Mortgage wholesaling has been rejuvenated by the fully recovered and the robustly rebounding construction industry and housing market in the U.S., and with that, the bar of wholesale industry standards is being raised every day at an unprecedented rate.
Among the emergence of the new wholesale standard is the increasing emphasis on compliance, the continued prioritization of service, and the necessity for cutting-edge technology to be involved in and intrinsic to both the quality and efficiency of service and the wholesale team itself. And we’re not talking about just knowing that we need to have a good looking Web site up … that’s a given in today’s business world. Think instead about what technological edge you are placing within your wholesale business model in order to ensure that you continually have more success.
Above all, quality is what it is all about, and what ensures the edge in wholesaling. “The year 2013 will continue to see significant and industry-altering changes. Yet the role of the broker, the account executive and the wholesale mortgage banker will continue to ascend as it is further proven that [the] team produces the highest quality loans” (from the January 2013 issue of National Mortgage Professional Magazine on page 24, “2013: Wholesale Rising” by Al Crisanty).
Knowing the industry’s future and complying
As 2013 has gone on, there has been an increasing emphasis on compliance, in particular, on the forward mortgage side. The rules and penalties will only continue to get stricter and more stringent as 2013 passes into 2014. This could hinder the success of a wholesale company, which is why there needs to be a black and white, zero-tolerance policy with regards to violators of established guidelines or procedures.
In short, there needs to be a committed understanding to learning what it takes to be compliant, and the wholesale organization must actively set out to be aware of, approve, and review all partner procedures, while maintaining vigilant quality control (QC) procedures.
The continued resurgence of the wholesale channel—and examine why this is simply a part of crafting the New Mortgage Industry (NMI). The NMI is simply the combined structural, operational and regulatory changes that are being put in place in the aftermath of the mortgage system collapse and housing bubble. One of the emerging themes of the NMI is the potential risk for lenders for all activities from first customer contact through their final mortgage payment. While this may be a dose of hyperbole, in reality, the unknowns regarding the final composition of the NMI make it imperative for lenders to have visibility and confidence in all aspects of the mortgage process or risk substantial regulatory and financial consequences. (again from the January 2013 issue of National Mortgage Professional Magazine on page 24, “2013: Wholesale Rising” by Al Crisanty).
What is paramount for a broker in 2013?
Understanding the broker’s needs is integral to success. Experience has shown that these are keys to being a great wholesaler: having quality service, pricing, customer introduction, customer retention, technology, seminars, innovative marketing material, and helpful training programs. Knowing the client is every bit as important as knowing the industry.
This gets tricky when the use of new technology provides powerful tools that bring pricing and the status of deals to the lenders and brokers instantaneously. UNMBWholesale.com, for instance, makes daily improvements to provide active viewers, brokers, and lenders, alike, with not only user friendly content and tools, but the instant feel–where there is no wait for what you need–helps to greatly increase the efficiency of everyone involved in a wholesale deal. Having a pricing system that is updated online constantly and is built on a fully integrated system of quality is paramount to succeeding in today’s world. With a few clicks, anyone should be able to easily find and know how to apply, what the pricing is, and whether or not a deal is qualified.
Working hand in hand with this technological area is how the quality of service continues to show as the wholesaler’s number one priority. Service, which has been always been and always will be vital to the industry, must cater to each individual involved, from the broker, to the loan officer, to the executive, to the borrower so that they get the boutique-like, the concierge-like attention they desire and deserve. Adding question forms and easily found contact information that is incessantly monitored on a web page makes for the kind of attention to detail that grows the personal service and quality that succeeding in the future of the vastly dynamic wholesale industry is contingent upon.
Andrew Russell is director of wholesale lending for United Northern Mortgage Bankers. He may be reached by phone at (516) 390-8280 or e-mail
[email protected].
