I am writing a series of Preparedness Tips to assist you in uncovering any “dark corners” in your systems or workflows that may cause you issues after August 1, 2015. The first discussion is the mindset of the company, and direction. To all my C-Suite Peeps, this one’s for you as you work diligently to position your company for the future!
TRID is not just a new disclosure. TRID is a new workflow; as are many of the new regulations! This means that when you look at the present mortgage lender and the way that they are set up to produce, one thing becomes quite obvious. We are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole in order to comply. It just isn’t going to work and your will frustrate yourself, your staff and disrupt your bottom line without thoughtful change.
We have spent years trying to “configure” our workflows and technologies, to fit our thinking of the “way it has always been done”. This leaves many companies at a disadvantage as new thought leaders develop best practices for the new regulatory burdens lenders face. Outdated best practices:
- Impede production
- Increase cost
- Increase Regulatory Risk
- Contribute to attrition
- Directly affect the moral and attitude of your staff
Now I know changing how you do things is not a popular idea for anyone of you out there. In fact, it’s darn hard and no one likes change. We’ve all been “entrepreneurs” and are used to doing our own thing. Freedom has been a big attractant to this business for many of us. The problem is that the world of mortgage lending has changed, and so must the way that you think about obtaining profit.
Profit is a good thing and all lenders should work toward a reasonable profit or why bother! Yet there is more than one “best practices” to gain profit, and to make your regulatory burden less. Those newer ways of thinking should be considered so that you are demonstrating a strong and consistent lending model. It really can be done and you will find that these new ways of thinking will undoubtedly lessen your regulatory burden, lower your cost to originate and incrementally increase your profit. So roll up your sleeves, open your mind and let’s get this done!
Tomorrow I’ll discuss Lender Fees in the workflow.
