Cassidy spoke to MPA during the annual FUSE conference staged in Las Vegas by the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME). The gathering took place Oct. 4-7.
It’s not brokers who are leaving amid challenging times
Cassidy pointed to a positive aspect inherent to the current challenges of the housing market – what with inflation, higher interest rates, soaring property values and low housing inventory. Despite such challenges, she said the exodus won’t be among independent brokers but loan originators on the retail side of the business.
“Brokers aren’t leaving the channel,” she said. “Brokers who take this job seriously that tap into the resources we offer at a place like AIME to help them aren’t the ones leaving the channel. It’s retail originators that have higher costs and have so many overlays and rules – they’re the ones that are leaving. So when they leave, here come the brokers taking an ever bigger market share and making sure we have a bigger slice of the pie in the future.”
Helping military veterans is a meaningful part of the job
Indeed despite the present challenges, there are gratifying aspects of the job – such as helping military veterans achieve the dream of homeownership. “I’m a big advocate for VA,” she said, referring to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. “In the state of Florida, I’m working closely with AIME and with my team captain to really push for veterans that are 100% exempt from their property taxes at the moment they go under contract for their house.”
Cassidy referred to an initiative by AIME that involves so-called “state captains.” Advocacy state captains are volunteers who are active in their local community and are a driving force for state-level legislative efforts. Community state captains, for their part, are volunteers who are active in their local community and are a driving force for amplifying AIME’s initiatives on social media. AIME recruits two members from each state to be aware of local issues for which AIME might provide input in the way of advocacy.
Source: mpamag.com