THE LETTER X

TLX Issue #6

Before we get into the theme of the Letter X, I want to say that I think we could all use a little more empathy, sympathy, gratitude, and fellowship right now. Left, right, black, white, odd, even, mask, no mask... whatever it happens to be, I think we could all make an extra effort, myself included, to be excellent to each other (Thanks Bill & Ted). Let's see if we can make that trend!

X Marks the Spot

Xcited to share what content we have been consuming this week.

What will the state of real estate and by extension mortgage look like after C19? More video tours, matterport cameras being used more, suburbs vs cities. We can only make an educated guess on what that will look like for the remainder of 2020 as we start to come out of this.

Already we have seen a trend of buyers looking for houses with big yards and home offices, and the HBI put our their Summer 2020 Housing Market Trends which had some really interesting data. Recent reports from the Mortgage Bankers Association have shown a marked increase in the number of home loan applications. Also, a recent press release from Realtor.com showed a sharp increase in website activity among home shoppers.

Speaking of the MBA, their "Chart o' the Week" shows that people with at least 4 years of higher education (who worked in early April) were two-to-three times more likely to be working remotely, and only one-quarter of individuals with a bachelor’s degree did not work remotely – as opposed to two-thirds of those who did not graduate from high school.

The ability for most 4-year college graduates to work remotely (full-time or part of the time) means that, for many of them, their income has not been adversely affected. This has likely been a driving factor in the recovery in home purchase applications over the past six weeks, as purchase activity that was delayed by the pandemic has returned in many parts of the country.  

Scott Schang of BuyWise Mortgage put together a great Veteran's Guide to COVID-19 VA Mortgage Payment Relief which details protections for VA Loans in the CARES Act. Scott also went into the new COVID-19 Payment Deferral Option. Both great reads and highly recommended!

Speaking of highly recommended content, you can check out this week's Sales Meeting with Anthony Casa and Rene Rodriguez, which was about Seeking Success instead of Avoiding Failure.

Is Non-QM making a comeback after a short hiatus? Recently I sat down, virtually of course, with Tom Hutchens, EVP of Production for Angel Oak Mortgage Solution ls to talk about Non-QM's pause during the pandemic, its current offerings in the marketplace, and what the outlook is going forward. 

If you are not following my friend KP, Chief Lending Officer at PRMG, on LinkedIn you are really missing out! KP posted a great 10 minute video about how Covid-19 is an accelerant not a change agent for trends that were in the works for years such as E Commerce and Higher Education. Housing will NOT end the recession according to the Bow-tie Economist! CA state legislation threatens to freeze up lending!

It looks like everyone is thinking about rescheduling their postponed events to September and October which will obviously be a bad deal. You can't fit 6 months of events in two months especially when there were already fall events on the books. It looks like virtual events will still be on the menu and though a lot of them have underwhelmed there is a guide on How to make your virtual event NOT SUCK.

What We're Listening To

Presented by: REAL Disrupt

Positively Charged Biz: Jen Mesada, the CEO of She's Local

Next Level Loan Officers: EQ: FUELING YOURSELF ON THE WAY TO SUCCESS WITH KELSEY RAUCHUT

Laugh, Lend & Eat: Kevin Delory, SVP of Carrington Mortgage Services

The Marketing Trench: Virtual Showing Strategies & Open Houses Featuring Brad Filliponi

Blondes Have More Funds: A First Home Costs What?!?!

Culture Matters: Kerry Fitzpatrick: There is No Teaching Without Listening

The Confident Closers: How to Break the Cycle & Celebrate Change

BSN Live: Perception is Reality. How Entrepreneurs Deal With Expectations

Mortgage X: How the Right Partnership Makes All the Difference

Marketing Interrupt: The Quick & Complete Guide to Repurposing Your Content

Bonus: Broker to Broker: Live From AIME Activate Pt. 2

The REAL Disrupt podcasting family is growing every day with 6 more podcasts in the queue. If you have a podcast or are looking to start one, we would love to help you reach your full potential.

PATHFINDER X

For those in the Mortgage X Mastermind the are familiar with out weekly marketing calls, which I call Pathfinder. This section will now have a permanent home here in TLX for marketing content, which today will focus on an awesome free tool that I use all the time called WordSwag.

This tool has been around for a long time but is still my "go to" for quick and easy visual posts. This is a free download on the Apple and Google Play stores. Simply search for WordSwag and it will be top of the list!

Annnnd....starting Monday you will get to pair WordSwag with an 18 Month Social Media Planner that will be available to only members of the Mortgage X Mastermind AND approved brokers of CF Wholesale. This is a full featured planner with ideas, a schedule, and some content. Plus there will ongoing video updates to be used with the Calendar.

Next week will be a huge week as my company, CF Wholesale will be making a big announcement. Can't wait to tell you all about next week!

Have a great weekend!