Home Equity and JV Products; Upcoming Events; Credit-Based Lender Changes

Mortgage bankers have plenty of interests. Baconry, for example. (It’s like falconry, or reverse animal husbandry.) Another is the study of real estate agents. When you survey 201,000 National Association of Realtors members (out of the 1.3 members – half of all active licensees) you come up with only 12,495 usable responses (6.2%). Apathy aside, if one extrapolates the responses, the typical Realtor (love that capital R, and registered!) is a 54-year-old white woman who attended college, is a homeowner, and began her career in management, business, finance, or in sales and retail. 29% of members have less than two years of experience. Realtors’ median age was 54 this year, 63% are female, only 5% reported real estate was their first career, 72% said that real estate was their only occupation, 25% of members with two years of experience or less were minorities. And many want their dog walked by LOs during open houses.

Trainings and Events

How is this the last full week of July already?

Lending solutions provider Data Facts is sponsoring a complimentary webinar "Do You Know the Value of Public Records?" on Thursday, July 26th at 10AM CDT. Register here. The bureaus recently did a final purge of an estimated 5.5 million consumer public records, which have previously been key predictors of consumers’ payment habits. Lenders who lack a complete picture of the borrower’s debt before lending money are running huge default risks. Keep Data Facts in mind as a trusted partner you can rely on for credit reports, debt monitoring, fraud products, tax return and social security verifications, flood certs, appraisal ordering, bankruptcy/lien/judgment reports, and more. Take advantage of their experienced and personalized support staff to help achieve your business goals. They offer a variety of seamless LOS integrations (Encompass, Calyx, Byte, etc.) and a 100% US-based customer support team that helps lenders close more loans faster and easier.

Free is a good price. To help you build your business, the California MBA Mortgage Technology & Marketing Committee July webinar features two industry innovators: Gary Martell, Jr., and Chris Backe. “By investing in the right systems and strategies, lenders can turn the tide of shrinking loan volumes into continuous growth.”

Register for a free webinar from the California MBA MQAC Committee on July 26th. “Title & Escrow Best Practices” will cover the top 5 things that a lender could do to avoid having to make a claim and what must be covered by a Lender’s Closing instructions.

Check out Plaza’s webinars scheduled for the month of August.

Plaza Mortgage is offering a new webinar on August 1st, LinkedIn Part III.  Find out how to develop a specific plan for full utilization of the power of their LinkedIn Profile for increased referrals for mortgage loans.

The Lenders One 2018 Summer Conference will be in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 5-8, at The Grand America. Attendees will be able to select from 16 curated education sessions led by industry experts. Topics include:  improving margins, generating business through MarTech, rethinking your compliance strategy and five Secondary Market panels.

Register for Plaza’s August 9th webinar featuring Matt Coles, Plaza’s Southern California Sales Manager, as he leads a “virtual” roundtable discussion with participants on strategies for using technology.

Are you ready for TRID 2.0 on October 1st? Join Richard Horn, Partner at Garris Horn, PLLC as he provides a platform for you to get your last-minute questions answered live during this Thursday, August 9th webinar.

On August 13th, Plaza’s webinar will focus on the biggest change to the way consumer credit data is measured since credit scores were first introduced. Register for Trended Credit Data: new way to measure credit worthiness.

The Mortgage Collaborative will be holding its 2018 Summer Conference at the fabulous Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, IL from Sunday, August 19th through Tuesday, August 21st. TMC has done something pretty neat with their conferences, they allow their lender members to dictate the content, format, and agenda of their events resulting in lender-led, discussion-based breakout sessions each day on (very specific) topics and issues viewed as the most pertinent by their national network of lenders. Pretty cool events if you’ve never been. For more details, visit TMC or contact TMC COO Rich Swerbinsky.

In Ohio on September 13th, OMBA is hosting its first annual Loan Production Conference. Trainings include growing your business utilizing LinkedIn, staying compliant using Social Media and Turn Up the Volume with a 3-hour sales training experience.

The Pacific Northwest Mortgage Lenders Conference is September 23rd- 25th in Seattle. Click here to view the conference schedule, speakers and registration information.

Lender Changes Based on Credit Score

FICO scores, only one measure of credit, are determined as follows: payment history is 35%, prompt is best; amount owed counts for 30%, less is best. Length of credit history is 15%, longer is better. Credit mix is 10%, varied debt types are superior to one type. Lastly, new credit counts for 10% and applications lower your score. Out of 325 million U.S. residents, 200 million consumers have a FICO score, just under 3 million have a perfect 850.

UWM is allowing escrow waivers (known as impound waivers in California) on all conventional loans up to 95% LTV with a 640+ FICO. UWM’s mortgage broker partners will be able to provide borrowers with an easier approval process and save them up to thousands of dollars at the closing table by skipping the initial escrow (impound) deposit and waiving taxes and/or insurance. There is still no escrow waiver fee. Note: This is limited to 80% LTV in New Mexico because of state law.

FICO/LTV adjustments for Fannie Mae products for new locks in certain FICO ranges. These updates apply to Standard Fannie Mae Conventional products (Fixed and ARMs) and Fannie Mae PacificPlus products. Also noted, Pacific Union reserves the right to charge underwriting fees for loans “underwriting approved,” but subsequently are not delivered to Pacific Union for purchase.

Mountain West Financial, Inc. offers manufactured housing with Freddie Mac’s Home Possible. Manufactured Housing must meet Freddie Mac and HUD requirements. Some guidelines include: Singlewide is permitted: Must be a minimum of 12 feet wide and 600 square feet. LTV 95%/CLTV 95%. DTI determined through LPA and FICO 620+.

PRMG’s Lender Paid MI is improving offering a BPS range from 25-100 applicable to select FICO/LTV combinations.

CoreVest has announced the expansion of its bridge lending platform now offering both credit line and single asset bridge loans to finance multifamily properties up to 150 units. Like existing bridge loan offerings, CoreVest will offer this program across the US and loan sizes can range from $250,000 to over $25 million. Loans can be used for both purchase and refinancing, and rehab funding options are available as well. already financed several large multifamily properties under the expanded program. In one recent transaction, CoreVest financed over 700 units across 18 multifamily properties located in Florida. In another, it financed a single property in Newark, NJ with 18 units that entailed a complete gut rehab with construction draws.

“The ‘Ability to Repay’ has been redefined.” Athas Capital Group has the following programs available: 1099 only program, No VOE program, P&L Only program – no bank statements and an easy-to-use Asset Depletion program. 877-877-1477. “Put down a nickel for every dollar you borrow with Athas Capital Group’s 95% LTV up to 1.5 Million - Non-Prime / no MI.”

Citadel Servicing has no limit on Gift Funds. Use gift funds for closing costs on all purchase and rate & term refi programs: Bank Statements for income, $5 million loan amounts, Asset Depletion loans (gift funds for closing costs only), Just settled Foreclosure, Short Sale or BK loans, Investment properties, First-time homebuyers and Foreign nationals.

PRMG has posted numerous updates to its products. Click here for profile updates.

LoanStream Mortgage offers Lender Paid Comp up to 2.75% on Non-Prime Loans and YSP up to 2%. Available Products include: LTV's to 95%, Bank Statement Programs (12 & 24 Month Options), One day out of settled BK, Foreclosures, & Short Sales, DTI Options up to 55% and Non-Warrantable Condo's.

Wells Fargo Funding has updated its tip income policy on Non-Conforming Loans. While there must be a reasonable expectation that the tip income will continue, employers are no longer required to verify continuance in writing.

Capital Markets

Rates slid higher on Friday, with the 10-year up 5bps to 2.90% as President Trump’s CNBC interview in which he voiced his displeasure with rising rates and threatened to impose tariffs on all imports from China, aired. Mr. Trump later took to Twitter, calling out China, the European Union, and "others" for "manipulating their currencies and interest rates lower while the U.S. is raising rates." St. Louis Fed President Bullard said President Trump is just one more voice in the interest-rate debate and that the Fed will not be swayed by public criticism from the president. Bullard had previously said the Fed should stop hiking rates to avoid inverting the yield curve. Internationally, there was renewed speculation about the Bank of Japan altering its interest rate targets or asset purchasing techniques, with the BoJ concluding its next policy meeting on Tuesday of next week.

This week's calendar includes updates on housing and durable goods, an ECB rate decision, and the first look at Q2 GDP on Friday. Kicking off today's calendar is the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June. June existing home sales will be released at 10AM ET with expectations for 5.48 billion versus 5.43 billion previously. And 35% of the S&P 500 (175 constituents) are expected to report earnings this week. We begin the rate with rates nearly unchanged from Friday evening with the 10-year yielding 2.89% and agency MBS prices “unch’d.”

Lender Products, Employment

“HEL-LO! Home Equity Loans Are Back. Spring EQ, the nation’s premier non-bank home equity lender, is now offering its broad home equity product guidelines to brokers. Brokers will now have access to expanded home equity loan options to help customers get cash with FICO’s as low as 640 and CLTV’s as high as 100%. Spring EQ has developed an innovative process that typically requires only 4 documents (proof of income, mortgage statement, proof of hazard insurance and a photo ID) and customers can get their money in as little as 2 weeks. Ken Turner, Director of Wholesale Lending, is overseeing Spring EQ’s wholesale channel. Become a broker partner and offer your customers standalone or piggyback home equity loans.” Just contact Ken Turner (215-302-3850) to sign up today.

Are your builders needing an experienced partner? “Cornerstone Home Lending, Inc. based in Houston, Texas is the number one JV lender in the country. Cornerstone provides a support system like no other company offering an extensive suite of unique products designed specifically for home builders that provide backlog assurance, increased sales conversion, and improved service levels. By leveraging Cornerstone’s fully integrated digital mortgage platform, in-model kiosks, and On-Time Closing Guarantee, it’s easy to see why Cornerstone Home Lending continues to be the Lender of Choice for major homebuilders. If you and your home builder referral source are looking for a better solution contact Tom Lott for more information.”

Sierra Pacific Mortgage, one of the nation’s top private mortgage lenders, is pleased to announce that Fred Buttram has joined the company as the Northwest Regional Manager. Based out of Idaho, Mr. Buttram will oversee the company’s retail sales teams in Idaho, Colorado, and Washington. Fred has been in the mortgage industry since 1997 and has held a variety of roles such as a mortgage broker, mortgage banker, as well as roles in retail lending. Having most recently served in regional manager roles with major lenders, Fred brings with him the industry knowledge, experience, and connections to help Sierra Pacific Mortgage further expand their presence throughout the Northwest. “I am very happy and proud to join Sierra Pacific Mortgage,” Fred said. “Working at Sierra Pacific Mortgage, I know that I have joined a well-established and well-respected company within the industry. I look forward to further expanding the company’s production throughout the Northwest and contributing to the company’s overall growth.” Click here to learn more about growing with Sierra.