Midyear Adjustments!
Here we are, midway through 2020 and boy, you really couldn’t write this script and have anyone believe it was true! All the business planning in the world, regardless of the most optimistic, could not have planned for this kind of activity under these kinds of circumstances. Yet here we are! Purchase loans are up 18% year over year. New home sales jump up 8% year over year, more than 16% from last month alone! We can’t yet begin to grasp all the refinance activity in real time because so many places are just backlogged with applications that their ability to even report those applications in a timely manner is stressed. So clearly, loan volume is NOT an issue!
In this past monthly call I went into detail on some issues, you can log into the website and listen in if you missed the call live, but we really need to look at our systems and see how they are holding up under the stress of all this opportunity. We need to keep in mind; it’s NOT acceptable for the quality of the experience to the customer and the referral partners to diminish because of volume! In fact, MANY of us are seeing more opportunities because they are delivering on expectations!
We also need to monitor our capacity vs run rate of volume and look hard at our systems before we jump out and hire more team members. You may just cause more trouble taking time to train and support new people than just doing the job yourself! If you are going to hire, be sure you have a plan and a schedule in place to meet the requirements of supporting a new person. Always keep in mind that hiring people into a poor system just has more people making a mess!
You also want to take your time and schedule and plan your time. Getting frequent breaks, keeping hydrated, and getting enough sleep will keep you functioning at a high level. Working while overtired leads to mistakes and additional work. So do one thing at a time and do it well! Don’t be afraid to set expectations of your borrowers and associated professionals as well. Getting the deal to closing on time isn’t just your problem. Realtors, title, insurance people, sellers, etc. all have a part in the process!
Big shout out to those seeing huge referral numbers from their small banks and credit unions! Many of them have really benefited from those relationships as some of the banks and credit unions have either tightened standards or gotten out of the mortgage arena for now! As always, “The Forever Home Strategy” continues to provide new opportunities every day! It’s really exciting when originators can refer listing opportunities to their referral partners!!!
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