Why Haven’t Loan Officers Been Told These Facts?
Power-Up Your Goals

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.
`I don’t much care where–‘ said Alice.
`Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

The skill of goal setting can be a powerful way to align short-term goals with your true priorities. However, the practice of goal setting can become a meaningless exercise, in which individuals set arbitrary time-bound goals. Another goal-setting technique is the stretch goal, in which a standard is set and then increased by 5 or 10 percent, creating a target that seems just out of reach. This is goal-setting for the sake of goal-setting, which can lead to unhinged and meaningless objectives. Goals lacking meaning or value to the person who must achieve them fail to provide the necessary motivation and energy required to reach them.

Pursuing a goal without meaning often becomes a pointless endeavor or worse, a harmful practice that reinforces a sense of directionless floundering. Counterfeit goals give people a false sense of direction or purpose; however, goals disconnected from significance are mere placebos lacking the power to catalyze meaningful change. Even more troubling, this kind of counterfeit goal-setting can lead individuals to treat objectives as arbitrary and empty, reinforcing a cycle of directionless existence that contributes to a dark and increasingly nihilistic outlook.

Alternatively, strategic goal setting links short-term goals to a greater purpose and meaning. Big picture mindedness. Purposefully and intentionally set your goals to align with what matters to you. This goal-setting is powerfully energizing and motivational. As part of the goal-setting exercise, this straightforward yet powerful technique requires you to define a vision of success and failure.

Do You Want to Get More Strategic With Your Life? Use Portfolios to Begin Your Goal Setting.

Your short-term goals should align with and support your long-term goals. An effective goal-setting strategy involves smaller objectives that contribute to larger aspirations. You might create several “portfolios” to organize your goals, such as spiritual development, physical well-being, professional success, financial security, marital fulfillment, parenting success, and retirement planning. These portfolios are distinct but may overlap and integrate. Therefore, a more effective strategy is holistic and interconnected, rather than myopic and isolated. In other words, it’s important to maintain balance among your portfolios.

No person is an island. If your goals are essential to the key stakeholders in your life, their support and buy-in for your strategy and objectives are critical for successful goal-setting. For example, let’s say your long-term goal is to live off-grid in a tiny house. However, if your spouse’s idea of camping is staying at a five-star hotel, your vision of happiness may be a fantasy that lacks a solid strategy. If your strategy is a fantasy, you risk getting lost in a directionless, confusing, and empty existence.

A goal that is not aligned with any real strategic value and lacks a meaningful purpose possesses no motivational power. Treat these goals like garbage and eliminate them. Take your goals seriously. After identifying these worthless goals, it’s essential to return to the drawing board. By understanding what is unimportant to you, you can clarify what truly matters.

The following steps may not be the most effective way to plan meaningful goals, but they serve as a good starting point. Expect to repeat each step as you refine your values.

  • Step 1: Reflect on your current situation in relation to your ideal future. In five years, how would you like your life to be different from what it is now?
  • Step 2: Create portfolios. Portfolios consist of related objectives, desires, and hopes. These goals may require similar short-term achievements, allowing for realistic goal identification and prioritization. This step helps you identify your most important values. Proceed to step 3.
  • Step 3: Ask yourself what impact the failure to achieve these short-term goals will have on achieving what matters to you. Proceed to step 4.
  • Step 4: Suppose you foresee the failure to reach your goal having significantly negative or devastating consequences. The future you don’t want. In that case, you have yourself a bona fide goal. On the other hand, identify those goals that have negligible effects on what matters most to you. These goals should be deprioritized or altogether eliminated. Set only bona fide goals; Goals that are essential to achieving your long-term goal.
  • Step 5: Repeat Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 until you set worthwhile and bona fide goals. Identify your strategic portfolios to ensure you don’t overlook critical concerns.

This goal-setting technique is iterative, meaning you can repeat your goal-setting exercises as needed, and that trial and error are part of the process. You may revisit the goal-setting exercise until you gain a clearer understanding of what is important to you and how to achieve it. Take the time to engage deeply with your goals.

COHESIVISION (kō-hēsi-vi-ZHən)

To summarize, short-term goals should serve as stepping stones to long-term goals. Gaps between short and long-term goals may indicate flawed strategies, highlighting the need for a more cohesive vision to achieve strategic objectives.

Finally, don’t try to be someone you’re not. Instead, use your unique psychological traits to reach your goals. Many people feel a reduced sense of worth and accomplishment when they fail to achieve what’s important to them, and that’s perfectly okay. Use your fear of shame to drive your efforts. Share your goals with anyone who shows interest in you—be bold! Avoid setting weak goals that don’t challenge you.

While failure can have significant consequences, you must not let the fear of failure hinder your goals. It’s important to remember that failure often leads to success. In fact, it’s worth emphasizing that failure is a stepping stone on the path to achievement. However, an illogical mindset concludes that the best way to avoid failure is to avoid trying altogether. A person who strives never to fail has already failed by not pursuing meaningful goals. How does that help anyone? Having strategic goals helps a person know whether they are succeeding or failing. Without goals, how can a person know if they are in the game or have already lost? Keep in mind that the paths leading to worthwhile goals are themselves valuable.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it’s sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
Sun is the same, in a relative way, but you’re older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say – Time, Pink Floyd

Songwriters: David Jon Gilmour / Richard William Wright / Nicholas Berkeley Mason / George Roger Waters

 

 

 

BEHIND THE SCENES: MLO CE Cheating Settlement

From the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (NMLS Parent Organization), Washington, D.C.

A mortgage loan originator has received serious sanctions and fines after settling with 21 state financial regulatory agencies that accused him of directing another person to take required education on his behalf and taking the credit for himself.

Under the settlement, NAME REDACTED, who worked for NAME REDACTED, is barred from practicing in most of the states, is restricted from practicing in others, and is required to pay fines totaling $31,000.

Mortgage loan originators are licensed through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), which is owned and operated on behalf of state financial supervisors by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). NAME REDACTED was licensed to practice as a mortgage loan originator in 19 states and had pending license applications in two additional states that participated in the settlement.

By allegedly claiming credit for the education classes he did not take, the state financial regulators claim NAME REDACTED violated the SAFE Act, which Congress enacted to enhance consumer protection and reduce fraud through minimum standards for the licensing of mortgage loan originators. The law calls on the states to implement and enforce these standards, and every state has enacted its own version of the SAFE Act that requires mortgage loan originators to have at least 20 hours of pre-licensing education and an annual eight hours of continuing education.

State financial agencies in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas led the settlement, following an investigation by the NMLS Mortgage Testing and Education Board.

States that entered into the agreement include: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Texas.

Per the terms of the settlement agreement, Colorado and Florida will receive $7,000 each. Maryland and New Mexico will not receive fines because NAME REDACTED had pending license applications in those states. The rest of the states will receive $1,000.

NAME REDACTED is permanently barred from licensure as a mortgage loan originator in all the participating states with the exception of Colorado and Florida, where he may reapply for a license in two years if he pays all administrative penalties and completes additional education requirements.

Additionally, NAME REDACTED cannot be a Qualified Individual or Control Person of any financial services entity registered with NMLS for two years and has been removed as a Qualified Individual and Control Person of NAME REDACTED.

 

 

Tip of the Week – Framing the Loan Estimate

Loan originators often struggle to present loan options effectively. Proper framing is essential and requires strong leadership skills. It is a fundamental sales technique that helps to create a shared understanding of the presentation. For instance, loan originators (MLOs) frequently present the Loan Estimate or Fee Sheet as if they were simply a purchase order or invoice, which is both unnecessary and not ideal.

The LE (Loan Estimate) is not an invoice; rather, it is a disclosure that helps consumers make informed decisions about their credit use. Before starting the loan presentation, the Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) should ensure they have gathered enough information from the prospect to deliver an effective presentation. The MLO should also clarify the purpose of the LE at the beginning of this process.

Framing Conversation

MLO: Mr. and Mrs. Buyer, at ABC Mortgage, we are committed to helping you make the best financing decisions for your needs. Our goal is your informed use of credit. We have three specific objectives at this time.

  • One: We want to ensure that you fully understand the overall costs associated with any mortgage options we present to you.
  • Two: Ensure you fully understand the loan’s financing features to determine if it meets your needs.
  • Three: You can assess the competitiveness of any proposed solutions.

Prospect: Sure, that sounds reasonable. How do you do that?

MLO: Home buyers frequently have concerns about initial financing estimates, particularly regarding whether the monthly payment and cash-to-close estimates will be higher at closing. At ABC Mortgage, we address this by using the most accurate transaction data available. We estimate settlement costs toward the upper end of the range to minimize the risk of surprising increases in payments or closing costs. This approach helps eliminate any unexpected costs at closing.

Framing is effective for most interactions. Consider developing a framework to help you close prospects and lead the loan process more effectively.