Welcome to another episode of Laugh, Lend, and Eat, MADNESS, our host, Fobby Naghmi, National Sales Manager for First Option Mortgage, and co-host, Madison “Madness” Keenan, loan officer for AnnieMac Home Loans. The discussion revolves around loan officers going to borrower’s closings, and Madness surprises Fobby by telling him she is not a fan of technology.
Madness likes to Jaywalk
We start the episode by finding out that Madness can’t help herself and breaks the state’s law by consistently jaywalking around town. While this is amusing, Fobby recalls a past loan officer that received a ticket for jaywalking in Alexandria, VA. For more information about jaywalking, please go to: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/jaywalking.
Madness Goes to Borrower’s Loan Closings.
At a recent lunch, a co-worker of Madness stated that he noticed Madness does not cry as much anymore. Madness attributes her not crying as much as she is “getting numb to the business or getting thicker skin.”
At 3:43, Fobby asks Madness if she has ever watched “A League of Their Own.” A favorite movie of Fobby with Tom Hanks. Fobby tells Madness that his favorite scene is where Hanks yells at a women baseball player, saying, “There is no crying in baseball!” Fobby tells Madness she must watch it.
The talk switches to Madness talking about how she goes to a first-time homebuyer’s closing. She tells Fobby that it’s important for her to see all the parties come together that were involved in the transaction.
Fobby brings up the time he went to a client’s closing in 1995. The clients were a very elderly couple who had a very credit-challenged loan. At the closing table, the wife declared that she did not care about fees but that no one was to sell her beloved organ. Fobby had avoided closings since that time.
Madness admits that she comes at the tail end of the closing. She can then be part of the celebration with her borrowers. She also tells us that she had seen other loan officers in her office going to closings, which is where she learned to go. Fobby commends her effort and encourages her not to stop doing that.
Madness Does Not Believe Technology Builds Relationships
At 11:06, Madness surprises Fobby by stating that any mortgage lender that believes technology is the way to get ahead is just wrong.
She adds that many mortgage professionals hide behind their technology software rather than creating relationships with their borrowers and referral partners.
She is often blind-sided by past borrowers calling her after they receive an automated email from her, and they want to talk to her about the email they just received.
Fobby pushes back that Madness may want to communicate with her marketing department to be better prepared when those automated emails are sent to her past clients.
Madness Needs to Detox from Technology
At 14:18, we finally discover that Madness is saying there are too many ways to communicate with her. Between emails, texting, and social media sites, her brain is getting overloaded.
Fobby tells her about tech detox weekend camps where people go to do just that, turn off all things digital. But then Fobby states, why pay someone money? When you can turn off your own devices yourself.
Madness does agree that she can control her device settings to allow quiet time. She can also re-record her greeting on her voicemail to allow herself more time to respond to voicemail messages.
Technology is a product of convenience. It can seem overwhelming for those who use it in business and personal lives. But we can control how much we let it control us. We can also decide where the boundaries are with our clients as well.
