Summer Edition 2026
Sente Mortgage Employee Newsletter
Concierge
Have a question?
If you have questions about any of the Department Updates in this issue, please submit a ticket to: concierge@sentemortgage.com.
Branch News
- New Braunfels, TX: Congratulations to Jennifer Rodriguez! Rise and shine with Sarah Carter; Lakeside 4th of July with James Racanelli
- Cabot, AR: Keeping Things Cool for Their Referral Partners
- Hats Off From Cabot to Corporate Austin
- Austin, TX: Fore a Good Cause; Celebrating Sente's Association Leaders
- Stillwater, OK: Full Throttle Against Childhood Hunger
- Dahlonega, GA: The Golden Team Brings the Chill
You sweated, you stretched, you showed up!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Summer Wellness Challenge, and congratulations to our winners!
BRANCH NEWS
News From New Braunfels, TX:
Leading the way. Congratulations to Jennifer Rodriguez on her promotion to Sales Manager of the New Braunfels branch!
Rise and shine! Mortgage Banker Sarah Carter kicked off the day with a rousing presentation and breakfast at an event for a local real estate group.
Lakeside with the Lakefront Group. Branch Manager James Racanelli's team celebrated the Fourth of July with the Lakefront Group.
Cabot, AR: Keeping Things Cool for Their Referral Partners
The Cabot Team helped local real estate agents beat the heat this summer! The team put together branded coolers as summer giveaways for their referral partners—a cool thank-you for keeping the referrals coming.
Hats Off From Cabot to Corporate Austin
Vice President of Finance Sharmee Patel and Servicing and Post-Closing Support Specialist Liz Saenz tip their hats to the Cabot Team for the Sente swag.
News From Austin, TX:
Fore a good cause! Regional Manager Karen Elliott and the Austin team hit the greens for a charity golf tournament that raised $13,000 for a local charity.
Celebrating Sente's association leaders. As past presidents of the Austin Mortgage Bankers Association, Karen Elliott and Mortgage Banker Kristin Carroll attended a special luncheon in May.
Stillwater, OK: Full Throttle Against Childhood Hunger
Branch Manager Eric Zanotelli and the Stillwater Branch donated $200 to Kicking Childhood Hunger in support of Terrie Collier, a mortgage Banker with BancFirst who is riding in the Hoka Hey Challenge this year. On the day of the branch's donation, Terrie had raised more than $41,000 to fight childhood hunger in their county. You can learn more about the ride at hokaheychallenge.com.
Dahlonega, GA: The Golden Team Brings the Chill
The Golden Team brought the cool to a monthly meeting at Headwaters Realty in Habersham County. Not only did every agent leave with a snack-packed mini cooler. Clay Christy—the team's "Deal Doctor"—broke the ice on what makes Sente different from the competition.
DEPARTMENT UPDATES
From Our COO Les Odom
Technology That Lets Us Say Yes
At Sente, every technology decision starts with one question: Will this make us better for our borrowers, business partners, and teams?
Our view of technology is not measured by how many features it has. The real value is found in the moments when the technology allows us to do something we otherwise could not do. It gives us the flexibility to adapt to unique situations, continue delivering great service, and help borrowers accomplish their goals regardless of where life takes them.
Here's a perfect example from July:
Several months ago, we moved our eClosing platform from Snapdocs to nCino. One of the new capabilities we added is Remote Online Notarization or RON.
Recently we closed a VA loan for a borrower who is currently stationed overseas. Because of where he is serving, there was no legal office or another practical option available for signing his closing documents. Under normal circumstances, this would have delayed the closing for weeks.
Instead our team used nCino's RON capability to complete the closing from thousands of miles away. The borrower was able to securely sign the documents online while a remote notary in the U.S. was present. The loan closed successfully, the security instrument was recorded, and the loan was delivered without interruption.
As we continue to evaluate new technology, our focus will remain the same. We will only invest in solutions that improve our process, strengthen our operations, and most importantly, create a better experience for the people we serve.
Accounting
Audit Season Is Here
The third quarter brings Sente's annual financial audit. The process takes about three months from start to finish. For the Accounting Team, that means spending a good part of each day responding to auditor requests to review contracts, invoices, bank statements, check registers, and more. The auditors confirm that everything in our financial statements is accurate.
We sure know how to have fun!
Random Reminders From Accounting
- Expense reports. Before filing, confirm you're using the most recent version of the Expense Reimbursement form. This form and the Expense Reimbursement Policy can be found on Ask Sente or the ADP Forms Library under the Resources menu.
- Brokered loans. Please complete all brokered loans in Encompass at the time of funding. This keeps reporting deadlines and commissions on schedule so everyone gets paid on time. Use Sente's wire instructions rather than a check for payment whenever possible. Commission on brokered loans cannot be paid until the broker's payment has been received and the loan is completed in Encompass.
Closing
Enhancements Are Improving Efficiency
The Closing Team is excited to share that several enhancements rolled out earlier this year are helping our branches work more efficiently. These updates were designed to simplify workflows, reduce unnecessary steps, and give branches greater flexibility.
- Closing Touch screen enhancements. The Closing Touch screen is now the central resource for managing several closing-related requests, including close date changes, Powers of Attorney (POAs), short pay requests, and trust reviews.
- Expanded branch access for close date changes. Branches can now update closing dates directly, creating a faster and more efficient process. The only exception is when the Closing Disclosure (CD) has already been released. In those cases, a Closing Touch request is still required.
- Simplified CD release documentation. We have reduced the documentation requirements for CD release, helping teams move more quickly while maintaining necessary controls.
- Streamlined POA review. Attorney review is no longer required. Underwriting now handles the review and approval of all POA requests.
Thank you for your continued partnership as we implement these improvements and enhance the branch experience.
Compliance
2026 Annual Compliance Training Is Due November 30
Training is a core requirement of a satisfactory Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program, as well as CFPB and other state and federal programs. To meet that requirement, the 2026 Annual Compliance Training was assigned in July to all Sente employees and must be completed by November 30, 2026.
Concierge
Meet Rachel and Dustin
Team Spotlight: Rachel Robinson, Appraisal Desk Coordinator
Q: How long have you been at Sente?
A: Two years and one month.
Q: Where are you located?
A: I am remote in Fate, Texas.
Q: Tell us a little about your role on the Concierge team.
A: I provide appraisal support for all branches. I am the liaison between the branches and the appraisers. I have worked to build a rapport with the appraisers across the board so there is more communication.
Q: How does your role and the Concierge team support Sente employees?
A: Concierge is a special part of Sente. The branches can open a ticket for any question they have, and Concierge will make sure that the issue is resolved.
Q: What’s one thing people might not know about the Concierge team?
A: Our team consists of four people with different backgrounds and decades of experience in the mortgage industry. We have a prior underwriter, a prior loan processor, phenomenal Encompass support, and a fearless leader who will not stop until an issue is resolved.
Q: What’s one app, tool, or resource you couldn’t do your job without?
A: I could not do my job without constant support from my team. We learn from each other, solve issues collaboratively, and grow together.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I like the relationships I have with the branches—it makes my day to talk to them on the phone.
Q: What’s one fun fact about you outside of work?
A: I foster dogs and currently have four foster fails. I take on the roughest cases and teach them how to dog. My most recent foster fail is a blue healer/Pit bull that was heart-worm positive, pregnant, and scary skinny. She now lives inside with me and sleeps in our bed.
Q: If you had a free day to do anything, how would you spend it?
A: I would be in Branson at Silver Dollar City!
Team Spotlight: Dustin Lovings, Concierge Specialist
Q: How long have you been at Sente?
A: 6 years
Q: Where are you located?
A: Spring, Texas
Q: How does your role and the Concierge team support Sente employees?
A: Concierge provides loan structuring assistance, document coordination and management, and administrative support. We take pride in our ability to assess situations and provide tailored solutions.
Q: What’s one thing people might not know about the Concierge team?
A: We are a very close-knit team with a great sense of humor.
Q: What’s one app, tool, or resource you couldn’t do your job without?
A: Teams—it creates an avenue to connect with team members to fully understand and resolve questions or concerns.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: My role on the team evolves constantly, which leads to learning new skills and expanding my knowledge base. Never a dull day!
Q: What’s one fun fact about you outside of work?
A: I work on a farm most weekends.
Q: If you had a free day to do anything, how would you spend it?
A: Enjoying time with family and friends.
Human Resources
Blue Cross Member Rewards Program
The Blue Cross Member Rewards Program incentivizes plan members to go to a top-performing and cost-efficient specialist for care. When plan members visit one of these specialists, they are mailed a check as their reward.
To shop for eligible specialists, plan members need to select the members reward option rather than the provider search option.
In the Blue Access for Members (BAM) app, plan members can find care by selecting medical, and then "cost estimates and member rewards." This will highlight the procedures and specialties that are eligible for member rewards, as well as compare the reward value for each visit.
Click this link for an interactive BAM walkthrough. It takes just a few minutes to go through the introduction. At the end of the intro, click the main menu for links to additional videos, including one on finding medical care related to the Member Rewards Program.
IT
Help Keep Sente's Security Score Rising!
You already know the importance of maintaining a high awareness of potential security issues affecting your work. Periodically, Sente runs security tests to help keep your security sensitivity high, and to note any potential problems that place customer information or other sensitive data at risk.
In early July, everyone received an email that appeared to come from the IT Department warning of action needed to login settings to maintain remote access ability. This was a fake message with a link that led to a landing page that tracked when the link was clicked. The system also tracked what happened to each message, regardless of whether the link was clicked. Here are the positive results:
- 95 people received the message; some replied with Out of Office
- 38 of those users correctly right clicked on the message and reported it as a phishing email
On the not-so-positive side:
- 5 people clicked on the "malicious" link
- 1 person proceeded to provide credentials to the link
- 59 people simply deleted the message without reporting
- 8 people forwarded the message, creating multiple copies of a malicious message
- 13 people opened help desk tickets regarding the message's validity
There is room for improvement. Understanding the proper procedure for managing potentially dangerous messages is vital. The behavior that was expected from the test was:
- Message viewed in the Preview Pane in Outlook (not opening the message in a new window).
- Judgment call on whether it's genuine or potentially malicious. There were several clues in the message to assist in that judgment.
- User right-clicks on the message, chooses Report, then chooses Phishing or Spam. This reporting process updates the system's spam filters to better help identify future undesirable messages before they are delivered.
Forwarding these messages, including by opening help desk tickets, creates additional copies, expanding the risk. If there is any doubt about a message being legitimate, try to confirm using other methods like contacting the sender separately by phone or SMS. Most often, a message marked as spam can be recovered. It's okay to mark it incorrectly and be wrong because it is still the right thing to do.
Considering the volume of email messages Sente receives on a daily basis, we generally do a good job of protecting sensitive information. It's important to remember that every day presents new risks to be aware of. Stay alert and help improve our security scores during the next test!
Marketing
Make Your Zoom Background Uniquely Yours
Did you know you can now request a custom Sente-branded virtual background featuring a view near you? Whether it's your city skyline or another local landmark, our team can create one just for you.
Getting one is easy:
- Submit a ticket to Concierge with your request.
- Tell us the view you'd like or send a photo example.
- We'll create a custom background and send it your way.
As a quick follow-up to our last issue, our existing branded Zoom and Teams backgrounds have been refreshed with the new logo. Please make sure you are using an updated version.
New Letterhead: Grab the Latest Versions
Speaking of updated versions—we've refreshed our letterhead templates, which you can find on sentemarketing.com. Please use the "For Internal Use Only" template for in-house documents like company policies, product guides, training materials, and similar corporate communications. If you need customized letterhead for a specific purpose, please submit a ticket to the Marketing Team.
Recruiting
Building a $15 Million Branch Starts With the Right Recruiting Mindset
Every successful branch has one thing in common—it didn't grow by accident. Behind every high-performing team is a leader who made recruiting a priority, not an afterthought.
In today's market, recruiting isn't about waiting for the phone to ring or hoping the right person appears. It's about building relationships, staying connected to great talent, and being ready when the timing is right.
Three habits consistently separate growing branches from stagnant ones:
First, always be building your pipeline. The best Branch Managers are constantly meeting people, having conversations, and expanding their network. Even if someone isn't ready to make a move today, the relationship you build now may become an opportunity in six months.
Second, hire for more than production. Production matters, but it's only part of the equation. The best additions to your team are people who align with your culture, share your values, and want to grow with the company. The right fit almost always outperforms the biggest producer who isn't invested in the team's success.
Finally, make the transition exceptional. Recruiting doesn't end when someone says "yes." A smooth onboarding experience, responsive operations, and consistent communication give new team members confidence that they made the right decision. Those first few weeks often determine whether a new hire simply joins the company or becomes a long-term advocate for it.
At the end of the day, building a $15 million branch isn't about finding one superstar. It's about creating a repeatable process for attracting great people, making thoughtful hiring decisions, and providing the support they need to succeed. Leaders who embrace that mindset don't just grow their branches. They build teams that continue to thrive, regardless of the market.
Don't know where to start? Contact John Owens, Vice President of Strategic Growth.
Secondary
Two New Conforming Products and a New Investor
The Secondary Team is always looking for ways to offer the best price to our borrowers for each loan scenario. For this purpose, last quarter we added two new conforming loan products: Conforming 30-Year Fixed - $350K and Conforming 30-Year Fixed – Second Home.
The price difference between the low loan balance (and second home) products compared to the standard 30-year product can vary quite a bit by note rate. They are sourced to the specific Fannie Mae product pricing, which can bring better pricing based on market conditions and demand.
Sente also added a new investor, Onity Mortgage, who we found to have competitive pricing for certain FHA, VA, and USDA scenarios.
Adding new products and investors facilitates best pricing for each loan scenario and at each note rate. When you are pricing and locking, be sure to select the best priced option for your specific scenario.
Servicing
Goodbye Letters and the Five-Day Boarding Window
Mortgage Bankers and their teams are notified by email when a Goodbye Letter has been uploaded to the eFolder in Encompass. This happens shortly after the loan has sold, whether Sente is the new servicer or not. However, it's important to note that it can take about 5 business days for the loan to be set up on the new servicing system—at which point the borrower will have access. For this reason, you may want to hold off on communication to the borrower about who their servicer is, or send verbiage notifying them that it may take 5 business days for their loan to be boarded to the respective servicing system. We've seen frustration at times when borrowers try to register online before their loan has boarded, as their account cannot be located.
Making One-Time Payments
For loans where Sente is the servicer, we are often asked how to make additional one-time payments to either an escrow account (to make up for a shortage) or to be applied as additional principal. Instructions for both are available on Ask Sente by searching DMI, one-time payments for either escrow or principal for the appropriate article.
Underwriting
Gateless Is Now Live at Every Branch
Every Sente branch is now onboarded with Gateless Smart Underwrite. This technology will allow us to move through files faster in underwriting.
Gateless will also help branches:
- Prepare a file for underwriting with assurance all required documentation has been obtained,
- Provide income calculations,
- Auto-clear conditions when the branch uploads new documentation.
SENTE SPOTLIGHTS
MEET THE TEAM
Get to know two team members—a 17-year Sente veteran and a recent addition!
Q: How long have you been at Sente?
A: 17 years
Q: Where are you located?
A: Austin Corporate
Q: Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in mortgage?
A: Right out of college, I went to work for a mentor who owned a mortgage company. I held positions across the company in servicing, originating, processing, underwriting, and eventually secondary. Secondary is where I felt my personal skills were most effective.
Q: What is your favorite thing about Sente?
A: My favorite thing about Sente is the collaboration and ability to stay flexible and nimble so that we can offer as many options for our clients as possible.
Q: Which Sente Value do you reflect on as the most important?
A: Learn, Stretch and Grow
Q: How would you describe your job to a group of 5-year-olds?
A: Our company loans people money so that they can buy homes. My job is to make sure we are offering everyone we work with a fair rate.
Q: What is your favorite thing about your job?
A: The variability in challenges to overcome.
Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what type and what are their names?
A: We have two Goldendoodles, Lolly and Frankie
Q: Where is your favorite place to vacation?
A: Puerto Vallarta
Q: What activities or hobbies do you have outside of work?
A: I enjoy fishing and watching my children’s activities—multiple sports for my son and cheer and dance for my daughter.
Q: How long have you been at Sente?
A: I have been at Sente since September 2025.
Q: Where are you located?
A: I am located in Cabot, Arkansas.
Q: Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in mortgage?
A: Both my mom and aunt are realtors. Growing up, I got to watch them guide people through one of the biggest decisions of their lives—buying a home. It inspired me to want to do the same.
Q: What is your favorite thing about Sente?
A: My favorite thing about Sente is the family atmosphere. Everyone genuinely looks out for each other. It makes coming to work every day something I enjoy, not just a job.
Q: Which Sente Value do you reflect on as the most important?
A: "Always Do the Right Thing" is the value I come back to most. As a Mortgage Banker, I'm often the person guiding clients through the biggest financial decision of their lives—they trust me to look out for their best interests, not just close a deal. That means being upfront about costs, steering clients toward the loan that fits their situation (even if it's not the most convenient option for me), and being honest when the timing or numbers just aren't right yet. Doing right by clients builds the kind of trust that turns into referrals and long-term relationships, and it's the standard I hold myself to on every file I touch.
Q: How would you describe your job to a group of 5-year-olds?
A: A house costs more money than even the biggest piggy bank could hold, so I help people borrow the rest from a bank and pay it back little by little!
Q: What is your favorite thing about your job?
A: The satisfaction of helping people. Whether it's first-time homebuyers who can be nervous every step of the way or clients buying their second or third home, there's nothing better than that hug or handshake at closing knowing you helped them through one of the biggest decisions of their life.
Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what type and what are their names?
A: I have a wiener dog named Dolly and a tuxedo cat named Archie.
Q: Where is your favorite place to vacation?
A: That’s a tough question. My family and I love cruises. If I had to pick my favorite cruise destination, it would be the Bahamas. The water is so clean and blue, and the people there are great!
Q: What activities or hobbies do you have outside of work?
A: Outside of work, I enjoy working in my garden, spending time with my girlfriend Olivia, and golfing.
WELCOME, NEW HIRES!
New Hires:
Sandra Still Koons, Production Partner, Upper Kirby - Houston
Frank Rivas, Jr., Mortgage Banker, Upper Kirby - Houston
Penny Thomas, Production Assistant, New Braunfels
HAPPY SENTE-VERSARY!
Q3 ANNIVERSARIES
Niki Laningham, Closing Disclosure Desk Specialist: August 25
Debbie Ratliff, Mortgage Banker: August 1
Lucas Arcizo, Mortgage Banker: July 23
Amy Clopton, HR Manager: August 2
Ana Martinez, Mortgage Banker: August 8
Jerry Lopez, Mortgage Banker: July 17
Brandi Fricks, Administrative Assistant: August 12
Ashley Moran, Production Assistant: August 19
Kristi Murakami, Senior Underwriter: September 23
Shante Hughes, Senior Underwriter: July 28
Tyler Keck, Production Assistant: September 2
John Owens, Vice President of Strategic Growth: September 30