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| Bill Dallas |
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| Jeremy Forcier |
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| Jonathan Klein |
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| Brian Kludt |
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| Dylan Kramer |
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| Scott Nicholson |
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| Ron Quintero |
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| Dave Savage |
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| Bliss Sawyer |
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| Brent Sute |
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| Bob Williamson |
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| Roberto Monaco |
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| Dave Hershman |
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| Todd Duncan |
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| Drew Sygit |
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Todd Ballenger
Financial Industry Expert
Todd has 18 years experience in the financial services industry as a licensed securities, insurance, real estate, and mortgage lending professional. Todd founded three companies; Capital Savings Co, Inc., Advantage Capital Mortgage, USA, and PlanMax Financial. These three companies closed over $2 billion dollars in residential and commercial loans before being rolled into a Nasdaq IPO in 1999.
Todd is considered an industry pioneer in the area of capital market and credit market convergence, and has published courses on lending and equity management currently approved for Realtors, Appraisers, Builders and Lenders in over 28 states.
Todd was a two-time Inc. 500 winner, a three time KPMG Fast 50 winner, and the 1998 NC Mortgage Lender of the year. Todd was awarded the 2003 '40 Under 40' award by the Triangle Business Journal in NC as one of the top 40 young leaders.
Todd has a business degree from the University of North Carolina. He is the author of, Borrow Smart Retire Rich.  Lou Barnes
Boulder West Financial Services
After five years as Marketing Manager of a mountaineering clothing and equipment manufacturer and retailer (a great way to enjoy your 20s), Lou Barnes built 45-broker, two-office Spruce Real Estate in Colorado from 1978-83, spending most of his time guiding the firm through extremely high interest rates.
The world of money was more fun for him than real estate, and Barnes sold Spruce and joined investment banking ranks for five years as Managing Partner of RCM Government Securities, a broker-dealer working on the early flow of mortgages to Wall Street and their related derivatives. Two of those years involved work on the heart of the S&L meltdown, one of the "consultants" commuting to Texas, Arkansas and other Southwestern garden spots (fortunately he spoke the language: his family were Okies), asked to figure out how deep the hole was going to be.
He wrote one of the earliest accurate estimates of the ultimate cost in 1986, and was one of the first to address the necessary asset workouts. Some people thrive in a career on airplanes, and Barnes was not one of them. In 1988 the homebody began another career as a mortgage banker in Boulder, just in time to catch the terrible peak of foreclosures afflicting the greater Oil Patch and S&L Belt. The firm, Boulder West, survived and thrives as a small mortgage bank, very old-fashioned, strictly "A" paper, and based on long-term relationships with Realtors and past clients. As a marketing tool and for sanity, Lou has written a weekly column on the financial markets every Friday for 20 years.
 William D. Dallas
Chairman
Dallas Capital Management
In 1981, Bill co-founded First Franklin and served as its Chairman, CEO and Chairman Emeritus until 2003. His leadership built First Franklin into one of the nations' largest residential lenders and turned the value from First Franklin into Dallas Capital.
Dallas Capital is the private investment firm and family office for Dallas family holdings. The company has developed significant expertise in wealth and capital management as well as investing in and operating businesses. Current assets include Fox Sports Grill, Dualstar Entertainment Group (Olsen Twins) along with several banks and mortgage assets.
Bill earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree, Magna cum Laude, from Bowling Green State University in 1977 and his Juris Doctor degree from the University Of Santa Clara School Of Law in 1987. Outside his business interests, he and Scott Hamilton are championing the next generation of entrepreneur at Dallas/Hamilton Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Bowling Green State University.
Bill is married to Bev and they have five children: Adam, Billy, Nick, Jake and Bobbi Jo.  Jeremy Forcier
Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.
Jeremy began his career in the mortgage industry in 2004 at the age of 25. Within a short period of time, he has accomplished goals and achieved success that most dream about. Ranked 29th in the nation by Mortgage Broker Magazine, Jeremy has been featured as a mortgage expert on NBC and CBS along with Bankrate.com.
With true passion for the mortgage industry and over 50 million in loan volume per year, Jeremy’s goal is to assist as many people as possible with mortgage decisions. To keep homeowners informed, Jeremy hosts a variety of seminars on financial management and other areas of concern for homeowners. He loves what he does and strives for perfection, which is why he has been successful in all that he has undertaken.
A San Francisco Bay area native who's always been very involved with his community, Jeremy lives in Petaluma with his wife of five years, Cara and three children: Cody, Skyler and Mia.  Jonathan Klein
Founder
Certified Divorce Planning Professional Institute
Jonathan has been a mortgage industry veteran since 1997. As an originator he successfully originated 40 to 50 million dollars annually. Dissatisfied with the direction of the industry he created and implemented the “Blue Ocean Strategy” of divorce planning for mortgage professionals. Jonathan’s practice is now 100% dedicated to divorce planning;.
In 2007, Jonathan founded The Certified Divorce Planning Professional Institute to assist the family law and therapist community along with their clients, in the process of divorce, create better dissolution of marriage outcomes. The formula to improving the outcome of a divorce lies in the trademarked acronym CRADLE: Credit, Assets, Dependents, Life and Estate.
Passionate about sharing this niche market with other professionals, Jonathan developed a Divorce Planning Certification class featuring detailed explanations of the divorce process and launching a Divorce Planning strategy. These classes are being taught through a partnership with Mortgage Coach using an on-line classroom environment.
Jonathan’s Divorce Planning practice is based in Boynton Beach, Florida.  Brian Kludt
Sr. Mortgage Planner & Branch Manager
Waterstone Mortgage
Brian has been characterized in the mortgage and real estate industry as a “systems and implementation madman.” Having spent the past decade immersed in studying and experimenting with the best-practices and ideas among the great leaders of the industry, Brian has developed his own unique world class mortgage system that emphasizes the relational and experiential components to driving a 100% referral- based mortgage business.
Brian is currently the Sr. Mortgage Planner and Branch Manager of Waterstone Mortgage in Menomonee Falls Wisconsin where he and his team actively manage over $200,000,000 in mortgages.
To showcase his mortgage planning practices and systems, Brian hosts the Loan Originator INsite Visit, a 2-day on-site immersion into the world of the Brian Kludt Mortgage Team. Attendees of Brian’s INsite Visit are provided a complimentary copy of his proprietary Mortgage Management Dashboard ACT! template overlay, which has been cited by many as the most proficient and comprehensive database management system available to today’s mortgage professional.
In addition to managing a world-class mortgage team and practice, Brian is also Founder and President of Kludt & Company, a professional consulting agency specialized is providing consultative services to the real estate and mortgage industries.
An experienced and sought after local and national speaker, writer and trainer, Brian has been profiled in national publications such as Mortgage Planner Magazine, Top Producer Strategies, and The Mortgage Coach conference calling series. Brian is also a contributing editor to madmortgageworld.com.
Brian lives in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburbs with his wife and three children. An avid reader, film buff, runner and musician, Brian is currently writing a children’s book based on his experiences in the north woods of Wisconsin as a boy.  Dylan Kramer
President & CEO
America's Mortgage Choice
Dylan is the CEO of American’s Mortgage Choice (AMC) as well as a thirtenn year veteran of the mortgage industry. Before starting AMC, Dylan was an Agency Director for Starpointe Mortgage and Assistant Vice President with Pacor Mortgage in Chicago for several years. He has consistently generated an average of $50 Million Dollars in production and was named the Starpointe Mortgage “National Originating Champion” for 2005 and 2006.
In addition to consulting with clients about mortgage solutions, Dylan speaks to clients publicly through AMC’s seminar program. Whether first time buyers, investment property owners, home sellers or folks who want to use their mortgage to convert their wealth into capital, Dylan provides the answers clients can put to work for their family finances.
When not working Dylan enjoys golf, fitness and Chicago’s professional sports teams. He resides in Elmhurst, Illinois with his family.  Scott Nicholson
Bank of America
Scott is a mortgage banker whose best attribute is understanding and recognizing his client’s needs to help them achieve success in their goals. His drive, creativity and resources are his hallmarks for success in delivering his clients the mortgage of their financial means.
Scott’s mortgage career began in early 2001 working directly with Tom Bass and SPFC. He then opened his own branch office in 2005. Scott is well known for the friendly rapport he establishes with his clients and business associates.
Aside from mortgages Scott has also started a company called Nicholson Boxes. What stated from a small idea of providing a closing gift to his clients of custom printed moving boxes has blossomed into a marketing and advertising tool for lenders, realtors and title reps. Nicholson Boxes has merged with a national box producing company.
Scott has recently transitioned to Bank of America and looks forward to continuing to provide solutions and service to his “Clients for Life.” 
Ron Quintero
Consultant
Entrepreneur and Coach
Ron Quintero, industry leader and dynamic business coach to America’s top producing loan professionals, shares his diverse corporate experience by coaching mortgage companies of all sizes, locally and nationally through cutting-edge consulting programs to help change their vision of the mortgage industry forever. Ron is the only trainer/consultant in the mortgage industry who has sold real estate, originated loans, owned several real estate franchises, mortgage and property management companies that have sold for profit developed and formed insurance companies and title LLC relationships first hand.  Dave Savage
Founder
MortgageCoach
Dave has twenty years of experience as a mortgage executive and business leader, and he is passionate about leveraging technology to increase the success of mortgage professionals. Under his direction over the past nine years, 22,000 loan officers have used The Mortgage Coach's flagship software to increase their success and help homeowners make more informed decisions.
Dave is a recognized pioneer and leader in the mortgage industry. He is known especially for his contributions toward the growth of professionalism in the lending industry and the improvement in the quality of advice that originators provide homeowners. Dave consults and speaks to thousands of mortgage professionals each year on topics relating to sales, marketing, and leadership.
Before and during the creation of The Mortgage Coach, Dave was one of the nation's top loan officers and was the president of a national mortgage company. At the peak of his origination career, he was one of the nation's top 100 loan officers, and he worked exclusively with hundreds of CPAs and financial planners.  Bliss Sawyer
Mortgage Industry Trainer,
Author & Consultant
Bliss Sawyer is a nationally known author, speaker and trainer for mortgage lenders as well as contributing editor for Mortgage Originator Magazine. She has trained and coached thousands of originators around the country with her innovative mortgage marketing and relationship-based selling techniques.
Known as an expert on mortgage marketing, Bliss is passionate about helping originators succeed. The information in her articles, newsletters, seminars, training programs and marketing products are specifically designed to help each originator reach their greatest potential.
 Brent Sute
Branch Manager
Mortgage Loan Advisor
New South Federal Savings Bank
In 2006, Brent Sute was elected to the national board of directors of Lenders Who Care. He is a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist and has a degree from the University of Alabama in Family Financial Planning and Counseling.
Brent and his team advise their clients on how to best structure their home loans to accomplish ALL of their short and long-term financial goals. Brent specializes in first time and move-up homebuyers, and utilizes Conventional, FHA, VA, AHFA Bond Loans, and other programs to help his clients obtain affordable and sustainable financing.
Brent and his team were #2 in units closed among over 100 loan officers for New South Federal in 2007.  Bob Williamson
CoachBobWilliamson.com
Bob Williamson has been a business coach to the mortgage industry since 1988, and is the author of 5 sales and marketing books for mortgage loan originators. His client list includes some of the best-known names in the industry.
He has created or helped to pioneer such innovations as the Customer Care System (for managing the details of a loan transaction and creating a great customer experience), The Strategy Session (a sales presentation that positions the loan officer as the client’s homebuying coach), and Realtor Partnerships (a sales presentation that positions the loan officer as an equal sales partner with the real estate agent).
 Roberto Monaco, President of InfluenceOlogy
Roberto Monaco arrived in America in 1995 with no money, no connections, no friends, and more importantly, with no English. Armed with a relentless desire to achieve his goals and dreams, Roberto started a quest for role models, resources and strategies that could help him become more successful in life. His search and research lead Roberto to read more then 400 books in the areas of sales, influence, peak performance, psychology, presentation skills and leadership. He has trained with the best success coaches in America, obtained advanced training such as an MBA in Marketing, Master Practitioner of NLP and Hypnosis, and most importantly, during the process he has discovered his life's purpose: to empower people to become the best version of themselves.
Roberto Monaco has been a full-time speaker, coach and trainer since 2002, and has conducted more then 2,500 presentations for corporate America. He has worked with the Anthony Robbins Companies for 5 years and in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 he was the top producer and revenue generator in the country. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 and 2008 Roberto has also coached and trained all the other Peak Performance Strategists at The Anthony Robbins Companies.
Roberto has advised and consulted with Fortune 500 companies, executives, managers and sales professionals in the areas of peak performance, leadership, psychology of achievement, presentation skills and sales. Roberto conducts training sessions for distinguished audiences including Toyota, Ford, Remax, Coldwell Banker, Prudential, Century 21, City Bank, Marriott, American Express Financial, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and Chambers of Commerce all over the United States.
Today, Roberto is the President of InfluenceOlogy, a training, consulting and coaching firm created to help human beings achieve their full potential and live a life of fulfillment, happiness and prosperity. Roberto Monaco is originally from Porto Alegre, Brazil, and he conducts workshops and trainings in three languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish. Roberto lives in San Diego CA.  Dave Hershman, CEO of The Hershman Group
Dave Hershman is a leading industry expert with seven books written in the industry, including two published by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Dave has been the featured speaker at hundreds of industry events across the country in the past twenty years. His career in the mortgage business started as a top producing loan officer who produced over 550 loans his first 18 months on the street and has gone on to lead organizations closing billions of dollars in retail and wholesale production. He has been a columnist for the Mortgage Press, Real Estate Today, Mortgage Originator Magazine and Scottsman Guide and served as a Board of Director for Millennium Bank in Virginia. He has also headed the largest technology sales force in the industry for Ellie Mae. Dave's Book of Home Finance has been the industry's leading real estate finance book for over fifteen years.  Todd Duncan, Founder of The Duncan Group
For over two decades, Todd Duncan has been a friend and mentor to millions
of ambitious professionals worldwide. Since the age of twenty-three he has
lived in the trenches and knows what it takes to succeed amidst the rising
pressures and incessant temptations of the marketplace. It is from this platform
that he teaches and touches the lives of some 300,000 professionals every year.
In 1992, Todd founded The Duncan Group to meet the growing demand for
innovative training and leadership in the mortgage banking industry where he
began his career. In subsequent years, The Duncan Group has expanded its
scope of operations to influence the general market and has earned its
reputation as one of the elite personal development companies in the world.
Todd’s ultimate goal is to help people lead healthy lives of fulfillment and satisfaction.
Todd and his wife, Sheryl, have two sons and live in La Jolla, California.
Visit Todd on the web at www.toddduncan.com.
 Drew Sygit
In addition to real estate lending, consulting and investing, Drew Sygit writes & speaks about the mortgage & real estate industries. He holds mortgage industry designations CMPS, CMC, CRMS, CMLO, CALO, has an MBA and is an approved industry instructor. He’s presented, spoken and/or written for HUD, Financial Planning Association, Financial Planners Association of Michigan, Michigan Association of CPA’s, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Oakland Real Estate Investors Association, North Oakland County Board of Realtors and numerous industry publications.
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Sep
16
Written by:
Bob Williamson
9/16/2009 7:30 AM
What is “whistling past the graveyard”? According to Wiktionary, it’s an idiomatic American expression, meaning: To attempt to stay cheerful in a dire situation; To proceed with a task, ignoring an upcoming hazard, hoping for a good outcome.
All of us who make our living in the mortgage industry want the housing market and the economy to recover. The fact that loan volume has shrunk from $3 trillion in 2005 to a projected $1 trillion this year is reason enough for that desire.
But it’s one thing to hope for the best while keeping our feet grounded in reality, and another thing to believe the worst is over when the facts say something quite different. Case in point:
According to the National Association of Realtors®, contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, which some point to a sure sign the housing market is in recovery.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the housing market momentum has clearly turned for the better. “The recovery is broad-based across many parts of the country. Housing affordability has been at record highs this year with the added stimulus of a first-time buyer tax credit,” he said.
Mr. Yun’s job as the chief economist for the NAR is to present the rosiest possible scenario in order to encourage the public to buy and sell homes. If you look back at his analyses and predictions over the past 4 years, you would have to give him credit for taking his job very seriously.
Unfortunately, he has been consistently wrong, claiming at first that the housing bubble was just a short-term anomaly, and then retreating for the last couple of years to the position that the proverbial “spring” was just around the corner. Now he’s saying the market has recovered, when in actuality, the picture is not nearly that pretty. If you look more closely at the numbers, the Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast and the Midwest regions of the country actually declined in July. The numbers only improved in the South (up 3.1 percent, and in the West (up 12.1 percent). The big jump in pending sales in the West basically carried the country’s numbers. And what’s going on in the West? The last time I saw numbers for California, for example, the vast majority -- more than 80% -- of all residential real estate sales were foreclosure auctions, REO sales, and short sales.
A nationwide survey of 1,500 real-estate agents, conducted in June and sponsored by the trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance found that only 36% of all sales involve "non-distressed" properties.
Of the non-distressed sales, only 31% of those were what the survey described as "unforced or optional." The rest were sales by homeowners in some kind of financial or personal crisis.
Let’s do the math and see what those numbers are telling us. Assume a hypothetical market with 1,000 home sales, for the sake of simplicity. 640 of those sales were “distressed sales”: foreclosures, REOs, and short sales. That leaves 360 homes that were “non-distressed”. But hold on a minute. The survey indicates that of those 360 home sales, 248 were sales by homeowners “in some kind of financial or personal crisis.” So of the 1,000 sales in our hypothetical housing market, 888 of them were made under some kind of duress.
The Wall St. Journal (Improving Home Sales Belie Market Reality, August 21, 2009) quoted John Mauldin of Millennium Wave Advisors, who wrote, in response to this survey: "Think about that for a minute. Two-thirds of home sales are either foreclosures or banks taking a loss on the mortgage. And only a third of the remaining one-third -- roughly 10% of overall sales -- comes from something we could call a ‘normal selling process’."
There is no question that the government’s taxpayer funded first-time buyer credit has stimulated sales to people who are in a position to buy, and who have been motivated to buy now because of the November 30th deadline. The NAR expects a flurry of sales in the next few months, and they’re probably right about that. One real estate agent in California called it a “feeding frenzy at the lower end of the market”.
The same thing happened with the “Cash for Clunkers” program. When you create a financial incentive to buy now, and an artificial deadline, anybody who eventually would have bought will buy before the deadline. The car dealers will have a good third quarter thanks to “Cash for Clunkers”. But they now realize that their next two quarters are likely to be disasters of historical proportions.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a couple of weeks ago that the number of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments hit a new high during the second quarter, with more than one in eight homeowners (13.2%) either delinquent or in the foreclosure process. And Jay Brinkmann, chief economist at the MBA, said foreclosures weren't expected to peak until later in 2010.
So housing inventories are likely to continue to be fattened by foreclosure auctions and REO properties being dumped on the market, and continuing to compete with normal sellers trying to market their homes, and putting further downward pressure on home prices.
In July of 2008, sales of existing homes hit a five-month high, leading the NAR to openly hope a sustained upturn was coming.
They were wrong. Today, home sales are pretty much where they were last year. Given the level of consumer confidence (low) and the rise in unemployment and foreclosures, they will likely still be at this point this time next year.
What Should Your Loan Origination Strategy Be for the Next 12 Months?
In most markets across the country, expect the action to continue to be in distressed properties. Expect the buyers of those properties to be investors and first-time buyers who recognize that this is a unique opportunity to buy homes today at bargain prices – homes that will return to more normal values when the housing market eventually regains its equilibrium – thus creating “instant” equity once that happens.
If you’re in a market that has not been as heavily impacted by foreclosures and the like, you may see less investor activity, and a higher proportion of first-time buyers. You can also look for move-up buyers who see an opportunity to sell their home, and make a very good deal, relatively speaking, on a property in a higher price range. These move-up buyers will understand that the sale of their current home and the purchase of their subsequent home should be viewed as a unified strategy. In other words, they will understand that they can’t expect, in this market, to get top dollar on the home they’re selling, but that they can more than make up for what they may be losing on that sale when they buy their next home – because, as a buyer in a market segment with lots of inventory and not many buyers, they will be in a very strong negotiating position, with lots to choose from and little competition from other buyers.
Assuming you don’t already know, how do you find out which description best fits your market dynamics?
· Interview real estate agents. Do you need an excuse to talk to more agents? Are you looking for a way to get into substantive conversations that don’t begin and end with, “Please, sir, do you have a deal for me?” Then talk to agents every week, and ask them about their listings, about any recent sales. Find out whether they were “normal” transactions (a totally willing but not desperate seller and a buyer willing to pay something close to asking price), or whether they were distressed in some way. Ask them how many REO properties they would guess are on the market in your area, and whether those REOs are even publicly listed in the MLS. The more agents you talk to, the better feel you’ll get for where your market is.
· Go to open houses and broker opens. Get familiar with the inventory in your market, and while you’re at it, interview the agents you meet (see the previous bullet-point).
· Find a knowledgeable and experienced agent in your area and ask him or her to share with you the monthly MLS statistics on total listings, and the total number of sales in the last month, as well as the average or median price the homes sold for. Start keeping track of this data. It’s like an EKG of the health of your local market. Divide the total number of units sold last month by the current number of listings for sale. As a rule of thumb, if that ratio is higher than 30%, your market is probably relatively healthy – it suggests that most of the people who want to sell their homes are able to do so in about 90 days. If the percentage of available listings sold each month is 30% or less, that indicates a strong buyer’s market, and the lower the percentage, the stronger the buyer’s negotiating advantage and the greater the downward pressure on prices and values.
· It also wouldn’t hurt to get your real estate license and join your local Board of Realtors so you can have direct access to the MLS and its reports on your real estate market.
If you’re familiar with my work, you know I’ve been on a one-man mission for years to help loan originators become more knowledgeable about their local real estate markets, and to position themselves as homebuyer coaches who teach their buyer clients how to benefit from the unique dynamics of this housing market.
If you can reposition yourself in that way, you will have an insurmountable advantage over your competition, because you will be able to prove to your prospects that you save your clients far more money on the purchase (and the financing) of a home than any other lender. You will easily double your current rate of lead conversion (which means you’ll close more loans even if you don’t generate more leads).
Your buyers will be more confident and decisive, which means that when you refer them to one of your Realtor partners, they will have more realistic expectations about what they want and will be more self-assured about making offers – resulting in a quicker transaction for the Realtor than if the buyers had simply gotten prequalified or preapproved with another lender. The shorter selling cycle for your agents means they will be able to work with more buyers and close more transactions.
Copyright ©2009 Bob Williamson
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