Former NAMB President Starts New Trade Group

Marc Savitt, the recent past president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers, has launched a new trade group and hopes to have 100,000 new members signed up within a year. "I'm only charging $50 a year membership dues," he said in an interview with National Mortgage News. Mr. Savitt, who owns and operates his own loan brokerage in West Virginia, stressed that he will not be competing against NAMB (he continues to head its HVCC task force) but will gear the efforts of the upstart National Association of Independent Housing Professionals strictly toward government affairs and lobbying outreach. He plans to officially launch the NAIHP next week and already has "a few hundred" committed members. "This organization will be run like a business," he said. Mr. Savitt has been a vocal critic of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct and is pushing for immediate changes to how lenders and brokers order and manage appraisals.