On Monday, April 22, the Five Star Institute, in partnership with LoanCare, will present the latest in its Webinar Series, “Maximizing HELOCs in Today’s Market,” at 1:00 p.m. Central.
A source for complimentary insights and education about critical industry topics, the Five Star Institute Webinar Series aims to broaden the horizons of the mortgage industry through the insight and expertise of subject-matter experts and company sponsors.
Why HELOCs?
Reports show homeowners with mortgages have seen an equity gain of 8.6% year-over-year. With a drastic slowdown in originations and refinance due to interest rates and inflation, the home equity line of credit (HELOC) has surfaced as a popular revenue generator for lenders to enable homeowners to fund renovations, education, reduce debt, and more. In this latest webinar, learn how to scale the opportunity quickly and safely from LoanCare’s seasoned HELOC subservicing team in order to seize the opportunity and maximize the moment. When facing a major expense, such as financing home renovations, consolidating debt or educational costs, many homeowners choose to borrow money against the equity in their home, this turning to either a home equity loan or a HELOC.
Equifax data has showed that through June 2023, approximately 617,000 HELOCs were originated, equaling $75.4 billion year-to-date in total credit limit.
Dan Green, CEO at Homebuyer.com, told CBS News in a recent article, “The Federal Reserve has signaled it will start lowering interest rates later this year, which means homeowners with HELOCs will see their rates fall in lockstep. Rates on home equity loans correlate more closely with 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates than the fed funds rate, and mortgage rates are expected to drop through the spring and summer months.”
About the speakers
For the “Maximizing HELOCs in Today’s Market” webinar, the Five Star Institute will be featuring guest speaker Mike Blair, current Chief Operating Officer for LoanCare, who will share his experience and expertise on the topic of HELOCs. Blair’s one-mission, one-team approach has led to the development of an exemplary operations support team. He has more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry, with expertise in servicing, default, and loss mitigation. Previously, Blair served as LoanCare’s Chief Administrative Officer. In this role, his responsibilities included guiding the strategic direction of LoanCare’s subservicing technologies. Blair has also held executive roles at Cenlar and KeyBank. He has a bachelor’s degree in business, management, marketing, and related support services from St. Joseph’s University, New York.
Joining Blair will be Eleni Nikolas-Hawkins, VP of Customer Service with LoanCare, who brings 25 years of experience in the financial services industry with a specialized focus in home equity operations to her role. Prior to joining LoanCare, she was a VP, Consumer Loan Portfolio for Flagstar Bank. Her role spanned originations, loan boarding through lien release. She handled all servicing and branch training for consumer loans and audit remediation. Nikolas-Hawkins also spent 17 years at PHH Mortgage, where she held multiple leadership roles to include HELOC servicing.
Rounding out the panel of speakers will be Priscilla Woods, VP, HELOC and Special Loans Manager with LoanCare, who brings 25 years of experience in the mortgage servicing industry with a focus in special loan products such as HELOC, construction to permanent, 203K and 203B, commercial, and SCRA to her role. She joined LoanCare in 2021, and previously held leadership roles at TIAA.
Click here for more information or to register for the upcoming “Maximizing HELOCs in Today’s Market” webinar.
