Last week our industry received what many consider an early Valentines gift. Feel the love yet? HUD announced that they would be delaying implementation of the financial assessment which was slated to be in force March 2nd, 2015. The agency states a new effective date can be expected within 30 to 60 days. After numerous delays of the assessment I’m certain many of you watching are raising an eyebrow. Regardless of the nervous and jerky nature of the assessment we can seize upon five benefits of HUD’s postponement.

1- The opportunity to get more borrowers through the gate. Your prospects who are undecided may wish to act now for a more streamlined and less restrictive loan approval process. Our goal is not to instill fear but rather to give them the choice: act now or wait and go through the assessment. We should focus on borrowers who may require a substantial lifetime expectancy set aside who would see more proceeds prior to the assessment.

2- Time to adjust your marketing plan. We should all be asking ourselves ‘am I attracting the right type of borrower?’ Look at your marketing, lead sources and referral network and determine the typical borrower profile that each provides. If you’re presently marketing to areas with low…