Unlock a hidden real estate market! Are you missing out on the divorce mortgage planning opportunity? This webinar reveals how to tap into an overlooked segment of the housing industry.
Discover why divorce isn't just a life event, but a significant financial trigger. Learn how to connect legal strategies with mortgage execution to protect families and grow your business.
Jodi Bruns shares insights on strategic divorce mortgage planning. Don't let families fall through the cracks – see how you can provide essential guidance during a difficult transition.
#DivorceMortgagePlanning #RealEstate #MortgageIndustry #FinancialPlanning
Discover why divorce isn't just a life event, but a significant financial trigger. Learn how to connect legal strategies with mortgage execution to protect families and grow your business.
Jodi Bruns shares insights on strategic divorce mortgage planning. Don't let families fall through the cracks – see how you can provide essential guidance during a difficult transition.
#DivorceMortgagePlanning #RealEstate #MortgageIndustry #FinancialPlanning
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00All right, Zeb, Jodi, I'm going to give our attendees a moment to join us.
00:15How are you both doing today?
00:17Really good, Allison.
00:18How are you?
00:19I am doing well.
00:21I'm excited to jump into today's content.
00:26I see that our attendee count is rolling up, so I'm going to jump in with some housekeeping
00:33items.
00:35Welcome, everyone.
00:36We are going to get started momentarily with today's webinar.
00:41I'm Allison LaForgia, the managing editor of HousingWire's Content Studio, and today our
00:46topic is divorce mortgage planning, the untapped market hiding in plain sight.
00:52Now, before we get started with today's content, a few quick housekeeping notes.
00:59This is meant to be an interactive webinar, so if you have questions for Jodi throughout
01:04her presentation, drop them in the chat, drop them in the Q&A section.
01:09You can use the icon at the bottom of your screen.
01:11Time permitting, we'll get through as many questions as possible.
01:15Also, a recording of today's session will be sent out to all registrants later, well,
01:23rather early next week.
01:25So don't worry if you miss something.
01:26Focus on the content.
01:28Now, I'm going to introduce the senior director of the content studio, Zeb Lowe, who will tell
01:33us more about Jodi and about today's event.
01:36Zeb, the floor is yours.
01:38All right.
01:39Thank you, Allison.
01:40And thank you, everyone, for joining us today.
01:42As Allison said, I'm Zeb Lowe, the senior director of the content studio here at Housing
01:46Wire, and I'll be your host for a topic or avenue of business, rather, that honestly,
01:53I wish I would have explored whenever I was actively originating.
01:58Whenever I began in the industry, I was given this same kind of a cliched blueprint to success
02:04as I think almost everyone on this call was, which is, you know, you find a realtor, you
02:12partner with a realtor, and magically, you've found success, right?
02:18The loans will just come rolling in.
02:20And while there's, you know, certainly there's a lot of truth there.
02:23The reality is that there are, besides the fact that there are so many other LOs that
02:31are competing for the same business, there are so many other fruitful partnership opportunities
02:35and avenues to business and production growth available to you.
02:40And, you know, we've, at Housing Wire, we've been exploring these, like, niche markets and
02:46strategic partnerships over the last several months across several platforms here.
02:50Our LO-focused newsletter, Lending Life, our monthly contributor articles, and monthly webinars.
02:57And today, we're going to continue down that path and explore the world of divorce mortgage
03:02planning, as Allison said.
03:04So, I'm going to be taking a back seat today and passing the reins over to Jody Bruns, the
03:09president and founder of Divorce Lending Association.
03:12With over 35 years of experience in mortgage and finance, Jody has dedicated her career to
03:18transforming the divorce mortgage planning niche.
03:21As the creator of the Certified Divorce Lending Professional and Real Estate Mediation Specialist
03:27Certification Programs, Jody has a long history of providing mortgage and real estate professionals
03:33with tools, resources, and the education needed to navigate the intersection of divorce, real
03:39estate, and mortgage financing.
03:41So, with that being said, and also, side note, I'm at the corporate office and there's
03:47doing, I don't know if you guys can hear that or not, there's a ton of renovation going on.
03:50So, the moment that I start speaking, it seems like the workers are turning on the power tools.
03:55So, I'm going to mute myself and pass the reins over to Jody.
04:00So, Jody, if you'd like to share your screen and get cooking, we're ready for you.
04:05Hello, everybody.
04:09I am super excited to take maybe 30 minutes or so and share some information to you and
04:16hopefully change your perspective or your traditional interpretation, if you will, of what the divorce
04:26market actually is.
04:28And I wanted to start by actually asking a question that, you know, it's something you've
04:37probably never really been asked before, you know, in your mortgage career.
04:42And that question is, what if, I like what ifs, what if the divorce market isn't really a niche,
04:51you know, but what if it's an entire segment of the housing industry that we've all been
04:58trained traditionally to overlook?
05:01Most mortgage professionals don't think of divorce as a financial trigger.
05:09And that's the problem, right?
05:11Because every year, there are over a million homeowners who are ordered to either refinance,
05:20sell, or transfer ownership of the home as part of their divorce settlements.
05:25But there's a big disconnect there.
05:29You know, lenders and mortgage companies are not obligated to follow divorce decrees or court
05:36orders.
05:38You know, a judge can tell you to do one thing, but they cannot change the original agreement
05:42between the lender and the current mortgagees.
05:46And they can't, you know, supersede what mortgage guidelines are.
05:52And when legal intent, if you will, doesn't match lending reality, it doesn't just hurt the
06:00clients.
06:01It actually creates risk.
06:03It creates a risk for the attorney.
06:05It creates risk for us as originators, basically for everyone involved.
06:11And if you think about that, too often, there's too many times where families will fall through
06:19those cracks.
06:21And it's because nobody connects the dots between legal strategies and mortgage execution.
06:29And that's one of the reasons I'm here today.
06:33That's one of the reasons I talk on this content all the time is it's not just to talk about,
06:39you know, how we as mortgage professionals can help people through a tough time.
06:45Um, it's to show you as mortgage originators and management and executives, everything is to show
06:55how you have a powerful opportunity, literally, as my title slide says, that's hiding in plain
07:04sight.
07:04And when divorce mortgage planning is done strategically and early in the process is the key.
07:13We don't just protect families who are going through this very devastating life transition.
07:20We're actually protecting our pipelines where we have increased conversion rates and we build
07:28referral partnerships that last.
07:31And the truth to me is this.
07:34The traditional mortgage model was not built for divorce.
07:39It just wasn't.
07:40Too many families fall through the cracks, again, when nobody's connecting those dots.
07:46And when that happens, you know, it's just not a mortgage transaction that falls apart.
07:54It's literally a family stability.
07:57You know, it's their children's security.
07:59And oftentimes, their entire financial future just crumbles, you know, when things don't
08:07plan out, even though, you know, the intent is there.
08:11There's legal strategies put in place that oftentimes both parties are okay with.
08:18But when there's not a way to execute that, we all know that housing is, you know, it's where
08:25we find our security.
08:26It's where we find our comfort.
08:28And when that's lost, you know, there's so much more at stake.
08:34And divorce mortgage planning, to me, it's not about selling a loan.
08:39And unfortunately, that is the biggest misconception of originators is it's just about doing a loan.
08:47It's about service.
08:50It's about dignity of those going through the divorce.
08:54And above all else, and this is where I get really passionate about it, is it's about protecting
09:00those families in transition.
09:03And it's about, again, making sure that nobody, neither spouse, neither child loses their home
09:11or loses their footing, you know, simply because no one thought, right, to bring the mortgage
09:18conversation in to the divorce strategy early enough to make a difference.
09:25And here's the other thing.
09:28When we as mortgage professionals step into this space, we don't just save deals.
09:35We change lives, okay?
09:38And that's, I think, where the real empathy comes in to professionals who really want to focus on
09:46the divorce market.
09:47And again, when you look at how many families face this single, you know, life transition every year,
09:56you'll see exactly why divorce mortgage planning isn't just important, it's actually essential.
10:03And what I want to do is, I want to start by showing you how much bigger the divorce market
10:13is than you may realize.
10:17The most recent CDC data shows, and divorce rates typically lag one and a half to two years,
10:24okay?
10:25So the most recent numbers we have are from 2024, just last year.
10:29But the current divorce rate is 2.4 divorces per 1,000 population in the United States.
10:38And that equals almost a little over 800,000 divorces every year in the United States.
10:45And that, you know, that might not sound like much, but here's what most people don't realize.
10:52That figure is based on the entire U.S. population, which includes children, teens, and others who are not
11:03eligible to marry, okay?
11:06When we adjust the denominator in that equation to reflect only the population who's age 15 and older,
11:16those who can actually marry, basically, not that I would want anyone getting married at 15.
11:23But that divorce rate jumps to three per 1,000 population.
11:29And that's important because that's a 25% increase in the divorce rate, if you think about that.
11:36Using that current population number and redoing the formula, that's where that 800,000 number jumps
11:47to more than a million divorces every year in the United States.
11:51And this is why that matters.
11:54We have found through working with, you know, thousands of family law professionals, divorcing
12:00clients, et cetera, that about 70% of divorcing couples own real estate.
12:08Maybe it's just the marital home.
12:10Maybe it's multiple properties.
12:13But what that means is when you use that 70% figure, that's over 700,000 households every
12:23year that are making critical decisions about the marital home and other real property.
12:28And you really need to remember that there are two people affected by every divorce.
12:37And that number, then, when you multiply it, simple math, right, translates to over 1.4 million
12:44newly formed divorce-related households every single year in the United States.
12:51And here's the real challenge.
12:54There's been a lot of industry case studies done, and they show that a substantial portion
13:02of those divorcing homeowners have experienced either a failed mortgage or failed property
13:10execution of the settlement orders after the divorce is final.
13:16And you ask, well, why is that, right?
13:19It's because, again, a judge can order a refinance.
13:24A lender is not bound by the divorce decree.
13:28So if the borrower or the spouse who needs to refinance the marital home doesn't qualify
13:35under current guidelines or current market conditions, the deal collapses.
13:40And the fallout is huge.
13:44You know, there's collapsed buyouts.
13:47There's additional conflict in the divorce or post-divorce.
13:52There's more litigation that happens.
13:55And unfortunately, the bigger issue is there's families who get stuck with homes that they can't
14:02afford to keep or they can't afford to sell because they won't be able to afford to buy a
14:09new, smaller house.
14:10And the key point is this.
14:14The housing industry has never had a system for managing real property and financing decisions
14:25in divorce until now.
14:27And given these massive numbers and the serious legal consequences at state, it's crazy to me
14:36that there are less than 1% of mortgage originators who have any formal divorce mortgage training
14:45at all, yet it's this shiny new object.
14:49They're marketing to divorce attorneys, you know, trying to do divorce loans.
14:54It's, it's, there's a risk there.
14:56And if you're a manager, you know, or at the executive level and you have loan officers who
15:03are tapping into this market with no training, no understanding, that risk, you know, can come
15:09up to you as well.
15:13This whole, the numbers and stuff.
15:15That's why I like to say that divorce is not a niche.
15:22You know, it is a true market segment that is hiding in plain sight for us.
15:28And what I want to do is I want to show you what that market segment looks like in a way
15:35that would more resonate with us as real estate and mortgage professionals.
15:41So when we talk about pipeline growth, you know, as sales managers, et cetera, it's always like,
15:48where are we going to get loans?
15:49You know, we got to grow our pipelines.
15:51We usually focus on new home sales, existing home sales.
15:57And yeah, there's some refinance activity in there, right?
16:00But we need to put divorce into perspective.
16:04So as I just said, you know, in 2024, there was a little over 4 million existing home sales,
16:15right?
16:15And there was also around 670,000 new home sales.
16:21If you compare that to divorce each year, and as I mentioned earlier, there's more than 1.4
16:30million new households formed every year in the United States.
16:35Now, to be clear, what I'm not saying is that all 1.4 million households show up as direct
16:44sales or refis within those existing numbers.
16:47Because unfortunately, there's no, you know, national tracking mechanism, et cetera, that separates
16:53divorce-driven transactions.
16:54But, okay, for comparison purposes, look at this scale.
17:02These newly formed divorce-related households equal nearly 35% of existing home sales, and
17:12is more than twice the value or the volume of annual new home sales.
17:18And here's the key.
17:20Divorce isn't cyclical, right?
17:22It doesn't rise and fall with builder activity or investor trends.
17:28And it's consistent year after year, which makes, you know, this, again, one of the largest
17:37and most reliable, yet least recognized drivers of housing transitions in the country.
17:45And one of the questions that I do get on a regular basis is, well, isn't the divorce rate
17:50falling, you know, because a few years ago, especially right before COVID and right after,
17:55you know, it was in the threes.
17:58The issue is numbers are always skewed, right?
18:03Why the divorce rate looks like it may have fallen slightly is because the marriage rate
18:10has fallen.
18:11So there's less divorce or marriages to get divorced or separated, you know, but historically,
18:18this market, it's consistent.
18:22And unfortunately, it will always be there.
18:26And that's why we need to look at it as an opportunity, not only as a business model,
18:32but as an opportunity to help those families that are going through a divorce.
18:40I want to break down more for you now what this really looks like for us as a business
18:48model.
18:49When most originators think about divorce, and I would bet that many of you on here are going
18:56to agree with this, okay, when you think about divorce, you typically put divorcing homeowners
19:03into two boxes.
19:05You know, box one needs a mortgage, box two doesn't need a mortgage.
19:09And that's it.
19:11You know, if the client fits into box one, great, you know, there's a potential loan there.
19:17But if they're in box two, they are typically dismissed.
19:22You know, they're just overlooked as a lost opportunity, just because they don't need a
19:28mortgage.
19:28Just because they don't need it right now, doesn't mean they won't tomorrow, or the next
19:34month, or a few months down the road.
19:37You know, so don't get caught up so much in the weeds that you miss the bigger picture.
19:44And the problem with looking through this at the divorce market through a traditional lens
19:51is it's very short-sighted.
19:54We're trying to close loans when we should be looking at it as an opportunity to open
20:01doors, right?
20:03So what it does is this mindset, this box one, box two, et cetera, it reduces those who need
20:13a mortgage into nothing more than a transaction.
20:16And here's the other issue with that is, why do you think so many loan officers get excited
20:25about marketing to divorce attorneys?
20:29You know, I mentioned earlier, it's a shiny new object.
20:32Oh, you know, the real estate market slowed down.
20:34I need to find a new referral source.
20:36Well, let's go to divorce attorneys.
20:37They always have clients who need a mortgage.
20:39And then it doesn't work out that way, right?
20:45And so many loan officers, they say, I tried that.
20:48It doesn't work.
20:49And they quit after a few months.
20:53The reason for that is the traditional model doesn't work.
20:58It's very unsustainable.
21:00OK, from a mortgage perspective.
21:02Yeah, you walk in, you may get one or two quick referrals.
21:05And you're like, dang, this is good.
21:07And then all of a sudden, you're putting in all this effort.
21:10And it's like, this is taking too long.
21:14You know, so what do I mean by unsustainable?
21:18It's because of the lead time.
21:20You know, from initial contact or initial filing of the petition, all that way to loan closing,
21:28it can take a couple of weeks, it can also take months.
21:33And you might invest hours answering questions, running numbers, and even issuing multiple
21:42pre-approvals.
21:43And then maybe the divorce case drags on, it stalls out, or worse, you know, you've got
21:50this window of opportunity, right?
21:53The divorce is final.
21:54They can't close for six months.
21:55What happens?
21:56Vinny walks in.
21:58You know, I always like throwing Vinny in there because we all know Vinny.
22:02He's my sister's boyfriend's cousin's friend who just got his mortgage license last week.
22:08You know, so we have to be, walk into this market with our eyes open, what the true opportunities
22:16are and the true hurdles are.
22:19But the ticket, if you will, to making divorce one of the smartest markets to capitalize on
22:28is, again, one thing that I'm going to say this number and you guys are going to remember
22:34it and think about it tonight is all, every one of those 1.4 million divorcing homeowners,
22:43what they need in their divorce, what they need in their divorce, even if they don't need a
22:48mortgage today, is strategy.
22:51Every single one of them.
22:53They need strategy and that strategy and that need for that strategy is the missed opportunity
23:01that I'm trying to highlight for you, okay?
23:05Divorce mortgage planning is the true missed opportunity, but only if you truly understand
23:15what it is and the many opportunities that it can actually create for you now and in the
23:21future, you will never, and I've worked with a lot of mortgage clients, you will never find
23:30a more loyal client than a divorcing client, someone who you helped in one of the most devastating
23:38times in their lives.
23:40You will get more secondhand referrals from that demographic than any of your other past
23:47clients.
23:47I promise you, I guarantee it, okay?
23:50And talk about the family law professionals, they are more loyal than any other referral
23:58partner you will ever come across, not to mention that they don't work weekends and nights.
24:03So that was kind of nice, but let me get back on track here real fast.
24:09Before I get more into unpacking the full opportunity, I want to define what divorce mortgage planning
24:19really is, okay?
24:21When most people hear the term, they assume it just means helping someone get a loan during
24:27the divorce.
24:28But that's like saying financial planning is just opening a new bank account.
24:34We all know it's not the same thing.
24:36What it does when you have that limited insight as to what divorce mortgage planning is, oh, it's
24:42just doing a loan.
24:43It misses the strategy.
24:46It misses the foresight and the risk mitigation that's behind it.
24:52And at the Divorce Lending Association, we have, I'm very proud of this, we have defined
24:59and shaped divorce mortgage planning into its own professional category.
25:05One that integrates mortgage solutions into the legal and financial framework of divorce.
25:12It's no longer a niche.
25:14It's a profession.
25:15And you will hear me say that again, I'm positive.
25:18But again, this isn't about just closing a loan.
25:22It's about ensuring housing stability, protecting equity, and supporting fair and financeable outcomes
25:31for our clients now and in the future.
25:33We don't treat it as a product, okay?
25:37It's a profession.
25:39So I want to take a look at what that actually means to be a divorce mortgage planner and what
25:47it doesn't mean, okay?
25:48Because I think that's important too.
25:51When people first hear about divorce mortgage planning in our industry or the CDLP designation,
25:59they write it off.
26:00You know, they say, I've heard it, it's too complicated.
26:05It's just marketing.
26:06I've even heard it sounds like a scam.
26:09But here's the thing.
26:11Scams don't pass audits by RESPA, TILA, UDAP, and OCC regulators.
26:18Ours has.
26:18And it's been endorsed by some of the toughest legal and compliance teams in the country.
26:25And I'm proud to say it comes out clear every single time.
26:30And, you know, it's not a clever pitch.
26:33It's a professional response, again, to a serious gap between legal intent and lending reality.
26:41Divorce mortgage planning, again, it brings strategy to the table before settlement agreements are locked in.
26:50It prevents issues, like I mentioned before, failed refinances, you know, missed equity buyouts.
26:58Maybe a spouse is waiting for their equity so that they can put a down payment on their new house.
27:03And then the refinance falls through.
27:06Well, guess what?
27:06So does the purchase.
27:08You know, it's a big issue out there.
27:12And, yeah, I get it.
27:14Any licensed originator can do a loan for a divorcing client.
27:19I am not arguing that.
27:21But that's doing a loan.
27:22That is not planning.
27:24OK, real planning requires understanding the legal, the financial, and the mortgage intersection and knowing how to collaborate across those many disciplines that are out there to get the strategy right for that client's unique situation.
27:45And when you do that, when you're the person that's bringing the strategies and the solutions, you stop being the person who shows up at the end and you become the advisor who shapes the outcome.
27:59So it's not something you tack on to your marketing plan.
28:04It's something that you build in to your mortgage business plan.
28:09The other thing that I think is important to address before I keep unpacking that big flow chart at the beginning is divorce is never a one size fits all.
28:24Each case has unique assets, income sources, debt structures, parenting plans, and housing needs for, again, both parties now, not just one.
28:36And that means that surface level mortgage knowledge simply is not enough.
28:44To bring value, you have to understand, again, how legal decisions interact with lending guidelines.
28:53You need to recognize when tax planning strategies can create usable income for mortgage qualifying purposes.
29:02You need to build mortgage feasibility into both short-term and long-term housing outcomes.
29:11And yes, you have to be able to read and speak to the language used in the settlement agreement.
29:19And I always hear, what?
29:20I'm a mortgage professional.
29:21You want me to tell an attorney what language to use in their settlement agreement?
29:26Yes, I do.
29:28And trust me, they appreciate it.
29:30And they are reaching out to our CDLPs to ask for the language they should use in the settlement agreement.
29:40They aren't mortgage professionals.
29:43And what may be a legal option to them may not always translate to a mortgage option.
29:50And that's the message that we have to get across.
29:52So that leaves you.
29:54That leaves you as the person who is bringing the strategies and you're, yeah, you're required, you know, to step beyond your traditional originator lens and into that strategic forward thinking role.
30:11But that's the difference.
30:13That's where the opportunity lies when you can learn how to differentiate yourself from the competition.
30:23Okay?
30:23It's that whole, you know, red ocean, blue ocean theory.
30:27How are you going to differentiate yourself?
30:29Right?
30:30So I want to expand upon the earlier slide that you guys saw.
30:37When we talk about divorce mortgage planning, all right, we're not talking, again, just about helping our clients.
30:48We're talking about building a business model that I'm going to probably say most of you on this call don't even know it exists.
30:57All right?
30:58I want to look at five key attributes that make this one of the smartest and, yes, still, most overlooked opportunities in our industry today.
31:11First, a sustainable business model.
31:14Okay?
31:15If you blend, and this is where you guys are going to raise your eyes, if you can blend fee-based consulting with traditional origination,
31:26you create consistent and reliable income.
31:31You're no longer held hostage by unpredictable, you know, refinance cycles or seasonal purchase markets.
31:39You're already doing the work.
31:41You can get paid for it strategically.
31:44Okay?
31:44And secondly, you know, there's accelerated, you know, revenue growth.
31:49Again, go back to, what's the number?
31:531.4 million divorcing households, right, that are formed every year.
31:58That's an enormous pool of business being left on the table.
32:03And the truth is, again, if you don't capture it, someone else will.
32:07And when you become the expert who wasn't focused on, you know, just getting the loan, you truly become the referral partner that they will bring in on so many divorce cases.
32:27You know, and I like this one, the gatekeeper.
32:33Too many times we think of the gatekeeper, right, as somebody we got to get past.
32:40And I kind of laugh at that.
32:43Gatekeeper becomes a bad word, right?
32:46Especially when you're trying to get past the gatekeeper.
32:50But it's a good thing when you become the gatekeeper, right?
32:56As a CDLP, again, you're not waiting for a client to come to you with a decree in hand and their settlement agreement and asking you to make it work.
33:06You become that professional they trusted first because you are the one that influenced the outcomes to make sure the mistakes weren't made.
33:16That's a seat at the table.
33:19That's not a seat in the waiting room, right?
33:21And remember, I know you guys can picture this, the funnel theory, right?
33:27As originators, we have been taught for so long just to throw as many contacts into our funnel and be prepared to capture the ones that are falling out at the end.
33:41Well, this model, if you will, literally flips that funnel upside down to where you're the gatekeeper.
33:50You're getting all of these people who are already committed to you.
33:55They've already invested in your knowledge.
33:57They're committed to following through with your plan, the strategies, everything,
34:02so that those few that you're opening it up so that more are coming out at the bottom ready to work with you, you know?
34:12And that's a pretty big visual if you know what I'm talking about, you know, with that funnel theory.
34:20And then fourth, fourth and fifth, I guess it just clipped up, the conversion rates.
34:27If you think about it, when you consult strategically, because there's a method to our madness there,
34:36your clients aren't shopping around for the lowest rate.
34:39They're committed not only to you because you're the one that guided them, but they're committed, again, to the strategies and the orders.
34:51And because of that, the client, the consultation client to mortgage client, that conversion rate is higher.
35:00And then your actual close ratios go up because you have higher quality clients that are waiting for you.
35:09And, you know, the last one here, the stronger professional relationships, I cannot say that this much stronger than I love working with family law professionals.
35:26You've got attorneys, mediators, financial experts, there's divorce coaches now.
35:31There's a whole number of professionals underneath that family law umbrella, including CDLPs.
35:39And when you are the person who brings the strategies, you're the one who saves the cases and you make the family law professionals look good, you become indispensable.
35:52Now, I will tell you that I have not worked in the Chicago market for, well, since 2015, so a decade.
36:03I still, to this day, have referral partners that trust me with their clients and they still call me to help with strategies and solutions.
36:13So, I hope that I'm starting to show you guys a different perspective of the divorce market.
36:22But I want to now start to kind of get more into what the journey and the process of divorce mortgage planning is as we, you know, so I can have some time to answer your questions at the end, obviously.
36:37But up till now, we've talked about the opportunity and the outcomes, right, and the missed opportunities.
36:46What I want to do is look at how divorce mortgage planning actually works in practice, all right?
36:52What you see here is a roadmap that we built out on the divorce mortgage planning journey.
37:01And it is a five-phase process that runs in parallel with the divorce itself.
37:07It begins with discovery.
37:10You know, we have to have that client assessment.
37:12We have to identify their needs, you know, and how, what do we, what do we have to do?
37:19What's their primary goal?
37:20Then we move into the initiation phase where we're assessing, you know, the feasibility, the financial stability.
37:29How can we create settlement goals that are realistic?
37:34And then from there is where we step into the actual planning where we're working hand in hand with not only the client, but the legal team.
37:43We're identifying hurdles and strategies and what we can do from a broader perspective to create a really good outcome.
37:54You know, this is where we do, we get thick in the weeds.
37:57We're anticipating, anticipating challenges, we're addressing income and debt allocation, and we're trying to really structure solutions before they become obstacles.
38:10And then finally, you know, we have execution and closure where we're able to close a mortgage in compliance with the court order that we helped set up, all right?
38:22Now, what I want you to do is notice how these phases overlap directly with the divorce process itself, from financial disclosure and discovery through negotiation, settlement, and the final judgment and decree.
38:39That was intentional on our part.
38:43Our work doesn't just follow the process, it strengthens the entire process throughout.
38:49And this alignment, again, is what prevents those last minute surprises, and it prevents those, you know, costly divorce failures, if you will.
39:02And the thing I want you to think about is this, divorce mortgage planning isn't a side service, okay?
39:10It's, again, it's a structured journey that ensures the legal settlement and the lending guidelines don't collide.
39:19And it gives the client that housing stability that gives you a repeated, sustainable business model, okay?
39:28And when the divorce process and the mortgage planning run in parallel, clients succeed, but then so do you, all right?
39:38One of the other things before I introduce to you, our CDLP hybrid business model, I want to address one of the most damaging myths in our industry.
39:52The belief that if a settlement agreement says a spouse must refinance, the refinance will happen, no matter what the rate is.
40:03Well, it's very disingenuous, if you will, when someone says, oh, work at the divorce market, rate-proof your business.
40:12It actually shows, number one, that they have zero clue what they're doing, but the truth is, lenders, again, they don't care what the decree says.
40:22If the client doesn't qualify under current circumstances and guidelines, the loan's not closing, period, right?
40:32When that happens again, deals collapse, credits are ruined, you know, stability's gone, et cetera.
40:41And the other thing I want to clear up is another misconception, and that is that divorcing clients are not rate-sensitive.
40:52Divorcing clients are absolutely rate-sensitive.
40:56And to suggest otherwise, it's not only false, it's actually insulting to them.
41:02And they know exactly, we do too, right?
41:06They know exactly what it means to give up that current 3% interest rate, whether they're going to trade it in for 6.5%.
41:13And they understand there's going to be an impact, especially, you know, if a significant portion of their household income is leaving the household.
41:23You know, rate sensitivity doesn't disappear in divorce, it actually multiplies.
41:30So what we do is we come in and we help them see the full picture.
41:35And that's why our hybrid business model exists.
41:39You know, it allows our CDLPs to step in early, to explore strategies like loan assumptions.
41:47You know, we discuss the actual cost of keeping that low interest rate because it actually might not be in their best interest.
41:58Or a lot of times, we're helping build alternative solutions directly into the settlement agreement.
42:06And this way, again, you know, clients aren't forced into impossible situations just because our market shifted once again.
42:16And this is exactly, again, why divorce mortgage planning matters.
42:22Because, you know, the strategies that are written into the decree, they have to be more than just words on paper.
42:30We have to work in the real world.
42:33We have to make sure that our clients can meet the terms of their agreement.
42:39So now that we have seen the size of the market and the missed opportunities of overlooking it, I want to talk about how to actually make this a sustainable business model.
42:55This is where our CDLP hybrid business model comes in.
42:59It is a dual income stream opportunity to serve divorcing clients regardless of the box you put them in.
43:08Need a loan, don't need a loan.
43:10And here's the key to the path you choose, okay?
43:14Consulting, origination, or both is entirely driven by the client's needs.
43:20If you find yourself building out financial models, going to mediation, you're participating in collaborative cases, the attorneys want you at the table.
43:34You might even be called as an expert witness.
43:37Regardless of the role you play, they expect you to be compensated for your time.
43:44Divorcing clients expect you to be compensated for your time.
43:48You know, and so don't think that they don't think they should pay you.
43:54They're more surprised that we couldn't get paid in the past, all right?
43:59On the other hand, if the client's needs are leaning more toward an immediate mortgage solution, that's the direction you take.
44:10You go straight to opening a mortgage application.
44:13You don't have to do both.
44:14It's either what do they need?
44:16Do they need analysis?
44:18Do they need strategies, everything, or do they need a mortgage?
44:22Because if you do the strategies, et cetera, eventually they're going to need the mortgage, right?
44:27So the beauty of this hybrid model is that both paths ensure you're compensated for your efforts.
44:36While you're also, this goes back to the missed opportunities, you're building stronger referral pipelines, deeper professional partnerships, and a long-term foundation for success.
44:50And here's the amazing thing that we didn't even expect when we rolled out this business model.
44:55The family law professionals refer our CDLPs even more.
45:03You're probably going, well, why would they do that?
45:05It's simple.
45:06It's because our compensation is no longer tied to the outcome of the divorce in the form of a commission.
45:14We've heard several attorneys say they'll refer us more because of that, that we can actually be more of a neutral than an advocate, and there's no question of steering, et cetera.
45:26So this hybrid model is really how we stop, again, missing all those opportunities that I spoke about in the beginning.
45:34And I know that many of you are sitting there thinking, how is this $1 million, or this is the $1 million questions, what I'm trying to say, is how is this compliant, right?
45:46We have all these regulations in the mortgage industry.
45:49This hybrid model has been on my, how do I accomplish this for our CDLP list for a very long time.
45:58It's not rocket science, you know, to notice that the industry is shifting.
46:03Many mortgage professionals are seeing their volume dry up, their margins are shrinking, and all of our opportunities are stalling.
46:12Some are even stepping away to take second jobs, you know, just to make ends meet.
46:18And that doesn't solve the real problem, right?
46:22It pulls them away from the profession they've worked so hard to build.
46:27You don't need to leave the industry.
46:29You just need a better way to stay in it.
46:32And this is the only program in the industry that delivers advanced education in family law, financial and tax planning around real property in divorce, a business development and coaching platform, and a compliant path to consulting revenue and mortgage origination all under one roof.
46:56So, what if instead of pivoting away, you elevated everything you already know with expertise, clarity, strategy, and compliance?
47:09That's what we built this model to do.
47:11So, it's been about two years ago when I finally figured out how to make the divorce market not only viable, but sustainable.
47:19And I did, you know, I cracked the compliance code.
47:24And I mentioned earlier that our model has been validated by leading compliance attorneys, auditors, and mortgage companies, which gives our CDLPs unmatched, you know, confidence in their ability to offer consulting services without that compliance risk.
47:42And this isn't just about compliance, okay?
47:47It's about redefining the role of the mortgage professional in divorce.
47:52CDLPs are not, quote unquote, divorce-friendly lenders.
47:56You know, they're housing strategists.
47:58You are embedded in the divorce team.
48:01You have a seat there.
48:03And we have CDLPs, since we've launched this, that they stopped leaving money on the table.
48:09They stopped missing those opportunities.
48:13You know, they build stronger referrals.
48:15Some of our CDLPs, like myself, focus only on the consulting model.
48:20And then they have a team member at the mortgage company handle their loans.
48:25We have CDLPs who handle it all.
48:27You know, I, again, like I said, I personally hold my active license, but I only do the consulting side of it.
48:35So, you won't see numbers, you know, if you pull my numbers.
48:38You know, so it is a very strong business model that I want you guys to really think differently about.
48:47And one of the last points that I want to bring up is an important one, and that's AI, okay?
48:54We live in a world where you can ask, chat, GPT, just about anything, right?
49:00And it'll give you an answer in seconds.
49:02That answer may not be correct, but it's quick.
49:07And the truth is, you cannot chat GPT your way into divorce mortgage planning.
49:14Why?
49:15Because it isn't about quick answers or Googleable, if I can say that, knowledge.
49:23Divorce mortgage planning is, again, integrating mortgage solutions into the legal and financial framework of a divorce.
49:30You can't get that from an AI prompt.
49:34You know, it takes training.
49:36It takes a deep understanding of guidelines, underwriting guidelines versus cash flow.
49:42It takes collaboration with attorneys and financial neutrals.
49:45And it takes the ability to navigate emotional, legal, and financial complexities all in one.
49:52You know, so in other words, information alone does not equal expertise.
49:59Execution, compliance, and strategy do.
50:02So I've seen a lot of things recently.
50:05Oh, you can chat GTP this.
50:07You can't, okay?
50:09There's, you just can't.
50:11You can ask chat GPT if she can do it.
50:13I call her a she.
50:14Um, so as we wrap up today, I want to bring us back to where we started, okay?
50:21We began with the idea that divorce is one of the most overlooked financial triggers in the mortgage industry.
50:28Yet every year, more than a million divorces intersect with real property, creating opportunities that most originators don't even see.
50:38Don't even know that are there.
50:39We talked about, you know, why this market is far bigger than most people realize, why the traditional approach is unustainable, and how divorce mortgage planning as a CDLP is changing the game.
50:54You know, my goal today was to open your eyes to the scope of this opportunity and to show you that divorce mortgage planning is not a niche.
51:04It's a, it's a profession, one that not only protects our families, but it creates recession resistant, not proof, revenue, stronger partnerships, and unsustainable business growth.
51:17And I realized that, you know, in opening your eyes, maybe to a new way of thinking, I probably also created many questions, which I welcome that, you know, questions are the way we all grow, right?
51:30So if you're ready to explore, because I know we got about 10 minutes for Q&A, if you're ready to explore what the CDLP really looks like, or maybe you're just curious, I would encourage and welcome you to visit our website at divorcelendingassociation.com.
51:49We can go straight to our CDLP page at getcdlpcertified.com.
51:53So I hope I was able to change everybody's perspectives.
52:00If there's any questions, I'd be more than happy, you know, to answer them now or connect with you guys one-on-one.
52:07It's just kind of depends on if I blew everybody away, put them to sleep, whatever I did.
52:15Jodi, thank you so much for sharing your insights.
52:18There's been a couple questions in the chat.
52:20So time permitting, to our audience, continue to send your questions.
52:24We'll get through as many as we can before our time with Jodi is up.
52:28So the first question that I have is, I'm licensed in two states.
52:34Do I have to be physically present at the table to offer my services as a divorce specialist?
52:41No.
52:42I will tell you, you build your market locally.
52:46You just do, because it is a trust-built relationship.
52:52And you need to obviously be licensed in the state where you're going to offer a mortgage,
52:58but you don't have to be licensed to do divorce mortgage planning.
53:02That's the key concept of it.
53:04But that, I always discourage our members to just start building nationally,
53:09because you need to build those local relationships.
53:13But I will also tell you that I have done probably 95% of my consultations via Zoom.
53:21You know, and only, you know, when I was back in Colorado or Illinois,
53:26would I sit down with the clients face-to-face.
53:29And I've seen a couple questions about a recording.
53:33Yes, today's webinar was recorded.
53:35If you missed anything, if you want to send this recording out to other people,
53:39send it to your members of your team, other people you know in the industry,
53:43you'll be able to do so early next week.
53:45We will be sending that to you if you are registered in your inbox.
53:48It'll also be available on housingwire.com slash videos.
53:53And our next question is, is the market with attorneys hard to penetrate?
53:58Not if you have the right approach.
54:03You know, there's approach to it.
54:05I will tell you, if you go in, you know, with a, if there's realtors on here, there's no disrespect.
54:11If you go in with a team, I'm a real estate agent, I'm a mortgage professional,
54:17we can help your divorcing clients.
54:19They will see you as a sales team a mile away, and you will never get past that gatekeeper.
54:24So you have to have value.
54:27You know, what are you going to do for me?
54:29Not just my client.
54:31What are you going to do for me?
54:32So there's a method to it.
54:34There's a message to it, et cetera.
54:36So it's very doable, but if you do it the wrong way,
54:40you're not going to get past and you're going to give up.
54:42And how many years of experience do you recommend a loan officer having before trying to undertake
54:54servicing or serving rather at this market segment?
54:58So it literally depends on you.
55:02You know, what was your background prior to?
55:05You know, how comfortable are you talking with this different level of professionals?
55:14We have seasoned loan officers who have been loan officers for as long as I have, you know,
55:1930 plus years.
55:20We also have some very successful CDLPs who were brand new to the industry,
55:27but maybe they had a financial background or, you know,
55:30a diff just depends on that professional background and they're out there kicking it.
55:35And it's funny because some of the people who are newer to the industry
55:39do better because they're not so stuck in the traditional approach to marketing your mortgage
55:46services.
55:47So they're a little more flexible to the ideas and the strategies because it's very hard
55:52sometimes to untrain how you've been trained.
55:56That brings me back to Zeb's introduction, how he was saying he thought that he got a
56:02playbook on how to do things.
56:04So I like your point that it might be easier to, for some people, depending on the person
56:11to.
56:12Yeah, I will say it is not for everybody.
56:15You know, when, when we have originators call us and they're talking to us about our program,
56:20we never try to persuade somebody to do this, you know, because our reputation's on
56:26the line, the financial stability of the clients are on the line.
56:30And if, if it's not a good fit or you have a hard time really kind of understanding the
56:37concept, we will probably dissuade you from doing it just because there's so much at stake.
56:44And I think we have time for one more question and it is, do you have reverse mortgage only
56:54professionals specialized in this or do you couple up with CDLP loan officers?
57:01We actually have a good handful of CDLPs who focus only on reverse mortgages.
57:09And that's literally because the senior divorce demographic is one of the largest divorcing
57:15demographics right now.
57:16All the baby boomers, you know, they're living longer, they're more financially stable, their
57:21kids are out of the house and that is the fastest growing demographic.
57:26So yeah, we have, there's absolutely a place for that.
57:29And we have CDLPs who specialize in reverse and we have CDLPs that when they're presented
57:35with an opportunity for reverse with one of their divorcing clients, instead of referring
57:41it to somebody else, maybe in their company, they partner up with a CDLP who also knows the
57:48divorce strategies, et cetera.
57:50So it's a very good teamwork community that we've built.
57:54All right.
57:55Well, Zev, we are inching closer to the top of the hour.
57:58I'm going to pass things over to you to close up.
58:01Thank you very much.
58:02And yeah, as Allison said, that wraps up our webinar today.
58:05A big thank you to Jody for sharing your expertise with all of us.
58:11A reminder to our heads up for our audience.
58:14If you submitted a question that we didn't have time to cover, don't worry.
58:18Our speakers will follow up with you directly.
58:22Housing Wire will be sending a recording of today's session to all registrants next week.
58:26You'll be able to access the full webinar and copy of the presentation on our website at
58:33housingwire.com slash webinars.
58:35And before you go, make sure that you're subscribed to Lending Life.
58:39It's our must-read newsletter for mortgage professionals.
58:42Stay ahead of the curve with breaking news, expert analysis, and industry insights delivered
58:46straight to your inbox.
58:48You can sign up at housingwire.com slash newsletters.
58:51And thank all of you again for joining us.
58:54We look forward to seeing you at a future Housing Wire event.
58:59Thank you, guys.
59:01I appreciate it.
59:02Thank you, Jody.
Comments