On the Road Again

All About Me
After a respite of a couple weeks, I'm back on the road again next Monday. This time, however, I won't have a typical agenda of meeting with lenders and brokers. For most of next week (Aug 4-7) I'll be back in Milwaukee for meetings at MGIC (eMagic's parent company) headquarters, where we will discuss and plan for the next 12-18 months of new development on the eMagic platform. These meetings are much more interesting now that eMagic is much more than a way to access DU and LP. And it doesn't hurt that I actually like downtown Milwaukee. It's a perfect taste of city life for a country (or mountain) mouse like me.

But I won't even have time to unpack my suitcase before heading to Sacramento for the annual CAMB convention (Aug 8th and 9th), where I'll participate in a panel discussion on technology at 2:30 on Friday. If you're at the show please come and join me. I'll be up there with representatives from Ellie Mae and Calyx Software, and it should be an interesting session. After that I get a welcome respite, as I'm on vacation for the following week (Aug 10th-16th).

One by-product of all this time away from my normal routine is that my weekly e-mail, the eMagic-Zine, won't be going out for a few weeks. Look for it to start up again the week I return. And remember, if you are planning to attend the CAMB show, drop by my Friday panel discussion or our booth on Saturday and say hello. I'll tell you anything about my trip to company HQ that isn't top-secret, classified information. It promises to be an interesting next couple weeks.

The New (and not just improved) eMagic

This blog is dedicated to providing news and insights to mortgage originators that they might not be getting elsewhere. I try hard to cover many topics and events that have little or nothing to do with my company (eMagic) and it's parent company (MGIC), and if you look back at the archive of this blog, you'll see that to be the case. But once in a while I'll have something about my company to share that is legitimate news, and that is the case today.

eMagic released an upgrade over the past weekend, and it goes far beyond the realm of 'New and Improved'. Most people know eMagic as a popular option for getting DU and LP approvals, and while that will always be a part of what we do, it'll soon be only one part of a much bigger picture. As a comparison think about cellphones. At first (and not that many years ago) merely having a phone you could actually keep with you and use from any location seemed revolutionary. But now we have Blackberrys and iPhones and Treos that have so many features that the phone feature is almost an afterthought. And so it shall soon be with eMagic. Loan officers will be logging on to eMagic from any number of different computers to originate files, complete loan apps, generate disclosures, calculate loan scenarios, collaborate on paperless loan files, and . . . . oh yeah- run files through DU and LP! So forget what you know about eMagic today, and keep an open mind about a whole new way of doing things.

Although we've been piloting new functionality in eMagic for months, we've just recently made some of those features available to anyone who wants to use them. In fact, you can sign your company up for a free 180-day trial of a couple of these new features- eMagic Trio (paperless file storage and collaboration) and our new web-based contact and lead management system. To go directly to the free trial signup page, click here. Here's a quick overall summary of our recent release:

• Loan Folder screen- This new screen is designed to be your electronic web-based loan file, giving you access to your loan data, imaged documents, calculators, data entry forms (1003, GFE, TIL, disclosures) and DU/LP ordering through your eMagic lenders, all from one location. When you import FNM files from your LOS like Calyx Point you now land on this screen, but most of our other new features give you even more reason to key your loan in from scratch at eMagic anyway, rather than starting the process in your old LOS.
• More credit providers- We're adding credit vendors as quickly as we can, and have just added 50 more through a partnership with MeridianLink. To see the complete list, click here.
• Loan Comparison Calculator- This new calculator in eMagic gives you a convenient way to run loan scenarios for prospects anywhere you can get online, and leave your borrower with a very professional and easy-to-understand printout
• Contact and Lead Manager- Use eMagic to manage your contacts and leads, and you'll have access to your lead and loan pipeline in one location on the web, anywhere you can get online. Owners and managers have the ability to run lead pipeline reports and track progress. Click here to sign up for your free trial of this premium feature.
• Pipeline Segregation- If, like most companies I talk to these days, your office is encouraging the LO's as well as the processors to use eMagic, you should definitely take advantage of this simple but important feature. It basically lets you give certain employees access to only their own files in the eMagic pipeline, and others access to all files. To learn more, click here.

These new features are indeed exciting, and they're a great start on our goal to provide low-cost, web-based technology to originators of all types and sizes. But this release is only the beginning. Keep watching for more, and let us know what you think, what you need, and how we can help!

Mortgage Originator Magazine's New Columnist- Me!

When I headed up the marketing and business development efforts for Calyx Software, I frequently wrote articles industry publications. I'm at it once again, writing an every-other-month column for Mortgage Originator magazine (MOM) called Tech Consultant. Per our agreement, I'm allowed to publish these articles on my own after they've appeared in MOM, so here is the first one. I hope you find it useful:

Technology Consultant: Exporting Fannie Mae Files
By Jack Trageser

I'm excited to be a new contributing author of the Technology Consultant column. Having worked for mortgage technology companies for the past 13 years, my intention is to focus on what I know best—technologies specific to our industry. Nevertheless, I look forward to answering all types of questions submitted by readers as well as some I come across in my daily interactions with mortgage originators.

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Question: When I export a Fannie Mae file out of my LOS so I can import it into a lender or vendor's Web site, do I need to keep that file on my computer?

The short answer is no, because that Fannie Mae formatted file (*.FNM) is a temporary file used to get loan data from a Windows application (like Calyx Point) to a Web application, or vice-versa. Once the data is uploaded into its new location, the Fannie Mae file can be deleted. If you want a simple way to keep your hard drive free of these temporary files, here is a simple suggestion: When you export the file out of your LOS, name it the same thing every time. For instance, Calyx Point defaults this file name as “POINT,” and I just leave it as is and hit the “Save” button. When Point tells me that a file of that name already exists, and asks if I want to replace the existing file, I select “Yes.” That way I've always got only one Fannie Mae formatted file saved, and it's always the most recent one—the one I want. When I browse for the file to upload into my Web application, it's easy to find because it's the only one there.

Another question I hear often is 'Can I use a Fannie Mae formatted file even if I'm uploading it to a Web site to run LP (Freddie Mac's automated underwriting system)? The answer is yes. The Fannie Mae format has become the ubiquitous format for originators who need to get loan data between Windows and Web applications. It works for running loans through DU, LP, lender Web sites for locking and registration, and any other lender and vendor Web sites you use.

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Question: What can I do to make my Web site appear higher in the list of search results when someone in my area uses Google to search for a home loan provider?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the combined science and art of achieving a high ranking in Internet search engines' results through a variety of tasks involving your Web site and those of your referral partners'. All Web site hosting companies provide their own versions of software tools to help you maximize your site's potential in this regard and some also provide extensive tutorials and training material as well. Like I said, SEO is art as well as science, and it helps to understand why it works as well as how it works. For a great general overview, go to www.google.com/webmasters. Here are a couple of things to consider:

* Search Engine Optimization can be broken down into “On-Page Optimization,” (or that involving your own site), and “Off-Page Optimization,” (which involves the sites of others—mostly your referral partners).

*On-Page Optimization is all about making sure your site has content that includes the words or phrases that prospects you are targeting will likely key in at Google or another search engine. But you need to accomplish this while still writing natural, readable sentences, and you can't overload on your use of these keywords, or your site may get banned from Google. That's why I believe SEO is an art as much as a science.

*Off-Page Optimization basically means getting other Web site owners in and around your industry to add links to your site in their sites. Doing this not only increases traffic to your site, but it improves your standing in the search results as well.

Create many single-topics pages on your site, rather than a few pages loaded with too many topics. This makes it easier to incorporate relevant keywords. Sites with more content generally rank higher compared to those with less content. Consider adding one new consumer-oriented content page every week. The added benefit is that this will also make others want to link to your site, which is the other part of SEO.

If this all seems like something you are unlikely to want to tackle, you can hire someone else to do it. There are actually professional 'Search Engine Optimizers' (just do a Google search to find one), and students are always a good budget option.

The format of this column does not allow anywhere near enough space to cover this topic properly, so check out the Web sites (list courtesy of Myers Internet trainers) below for more info:

• http://www.sitepoint.com/subcat/searchmarketing
• http://www.searchengineguide.com/
• http://www.google.com/webmasters/
• http://www.seochat.com/
• http://sphinn.com/
• http://www.redflymarketing.com/blog/

Flipping Out Over Misinformation

We all know that the mortgage industry receives more attention in the press than ever before, and often that results in the spread of misinformation. Take, for example, the recent announcement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that they have suspended the property-flipping 90-day holding period for forclosed properties only. With news organizations constantly recycling news items researched on the internet, it doesn't take long for the news to get warped into something that isn't true, and if you are an originator the last thing you need is to lose your status as a trusted adviser by passing on false info to your clients.

In this case the announcement has been passed on and on, and many people now believe that the rule suspension applies to all FHA mortgages, which isn't true. And it didn't help that FHA commissioner Brian Montgomery said in a big press release that the new policy "will allow homebuyers to purchase these homes in much greater numbers and ease the excess supply of unsold homes."

My purpose of this blog entry is to set the record straight and save originators from spreading this inaccuracy further, and also to remind you that we live in the information age, a time when supposed facts come flying at you from all angles. Don't take everything you hear or read (even on this blog) for granted. Go to the source, do your research, and make sure you know the full story.