Can You?

www.southeastmortgage.com Phone: 770-279-0222

Untold History - Southeast Mortgage Part 1 - Cal Haupt

A walk around Koger discussing history and our preservation of our past for our future.  Our deep beliefs in doing the right things and respect off all living things is part of the compass that guides our daily decisions.

www.southeastmortgage.com

Margin Compression Solution - Mortgage Industry

I spent the past few days analyzing the past five years financials and its relationship to secondary and the required fixed costs to originate and close prudent - compliant volume in today's mortgage industry.

Cal Haupt

Chairman & CEO

Margin compression or expansion is the relationship between the yields derived from closing loans and its associated expense.

Expense and Revenue still correlate at any volume with a given profit margin and distinct point of diminishing return.  Sales Culture creates a unique break even point and a point of diminishing return for each organization.

Margins Can Remain Constant

Expenses that do not facilitate volume increase your break even point and volume for volume sake without regard to the dynamic of your P&L creates a point of diminishing return.  Volume does not pay the bills, profit does.  

As a past Commercial Analyst for Banks, I have seen more companies grow themselves out of business than any other cause.  As companies strip their balance sheet to support the diminishing and or negative return from high concentrated volumes, they turn to layoffs to reduce cash burn or use 941 tax payments as a short term funding source since a bank will see the issue and not lend to them.  This is a lesson learned after its done and tends to be a terminal path for the Company doing it.

Sales Culture Determines Margin Integrity

Growth and Margins can Coexist

Sales Culture and Leadership's focus on a Prudent Sales Strategy is the key to long term success in the Mortgage Industry.  Due to available yields in the Secondary Market and Limited Non-Production Related Expenses to cut, the path leadership chooses will dictate the outcome for those who depend on their decision.  No matter how cool the ship you are on looks, ensure it is not taking on water in the lower decks.

I thought my analysis would return some cool algorithm for success in the Mortgage Industry; however, since Dodd-Frank was signed into law, the opportunity to balance inequalities on the P&L have been constrained.  Managing the inputs and outputs associated with a Mortgage Lender in today's environment create consistency based on the sales culture and vision of its leadership.  Conclusion: Sales Culture dictates profit margins in the Mortgage Industry.

www.southeastmortgage.com
770-279-0222

Who is your Pilot?

In today's world too many people focus on the external cues, flashy exterior, specifications "Loan Production" "National Rankings" and not who is in charge of your career's flight.

At the end of the day or the end or your career, is your CEO or Leadership team going to deliver you safely to your desired retirement destination.  A great Plane is only as good as the Pilot and Co-Pilot flying it.  My Advice:  Ensure you are not stuck on the tarmac and are in the air with a Team at the controls that has your destination as their focus.

If you are in your 40's or 50's, time is of the essence.  The US has been in a recovery longer than normal, so ensure your company is committed to mortgage origination when volume slows in your Market.  Southeast Mortgage does one thing "Mortgage Origination" and has navigated 3 recessions with great success!  Has your company?  Plan now before you have to.

www.southeastmortgage.com 

Call us: 770-279-0222

GooRu is here...

It has been 2 years in process to design and integrate the Mortgage Origination Game Changer we call GooRu.  One more roll out to our team and their families and its live for our Team, Partners, and Client's to enjoy!

Cal Haupt, Chairman & CEO

Loan Originators and Home Buyers will see what easy really means and our Clients, MLOs, and Partners will all be informed every step of the way.

If you buy your airline tickets online or book hotels online GooRu is your channel with the expertise of a Licensed Mortgage Originator to provide the trusted competent advice you need.

The future is now!

www.southeastmortgage.com

770-279-0222

Retirements

As 2017 coming to an end, I generally reflect on what Southeast Mortgage can do better to meet the needs of our Clients, Partners, and Employees.  Every year we take a step closer to better meeting those needs.  I am very proud and grateful for the long relationships and trust.

Like most of you, I scan LinkedIn to stay informed about those I accepted invites from.  Every year I look for someone announcing their retirement after a fabulous and rewarding career in Mortgage Banking.  Have you ever seen somebody announce their retirement?  I also scratch my head sometimes wondering why certain talented MLOs make the career changes they do?  In my career, I never changed companies unless my sponsor left or I wanted to learn a new skill to leverage my career.  Changing companies never helped me the trusted person I worked for did!

Southeast Mortgage Paid Retirements with full Medical Benefits:

Jan Shell, Shareholder

Admin Asst, Banker, MLO, Branch Manager, EVP, COO                  

Tenure at Southeast Mortgage 19 years with CEO 24 years

Beverly Straka, Shareholder

Banker, MLO, Branch Manager, EVP, Secondary    

Tenure at Southeast Mortgage 19 years with CEO 23 years

Debra Harding, Shareholder

Teller, CRM, Financial Consultant, MLO, SVP       

Tenure at Southeast Mortgage 18 years with CEO 26 years

What I have learned in my 30 years:

Never work for someone who only cares about themselves

Work for someone who has already achieved the success you want and has made others successful by sharing new skills

Has anyone at your company retired?  Average age of an MLO is 50 ish?  Find one who does…

Learning Skills that grow your business is the only sustainable path to success

Be Relevant!  Work directly for the company that provides your product.  Net Branches, LLC Agreements, etc. are expendable and do not grow value for the TEAM they employ.  When your TEAM moved to a new company, did the TEAM Leader share the signing bonus with the team?

Work for a company that only derives revenue from what you do.  If a company has various segments of products and you happen to get a new CEO or President that does not believe in what you sell, they can pull the rug out.  How many of you have had your company sold and you had to look for a new Employer?  Did your leadership write you a check?  I bet they asked you to move to the next company.  Hello, it’s a pattern that will not change or get you paid.

Look at longevity, look at who is evolving as the leader in your market, look at who takes care of their employees, shares ownership, and provides a path to a comfortable retirement.  Nobody is getting younger and this economic recovery is nine years old (the average recovery is 7 years).

www.southeastmortgage.com 

Phone 770-279-0222

2018 Welcomes a new Era of Mortgage Origination and Partner Visibility (MLOs will Celebrate...)

Mortgage Originators best friend / Assistant. 

We expect our Team to increase applications by 50% with the same time commitment via SEM harnessing the best technology in the industry.  No time to market yourself?  No worries, GooRu will do it for you 24/7.

"We have been working on this concept and functionality for years.  Our mission was to automate the tasks MLOs did not like or did not have time to do while providing them self directed or corporate support to market via social portals developing new clients or to stay in touch with their past clients.  The result was better than we expected.  We found a way to accomplish our initiative to help MLOs accomplish more without more time and provide our clients and Partners the visibility and control they want.  This is a new unit at SEM separate from our historically effective Client Relationship Team but will work together to leverage our unique capabilities.  We will be launching GooRu at our Holiday Gala at the Ritz Carlton in December."  Cal Haupt, Chairman, Southeast Mortgage of Georgia, Inc.

Our Partners will enjoy the ease of staying informed and capturing more sales with higher confidence at their projects.

Here Comes GooRu....

Today is our last Work Monday at Club Drive!

In today's Mortgage Industry, its difficult to find a Local Georgia Mortgage Service Provider that has a long history.  Since 1993, Southeast Mortgage has continued to grow and provide even better service to its Mortgage Loan Originators, Clients, and Referral Partners.

 

We are proud and a little emotional to leave our home for so many years.  Although we leave so many great memories and the comfort of our Club Drive Home, our great and talented team will be moving to a NEW HOME and a state of the art platform that will leverage their capability and nurture their work / life balance.

 

Our Client's, Employees, and Referral Partners will be the beneficiaries of our new FUNTASTIC facility.

The Original Club Drive Building

 

Expansion of Club Drive in 2001 to 12,000 sqft.

The Next Chapter will be WOW

September 19, 2016 will be the first day of the next Chapter in Southeast Mortgage's exciting journey.

We Can and will...

Give us a call 770-279-0222 and experience the Southeast Mortgage difference.

The true Reward of being in the Georgia Mortgage Industry

Southeast Mortgage Exceptional Loan Originator Service

 People always ask me why we have been in the Mortgage Industry so long. 

Many think it is ego, money, or power.  The Reality and those at Southeast Mortgage know its because of the passion, sense of accomplishment when we are ahead of the curve, and knowing we are appreciated for the hard smart work we do each day at Southeast Mortgage. 

Why are we strong and growing?  Our team cares and we believe in 360 Degree Service (Referral Partners - Clients - MLO - Operations).

JD Forwarded the email below to me last night from Pete.  This is what reinforces the reality of why MLOs, Realtors, and Builders want to work with our team.  When you take a super MLO like Pete Peters and provide him incredible service, he grows his business and accomplishes his career objectives.
_______________________________
Date: April 17, 2015 at 9:49:38 PM EDT
From: Pete Peters (Executive MLO | Sales Manager ) NMLS #245408, GA MLO #25209)

To: "J.D. Crowe" J.D.Crowe@southeastmortgage.com

Cc: Kelly Foltyn
Subject: This week

JD I had two tough loans this week that got closed. I could not have done it without the ladies on this email. They are the best I have ever worked with. A great team. Thanks for all of your support. We Can.

Sent from my iPhone

www.southeastmortgage.com
770-279-0222

Do Mortgage Rates Matter?

I was scanning through LinkedIn this morning and a chart caught my eye.  It was a 200 year US 30 year Mortgage graph.

Over the years, I have seen some Mortgage Originators who watch rates like you would a stock in your portfolio.  I see blogs about what rates may be doing.  The only thing certain about mortgage rates is they will go up or down and they are a function of other variables.  For the consumer, mortgage rates do not matter in that they are relative to the economy.

 

When mortgage rates are high inflation is generally high along with home prices, wages, employment etc.  When mortgage rates are low inflation is generally low along with home prices, wages, employment etc.  The most recent recession was caused by an unsustainable product portfolios which required significant monetary policy inputs (QE1, QE2, QE3) to correct which created the artificial lows in mortgage rates we saw in the past year.

 

The one thing that is always true is markets are rational and always find an equilibrium.

 

Look at it this way.  Does a boat run differently in low tide vs. high tide? http://southeastmortgage.blogspot.com/2011/12/low-country-view-of-recessions-from.html

No it is the same.  Does a higher rate matter if the home you are buying is appreciating 7% a year or your families income is increasing 10% a year due to the great economy?  Rates do not matter in that they are relative to the surrounding economy and a rate lower than the market generally has a catch since mortgage rates are a commodity.  As you require your stock broker to be licensed, be sure your Mortgage Originator is licensed and not just registered.  http://southeastmortgage.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-consumers-must-know-about-mortgage.html

 

What is important to consumers is a home provides security for their family, a hedge against inflation, and potential tax benefits while providing an environment to create memories.  As an industry, we should focus on client need today and five years down the road.

 

Rates are a commodity and are a function of the economy.  The consumer is always getting a relatively good deal any day they lock given they economy is the tide in which their boat floats and their boat is always floating the same way in a high tide vs. a low tide.

 

Cal Haupt

Chief Executive Officer

Southeast Mortgage of Georgia, Inc.

www.southeastmortgage.com

a low country view of recessions from the perspective of experience

a low country view of recessions from the perspective of experience

By: Cal Haupt

A recession is a cyclical event like the tides in the low country of Georgia.  Both have a cycle and both are a natural event that is beyond our control.

In the low country tides cycle 7 feet up and 7 feet down over a 6 hour period each day.  Depending on the creek in the low country the boat will be in the mud twice a day.

In the US economy, you will experience a recession caused by some unknown or uncontrollable event approximately every 7 years.  Thus the economy will be in the mud at least 4 times in an average person’s working life.

In the low country, mud is a fact of life and you plan accordingly.  No matter how much you want to launch your boat and have fun it will not happen until the tide comes in.  The experienced low country person understands this fact and relaxes taking advantage of the access to the underside of the boat to do repairs so the boat is better when the water rises.

In the US economy, the experienced person understands a recession is a natural event and a cleansing process.  This person does not sweat the slowdown and takes the opportunity to trim expense and make adjustments while the economy is slow.  This person will not fight what is natural and relaxes until the post-recovery begins.

What the low country and the economy have in common is they both get stuck in the mud from time to time.  Mud is part of the cycle of life and fighting this natural event only creates stress.  If you look at the event as an opportunity to adjust until the tide rises, you will be better prepared and ready for the new tide.  Both the experienced person in the low country and the economy should prepare for mud and not let it ruin their boat by forcing its use when the tide is low.  Just because your boat will not run in the mud does not make it a bad boat just poor timing.  Wait for the tide to rise then launch and have fun.  However, keep in mind the tide will go out again so plan your trip wisely.