New York Association of Mortgage Brokers Annual Convention

September 2005

I first want to thank all of you for attending this event. Because of your support this Association has developed a creditable presence in the mortgage industry. From a handful of brokers that got together nearly 20 years ago in response to the initial regulations governing mortgage brokers we’ve grown to where we are now.

We are no longer an organization that reacts to regulatory changes. We are proactive in the development of changes. As the Association matured it became obvious that we were much more effective in serving our membership if we worked with our regulators and Legislatures in the evolution of the laws governing our industry. Through open communications we are able to present the business viewpoint and in return get an understanding as to where the regulators are coming from.

Are we always happy with the results? No, that is an impossible goal. You can feel confident that the position of the mortgage broker community is consistently being presented to all that will listen. This is no small task. Only because there are members willing to step up to the plate and volunteer their time can this be accomplished. At this table you see a select group of individuals that have given time from their busy lives for the betterment of the industry. They deserve to be thanked personally by everyone in this room.

We are only limited in what we can accomplish by the manpower we have to work with. I ask each and every one of you to consider taking an active role in your trade association. It’s easy to sit back and let these people do the work for you. Over the nearly 20 years I’ve been involved in this association I’ve seen the number of people in this industry grow many times over and at the same time the number of people willing to take an active role diminish year after year.

We all have our own opinions as to what needs to be done to protect our livelihoods. We love to sit at the bar and bitch to each other about what’s wrong with our industry and what needs to be done to correct it. Well, now is the time to decide how serious you are about your industry. It’s time to act like the professionals you think you are. The time you invest with the NYAMB is not time taken away from your business, it’s time invested in your future!

We are in an industry that cycles between feast and famine periods. We’ve just been through the longest and most profitable cycle this industry has ever seen. We’ve also seen the number of sources that the consumer has available for mortgage products expand to unsustainable levels. In order for us, as mortgage brokers, to survive as independent businesses we are going to need to elevate our level of service to our clients. We will not be able to survive by selling a commodity known as a mortgage. There will always be someone willing to under price you. We need to give the marketplace a reason to deal with us that is not price based.

The NYAMB wants to give its members the tools necessary to succeed in this new marketplace. There will be an increased focus this year in educational programs being offered to our members. Drawing off what the NAMB has to offer as well as the MBA, we will be offering educational programs to our member at little or no cost. The best member benefit we can offer is one that can be used to enhance you bottom line.

In order to deliver to highest level of leadership possible, we routinely send our board members to NAMB’s Annual Leadership Conference. It’s not feasible to send the entire board to a 3-day conference, so a few are sent every year. Nine years ago when I first accepted the position of President of this association I required the board to attend a 1-day training session here in New York. We arranged for NAMB’s then executive director, Rick Dorman, to teach the session. By the end of this year we will be repeating this training for your current Board of Directors. The knowledge gained that day will build confidence in your leaders making them better equipped to run this association.

We are also looking into the feasibility of developing a State Certification Program. The goal here is to give you another opportunity to separate yourself from the competition. If we get enough interest in the program then we will begin a marketing campaign to educate the public in the benefits of working with a certified mortgage professional.

When the NYAMB was founded 20 years ago we faced the same issues as any new business venture. We needed to quickly learn how to run an association. Not having any capital to work with, everything was done by the board of directors. Writing checks, billing members, even running the newspaper was the responsibility of the board. Now that we’ve grown and matured we’ve moved up to the next level of business. We use experts to handle the day-to-day operations, freeing up the directors to address the important matters.

Over the years we took our newspaper, The Mortgage Press, from loosing money every month when we were publishing it ourselves to a profit center by contracting out the job to TMP. By utilizing their expertise we are able to focus on delivering our message to the industry while making money without wasting our most valuable commodity, a volunteer’s time.

Ten years ago we realized that a self-managed trade association was draining on our volunteers so we entered into a contract with Trade Association Management (TAM). Because of the dedication of their staff we’re able to execute events such as this convention professionally throughout the years, freeing up our directors. Just as in your businesses, we need to spend money to make money. The NYAMB has never been in better financial shape and we have TAM to thank for it.

On the legislative front we have always had a strong grass roots effort but it was unfocused. We were working in an environment that we were unfamiliar with. Let’s face it. Politicians look at the world a lot differently than businessmen. So several years back we entered into a contract with Coppola Ryan McHugh Riddell, lobbyist based in Albany. With their expert advice, our voice has become stronger in Albany.

We’ve come a long way over the years but we could be accomplishing so much more. We need your active involvement. 

A trade association is the joining of individuals to accomplish goals that none of them can accomplish on their own. You like making money in this business, then do something that will ensure you will be able to continue making money. Reach out to any of these board members and offer to help them out.