You should have received an email last week addressing the new website. We have had some folks reach out to ask about the App to download. If you go to the Apple Store (or Google), please search for Wild Apricot for Business. That is the software we are using and the app is awesome. I used it to register for the remaining events of the year, encourage you to do the same.
More importantly, we have a CALL TO ACTION request from the TMBA. There is a vote set to take place on Wednesday, August 29th to consider abolishing the Texas Savings and Loan Commission. The TMBA has asked that we get volunteers to call on the members of the Sunset Committee today and tomorrow to express our opposition to abolishing the commission. There is no gain to the taxpayers, no benefit to consumers and is absolutely not good for the mortgage banking community in Texas.
While most members of the committee do not represent Houston districts, we do have Representative Senfronia Thompson here locally. If she is your representative, it is especially important her offices hears from you. Otherwise, if you can take the time over the next two days, please reach out to the Committee members today and tomorrow and express your concerns. If you have a specific relationship with any of the committee members, please reach out to them as well.
Please click HERE to review the TMBA Talking points which includes contact information and a full script for you to use for your calls. Thanks for your assistance in making this outreach!
Scott Gillen, CMB HMBA President
MBA continues to advocate for legislation that provides: a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP (preferably five years); an exemption for commercial and multifamily properties from the program's mandatory purchase requirements; and, the development of a more robust private flood insurance market. It is imperative that Congress act swiftly to pass an extension and avoid a lapse in the program.
Click the button below to take action and tell your Senators/Representative to address the NFIP immediately and pass an extension to reauthorize the program before its July 31 deadline while Congress continues to work on a long-term solution.
Best regards,
Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Mortgage Bankers Association
The Houston Mortgage Bankers Association held its July luncheon meeting on Wednesday, July 11 at Maggiano’s restaurant on Post Oak Boulevard. Speakers for the event were Lily Jang, a Realtor with Heritage Texas Properties and the host of the local real estate show, “Lily’s List,” and Ernest Campbell, a Houston mortgage banker representing the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers (NAMMBA).
Introduced by HMBA President Scott Gillen, Campbell urged HMBA members to support NAMMBA and increase diversity and connection within Houston’s mortgage banking community. NAMMBA has 23 chapters nationwide and focuses on financial education for minorities and women.
Featured speaker Lily Jang, a former news anchor, has combined her journalism background with a real estate career to offer a unique perspective on home marketing. Born in Vietnam, Jang grew up in the United States and earned a degree in journalism from the University of Texas. After a career as a working television journalist in several cities around the country and in Houston, she decided to enter real estate sales utilizing what she knew best to create her marketing: communication.
“I approached a Houston television channel and pitched the idea for a HGTV-style show on local real estate – and they loved the concept,” Jang said. “It’s been a very successful venture and allowed me to gain an incredible following on social media, particularly Instagram and Face Book.”
After concluding her remarks, Jang took questions from the audience. She replied to a query about what she expects from her clients’ lenders by saying, “I am accessible at any time for my clients and expect the same availability from their lenders.” Her advice on social media content for lenders and Realtors alike was, “Keep it simple, visual, and consistent – keep posting.”
Featured speaker Paulina McGrath, President of the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, introduced the 2018 board beginning with officers Vice President Candy Lewis, Arch Mortgage Insurance Company; Secretary Blake Bravo, Cornerstone Home Lending; and Treasurer Brad Luo, Gregg and Valby, LLP. She then introduced board members Josh Anderson, Bancorp South; Jeff Coady, PrimeLending; Francisco Cortez, Member Home Loan; Sherry Duhon, Georgetown Mortgage; Pam Eastwold, Cornerstone Home Lending; Jeff Robinson, Republic State Mortgage; and Roy Varner, Guaranteed Rate of Houston; and associate board members Ryan Black, Black Mann and Graham, LLP; Sheree Gilbert, National Mortgage Insurance Corporation; Mariella Massa, Appraisal MC; and Ashley Wenmoh, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation. McGrath then gave an update on TMBA activities in advocacy, education, and leadership.
In his remarks, Gillen thanked Thompson for his service to HMBA and added that he can’t make great FaceBook videos like Thompson posted all year. He also thanked the outgoing board members and asked the audience to stand and give them a round of applause.
Gillen then addressed his goals for the coming year, which included implementing new software to better manage the association, the creation of a HMBA scholarship program, and increasing PAC-related fundraisers to grow HMBA’s and TMBA’s influence in Austin.
“It’s an exciting time to be in HMBA,” said Gillen. “Our business is changing to digital-based from paper, but we know that the focus still must be local. This is our association and we need to nurture future board members. Please be involved in any way that you can.”
HMBA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sound business practices and integrity in origination, lending and servicing of mortgage loans through discussion forums, networking opportunities, and continued education. For more information about HMBA, visit houston-mba.com.
FOREIGN CYBER ACTORS TARGET HOME AND OFFICE ROUTERS AND NETWORKED DEVICES WORLDWIDE
SUMMARY
The FBI recommends any owner of small office and home office routers power cycle (reboot) the devices. Foreign cyber actors have compromised hundreds of thousands of home and office routers and other networked devices worldwide. The actors used VPNFilter malware to target small office and home office routers. The malware is able to perform multiple functions, including possible information collection, device exploitation, and blocking network traffic.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
The size and scope of the infrastructure impacted by VPNFilter malware is significant. The malware targets routers produced by several manufacturers and network-attached storage devices by at least one manufacturer. The initial infection vector for this malware is currently unknown.
THREAT
VPNFilter is able to render small office and home office routers inoperable. The malware can potentially also collect information passing through the router. Detection and analysis of the malware's network activity is complicated by its use of encryption and misattributable networks.
DEFENSE
The FBI recommends any owner of small office and home office routers reboot the devices to temporarily disrupt the malware and aid the potential identification of infected devices. Owners are advised to consider disabling remote management settings on devices and secure with strong passwords and encryption when enabled. Network devices should be upgraded to the latest available versions of firmware.
Mortgage bankers, realtors, title company officers, and others assembled for the breakfast event, held in the conference room of Stewart Title’s offices at 1990 Post Oak Blvd. The morning’s panelists were Karen Karapasha, Real Living Realty; Mario Negron, ReMax Pioneers; Richard Ray, John Daugherty, Realtors; and Mary Wassef, Circa Real Estate, LLG. HMBA president Joe Thompson moderated the panel.
Each of the panelists agreed that having a comfort level with the mortgage banker in their client’s transaction was a must. They underscored the importance of a lender’s responsiveness and that the seller’s agent needs to know what’s happening with the buyer’s loan (within confidentiality restraints) just as much as the buyer’s agent does. Other major points of discussion included using local lenders that are accessible and responsive, their shared lack of time to schedule lunches or coffee meetings during the work week, and the priority of lender attendance at closing to handle any last-minute loan issues.
“Reach me by showing up at closing,” said Negron. “That’s the secret sauce. I don’t have time for lunches or coffee meetings.”
“Realtors and mortgage bankers serve the same client base and share a common goal: successful closings and happy clients,” said Thompson “This was a highly constructive and collegial meeting that has encouraged us all to work together in the spirit of cooperation, coordination, and, above all, communication for the benefit of our clients."
The Houston Mortgage Bankers Association held its first luncheon meeting of 2018 on Wednesday, January 10 at Maggiano’s restaurant on Post Oak Boulevard. HMBA President Joe Thompson began the meeting by presenting the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award to attorney and HMBA board member Mac Gibson. A board member for more than 20 years., Gibson is the founder and head partner of M. D. Gibson & Associates.
Featured speaker for the noon event was David Jarvis, Senior Vice President of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Jarvis delivered a positive assessment of the Houston economy as of the end of 2017 and forecast a rising economy in the year ahead.
“Home builders in Houston had a good year and a much better December than we expected,” Jarvis noted. “For 2018, we believe that realtors will sell more homes than ever and that MLS will hit an all-time high. We expect that home builders will sell eight to nine percent more homes.”
“There’s also good news in the oil patch,” Jarvis continued. “Texas crude production is up nine percent and the rig count is up 135 percent since it hit bottom in 2016. Energy-sector lay-offs are down and the price of oil looks good. It’s going to be a good year.”
Thompson closed the meeting by reminding everyone to register for the Top Agent Panel Breakfast coming on February 13 at the Post Oak Conference Center. Visit https://www.houston-mba.com for tickets and details.
The Houston Mortgage Bankers Association held their annual Legends Luncheon in December at Maggiano’s Little Italy. Joe Thompson, HMBA president, opened the sold-out event by introducing the past HMBA presidents in attendance and recognizing retiring board member and past HMBA president, Kitty Gugenheim, whom he said had “raised the bar of service.”
The luncheon honored the influence of women in the mortgage industry, a theme addressed by keynote speaker Paulina McGrath, President and CFO of Republic State Mortgage, VP of Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, and President of the Board of Trustees of the Women’s Fund. In her remarks, McGrath encouraged mortgage industry women to follow their passion, always do their best, give back to the community, and commit to help and mentor younger women. “I am where I am today because I love learning and have been surrounded by opportunities to learn from others,” she stated. “My leadership success stems from loving what I do, and giving back makes me the happiest.”
McGrath called on women in the audience to speak about their experiences in the industry and share advice. Among those who spoke were and Gugenheim, Senior Account Manager - Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation and past TMBA chair; Stacy London, Regional Manager, Homeowners Financial Group; Becky McDermott, Senior Account Manager - southern Texas at Radian Guaranty and first woman president of HMBA; and Barbara Sparks, Senior VP/Director of Underwriting at Envoy Mortgage, all of whom reinforced McGrath’s belief that voluntarism and mentoring younger women strengthen the mortgage industry.
Thompson adjourned the meeting, encouraging everyone to “do everything you can to amaze people.”
Dear HMBA Supporter-
As President of the HMBA, I want to encourage you to cast an early ballot this week for Proposition 2 which can drastically improve our home equity laws in Texas. If you're not familiar, Prop 2 will accomplish the following changes if it is approved:
Once Prop 2 is approved, more homeowners will have access to the equity in their homes and allow you to better serve your community. These opportunities come around once or twice in a generation! Do not miss out and click here to find the early voting location nearest you!
Thank you for your continued support and please spread the word on the importance of Proposition 2!
Sincerely,
Joe Thompson
President Houston Mortgage Bankers Association
George Strong, FBI Supervisory Special Agent, and John Pearson, Assistant U. S. Attorney, addressed members of the Houston Mortgage Bankers Association at their September 13 meeting held at Maggiano’s restaurant. HMBA President Joe Thompson introduced Strong and Pearson whose presentations focused on fraud awareness for mortgage bankers, title companies and realtors.
Strong, who heads the FBI Complex Crimes Division in Houston, noted that the emergence of non-financial institution lenders has complicated mortgage fraud investigation because those lenders are not subject to the same scrutiny as traditional lenders. “SAR (Suspicious Activity Reports) are down because we don’t get as many from non-financial lenders even though they are supposed to file them just like traditional lenders,” he said. “As mortgage bankers, title company officers and realtors, you are our front line of defense for a ‘heads-up’ when something is not right.”
According to Strong, cases of mortgage fraud are down but the dollar amounts are up. Origination and reverse-occupancy fraud schemes persist, but one of the fastest-growing problems is wire transfer fraud. “The crooks hack into and take over email accounts for mortgage companies and title companies. They make one small change in the email address, no one notices, and they divert the funds from the wire transfer. Unsecured emails are a huge soft spot, and most banks and title companies really need to increase their internal controls.”
Pearson, U. S. Attorney Deputy Criminal Chief in Houston, also stressed the importance of cooperation and communication whenever something appears to be out of the ordinary. “We are a resource,” he said. “Pick up the phone and call us with questions and concerns. If you see something, say something, because you may well catch a crime in the making before we do.”
Subscribe to Our E-blasts
Houston Mortgage Bankers AssociationCLICK HERE TO CONTACT US
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD W-9
