A New ChapterDoug AndersonNAMB,HUD,Mortgage Brokers
I just started a new chapter. Actually, to clarify that a bit
more, I just finished one. I have been involved, in some fashion,
with the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, since 1994. I
attended my first leadership conference in Phoenix, Ariz., with
several of my partners in crime from Colorado, who have long since
moved to other things. (One of them you might remember, Amber Webb,
is on permanent holiday, cruising somewhere in the Caribbean.)
However, things are changing a bit for me, as I am no longer a
member of NAMB's Board of Directors.
I have always looked at my work with NAMB as the work of the
little guy. I am a loan originator without a warehouse line of
credit; I am like one of the brokers who we say are like
cockroaches, because no matter what you do to us, we are going to
make it through and advance to the next generation of existence.
Truthfully, I prefer the analogy of a salamander, or even a dolphin
as an evolved species, but we have been labeled as
“cockroaches” by some of our own! As a true mortgage
broker, my business would have been deeply impacted by HUD's
proposed rule that NAMB defeated, so I know that when I speak, I am
representing the entire mortgage broker community, whether NAMB
members or not.
I always ask others for their opinions on different issues
before I speak my mind. I do not do this to agree with them, but
rather, to explore the other side. If you attended NAMB's Delegate
Council meetings, you might have noticed that I never sat at the
designated seats for the NAMB Board; instead, I circulated among
the delegates to get their perspectives on what was happening.
However, it is accurate to state that I have started a new
chapter of a new book. Russ Sickmen, CEO of The Mortgage Press
Ltd., has asked me to write a monthly column for TMP's readership.
I suppose that he and his team know that if they needed an article,
I was generally reliable to put something together for them.
Besides, as you probably can tell, already, I have no qualms about
speaking my mind and write my truth with passion. My reasons for
accepting this assignment are numerous; my purpose is to keep you
thinking. I am not afraid of controversy and I do not fear ruffling
a few feathers here and there, whether it is a NAMB Officer, a
federal regulator or other industry trade associations.
I am deeply passionate about several things: the mortgage broker
(first and foremost), as well as the small business of two-10
person shops that work hard everyday, including weekends and
holidays. I also have a deep passion for the underdog, whether it's
the Native-American, Tyler Hamilton, trying to outlast Lance
Armstrong in the Tour de France, a victim of a predatory loan, Jim
Brown's teenage son, who sat through 10 hours of a congressional
hearing with his dad or any baseball team playing against the New
York Yankees.
Some people think I am dangerous ... a loose cannon, if you
will. Others believe I am a rabble-rouser and others believe I'm an
irritant. Have you ever been accused of being one of these? Of
course you have! We stand up for our clients, calling underwriters
until we get a response or pushing a closer to get docs out to save
a date on a purchase contract. We have been accused of being all of
the above!
Hopefully, through my monthly column in The Mortgage
Press, I will make you laugh and at other times, I will make
you angry. I want to know what you are thinking. So, please feel
free to e-mail me at
[email protected]
with your comments. I will be more than happy to volley with a few
of you from time to time.
So, until next month's installment (Chapter Two in my saga) ...
keep bringing in those loans!
Doug Anderson, of Washington Park
Mortgage LLC, may be reached by e-mail at
[email protected]
