Homebuyer Assistance, Pre-Qual, AI Tools; Webinars and Training; Fairway CEO Steve Jacobson Interview

You don’t become cooler with age, but you do care progressively less about being cool, which is the only true way of being cool. This is called the “Geezer’s Paradox.” People change, and so do industries. Things are always changing in our business. For example, take this plethora of mortgage law changes hitting Texas originators and lenders. Although ATR (Ability to Repay) has given us years of strong borrowers, credit analysis is changing. “Rob, is it true that the three credit bureaus own VantageScore?” Yes, it is owned by the three national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion); VantageScore Solutions, LLC is an independently managed company. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s podcasts are sponsored by Visio Lending. Visio, which has a top-notch broker program, is the nation's premier lender for buy and hold investors with over 2.5 billion closed loans for single-family rental properties, including vacation rentals. Hear an interview with Fairway Independent’s Steve Jacobson on leading a mortgage company and the individuals that work for it.)

Lender and Broker Software, Services, and Products

'Tis the season of giving, and what better way to celebrate than by treating borrowers’ pets to shiny new tags for their new home? With Operation Fido, tags are automatically ordered directly from Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology™ when a loan closes, ensuring furry friends stay safe as they explore their new neighborhoods. It’s a simple, thoughtful way to make borrowers (and their four-legged family members!) feel at home. Watch the video to see how it works!

Mortgage Machine's AI-powered pricing engine automatically updates pricing for all your investors and aggregators. The pricing engine provides granular controls for administrators, including global and product-level pricing adjustments, real-time lock controls, and tracking against current market conditions. Loan officers can quickly compare rates, see precise principal and interest breakdowns without switching screens or manually calculating. The Best X feature lets users quickly identify the most competitive rates for their borrowers. The pricing engine is fully integrated into Mortgage Machine’s LOS at no additional expense, reducing the cost of ownership. No separate pricing engine portal or login needed. As one client put it, “It's all happening right here in the LOS, which is fantastic.”

“They say if you double a penny every day for 30 days you’d have more than $5 million. ​​Dark Matter Technologies is doing some pretty impressive doubling of its own these days too. In 2024, Dark Matter’s AIVA Docs intelligent document management solution doubled in scale while maintaining 99% product SLA accuracy, setting a new industry benchmark for leveraging AI to handle rapid growth without sacrificing quality. One enterprise client experienced a 10x increase in transaction volume yet maintained greater than 99% product accuracy, without the need for additional operational staff to manage the increased workload. The pretty penny behind this success lies in how market-leading AIVA Docs effectively deploys proprietary AI systems for low-risk, high-volume "stare and compare" tasks. By empowering existing employees with advanced AI tools, Dark Matter enables businesses to scale seamlessly without compromising accuracy. See how AIVA Docs can help you save pennies.”

Updating pre-approval letters from the golf course. Sending closing cost summaries from your kids soccer game. Want to keep your loan officers out of the LOS? The secret is QuickQual by LenderLogix. Check out its reviews on the ICE Mortgage Technology™ Marketplace.

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Wholesale and Correspondent Product News

LoanStream wants you to Boost Your Volume and Close Out the Year with a Full Pipeline with its Holiday Specials! Up to 60 BPS Price Improvements (when combined with select specials on qualifying loans). 25 BPS Price Improvement on Government (FHA/VA), Non-QM and Closed End Seconds. Plus, Select Price Improvements: 35 BPS on Government Loans FICO 680+ and Loan Amount $250K+ (Excludes DPA). Specials are valid for loans locked 12/1/2024 through 12/31/2024. Offers subject to change at anytime, terms and conditions apply. Restrictions apply so contact your AE to learn more.

With $32 trillion in homeowner equity "trapped" by low rates on first mortgages, there's an unparalleled opportunity for brokers bigger than Non-QM first mortgages. On Thursday, December 19, 2024, at 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT, the NMP Webinar "The $32 Trillion Opportunity For 2025" will feature Bill Ashmore, Founder and CEO of Vista Point Mortgage. As CEO of Vista Point's wholesale division, Brokers Advantage Mortgage, Bill brings decades of expertise in Non-QM and Non-Agency lending. We’ll get an update from Bill on Non-QM and practical strategies to help brokers tap into this massive equity pool through Non-QM cash-out second mortgages. He’ll give insights on who to target, and what to say, and share the innovative "Blended Rate" approach that lets borrowers access equity while keeping their low-rate first mortgages. Position yourself for success in 2025 by registering here.

“Chase is pleased to announce the launch of Homebuyer Assistance Finder, our latest tool designed to enhance our client's experience with our Community Lending Program (CLP). This innovative tool is now available to help our clients explore a wide range of homebuyer programs that provide down payment and closing cost assistance to their customers. These programs are already approved for Chase Correspondent, allowing seamless integration with our CLP program while offering your customers options for down payment assistance. The integration of Homebuyer Assistance Finder with our Community Lending Program enables our clients to check their customers’ eligibility for both programs. We invite our clients, as well as prospective clients, to join Chase for an informative webinar on December 18th at 2 PM ET. Start exploring the Homebuyer Assistance Finder tool at chaseb2b.com/communitylending today.”

Events, Training, and Webinars Into 2025

A good place for longer term conference planning is to start is here for in-person events in the future.

Technology and innovation in residential lending are the focus of Now Next Later Mondays at 1pm ET.

Tomorrow and all Tuesdays at 11am PT, two veteran LOs discuss all things mortgage with Industry Leaders: Mortgage Pros 411 with Audrey Boissonou and Kevin Casey.

Looking for more in-depth commentary on weekly mortgage news? Register here for Wednesday’s 11AM PT "Mortgage Matters: The Weekly Roundup” presented by Lenders One. This week features Ken Twichell with ServiceLink.

The HMDA filing deadline is approaching. Join Firstline Compliance on Tuesday, December 17 for an informative webinar on how to avoid costly mistakes and streamline your HMDA filing process. Industry experts Kathleen Blanchard and Melissa Kozicki, CMB, CMCP will join Firstline’s Joshua Weinberg in an interactive session that will equip you with the tools and tips to boost your confidence in filing accurately. Register here.

National MI’s upcoming December webinar sessions include: Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 11:00 AM, join Freddie Mac’s Mia Jones and Kim Carr for an informative webinar on Expanding Origination Opportunities in Today's Market. And join Dr. Bruce Lund and Maggie Mae for Business Planning for Expected Rate Cuts in 2025, Thursday, Dec. 19, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST.

Thursday will be another episode of The Big Picture at 3PM ET. Rich Swerbinsky hosts a variety of guests. You can click here to register for Thursday’s 3 PM ET show which features the CEO of Lennar Mortgage (#1 builder in the U.S.) and Chairman of the MBA Laura Escobar.

Friday, listen in to opinions (Last Word Fridays at 1pm ET) from Kevin Peranio and Brian Vieaux! Register here.

End this week with The Mortgage Collaborative’s The Fix with Melissa Langdale covering current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes starting at noon PT. This week features Kristin Messerli and Churchill’s Matt Clark.

FHA Training Opportunity on Minimum Property Standards in Special Flood Hazard Areas,

December 17, 1-2 PM ET. This free, virtual training will provide homebuilders and other interested parties with an overview of the new construction requirements for site-built, FHA-insured residential structures. Attendees will learn about the new Minimum Property Standards requirement for one- to four-unit homes or units in condominium projects or legal phases concerning the lowest floor in newly constructed structures located within special flood hazard areas. There will be a Q&A session at the end.

Chrisman Commentary is pleased to bring you a variety of video shows hosted on Zoom throughout the week. Take your pick: We have a show focused on technology and innovation (Now Next Later Mondays at 1pm ET), origination (Mortgage Pros Tuesdays at 2pm ET), big-name interviews (Mortgage Matters Wednesdays at 2pm ET, presented by Lenders One), headline news (The Big Picture Thursday’s at 3pm ET), opinion (Last Word Fridays at 1pm ET), advisory services (Advisory Angle first Tuesday of the month at 2pm ET, presented by STRATMOR Group), capital markets (Capital Markets Wrap second Tuesday of the month at 3pm ET, presented by Polly), regulation and compliance (Regulation Central third Tuesday of the month at 3pm ET), and reaching the next generation of homeowners (Mortgages with Millennials last Tuesday of the month at 1pm ET, presented by The Mortgage Collaborative). (If you don’t see a presenting sponsor, please reach out to Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt to inquire about opportunities.)

Capital Markets

There seems to be confusion coming from conflicting data: recent job numbers suggest the economy is cooling, meaning rate hikes worked as intended. But investors may still be nervous about inflation or potential economic stimulus from a Trump presidency. Bond yields remain higher than expected. Part of this might be due to investors demanding higher yields to buy up a large supply of Treasuries at auction, but even after the auctions, rates haven’t dropped, showing a general bias toward higher yields.

Foreign buying of Treasuries seems to reflect the overall view of bonds as an investment rather than being influenced by U.S. monetary policy changes. While the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by a quarter-point this week, investors seem more concerned about the Fed’s outlook for 2025 and beyond. There’s growing debate that the economy may need higher rates in the long run, given its surprising resilience in September and October.

Last week saw the release of both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) and both reaffirmed that inflation remains unrelentingly elevated. CPI rose 0.3 percent at both the headline and core levels, and was up 2.7 percent and 3.3 percent year-over-year, respectively. Digging into the data, services inflation is gradually coming down, but the downward trend in good prices has reversed and prices have started to creep up.

Despite higher prices, the increases are not viewed as significant enough to deter the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) from reducing the fed funds rate by another 25-bps this week. However, the data have shifted expectations for further rate reductions out into the Spring as market sentiment indicates the committee will enter a wait and see phase. The December FOMC meeting will also provide analysts with updated economic projections and refreshed dot plots which will confirm any change in the expected path of future interest rates.

The year may be winding down, but for market participants it will still be a busy week ahead. It is central banks galore over the next few days, with the Federal Reserve's final monetary policy rate decision of the year coming on Wednesday, followed by the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England on Thursday. Despite some hotter than expected inflation data last week, traders are near certain that the Fed will deliver a quarter-point interest rate cut.

Ahead of the Fed decision, Wall Street will receive November U.S. retail sales data. And afterward the focus will shift to an update on Q3 GDP growth and the November personal income and outlays report which will contain a reading on the Fed's favorite inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures price index. This week’s economic calendar kicks off later this morning with the December Empire State Manufacturing Survey and flash December S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices slightly better than Friday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.22, and the 10-year yielding 4.37 after closing last week at 4.40 percent.