About ten years ago, I asked the selling agent at a settlement on one of my listings how he found such a GREAT interest rate for his client. He passed me a business card for Chris Washburn at FNMC, a division of National City Mortgage Company (NCMC).
When I called Chris a few days later, he immediately asked if I am related to Tim Woda - and that's a question I never know how to answer, since Tim was my "wild one" and I'm not always certain it is a good idea to claim him as my son. As I hesitated slightly, Chris said "I went to high school with Tim." Boy, did that make me feel old!
But soon after, I sent a buyer to Chris - and I've been doing that ever since. In all these years, he has been consistently honest, hard-working, great with my clients, and never disappointed either my clients or me with rate, service, timeliness or anything else. Not even once! It's not surprising to me that he is not only a top producer for FNMC, but now a Vice President. Since I have witnessed some NCMC-bashing on ActiveRain in recent weeks, with Chris's permission, I am going to share with you the email he sent out today:
Unfortunately I'm wasting your time with another email saying we are fine. I feel like my job has become a PR officer rather than a loan officer, as a lot of my competition has stooped to sending misleading emails about the state of National City. I've worked hard for 15 years to build confidence in both me and National City and can't believe some of the emails I've seen from prominent managers of competing mortgage companies. They should be embarrassed!
Like I've said before, we are backed by a 140 Billion Dollar bank that is picking up market share in these difficult times. Just last week I helped 2 different realtors whose mortgage transactions fell apart the day of settlement, rescued them and settled them within a week. We are fine and this market is a huge opportunity for any good mortgage company to grow their market share while some of the brokers and weaker competition struggle.
National City, like any prudent bank in this environment, has limited its exposure to brokers. The bank suspended dealing with brokers on most loan products. They also merged our 2nd trust department, called National Home Equity, to the mortgage company (NCMC) - and with this merger, some lost their jobs. Again, our second trust department has been merged with the mortgage company, which has no relevance to me or your business. The "retail" operation, who I work for, is doing great and we plan on having another strong month this month.
Anyway, sorry to waste you time addressing rumors and my competition's attempt to discredit all of our hard work. After getting 10 calls in the last 2 days about us "going out of business", I had to send this out. I do appreciate everyone thinking of me and sending the emails demonstrating how some of my competition is only focused on spreading mistruths. My focus is helping you to be successful through creating referrals and happy customers. Many of you are the best in your offices and I intend to work very hard to keep you there. The market is going to be tough for a while as the mortgage industry's changes play out on the housing market.
You need to work with the best, and I'll challenge anyone to find anyone better than us.
Thanks again for the business and looking forward to working hard for you!
Chris
Christopher Washburn
Vice President
FNMC, A Division of National City Mortgage
7852 Walker Drive #400
Greenbelt, Maryland 20770
Office (301) 220-1000 X232
Email Chris.Washburn@NCMC.com
I have complete confidence in Chris, and I have no reason to suspect that he is any less than 100% honest about this, based upon the integrity he has demonstrated during the past ten years. I sincerely hope that ActiveRainers will not participate in speculating about the downfall of ANY LENDER. It is irresponsible, in my opinion. If you see that happening, please object in the comments of the post, as well as making direct contact with the individual.
Copyright 2007. Margaret Woda. All rights reserved.
CROFTON MD REAL ESTATE: For referrals to Crofton MD or anywhere in the D.C.-Baltimore-Annapolis triangle, contact Margaret Woda at RE/MAX Vision in Crofton MD. (410) 451-1900.
Copyright 2006-12. All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER: Information contained in this post is deemed reliable on the date of publication, but it is not guaranteed and it is subject to change without notice.
__________________________________
Margaret Woda, REALTOR and Associate Broker
Direct: (301)346-2923 or click on EMAIL
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I have also seen a lot of lender speculation around the Rain lately. I have closed with Nat City, actually did a stated deal with them about two months ago and I agree they are a fantastic company. I would like to see them go back to aggressive seconds however.
I have a friend who works with Nat City and as of yet he has been unable to make any concrete promises to me about the future of the wholesale lending area of the bank. I am glad to hear the positive feedback not only for myself but also for my clients and my friend!
Larry, I had to look to see..., VP of what. Now I see you're with Cherry Creek Mortgage Company, and I'm sure you know how destructive it is for anyone, and especially real estate professionals, to be speculating about the downfall of any mortgage company. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Joe, Another lender - First Choice sounds like a great company! Yes, their seconds have been a major factor in my clients' business, but it sounds to me like they're doing the right thing to pull back on those temporarily.
Sal, I don't think we've crossed paths before. Thanks for reading and commenting. 'Guess you can tell how annoyed I get about irresponsible rumors. I was glad to be able to post this update from Chris and hopefully calm a few fears.
Margaret - Sounds like Chris knows a thing or two about client care. It is unfortunate in times such as these, many rumors start without the means and documentation to back up the allegations.
I fear we are in for a lot of this as the dust settles in the mortgage industry. It seems both you and Chris know how to handle the rumors, honestly and openly.
Katerina - 'Guess I got on a milk carton about this topic several days ago when I saw a lender on AR reporting that NCMC had folded, and a few days later, someone else reporting the same about Countrywide. I'm sure there are folks out there in the media who would rely upon our "insider" info to spread the info further and cause some real damage out there in the marketplace.
Paula - You're right, Chris does know about client care. I was lucky to find him, even if he does make me feel old.
Sally - That loan officer is either a fool or brilliant! Having survived a number of crises over the years, I'm sure this, too, will pass.
I'm really glad to see comments from both lenders and agents. Thanks! 'Hope I can count on you all to jump up on my soap box to try and keep the negative rumors in check on AR.
Margaret, Mark Twain commented on rumor: "...rumor will die itself if you will only give it three days. Start any rumor, and if the public can go with its curiosity unsatisfied for three days something else will spring up which will make the public forget all about the first one."
That said, there is such a thing as responsible warning of market conditions with particular lenders. This was the basis for my post "Countrywide's Crisis Could Be Your Crisis." As a broker, I lend, among others, Countrywide's money. My account exec is a trusted friend. I have two deals pending this week, and I expect that they will close for my clients and their REALTORS. But I update them daily on market conditions with CW that could affect those closings, and in one case where the buyer is a foreign national, I have a backup. When CW changed its guidelines last week, the only loans not affected were those which were already in docs. The rest fell under "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY..."
Thanks for sticking up for Nat City and your lender!!
Margaret,
I have heard good things about Chris Washburn for many years and NEVER worry when he is the lender on the selling side of my listings!
I also have been using a loan officer Chad Loube with FNMC over here in Montgomery County for over 10 years. They are great. I've been hearing from Chad a lot recently by email, with every rumor and situation happening right now in the mortgage business. He dispells the myths and explains everything BEFORE I hear it, read it somewhere or see it on TV.
By the way,
One of my listing transactions was saved at the last minute by FNMC. The Buyer was approved with American Home Mortgage and settlement set for August 6th. FNMC did the loan at the last minute with the same terms. Settlement went smooth as silk and my sellers never knew they avoided a disaster.
Hi, Debbie - That has always been my experience, as well. Either the listing agent is already familiar with Chris's reputation, or they talk to him and come away completely confident about my buyer's qualifications. I guess that's why I feel very comfortable that the information he is providing about NCMC is accurate, not sugar-coated. Thanks for your input. And thanks for your second note about the FNMC save.
Gary - You're right. Unfortunately, outsiders may look at this as site as one with insider information, and rumors posted here could have the effect of changing a rumor into a prophecy. That's why I want to encourage ActiveRainers to police this site for rumors, and put an end to them quickly.
Adam - You're welcome. Of course, you're right about so much misinformation floating around, and that's why I thought it would be a good idea to post Chris's letter.
Mike - Excellent Marke Twain quote! I saw your post about Countrywide, and that's one of the reasons I am protective about ALL LENDERS, and not just NCMC. I don't use Countrywide, but they are just as vulnerable to the rumor mill. (In fact, that quote might be the basis for a future blog post, so go for it!)
Lewis - 'Don't know why you found it necessary to repeat everything Chris said, but to repackage it in such an alarmist tone. I won't be party to anyone using my blog to spread negative news about the mortgage or real estate market, so I am deleting your post.
During my 40 years in this business, I've observed that any responsible lender or REALTOR will manage factors they can control, since there are plenty they cannot control. Finding the glass half FULL instead of half empty is just one of those, and it is something that anyone in our business must be able to do to survive and thrive in the extremes of market conditions.
predicting the demise of nat city is absurd, they're not going anywhere that they don't want to.
they consolidated some functions and unfortunately that cased some layoffs. i'd call that prudent behavior.
Margaret - If you had read my post correctly you would have understood that the majority of my business goes to Nat City and I would be crushed if they stopped lending. On the flip side, don't forget that Active Rain survives on blogs like the one I posted. Nobody wants to intentionally prey on the demise of another company.
I agree with Mike Jones' comment above that we must share as much concrete facts, ( not rumors ) , on investors we discover. This protects brokers, real estate agents, title companies and all involved - especially in purchase transactions. Certainly you would not have felt comfortable in having your next deal go to the table with the likes of First Magnus, American Home etc... as the investor in the past weeks. How comfortable would you be with a deal right now knowing that Countrywide is the investor? Hey - I still place loans with Countrywide.
I had no intentions of celebrating the shut down of any operation...... I strongly feel that myself, yourself and everyone else on this blog should share any chatter they hear concerning ANY lender. We all need to stick together, put our seat belts on and weather this storm together. This is something I have never seen in fifteen + years of industry experience and hope I never see again.
I am posting a blog today looking for a consensus of who mortgage professionals feel is "safe" to place loans with the next few months ahead. I hope you join in and comment.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/181371/Mortgage-Lenders-an-unofficialNow I must go submit another loan to my favorite lender, Nat City.
Lewis Poretz
President
Open Mortgage
www.openmortgage.com
Jay, thanks for your comment. I agree that good business sometimes requires some pullbacks. I'm doing that right now with home sellers - focusing primarily on buyers, in this buyer's market.
Lewis. As I said, I had no objection to WHAT you said, but how you packaged it.
Donna, thank you. This has been a soapbox issue of mine for years - Lenders and Realtors can be their own worst enemies sometimes. Why anyone would want to paint a gloom and doom picture of their own industry in a public forum, when they're seeking public confidence in it and themselves the next breath... It's just beyond me!
Ilyce. I missed your post last week, but thanks for commenting here. I'll have to look it up tomorrow - Right now I am headed out the door for a long 10 hour day of training after a 90 minute commute. Yuk!
Chris. Welcome to ActiveRain! I look forward to seeing your comments and posts in the coming months.