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January 4, 2008
Happy New Year!
The past year is one that will live in the memories of mortgage professionals forever. Someday, someone will say, "Where were you in '07?" and many will remember just like most of us remember other significant times such as 09/11/01. At this point, we don’t know all the effects of the much publicized "melt down". We continue to see a number of knee-jerk reactions both at the federal and state level that will have some lasting effect. For example, states such as North Carolina have enacted legislation that will, in effect, eliminate any lending other than full-documentation loans to well-qualified borrowers. And, maybe that’s not altogether a bad thing.
We do know that if where you were in '07 was with Network Funding, LP, you were in a substantially better position than the vast majority of others in the mortgage industry. Our business plan of being a mortgage banker and correspondent lender with a diverse base of branches in the best markets in the country has allowed us to be in a growth pattern instead of what many others face today. We were fortunate to have made decisions about operations in a timely manner and were spared most aspects of the melt-down.
Today we are poised to take advantage of a changing marketplace by focusing on bringing new and experienced mortgage professionals and partners into our organization. We want to use our branch network to develop new branches in their market areas. We plan to reach out to other mortgage bankers or brokers or commercial banks to show the benefit of the independence, control, and income potential available to Network branches while having the stability and convenience of an established and secure operations center. We believe our proven structure of managing business partnerships will help our branches attract new loan referral sources such as builders, real estate groups, banks and credit unions through the marketing materials, partnership agreements, and business plans we already have available. We plan to continue to grow and develop new programs and become origination leaders with such tools as reverse mortgage loans.
Another goal for this year is to continue to expand our technology. Loan program and pricing search engines such as Optimal Blue are changing the definition and structure of rate sheets. Web-based programs such as WebTrac and Point Data Servers are improving our efficiencies and our communications. We have always believed in being on the cutting edge but not the bleeding edge of technology. We have purposely postponed embracing some technology while it develops. It is time to consider the possibility of paperless loan origination and we will devote time and capital to move forward in this area.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge that the success and stability we enjoy is due to the dedicated staff we are fortunate to have at Network Funding, LP and its affiliate companies. Without doubt, the hard work, dedication, professionalism and vision of our staff are the keys to our past success and our future growth. We appreciate each and every one of you and all that you do.
If you are not affiliated with Network, we would encourage you to take the time to get to know us and learn how you, too, can “Expect the Best”!
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