march 2014 page 1 mag, pinterest and you WE INVITE YOU ALL TO CHECK OUT MAG’S PINTEREST PAGE! The topics are wide-ranging and there is sure to be something there for everyone. Share and promote There are several boards that are designed to be of special interest to your Realtor partners and clients. They contain useful hints and ideas, with topics such as: For Our Realtor Partners, First-time Homebuyers, New Homeowner, and House-warming Ideas. Your Realtors can, in turn, recommend our Pinterest site to their clients for homebuyer tips. Other boards have general topics such as: Home Decor Ideas, DIY for the Home, and Organizing for the Home. Why Pinterest? It has over 28 million users and holds the #2 spot for the largest social network. It’s staying power is that it’s proven to be not just fun, but useful. Average Pinterest users clock over an hour a month on the site. 28% have a household annual income of $100K or more and the primary user is between 25-34 years old. Check us out! http://www.pinterest.com/magloans/ . If you are already a Pinterest user, please start following our page. new closing gift candy! CRUNCHY, SATISFYING, SWEET GOODNESS! MAG is now including a beautifully wrapped bag of handmade, dark chocolate almond English toffee in our closing gift boxes, replacing the chocolate truffles. The small, family-owned local business called Confectionately Yours is only eight years old, but the family recipe has been around for 47 years. Sue Burns, the “Toffee Lady” makes the candy in small batches in a commercial kitchen, using her family’s secret recipe. Seattle Magazine said, “When we tasted Sue Burns’ Northwest Gourmet toffee we knew we had discovered something special. Burns assumed the torch of the Bothell-based wholesale toffee business that her husband’s great-aunt ran for more than 40 years, after the aunt retired at age 81. Thanks to Burns, this gourmet toffee—with its big almond chunks and dark chocolate layered on both sides of the hard, buttery sweetness inside—is still alive and well at select northwest locations.” We are certain that your clients will enjoy this special treat! employee newsletter | March 2014 Sue Burns, the “Toffee Lady” preparing some of her gourmet English chocolate toffee Heart Health Month ........................ 2 Sales Contest Winners .................. 2 Community Connections .............. 2 Kudos! ................................................. 3 Intuvo Tip ........................................... 3 Encompass Tip ................................. 3 Critical Dates .................................... 3 Birthdays ............................................ 3 Who’s Who at MAG......................... 4 Products MAGnified ....................... 4 Employee Submissions .................. 4 Anniversaries................................5-6 Green Tip............................................ 7 inside this issue
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march 2014 page 1
mag, pinterest and youWE INVITE YOU ALL TO CHECK OUT MAG’S PINTEREST PAGE! The topics are wide-ranging and there is sure to be something there for everyone.
Share and promote There are several boards that are designed to be of special interest to your Realtor partners and clients. They contain useful hints and ideas, with topics such as: For Our Realtor Partners, First-time Homebuyers, New Homeowner, and House-warming Ideas.
Your Realtors can, in turn, recommend our Pinterest site to their clients for homebuyer tips. Other boards have general topics such as: Home Decor Ideas, DIY for the Home, and Organizing for the Home.
Why Pinterest? It has over 28 million users and holds the #2 spot for the largest social network. It’s staying power is that it’s proven to be not just fun, but useful.
Average Pinterest users clock over an hour a month on the site. 28% have a household annual income of $100K or more and the primary user is between 25-34 years old.
Check us out! http://www.pinterest.com/magloans/. If you are already a Pinterest user, please start following our page.
new closing gift candy!CRUNCHY, SATISFYING, SWEET GOODNESS! MAG is now including a beautifully wrapped bag of handmade, dark chocolate almond English toffee in our closing gift boxes, replacing the chocolate truffles.
The small, family-owned local business called Confectionately Yours is only eight years old, but the family recipe has been around for 47 years. Sue Burns, the “Toffee Lady” makes the candy in small batches in a commercial kitchen, using her family’s secret recipe.
Seattle Magazine said, “When we tasted Sue Burns’ Northwest Gourmet toffee we knew we had discovered something special. Burns assumed the torch of the Bothell-based wholesale toffee business that her husband’s great-aunt ran for more than 40 years, after the aunt retired at age 81. Thanks to Burns, this gourmet toffee—with its big almond chunks and dark chocolate layered on both sides of the hard, buttery sweetness inside—is still alive and well at select northwest locations.”
We are certain that your clients will enjoy this special treat!
employee newsletter | March 2014
Sue Burns, the “Toffee Lady” preparing some of her gourmet
IN RECOGNITION OF HEART HEALTH MONTH, it’s important to know why we should be paying attention to our hearts.
Statistics say that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined.
It may not be at the top of your to-do list, but caring for your heart through a healthy diet and regular physical activity is the secret weapon to preventing heart disease. While many may assume that popping a few pills that your healthcare provider prescribed is enough to quell symptoms or prevent a heart attack, the real preventative power lies with real changes to your lifestyle—which can reduce the risk for heart disease by as much as 80 percent.
2. Consistent Exercise—this offers many benefits; helps you quit smok-ing, lose weight, reduce stress, lower blood pressure and increases good HDL cholesterol.
3. Eat Healthy—according to the AHA new dietary guidelines: eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains low-fat dairy, poultry, fish and nuts, and avoid foods high in sodium.
For more information and lots of helpful tips, go to www.goredforwomen.org/home/live-healthy/, and enjoy the road to good heart health!
sales contest winners!
community connections
magaime welllness
Kat Hughes helps Jeff Jensen check his blood pressure at Bellevue Branch
heart health month
have a heart!IT’S BEEN SEVERAL YEARS SINCE I’ve received a hand-made valentine in the mail! Today, to my surprise, all of us at MAG received this beautiful, heartfelt “thank you” valen-tine from the Volunteers of America.
They have been the main beneficiary of our Food Drives over the years, and I thought you would like to share in the beauty of this thoughtful gesture.
They really do appreciate all your generosity! —Jeryl Torick
kudos!Kudos to Erik Noet and Michele Cantrell from Scott Holliman I wanted to compliment my office mates Erik Noet and Michele Cantrell for their end-less knowledge of how to do things and how to get things done around here. I learn something new every day and I genuinely enjoy their compa-ny too as people. They, just like everyone here at MAG, make a huge difference to the bottom line and I’m thankful to have gotten to know them better over the past few months. I hope that no one ever over-looks how important their area of expertise is to MAG’s overall success!
Nikki Sauve of Mill Creek was the Platinum winner of the November-December Sales Activity Contest, racking up 3075 points. Dan Keller of Mill Creek Branch was the Gold winner, with 2775 points. Great work and congratulations to you both!
Greg Rielly ................................1st Sue Ahrens .............................. 3rd
Kevin Everett ..........................4th Don Reehoorn..................... 11th Tammy Heaton ...................15th
Kathy Cooley .......................17th Anne Ramsey ......................27th
Saller Miller .........................28th
Mar 26th: Last day to sign refi’s
Mar 27th: Refi docs to be in Everett no later than 10 am
Mar 28th: All docs to be in Everett no later than 9 am
Breakfast Eating Statistics
93% of Americans believe breakfast is the most import-ant meal of the day
44% of Americans eat break-fast every day
22% of breakfast skippers are obese
80% of school children eat breakfast regularly
73% of children eat sweetened cereal for one or more break-fasts a week
Source: USDA, 11/28/2013
encompass Tip
critical dates for funding
march birthdays
april birthdays
did you know?
ENCOMPASS HAS A QUICK AND EASY WAY to provide a fax cover sheet specific to your borrower. When providing this barcoded fax cover sheet to your borrower, they can use it to fax items direct-ly into the file manager of their Encompass file. This is a great tool to provide to borrowers that are unable to scan and email docu-ments to us but do have access to a fax machine. It’s important to note when faxing to the fax num-ber listed on the cover sheet that they use the barcoded cover sheet and not a custom cover sheet. The bar code is how Ellie Mae knows which file the fax should be de-livered to, so without it, the fax is irretrievable. Here’s a quick set of instructions on how to easi-ly print this cover sheet for your borrowers:
1. Open your borrower’s Encompass file
2. Click on eFolder in the upper right hand corner
3. From the eFolder window, on the top menu, click on ‘Documents’ then from the drop-down, select ’Print Fax Coversheet’—Erik Noet
how to create a fax cover sheet
intuvo tip
learn to use the 1- touch html editor!DURING THE MONTH OF MARCH, we’ll be offering a 30-minute, interactive course via WebEx to discuss using the HTML editor in OneTouch. Learn how to create and send personalized, professional emails to an entire group in your database! Learn how to edit the templates, proofread content, and select and send to multiple recipients. Please watch for the calendar invite from Nicole Huber during the first week of March. —Nicole Huber
march 2014 page 4
products magnified
MyCommunity Mortgage
• Up to 95% LTV
• No minimum borrower contribution
• Gift funds allowed for down-payment at any LTV
• MI Rates Cut in Half!
95% LTV=16% (vs 30% standard)
90%=12% (vs 25% standard)
85%=6% (vs 12% standard)
• Income Restricted to 100% AMI w/exception for High Cost Areas:
Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill Counties=$81,960 income limit
King, Pierce, Snohomish Counties=$98,040 income limit
Clark, Skamania Counties= $81,960 income limit
140% of area median in-come in the entire State of California
• Income restriction is based off QUALIFYING income, not household income Restrictions:
• Owner occupied purchase only
• Borrower may not own any other real estate
• Residual income evaluation required
• Some condo restrictions, see guidelines
• No non-occupant co-borrowers
• No high balance loans
• Borrower-paid monthly MI only
who’s who at mag
employee submissionsSidney Rielly, daughter of Greg Rielly, was named a 2014 McDonald’s All American Games nominee. The 2014 All American Team was announced on ESPNU on January 29, 2014. While Sidney ultimately was not selected to make the prestigious final team of 24 players to play on national television, the nomination alone is a great honor. Congratulations, Sidney!
My first career job was in branch banking. I pro-gressed from a teller to a branch operations man-ager over a 10-year span. While my children were in elementary school, I worked part-time at a book-store. I love reading so that job was like a hobby! Following that, I pursued my dream job by complet-ing my degree in graphic design. For the past 14 years I have worked as a graphic designer, focusing on the real estate and mortgage industry.
I have worked for MAG for almost five years. My previous design jobs include one year at a real estate magazine and seven years at Windermere Real Estate Marketing department.
I love creating and designing a wide variety of material for MAG—my day goes by very quickly because I enjoy what I do! I also really appreciate the friendly people here at MAG, and the great team spirit.
My first challenge as a graphic designer at MAG was to re-design and update the loan flyers, brochures and other marketing materials. I am proud of the wide assortment of personalized marketing materials I designed that we provide to our mortgage advisors. The development of the layout and graphics for our MAG intranet site was a big challenge on a very tight deadline. We continue to develop the site as a useful tool for MAs and staff members.
I love to learn new software and program updates, and I regularly attend software user group meetings at Adobe Campus in Seattle along with other local graphic design geeks.
One thing not everyone knows about you: I went sky-diving once. It was great! Maybe when I’m 90 I’ll try it again.
Three people from history or celebrities with whom you’d like to have lunch: Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare and Julia Child. They each had fantastic, creative lives.
If you could be in the cast of one TV show, what would it be? The PBS series Sherlock.
march 2014 page 5
march anniversaries
Celebrating Five Years | March 23rd! Carol Johnson | Approval Specialist, Mill CreekCongratulations, Carol! This month marks your fifth year with Mortgage Advisory Group. During the time you have worked with us, you have significantly contributed to our success. We thank you for your enduring loyalty and diligence to a job well done.
Celebrating Four Years | March 8th! Nancy Carmen | Mortgage Advisor, EverettWow! How did another year go by and so quickly? I want to say that I am very happy to be working with such a talented processing team, underwriting team and funding team as they make things happen and quickly. I appreciate all their endeavors and everyone else who makes our loan process go so effortlessly. MAG is by far one the best companies I have ever worked for.
Celebrating Two Years | March 1st! Ashlee Asher| Mortgage Advisor Assistant, Mill Creek
Working here at MAG for the last two years has been such a blessing! First off, I get to work with my amazing mom, Nikki Sauve, who has taught me SO much in the last 24
months! We haven’t only grown closer as family, but we have also grown to be an amaz-ing team here at MAG! I have also made many friendships here and I am so thankful for
those individuals, not only for their friendship but also their dedication to us and our files! I have never been so happy to go to work as I am when I know I am going to MAG!
I look forward to the many years ahead!
Celebrating Four Years | March 1st! Tom Pessemier | Mortgage Advisor, Mill Creek
Team MAG is the best company, with the best ownership and management a Mortgage Advisor could ever ask for. I couldn’t be more grateful to call Mortgage Advisory Group my home. My wife and kids and I constantly talk about how much better our lives have been since teaming up with MAG. My Strategic Partners are always talking about how
great we are too, which is not a hard thing to quantify. Here’s to many more years with all of you! Thanks for being so awesome!
Celebrating Two Years | March 5th! Erik Noet | Branch Support Manager, EverettAfter two years with MAG, I can truly say that I made the right decision when I chose to come here. There’s a lot to be said for a professional environment and a company that is respected in the business community, but there’s even more to be said for a company that has that AND has the personal touch that makes it a family atmosphere. When my twin boys were born, there was an outpouring of support from people at MAG that touched me and my wife Sarah deeply. We have such a great nucleus of quality people here, and I’m blessed to be a part of it. Looking forward to many more successful years!
march 2014 page 6
march anniversaries
Celebrating Two Years | March 5th! Jack Murrin | Mortgage Advisor, MarysvilleCongratulations, Jack! This month marks your second year with Mortgage Advisory Group. During the time you have worked with us, you have significantly contributed to our success. No company is better than its people, and we have the best sales team at MAG. We thank you for your enduring loyalty and diligence to a job well done.
Celebrating Two Years | March 19th! Jason Brock | Mortgage Advisor, Everett
Congratulations Jason, on your two year anniversary with MAG! Thank you for all you do for us as a professional Mortgage Advisor, for the great commitment you show to us
and to our clients.
april anniversaries
Celebrating Five Years | April 20th! Mary Loarie | SVP of Finance, EverettCongratulations, Mary! This month marks your fifth year with Mortgage Advisory Group. During the time you have worked with us, you have significantly contributed to our success. We thank you for your enduring loyalty and diligence to a job well done.
Celebrating Two Years | April 9th! Shelley Stockman | Underwriter III, Wenatchee
Congratulations, Shelley! This month marks your second year with Mortgage Advisory Group. During the time you have worked with us, you have significantly contributed to our
success. No company is better than its people, and we have the best team here at MAG. We thank you for your enduring loyalty and diligence to a job well done.
Celebrating One Year | April 23rd! Rod Schauer | Mortgage Advisor, Mill CreekCongratulations Rod, on your one year anniversary with MAG! Thank you for all you do for us as a professional Mortgage Advisor, for the great commitment you show to us and to our clients.
march 2014 page 7
to your health
how to reduce junk mail EVERY YEAR MILLIONS OF US ENTER CONTESTS, make donations, or purchase products online. This often results in our name being added to a list that is then sold to companies who market their business through the mail. Junk mail isn’t just one of life’s little irritants; it has huge negative impacts on our environment:
• More than 4 million tons or 62,000,000 billion pieces of junk mail are printed every year. Some sources believe the number is as high as 90 billion pieces.
• Each person receives over 560 pieces of junk mail each year, or 41 pounds, over 40% of which never gets opened.
• Amazingly, 2.8 million cars consume less energy than it takes to pro-duce and dispose of the junk mail.
• Each year over 100 million trees are destroyed to produce junk mail.
You can Go Green and reduce the amount of junk mail you receive by visiting the listed websites. Additionally, anytime you donate money, order a product or service, or fill out a warranty card, write in large letters, “Please do not sell my name or address.” Most organizations will properly mark your name in the computer. Source: http://www.rainforestmaker.org
green your workplaceYOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME AT WORK, so help make sure your office is green by following this week’s tips to help create a healthy office environment.
• Make it a habit to use nontoxic cleaning products.
• Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution and help clear the air.
green tips daylight saving time this sunday!DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME 2014 BEGINS AT 2:00 AM ON SUNDAY, MARCH 9!
The time to change clocks is here once again. In 2014 we spring forward one hour on March 9th at 2:00 AM local.
Most folks trace the notion of daylight saving time back to Benjamin Franklin, though DST saw its first implementation 1916 as a cost saving measure. We’re now on DST for about roughly eight months or 67% of the calendar year.
On the down side, many find it difficult to adjust their body clocks to the shift, with morning commuters now confronted with darkness.
There is a proposal is to do away with DST and time zones entirely, and adopt the use of Universal Time (also referred to as Zulu or Greenwich Mean Time) across the board.
In the meantime, we’ll be say-ing #DownWithDST on Twitter.
IN THE SPIRIT OF SAINT PATRICK’S DAY, we offer you a green smoothie recipes to try.
Tropical Leprechaun
• 1/2 cup pineapple or orange juice
• 1/2 frozen pineapple cubes
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
Preparation: Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until completely uniform in color and all the bits of green are pulverized. Serve immediately.
