Jumbo Loan Trends; BofA Bails on MSAs
If I was a giving a presentation to a bunch of real estate agents I'd want them to know that I know all about the local job market. The Census Bureau disgorged a collection of information on exactly that: a collection of three graphs utilizing data from Business Dynamics Statistics, which provides annual statistics on establishments, firm startups and job creation and job loss. This infographic describes important trends observed in the Business Dynamics Statistics data released last week, which includes statistics through 2013. The graphs address startups' contribution to the total number of jobs over the last several decades, contrast net job creation by startups and the oldest firms over the last few years (including the Great Recession through 2013), and show employment in startups as a percentage of total employment by state in 2013.
Bank of America decided to follow other lenders like Wells Fargo and "bail and sail" on marketing service agreements it has (had) with realty firms like RE/MAX. MSAs are a somewhat generic term that has come to include desk rentals, and referral & other agreements. In this case BofA will discontinue all space rental agreement programs due to recent regulatory developments by November 1. "We will terminate our lease agreements for space in accordance with their terms. While the decision to wind down our MSA and SRA programs was difficult, the end of these programs allows us to pursue different ways we might help builders and Realtors provide superior service and financing solutions for their customers."
Lenders Compliance Group is offering another free webinar on Marketing Services Agreements, due to high demand and the CFPB's issuing of Bulletin 2015-05. The date is October 23, 2015 at 1PM-2PM EDT. This is the second in its series on MSAs. Readers are advised to register as soon as possible since the first webinar on October 8th filled up early. Here is the Registration Link. If you want to know about MSAs and the effects of the CFPB's Bulletin you should watch this webinar.
Jumbo news? Yes, the lion's share of jumbo/non-conforming loans is flowing to the likes of Chase, Wells, Redwood Trust, BB&T, Guaranty Bank, Everbank, and a handful of others. And yes, it is very price-driven ("Rob, are you hearing Chase has backed off and Wells has improved?") although some investors are more interested in certain geographical areas than others. And certainly the programs continue to evolve.
First a correction to an entry from yesterday: "Ditech Mortgage Corp. announced its new minimum loan amount for all Crimson Jumbo Non-Warrantable Condos and Condotels is $417,001, effective immediately." This product was discontinued earlier this year.
Ditech did, however, come out with a new product: it's Home Equity (closed end/fixed rate) product to "help clients in the purchase market, providing borrowers with another great option to consider. This product has value as a Jumbo Buster, Conforming High Balance buster, and in many cases will provide a better payment than when using MI. The max CLTV on conforming is 95%, and high balance is 90%. The Closed End Home Equity Product to be used in conjunction with our conforming first mortgage products."
Effective October 2nd ditech stopped accepting loan registrations and locks on all Jumbo BB products until further notice. As a reminder, this does not affect ditech Jumbo AA products and they are still available. And the company provided clarification of the minimum loan amount permitted for the Jumbo AA Fixed Rate and ARM products: the minimum loan amount is one dollar above the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limits, including High balance county limits.
At Mountain West Financial the MWF Jumbo 1 line of Jumbo products has been discontinued. These products were no longer available for registration or locks. In addition, starting Monday, October 5, 2015, MWF's TRID Disclosure Desk will be open extended hours. Questions may be directed to 909-225-8815, or toll-free 266-213-3620, or by email. More information will be available from your BDM and on the wholesale website (www.mwfwholesale.com).
LHFS Wholesale offers 89.9% LTV/CLTV to 1,500,000 with no MI on its Elite Jumbo 5/1 Arm. Contact CustomerService@LHFSWholesale. com for details.
Up to 95% LTV without MI? Learn more about the jumbo offering from Parkside Lending.
New enhancements are available on Freedom Mortgage's FHA and VA Standard and Jumbo. Freedom Mortgage has added a Jumbo product as of October 12th. This premier program is designed to offer expanded eligibility requirements and higher loan amounts. Some highlights include Fixed Rate Jumbo Prime Mortgages, Adjustable Rate Jumbo Prime Mortgages, and Loan amounts one ($1) above the standard conforming loan limits up to $3,000,000.
The First Community Mortgage September updated guideline changes have posted. Recent updates include Conventional, FHA, and Non-Conforming Jumbo programs.
A recent update to Kinecta Credit Union's matrix was made to correct the maximum number of financed properties (including the subject property) is four financed properties for all Kinecta Jumbo loan products.
NewLeaf's Jumbo Prime product has been enhanced to include Asset Depletion for calculating qualifying monthly income. This is a Non-QM feature. All current Jumbo Prime guidelines must be met in addition to the Asset Depletion requirements.
Transactions in the state of New York are now permitted through Pacific Union Financial, LLC. However, the following programs/features are not eligible for purchase consideration at this time: Series O Jumbo product, Co-op properties, Consolidation, Extension and Modification Agreement (CEMA) transactions and Manufactured Homes. All applicable guides and documents will be updated to reflect this expansion on October 19.
How 'bout dem rates! Yields/rates moved lower yesterday after all the economic data missed economists' expectations. Retail sales and producer prices fell short of projections in September and business inventories for August also came in low. Retail sales growth for August and business inventory growth for July were also revised down. The Fed's Beige Book for the mid-August to early-October period showed modest expansion.
So now we have a poor employment report, and the story out of the retail sector remains the same: another month where falling energy prices should have helped drive up sales of more discretionary and luxury goods. Instead, lackluster income growth has failed to foster acceleration in consumer demand, and consumers are more willing to pocket their gasoline price savings than spend them. Until wage growth picks up, retail demand will continue to look sluggish. And there is no inflation: the producer price index (PPI) fell 0.5% in September due to food and energy costs declining.
For the soup du jour today is Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending 10/10 and Continuing Jobless Claims for the week ending 10/03 (-7k to 255k from a revised 262k), September CPI and Core CPI (-.2%, +.2%), the October Empire Manufacturing (-11.36). Later is the October Philadelphia Fed (10:00 ET). For anyone thinking about rate sheets, 1.98% is low for the 10-year, below where it has been for much of the summer - but that is where it closed Wednesday. This morning after the initial set of numbers we're at 2.02% and agency MBS prices are worse .125.
Jobs and Announcements
Due to rapid growth Paramount Equity Mortgage is searching for a VP of Sales. The company was founded in 2003 outside of Sacramento, CA, and is now licensed to conduct residential mortgage financing in over 25 states across the United States. "We have offices in California, Portland and Phoenix and focus on providing competitive pricing, speed of transaction, and ethical education for all customers through a consumer direct mortgage banking platform! The right person has the ability to build and enhance the ever growing sales team, understand how to sell and close conventional, FHA ("Full Eagle" designation) & VA residential home loans, and be able to handle all aspects of the sales process and staff management in our Sacramento area office. The person should have experience in high volume, fast paced mortgage sales. Relocation is open to negotiation as this person needs to be located in our Sacramento area branch." Confidential inquiries should be sent to VP of Recruitment Shawna Ford.
ACH Trust, an affiliate of the Towne Mortgage Company (TMC) is seeking experienced correspondent AEs in California, Texas and Florida for its expanding national correspondent division. ACH Trust is approved to buy loans in 40 states, has very competitive pricing/turn times, and is offering a highly competitive compensation plan with the ability to grow as the division expands. ACHT was recently launched as the national correspondent lending arm for TMC to further grow its MSR portfolio, while at the same time providing excellent price and service to its customers and clients. As part of TMC, a direct FNMA and FHLMC Seller-Servicer and a GNMA approved issuer, ACHT provides a full suite of conventional and government products, minimal overlays and services all of the loans it purchases. Please send confidential inquires to Adam Salti (917.434.0838), Co-Head of Correspondent Lending, and feel free to schedule a meeting with him at the MBA Annual Convention & Expo in San Diego.
Congrats to Jesse Tzimas, a 24-year industry veteran, who has joined M&T Bank as an Account Executive and will be responsible for M&T's Correspondent Lending relationships in the Western states of AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA and WY. His focus is on generating new business for M&T's Renovation and Government programs. These include Best Efforts 203(k), HomeStyle, VA and USDA lending along with Best Efforts and Single Loan/Bulk Mandatory for FHA 203(b) loans. M&T is seeking new correspondent lenders and they will be manning a booth at the MBA Conference in San Diego next week. M&T is one of the 20 largest US headquartered commercial bank holding companies with current assets of $97.1 billion (as of June 30, 2015) and more than 650 branches, account access at over 1,500 M&T Bank ATMs, and more than 15,000 employees throughout NY, MD, PA, DC, VA, WF, NJ, FL, DE, and Toronto, Canada. Come and visit Jesse at Booth #134 in San Diego and learn more about M&T's Early Renovation Review Program.
And Scott Stein has joined Roostify, the innovative mortgage technology company that helps mortgage banks of all sizes improve conversions while reducing their cost to originate. He joins as Vice President of Sales, where he will be responsible for building a team of sales professionals to address growing demand and drive revenue growth for the organization. Scott was previously EVP of Sales for Mercury Network, where he was responsible for restructuring and expanding that sales team. He will be at the MBA National Convention and Expo in San Diego next week. He would love to meet with mortgages executives looking at technology to support the build-out their retail and consumer-direct operations. Please contact Scott directly if you might be interested in meeting.
Congrats to Jim McCarthy! Jim is now the First Vice President of Mortgage Compliance at PennyMac Loan Services. Many in the industry know Jim from being a founding member of the CFPB and from having built its complaint portal.
And to Marissa Sandridge who has joined Equity National Title in the role of Vice President, National Sales Executive. Equity is a national title/settlement agent offering a full array of title and settlement solutions for mortgage lenders, home builders and Realtors.
And lastly to Michele Perrin who joined BB&T Bank as Western Regional Manager for Warehouse Lending.