Before I get started on another rant today, I think it would be very appropriate to show some love to our industry professionals.
Look, I am NOT discrediting or undervaluing the work of our healthcare professionals (my wife, my mother, my mother-in-law… her sister and her daughter, my friends wives… all healthcare workers), grocery store employees, restaurant owners and their employees along with all of the other “essential” workers who have been helping the country by providing some layer of normalcy. Now that my 2020 PC Disclaimer has been stated, lets move on.
These past few weeks have been very taxing on us all, but I want to send a HUGE shout out:
…to the Brokers and Loan Officers who maybe had to restructure a purchase deal for a Veteran or restart a loan that was “qualified” just 3 weeks ago
…to the Underwriters, Closers, Post-Closers, Openers, Processors who had to change and apply “on the fly” guideline updates to loans in their current pipeline, ALL while dealing with some of the highest production levels our industry has seen in quite some time
…to the Account Executives (BIG love obviously) who had to learn and communicate “on the fly” guidelines changes, deny or restructure loans and sometimes just lend an ear (even if it’s being chewed off)
…to the Leadership Teams who had to sift through all the new investor updates, rewrite the “on the fly” guidelines, create a new virtual culture and make those hard decisions that will hopefully help create long term sustainability for their companies
And to ALL the people I missed (those in servicing I’m sure I’ll be writing about your bleeding hearts in May) THANK YOU! Your hard work during these turbulent times is not only recognized by me, but by all of us in the mortgage industry. You’ve made and applied changes in less than a month that traditionally would have taken our industry years to implement. It’s impressive.
Okay, now that the mushy shi… stuff… is over what’s going on out there? Well, as Mark Calabria predicted only 1 million Fannie and Freddie mortgages… wait, what? That number is actually 37% higher?! Yea folks almost 3 million mortgages are currently in forbearance and the true impact on this decision has still yet to be felt.
Weekly mortgage apps are up as borrowers continue to capitalize on historically lower rates and while the purchase market continues to take a blow there is hope that life will return to normal sooner rather than later… I mean in PA we can do curbside pickup for booze at the State Stores! In all honesty we’re going to see this turn around and for most of us right now this is the PERFECT time to go on offense. Redefine the way you’ve been doing business. Adopt a more virtual/digital approach. Support your realtor base by offering coaching and training about the new guideline updates. Do something! Just don’t sit on your hands waiting for answers… because they ain’t coming… at least not right now.
Thanks again to EVERYONE who has helped keep our country running (even if it feels like it’s running on a backup generator… hey, at least oil prices are low) and finally my heart goes out to those who have been seriously affected by this virus. Many of us (I’m referring to the human race when I say us) have lost loved ones and jobs, but we’re (again, referring to all humans) a resilient group and we will find a way out of this, stronger than ever.
Stay safe. Stay healthy.
Talk to you soon,
MJ