RamQuest Blog

The Correct Amount of Mortgage Insurance on Page 3 of the New HUD-1

We've heard some discord over what exactly is the proper method for calculating the total monthly payment in the Loan Terms section on page 3 of the new HUD-1. Some lenders show the total monthly payment in the final box as PIMI + all monthly escrow amounts (including MI) ...resulting in a doubling of MI amounts in the total payment figure. When asked to explain their math, lenders point to the example Loan Terms section in HUD's Settlement Cost Booklet. Other lenders correctly followed the instructions and wording of the form and Rule itself, and correctly surmised that monthly PIMI amounts should be included in box 4 of this section - leaving only additional escrow items to be added in the bottom box which represents the total monthly payment. HUD has since revised the Settlement Cost Booklet to correct the mathematical error, the revised booklet is linked here ... see page 29 for the updated example Loan Summary section. If you are a lender who is calculating costs incorrectly (or if you know of one) please share this information with compliance staff in the organization.

U.S. Senate Addressed YSPs under RESPA Reform

The handling of YSPs under RESPA Reform have created quite a storm of controversy.  Nearly everyone understands the rule to say that any YSP amounts are to be credited to the borrower on line 802 of the HUD-1.  Many settlement agents took that to mean they would no longer be funding items described as YSP to a mortgage broker.  Yet often a lender's closing instructions will direct a settlement agent to pay certain compensation to the mortgage broker including an amount for YSP, leaving questions surrounding whether YSP as broker compensation is truly a thing of the past.  I thought you would be interested to see what the U.S. Senate thinks about YSPs as broker compensation as well as no doc loans as this article from the LA Times reports.

Partnership with RamQuest proving to be a tremendous asset

While the new RESPA Rule is stonewalling real estate closings for many, RamQuest customer Colorado Escrow & Title is experiencing just the opposite, growing relationships and building their day to day business as a result of their RESPA Readiness.  And RamQuest has been with them every step of the way.  Colorado Escrow & Title began down the path to RESPA Readiness with RamQuest in the spring of 2009 and they are now reaping the rewards of a proactive approach to the new regulation.  To read more about the success of the partnership between Colorado Escrow & title and RamQuest, click here.

Play at the Top of Your Game!

Play at the Top of Your Game!

Jon Allen's Monday Blog (...consider it an early Friday blog!)

A game of inches and extraordinary effort

What an amazing Sunday of football!   Congratulations to the Saints and the Colts - and to the fans that held their breath to the very end.  Did anyone else find themselves cheering and yelling at the TV? Wow!  On both sides of the ball, I couldn't help notice the extraordinary desire to win, the extra effort on every play, and the results of countless hours of preparation.  Players at the top of their respective games made clutch plays. 

I made note of examples that made me think about business and how we should handle ourselves if we intend to play at the top of our game.  I hope after reading this you get your game face on and play at the top of your game this week.

Examples of playing at the top of your game

1. You get knocked down but you're not out. You get back up even when it hurts.   I watched a time tested, battle hardened, forty years old quarterback hurried and hit hard repeatedly. Look, I am forty and I have no doubt the first couple of knockdowns he took would have made me questioning my own sanity. Not only did this guy get hit and get back up, but he got up with class and dignity and a sense of purpose.  He continued to try everything he could to win the game. Results are what count but a good effort is noble and noteworthy.
2. You keep charging because each attempt makes a difference. I watched defensive linemen give every ounce of strength they had to sack the quarterback. But, each time the quarterback was able to get the ball off.  Sure, it had to be frustrating but they soon figured out that just getting in his face and disrupting his rhythm was enough to make a difference.  Keep charging forward to achieve your goals. Don't tire. Your time is coming. It's going to pay off.
3. You're in on the action and that's a game changer.  In a game full of takeaways, fumbles and interceptions, things happen.  Some call it luck or just being at the right place at the right time. Me, I see it differently. The way I see it, someone snatched the ball, someone's heightened senses allowed them to take the right action at the right time, and someone jumped higher because they trained harder.  When you play to win, you have to take every opportunity presented and make good things happen.
4. You kick it right down the center just like an old pro.  A kicker (one with fewer NFL kicks than most veteran kickers make over 50 yards), kicks a winning field goal that takes his team to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.  He's been practicing for that moment all his life.  He steps out on the field and does his job well. Then, he gets gang-tackled by laughing, crying teammates and is carried around the field on the shoulders of 300+ lbs men.   Experience matters but it takes preparation and execution to win the contest.

Remember to Send a Holiday Season Thank You!

With the holiday season in full swing, people are turning their attention to others and considering how to show their appreciation. This should not be overlooked when it comes to businesses and their clients. Companies - big or small - should take this opportunity to thank their customers for their loyalty and business during the year. By thanking your clients, you help make them feel part of your community, which is significant in keeping the relationship ongoing. So how do you go about sharing your appreciation and what guidelines should you follow when doing so?

• A gift is not necessary and in some cases may be a violation of RESPA; simply writing a letter on a card thanking them for their business is a great way to show appreciation.
• Ensure that your letter is sent at an appropriate date before the holiday, since many people take vacation around this time.
• Remember to remain politically correct in your expression of gratitude, avoiding messages or images with specific religious connections. For example, rather than using "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah," use "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings."
• If your budget will not allow for a physical mailing, consider sending an electronic greeting (also known as e-cards) using a site such as Blue Mountain, Hallmark, or 123 Greetings.
• Consider sending greetings to multiple and specific people at organizations, such as department directors and managers, or others you frequently work with in the organization.
• If you need some ideas for coming up with the right words, phrases, or templates to use when creating a letter, view these articles posted by Lynn Gaertner-Johnston on her Business Writing site entitled Holiday Greetings Made Easy and Saying Thank You to Customers.

What is Twitter and how does it work?

Twitter originated around the concept of simply updating your status to allow friends to know what you are doing.  This idea has allowed Twitter to grow and have success, as it is a simple concept that allows people to connect with other people...and, more recently, businesses have joined in!

Twitter is simple in that your posts must remain under 140 characters.  Twitter's mobility also makes the platform easy to use, as you can update your status through your phone or the web.  Your posts, also known as "tweets," are delivered to users, also known as "followers," who are subscribed to you.

Businesses have joined the fold of Twitter users and use it for a number of things, including posting links that direct people toward content they might find interesting from their website, blog, etc.  This allows businesses a quick way to pass along newly posted information to clients or interested parties.

RamQuest uses Twitter and tweets!  To stay up to date on the latest information on RamQuest and the upcoming RQUG Conference, visit the RamQuest Twitter page or the RQUG Conference Twitter page and begin following us today!

HUD Says RESPA Reform is Go For Throttle Up

If you have not seen the blog posted earlier today by RamQuest's Mary Schuster on RESPA Ready, it is worth taking a look at.  View her post on HUD and RESPA here!

A New RESPA white paper!

One of RamQuest's primary objectives this year has been to help educate the industry about RESPA and prepare it for the impact this new regulation will have.  We know that many of you have already taken advantage of this and downloaded our white paper, A Proactive Approach to RESPA, in addition to participating in the RESPAready.com forum. But as 2010 gets closer and closer, we know that you are looking and asking for more resources to move you through the implementation period.  To help your business form a strategy to get ready for 2010, RamQuest has published another white paper, RESPA Reform Readiness: A Project Plan For Your Organization.  We encourage you to download it and take a look today!

Another Alternative to Facebook Ads

Another tool that has some of the same functions as Facebook groups that companies have started to use more and more are applications.  Applications can take many different forms and provide many modes for people to gain and store information - through quizzes, polls, games, contests, etc.  The main purpose for a company to deploy an application in their Facebook marketing strategy is to engage, interact, and receive feedback from users.

Companies use these application modules for different reasons.  Some use them to eventually point to their company's main website, others to stir interest in new products or contests, while others house their entire company's website so users never need to leave the Facebook application.  The possibilities seem limitless for how these modules can be used.  However, the information or content provided through the application needs to have some value or timeliness to persuade the users to visit again and again. Many of the currently successful applications feed off of the competitive aspects of individuals, whether it comes from a game or a contest with prizes or bragging rights at stake.  Word about these applications then spreads virally through users passing along the application to others because of the value they perceive in the application. A key to much of the success of applications draws on this viral nature and the ability that users have to invite others in their network to join in using the application.

How to easily identify preferred agents

A few days ago, a customer called Support and asked if there was a way to visually flag agents they commonly use as preferred agents.  We provided the customer with the recommended solution as explained below and I wanted to share the solution as this may be an increasing need in a post-RESPA Reform world.

Special Mark Label: You can use this feature to designate agents with some type of significance (based on your company designation).  Simply type the word you wish to use as the label and a check box will appear in each of the Agent/Vendor records with an option to check it or leave it blank. For example, you could use the word Preferred as a label to refer to preferred realtors, surveyors, etc. In some configurations, customers have used this field instead to mark specific agents as Payoff Location.  All agents/vendors who have the option selected will display in the Agent/Vendor list highlighted with an aqua colored line.

 

Context Sensitive Agent Lookups: If checked, this option automatically creates filters for lookups in specific fields. For instance, if you perform a lookup from the Realtor field, the lookup is constrained to only those agents that have been designated as Realtor (in the category list). The following fields automatically filter lookups if this option is checked:

Realtor
Listing Agent
Selling Agent
Member
Attorney
Lender
Mortgage Broker
Legal Paperwork Prepared By
Place of Closing
Default Law Office
Default Place of Closing
Referral
Search Provider

Using this process will help you easily identify a sub-set of agents within your Complete Closing program. 

Do you have a different or innovate way to use this feature at your company?  We'd love to hear your feedback and have you share your ideas with other users by commenting to this blog!