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Home equity in the United States has reached an all-time high. According to NRMLA, housing wealth grew to $6.2 trillion in 2017. However, some homeowners are more reluctant than ever to tap into their wealth as the costs of financing a HELOC have risen to 5.83% in 2018. Plus, refinancing can be harder than ever before and homeowners are wary of housing troubles caused by the crisis in the early 2000s. But, a recent study on HELOC’s by Transunion predicts that, “The number of consumers opening HELOCs may double during the next five years.” So, even though rates are up and homeowners may be wary, lenders can use home equity loans to deepen customer relationships. Here's how.

NFIP (FEMA) Flood Insurance Vs. Private Flood Insurance

Flood insurance is required for many properties but choosing a policy can prove difficult. From the broadest perspective, there are two primary choices for flood insurance coverage: FEMA flood insurance or a privately funded policy.

Demand Is Outpacing NFIP’s Coverage

According to a study conducted by researchers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Nature Conservancy, and the University of Bristol published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, nearly 41 million Americans already live in 100-year floodplains.

VSI or Single Interest Insurance is a customer-centric, efficient, compliant way for lenders to insure their entire consumer loan portfolio for a small one-time fee on each new loan. There are many advantages of the blanket product as compared to other options such as tracking insurance in-house or outsourcing tracking. VSI allows you to eliminate all insurance tracking and yet still cover all of your collateral without the needless hassles between you, loan officers, borrowers, and insurance companies.

How often do products come along that can significantly change your operation in a positive way? Lenders from all across the country face similar challenges when it comes to balancing budgets, managing workloads, and staffing levels while growing at the same time. Growth is great but means more files, more data, and more work for everyone.

Some vendors in the world of lending ask their customers to sign lengthy multi-year agreements and some also make it difficult to leave the agreement prior to the terms expiring. Read on for more information about negotiating contracts with vendors. 

First, you need to read the contract and pay special attention to the following:

• Length of the term
• Terms of exiting the contract early
• Automatic renewals
• Conditions for both parties

To properly answer that question, you have to look at the entire program and the many different parts that are often overlooked. There are four different coverage sections that you should be evaluating: