Rick Grant & Associates

Please forgive me for being so self-involved over these past few months. I’ve been working on the genesis of a new company. My partners and I will be launching Texell Interactive Media later this month and we’ll be telling everyone more about it at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention in October.

But enough about me. Now, I want to talk about you.

In fact, that’s what this blog is going to be all about. I’ll be looking for interesting stories to share with the people who subscribe to this blog, so send me your news. We’ll also talk with industry experts about trends and companies to watch. When I come upon a good idea that could benefit your business, whether you’re a mortgage lender or one of the firms that serve them, I’ll let you know about that, too.

If you’d rather chat with me than send me an e-mail, feel free to dial our new office number: 570-325-2818. Margaret Miller, Texell’s vice president of production, may grab my line in my absence, but she’s probably someone you should meet anyway.

Within the next few weeks, we’ll be launching a new website that will include even more stories about the companies in this industry, though we won’t be telling them all in the traditional way. Some stories are told just fine in black and white text. Others call for a more interesting treatment.

Thanks for reading this blog. I’ll be working hard to make it worth your time.

Congratulations to Lorraine O’Reilly Brown and her team at DOCX for being acquired by Fidelity National Financial. If you haven’t seen the company’s weekly e-mail newsletter, go to the website and request it. It’s a great example of staying in touch with a market by providing valuable information. It also does a great job of showcasing how the company keeps tabs on recording fees all over the country.

Fidelity talked about the company’s lien release software in the acquisition announcement. Many lenders would have given their eye teeth for something like that back during the height of the refi boom. Fidelity EVP Ernest Smith also mentioned that the DOCX Feewise calculator was a great tool that would help the company’s title operations calculate closing fees.

What’s not in the release: knowing the closing costs in advance is huge right now. As lenders like Interfirst (ABN AMRO) and DiTech Funding push forward with single-fee-to-close loans, knowing in advance what it will actually cost the lender to finalize the transaction will be a major risk mitigation tool. I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t one of the most attractive parts of this deal for Fidelity.

DOCX has a great handle on what it costs to record documents, adding that information to an automated system that can calculate accurate closing fees could give Fidelity a competitive advantage when it comes to selling a bundle of services to lenders.

Principal Bank, a member of The Principal Financial Group has added a new home equity product to its menu and is again turning to Guardian Mortgage Documents to handle the paperwork. Getting the docs right for HELOCs was a pesky problem that took doc prep firms a while to work out. Guardian is not the only company doing a brisk business in this area, but it was one of the first to come out with a product that worked every time, which it calls NGIS (Next Generation Input System).

What’s not in the release: GMD doesn’t just do docs. The company also owns an outsourcing division. The systems it rolled out to the market were first developed and tested by its own internal teams on live deals. That’s quality assurance testing.

Williams & Williams, a company that specializes in REO disposition, has hired a former imagineer as its chief operating officer. Pam McKissick comes to the firm from the world of entertainment, having previously worked for TV Guide Networks and The Walt Disney Company.

As COO for Williams & Williams, she’ll be responsible for interfacing with lenders. She’s only been with the company for a few months, but she has already initiated the spin-off of the firm’s Farm, Ranch & Premiere Properties division and built an extensive, in-house IT infrastructure.

McKissick was president and COO of TV Guide Networks, a 56 million household cable network, and vice president of Network Specials and director of Creative Services for Walt Disney World/Epcot Center. She has also been an executive producer in Hollywood.

What’s not in the release: McKissick studied business at the Wharton Business School, but she has also studied biochemistry, theater and theology. Add that to her experience in the Magic Kingdom and I wouldn’t be surprised if she could do magic, which is exactly what lenders may be looking for in the future.

Historically low interest rates, innovative loan products (like interest-only loans and Option ARMS) and an increased focus on emerging markets has put more people into homes than ever before. That’s all good. But if there’s a bubble or a downturn or a shift in the wind, lenders are going to want access to someone who can make REO disappear quickly.

Interesting rumor: We hear that Ms. McKissick was also previously a radio broadcaster. We haven’t confirmed that yet, but as an emerging multimedia production company that focuses on podcasting, we can’t wait to get her on a show.

The best part of my job as a journalist was getting to visit with people who were both passionate and knowledgeable about their work. I don’t write all that much anymore, but from time to time, I still get to chat with some great folks.

That happened this week when, as part of a special series of podcasts we’re creating for Source Media, I got the chance to visit with 20 finalists from Mortgage Technology magazines annual MT Awards contest. We won’t know who will take away the seven prestigious awards until the big awards ceremony at the MBA Annual Convention in Orlando this October, but we do know that the competition is fierce.

Talking to these mortgage technology leaders inspired us. They made us proud to be part of an industry that rewards people for doing great things, that recognizes when they are doing something innovative that will benefit everyone in the business.

When you find yourself getting bogged down in the day-to-day work of doing the business, take time to call someone you think is really smart and just chat with them for a few minutes. It will make a difference in your day.

Watch Source Media’s Daily Briefing for the MT Award pre-show podcasts. Coming soon!

In the past, I always carried a micro-cassette recorder to important business conferences. You never know when someone is going to say something you’ll want to remember. This year, I’ll be packing an MP3 player. For the same reason.

My new company, Texell Interactive Media, will be recording podcasts both on the tradeshow floor and at Source Media’s Mortgage Technology magazine award ceremony. If you’d like to find out more about podcasting, drop us an e-mail. We’ll be recording executives throughout the course of each day and then posting the resulting podcasts to our website. But we only have a limited number of slots available. If you’ve got something to say, give us a call at 800-979-9049 and we’ll get you on the air.

Watch this space for information about our new website where you can learn more about podcasting, blogs and using video over the Internet to communicate in exciting new ways.