Ain't My First Mortgage Podcast

Skip Willcox
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business

Strap into your saddles and hold on...you're about to enter the world of mortgages with Skip Willcox. The latest in sales, industry news and market talk, Skip brings that Big Skip Energy back on every show. 

  1. 1d ago

    Who's Responsible for This Decision?! Leadership Thinking with Melissa Peregord

    Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Melissa Peregord, principal of Secord Consulting, about her mortgage and growth background and how she helps small to mid-size companies solve stagnating revenue and go-to-market challenges. Melissa shares her 12-year Rocket Loans experience spanning origination, capital markets, secondary marketing, and director of bank relations managing top investor and money-center bank relationships.  She explains her move from C-suite roles to consulting after seeing how boards and CEOs can block strategy execution. She and Skip discuss leadership decision-making, balancing short-term vs. long-term thinking, and avoiding comfort-based delays by assessing reversibility, whether problems are metastasizing, who is impacted, and what information is actually needed. Melissa emphasizes diagnosing core problems versus symptoms, aligning incentives across sales, ops, and client success, and planning changes with a six-month gauge plus 30/60/90 milestones.  Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:17 Meet Melissa Peregord 01:12 Rocket to Consulting Journey 02:27 Why She Went Solo 04:21 Short vs Long Term Decisions 06:19 A Practical Decision Framework 10:02 Growth Consulting and Root Causes 15:18 Systems Over Blame 16:34 Incentives and Team Alignment 18:44 Common Client Challenges 23:36 Six Month Results Timeline 25:31 Contact Info and Wrap Up  #MortgagePodcast #MortgageIndustry #MortgageLeadership #GrowthStrategy #BusinessDevelopment #DecisionMaking #ExecutiveLeadership #CLevel #Consulting #RevenueGrowth #GoToMarket #SalesStrategy #Operations #ClientSuccess #KPIs #OKRs #IncentiveAlignment #MortgageLending #RocketMortgage #QuickenLoans #CapitalMarkets #SecondaryMarketing #NonQM #Servicing #PrivateEquity

    27 min

  2. Jun 24

    Ask the Underwriter: Dionne Bass on Pre-Qualifying Loans, Self-Employed Income, and Smarter Mortgage Training

    Today on Ain’t My First Mortgage Podcast, Skip talks with Dionne Bass (“Ask the Underwriter”), a former underwriter who now trains mortgage professionals and real estate agents to better understand the mortgage process. Bass specializes in proper loan pre-qualification, spotting issues that can slow approvals, and improving personal SOPs so LOs don’t rely too heavily on AI tools without understanding the inputs.  She offers targeted trainings including FHA, USDA, and a popular self-employed borrower class that breaks down tax returns, income analysis, and the “why” behind underwriting decisions so originators can ask better questions. She highlights common pre-approval breakdowns tied to incomplete application and credit report review across FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional guidelines, and notes many struggle when switching between government and conventional self-employed reviews. She recommends bite-sized virtual training with case studies.  #mortgagepodcast #mortgageindustry #loanofficer #mortgagebroker #underwriting #asktheunderwriter #preapproval #prequalification #creditreport #loanprocessing #mortgagetraining #realestateagents #selfemployedborrower #selfemployedmortgage #incomeanalysis #taxreturns #conventionalloans #fhaloans #usdaloans #valoans #manualunderwriting #loanorigination #mortgagelending #referralpartners #mortgageeducation Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome Dionne Bass 00:16 Meet Ask the Underwriter 01:55 Prequalify Beyond AI 05:25 SOPs and Front End Work 07:15 Credit Report Pitfalls 10:15 Deep Dive Self Employed 12:22 Agency Guideline Differences 13:27 Training Format Case Studies 15:03 Connect and Closing Thanks

    17 min

  3. Jun 17

    Turning Mortgage Data into Actionable Leads with Kortney Lane-Schafers

    On today’s episode of Ain’t My First Mortgage podcast, Skip interviews Kortney Lane-Schafers, VP of Growth and Client Advocacy at MMI, about using mortgage data to drive production and reduce the LO rollercoaster. Kortney says the best part of the industry is relationships, while the biggest challenge is shifting market cycles. She explains MMI’s evolution into “MMI 1,” combining the MMI Data Center, a communication platform, and MonitorBase monitoring so loan officers can find opportunities, communicate, and track their database in one place.  Key updates include the MMI 1 mobile app with integrated Chat MMI voice-driven AI for fast reports and a real-time leaderboard. They discuss retention challenges and how monitoring alerts, opportunity surfacing, and consumer tools like Pathways Home and a branded private home search help deliver value, confidence, and proactive outreach. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome and Setup 00:30 Meet Kortney Schafers 01:59 People and Market Challenges 03:44 Data to Beat Volatility 04:36 Napa Wine Interruption 07:01 MMI One Platform Overview 08:52 Pathways Home and Search 10:13 Mobile App Launch 11:00 Chat MMI AI Search 12:37 Export and CRM Integration 13:27 Conference Takeaways 14:02 Talk To Search 14:25 Real Time Leaderboard 16:35 Why Data Wins 17:22 Bring Value To Meetings 19:33 Retention And Monitoring 24:19 Predictive Opportunity Alerts 26:01 Remove Friction Take Action 27:36 Adoption Make It Easy 28:09 Connect With Kortney 28:44 Closing Thanks

    27 min

  4. Jun 10

    More Than the Loan: Why Getting Involved Changes Everything

    Today Skip welcomes Karley Bond, a First Horizon market manager for West Tennessee and North Mississippi with 20 years in mortgage lending and active involvement in the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and Tennessee MBA. Bond explains the value of industry association participation—education, advocacy, leadership development, and especially networking, mentorship, and relationships. She shares time management strategies like prioritization and time blocking while balancing work, volunteer leadership, and family.  They discuss avoiding burnout by focusing on relationship-based mortgage banking and impact-driven service. Bond highlights the industry’s aging workforce and the need for recruiting through MBA’s Mortgage Banking Bound 100-hour certificate program and state Future Leaders programs. She also discusses pursuing the Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) designation and advises new loan officers to build systems, seek coaching, and commit to lifelong learning. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome and Intro 00:56 Why Industry Involvement Matters 03:46 Mentors and Saying Yes 05:52 Time Blocking and Priorities 08:34 Avoiding Burnout Through Service 12:09 Aging Industry and New Talent 14:01 Mortgage Banking Bound Explained 16:45 CMB Designation Journey 20:03 Career Advice and Systems 22:10 Connect and Closing

    23 min

  5. May 20

    How MLO’s Can Drive Branch Referrals at Banks and Credit Unions with Ralph Remy

    Today Skip welcomes Ralph Remy, Senior Director of Client Digital Experience at National MI, about growing mortgage production by better leveraging bank and credit union branches as an internal referral source. Remy explains that poor branch leads often stem from lack of training, and urges loan officers to start with education that teaches tellers and bankers “cues and clues” to identify mortgage opportunities without overselling.  His top advice: educate branch partners, be present and engaged in branch huddles, and clearly communicate a value statement so teammates can confidently refer. He and Skip also emphasize reciprocal referrals—sending deposit, credit card, or investment business back to the branch—to strengthen the partnership and generate mortgage referrals tenfold. Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome and Introductions 01:58 Why Branches Are Gold 03:14 Educate for Better Referrals 04:53 Branch Huddles That Work 07:24 Three Tips to Start Today 09:32 Make Referrals a Two Way Street 11:45 Treat Branch Like Top Realtors 13:11 Tampa Bay Rays Trivia Break 15:10 Final Advice and How to Connect

    17 min

  6. May 12

    Scaling Production and Growth with Laura Witte

    On the show today, Skip welcomes back a good friend and top producer Laura Witte, Co-owner/Founder and Loan Officer at Highland Mortgage in Atlanta, Georgia, recognized as the top producing woman mortgage originator in Georgia with 130+ million in volume and a career-high year.  Laura and Skip discuss how she builds trust and puts borrowers at ease, emphasizing respect for clients at any credit or price point. She shares advice for loan officers scaling from 25M to 50M and beyond: maintain belief and persistence, adopt a growth mindset, stop micromanaging, build and trust a support team (including hiring an assistant early, even part-time), and rely on repeatable processes.  She also stresses diversifying mortgage products, continuous education, protecting personal time, and connecting goals to a personal “why,” shaped by losing her childhood home to foreclosure.  Episode Highlights: 00:00 Welcome Back Laura 00:19 Meet Laura Witte 01:00 Top Producer Milestone 02:21 Comfort First Approach 04:04 Mindset to Level Up 05:40 Trust and Build a Team 08:28 Hiring Before the Chaos 10:21 Diversify and Keep Learning 11:54 Find Your Why 13:50 Working With Your Spouse 15:15 Dogs and Quick Laughs 15:42 Gamer Trivia and Favorites 17:26 How to Reach Laura 17:49 Final Thanks and Wrap

    18 min

  7. Apr 23

    Tech Vs People-Who's It Gonna Be?! With Steve Richman

    Today Skip interviews Steve Richman after spending time together at the Mortgage Bankers Association State & Local Workshop and advocacy events in Washington, DC.Steve emphasizes that advocacy and PAC education need a clearer elevator pitch and that relationship-building with legislators can influence rules affecting the mortgage industry.  They discuss what loan officers are facing now, especially the tension between technology (CRM, AI, automation) and relationship-driven sales, arguing there’s no substitute for face-to-face networking. Steve cautions against using AI note-takers and tech as a crutch, advocating handwritten notes for retention, and explains the value of boredom for creativity versus laziness. He encourages LOs to build strong elevator pitches, expand networks, and adopt AI to build skill and comfort, including prompting AI to ask clarifying questions and creating a voice profile to match personal tone. Episode highlights: 00:00 Cold Open and Introductions 00:30 Catching Up and Summer Vibes 01:02 DC Conference Takeaways 01:28 Advocacy and PAC Explained 02:31 Relationships With Legislators 03:51 Tech Versus Human Connection 06:22 Networking Still Wins 07:57 AI Note Takers Debate 08:56 Writing Notes to Remember 10:10 Tech as a Crutch Examples 11:43 Memory Offloading Fails 12:26 Notes Versus Distraction 13:10 Boredom Sparks Creativity 15:21 AI As Steroid Not Crutch 16:18 Elevator Pitch And Networking 18:07 Bored Versus Lazy 19:00 Practical AI Habits 20:33 Voice Profiles And GPT Tells 21:05 Contact And Wrap Up

    22 min

  8. Mar 12

    MISMO’s Brian Vieaux Sets the Standard

    Today Skip welcomes Brian Vieaux, president of MISMO (Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization), a nonprofit that creates mortgage data standards so technologies can exchange loan data seamlessly. Brian explains MISMO’s recent Mortgage Compliance Dataset, developed over two-plus years after parallel requests from CSBS regulators and a large 50-state lender to standardize state audit data requests; vendors are now building solutions on it to help regulators and reduce lender costs. He discusses MISMO’s small staff, industry workgroups, funding via vendor membership and a voluntary lender Innovation Investment Fund, and adoption challenges, especially legacy platforms versus newer AI-focused startups building on MISMO standards. Brian also previews a second edition of “Rethink Everything” for next-gen loan officers focused on AI, and promotes the June 1–4 MISMO Spring Summit in Louisville with hybrid access. Episode highlights: 00:00 Welcome and Intro 00:21 What MISMO Does 01:09 Standards in Action 1003 03:40 Mortgage Compliance Dataset 09:00 Workgroups and Adoption 09:59 Funding and Buy In 13:43 Legacy Tech and AI Startups 15:24 Rethink Everything Series 18:33 Michigan State Trivia 20:41 Connect and Spring Summit 21:51 Closing Thanks

    22 min
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Strap into your saddles and hold on...you're about to enter the world of mortgages with Skip Willcox. The latest in sales, industry news and market talk, Skip brings that Big Skip Energy back on every show. 

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