Appraisal, eNote, Operating System Products; New Programs From Lenders
Well, we’ve sailed through another perfectly good month. Wasn’t it just New Years? There are plenty of interesting things going on in residential lending. How about, “Still Renting? You’ve dreamed of owning your own home. We can make that dream come true! What's been holding you back? Don't have money for the down payment saved up? That's not a problem! Have student loans that you're still making payments on? We can pay those off. [In California] We can provide a mortgage that covers the full purchase price of a home and also includes money to pay off your student loans.” Hey, sign me up! The business model details are below with other new lender programs.
Lender Products and Services
CA, FL, NY, and TX Lenders: Have you solved the problem the preferred language question on the new URLA may pose? For the first time a loan applicant’s Demographic Information (i.e. Latino) and preferred language (i.e. Spanish) can be matched to a loan originators surname (i.e. Spanish) prompting the question, “Was this loan transacted in a language other than English?” MBA has stated LEP may create liability for lenders’, because of the Fair Lending and state disclosure implications, as well as being a key priority for many regulators. Voluntary use of the new URLA starts on July 1, 2019; mandatory use by February 1, 2020. What’s your solution to mitigate your LEP risk and meet consumer expectations? Available in English and Spanish, Talk’uments’ interactive, multimedia, multilingual loan information technology addresses California and other state’s strict LEP requirements, including the display of TILA disclosures, including both the Spanish LE and CD. Contact George Baker (301.651.6198) for more information.
Plaza Home Mortgage has a new Solution for correspondent lenders looking to serve the more non-traditional borrower segment. The Plaza Solutions Non-QM program is now available on a delegated or non-delegated basis and offers more flexible features, including loan amounts up to $2,500,000, flexible income documentation, DTI ratios up to 50%, interest-only options, expanded eligibility on all document types and lower reserve requirements. Plaza is here for you to equip you with the tools you need to grow your non-QM business. For more information, contact Plaza.
Last week, Total Expert unveiled the latest feature of the Total Expert Marketing Operating System® (MOS), changing the way lenders humanize the customer experience to acquire and retain customers for life. Journey Creator, now the centerpiece of the Total Expert MOS, empowers lenders to build highly customizable, automated and repeatable experiences to exceed consumer expectations and humanize complex financial transactions. Read the full announcement.
As our entire industry heads toward digital adoption, eNotes have become a very important part of the digital mortgage process. In fact, MERS member institutions registered almost 19,000 eNotes during the first three months of 2019 versus 17,000 eNotes for all of 2018. If you’d like to learn how they can expand your business, then join Tom Gillis, TMS SVP of Correspondent Sales, and MERS for an informative webinar, “Implementing eNotes: A How-To Conversation with TMS and MERSCORP Holdings” on May 8 at 2 pm EST.
NewRez Wholesale is pleased to announce the extension of its appraisal promotion on FHA loans for another month! “Due to the great response to the program in April, we’re extending the offer through May. Contact your AE today to learn more about how you can get an appraisal fee credit for your borrower’s loan closing. Exclusions and restrictions apply. Max appraisal value reimbursement for new locks on FHA loan products is up to $550 through May 31st.”
Built Technologies, a leading FinTech company propelling construction lending into the digital age, today announced it has completed its Series B financing round of $31 million led by Goldman Sachs Investment Partners. “Built’s technology platform has demonstrated a strong value proposition to borrowers and lenders alike by streamlining the overall construction loan process, while at the same time increasing transparency,” said Christopher Dawe, co-head of Goldman Sachs Investment Partners Venture Capital and Growth Equity team. The round included existing investors Index Ventures and Nyca Partners, as well as Regions Bank, Canapi Ventures and Nine Four Ventures, and brings Built’s total funding to $55 million. “Built’s technology delivers an enhanced customer experience for borrowers and provides a more efficient and effective process for lenders that have historically relied on manual processes for construction lending,” said Jamie Gregory, Head of Corporate Financial Strategy at Regions.
The Ever-Changing Lender Landscape
Eric Egenhoefer, formerly the founder and CEO of Waterstone Mortgage, has joined Panorama Mortgage Group and has launched Novus Home Mortgage as a new brand of the company. Egenhoefer and Jason Madiedo are co-managing partners of Panorama Mortgage Group, which includes the brands Alterra Home Loans, Legacy Home Loans, Inspiro Financial and now Novus Home Mortgage (licensed in more than 35 states). Egenhoefer is CEO of Novus Home Mortgage. Congrats!
Incenter LLC announced that Ed Brady will be joining Incenter Mortgage Advisors as its Director of Whole Loan Trading to “oversee the whole loan trading desk as it generates liquidity for IMA clients looking for bids of all loan product types through competitive auction.”
There are reasons why some people are doing some clever things. Here’s an example of change. Out in California, the Bay Area is in a full-on housing apocalypse, as a number of major IPOs are coming that will leave people who want to own in San Francisco flush with cash. Already, a study estimated that 51 percent of buyers in San Francisco in 2018 worked in software, just one reason the median home price in SF was around $1.3 million to start 2019. Despite 400,000 housing units, only 5,471 properties changed hands last year. The amount of cash that will rain down on employees as they cash out their options in an IPO is projected to do obscene things to the market, a decent fraction of $250 billion going to employees and an estimated 5,000 buyers entering the market, 3,885 of whom will be looking for homes under $3 million. Reminder, less than 6,000 homes sell per year.
Little reason to wonder why a company like Owning Corporation (owning.com) has sprung up. As always, contact the company directly for more information, but based out of California, its advertisements seem to say they're offering no money down loans that also pay off student loans (up to $50K) during escrow! “Our licensed real estate and mortgage agents will help and lead you through the entire process. We can offer a mortgage that covers the complete purchase price of a home plus an additional 10% for student loan payoff (up to $50,000). The maximum purchase price will be the county loan limit.
A little digging suggests Owning has 7 licensed LOs and one of them, it is rumored, has an enforcement action from Washington for unlicensed activity. A compliance friend opined, and this is opinion, “They are all listed with NMLS as Realtors and every one of them has jumped from job to job with the longest tenure being three years as an LO for Impac. One of the LOs just graduated from Stanford! No experience at all. The owners seem to be Ronald Ulrich and Ronald Radzaminsky, veterans of CashCall and Ditech.”
An LO friend contacted Southern California’s Owner and was told that the company buys a house and then sells it to the client at 3.5% over the original asking price. The client is allowed to finance the 3.5%, and the current rate overall is approximately 5.63% with a $500 processing fee (but no “junk” fees). There is no private mortgage insurance, and any borrower will need 2 months’ reserves. There is also, per my friend, a 2.50% buy side commission for a total of 6%. As I noted, there are some clever folks out there!
Guild Mortgage has launched a Homebuyer Protection program, an innovative program designed to give customers added protection and peace of mind during the mortgage process.
Homebuyer Protection combines three of Guild’s loan programs and services, effectively allowing homebuyers to protect their rate, earnest money and closing date. The program is available on purchase loan applications received by Guild after April 15, 2019. The Homebuyer Protection program is available on FHA, VA and conventional. To qualify for the Homebuyer Express 17 Day Closing Guarantee, the customer must be credit approved prior to executing the purchase and sales agreement, and the purchase and sales contract must be provided within 72 hours of execution. All additional requested documentation must be provided within two business days and the interest rate must be locked at least 15 calendar days prior to closing.
LiveWell Financial is now accepting HECM loan submissions from brokers and Principal Agents without an appraisal. File will be underwritten subject to appraisal expediting the approval process. Contact Dan Mahoney for more information.
Citadel Servicing Corp is offering a 12-month Bank Statement program for income qualification with loan amounts up to $5 million. Contact Sales@CitadelServicing.com for details.
Plaza Home Mortgage’s Preferred Jumbo program is now available for broker’s refi borrowers. View the Product Guidelines.
Royal Pacific Funding Wholesale offers FHA & VA products for borrowers with a minimum 550 FICO and Manual Underwriting options with No Pricing Hit.
HomeXpress Mortgage offers Foreign National & Non-Permanent Resident Alien Programs. Visit its website for more information. Do you have a borrower with credit challenges or a unique circumstance? Contact HomeXpress for options.
Excelerate Capital has New Programs for Foreign National Borrowers. Contact Rachel rto@exceleratecapital.com for details.
Capital Markets
U.S. Treasuries began the week edging higher, reversing Friday’s rally, including the 10-year closing +3 bps to 2.54% after the release of Personal Income and Spending data for February and March showed the U.S. economy seems to be benefiting still from solid consumer spending activity and muted inflation pressures. The U.S. Treasury announced plans to borrow $30 billion in privately-held net marketable debt during Q2, down $53 billion from the previous estimate, and plans to borrow $160 billion during Q3, down from $374 billion in Q1. Internationally, Standard & Poor's affirmed Italy's BBB rating with a Negative Outlook and affirmed the U.K.'s AA rating with a Negative Outlook.
Today’s busy calendar kicked off with the Employment Cost Index for Q1 (+.7%, tracking wages and benefits). Next up will be Johnson Redbook Chain Store Sales, the S&P/Case-Shiller House Price Index for February, Chicago PMI for April, April consumer confidence and the March Pending Home Sales Index. Releases end with the Dallas Fed Texas Services Index for April. Day one of the FOMC’s two-day meeting gets under way in Washington, DC. We begin today with Agency MBS prices worse .125 versus Monday’s close and the 10-year yielding 2.54%.
Employment
“Loan Originators: No need through the hassle of becoming a broker. Colonial Mortgage has expanded into Virginia and Maryland, Florida, and soon to be California. Colonial Mortgage Service Company of America is growing and is searching for retail loan officers as well as management (or groom originators from within) to achieve its aggressive goals. We are paying up to 150 basis points in commission and open to Branch deals. Colonial’s CEO Joe Splendido notes, ‘Colonial is a place where LO’s opinions are heard, and where the CEO puts you first. No excess management layers. Founded 27 years ago, Colonial was originally a family business and now still maintains a family friendly culture as well as being very originator-centric. In an industry where there are few loan product differentials, we’ve focused on relations with portfolio investors that typically add an extra 2-4 loans a month.’” Located in Montgomeryville, PA, Colonial is licensed in PA, NJ. DE, MD, FL and VA, and offers a full suite of products including Conventional, FHA, VA, Non-Agency, non-warrantable condos, and USDA GUS. Interested parties should contact Colonial’s CEO Joe Splendido.
Middleton Advisory Group, the premier recruitment, coaching, and consulting firm in the mortgage industry, is proud to announce the promotion of Brian Boyles to National Sales Manager and welcomes Lee, who will be the company’s North East Regional Manager, William Tuning, North West Regional Manager, and Cynthia Brunjes, who will oversee efforts for niche and executive level searches, focusing on the Industry’s Top Producers as the company’s Elite Regional Manager. Boyle’s role as National Sales Manager will focus on more face-to-face interactions with clients, candidates, and BD reps nationwide to coordinate targeted marketing initiatives, new business developments, and in-depth training programs. Boyles will continue to concentrate on evolving MAG’s Emerging Banker Program, as well as prioritizing the needs of the company’s internal recruitment efforts. To learn more about today’s recruiting landscape, or to talk about your career and future success, please contact Brian Boyles or Tom Middleton, or visit www.middletonadvisorygroup.com.