July 1, 2024 • 50 mins
How can you ensure your mortgage pipeline remains full in today's unpredictable market? Join us for an insightful discussion with mortgage experts Heather Bauman, Tay Oliver, and Dustin Owens as they share their innovative strategies for educating potential borrowers. From first-time homebuyer programs to leveraging community events, our panelists offer a wealth of knowledge on reaching and informing a broader audience, ensuring that both lenders and consumers are well-prepared for the home buying journey.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Mortgage Connects by MGIC, bringing you
the latest insights from topmortgage professionals around
the industry.
I'm your host, stephanieBudnick, and today we have a
recording of a panel discussionthat we previously did, called
how to Educate your Way to aFull Pipeline.
We thought that we would sharethis with you, as it was a great
discussion with seasonedexperts about an ever-changing
(00:26):
mortgage landscape.
I'm so excited to share thisdiscussion with you today.
Thank you so much.
I am so excited to be here.
This is a really exciting paneldiscussion that we have for you
here today.
In this ever-evolvinglandscaping of our mortgage
lending industry, education hasbecome a cornerstone for our
(00:48):
success.
It's something that we'repassionate about here at FGIC,
as well as all of the paneliststhat we have with us here today.
Today we've gathered expertsthroughout the industry Heather
Bauman, tate Oliver and DustinOwens to delve into the
strategies and approaches ofeducating potential borrowers in
today's unpredictable market.
So with that, I would like tobriefly just introduce each of
(01:11):
our panelists, and then I willhave them say just a couple of
words about themselves and we'lldive right in.
So, heather, she manages theFinally Home program at the
Idaho Housing and FinanceAssociation.
Directing the home buyingeducation efforts.
She has an extensive expertisein real estate associations and
holds a degree from theUniversity of Montana and Boise
(01:32):
State University.
Tay is the Director ofCommunity Advancement at Thrive
Mortgage, focusing on financialliteracy in underserved
communities.
With over 20 years ofexperience in the mortgage
industry.
Tay is a member of various realestate organizations and hails
from Lubbock, texas, and Dustin,is a co-operator of a $1
(01:55):
billion retail productionoperation and the creator and
host of the Loan Officer podcast.
If you haven't tuned in yet, Istrongly suggest that you do.
I love it.
I listen to it frequently, withover a million downloads.
He is a certified mortgagebanker and a triathlon
enthusiast, graduating from theMBA's Future Leader Program.
So we both got that future MBAprograms on us here.
(02:17):
Well, without further ado, letus dive into our discussion
today on how to educate our wayto a full pipeline.
Our market is veryunpredictable today and, with
the perspective on educatingpotential borrowers, how do you
think that we do that throughouteducation and utilizing the
tools that we have?
And, heather, with the thingsthat you just shared, I'd love
(02:38):
if you could share yourexpertise in this area.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So I would say that, to begin with, many of the first
time homebuyers that we'reseeing going through our online
homebuyer education program andthrough our housing counseling
programs, there's just a lot ofthere's a lack of resources out
there or a lack of education.
I would say A lot of first-timehomebuyers are coming through
(03:04):
seeing that they are unawarethat there's down payment
assistance programs availableand that they're unaware of what
the different loan typeprograms are and there's just
kind of a breakdown in gettingthat education out there to the
first-time homebuyers about whatit means to purchase their
(03:24):
first home and what they need todo to get prepared.
So we do a lot of surveys fromour first-time homebuyers and
housing counseling clients andmany of them I mean.
There's such a misconceptionwith regards to how much down is
required to get into theirfirst home.
You know we've got people whoare still saying it takes 10, 20
(03:48):
percent down to get into a homeand they're just they're
baffled when we tell them no,you can get into to a home for
three and a half percent down or, and potentially even less,
with down payment closing costsprograms that are available.
Also, there's a misconceptionabout student loan debt.
People think that if they havestudent loan debt they can't
(04:11):
purchase or they have to waituntil they get it down to a
lower amount before they canpurchase.
So just educating early andgetting the information out
there that home buying ispossible even on a smaller
budget.
Affordability is always anissue, but there's ways to
(04:35):
manage that and there's ways toplan for it.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I think that we hear a lot of those same
misconceptions through who wetalk to, from the 20% down to
what programs are availablethrough and how we do.
That looks a lot different.
Tay, I know that you are prettypassionate about certain things
and ways to educate individuals.
Can you share some of thosewith us?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It really takes just being proactive and getting that
education out in the public.
I mean, dustin has he'llprobably talk about it here his
podcast.
You know that's just one outletto be able to educate borrowers
, but it doesn't have to be onsuch a grand scale when you
think about it.
If you're in a barbershop or ifyou're at church or if you're
(05:19):
in a Sunday school class, thatgives you that opportunity, you
have that audience.
School class that gives youthat opportunity, you have that
audience.
You have to start finding waysto talk about things that are
important, because what'shappening everywhere across the
country?
You're starting to see a lotmore apartment buildings being
built than houses and what we'retrying.
If we have more education, alot of these folks will start
(05:40):
seeing I spent just as muchmoney on a deposit for an
apartment versus what it wouldcost me to buy my first home and
just rinse and repeating havingthose opportunities whether
it's a seminar, joiningorganizations like Heather's in
Idaho and having that Saturdaymorning class or whatever that
(06:00):
looks like or if you want to setup your own class.
Back in the day it used to bewhere you had to sit down and do
an eight-hour HUD certifiedclass on a Saturday morning.
Well, now you could doeverything through Zoom.
You have that opportunity tocaptivate an audience at any
given time if you have the skillset.
It's just being proactivelydoing it and trying to identify
(06:21):
those customers early on intheir process, before they go
sign another lease.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
You know you spoke to about Dustin speaking to the
things he mentioned on hispodcast and I think that's a
good opportunity.
We were just chatting, beforethis started, about Instagram
and finding that, dustin, canyou elaborate a little bit on
how social media can help createsome of that digestible content
from an education standpoint?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Yes, and I think what's key to know when going
into this is that A it's calledthe social network.
It's a place for you to go,network and doing things that
I'm trying to do with a nationalbrand is honestly not what I
coach and teach.
I think we can do the most goodfor the 1,000 to 3,000 people
who are in our network, to wherewe can be the mayor of our
(07:07):
community, we can be the subjectmatter expert, and we don't
have to go wide, we just have togo deep.
We have to go deep with theright people.
I mean, there's 70 to 100,000of us mortgage loan originators
in the country.
What if we each got really deepwith our 1,200 to 3,600 people?
To me, these are the people thatI'd invite to, like a Mac Daddy
(07:29):
wedding I'm talking open bar DJlive band.
Or the people that I sendholiday cards to Actually, I
don't send them my wife sendsthem but nonetheless we send
holiday cards to.
I need to be creating contentfor them that is small,
bite-sized and digestiblecontent for them that is small,
bite-sized and digestible, and Ineed to be posting it where
(07:50):
those people go to consumecontent, which today, that is
Facebook, that is Instagram,that is, linkedin, like those
three.
And then if I were toincorporate maybe some
traditional email marketingwhere there's a video of me
talking about the market ortalking about here's five myths
that most first-time homebuyersget wrong, and then I'm able to
(08:11):
send that to a database of 400to 600 people, I think this is
where we, as mortgageprofessionals, can do the most
good.
You got to think.
Most people, what we do for aliving, they didn't teach in
high school.
They don't have a course incollege.
It wasn't talked about at theirdinner table.
We owe it to them to createcontent that is easily
(08:32):
digestible, that speaks to themin fourth grade language, that
walks them through the unscarypart of buying a house, or it
shows them just how easy it is.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
You touched on a bunch of different things and my
mind started to race with youranswers and just different
directions in which to talkabout, but knowing who your
audience is being where they'reat.
You talked about being onsocial media, but being on
Facebook or Instagram orLinkedIn and all of those other
places, and I think it variesdepending on who you're trying
to attract.
But go deep with it, right, asyou said.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Yeah, I don't need 10,000 people following me, I
need 1200.
I need 1600, but I need them toknow that I'm a human.
I need them to know that I careand I need to know that I am a
source of information and I needto show them, not tell them.
So if I'm not posting, if I'mnot creating video content, if
I'm not putting myself out there, then I'm telling them I'm
(09:29):
great at what I do, but I'm notshowing them.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I think we started to allude to a couple of the
things here, but as we start tolook at even the title of this
panel discussion right, buildingyour way to a strong pipeline.
How do we do that?
By being an educator, and, Tay,I'll lean on you first.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I think it starts with, especially as originators.
Right now, the one thing thatwe all have in common is we talk
to more customers that probablydo not qualify today than do,
and what is the plan for thosefolks who do not currently
qualify?
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Do you?
Speaker 3 (10:05):
have a plan, and I've talked about this for so many
years now, because most of usdon't.
You know, most of us have thecredit simulator.
I mean, most companies outthere have adopted this software
.
Now you run a credit simulator,you tell the customer if you do
X, y and Z, I'll give you acall in six months.
That's the typical answer youget from most originators.
(10:27):
But what is that plan?
Who's going to hold thatcustomer accountable?
How are you going to ensurethat that customer does take
that plan and run with it andmake sure that they answer their
questions?
Well, a lot of the times wedon't do anything, and this is
across across the board.
And what happens is in sixmonths we see that this customer
may or may not have done theplan, but you see that they've
(10:50):
celebrated closing on a homewith someone else.
Or how did they get into thathouse?
And they didn't call me?
Well, because we didn't have aplan helping them get to where
they want to be.
So I say always you build apipeline based upon all the
customers that you work withright now, whether they do
qualify today or not, and thosethat do not.
(11:11):
You put a plan in place and youstick to that plan.
Here at Thrive and at Lower wehave a program called Thrive for
Home where we have internalstaff that actually hold the
customer accountable, put themon a plan and help them with
getting to that point of beingable to qualify.
Not all companies have that.
So I brag about the companythat I work for, because we have
(11:34):
taken the initiative of neverleaving a customer behind,
especially if that customerwants to buy a home.
So holding them accountable,giving them a plan, giving them
a platform to ask questions andbeing someone there to answer a
home.
So holding them accountable,giving them a plan, giving them
a platform to ask questions andbeing someone there to answer
the questions and it not be theLO, because we know how busy
loan officers and sales folksare.
It's hard for them to get backto that.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So that's just on top of mind all the time for them.
They're thinking about the nextthing.
Absolutely for them.
They're thinking about the nextthing.
Absolutely, Justin, from yourperspective, from an LO, how do
you add value through educationwith you know, maybe?
Speaker 4 (12:13):
webinars.
I think that we mentioned thattoday already.
Yeah, it's twofold.
I have a strategy aroundwebinars, but that probably
requires a little bit ofsophistication because you have
to drive people into yourwebinar.
The first place I'm gonna go isI'm gonna teach the people that
home buyers reach out to first.
I'm gonna teach them how tofish.
I'm gonna empower them with theknowledge and the tools and the
(12:34):
rules of thumb or the articlesor the training videos that they
need to educate the consumer,and that would be starting with
those that sell homes for aliving.
Right, unfortunately for us inthe lending world, right, they
dream about not having amortgage and it's the last thing
they want to do.
Everybody wants a trainer to gowork out with.
(12:55):
Nobody wants to talk to thedietitian and well, we're the
dietitian.
So I first start with focusingmy training efforts on the real
estate community and making sureI'm empowering them, whether
I'm doing that through a webinar, that through a in-person lunch
and learn, or even one-one withthe talking points, and
sometimes even teaching them hownot to speak in industry jargon
but to speak in a language thatwould make sense to a fourth
(13:17):
grader.
Now, when I'm done doing thatand I'm trying to play in
another silo.
I love running Facebook ads thatwould promote a free home
buying webinar.
I don't call it a first timehome buyer webinar.
It's a home buying webinar,because I will't call it a first
time home buyer webinar.
It's a home buying webinarbecause I will teach you how to
buy your first house, your thirdhouse, your lake house, your
(13:39):
investment property.
But what I want to do is I wantto get people on there and I
want them to feel like it is aplace of comfort.
I want them to know that we'rehere to learn.
We're here to ask questions,and I just covered the very high
level aspects of what it takesto buy a house.
I want it to sound a lot easierthan maybe it is.
I want it to sound as not scaryas it really is.
(14:03):
It's not scary, right, buying ahouse, think.
And I want them to think yes, Ican.
And if they can think yes, Ican, then I want to invite them
to a free 20-minute one-on-onewith myself or one of my
advisors, so that way we can getinto the specifics of their
scenario and help them find away to yes.
(14:23):
But the first thing you'd haveto do with that particular
tactic is you have to fill theroom, so you have to have some
kind of a resource or aknowledge on well, how do I fill
the room, even if the room is awebinar, like we're on right
now?
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Right, and maybe it's starting with, as you said, the
real estate agent, where you'rediving in there and you're
partnering with somebody elseright, so that you're getting
your contacts and their contactsat the same time, and it's
twofold.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Correct.
Yeah, 100%, that would be ifyou didn't want to lean into the
more advanced.
Wait a minute.
How do I create an ad?
How do I run an ad?
Oh my gosh, I need a Facebookbusiness page.
Does my company allow this?
Should I call the compliancepolice and ask for permission,
or do I get forgiveness?
Yes, to your point, stephanie.
Maybe you say wait a minute,what's that one team or that one
brokerage?
(15:09):
And maybe they have a databaseof 2,000 or 3,000 potential
homebuyers and 2,000 or 3,000circle of influence and maybe we
just invite them and then weeach invite our own circle and
we just try to get 8 or 12people on a call.
By the way, 8 or 12 is betterthan 2 or 3, but 2 or 3 is
better than 0.
(15:30):
So I'm a huge fan of aone-to-many approach and I
almost feel like it's ourobligation.
It is our obligation to educate, it is our obligation to teach,
it's our obligation todemystify and if we do that,
then I promise you, people willraise their hand and they'll
start asking you questions.
The more questions they ask,that's the more opportunities we
(15:50):
have to invite them to getone-on-one, to then tailor make
solutions for their particularfinancial needs, wants and goals
.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
And you said something about nobody ever
wants a mortgage and I was like,well, no, everyone wants the
American dream of owning a home,but yeah, I definitely didn't
want the mortgage Correct.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Yeah, we dream about being debt-free.
We dream about never having amortgage.
We celebrate the day we makethat last payment, so I think if
we can recognize that, like Iteach my students that coach
with me over at T-LOP online, wedon't do pre-quals, we don't do
pre-approvals, we do homebuyerconsultations.
And if we're not doing ahomebuyer consultation, then
(16:26):
we're doing an annual mortgagereview, and annual mortgage
review is essentially a pre-qualfor a refi.
A home buying consultation iswhat we do.
We help people buy houses, butwe show them how to leverage
debt in order to purchase realestate, ie obtain a home loan.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Now Heather through the lens of where you are and
from HUD agency standpoint.
How do you see this occurringthroughout your organizations
standpoint?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
how do you see this occurring throughout your
organizations?
Yeah, so I come at it from alittle bit of a different lens
than Dustin, On the associationside and also from the HUD
approved housing counseling side.
I would recommend loan officersthat maybe don't have the
resources, like Dustin has, toprovide these types of resources
, because everybody is so busyand there's so much going on in
(17:17):
the industry that there areindependent nonprofits and HUD
certified housing counselingagencies and great homebuyer
education programs that arealready available in the
communities that are certifiedby HUD to help with these
resources.
And what we've seen is we'vereally seen how that realtors
(17:42):
and lenders that are referringindividuals to this impartial
third party that is juststrictly there to provide
education and counselingservices.
It really can create a goodrapport between the lender and
the consumer that's trying toget into a home.
(18:04):
They appreciate being given theopportunity to learn what's out
there and get better with theirfinances and get the tools and
resources that they need toimprove their credit standing
and maybe save up a little bitmore for their down payment and
(18:25):
get mortgage ready.
But then ultimately they alwaysgo back to that lender and that
realtor that they've beenworking with because it builds
rapport, it creates trust and itreally opens up the doors for a
lifetime client, ultimatelybecause you get that person into
their first home and a coupleyears later they're going to
call you back if they have agood experience and they're
(18:47):
going to want to move up and soit really can create a good
working environment between thetwo.
And I would just say overall,there's a lot of resources
available out there, Even in thelending and the real estate
industry.
On the real estate side, I wouldsay lenders, reach out to your
(19:10):
realtors that you work with on aregular basis.
Encourage them the first timethat they talk to a first time
home to get their financialpicture and find out truly what
they can afford.
But we all know that that's notthe way it works.
(19:45):
Consumers that are out thereshopping for a home, they start
on the national websiteplatforms looking at what's
available.
They end up going to openhouses, they end up talking to
realtors to begin with and thenthey kind of bypass that whole.
Let me get qualified orpre-qualified and understand how
(20:05):
much I really can afford.
And we like to direct peoplethe opposite way Find out what
your budget is, what you reallycan afford, and then everything
else will fall into place.
So I would say, opening upthose lines of communication
with your community and yourindustry professionals that you
(20:26):
work with on a daily basis basisand definitely partner with
your local housing counselingagencies, your state housing
finance agencies that areoffering housing counseling
services and your educationproviders.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Thank you for that.
As we think about you know, thepeople that are mortgage ready,
that aren't yet ready, we'retrying to talk about educating,
and I think educating through avariety of lenses is definitely
a theme that we've talked about.
The more that they know aheadof time, they're able to set
themselves up for success a loteasier than they're coming in
and they're going to that creditperson, Tay, that you talked
(21:03):
about and running through aprogram in that capacity.
But, Tay, I want to kind ofturn to you and say how do you
customize that based on who'sready maybe, who's not ready,
and is it maybe?
Is there things that are moreproduct specific?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
I think what happens is, as you're interviewing the
customer themselves, you startfinding out where they are in
the process, whether they areready to go as far as,
financially, they have all theirducks in a a row, or whether
they really need some help.
They maybe need some truecredit counseling or credit
restoration, or maybe they justneed some financial literacy and
(21:40):
learning how to build credit.
So once you have that interviewwith the customer is when you
really can find out how thatindividual goes.
So having the seminar, havingthe platform to being able to do
these things online, are veryimportant because you have to
introduce yourself to the market, but where the game changer is
(22:01):
having that one on oneconversation with each
individual.
That's how you know for surewhere this person stands.
Now, dustin, you had saidsomething earlier and I did a
webinar with MGIC about thislast year.
It's the fear factor, right.
We have to get these folks frombeing so scared to push the
(22:23):
button and submit theapplication, and a lot of that
is how do we market to them?
You know they have to Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Uh-oh.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Did.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
I You're freezing on us a little bit.
Let me turn off his video.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Sorry about that.
Let me turn off my video, okay.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Hear me.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Yep, let's go back to where you were talking about,
what dustin had said, because Ithink that that's about the last
line I heard, um oh, sorryabout that.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
So it's the fear factor and really making sure
that you ease the comfort ofsomeone to want to hit that
submit button.
And then, a lot of the times,it's how do you touch that
person?
A lot of the people that wetalk to on a regular basis they
applied because they either sawthe people that we talk to on a
regular basis.
They applied because theyeither saw an advertisement that
we did on Instagram or they sawa video of one of their friends
(23:20):
doing something with us in themarket and they felt comfortable
enough to make your phone ring.
Well, you still have to havethat one-on-one interaction Once
you have them on the call.
We can't just be so busy everyday not to take that time and
treat them like an individual,treat them like a family member
(23:42):
and not just hurry up and try tofill out a 1003 anymore.
You've got to get down,understand who they are as a
person.
Because good loan officers theyget referral business from
every single client they workwith, because they've treated
them so well.
I'll say that again A good loanofficer will get referral
business from every client theywork with when they treat the
(24:04):
people right and you sit downwith them.
It's a true canceling session.
It's a consultation.
You get to know who they are,they feel comfortable, they hit
the submit button and then gameon and being able to start the
process and getting them ontheir way to home ownership,
regardless of where they startthat day.
It could easily be that 400 FICOthat needs a lot of help.
(24:26):
But then you have some peoplethat have excellent credit but
no money in the bank.
Financial literacy comes in alot, lots of forms.
I mean Heather just said itearlier Some of these folks need
down payment assistance, someof them need credit counseling,
some of them need both, but it'sour job to decipher which ones.
You know where to start puttinga plan in place for those folks
(24:48):
.
Are they something they canactually achieve and see and
grab and check off their listand then eventually they become
ready to buy a home?
And then the fun part iswatching them get keys, a home
and then the fun part iswatching them get keys Very much
so.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
I know that, Dustin, when we spoke earlier, you had
talked also about tailoring yourapproach to match each
individual.
Did you want to elaborate alittle bit more on what Tate was
saying?
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Yeah, I think.
To me it's using our platform.
Whatever it may be right, it'swhether I'm at a community
center and I'm teaching a class,whether I'm at a local business
with 10 plus employees and Ibrought pizza and I'm sitting
down with them and I'm giving abrief home buying seminar, or
I'm on a platform like this with200 plus people tuning in.
(25:37):
I think we have to firsteducate them that their A is no
such thing as aone-size-fits-all mortgage, that
mortgages are literally and Isaid it earlier they're
financial instruments used topurchase real estate.
It's our way of leveraging debtto purchase real estate, and we
can show them all thestatistics that show us that
homeowners are 40 times morewealthy than renters 40 times
(26:03):
more wealthy than renters.
And it's letting them know,though, that their financial
needs, wants and goals have tobe factored into the loan that
we're going to use to help thempurchase this home, and we have
to use data and statistics and,by the way, storytelling to show
them that the decision they'remaking today to purchase this
home is not a 30-year decision.
It's probably a seven tonine-year decision.
We have to then show them thatthe decision to pick this
(26:25):
particular loan program,especially in today's market is
more than likely a two tothree-year decision.
It's not a 30-year decision.
And then we have to be there toanswer their questions and, as
Tay said, this has worked for methroughout my career and I have
been fortunate that I, back inthe day, helped fund well over
2,000 loans.
I first stopped and put myselfin their shoes and I'm like,
(26:46):
well, if I was them, everythingfrom their career like I'm
projecting forward.
My buddy Doug works for UnitedAuto Workers.
Doug has made great money sincehe was 18.
But at 40, doug's not going tomake any more money than he
makes today.
So I have to factor that intothe advice that I give to Doug.
(27:08):
Versus my buddy Rob, who juststarted his own business at 38,
and now he's 40.
Rob's income may triple overthe next three years if his pro
forma that he drafted comes tofruition.
So my advice to Rob isdifferent because we can take
some bigger risk based on thepotential from his income to go
from 100 grand to 300 grand, andI don't think consumers know
that.
So I think it's our duty to usestorytelling.
(27:29):
Talk about someone like themthat you once helped out, and if
you don't have a me story, tella?
We story.
We could be your branch, wecould be your company Heck, we
could be the mortgage industry.
So you listen to my podcast.
You hear me tell a story, youswipe and adapt it, use it as
your own.
Just say we instead of me, butstorytelling in order to give
(27:51):
people the comfort that they arenormal, that they are ordinary
and that you are really good athelping normal, ordinary people.
And, by the way, normal means640 credit.
Normal might mean 800 creditscore but no money in the bank
Like that is normal.
Normal is divorced.
Normal is chapter seven fiveyears ago or four years ago, and
I think people have to hearthat that's normal.
(28:14):
You know what abnormal lookslike 800 credit score, 30 DTI,
80 LTV like that's abnormal.
We call those people outliersand Malcolm Gladwell writes
books about them, you know.
But I'm in the business ofhelping normal and I think the
last thing that I would try tobook in all of this on is us
(28:34):
understanding.
As mortgage professionals.
We are the financial advisorsfor the bulk of our clients and
that's a little bit slippery mestating because we're not
financial advisors, right, wedon't have the licensing, we
don't have the credentials, wecan't market ourselves that way.
But if you think about what ittakes to get someone at Merrill
(28:57):
Lynch or Morgan Stanley orRaymond James to sit down and
talk to one of our borrowers,they're looking for $250,000 of
investable assets.
That's non-home equity, that'snon-401k Y'all.
When was the last time you tooka loan application for someone
who had $250,000 of investableassets?
It happens maybe once out ofevery 40 or 50 loans that you
(29:22):
originate.
Therefore, we have our civicduty to change the future of our
country through our educationefforts.
If we just remind ourselves, ohmy gosh, what a burden or oh my
gosh, what an opportunity weare, the first and probably
closest thing to a financialliteracy coach these consumers,
(29:44):
these fellow Americans, willever encounter, I better do a
bang-up job for them.
And, better yet, I better putmyself in situations where I can
talk to the most of them, sothat I can do a bang-up job for
them.
Because it just dawned on melike, oh my gosh, not many
people have a financial advisor.
Therefore, I have a void tofill.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I think you talked about storytelling.
You talked about being the we.
It's that we want to dobusiness with people that we
know, like and trust, and Ican't tell you how many times
I've heard that, but I believethat sincerely to my core, on
whatever it is that I'm tryingto purchase or do, because I
need that, I need thatrelatability, I need to know I'm
not alone with whateverobstacle I'm going through.
(30:27):
So I couldn't agree more,heather, as you think about it,
what are different ways andeducational programs from
whether that's a national or alocal level, that can help maybe
with some of these additionalneeds that those individuals
looking to get in home may have?
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Sure, so there's quite a bit.
I mean, we've got like ourprogram our Finally Home
homebuyer education program is anational-based online homebuyer
education program, but then wealso provide a homeowner module
for once they get into the home.
There's a lot of locally based.
(31:07):
There's a lot of financialliteracy type local classes that
are available and again I kindof dive more towards the housing
counseling realm and the HUDapproved housing counseling
agencies that provide theseclasses locally.
It's really about building upthe community, building up
(31:27):
resources in the community, andyou can find any type of housing
counseling assistance that'sneeded.
So if somebody is like Dustinwas talking about maybe somebody
has got a super low creditscore but they've got a little
bit of money in the bank to putfor a down payment the housing
(31:48):
counselors can come up with anindividualized plan to assist
and to create that path and thataction plan to get them where
they need to go.
And it complements what thelender's doing quite well,
because the lenders are creatingthat rapport and creating the
(32:13):
initial education, but byhanding them off to somebody
that can really spend the timeand sit down with them on a
weekly basis and talk to themabout okay, what were you able
to accomplish this week?
Did you work on your goals, Didyou reach out to these
creditors, Did you contact thecredit bureau on this and this,
(32:36):
and really holding the consumeraccountable and trying to help
them reach their goals, alongwith providing additional
resources and referrals to helpthem along the way.
So I think those partnershipsreally do help create trust and
it makes the loan officer's jobeasier because they're handing
(32:59):
it off to somebody that they cantrust, they know is independent
, isn't going to come in andisn't trying to steer them in a
different direction.
They're just trying to help andhelp that person reach that
goal of home ownership and thenthey can work with them along
the way and the consumer goesback, purchases the home, and
it's a win-win for everyone.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You've touching on a lot of great programs and tools
and Tay.
I know that you're prettypassionate about this tool, this
as well.
What other types of maybe tools, resources or maybe
organizations can you help orpartner with?
Speaker 3 (33:36):
I think.
So our main tool here at Thriveis our Thrive for Home program.
It is the program where wereally sit down and we incubate
every single borrower who doesnot qualify right now.
So there is not a no, you donot qualify, it's just not right
now.
And we put them through agauntlet of questions and
(33:58):
accountability, like Heather wassaying, because it goes back to
these folks have gone alifetime at this point of making
bad financial decisions oruneducated financial decisions,
right.
So then a lot of the times whenyou hear no, your entire life,
someone's finally telling youhey, you know what?
(34:19):
No, you can buy a home, I justhave to show you how to do it.
Having that accountability isthe most important part of all
of that.
So our program really holds thecustomer accountable, whether
they do a lot of the things ontheir own through the process or
they actually work with ourconsultants and going line for
(34:39):
line on their credit or whateverit needs to be for them.
The other thing is theorganizations that are out there
in your community.
You have to be a part of it.
You have to join the NARS of theworld and the NARABS and the
NAREPS and the ARIA to be withthe realtors so you can educate
the realtors involved in thiswhole process as well, because a
(35:01):
lot of the times most consumersare talking to a realtor before
they get pre-approved becausethe realtor showed this fancy
video of a house on six acresand I want that, right, we all
want that.
So I call my realtor.
My realtor says, oh yeah, youcan buy a home.
And then all of a sudden,they've never gone down the path
of being you, of beingpre-approved.
(35:22):
So then at that point, ifyou're educating realtors on
exactly what helps thesecustomers get ready to buy a
home, then that pipeline startsgrowing.
Your realtors start sending youmore qualified customers.
Your realtors start educatingthe borrower before they call
you.
Those are the best practicesand habits that we have to do.
(35:44):
And then the organizations thatare out there, they all want
you to sponsor lunch, to giveyou your five minutes of fame,
but then at that same time, thatfive minutes of fame can give
you that opportunity to educatemore folks.
So and then rinse and repeat.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Yeah, I you know the community chapters are really
big finding a way to be in frontof real estate agents.
I know that there's just somuch of that and so many ways
that people are trying topartner together, trying to be
the advocates that we need inour industry.
Another thing that's prettyprevalent within our industry,
and it's becoming more and more,is technology and how we can
(36:21):
utilize that to streamline.
Whether that's pretty prevalentwithin our industry, and it's
becoming more and more, istechnology and how we can
utilize that to streamline,whether that's our processes, so
that we can spend maybe moretime with people, provide more
options, be savvier with how westay top of mind.
Dustin, do you have examples ofmaybe some tech tools that
people can use, whether it'sthrough delivering you know,
educational content, or if it'sthrough delivering you know
(36:41):
educational content, or if it'sthrough a different lens in
which you're taking advantage of?
Speaker 4 (36:47):
Yeah, I have three go-tos and there's probably five
total, and it's interestingwhen I talk about technology,
because I love tech.
However, I don't love to usetech.
So I love to surround myselfwith people on my team who then
I can hold them accountable tobe the expert when it comes to
utilization of technology.
So if I were to go front offunnel all the way to the back
(37:08):
of the funnel, first andforemost, we all need a CRM Like
that's a basic, and I'm goingto tell you right now the best
CRM ready for it, the best oneever.
It's the one that you're goingto use.
It could be a spiral notepad,it could be a drawer full of
paper files, it could be TotalExpert, usherpa, jungo, adium,
you name them.
(37:28):
Okay, but the best one is theone that you use Now with that
CRM.
Obviously, you got to use it.
You have to figure out well,why am I doing this?
Well, why am I going to holddata?
But am I doing this?
Well, one, I'm going to holddata, but B, I'm going to hold
that data that I'm going tomarket to that data, whether
it's a prospective home buyer, apast client, a group of 300
realtors.
I need to be pushing outcontent to them, that by them
(37:50):
receiving my content, you madethem more knowledgeable.
Therefore, you brought value tothem.
Now, once I have someone who'sin my grasp and they want to
secure a home loan with me, Iwould love for every person to
be utilizing some service likewhat Dave Savage over at
Mortgage Coach offers, becauseto me, that is a differentiator
(38:12):
right.
This is, all of a sudden, I'mnot a bank teller.
All of a sudden, I'm not a callcenter loan officer.
No, I am a mortgage salesprofessional.
I'm an advisor and I'm going totailor, make the right mortgage
that matches their financialneeds, wants and goals.
I'm going to educate them andwalk them through a very high
level, robust financialconsultation that involves
(38:36):
obtaining a home loan andpurchasing real estate.
So I like that particulartechnology a lot, or anything
that does what Mortgage Coachdoes.
I have friends of mine.
They have an Excel spreadsheetthey use and it does the same
exact thing as Mortgage Coach,and they like it because it
doesn't cost them 150 bucks amonth.
So it's more of the concept,less of the technology.
(38:57):
I love having something on theback end that helps me stay in
front of my people to let themknow.
Hey, this is what's going on inyour neighborhood.
Hey, this is where you shouldbe based on your amortization
schedule.
And oh, by the way, here's howI'm helping people like you
leverage their equity to putthemselves in better financial
(39:18):
situations situations Like mygo-to for that, personally, and
I don't get paid or compensated,but these are products that I
like.
I like HomeBot, or like similarproducts that does what HomeBot
does.
So the first thing I would dois I'd have a CRM that I used.
Then I'd have something on thefront end that allowed me to be
a true advisor.
Then I'd have something on theback end that brought value to
(39:40):
my clients, and it did so withautomation, so that I don't have
to create more hours in the daybecause there's only 24.
I can't really go create 25.
So when I go to create 25, I'mreally taking an hour away from
something else, which could bemy health, it could be my family
.
So I don't want to really riskeither one of those two.
So I like automation.
And then it's what are you doingto better yourself?
(40:02):
I know it's not really atechnology, but it is.
Do you follow the market?
Do you know what's going on inthe US economy, do you know
what's going on in global eventsthat could impact our industry
and then can you speak on it ata surface level.
You don't have to go deep as ifyou're an economics professor,
but you should be able to speakon it so that the conversations
(40:22):
your clients ie realtors,builders, financial advisors
right the people who refer usand your customers ie borrowers
your conversations with yourclients and customers needs to
sound, feel and look differentthan had they gone into a local
depository, talked to the bankteller, or had they called the
(40:43):
1-800 number that they foundonline and talked to the call
center rep.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
You know, utilizing tools like HomeBot or other
things and providing I know theloan officer that I had used
four years ago.
I still hear from thatindividual I want to say monthly
, and sometimes it's here's thecost like, here's what your
house is grown in equity orgrown in value, or here's things
happening in your area, and sowhen I get that type of
(41:10):
information to your point,providing that is keeping them
top of mind to you and so itallows you to continue to
educate through osmosis almost.
So I appreciate tools that areable to do that.
We talked a lot on this sessiontoday just about utilizing
education, enhancing financialliteracy, promoting home
(41:32):
ownership, and a lot of it wasthrough individual tools, Some
of it was through the work withcommunities.
But, Heather, I want to lean toyou.
I know that you talked to someabout different organizations,
but how do you go aboutpartnering with your local
organizations to maybe increaseyour outreach?
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Yeah, it's really simple.
Just call up your localassociations and let them know
that you're interested inpartnering and maybe you'd like
to speak at some of their events.
I know a lot of the localhousing counseling agencies that
offer local home buyingin-person classes.
They invite industry, realestate industry professionals to
(42:15):
come and speak at their eventsand talk about their different
sections.
I know that's what we do.
We offer live classesthroughout Idaho.
Know that's what we do.
We offer live classesthroughout Idaho and that's what
we do.
We bring in a loan officer, webring in a real estate agent, we
bring in an inspector, we bringin an insurance agent to talk
about all of these differentsections of the home buying
(42:39):
process.
So I would, I would say, justreach out to, to local
organizations that are offeringit.
Google HUD approved housingcounseling agencies.
There are.
There are thousands across thecountry.
They're operating in everystate that are are just looking
(42:59):
for resources and partnershipsto promote what they're doing on
the education and housingcounseling side, and I think
it's a great opportunity forloan officers and real estate
agents to partner and create amore vast knowledge base that
can get out there in thecommunity, knowledge base that
(43:24):
can get out there in thecommunity.
We really try to promotehomeownership and education and
financial literacy, especiallyin underserved communities, and
I think that's one of the thingsthat we've seen the most is
getting out there and beingpresent in the community.
There's a lot that can be doneon social media and there's a
lot that can be done over theInternet, but really, if you can
(43:44):
go into a community center andbe able to talk with people and
make that one on one connection,I really think that that makes
a difference.
It creates that rapport, itcreates trust, it builds up that
ability to offer the resourcesthat are there to help
individuals get home ready.
(44:06):
I think there's a lot witheducation and counseling on the
tech side that are helpingimprove the process quite a bit.
A few years ago it was commonthat it was a little bit more of
a lengthy process.
A lot of people wanted to meetone-on-one or the counseling
(44:27):
agencies wanted you to meetone-on-one.
That's not the case anymore.
Agencies are really reallyturning to technology to meet
over Zoom.
I know with our educationplatform we have all of these
great worksheets and fillableforms and everything can be done
(44:49):
on a smartphone and is readilyaccessible.
So there's a there's a lot ofenhancements that are really
speeding up the process andstreamlining things so that
education is more accessible toeveryone.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
Before I turn it back over to Alexis for Q&A, and
just a reminder for you all onthe call, if you do have any
questions, please I know I'veseen a bunch of them kind of
come in the chat.
They're being answered alongthe way, which is outstanding
even by some of the otherattendees, which is really cool
to see.
But pop your questions in theQ&A for our panelists.
But Tay, dustin and Heather,any closing remarks that you
(45:26):
want to leave us with before wejump into the Q&A?
Speaker 3 (45:31):
The only thing that I'd like to just add to this
discussion is you guys have tostart somewhere.
You know being in the communityit takes being present.
You don't have to be a memberof a church to go to the church.
You don't have to be a memberof an organization to try to go
to a luncheon, but you have tobe present to play group.
(46:01):
They're going to kick you outif you don't come back next
month.
Right, but if you go join anorganization where they're in
the community every singleweekend or every month and you
show up, people are going tostart asking you more questions.
So you have to start somewhere.
And then the last thing is ifyou have any questions, even
after this webinar, feel free toreach out to us three, because
that's what this is all about.
We'd be more than happy to helpyou.
If you need help setting up aplan for you and your teams I
(46:24):
mean, that's what we do for aliving We'd be more than happy
to help you because, at the endof the day, if we're all working
on educating our Americans outthere and buying homes, we're
all moving in the same direction, which will increase the
housing and home ownership allover the country.
So thank you guys for having ustoday.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
Absolutely Tay Dustin .
Speaker 4 (46:45):
Parting words.
Nothing changes if nothingchanges.
So think about where you areand then, more importantly,
where you want to go, and thenask yourself what's the one
change you're going to make.
So if you hopped on this callbecause you're looking for
either motivation or hopefullyit wasn't motivation, because,
quite honestly, motivation, ifyou want that, pick up this
thing right here.
(47:05):
Go to your photos, look at yourfamily.
That should be your motivation.
Either make your parents proudor make your children that much
more proud.
But hopefully you were taughtsomething that made you say, hmm
, I want to go do that.
And what I have learned?
I learned this the hard waybecause I've made thousands of
mistakes.
Don't try to do two, three orfour things different.
(47:27):
Pick one, pick one and say I'mgoing to do this one thing
better, this one thing different, and I'm going to stick to it,
like Tay said, every week, everymonth, to the end of the year.
And if I do so, this is what myintended result will be.
So just keep in mind if you'relooking for change, you have to
make some changes, but don't tryto make two, three or four
(47:48):
changes at once.
Just pick one thing, focus onit and stick with it at the end
of the year.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
I think that's so applicable in so many realms I
can the second you said that I'mlike I have so many ways in
which I should do that betterHeather anything from you Some
closing remarks.
Speaker 2 (48:05):
Sure, I'd just like to say that I really feel that
education is the key tosustainable homeownership and by
getting those borrowerseducated early it really opens
up the pipeline.
Not only will it help the loanofficers succeed, but it's going
to help the home buyerthroughout the process.
And they remember that and theyknow that and I always kind of
(48:31):
look back and think about myfirst purchase and how scary it
was and how little I knew eventhough I was already in the
industry.
The lack of knowledge was justmind-blowing.
Looking back on it, and I thinkbeing able to provide that
sounding board, that educationalresource, the referrals to
(48:55):
trusted advisors on the housingcounseling side, that can help,
that can be there on the housingcounseling side, that can help,
that can be there, is justgoing to really provide a huge
benefit to the consumer.
It's going to create trustamongst your borrowers that you
have and create lifetimecustomers.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Great.
Thank you so much, and thankyou so much to our team
panelists for sharing theseinvaluable insights on educating
our potential borrowers,nurturing a robust pipeline.
Your expertise has shed lighton some important topics
information, tailored approaches, some of that community
collaboration that we're lookingfor in today's dynamic market.
So, as we conclude ourdiscussion, let's continue to
(49:41):
empower individuals with theknowledge they need to achieve
homeownership success Today.
Let's continue to educate ourway to a full pipeline and a
brighter future for all.
Again, watch your inbox foraccess to that exclusive toolkit
and how you can leverage andput some of these insights to
good use.
Thank you again for everybodyparticipating and joining us
today.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
Bye, thanks for having us.
Bye guys.
Thank you again for everybodyparticipating and joining us
today.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
Bye, thanks for having us.
Bye guys.
Speaker 2 (50:04):
Thank you, have a good one everyone.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
Thank you all so much for listening.
For all the latest industryinsights, subscribe to Mortgage
Connects on Apple Stitcher,google Podcasts, spotify, amazon
Music or simply go to mortgageconnectscom.
Welcome to Mortgage Connects by MGIC, bringing you
the latest insights from topmortgage professionals around
the industry.
I'm your host, stephanieBudnick, and today we have a
recording of a panel discussionthat we previously did, called
how to Educate your Way to aFull Pipeline.
We thought that we would sharethis with you, as it was a great
discussion with seasonedexperts about an ever-changing
(00:26):
mortgage landscape.
I'm so excited to share thisdiscussion with you today.
Thank you so much.
I am so excited to be here.
This is a really exciting paneldiscussion that we have for you
here today.
In this ever-evolvinglandscaping of our mortgage
lending industry, education hasbecome a cornerstone for our
(00:48):
success.
It's something that we'repassionate about here at FGIC,
as well as all of the paneliststhat we have with us here today.
Today we've gathered expertsthroughout the industry Heather
Bauman, tate Oliver and DustinOwens to delve into the
strategies and approaches ofeducating potential borrowers in
today's unpredictable market.
So with that, I would like tobriefly just introduce each of
(01:11):
our panelists, and then I willhave them say just a couple of
words about themselves and we'lldive right in.
So, heather, she manages theFinally Home program at the
Idaho Housing and FinanceAssociation.
Directing the home buyingeducation efforts.
She has an extensive expertisein real estate associations and
holds a degree from theUniversity of Montana and Boise
(01:32):
State University.
Tay is the Director ofCommunity Advancement at Thrive
Mortgage, focusing on financialliteracy in underserved
communities.
With over 20 years ofexperience in the mortgage
industry.
Tay is a member of various realestate organizations and hails
from Lubbock, texas, and Dustin,is a co-operator of a $1
(01:55):
billion retail productionoperation and the creator and
host of the Loan Officer podcast.
If you haven't tuned in yet, Istrongly suggest that you do.
I love it.
I listen to it frequently, withover a million downloads.
He is a certified mortgagebanker and a triathlon
enthusiast, graduating from theMBA's Future Leader Program.
So we both got that future MBAprograms on us here.
(02:17):
Well, without further ado, letus dive into our discussion
today on how to educate our wayto a full pipeline.
Our market is veryunpredictable today and, with
the perspective on educatingpotential borrowers, how do you
think that we do that throughouteducation and utilizing the
tools that we have?
And, heather, with the thingsthat you just shared, I'd love
(02:38):
if you could share yourexpertise in this area.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
So I would say that, to begin with, many of the first
time homebuyers that we'reseeing going through our online
homebuyer education program andthrough our housing counseling
programs, there's just a lot ofthere's a lack of resources out
there or a lack of education.
I would say A lot of first-timehomebuyers are coming through
(03:04):
seeing that they are unawarethat there's down payment
assistance programs availableand that they're unaware of what
the different loan typeprograms are and there's just
kind of a breakdown in gettingthat education out there to the
first-time homebuyers about whatit means to purchase their
(03:24):
first home and what they need todo to get prepared.
So we do a lot of surveys fromour first-time homebuyers and
housing counseling clients andmany of them I mean.
There's such a misconceptionwith regards to how much down is
required to get into theirfirst home.
You know we've got people whoare still saying it takes 10, 20
(03:48):
percent down to get into a homeand they're just they're
baffled when we tell them no,you can get into to a home for
three and a half percent down or, and potentially even less,
with down payment closing costsprograms that are available.
Also, there's a misconceptionabout student loan debt.
People think that if they havestudent loan debt they can't
(04:11):
purchase or they have to waituntil they get it down to a
lower amount before they canpurchase.
So just educating early andgetting the information out
there that home buying ispossible even on a smaller
budget.
Affordability is always anissue, but there's ways to
(04:35):
manage that and there's ways toplan for it.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I think that we hear a lot of those same
misconceptions through who wetalk to, from the 20% down to
what programs are availablethrough and how we do.
That looks a lot different.
Tay, I know that you are prettypassionate about certain things
and ways to educate individuals.
Can you share some of thosewith us?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It really takes just being proactive and getting that
education out in the public.
I mean, dustin has he'llprobably talk about it here his
podcast.
You know that's just one outletto be able to educate borrowers
, but it doesn't have to be onsuch a grand scale when you
think about it.
If you're in a barbershop or ifyou're at church or if you're
(05:19):
in a Sunday school class, thatgives you that opportunity, you
have that audience.
School class that gives youthat opportunity, you have that
audience.
You have to start finding waysto talk about things that are
important, because what'shappening everywhere across the
country?
You're starting to see a lotmore apartment buildings being
built than houses and what we'retrying.
If we have more education, alot of these folks will start
(05:40):
seeing I spent just as muchmoney on a deposit for an
apartment versus what it wouldcost me to buy my first home and
just rinse and repeating havingthose opportunities whether
it's a seminar, joiningorganizations like Heather's in
Idaho and having that Saturdaymorning class or whatever that
(06:00):
looks like or if you want to setup your own class.
Back in the day it used to bewhere you had to sit down and do
an eight-hour HUD certifiedclass on a Saturday morning.
Well, now you could doeverything through Zoom.
You have that opportunity tocaptivate an audience at any
given time if you have the skillset.
It's just being proactivelydoing it and trying to identify
(06:21):
those customers early on intheir process, before they go
sign another lease.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
You know you spoke to about Dustin speaking to the
things he mentioned on hispodcast and I think that's a
good opportunity.
We were just chatting, beforethis started, about Instagram
and finding that, dustin, canyou elaborate a little bit on
how social media can help createsome of that digestible content
from an education standpoint?
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Yes, and I think what's key to know when going
into this is that A it's calledthe social network.
It's a place for you to go,network and doing things that
I'm trying to do with a nationalbrand is honestly not what I
coach and teach.
I think we can do the most goodfor the 1,000 to 3,000 people
who are in our network, to wherewe can be the mayor of our
(07:07):
community, we can be the subjectmatter expert, and we don't
have to go wide, we just have togo deep.
We have to go deep with theright people.
I mean, there's 70 to 100,000of us mortgage loan originators
in the country.
What if we each got really deepwith our 1,200 to 3,600 people?
To me, these are the people thatI'd invite to, like a Mac Daddy
(07:29):
wedding I'm talking open bar DJlive band.
Or the people that I sendholiday cards to Actually, I
don't send them my wife sendsthem but nonetheless we send
holiday cards to.
I need to be creating contentfor them that is small,
bite-sized and digestiblecontent for them that is small,
bite-sized and digestible, and Ineed to be posting it where
(07:50):
those people go to consumecontent, which today, that is
Facebook, that is Instagram,that is, linkedin, like those
three.
And then if I were toincorporate maybe some
traditional email marketingwhere there's a video of me
talking about the market ortalking about here's five myths
that most first-time homebuyersget wrong, and then I'm able to
(08:11):
send that to a database of 400to 600 people, I think this is
where we, as mortgageprofessionals, can do the most
good.
You got to think.
Most people, what we do for aliving, they didn't teach in
high school.
They don't have a course incollege.
It wasn't talked about at theirdinner table.
We owe it to them to createcontent that is easily
(08:32):
digestible, that speaks to themin fourth grade language, that
walks them through the unscarypart of buying a house, or it
shows them just how easy it is.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
You touched on a bunch of different things and my
mind started to race with youranswers and just different
directions in which to talkabout, but knowing who your
audience is being where they'reat.
You talked about being onsocial media, but being on
Facebook or Instagram orLinkedIn and all of those other
places, and I think it variesdepending on who you're trying
to attract.
But go deep with it, right, asyou said.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Yeah, I don't need 10,000 people following me, I
need 1200.
I need 1600, but I need them toknow that I'm a human.
I need them to know that I careand I need to know that I am a
source of information and I needto show them, not tell them.
So if I'm not posting, if I'mnot creating video content, if
I'm not putting myself out there, then I'm telling them I'm
(09:29):
great at what I do, but I'm notshowing them.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
I think we started to allude to a couple of the
things here, but as we start tolook at even the title of this
panel discussion right, buildingyour way to a strong pipeline.
How do we do that?
By being an educator, and, Tay,I'll lean on you first.
Speaker 3 (09:48):
I think it starts with, especially as originators.
Right now, the one thing thatwe all have in common is we talk
to more customers that probablydo not qualify today than do,
and what is the plan for thosefolks who do not currently
qualify?
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Do you?
Speaker 3 (10:05):
have a plan, and I've talked about this for so many
years now, because most of usdon't.
You know, most of us have thecredit simulator.
I mean, most companies outthere have adopted this software
.
Now you run a credit simulator,you tell the customer if you do
X, y and Z, I'll give you acall in six months.
That's the typical answer youget from most originators.
(10:27):
But what is that plan?
Who's going to hold thatcustomer accountable?
How are you going to ensurethat that customer does take
that plan and run with it andmake sure that they answer their
questions?
Well, a lot of the times wedon't do anything, and this is
across across the board.
And what happens is in sixmonths we see that this customer
may or may not have done theplan, but you see that they've
(10:50):
celebrated closing on a homewith someone else.
Or how did they get into thathouse?
And they didn't call me?
Well, because we didn't have aplan helping them get to where
they want to be.
So I say always you build apipeline based upon all the
customers that you work withright now, whether they do
qualify today or not, and thosethat do not.
(11:11):
You put a plan in place and youstick to that plan.
Here at Thrive and at Lower wehave a program called Thrive for
Home where we have internalstaff that actually hold the
customer accountable, put themon a plan and help them with
getting to that point of beingable to qualify.
Not all companies have that.
So I brag about the companythat I work for, because we have
(11:34):
taken the initiative of neverleaving a customer behind,
especially if that customerwants to buy a home.
So holding them accountable,giving them a plan, giving them
a platform to ask questions andbeing someone there to answer a
home.
So holding them accountable,giving them a plan, giving them
a platform to ask questions andbeing someone there to answer
the questions and it not be theLO, because we know how busy
loan officers and sales folksare.
It's hard for them to get backto that.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So that's just on top of mind all the time for them.
They're thinking about the nextthing.
Absolutely for them.
They're thinking about the nextthing.
Absolutely, Justin, from yourperspective, from an LO, how do
you add value through educationwith you know, maybe?
Speaker 4 (12:13):
webinars.
I think that we mentioned thattoday already.
Yeah, it's twofold.
I have a strategy aroundwebinars, but that probably
requires a little bit ofsophistication because you have
to drive people into yourwebinar.
The first place I'm gonna go isI'm gonna teach the people that
home buyers reach out to first.
I'm gonna teach them how tofish.
I'm gonna empower them with theknowledge and the tools and the
(12:34):
rules of thumb or the articlesor the training videos that they
need to educate the consumer,and that would be starting with
those that sell homes for aliving.
Right, unfortunately for us inthe lending world, right, they
dream about not having amortgage and it's the last thing
they want to do.
Everybody wants a trainer to gowork out with.
(12:55):
Nobody wants to talk to thedietitian and well, we're the
dietitian.
So I first start with focusingmy training efforts on the real
estate community and making sureI'm empowering them, whether
I'm doing that through a webinar, that through a in-person lunch
and learn, or even one-one withthe talking points, and
sometimes even teaching them hownot to speak in industry jargon
but to speak in a language thatwould make sense to a fourth
(13:17):
grader.
Now, when I'm done doing thatand I'm trying to play in
another silo.
I love running Facebook ads thatwould promote a free home
buying webinar.
I don't call it a first timehome buyer webinar.
It's a home buying webinar,because I will't call it a first
time home buyer webinar.
It's a home buying webinarbecause I will teach you how to
buy your first house, your thirdhouse, your lake house, your
(13:39):
investment property.
But what I want to do is I wantto get people on there and I
want them to feel like it is aplace of comfort.
I want them to know that we'rehere to learn.
We're here to ask questions,and I just covered the very high
level aspects of what it takesto buy a house.
I want it to sound a lot easierthan maybe it is.
I want it to sound as not scaryas it really is.
(14:03):
It's not scary, right, buying ahouse, think.
And I want them to think yes, Ican.
And if they can think yes, Ican, then I want to invite them
to a free 20-minute one-on-onewith myself or one of my
advisors, so that way we can getinto the specifics of their
scenario and help them find away to yes.
(14:23):
But the first thing you'd haveto do with that particular
tactic is you have to fill theroom, so you have to have some
kind of a resource or aknowledge on well, how do I fill
the room, even if the room is awebinar, like we're on right
now?
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Right, and maybe it's starting with, as you said, the
real estate agent, where you'rediving in there and you're
partnering with somebody elseright, so that you're getting
your contacts and their contactsat the same time, and it's
twofold.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Correct.
Yeah, 100%, that would be ifyou didn't want to lean into the
more advanced.
Wait a minute.
How do I create an ad?
How do I run an ad?
Oh my gosh, I need a Facebookbusiness page.
Does my company allow this?
Should I call the compliancepolice and ask for permission,
or do I get forgiveness?
Yes, to your point, stephanie.
Maybe you say wait a minute,what's that one team or that one
brokerage?
(15:09):
And maybe they have a databaseof 2,000 or 3,000 potential
homebuyers and 2,000 or 3,000circle of influence and maybe we
just invite them and then weeach invite our own circle and
we just try to get 8 or 12people on a call.
By the way, 8 or 12 is betterthan 2 or 3, but 2 or 3 is
better than 0.
(15:30):
So I'm a huge fan of aone-to-many approach and I
almost feel like it's ourobligation.
It is our obligation to educate, it is our obligation to teach,
it's our obligation todemystify and if we do that,
then I promise you, people willraise their hand and they'll
start asking you questions.
The more questions they ask,that's the more opportunities we
(15:50):
have to invite them to getone-on-one, to then tailor make
solutions for their particularfinancial needs, wants and goals
.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
And you said something about nobody ever
wants a mortgage and I was like,well, no, everyone wants the
American dream of owning a home,but yeah, I definitely didn't
want the mortgage Correct.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Yeah, we dream about being debt-free.
We dream about never having amortgage.
We celebrate the day we makethat last payment, so I think if
we can recognize that, like Iteach my students that coach
with me over at T-LOP online, wedon't do pre-quals, we don't do
pre-approvals, we do homebuyerconsultations.
And if we're not doing ahomebuyer consultation, then
(16:26):
we're doing an annual mortgagereview, and annual mortgage
review is essentially a pre-qualfor a refi.
A home buying consultation iswhat we do.
We help people buy houses, butwe show them how to leverage
debt in order to purchase realestate, ie obtain a home loan.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Now Heather through the lens of where you are and
from HUD agency standpoint.
How do you see this occurringthroughout your organizations
standpoint?
Speaker 2 (16:54):
how do you see this occurring throughout your
organizations?
Yeah, so I come at it from alittle bit of a different lens
than Dustin, On the associationside and also from the HUD
approved housing counseling side.
I would recommend loan officersthat maybe don't have the
resources, like Dustin has, toprovide these types of resources
, because everybody is so busyand there's so much going on in
(17:17):
the industry that there areindependent nonprofits and HUD
certified housing counselingagencies and great homebuyer
education programs that arealready available in the
communities that are certifiedby HUD to help with these
resources.
And what we've seen is we'vereally seen how that realtors
(17:42):
and lenders that are referringindividuals to this impartial
third party that is juststrictly there to provide
education and counselingservices.
It really can create a goodrapport between the lender and
the consumer that's trying toget into a home.
(18:04):
They appreciate being given theopportunity to learn what's out
there and get better with theirfinances and get the tools and
resources that they need toimprove their credit standing
and maybe save up a little bitmore for their down payment and
(18:25):
get mortgage ready.
But then ultimately they alwaysgo back to that lender and that
realtor that they've beenworking with because it builds
rapport, it creates trust and itreally opens up the doors for a
lifetime client, ultimatelybecause you get that person into
their first home and a coupleyears later they're going to
call you back if they have agood experience and they're
(18:47):
going to want to move up and soit really can create a good
working environment between thetwo.
And I would just say overall,there's a lot of resources
available out there, Even in thelending and the real estate
industry.
On the real estate side, I wouldsay lenders, reach out to your
(19:10):
realtors that you work with on aregular basis.
Encourage them the first timethat they talk to a first time
home to get their financialpicture and find out truly what
they can afford.
But we all know that that's notthe way it works.
(19:45):
Consumers that are out thereshopping for a home, they start
on the national websiteplatforms looking at what's
available.
They end up going to openhouses, they end up talking to
realtors to begin with and thenthey kind of bypass that whole.
Let me get qualified orpre-qualified and understand how
(20:05):
much I really can afford.
And we like to direct peoplethe opposite way Find out what
your budget is, what you reallycan afford, and then everything
else will fall into place.
So I would say, opening upthose lines of communication
with your community and yourindustry professionals that you
(20:26):
work with on a daily basis basisand definitely partner with
your local housing counselingagencies, your state housing
finance agencies that areoffering housing counseling
services and your educationproviders.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Thank you for that.
As we think about you know, thepeople that are mortgage ready,
that aren't yet ready, we'retrying to talk about educating,
and I think educating through avariety of lenses is definitely
a theme that we've talked about.
The more that they know aheadof time, they're able to set
themselves up for success a loteasier than they're coming in
and they're going to that creditperson, Tay, that you talked
(21:03):
about and running through aprogram in that capacity.
But, Tay, I want to kind ofturn to you and say how do you
customize that based on who'sready maybe, who's not ready,
and is it maybe?
Is there things that are moreproduct specific?
Speaker 3 (21:18):
I think what happens is, as you're interviewing the
customer themselves, you startfinding out where they are in
the process, whether they areready to go as far as,
financially, they have all theirducks in a a row, or whether
they really need some help.
They maybe need some truecredit counseling or credit
restoration, or maybe they justneed some financial literacy and
(21:40):
learning how to build credit.
So once you have that interviewwith the customer is when you
really can find out how thatindividual goes.
So having the seminar, havingthe platform to being able to do
these things online, are veryimportant because you have to
introduce yourself to the market, but where the game changer is
(22:01):
having that one on oneconversation with each
individual.
That's how you know for surewhere this person stands.
Now, dustin, you had saidsomething earlier and I did a
webinar with MGIC about thislast year.
It's the fear factor, right.
We have to get these folks frombeing so scared to push the
(22:23):
button and submit theapplication, and a lot of that
is how do we market to them?
You know they have to Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Uh-oh.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
Did.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
I You're freezing on us a little bit.
Let me turn off his video.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Sorry about that.
Let me turn off my video, okay.
Speaker 4 (22:50):
Hear me.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Yep, let's go back to where you were talking about,
what dustin had said, because Ithink that that's about the last
line I heard, um oh, sorryabout that.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
So it's the fear factor and really making sure
that you ease the comfort ofsomeone to want to hit that
submit button.
And then, a lot of the times,it's how do you touch that
person?
A lot of the people that wetalk to on a regular basis they
applied because they either sawthe people that we talk to on a
regular basis.
They applied because theyeither saw an advertisement that
we did on Instagram or they sawa video of one of their friends
(23:20):
doing something with us in themarket and they felt comfortable
enough to make your phone ring.
Well, you still have to havethat one-on-one interaction Once
you have them on the call.
We can't just be so busy everyday not to take that time and
treat them like an individual,treat them like a family member
(23:42):
and not just hurry up and try tofill out a 1003 anymore.
You've got to get down,understand who they are as a
person.
Because good loan officers theyget referral business from
every single client they workwith, because they've treated
them so well.
I'll say that again A good loanofficer will get referral
business from every client theywork with when they treat the
(24:04):
people right and you sit downwith them.
It's a true canceling session.
It's a consultation.
You get to know who they are,they feel comfortable, they hit
the submit button and then gameon and being able to start the
process and getting them ontheir way to home ownership,
regardless of where they startthat day.
It could easily be that 400 FICOthat needs a lot of help.
(24:26):
But then you have some peoplethat have excellent credit but
no money in the bank.
Financial literacy comes in alot, lots of forms.
I mean Heather just said itearlier Some of these folks need
down payment assistance, someof them need credit counseling,
some of them need both, but it'sour job to decipher which ones.
You know where to start puttinga plan in place for those folks
(24:48):
.
Are they something they canactually achieve and see and
grab and check off their listand then eventually they become
ready to buy a home?
And then the fun part iswatching them get keys, a home
and then the fun part iswatching them get keys Very much
so.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
I know that, Dustin, when we spoke earlier, you had
talked also about tailoring yourapproach to match each
individual.
Did you want to elaborate alittle bit more on what Tate was
saying?
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Yeah, I think.
To me it's using our platform.
Whatever it may be right, it'swhether I'm at a community
center and I'm teaching a class,whether I'm at a local business
with 10 plus employees and Ibrought pizza and I'm sitting
down with them and I'm giving abrief home buying seminar, or
I'm on a platform like this with200 plus people tuning in.
(25:37):
I think we have to firsteducate them that their A is no
such thing as aone-size-fits-all mortgage, that
mortgages are literally and Isaid it earlier they're
financial instruments used topurchase real estate.
It's our way of leveraging debtto purchase real estate, and we
can show them all thestatistics that show us that
homeowners are 40 times morewealthy than renters 40 times
(26:03):
more wealthy than renters.
And it's letting them know,though, that their financial
needs, wants and goals have tobe factored into the loan that
we're going to use to help thempurchase this home, and we have
to use data and statistics and,by the way, storytelling to show
them that the decision they'remaking today to purchase this
home is not a 30-year decision.
It's probably a seven tonine-year decision.
We have to then show them thatthe decision to pick this
(26:25):
particular loan program,especially in today's market is
more than likely a two tothree-year decision.
It's not a 30-year decision.
And then we have to be there toanswer their questions and, as
Tay said, this has worked for methroughout my career and I have
been fortunate that I, back inthe day, helped fund well over
2,000 loans.
I first stopped and put myselfin their shoes and I'm like,
(26:46):
well, if I was them, everythingfrom their career like I'm
projecting forward.
My buddy Doug works for UnitedAuto Workers.
Doug has made great money sincehe was 18.
But at 40, doug's not going tomake any more money than he
makes today.
So I have to factor that intothe advice that I give to Doug.
(27:08):
Versus my buddy Rob, who juststarted his own business at 38,
and now he's 40.
Rob's income may triple overthe next three years if his pro
forma that he drafted comes tofruition.
So my advice to Rob isdifferent because we can take
some bigger risk based on thepotential from his income to go
from 100 grand to 300 grand, andI don't think consumers know
that.
So I think it's our duty to usestorytelling.
(27:29):
Talk about someone like themthat you once helped out, and if
you don't have a me story, tella?
We story.
We could be your branch, wecould be your company Heck, we
could be the mortgage industry.
So you listen to my podcast.
You hear me tell a story, youswipe and adapt it, use it as
your own.
Just say we instead of me, butstorytelling in order to give
(27:51):
people the comfort that they arenormal, that they are ordinary
and that you are really good athelping normal, ordinary people.
And, by the way, normal means640 credit.
Normal might mean 800 creditscore but no money in the bank
Like that is normal.
Normal is divorced.
Normal is chapter seven fiveyears ago or four years ago, and
I think people have to hearthat that's normal.
(28:14):
You know what abnormal lookslike 800 credit score, 30 DTI,
80 LTV like that's abnormal.
We call those people outliersand Malcolm Gladwell writes
books about them, you know.
But I'm in the business ofhelping normal and I think the
last thing that I would try tobook in all of this on is us
(28:34):
understanding.
As mortgage professionals.
We are the financial advisorsfor the bulk of our clients and
that's a little bit slippery mestating because we're not
financial advisors, right, wedon't have the licensing, we
don't have the credentials, wecan't market ourselves that way.
But if you think about what ittakes to get someone at Merrill
(28:57):
Lynch or Morgan Stanley orRaymond James to sit down and
talk to one of our borrowers,they're looking for $250,000 of
investable assets.
That's non-home equity, that'snon-401k Y'all.
When was the last time you tooka loan application for someone
who had $250,000 of investableassets?
It happens maybe once out ofevery 40 or 50 loans that you
(29:22):
originate.
Therefore, we have our civicduty to change the future of our
country through our educationefforts.
If we just remind ourselves, ohmy gosh, what a burden or oh my
gosh, what an opportunity weare, the first and probably
closest thing to a financialliteracy coach these consumers,
(29:44):
these fellow Americans, willever encounter, I better do a
bang-up job for them.
And, better yet, I better putmyself in situations where I can
talk to the most of them, sothat I can do a bang-up job for
them.
Because it just dawned on melike, oh my gosh, not many
people have a financial advisor.
Therefore, I have a void tofill.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I think you talked about storytelling.
You talked about being the we.
It's that we want to dobusiness with people that we
know, like and trust, and Ican't tell you how many times
I've heard that, but I believethat sincerely to my core, on
whatever it is that I'm tryingto purchase or do, because I
need that, I need thatrelatability, I need to know I'm
not alone with whateverobstacle I'm going through.
(30:27):
So I couldn't agree more,heather, as you think about it,
what are different ways andeducational programs from
whether that's a national or alocal level, that can help maybe
with some of these additionalneeds that those individuals
looking to get in home may have?
Speaker 2 (30:45):
Sure, so there's quite a bit.
I mean, we've got like ourprogram our Finally Home
homebuyer education program is anational-based online homebuyer
education program, but then wealso provide a homeowner module
for once they get into the home.
There's a lot of locally based.
(31:07):
There's a lot of financialliteracy type local classes that
are available and again I kindof dive more towards the housing
counseling realm and the HUDapproved housing counseling
agencies that provide theseclasses locally.
It's really about building upthe community, building up
(31:27):
resources in the community, andyou can find any type of housing
counseling assistance that'sneeded.
So if somebody is like Dustinwas talking about maybe somebody
has got a super low creditscore but they've got a little
bit of money in the bank to putfor a down payment the housing
(31:48):
counselors can come up with anindividualized plan to assist
and to create that path and thataction plan to get them where
they need to go.
And it complements what thelender's doing quite well,
because the lenders are creatingthat rapport and creating the
(32:13):
initial education, but byhanding them off to somebody
that can really spend the timeand sit down with them on a
weekly basis and talk to themabout okay, what were you able
to accomplish this week?
Did you work on your goals, Didyou reach out to these
creditors, Did you contact thecredit bureau on this and this,
(32:36):
and really holding the consumeraccountable and trying to help
them reach their goals, alongwith providing additional
resources and referrals to helpthem along the way.
So I think those partnershipsreally do help create trust and
it makes the loan officer's jobeasier because they're handing
(32:59):
it off to somebody that they cantrust, they know is independent
, isn't going to come in andisn't trying to steer them in a
different direction.
They're just trying to help andhelp that person reach that
goal of home ownership and thenthey can work with them along
the way and the consumer goesback, purchases the home, and
it's a win-win for everyone.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You've touching on a lot of great programs and tools
and Tay.
I know that you're prettypassionate about this tool, this
as well.
What other types of maybe tools, resources or maybe
organizations can you help orpartner with?
Speaker 3 (33:36):
I think.
So our main tool here at Thriveis our Thrive for Home program.
It is the program where wereally sit down and we incubate
every single borrower who doesnot qualify right now.
So there is not a no, you donot qualify, it's just not right
now.
And we put them through agauntlet of questions and
(33:58):
accountability, like Heather wassaying, because it goes back to
these folks have gone alifetime at this point of making
bad financial decisions oruneducated financial decisions,
right.
So then a lot of the times whenyou hear no, your entire life,
someone's finally telling youhey, you know what?
(34:19):
No, you can buy a home, I justhave to show you how to do it.
Having that accountability isthe most important part of all
of that.
So our program really holds thecustomer accountable, whether
they do a lot of the things ontheir own through the process or
they actually work with ourconsultants and going line for
(34:39):
line on their credit or whateverit needs to be for them.
The other thing is theorganizations that are out there
in your community.
You have to be a part of it.
You have to join the NARS of theworld and the NARABS and the
NAREPS and the ARIA to be withthe realtors so you can educate
the realtors involved in thiswhole process as well, because a
(35:01):
lot of the times most consumersare talking to a realtor before
they get pre-approved becausethe realtor showed this fancy
video of a house on six acresand I want that, right, we all
want that.
So I call my realtor.
My realtor says, oh yeah, youcan buy a home.
And then all of a sudden,they've never gone down the path
of being you, of beingpre-approved.
(35:22):
So then at that point, ifyou're educating realtors on
exactly what helps thesecustomers get ready to buy a
home, then that pipeline startsgrowing.
Your realtors start sending youmore qualified customers.
Your realtors start educatingthe borrower before they call
you.
Those are the best practicesand habits that we have to do.
(35:44):
And then the organizations thatare out there, they all want
you to sponsor lunch, to giveyou your five minutes of fame,
but then at that same time, thatfive minutes of fame can give
you that opportunity to educatemore folks.
So and then rinse and repeat.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
Yeah, I you know the community chapters are really
big finding a way to be in frontof real estate agents.
I know that there's just somuch of that and so many ways
that people are trying topartner together, trying to be
the advocates that we need inour industry.
Another thing that's prettyprevalent within our industry,
and it's becoming more and more,is technology and how we can
(36:21):
utilize that to streamline.
Whether that's pretty prevalentwithin our industry, and it's
becoming more and more, istechnology and how we can
utilize that to streamline,whether that's our processes, so
that we can spend maybe moretime with people, provide more
options, be savvier with how westay top of mind.
Dustin, do you have examples ofmaybe some tech tools that
people can use, whether it'sthrough delivering you know,
educational content, or if it'sthrough delivering you know
(36:41):
educational content, or if it'sthrough a different lens in
which you're taking advantage of?
Speaker 4 (36:47):
Yeah, I have three go-tos and there's probably five
total, and it's interestingwhen I talk about technology,
because I love tech.
However, I don't love to usetech.
So I love to surround myselfwith people on my team who then
I can hold them accountable tobe the expert when it comes to
utilization of technology.
So if I were to go front offunnel all the way to the back
(37:08):
of the funnel, first andforemost, we all need a CRM Like
that's a basic, and I'm goingto tell you right now the best
CRM ready for it, the best oneever.
It's the one that you're goingto use.
It could be a spiral notepad,it could be a drawer full of
paper files, it could be TotalExpert, usherpa, jungo, adium,
you name them.
(37:28):
Okay, but the best one is theone that you use Now with that
CRM.
Obviously, you got to use it.
You have to figure out well,why am I doing this?
Well, why am I going to holddata?
But am I doing this?
Well, one, I'm going to holddata, but B, I'm going to hold
that data that I'm going tomarket to that data, whether
it's a prospective home buyer, apast client, a group of 300
realtors.
I need to be pushing outcontent to them, that by them
(37:50):
receiving my content, you madethem more knowledgeable.
Therefore, you brought value tothem.
Now, once I have someone who'sin my grasp and they want to
secure a home loan with me, Iwould love for every person to
be utilizing some service likewhat Dave Savage over at
Mortgage Coach offers, becauseto me, that is a differentiator
(38:12):
right.
This is, all of a sudden, I'mnot a bank teller.
All of a sudden, I'm not a callcenter loan officer.
No, I am a mortgage salesprofessional.
I'm an advisor and I'm going totailor, make the right mortgage
that matches their financialneeds, wants and goals.
I'm going to educate them andwalk them through a very high
level, robust financialconsultation that involves
(38:36):
obtaining a home loan andpurchasing real estate.
So I like that particulartechnology a lot, or anything
that does what Mortgage Coachdoes.
I have friends of mine.
They have an Excel spreadsheetthey use and it does the same
exact thing as Mortgage Coach,and they like it because it
doesn't cost them 150 bucks amonth.
So it's more of the concept,less of the technology.
(38:57):
I love having something on theback end that helps me stay in
front of my people to let themknow.
Hey, this is what's going on inyour neighborhood.
Hey, this is where you shouldbe based on your amortization
schedule.
And oh, by the way, here's howI'm helping people like you
leverage their equity to putthemselves in better financial
(39:18):
situations situations Like mygo-to for that, personally, and
I don't get paid or compensated,but these are products that I
like.
I like HomeBot, or like similarproducts that does what HomeBot
does.
So the first thing I would dois I'd have a CRM that I used.
Then I'd have something on thefront end that allowed me to be
a true advisor.
Then I'd have something on theback end that brought value to
(39:40):
my clients, and it did so withautomation, so that I don't have
to create more hours in the daybecause there's only 24.
I can't really go create 25.
So when I go to create 25, I'mreally taking an hour away from
something else, which could bemy health, it could be my family
.
So I don't want to really riskeither one of those two.
So I like automation.
And then it's what are you doingto better yourself?
(40:02):
I know it's not really atechnology, but it is.
Do you follow the market?
Do you know what's going on inthe US economy, do you know
what's going on in global eventsthat could impact our industry
and then can you speak on it ata surface level.
You don't have to go deep as ifyou're an economics professor,
but you should be able to speakon it so that the conversations
(40:22):
your clients ie realtors,builders, financial advisors
right the people who refer usand your customers ie borrowers
your conversations with yourclients and customers needs to
sound, feel and look differentthan had they gone into a local
depository, talked to the bankteller, or had they called the
(40:43):
1-800 number that they foundonline and talked to the call
center rep.
Speaker 1 (40:47):
You know, utilizing tools like HomeBot or other
things and providing I know theloan officer that I had used
four years ago.
I still hear from thatindividual I want to say monthly
, and sometimes it's here's thecost like, here's what your
house is grown in equity orgrown in value, or here's things
happening in your area, and sowhen I get that type of
(41:10):
information to your point,providing that is keeping them
top of mind to you and so itallows you to continue to
educate through osmosis almost.
So I appreciate tools that areable to do that.
We talked a lot on this sessiontoday just about utilizing
education, enhancing financialliteracy, promoting home
(41:32):
ownership, and a lot of it wasthrough individual tools, Some
of it was through the work withcommunities.
But, Heather, I want to lean toyou.
I know that you talked to someabout different organizations,
but how do you go aboutpartnering with your local
organizations to maybe increaseyour outreach?
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Yeah, it's really simple.
Just call up your localassociations and let them know
that you're interested inpartnering and maybe you'd like
to speak at some of their events.
I know a lot of the localhousing counseling agencies that
offer local home buyingin-person classes.
They invite industry, realestate industry professionals to
(42:15):
come and speak at their eventsand talk about their different
sections.
I know that's what we do.
We offer live classesthroughout Idaho.
Know that's what we do.
We offer live classesthroughout Idaho and that's what
we do.
We bring in a loan officer, webring in a real estate agent, we
bring in an inspector, we bringin an insurance agent to talk
about all of these differentsections of the home buying
(42:39):
process.
So I would, I would say, justreach out to, to local
organizations that are offeringit.
Google HUD approved housingcounseling agencies.
There are.
There are thousands across thecountry.
They're operating in everystate that are are just looking
(42:59):
for resources and partnershipsto promote what they're doing on
the education and housingcounseling side, and I think
it's a great opportunity forloan officers and real estate
agents to partner and create amore vast knowledge base that
can get out there in thecommunity, knowledge base that
(43:24):
can get out there in thecommunity.
We really try to promotehomeownership and education and
financial literacy, especiallyin underserved communities, and
I think that's one of the thingsthat we've seen the most is
getting out there and beingpresent in the community.
There's a lot that can be doneon social media and there's a
lot that can be done over theInternet, but really, if you can
(43:44):
go into a community center andbe able to talk with people and
make that one on one connection,I really think that that makes
a difference.
It creates that rapport, itcreates trust, it builds up that
ability to offer the resourcesthat are there to help
individuals get home ready.
(44:06):
I think there's a lot witheducation and counseling on the
tech side that are helpingimprove the process quite a bit.
A few years ago it was commonthat it was a little bit more of
a lengthy process.
A lot of people wanted to meetone-on-one or the counseling
(44:27):
agencies wanted you to meetone-on-one.
That's not the case anymore.
Agencies are really reallyturning to technology to meet
over Zoom.
I know with our educationplatform we have all of these
great worksheets and fillableforms and everything can be done
(44:49):
on a smartphone and is readilyaccessible.
So there's a there's a lot ofenhancements that are really
speeding up the process andstreamlining things so that
education is more accessible toeveryone.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
Before I turn it back over to Alexis for Q&A, and
just a reminder for you all onthe call, if you do have any
questions, please I know I'veseen a bunch of them kind of
come in the chat.
They're being answered alongthe way, which is outstanding
even by some of the otherattendees, which is really cool
to see.
But pop your questions in theQ&A for our panelists.
But Tay, dustin and Heather,any closing remarks that you
(45:26):
want to leave us with before wejump into the Q&A?
Speaker 3 (45:31):
The only thing that I'd like to just add to this
discussion is you guys have tostart somewhere.
You know being in the communityit takes being present.
You don't have to be a memberof a church to go to the church.
You don't have to be a memberof an organization to try to go
to a luncheon, but you have tobe present to play group.
(46:01):
They're going to kick you outif you don't come back next
month.
Right, but if you go join anorganization where they're in
the community every singleweekend or every month and you
show up, people are going tostart asking you more questions.
So you have to start somewhere.
And then the last thing is ifyou have any questions, even
after this webinar, feel free toreach out to us three, because
that's what this is all about.
We'd be more than happy to helpyou.
If you need help setting up aplan for you and your teams I
(46:24):
mean, that's what we do for aliving We'd be more than happy
to help you because, at the endof the day, if we're all working
on educating our Americans outthere and buying homes, we're
all moving in the same direction, which will increase the
housing and home ownership allover the country.
So thank you guys for having ustoday.
Speaker 1 (46:42):
Absolutely Tay Dustin .
Speaker 4 (46:45):
Parting words.
Nothing changes if nothingchanges.
So think about where you areand then, more importantly,
where you want to go, and thenask yourself what's the one
change you're going to make.
So if you hopped on this callbecause you're looking for
either motivation or hopefullyit wasn't motivation, because,
quite honestly, motivation, ifyou want that, pick up this
thing right here.
(47:05):
Go to your photos, look at yourfamily.
That should be your motivation.
Either make your parents proudor make your children that much
more proud.
But hopefully you were taughtsomething that made you say, hmm
, I want to go do that.
And what I have learned?
I learned this the hard waybecause I've made thousands of
mistakes.
Don't try to do two, three orfour things different.
(47:27):
Pick one, pick one and say I'mgoing to do this one thing
better, this one thing different, and I'm going to stick to it,
like Tay said, every week, everymonth, to the end of the year.
And if I do so, this is what myintended result will be.
So just keep in mind if you'relooking for change, you have to
make some changes, but don't tryto make two, three or four
(47:48):
changes at once.
Just pick one thing, focus onit and stick with it at the end
of the year.
Speaker 1 (47:54):
I think that's so applicable in so many realms I
can the second you said that I'mlike I have so many ways in
which I should do that betterHeather anything from you Some
closing remarks.
Speaker 2 (48:05):
Sure, I'd just like to say that I really feel that
education is the key tosustainable homeownership and by
getting those borrowerseducated early it really opens
up the pipeline.
Not only will it help the loanofficers succeed, but it's going
to help the home buyerthroughout the process.
And they remember that and theyknow that and I always kind of
(48:31):
look back and think about myfirst purchase and how scary it
was and how little I knew eventhough I was already in the
industry.
The lack of knowledge was justmind-blowing.
Looking back on it, and I thinkbeing able to provide that
sounding board, that educationalresource, the referrals to
(48:55):
trusted advisors on the housingcounseling side, that can help,
that can be there on the housingcounseling side, that can help,
that can be there, is justgoing to really provide a huge
benefit to the consumer.
It's going to create trustamongst your borrowers that you
have and create lifetimecustomers.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Great.
Thank you so much, and thankyou so much to our team
panelists for sharing theseinvaluable insights on educating
our potential borrowers,nurturing a robust pipeline.
Your expertise has shed lighton some important topics
information, tailored approaches, some of that community
collaboration that we're lookingfor in today's dynamic market.
So, as we conclude ourdiscussion, let's continue to
(49:41):
empower individuals with theknowledge they need to achieve
homeownership success Today.
Let's continue to educate ourway to a full pipeline and a
brighter future for all.
Again, watch your inbox foraccess to that exclusive toolkit
and how you can leverage andput some of these insights to
good use.
Thank you again for everybodyparticipating and joining us
today.
Speaker 4 (50:00):
Bye, thanks for having us.
Bye guys.
Thank you again for everybodyparticipating and joining us
today.
Speaker 1 (50:03):
Bye, thanks for having us.
Bye guys.
Speaker 2 (50:04):
Thank you, have a good one everyone.
Speaker 1 (50:06):
Thank you all so much for listening.
For all the latest industryinsights, subscribe to Mortgage
Connects on Apple Stitcher,google Podcasts, spotify, amazon
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