We constantly talk about regulations, compliance, and technology, among other things. But a mortgage is intended for a person whose sole function isn’t to spend days faxing documents.
Improving the user experience benefits everyone, from the borrower to the originator. One idea is to change the way that things are done behind the scenes, starting with the underwriting process. And that’s exactly what cloudvirga, Skyline’s sister company, has been doing.
Recently, National Mortgage News published an article about how cloudvirga and others are changing the process. Click here to view the article to see what’s being done and what the future will look like.
Internet connectivity has brought many benefits to modern society, but one of the drawbacks is that internet users and companies are vulnerable to information breaches.
Recently, credit bureau Equifax was hacked with 143 million people potentially affected by the data breach. Many details about the hack aren’t available, and though this news is unfortunate, there are things that can be done to safeguard your credit.
First thing’s first, check to see if you were affected by the hack. Click on the link below to get a step-by-step guide.
Whether you were affected or not, it’s a good idea to protect yourself. Many things can happen that may put you at risk.
Here are a few steps that you could take to keep your credit safe:
Set up alerts with the three big credit reporting agencies to see if someone is using your credit. Same goes for credit and debit cards. You can even have push notifications set up.
Look into freezing your credit so that new companies that you don’t currently work with will not be able to access your credit.
Keep an eye on your credit history.
Consider a credit monitoring service. Right now, Equifax is offering a year of credit monitoring for free, but make sure you look into the fine print.
Ever wonder what the future of mortgage lending will look like?
We’ve got a pretty good idea, since Skyline envisioned and created that future.
Imagine a mortgage process without any issues submitting documents. Borrowers can view the status of their loan from start to finish, giving them complete clarity on the biggest purchase of their lives.
The anxiety of financing a home is reduced, if not completely eliminated, and that means more satisfied and secure borrowers.
Clarity leads to speed and concision, which is good for all parties involved.
For loan officers, this means cutting the application process by 80% and perfecting digital marketing.
We’re achieving all these amazing advancements through our 2X digital platform.
Click here to learn more about 2X, and if you have questions, give me a call or shoot me an email.
Millennials are the next wave of homebuyers. But they have their own way of doing things, and their preferences are changing the industry.
They Look Themselves
Online shopping doesn’t stop at the water’s edge when it comes to housing. Millennials might not buy a home online, but they definitely window shop.
Same goes for mortgages. That’s why a fully functional, mobile friendly website with plenty of tools, like the ones that Skyline provides to all of its loan officers, is so important. Millennials want one stop shops where they can look into rates, get information, and connect with someone who can help them all at once.
They Use Referrals and they Research
When it comes to loan officers, millennials get referrals and then research them, rather than shopping around. They trust their friends and family and rely on their experiences, but they like to make sure that the loan officer will be a good fit, just in case.
That means that you need to be findable. If you aren’t online, it’s like you don’t exist. Millennials are used to having the world at their fingertips, so information needs to be easily accessible.
A presence on social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, an attractive website, and testimonials are important. Millennials will look you up and decide whether or not to work with you based on what they find online.
Skyline has a plethora of tools to help our loan officers connect and resonate with this emerging market.
Want to learn about our programs to help effectively market to millennials? Give me a call or shoot me an email.
Being a loan officer, anywhere, takes intelligence and perseverance. It takes years of learning about the industry and cultivating relationships with clients and partners. And it takes a lot of hard work. We all know that. That’s why at Skyline, we like to do a little something extra for our hardest working, high producing loan officers.
All of the loan officers who work at Skyline are outstanding, but we call the cream of the crop our “Platinum Producers.” Platinum Producers are the biggest closers, and the bar is set high to begin with.
Every year, we take a weekend and completely dedicate it to our Platinum Producers. We show them just how much we value them.
This year, we took our incredible loan officers to the Baraca Resort & Spa in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA for a weekend of glitz, glamour, and fun in the sun!
The weekend started on Friday with a luxurious cocktail welcome reception.
Saturday was spent either at sea observing the marine life and breathing in the salty ocean air, sampling local delicacies on a decadent food tour, or enjoying a round of golf with our CEO, Bill Dallas. As if we didn’t already know that Bill is a renaissance man, he scored a hole in one! Watch out Tiger Woods!
But the main event was “The Platinum Awards,” an old Hollywood themed cocktail hour, dinner, and awards ceremony meant to honor the best and brightest in our business. Guests were dressed to the nines as they walked the red carpet, posed for photos, and enjoyed speeches by the rousing orators of Skyline.
Loan officers won awards in multiple categories and spent the evening living the life of the stars that they are to us. The venue was stunning, the food was rich and delicious, and the speeches were funny and inspiring. Heads of the company commended loan officers for their achievements and reminded everyone that when we work hard and work together, nothing is out of our reach. Every loan officer starts from scratch. But the truly special ones never stop learning, value their team, and keep their eyes on the prize.
But at the end of the day, it isn’t about receiving a statue or enjoying a fun weekend with some of your favorite colleagues. Our industry is about that feeling of satisfaction you get after closing a loan and knowing that you helped another family build a new life in a new home.
Our loan officers are some of the best in the industry. Many have been with us for decades, and they deserve to be rewarded for the incredible work they do, helping families achieve their dreams and buy homes.
At Skyline, we work hard, and we play hard. It’s just too bad that we have to wait until next year for the next Platinum Producers Weekend.
This is a question we all ask ourselves at every stage of our careers. Characteristics like determination, creativity, diligence, and the ability work with others all tend to ring true in people we would consider successful. But there’s always that something extra.
We asked some of our top grossing loan officers what the secret to their success is, and here’s what they said:
“Getting involved in and exposed to personal growth early on truly shaped my career. I have always invested in myself, whether it was industry workshops such as Todd Duncan or Brian Buffini or entrepreneurial programs such as Dan Sullivan’s ‘Strategic Coach.’ The high level successful people I was exposed to and surrounded myself with provided me with a belief system, high quality work ethic, and just a positive general attitude.”
-Mark Klein
“Hard work, perseverance and an intense quest to obtain knowledge to always remain a step ahead of both the competition and of course ahead of those pesky underwriters!”
-Joe Tishkoff
“Big sacrifices equal big rewards.”
-Daniel Arias
“Success isn’t easy without a love for what you do and a love for helping others. This can’t be done without a great company with the best technology and an amazing team behind you that always has your back with a desire to truly make a difference in our partners and clients lives. I am fortunate to have that and feel that our future is brighter than ever.”
-Don Goettling
“The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
-Marty Yeghishian
One of the characteristics that Skyline’s top loan officers share is passion. Whether it be passion for self-improvement, passion for helping others, or passion for the mortgage industry itself, each one of our loan officers feels a sense of purpose that drives his or her work.
I’m lucky to work with an incredible group of people, all working toward the same goal. Do you have the passion be a top loan officer? Give me a call or shoot me an email and let’s talk.
In addition to making phone calls, sending text messages, and taking pictures, smartphones can run programs, edit files, and even create music. In fact, a modern smartphone is more than a million times more powerful than the processors that guided the first Apollo mission!* Most of us have these amazing little computers, so why not make the most of them?
There are tons of great apps that make our lives and our jobs as loan officers easier, and here are my favorites:
For keeping your passwords safe –Keeper
We’ve all heard the PSAs that your passwords should be different for security reasons, but it’s almost impossible to remember a hundred different passwords. Keeper stores all of them for you and keeps them safe, touting itself as a “secure digital vault.”
For stunning mortgage presentations – Mortgage Coach Edge
Nothing explains a financial concept like amortization better than a graph. That’s where Mortgage Coach comes in. This simple app allows you to illustrate every detail of the mortgage product your client is considering. The app makes colorful, easy to read charts and graphs that take complicated concepts and breaks them down, solidifying you as the loan officer of choice.
For listings and all the info – HBM
HBM is something you probably already use, but now it comes in a handy app. It gives you all the info that the site does, but in a quick, neat app that’s easier to use than the site on your phone.
For connecting with real estate agents – MTAGO
This powerful app gives you data on real estate offices and agents so you can find and research potential referral partners on the go! Locate offices nearby and get a list of their agents and contact info, look up specific agents and find their transaction data, production, and even what lender they’re currently using!
We offer our loan officers with Mortgage Coach, HBM and MTAGO as part of our loan officer marketing packages. Want to see what other amazing and cutting edge tools we offer our loan officers? Give me a call or shoot me an email and let’s talk!
Mortgages aren’t like they used to be, for example, in today’s market there is no one-size-fits-all loan product. To help educate new borrowers, Fifth Third Mortgage executive David Gunn shared five of the biggest mistakes most people make when buying homes.
Once again, appraisal volume struggled to take off for the week of May 22. Here’s what this week’s National Appraisal Volume Index showed is going on in the appraisal industry.
Step aside, spring. Summer is becoming the new hot season for home buying, according to a Florida Atlantic University economist.
Competition fueled by low inventory and interest rates and high prices will likely continue to push home sales figures higher this year, according to Ken Johnson, an associate dean at FAU’s College of Business in Boca Raton, Fla. And that’s not the only factor that will drive the buying frenzy that Johnson expects in the coming months.