A humorous video on mortgage regulations: The Lender Blender

News Release:

Mortgage Cadence Brings a Sense of Humor to Mortgage Lending Best Practices
The Lender Blender Offers Some Comedic Relief in the Midst of Constant Regulatory Crackdowns.

Mortgage Cadence, Enterprise Lending SolutionsDecember 13, 2011 – Mortgage Cadence, LLC, a leading provider of Enterprise Lending Solutions (ELS), Default Servicing Technology and Document Services for the financial services industry, is excited to present a series of short films under the guise of “The Lender Blender” to the public. This series of shorts irreverently illustrates the dangers that come with mismanaged processes in the midst of an industry overhaul.

Contrary to the light-hearted nature of these films, Mortgage Cadence is a solution-oriented system that continuously seeks to help lenders increase their return on investment and bottom line while maintaining compliance. The film portrayals of disarray and lack of compliance serve as a magnifying glass on some of the issues facing lenders today. Mortgage Cadence’s technology platform helps lenders minimize risk through the use of advanced technology. The product suite is proven to increase employee productivity through the elimination of paper and the creation of custom data-driven workflows.

Along with a modern sense of humor, the videos strive to highlight the asset Mortgage Cadence can be for companies struggling with their lending processes. “The need for workflow automation to streamline processes and reduce risk is more important now than ever before,” stated John Levonick, chief legal and compliance officer for Mortgage Cadence. “Outdated processes and lack of compliance is unsuitable for a sustainable business where the risk of buybacks has never been greater. Despite the comedic nature of The Lender Blender, I hope it inspires lenders to reevaluate their lending practices to determine how they can increase efficiency while ensuring compliance.”

By offering seamless automated workflow that is not only efficient and dynamic but also comes with a team of dedicated legal resources and subject matter experts, Mortgage Cadence can take your business from merely surviving to thriving. Staying compliant with the most recent regulations can feel like an added pressure, which is precisely why we are dedicated to focusing on the rules so you can focus on growing your business. You can find the video series located at thelenderblender.com or http://www.youtube.com/thelenderblender.

About Mortgage Cadence, LLC
Mortgage Cadence is the leading provider of Enterprise Lending Solutions (“ELS”), which employ an extensive financial services data model wrapped with a native rules engine to deliver data-driven workflow automation tools to mortgage banks, lenders, service providers and servicers. Mortgage Cadence has developed enterprise solutions that integrate all functions and data elements required to optimize, manage and score lending performance. The mortgage industry is always shifting to meet demands and minimize risks. Mortgage Cadence’s flexible solutions continue to evolve to meet those needs. To learn more, please visit http://www.mortgagecadence.com.

Elsa Pollock
Marketing Coordinator
720.389.4611

Minimize Effort. Maximize Profitability.
Mortgage Cadence, LLC
www.mortgagecadence.com

At Mortgage Cadence we are committed to providing world-class customer service. If you would like to provide feedback on the service you received, I invite you to contact my manager at svolling@mortgagecadence.com

CFPB Regulations – Play by the same rules: Industry Leader Update

UPDATE: Here’s a link to another article on NMLS licensing & the SAFE Act by Richard Booth.

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Regulations

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Regulations

Shouldn’t we all play by the same rules?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says all mortgage originators should play by the same rules…even chartered banks. Why does it matter? What are the two different standards that exist today?

Watch this week’s video and post your opinion.

The Country of Surprise: New questions to ask

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Understanding Unexpected Later Life Shifts

It’s one thing to talk about aging looking forward; quite another to view it from within that mature skin. In How Did I Get to Be 70 When I’m 35 Inside? 70-year-old Linda Douty offers a delightful “new paradigm” roadmap for conscious aging, focusing on the landscape of surprise in seven stages: Surprises of the Self, Body, Relationships, and the Sacred; to Surprising Challenges, Gifts, and Wisdom.

The more than fifty elders she interviewed pulled no punches, yet their honesty conveys humor and acceptance, even joy, as people embrace the freedom to finally express the totality of who they are, without apology or restraint.

Understanding Reverse Mortgage Clients

Since many reverse mortgage professionals may be closer to 35 than to 70, Douty’s book offers a useful peek inside your prospects’ minds.

I especially enjoyed her take on how, as we age, we tend to experience weight gain and memory loss — along with a shrewd way to ameliorate this change: “Our culture seems much more obsessed with what we feed our bodies than what we feed our minds. How many calories? How much fiber? But our minds take ‘bites’ from a huge buffet of offerings — violent movies, TV sitcoms, trashy novels, idle gossip — all junk food for the brain. To retain any measure of hope and optimism, we must become aware of our own complicity in this junk-food diet.”

Then there’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom. One senior gentleman told her with a grin, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

To open a deeper dialogue with your reverse mortgage prospects, consider adapting one or more of Douty’s inquiries. The seniors you meet with will likely be happily surprised that their reverse mortgage professional is taking such a dedicated interest in their lives. Douty’s questions include:

1. What has surprised you most about aging?
2. What have you discovered about yourself that you didn’t know before?
3. How would you complete the sentence, “I’ve always wanted to …”
4. What has been your greatest challenge in growing older?
5. Your greatest joy?
6. How old do you feel inside?

Sooner or later, if we’re fortunate enough, we’ll all become residents in the country of surprise. This is your invitation to visit, and return with wisdom gained.

Making Ends Meet: Lifesavers Part 2

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Making Ends Meet With Reverse Mortgage Help

Reverse Mortgage To Help Pay DebtReverse mortgages offer one solution to many of today’s pressing financial issues, such as dwindling retirement funds, minimal Social Security checks (next year’s increase is just a drop in the proverbial bucket), necessary home repairs/improvements, and much more.

Grateful reverse mortgage qualifiers eagerly express how a reverse mortgage helped them make ends meet. Here’s one woman’s thank-you letter to her reverse mortgage company (Security One Lending):

“I’m writing to let you know how satisfied we are with our reverse mortgage. You know how I hesitated in the beginning. But you never pushed! You and your colleagues were so supportive. You explained over and over again so that I fully understood the process.

“We were in dire financial stress, running low on money at the end of the month, not able to save any, and you showed us a way out. Thank you so much.

“I will say Kathy (Halliday) is an invaluable assist to your company. She was a lifeline when I needed one. Everyone I met or worked with was so considerate and helpful. My! How you must have gotten tired of my phone calls! But, none of you ever left me hanging.

“Yes! We would recommend a reverse mortgage to all our friends, as long as they choose your company to handle it. It has freed up our lives and given us a better quality of life in our retiring years. Thank you for your direction and guidance.”

Reverse Mortgages Help pay Debt

The Redding Record Searchlight reported how two senior men found reverse mortgage to be the answer for their financial needs. Frank Cheatham, an 80-year-old Redding resident who owns two paid-off duplexes, opted for a reverse mortgage to help his son pay down debt. Since his son would inherit the properties someday, the reverse mortgage made use of a future bequest to solve an immediate need. Cheatham also used some of the reverse mortgage loan for home maintenance.

For 68-year-old Burney resident Rod Armstrong, a reverse mortgage became the means to supplement his Social Security and other retirement income. The retired airline pilot says he and his spouse updated their home’s carpeting, and are planning a few trips as well.

Both Cheatham and Armstrong deposited their reverse mortgage loans into accounts they can draw from as the need arises — a smart move.

Celink & Reverse Mortgages – Curing T&I Defaults: A servicers perspective

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Learn what Celink is doing to help borrowers prevent and cure tax and insurance defaults for reverse mortgage borrowers.

A Behind The Scenes Look At Curing Tax & Insurance Defaults
Our exclusive interview with Celink’s John LaRose at last month’s NRMLA meeting uncovers some of the steps being taken by reverse mortgage servicers to cure tax and insurance defaults.

Celink & Reverse Mortgages

AARP Regulations – Have they gone too far?

That may be just what future reverse mortgage borrowers may need to do to satisfy federal regulators before getting the loan. AARP recently called for more ‘special protections’ to help prevent serious harm (full story here). What is puzzling is the mixed messages that often come from AARP regarding reverse mortgages; first endorsing and then later criticizing.

When it comes to fraud is our industry rife with it? AARP’s senior attorney cited high fees that ‘scammers’ can use to suck away people’s home equity. Really? Are we on the same page? HUD restructured the loan origination calculation for borrowers lowering fees dramatically from 2% of the homes appraised value some time ago not to mention the introduction of the HECM Saver last October. When it comes to fraud do we have any real evidence that shows a disproportionate problem with reverse mortgages versus traditional loans?

Certainly high fees were a black eye for reverse mortgages but that issue has long been settled by both HUD and the market with mandated loan origination reductions, lower costs to consumers due to the secondary market and new low cost products like the Saver. Are high fees the risk to borrowers exposing them to losing their home or is it a lack of education or responsibility of the borrower to meet the obligations of insurance and property taxes? I would venture to say it is the later, and steps have been taken to reduce that risk to both borrower and lenders alike.

Beyond mandatory counseling, duplicate warnings, disclosures and all caps ‘buyer beware’ statements in an application what additional protections really can be practically put in place? No one would disagree that consumers deserve sound product education and protections but in the end will they need to chew through barbed wire to get a reverse mortgage? What segment of borrowers could potentially be hurt the worst from regulations that treat the HECM as a toxic loan of last resort and what message does this send to our new segment of higher net worth borrowers who may be looking at a HECM for the first time?