August 2024
The Sente Special: Quarterly Newsletter
Mortgage Banker Kenzie Lowegard Represents Sente
Kenzie Lowegard recently spoke at the Town of Little Elm Veterans committee meeting. This was the first-ever education event they have had for their Veteran’s Education Topics seminar. Kenzie spoke about the process of getting a VA home loan and basic loan requirements.
Sente Represents in Houston
Branch Manager Dan Monson and Underwriting Manager Andrea Miller recently attended an event featuring Mortgage Banker Richard Blanchard’s band, “Borrowed Time.”
DEPARTMENT UPDATES
Accounting
The Accounting Department has a new Accounting Specialist! Krystal Wakem has joined the Accounting team as our new part-time Accounting Specialist. Krystal started on June 24, and is looking forward to being a valuable asset to our department!
Welcome to the team!
Annual Financial Audit
Third quarter of the year brings our annual financial audit. The company’s financial statements are audited annually, and the audit takes about three months from start to finish. What this means for Accounting is that we spent a lot of time each day complying with requests from auditors to review financial information including contracts, invoices, bank statements, check registers, and more. The auditors review the information and confirm that the information presented in our financial statements is accurate and correct. We sure know how to have fun!
Capital Markets
We have a new employee in Secondary! Nancy McAlpine started with Sente in mid-May as our new Product Specialist/Lock Desk Analyst. Nancy is a native of the Washington DC area and has been in the mortgage industry for over 20 years, with an exciting breadth of experience.
She began her career as a Mortgage Banker and worked for multiple types of mortgage companies, including builders, banks and small lenders. More recently she was the Broker Channel Manager for a mid-size lender where she developed and managed wholesale investor relationships and also developed a scenario desk for those unique non-QM loan scenarios.
We have been focused on Nancy learning and getting comfortable with the many of the functions of lock desk along with some post-closing duties, but now that she is settling in, we are planning for how to apply her expertise in the Product Specialist role. As our Product Specialist she will become your Brokered product resource point of contact and we will be providing additional information on that. There will be some exciting new niche products rolling out very soon to help support our MBs in growing their business and attracting more prospects and referral sources.
Welcome to the team!
Closing
CD Reminders
A friendly reminder that when the items below are missing or incorrect, we are unable to move forward with preparing and releasing the CD to the buyer. Here are the top five reasons CDs are removed from the queue:
- Appraised value doesn’t match appraisal
- Effective date on insurance isn’t correct
- NPS name/email address aren’t entered into the CD worksheet
- Lock expiring prior to funding
- Value/loan amount on the MI certificate doesn’t match the file.
Please take the time to make sure the information submitted is correct and complete so we can keep your file moving as smoothly as possible!
Compliance
Required Training
Did you know that training is a key component of a strong Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program, as well as a requirement for CFPB, state, and federal regulations?
In order to meet this requirement, the 2024 Annual Compliance has been assigned to all Sente employees and is required to be completed by November 30, 2024. Please reach out to Concierge if you have any questions for Compliance or need help accessing the training.
Concierge
The Concierge Team continually looks for opportunities to provide efficient and resourceful service by assessing ticket turn times, trends, and issues. This information translates into training opportunities, system enhancements, and updated Ask Sente articles. We recently did a complete review of all articles on Ask Sente with updates and revisions requested from various departments ensuring you have valuable resources at your fingertips. As a reminder, Ask Sente is available from your Borrower Summary screen minimizing the need to open a new tab.
Starting in May, the Servicing/Secondary and Bond Review emails are now routed to Concierge providing additional one-point-of-contact service and ensuring your request is in the queue for the quickest possible assistance. No need to copy individual emails as all queues include the appropriate individuals who have access to the tickets.
In addition, there is a recent trend that we wanted to highlight. We were made aware of issues when moving files through the milestones causing delays. Once we were notified it was a quick resolution and it immediately eliminated potential delays. NO ISSUE IS TOO SMALL! Submitting a ticket when an issue occurs ensures we can access and evaluate your ticket for a timely resolution. Our motto: If it impacts you, it impacts everyone.
Human Resources
Financial Balance from Strategic Retirement Partners (SRP): SMART Financial Goals Can Help Guide Your Way to Financial Wellness
Financial goals play a crucial role in the pursuit of financial wellness. Whether it’s paying off credit card debt, saving for retirement, making a down payment on a home — or any other goal — they help guide your actions, habits and decision-making.
As you think about your financial future, consider creating SMART financial goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Instead of setting goals with vague aspirations (such as “I need to start saving more money”), SMART goals encourage you to think things through and define what success looks like. Here’s how you can create SMART financial goals:
- Specific: Define exactly what you want to achieve. Instead of saying “I want to save money,” specify the amount and purpose, such as “I want to save $5,000 for a down payment on a house in the next 12 months.”
- Measurable: Set criteria to measure your progress. In the previous example, the measurable piece is the $5,000 target within 12 months. You can track your progress periodically to ensure you’re on the right path.
- Achievable: Your goal should be realistic and attainable. Consider your income, expenses and other financial obligations. Saving $5,000 in a year might be achievable depending on your income and expenses, but saving $10,000 might not be.
- Relevant: Make sure your goal aligns with your broader financial objectives and priorities. For instance, if your long-term goal is to retire early, saving for retirement or investing might be more important than saving for a luxury vacation.
- Time-bound: Set a clear timeframe for achieving your goal. This adds a sense of urgency and helps you stay focused. For example, saving $5,000 within 12 months provides a deadline and helps structure your savings plan.
Here are some hypothetical examples of SMART goals:
Additional Resources from SRP:
- Click here for a library of newsletters, with articles ranging from topics on Tips for Graduates to Calculating Your Net Worth
- Click here to schedule a consultation with the SRP WELLth team
- Click here for a recording of their most recent Participant Education webinar, "Revitalize Your Finances: Fresh Perspectives for Modern Money Management"
IT Department
Data Ownership and New HUD Requirements Regarding Cybersecurity Incidents
- Data Ownership
As a reminder, Sente Mortgage equipment should be used for Sente business purposes only. All data stored on Sente equipment becomes the property of Sente and is subject to Sente policies and restrictions. Data may be deleted or archived based on these policies. - New HUD Requirements Regarding Cybersecurity Incidents
HUD recently released new reporting requirements for all significant Cybersecurity Incidents requiring us to include a description of the incident including the cause of the breach. In other words, accidentally clicking on a link or opening information from unknown sources that might affect security at Sente is not only Sente’s responsibility, but the responsibility of each individual at SEnte. Please do not click on unknown links or open unknown attachments.
Thank you for doing your part to keep Sente safe!
Marketing
5 Reasons 5-Star Reviews Matter
Consumer Trust: Approximately 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. This highlights the critical role that positive reviews, especially 5-star ones, play in building consumer trust and credibility.ter
Impact on Local SEO: Reviews play a crucial role in enhancing a business's visibility in search results, contributing to 12% of local SEO ranking factors on Google. Combined with a verified Google Business Profile, which accounts for 21%, these factors together make up 33% of what influences local search rankings. This means businesses with more positive reviews and a verified profile are significantly more likely to appear higher in local search results, attracting more potential customers.
Influence on Decision-Making: 92% of consumers say that they read online reviews regularly before making a purchase decision.
Customer Expectations: Consumers expect to see reviews, with 68% saying they form an opinion after reading between one and six reviews. This means that a solid base of 5-star reviews can quickly and positively shape potential customers’ perceptions of a business.
Influence on Consumer Decisions: A striking 94% of consumers say that a positive review makes them more likely to use a business.
One Final Important Number: 6,232, the number of Sente’s 5-star reviews! (As of 7/31/2024)
Underwriting
Enhancements and Updates
Sente Rush Policy has been updated to provide broader opportunity to accommodate priority review.
Here is a reminder of our Underwriting Turn Time SLAs:
- Initial Submission: 24 to 48 hours
- Resubmittal Review: 24 to 48 hours
- Appraisal Review: 24 hours
- UWHELP: 24 to 48 hours
- Income Calculations: 48 to 72 hours
Underwriting is collaborating with other departments in testing AI income calculation enhancement and tools. Watch for time-saving income determination opportunities coming soon!
FHA Manual Underwrite Matrix has been updated and improved for clarification, greater volume of information, and ease of use.
As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions for timely topics, continuing training, and opportunities to improve our Ask Sente resource library.
WELCOME TO NEW HIRES
Tracy Angeli, Production Partner
James Vanya, Mortgage Banker
Rachel Robinson, Appraisal Desk Coordinator
Nancy McAlpine, Product Specialist/Lock Desk Analyst
Cara Welch, Business Development Specialist
Krystal Wakem, Accounting Specialist
SECOND QUARTER EMPLOYEE ANNIVERSARIES
Brent Berry
Dan Monson
Barbara Evans, Timothy Berry
Heike Harviel, Jennifer Lourence, Jenny Lack, Kyle Stephens, Milton Birdwell, Carmen Hornberger, Debbie Riopelle, Elizabeth Rejsek, John Hathcote, Richard Burt
April Hrozek, Daniel Plant, Laura Clayton, Les Odom
Krista Sansom, Dana Place, Stefanie Lyles, Blake Lyles
Lauren Pena, Tyler Krug
Kate Pettique, Laura Golder