Nov. 30: Christmas idea - Books for your staff or friends by/about authors in our biz; vendor updates; inflation from unusual sources

I doubt if prices are going to drop like the trusting folks in this video. Despite what was said during the campaign, no president, or Federal Open Market Committee, controls inflation; their policies can influence it. But many things are out of anyone’s control. Do you like chocolate? Cocoa prices have reached $9,282 per metric ton, about 30 percent above the price at the same time last year and up 45 percent from their low in October. Globally, chocolatiers are in a panic mode, as companies that exhausted their stockpiles of cocoa awaiting a cheaper price are now stuck with empty warehouses and a need to rebuild cocoa coffers that are at their lowest levels since 2005. Last year, due to a drought, the Panama Canal was forced to reduce the number of daily transits from 36 to 38 ships to 18-22 ships. Now the canal authorities are floating some new ideas to increase throughput, one of which would be a land bridge, essentially a $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion overland corridor where ships would offload cargo, move it by road or rail across the isthmus, and then load it onto a ship on the other side. That’s in addition to the proposed $1.6 billion new reservoir and dam that would supplement water into Gatun Lake and facilitate another 12 to 13 transits per day. Lastly, under the “follow the money” belief, talk of Trump’s health team eliminating water fluoridation in the United States increasing cavities dental supply giant Henry Schein saw its shares spike 7.5 percent on the news. And it could potentially juice the private dental fluoridation industry, which is worth $4 billion as of 2024 and projected to rise to $11 billion by 2034.

Literacy is alive and well

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3rd grade was the best two years of my life.

What better Christmas present for your staff or co-workers than a book or two written by someone in our industry, or very close to our industry? Is giving a real estate agent a book on becoming a productive and well-respected real estate agent a RESPA violation? For something completely different, looking for a holiday gift for your staff since you’re not spending much on travel and entertainment? Congratulations to anyone who can write a book, and there are several (that I know about) in or close to our biz. And with the reasonable prices, good gifts for your staff. Or for your boss! No, these are not paid ads, and the books are written by folks in our biz, about our biz, or close to it. In no order, we have…

The Middleman book project was exciting because we got to talk about the 1990s, when Stan started in the business. Stan is an eyewitness to the rebirth of nonbank finance in America in the 1990s. More, Freedom Mortgage is one of the last examples of an issuer that grew organically by accumulating MSRs. A large portfolio of MSRs adds to the safety and resilience of IMBs, as proven by Freedom. “The misguided risk based capital rules from Ginnie Mae make it impossible for smaller firms to grow this way in the future.

Rethink Everything You "Know" About Being a Next Gen Loan Officer by Kyle Draper and Brian Vieaux is the ultimate guide for housing professionals looking to elevate their careers. Packed with insights from 37 industry experts, this bestseller challenges outdated practices and provides actionable strategies for building trust, leveraging technology, and thriving in a modern mortgage market. Whether you’re a loan officer, real estate agent, or someone passionate about housing, this book offers invaluable lessons for success. A perfect holiday gift to inspire and empower your team as they head into 2025!

Mortgages aside, given the current employment situation and mortgage folks perhaps taking a look at other industries, let’s start off with a gift idea for a family member or someone you know who is interested in pursuing a career in health or who is in the field and ready for a change. Check out my friend Jeff Oxendine’s new book, You Don’t Have to Be a Doctor: Discover, Achieve and Enjoy Your Authentic Health Career. Jeff, CEO of Health Career Connection and a longtime faculty member at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, shares his proven 9 step framework, practical tools, inspiring stories, and hands-on exercises that he has used to help thousands of students and health professionals choose and succeed in the health career that best suits them.

Eric Mitchell is the EVP for Gold Star Mortgage and oversees nationwide business development strategies for its 500+ employees through innovative purchase market strategies proven to revolutionize the way Loan Officers and Realtors partner, generating their unprecedented success and market reach. Eric has written “The Why of Money”. Here is the Amazon page.

Russ Van Buren’s Falling, inspired by the true events of 9-11.

There’s “Surviving Sosebee: A Lesson Plan on Life” by Mary Lee Gilchrest with First State Bank Mortgage in Kansas. (“I self-published so the book can be purchased from me by emailing me your address. My book is $15.00 with shipping, and I enclose a return envelope for payment on the honor system that buyers will send money. My book talks about some that I have been through in my life and refers to my job many times, and the small profit I give the profit to ALZ and lung cancer research as those are the illnesses my mother and mother-in-law suffered with.”)

“My Client the FBI: How a real estate appraiser assisted the FBI before and after the mortgage crisis in cleaning up a broken system.” Written by Donald Gossman, you can read more about it here along with thank you notes from the Feds.

Conquering Shifts is for MLOs as part of a solid business plan authored by Cindy Douglas and Kathleen Heck.

Michael Rosser and Diane Sanders penned “A History of Mortgage Banking in the West,” a “book that should be read by politicians and business leaders everywhere.” Order here and use promo code ROSS17 to knock 20% off the price.

“Buy Your First Home Today” was written by John Mallett is a good book for LOs to give their clients. “Empower your life, build your wealth, own the home of your dreams.”

Anne Elliott composed “Mortgage Risk: A Blueprint for Smarter Origination.” The book is meant for underwriters, sales managers, LOs and appraisers.

“Hacked. Screwed. Gone.” By Jim Deitch is an “A-Z blueprint to protect your business from accidental & malicious information security threats.”

Jason Myers authored “Becoming the Successful Mortgage Broker.” Jason also wrote “The Successful Mortgage Broker.” “Becoming a millionaire in the mortgage industry doesn’t happen by chance. When you lay the proper foundation, you create the opportunity.”

“Demystifying Mandatory” by STRATMOR’s Jennifer Fortier is a good read for anyone starting out in capital markets.

From Texas comes Michael Jones with his tome, “Reset” about a loan officer who is bumping along the bottom and re-ignites his career with some simple process changes and effort.

“The Uncommon Commodity: A Common-Sense Guide for New Managers” was composed by Doug Thorpe. “A collection of many thought-provoking stories, tips, anecdotes, and life hacks to help you grow as a manager.”

Here’s a primer on the capital markets sector from SIFMA…a fundamental overview of U.S. capital markets and financial institutions including an overview of capital markets, role of financial institutions, investment banking, markets & securities, and more.

Third party provider tidbits

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Call them vendors or third-party providers, basically every lender would be dead in the water without some of their services. Let’s see who’s doing what, in no particular order.

HomeLight and Orchard announced they have entered into a strategic partnership, where Orchard’s Move First program will be powered by HomeLight’s industry-leading Buy Before You Sell product. Sixty percent of homebuyers need to sell a home in order to buy their next one. For many homeowners, that means coordinating multiple moves, navigating an extremely complicated purchase process, and extra costs. HomeLight Buy Before You Sell uses AI technology to allow these individuals to unlock up to 70% of the equity from their existing home and begin making offers the same day. All Orchard Move First transactions will be handled via HomeLight Buy Before You Sell. Move First agents and customers can get started at: https://orchard.com/services/move-first. Lenders interested in bringing Buy Before You Sell to their clients should visit: lenders.homelight.com. Agents interested in bringing Buy Before You Sell to their clients should visit: homelight.com/buy-before-you-sell/agents. 

Building upon the recent corporate launch of Rate Intelligence, Rate Insurance, LLC, a subsidiary of Rate and one of the fastest-growing national personal lines and small commercial insurance brokers, unveiled new AI-driven features within its fintech insurance sales and service platform. These innovations enhance customer experience and optimize agent efficiency, marking another step in Rate’s comprehensive AI strategy across its affiliated brands. Rate Insurance is harnessing the power of generative AI and machine learning to enhance the efficiency of its agents and improve overall operations, enabling them to provide best-in-class service. A key area of investment and focus for Rate Insurance is leveraging Rate Intelligence throughout the entire business. These AI systems are designed to assist agents in making informed decisions, streamlining processes, and improving the customer experience. The objective is to provide teams with a co-pilot that supports their efforts and enhances their capabilities. 

ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, announced the addition of 10 credit unions to its growing customer base. These organizations leverage ACES Quality Management & Control Software® to improve quality and mitigate risk across multiple internal areas, including mortgage lending, consumer lending, deposit accounts and more. Streamlining auditing workflow to improve speed, find pockets of risk and enhance the member experience. Robust quality, root cause and trend reporting assists with regulatory, executive and investor requirements, while the ACES compliance engine automates over 14,000 regulatory tests for mortgage origination, servicing, and consumer lending.

ACES Quality Management® (ACES), the leading provider of enterprise quality management and control software for the financial services industry, announced the release of its quarterly ACES Mortgage QC Industry Trends Report covering the second quarter (Q2) of 2024. The latest report analyzes post-closing quality control data derived from ACES Quality Management & Control® software. ACES has altered the timing of this report to better reflect Fannie Mae’s accelerated timeline for post-closing quality control reviews.

OptifiNow, a leading provider of cloud-based CRM and marketing automation solutions, and Loan Originator Networks, LLC (LON) announced a new integration combining OptifiNow’s Loan Scenario Tracking module with the LON Pricer tool creates a seamless workflow for account executives to manage broker loan scenarios. By allowing account executives to input loan details and track scenario outcomes, the integration enables instant quoting and transparent visibility into broker loan preferences. The LON Pricer tool, compatible with an array of popular loan products and pricing engines (PPE) like Optimal Blue, Polly, and MeridianLink Mortgage PriceMyLoan, offers wholesale lenders a flexible, unified approach to pricing. This collaboration empowers lenders to maintain continuity and control across their preferred pricing engines, without needing to juggle multiple systems.

(THE AUTHOR IS NOT KNOWN. IT WAS FOUND IN THE BILLFOLD OF COACH PAUL BEAR BRYANT, ALABAMA, AFTER HE DIED IN 1982.)

The Magic Bank Account

Imagine that you had won the following PRIZE in a contest: Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400 in your private account for your use. However, this prize has rules.

1. Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.

2. You may not simply transfer money into some other account.

3. You may only spend it.

4. Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400 for that

day.

5. The bank can end the game without warning; at any time, it can say, “Game Over!" It can close the account, and you will not receive a new one.

What would you personally do?

You would buy anything and everything you wanted, right? Not only for yourself, but for all the people you love and care for. Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right? You would try to spend every penny, and use it all, because you knew it would be replenished in the morning, right?

ACTUALLY, This GAME is REAL

Shocked??? YES!

Each of us is already a winner of this PRIZE. We just can't seem to see it.

The PRIZE is TIME.

1. Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life.

2. And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is Not credited to us.

3. What we haven't used up that day is forever lost.

4. Yesterday is forever gone.

5. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time WITHOUT WARNING.

SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds? Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. Think about it and remember to enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think. So, take care of yourself, be happy, love deeply and enjoy life! Here's wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day. Start “spending.” Don’t complain about growing old: Some people don’t get the privilege.

Visit www.robchrisman.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or to subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. If you're interested, visit my periodic blog at the STRATMOR Group web site. The current STRATMOR blog is “A Lender’s Personal Touch Can Help After a Disaster.” The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

qoɹ

(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes visit LenderNews. This newsletter is for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For up-to-date mortgage news visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.robchrisman.com. Copyright 2024 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Occasional paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman. The views and opinions in this newsletter are mine alone unless otherwise specifically stated herein.)