Daily Briefing Weekend Edition

Training Experienced Pros

By Bonnie Sinnock

TopDot Mortgage, Jericho, New York, only recruits experienced originators but even extensive experience elsewhere is not enough to be a senior-level mortgage specialist at the company and that is where training comes in, according to Martha Gray.

To reach senior level, a new TopDot mortgage specialist must get through an initial five-day training program that is "very intense" and then take continuous training over the course of several months to a year, said Ms. Gray, national training director at the company.

Experience elsewhere is important to TopDot, but the company is wary of the fact that recruits "could have worked for a lender who hired them because they could sell" and, as a result, may "see our borrowers as a dollar sign," she said.

Training, as Ms. Gray describes it, is how TopDot bridges the gap between the past sales-oriented product-heavy origination culture that has largely been blamed for the industry's recent surfeit of problem loans and the education-based straight-and-narrow path more commonly followed today as a means of steering clear of trouble.

TopDot was on this path even before the industry was, which is why the company has been able to survive, she said. And Ms. Gray seems intent on helping to make sure TopDot continues to stay the course.

Mortgage specialists at the company are taught to treat clients more respectfully and senior level status at the company is linked to a certain level of customer contact. Training also provides TopDot's mortgage specialists with information aimed at keeping them well versed in applicable laws and ethics as well as loan product features. "No lender does it like we do," she said, "We're hand-picking the right people for our clients."

TopDot's mortgage specialists, for example, are taught to proactively offer customers information about a New York law that requires lenders to refund fees for appraisals in any mortgage transaction that fails to close while other companies might view this kind of information as something they would not want to share with clients.

In addition to customer contact and sales, laws and ethics, TopDot's training covers conventional and Federal Housing Administration loan programs, including reverse mortgages, and more, she said. A separate executive provides training for people at the company who specialize in reverse mortgages but all mortgage specialists receive a certain amount of reverse mortgage training so that they know what is appropriate as far as making effective referrals to those specialists, said Ms. Gray.

The training, as Ms. Gray describes it, includes testing and largely is positioned as a helpful tool for managers. It also is supported through technology resources at the firm. The company has an Intranet site with a compliance tab broken down by state, a tab for products, a sales network tab and reverse tab, she said. TopDot also has a training video library, said Ms. Gray.

Training will sometimes be used to "weed out" some recruits who ultimately may not be a good match for the company or the position they were originally hired for, she said, noting that the process at TopDot also sometimes identifies areas at the company they may be better suited for.

In addition to working for the company, Ms. Gray also extends her training efforts outside of it to consumers, with a particular interest in reaching out to people as young as 15 or 16. The fact that borrowers have often had to make mistakes to learn about loan pitfalls and that they are not educated earlier, before they do, is a "pet peeve" of hers, she said.

The current industry crisis is ultimately a mixed blessing for training both in the community and the professional level, the way Ms. Gray sees it. The crisis has demonstrated the value of training, when it is done right, and also added to it now that it is needed in many cases to adapt regulatory changes and market shifts. But on the other hand, the widespread financial toll the current crisis is taking on the business as a whole has affected just about all resources, including training, to an extent, she said.