Building an effective and functioning mortgage homepage to help borrowers is like building your very own homemade robot. It doesn't have to be complex, but instead of using second-rate electronics and old metal garbage cans in your garage, why not use the best tools to make the coolest robot possible?
If you're an admin looking to gain an edge on your website, MarksmanLMP's widgets can be embedded directly into your site, making it a slick and valuable tool to attract borrowers. Simple, easy-to-implement tools on your homepage help your borrowers make smart and fast decisions. Best of all the only thing you need to do to utilize these powerful tools is "copy" and "paste" their coding. Then let these widgets do all the work:
Instant Rate Finder - Just a few clicks and borrowers can access rates with laser-like speed.
Max Mortgage Calculator - Borrowers can precisely check the maximum amount they can afford on a home.
Mortgage Calculator - Break down loan answers, such as loan amount, type, interest rates and taxes throughout the term of the loan.
Rate Snapshot - Place up-to-date rates in front of your borrowers so they can choose when it's the right time to purchase.
Rate Tracker - No more hunting down rates, they're delivered via email, right to the borrower.
Short App - Borrowers can start the loan process with just a few pieces of information.
Should I Refinance - To refi or not to refi, that is the question. This widget can help the borrower with that answer.
Any mortgage data borrowers input is automatically populated back into your MarksmanLMP account. So start "programming" your borrower communication strategies and embed the widgets today. Or sit in on one of MarksmanLMP trainings to see how its done.
Mortech was recently selected as one of HousingWire's Giants of Innovation. Being an innovator takes HUGE ideas with titan-like capabilities. Mortech is proud to be recognized by the publication.
HousingWire's Giants collection is a series of publications featuring the top Default Lawyers, REO Agents and Mortgage Technology Innovators. Each Giant was selected to be a part of the ensemble because of the reputation they hold, their commitment to superior customer service and their dedication and hard work in the industry that they serve.
According to HousingWire “The firms within this site are some of the most innovative, forward-thinking companies in the industry. We proudly feature the products or services that have made their businesses–and the companies they do business with–leaders and innovators. The profiles within contain detailed descriptions and visually stunning representations of the products or services they offer.”
As the industry’s first and only Lending Management Platform, the Giants of Innovation article highlights MarksmanLMP. Mortech's Lending Management Platform is a new way to look at the mortgage sales process. Managing and tracking your leads is essential. The solution encourages lenders to prospect potential borrowers before they enter your LOS. Check out the article to learn more about the innovative process.
Mortech never took its tuxedo off from the New Year's Eve extravaganza... and guess what? That fancy new look is here to stay. The next release is sure to be filled with all sorts of eye-appealing, benefit-filled features. What does this mean for our users?
Intuitive, inviting interfaces, so everything's easier to find.
1. NEW Dropdown Menu (Available in March's upcoming Release)
Easily access rates, prospects, products and reports from every page within MarksmanLMP with the newly revised menu.
2. NEW Dashboard (BETA version available now)
MarksmanLMP's new home dashboard equips administrative users with:
- lead source scorecards
- loan officer scorecards
- prospect pipeline snapshot
- MBS Quoteline Graphs and news (for current subscribers)
3.NEW Prospect Landing Page (available in March's release)
Updated from November's release, users will be able to modify fields without leaving the page. Moreover, users can easily take notes and keep track of a prospect's status while setting up task reminders.
Why isn't there a picture of the new prospect landing page? Well, that's because it is too intense for a blog posting. You'll have to wait for March's release to witness its capabilities.
Do you remember the last time you were this excited about mortgage banking software? Us either!
The employees of Mortech love nothing more than giving back to their community. Just last month, they got scruffy for Movember and raised over $1,300 for issues affecting men’s health.
This warm December, employees decided to donate to the Salvation Army.
Every holiday season, Salvation Army organizes a toy and food drive. Families are given a two-day span in which they can go to Salvation Army and collect items that will help them have a better holiday season. This year, The Salvation Army teamed up with Toys for Tots, enabling the organization to offer two gifts, a stocking stuffer and book for every sponsored child!
Each family also receives groceries to prepare a home-cooked holiday meal.
This year, the four employees chosen to relive their childhood and go on a shopping spree were Doug, Jared, Jessica and Chantelly (pictured above from left to right). Eleven carts packed full of toys and three hours later, the toys were delivered to The Salvation Army.
Mortech matched every dollar the employees donated out of their own pocket. This year they reached a grand total of $5,190 – topping last year’s $4,100 donation to Cedars Home for Children.
Happy Holidays and safe travels from everyone at Mortech!
Guest blog by Dan Hermanson, OrderProUSA
'Tis the holiday season! Joy is in the air, parking spots are rare, our wallets are getting lighter, and our jeans are even tighter. The stores are packed, the gifts are wrapped, homes are glowing, oh my it's snowing!
This time of year we spend it with those most important to us, our families. Our families are our core, our support, our backbone. The holidays should be cherished with our loved ones.
Here at OrderProUSA, we take great pride in our family. We are more than an appraisal management company, we are a family. Made up of some of the most unique people around, each of us at OrderProUSA brings our own personality to the table.
We would like to introduce ourselves as the new neighbor who just moved in. While we've been around a while, we enjoy meeting new people. Like your family, OrderProUSA is here for you. No annoying prompts or operators to go through, just a helpful smile on the other end to assist you.
Try us out! Simply place an appraisal order with OrderProUSA through your MarksmanLMP, sit back and relax. We cover all 50 states including Puerto Rico. We have the tools and experience to keep you updated throughout the process, or simply give us a call! We have headsets permanently glued to our highly trained staff’s heads all day long waiting to talk to you. And we don’t take breaks or sleep or even blink! Once the report has been completed by our network of Quality Certified Appraisers, we run it through an extensive Quality Control review to meet all guidelines including USPAP, Dodd-Frank, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac UAD, FHA, and USDA, so you can spend your time on more important things like selling and closing loans, not revision requests. And oh yeah, “Compliance! Compliance! Compliance!”, are all met with ease. As easy as Compliant Santa eating Compliant cookies. With our lightning fast turn times, your present will be waiting for you under the tree in no time!
OrderProUSA wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday. We look forward to you being a part of our family!
Photo courtesy of fathero9
Been seeing a lot of moustaches lately? Well, so has Mortech. That’s right; Mortech hopped on the good ol’ healthy bandwagon and participated in Movember this year.
What’s Movember you ask?
On November 1, freshly-shaven participants begin growing a moustache and continue growing and nurturing it throughout the course of November. They essentially become a walking, talking advertisement for men's health issues. Moreover, participants get people to donate money out of the kindness of their heart ...or by promising them they can choose what kind of moustache you grow - either way!
The proceeds go to charities such as the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, The Lance Armstrong Foundation. In addition, Movember raises overall awareness for prostate cancer and other health issues affecting men.
Employees raised $688 with Mortech matching that number dollar-for-dollar - all together raising $1,376. Congratulations to our three top-raising participants and our best moustache and facial hair winners.
Top-Raising Participants:
Dale Preston: $241 (top right)
Jared Nielsen: $170 (the guy in the sunglasses)
Jason Zelenda: $90 (bottom right)
Category Winners:
Best Moustache: Dale Preston (top right)
Best Facial Hair: Justin Baker (the guy in the Hawaiian shirt)
Did you or anyone you know participate in Movember?
When a consumer begins the long journey of finding a mortgage, they are like a boxer whose career has just started - completely unaware of the proper technique and most likely expending too much energy.
It is your job to act as their trainer. You have to give them the proper tools they need to finish the deal as quickly as possible. After all, the quicker the fight, the quicker you get paid - don't be afraid to give them all of your resources upfront.
Marksman's Lender Connect allows you to act as their trainer; it delivers all the essential homebuying tools to consumers and adds to your credentials as an industry expert.
Feature the following tools on your website:
- Market Snapshot - Show off your company's daily rates on an easy-to-use grid
- Rate Tracker - Send rates to interested prospects via email
- Calculator Widgets - Allow consumers to calculate how much of a mortgage they can afford and whether they should continue to rent or buy
- Dynamic Rate Look Up - Deliver real-time rates to consumers based off of their individual scenario and FICO score
- Web Applications - Gather information and prequalify consumers directly from your website (short form or long form loan scenario applications)
- Consumer Connect Access - Invite consumers to fill out a 1003 application and search for real estate service providers
- Landing Page - Educate consumers about all of the tools they need to succeed (Coming Soon)
*Photo courtesy of binkybink
Sound the music. Marksman has evolved.
Lately, Marksman has been feeling like Sandy Olsson from Grease - out of place. We're not a Pink Lady product and pricing engine - we're different. We have a perm and cherry red lipstick.
Long story short, we got a makeover and have expanded into the industry's first Lending Management Platform.
While we didn’t put on skin-tight black pants (although a few of the guys in the office still choose to wear them on casual Fridays), we did give Marksman a snazzy new user interface emphasizing expanded functionality.
The new MarksmanLMP simplifies, automates and organizes your lending process. From lead acquisition, assessment and marketing to processing, the lending management platform qualifies leads long before they get to your LOS.
Core features include:
Expect MarksmanLMP's releases to be more saturated with lending management platform goodness. Moreover, don't forget Mortech always takes suggestions on how to enhance its functions, so contact customer support if you have any ideas you'd like to see implemented.
If you liked what you just read, feel free to take a look at the new website.
If you hated what you just read and like to dance, check this out.
Now if we could only get one of those flying cars like at the end of the movie...
Photo courtesy of cupcake_s
Congratulations to Janet Duffy of Towne Mortage of the Carolinas - she was our Grand Prize winner for Mortech's Best of Worst iPad 2 contest! The contest was created to uncover the obstacles the mortgage community faces when attempting to connect with real estate service providers.
Janet kindly agreed to speak with us, beyond the 400 characters maximum for the contest entry, about her winning entry, and we got an in-depth, personal account of some of her obstacles.
She mentioned she spends several hours going over people's personal financial information, the customers trust her to give them all-around good advice - including service provider recommendations. Janet said currently "it can take an hour to find someone and try to figure out if they will be an acceptable provider," and when searching for providers the old-fashioned way (Yellow Pages or Google), you're most likely going to get a tech-savvy company or a company that has paid for an advertisement rather than the best person for the job.
Janet also talked about how everything that touches a mortgage transaction is a reflection of herself, considering she is the face of the transaction. She said "If I recommend an insurance agent and they don't respond, the borrower will start to think I'm inept."
The Solution:
TheMorty.com. Streamline the process by searching for service providers through an unbiased search engine, so you can ensure that the top companies are not just people paying for advertising space.
Thanks again for your input, Janet.
The recession that sparked in early 2008 is still having effects in today's economy; but the once distraught housing market is making a slow but sure rebound - and here's a little evidence.
Present Day
- The number of August defaults was 48,187; and for the last seven months PMI defaults have been under 50,000. This number is comparable to the number of defaults in August 2006 (before the housing crisis), which was 44,918. This recent activity may indicate that the housing market is rebounding.
The Peak of the Housing Crisis
- PMI defaults rose above 100,000 for two months (December 2008 and January 2009). Typically the number of PMI defaults falls around the low 40,000’s.
- The number of applications received for PMI in December 2008 was 61,597. This number is double the number of applications received in August 2011 (30,702). This statistic is supported by the idea that it is presently harder for potential borrowers to qualify for a loan – especially when the LTV is above 80%
Obviously the entire housing market can’t be summed up into a five digit number; but, nevertheless, the number of defaulted loans doesn’t lie. Green pastures are on the horizon.
Luckily for loan officers that have weathered this storm, MarksmanLMP automatically determines PMI guideline eligibility for every loan scenario and supports all major PMI companies, such as MGIC, MGIC Credit Union, Genworth, Genworth Credit Union, United Guaranty, Essent, CMG Credit Union, Radian Credit Union and Radian Platinum.
*source: PrivateMI.com