Letter from AIME Leadership 4-10-23

Dear AIME Community,

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” - Albert Einstein

That quote can feel like a personal attack, can’t it? We all, especially in this industry, want to believe we are experts that can explain incredibly complicated topics to anyone in a way that will make them understand. It’s an unwritten responsibility in our job description. You’re all talking to people that have never owned a home before, some that have never even thought twice about their credit score, and you’re expected to help them understand something that people in the industry for YEARS may not even fully comprehend. It’s a big ask and one that has many implications for the borrowers if we don’t get it right. So how good are we at explaining something as complicated as, say, a VA loan to someone with no background knowledge? Let’s be honest; probably not as good as we could be. But how do we fix that?

As your Director of Education, I am writing to you today to discuss the importance of mortgage training and how it can benefit our industry. In today's competitive marketplace, it is critical that we stay ahead of the curve in terms of skills, knowledge, and diversity. This is where mortgage training comes into play.

Mortgage training is a vital part of our industry because it ensures we have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide exceptional service to our clients. By investing in training, we can improve our customer satisfaction rates and establish ourselves as leaders in the mortgage industry. Some of you may already be thinking, “Why do I need training? I’ve been writing mortgages for 15 years,” or “My customers are already happy. Why should I spend the time and money taking training courses,” think back to the last few times you worked on a loan. Was it executed perfectly? Was anyone helping you address some questions you had? Did you have doubts along the way? If you can say no (honestly!) to these questions, you are one in a million and should join our Education Committee. But for those of you who realized that even with experience and confidence, we still need to double-check our work and make sure we’re aware of all the recent changes to guidelines, you’ll learn something from our courses.?

Moreover, training can also help to increase diversity within our industry. We can attract a more diverse range of talent by offering training programs at a lower cost than our competitors. Our courses are, on average, over $300 less than any other providers out there. On top of that, we believe in creating an equitable and diverse space for mortgage professionals from all backgrounds. That’s why we strive to keep our courses priced low to ensure everyone can afford to expand their knowledge and take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. This is important because a diverse workforce can provide fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to complex problems, which directly represents today’s borrowers, and ultimately benefits our business.?

As we are focused on diversity this month at AIME, don’t just think about diversity within the industry, but also within your customer base. From the Treasury Department, we know that “In the second quarter of 2022, the homeownership rate for white households was 75 percent compared to 45 percent for Black households, 48 percent for Hispanic households, and 57 percent for non-Hispanic households of any other race.” That’s a huge disparity. There are many reasons why this is true and why it continues to be such a huge issue, but the one impact we can make today is with education. It’s our job to help educate borrowers and our community members alike. By explaining mortgage topics to borrowers in our communities, they will gain confidence and are more likely to enter the realm of home buying. Plus, if you’re the one to help them overcome the hurdle of homeownership, they will be much more likely to come to you for their purchase. They can trust you and your knowledge.?

If you’re inspired by this and want to take your knowledge to the next level, I urge you to join the Education committee to support our training efforts. This committee is responsible for developing and implementing training programs that meet the needs of our loan originators and customers. By participating in this committee, you can help shape our industry's future and ensure that our training programs are effective and relevant. In the near future, we’ll release our Self-Employed Income course that covers everything from the different types of self-employed income to reviewing tax forms and calculating income. Coming soon, we’ll have a few “Train-the-Trainer” courses, like VA Myth Busting and the First-Time Homebuyer seminar, to give you the resources you need to start educating your community. We want YOU to help us develop these and more!

Mortgage training is essential to our industry's success. It can help us provide exceptional service to our clients, increase diversity within our workforce, and maintain our competitive edge in the marketplace. Take a look at our courses currently available at https://aimegroup.com/aime-academy/.?

If you want to do more, let's work together and support AIME’s training efforts by joining the Education committee: www.aimecommittee.com?

Let’s learn together,

Kathleen Hunt

Director of Education