President’s Message
Carole Hendricks
President
Mortgage Bankers Association of Jacksonville 2011-2012

The New Breed

As I sit down to write this message, I have such a strong feeling of pride for our industry and for those that work in this race for perfection we call Mortgage Banking. I think about all of the professionals I know that work so hard every day; learning how to do their business better than they have ever had to do it before. Every one that is a part of our Mortgage Banking Community these days are the best of the best. We have faced unbelievable changes in the last couple of years, (some were good changes), some were changes that we did not like, but ultimately good in many ways.

Being a Mortgage Banker today calls for a new level of commitment. It calls for us to invest in ourselves, to learn, professionalism, and to master what we do. We are being analyzed, scrutinized, blamed, checked and double checked on everything we do. Our guidelines say one thing today, and say something else tomorrow. We work with 15 updates a day on policy changes. We are on our phones at 6am and work late hours to ensure our clients are taken care of. We have had our disclosures revamped with a whole new rule book, and we have learned words like “cure tolerance” , “change of circumstance” and “repurchase”… We have had our compensation plans reviewed, scrambled and pitched out like no other industry, EVER!. Our companies have built new platforms never seen before in record time to continue doing business. Everything we have experienced has changed the world for all of our Affiliate Partners as well. To be an MI Representative right now is running a hard line next to the Loan Officer…..So what is the good news….????

We are still here. We are stronger. We are smarter. We are the ones that did it right. We are the ones that are the true professionals of our industry. There are fewer of us, and with that brings more success. Our customers are getting better information and the horror stories you would hear about at the closing table are a thing of the past. The ones that did it wrong are no longer here. Folks, this is very good news.

This brings us now to our next step. Getting involved. Our Realtors and Builder partners do an incredible job with their organizations, and I see all of you supporting them. Now it is time to invest in yourself and your industry. Get involved with YOUR Organization. Become active and help us build a foundation that can benefit all of us for many years to come. Bring your ideas and solutions. We welcome them at the Jacksonville MBA. Become a member on the local level and even the State level. We need you now. Take time to learn about becoming a CMB and being a member of a very elite group of mortgage professionals. Learn about MPAC and Mortgage Action Alliance and how you can get involved on a State or National Level. You can get involved in our monthly meetings and bring your expertise with you! Whatever you do, this is the year to do it. MBA of Jacksonville is here and ready for you to be a part of it! Make it an incredible year!!