Recruiting, Subservicer Products; Freddie/Fannie Changes in Primary, Secondary, and Servicing Areas
How do you pay your bills? (Do you pay your bills?) Cash? Check? Automatic debit? There is a myriad of ways that borrowers remit their mortgage payments, with auto-pay (28%) and a mortgage servicer’s website (22%) “taking up half of the pie” per the Mortgage Bankers Association. (“Servicer mobile applications are emerging and poised to gain remittance share in the future. For now, they only represent about 1 percent of borrower remittances. That will likely rise in the upcoming years.”) There will be plenty of debts being paid off after March Madness. Here’s a fun slant on brackets for animal lovers.
Lender Products and Services
There are a lot of misconceptions about what exactly is Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) According to Neil Sahota, United Nations A.I. subject matter expert and IBM Master Inventor, there are three components that makeup A.I. They are machine learning, natural language processing and the ability to interact as a human. Recently, Josh Friend, CEO of Insellerate, recorded a series of podcasts with Neil. You can listen to the first one here, and hear from Neil what AI is and how it will impact our industry. Today, at the Ellie Mae show in San Francisco, Insellerate will be demonstrating its industry first A.I. Artificial Intelligence represents just one part of Insellerate's new engagement platform that automates borrower engagement in many different ways like, social, email, text, and direct mail. If you haven’t seen Insellerate's new platform click here to request a demo.
Spring is on the horizon, which means it’s time for Subsequent QC, LLC to kick off its annual round of on-site subservicer reviews. Is your subservicer keeping up with their spring cleaning, or are they sweeping their dust bunnies under the rug? We’ll find out! While other audit providers may only conduct a “check-the-box” review or fill their report with fluff, SQC’s team breaks out the white gloves to inspect the nooks and crannies of your subservicer’s operations to mitigate your risk AND uncover opportunities for subservicers to deliver exceptional customer service. First up on SQC’s roster is Dovenmuehle, with audits of the other largest subservicers in the industry to follow later in the year. Want in on the audits? Contact info@mqmresearch.com. If your subservicer is not on our list, we’ll add them and give you a $500 credit towards the audit.
GSF Mortgage Corp. continues to expand its Direct Originator Partnership Program for originators who are interested in a low expense and best execution opportunity in today’s market.The program has no branch or lender fees, translating to better pricing and compensation for the originator. Included in the partnership is access to Encompass Origination System, Optimal Blue Pricing Engine, SocialSurvey, MBS Highway, Sales Boomerang and HubSpot CRM—all at no charge to the originator. Originators participating in this partnership have the “BEST OF BOTH WORLDS” A fully supported Retail platform with direct agency access and robust marketing and point of sale technology and the ability to Broker transactions and build relationships with leading Wholesale companies. If you are interested in the Direct Partnership please reach out to VP of Lending, Frank Papaleo.
Recruiting and retaining top talent is a business challenge across home lending. Learn how lenders like LendUS, Blue Hills Bank, and SWBC Mortgage are nurturing a culture of innovation. Get your guide today.
Want to increase volume by starting and/or scaling NON-DELEGATED and WHOLESALE? ReadyPrice was built specifically for TPO investors, lenders & originators! For a fraction of the cost, tech-lift & training of “legacy” platforms ReadyPrice will "pop-up" your new channel, Increase Volume and Profitability, and thrill your Ops teams to boot! The ReadyPrice all-in-one TPO Pricing Engine, LOS, CRM and Customer Portal platform is Cloud-Based, Browser-Driven, fully configured out of the box and up to 80% less expensive than legacy platforms. It comes complete with D1C, deep DU integrations and Error Trapping and can be stood-up in minutes and fully deployed in a couple of weeks. The ReadyPrice LOS/PPE has funded over 300k units for $70 BILLION and gives Mortgage Bankers back control of their businesses. Call (408) 357–0931 or email hello@readyprice.com to get a free demo today.
Freddie and Fannie Changes Continue
How’d you like to work for a company where your activities and future were constantly in the press? Where hundreds of people regularly write about your business model, and politicians want to cut you loose from conservatorship but are addicted to your income? Welcome to the world of Fannie and Freddie for the last eleven years. For example, are we back to the days of Freddie and Fannie charging different guarantee fees (remember where there were “guarantor” fees?) for different lenders? That question is out there as shown in this write up by Dave Stevens. From RPM Lepre comes a piece titled “Untangling the GSE Mess.”
Wall Street’s largest trade group, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, voted to support a single mortgage-backed bond for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The vote was the final hurdle for the proposed new security, expected in June.
Fannie Mae’s Announcement SEL-1019-02 updates eligibility requirements for manually underwritten loans to correspond with the credit risk assessment in Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) Version 10.3, clarifies lender responsibilities for leasehold estates, consolidates Selling and Servicing Guide content related to the Mortgage Electronic Registration System, and more.
Fannie Mae issued a Lender Letter to provide guidance on note rate and servicing fee requirements for fixed-rate loans pooled into MBS, pursuant to FHFA’s instruction.
Freddie Mac has launched Reimagine Servicing initiative, a collective effort to transform the servicing landscape. Imagine greater speed and efficiency in technology applications, improved data quality and collection methods, and simplified processes.
Freddie Mac Guide Bulletin 2019-5 announces requirement updates related to: Automated income assessment with Loan Product Advisor® using tax return data. Borrower income, including: Treatment of alimony or maintenance payments. Restricted stock (RS) and restricted stock units (RSU) documentation requirements. Lender incentives. Credit assessment with Loan Product Advisor. Property insurance.
Freddie Mac published an Industry Letter as a follow up to the final rule the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) adopted last month supporting the Single Security Initiative. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will modify their pooling practices for fixed-rate mortgages to enhance the fungibility of the Uniform Mortgage-Backed SecurityTM (UMBSTM). The Industry Letter outline changes to its requirements to the note rate to coupon spreads and a reduction in the maximum Minimum Contract Servicing Spread for mortgages serving as collateral for UMBS and Mortgage-backed Securities (MBS). The changes will be effective for mortgages sold under the Freddie Mac fixed-rate Guarantor program and MultiLender Swap program with settlement dates on and after June 3, 2019.
Fannie Mae posted updates to the AAA matrix: the Upset Bid standard excess fee ($75) was added to the North Carolina AAA matrix for services rendered on or after Feb. 20th. The Property Preservation Protective Order standard excess fee ($700) was added to the Puerto Rico AAA matrix.
Fannie Mae servicers are encouraged to implement the new borrower-initiated MI termination based on Current Value in Servicing Management Default Underwriter™ (SMDU™). All servicers must process borrower-initiated MI termination in SMDU for both Original Value and Current Value by September 1st.
Fannie Mae has published the final DU Specification of the test period. Be prepared for the February 2020 mandate with this and other updated resources, including the timeline, supporting the redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA/Form 1003). Visit its technology integration page for information.
Plaza Home Mortgage announced a new hybrid eClosing option on all conventional Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. The new option allows settlement agents to coordinate directly with borrowers and offer them the ability to review their closing documents electronically and execute most of the documents online. Only the Note and Security Instrument documents will require a traditional, wet signature at closing, allowing for a much quicker closing process. With the new hybrid eClosing option, borrowers will receive their closing package electronically one to two days before the closing date, allowing them more time to review the documents and ask questions before they get to the closing table.
Mountain West Financial Wholesale posted Bulletin 19W-014 regarding Freddie Mac’s announced new rental income guidance, effective March 1.
AmeriHome will accept, but will not require, Freddie Mac loans with LPA Income and Asset Assessment (AIM). If AIM is used, the transaction must meet all related requirements of Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Guide Chapters 5901 and 5902. As required by Freddie Mac, copies of all vendor Verification Reports must be included in the loan file.
Wells Fargo Funding is removing its commission income overlay for manually underwritten conventional conforming loans and will be following the more restrictive of the Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines. Also, WFF expanded its policy to all co-ops and second home cash-out refinances for non-conforming CCU loans effective March 4th.
Capital Markets
Rates slid lower Friday, and for the week, attributed to weak February trade data from China and the U.S. jobs data missing expectations. The 10-year Treasury note ended the week yielding 2.63%. As a reminder, February nonfarm payrolls increased by 20,000, about 150,000 below expectations. (Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 186,000 per month.) The weak payrolls figure will drive thoughts of either there being a shortage of skilled labor that could drive up wages or that it is a sign of a softening job market. Lenders tuned in to housing starts increasing 18.6% month-over-month in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.230 million units and permits rose 1.4% month-over-month. Recall that starts were down 7.8% year-over-year and permits were down 1.5% year-over-year but the strong January figures are a bright spot in an otherwise slow new residential construction market.
Here we are on Monday morning, bleary-eyed after another time change. We’ve already had January Retail Sales (+.2%, higher than expected). Coming up are December business inventories (seen rising), the February Employment Trends Index, and a $38 billion 3-year note auction. Tomorrow is the February NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, February Consumer Price Index, and a $24 billion 10-yeaar Treasury Note auction. Wednesday we can look forward to the MBA’s application data for last week, February Producer Price Index, January Durable Goods Orders, Construction Spending, and a $16 billion 30-year Treasury bond sale. Thursday? Jobless Claims, Import & Export Prices, New Home Sales, and then Friday: March Empire State Manufacturing, February Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization, Preliminary March University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, and January JOLTS (Job Openings). We begin Monday with rates higher versus Friday afternoon: the 10-year is at 2.64% and agency MBS prices are worse nearly .125.
Employment
A seasoned mortgage banking executive seeking opportunity to join dynamic mortgage group leadership team. The candidate has deep experience leading TPO and Retail Sales teams, as well as, direct responsibility and oversight for Product Development, Strategy, Organizational Development, Customer Satisfaction, and Risk Management. Having worked at national and regional independent mortgage banks, national banks and Fannie Mae, Candidate is open to all institution types and geographic locations. Please send inquiries to Anjelica Nixt to pass along to the candidate and specify the listing.
“Do you want your career to have the stability you desire, the backing of an organization willing to do whatever it takes to help you build your business, and tenured, forward-thinking leaders who are relentless in their efforts to deliver the best tools and technology for continued growth and prosperity? That’s what you can expect as a loan officer at PrimeLending, and Brian Corder can help make it happen. As an expert recruiter working with Brad Arendt, regional manager for the Southeast region, he can help make your transition quick, seamless and hassle-free – so you’re operating a full speed right away. If you’re ready to achieve your career goals with a proven industry leader, contact Brian today.”
Prime Choice Funding, Inc is excited to announce its long-awaited plans and has entered the Wholesale Lending channel. Founded by Keith McKay, one of the country’s top Mortgage Brokers, PCFWholesale has been built and designed for its Broker partners with a Mortgage Broker’s mindset. PCFWholesale is actively seeking Account Executives Nationwide. Lending in 35 states, no territories have been claimed!! This is a rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor and be a part of something great! If interested in joining or learning more, email careers@primechoicefunding.com.
Churchill Mortgage is excited to announce that Kevin Hanna has joined as EVP of the Northwest Region where he will lead the lender’s expansion efforts throughout the Pacific Northwest. With a proven history of helping borrowers and partners succeed in one of the most competitive housing markets in the nation, Kevin will ensure Churchill’s Pacific Northwest borrowers have access to tools and strategies designed to help them make a smarter mortgage decision. An Oregon native, Kevin brings more than 15 years of experience in the mortgage industry with an emphasis on management of retail and wholesale sales and operations. “Churchill Mortgage believes in putting people over profits and strives to provide a world-class experience for not only its borrowers, but its real estate and industry partners as well,” said Hanna. “I look forward to furthering our ideals and leading Churchill’s growth efforts throughout the Pacific Northwest.”
TD Bank appointed Michael Innis-Thompson to SVP, Head of National Community Lending for the bank’s Residential Lending business, overseeing strategy and development of the community mortgage sales process and expansion of enhanced product offerings, as well as ensure compliance with regulation in the mortgage lending space. (He will report to Rick Bechtel, Head of U.S. Residential Lending.)
And congrats to Ken Harrison whom Gateway Mortgage Group has named VP of agency relations, managing Gateway’s relationships with investors, government entities and industry partners, and will also aid the firm in product development.