Underwriting, Broker, ECOA, Free LPMI Products; Fire AND Flood Updates
I continue to see headlines as I head to balmy Kansas today. There was, “A Court Ruling Makes Mortgages Vanish Into Thin Air.” This is a headline no lender wants to see, but apparently this court decision might change how home loans are valued in the secondary market. As if capital markets personnel don’t have enough to worry about in the last few months or so with the FHFA-motivated sudden price movements by Freddie and Fannie, servicing values taking a tumble, and renewed talk of slimmer margins heading into the winter. And what about “Australia launches first EVER digital mortgage you can secure with the touch of a button from your smartphone”? Recently I was telling a friend on my walkie-talkie that you can’t ignore innovation.
Lender Products and Services
Velma.com’s new integrated Ellie Mae Encompass solution, The Connector by Velma®, has added an ECOA-Adverse Action compliance workflow. The new ECOA workflow tracks loans nearing the 30-day notification window and automates the LO file update. Multiple manual steps for the loan officer and the operations team are eliminated and no loans are missed. Best of all, no time is spent by anyone logging into Encompass! Exciting stuff; obtain more information here.
Veterans Day might have come and gone, but AFR strives to help veterans, and their families, all year long. With over two decades of VA Loan experience, AFR remains dedicated to helping its clients make financing possible for eligible military men and women by offering a robust VA financing product portfolio including: VA Renovation, VA One-Time Close, VA IRRRL and VA Jumbo loans. AFR even offers VA Cash-Out Refinance Loans up to 100% LTV for eligible veterans! AFR also pays any required VA Sponsorship fees for its brokers and correspondents on all AFR-related VA loan submissions. In addition to unique products and services, AFR provides its business partners with industry-leading technology, professional expertise and continuous educational opportunities. Find out today how AFR can help you help more veterans, service members, and surviving spouses: email sales@afrwholesale.com, call 1-800-375-6071, or visit www.afrwholesale.com.
Simple. Easy. Effortless. While guidelines and overlays are constantly changing, your responsiveness can remain rock solid. With TheRuleTool™ you have instant access to guidelines and overlays offered in clear, transparent language. It's as simple as picking your agency, navigating through the dropdowns to your keyword, or just entering your keyword into the search bar. Then from your desktop or mobile device, scroll through the results. If you are seeking more information, you can even quickly ask a guideline or scenario question of TheRuleTool™ Credit Policy Team. Email support@theruletool.com to start your free 30-day trial of TheRuleTool™, or to request a demo for your team. Being amazing isn’t complicated; It just takes the right tool.
Mortgage technology and automation are driving a rapid decrease in cycle times, improved customer service ratings, and reduced expenses, all while aiding the originator at the point of sale. The perfect storm of positive change driven through technology. This same positive force drives everything that Deephaven Mortgage invests in when it comes to technology to aid the originator at the point of sale. Over the past 12 months, Deephaven has rolled out its full suite of IDENTI-FI technology tools, including the IDENTI-FI AUS, IDENTI-FI Scenario Calculator, IDENTI-FIBank Statement Calculator, and the IDENTI-FI Scenario Desk. All of these tools are aimed at driving technology into the hands of the originator to help them “IDENTI-FI” whether their client is eligible for Non-QM financing. Get in touch today and get started building your Non-QM business with the help of the Deephaven Team and technology. Contact brokerinfo@deephavenmortgage.com (Wholesale) or sales@deephavenmortgage.com (Correspondent) or visit www.deephavenmortgage.com.
Still haven’t turned on Sales Boomerang? Over the last ten months, 65 active lenders using Sales Boomerang have seen over $3.1B in originations. That’s an average of $4.7M per lender. Assuming even just 1%, or 100 basis points, on their return, these lenders each generated an average of $470k in new revenue at an average investment of $4,400 a month, or $44,000 over the course of ten months. That’s an 11X return on investment! In the last year, you’ve probably seen Sales Boomerang on the cover of Banking CIO Magazine as the Top Tech Company in 2019, or maybe you’ve run into the team at a conference. Many of the top lenders in the industry have already discovered the best borrower retention strategy in the industry and implemented Sales Boomerang’s No Borrower Left Behind® philosophy—what are you waiting for? To learn why Sales Boomerang is the most effective way to lower your cost-per-closed loan, take the first step and schedule a demo today over at salesboomerang.com
“Announcing another great tool for our clients! Stearns Wholesale is committed to equipping Brokers and LO’s with innovative solutions to elevate their game. With our recent launch of MI in SNAP, you can now easily access real-time MI quotes directly from our MI vendors via Price It. “At Stearns we are committed to not just providing a platform to our clients, but providing them meaningful tools to win more business in the marketplace” says Nick Pabarcus, EVP of Wholesale Lending. If you want to learn more about how it works or connect with an Account Executive, message us HERE .”
Priority #1 for mortgage brokers, right now, is undeniably customer retention, and that’s what makes Caliber Wholesale the premier lending partner for mortgage brokers with its Caliber Reconnect program. The industry’s first platform dedicated to keeping brokers connected to their customers for the long-term, Caliber Reconnect delivers quality leads through real-time activity alerts and equips brokers with the high-quality marketing materials needed to enhance customer relationships and drive business. That’s the kind of dedicated service, partnership tools and customer retention success that only comes from working with a trusted partner that retains servicing on the majority of its loans, like Caliber Wholesale. To learn more about Caliber Reconnect, contact Caliber Wholesale at CaliberReconnect@caliberhomeloans.com .
What better way to end a monstrous 2019 than with FREE Lender-Paid Mortgage Insurance (LPMI)? QLMS is celebrating this banner year by giving its partners an incredible tool to better help their clients, and compete with other LOs. Free LPMI is available for partners’ clients who are obtaining conventional purchase or rate & term refi, who have a FICO score over 760 and an LTV as high as 85%. This deal can give you the upper hand when comparing your offer to the rates from other LOs. Also, what better way to reengage with a previous client, than telling them you can help get rid of their PMI and increase their monthly cash flow! This is just one more way QLMS is innovating for you and your clients. Cash in on this valuable offer now. Click here to partner with QLMS and become Stronger Together.
Disasters Abound
What is not new, and goes back in biblical times, is a flood. Interestingly, per the Miami Herald, unlike Texas, the state of Florida does not require a home's flood history to be revealed to prospective buyers. Wouldn’t that be good to know?
Will climate change eliminate the 30-year fixed rate mortgage? CBS, the go-to source for all things mortgage, believes so. You can read about how flood insurance could become too expensive and wildfires will make certain areas uninsurable/uninhabitable.
ClosingCorp estimated that the residential mortgage industry has more than $7 billion in loan value and more than $60 million dollars in service fee and transfer tax revenue at risk as a result of recent California Wildfires. ClosingCorp based its estimate on “in-flight” residential mortgage applications in the FEMA designated affected areas for the Easy, Getty, Kincade, Saddleridge and Tick fires. An “in-flight” mortgage application is defined for this analysis as mortgages that are due to close between October 24, 2019 when the initial fire was declared by FEMA and the end of the year. When events like these occur, many lenders have broad and prudent policies to suspend loan closings until the event has passed and damage assessments can be completed. At a minimum this means the income associated with loan closings is deferred. In many cases, new inspections and often new appraisals will be required before the mortgages can be approved and the sales completed. In some instances, the damage will result in significant delays or cause deals to fall apart.
Mortgage Solution Financial posted an Announcement regarding the California Fires - Fire Management.
An update has been made to the Bayview | Lakeview Loan Servicing Disaster File in response to the addition of San Jacinto county in Texas Tropical Storm Imelda disaster.
loanDepot Wholesale continues to evaluate the impact of the Kincade Fire in northern California. Mandatory evacuations have been lifted in Napa and Sonoma counties, and as a result, funding restrictions have been removed for these counties. All files in impacted areas will be conditioned appropriately based on the loanDepot Wholesale Disaster Policy requirements. Please contact your Account Executive or Account Manager with any questions.
A while back Mortgage Solutions Financial issued Revised Announcement 23-19W regarding Texas tropical storm disaster alert.
Capital Markets
U.S. Treasuries began this Holiday-shortened week on a higher but subdued note. Headlines were light, but included President Trump talking up the economy while chiding the Federal Reserve for not being accommodative enough during a speech at the Economic Club of New York. He added that tariffs on imports from China will go up "substantially" if a trade deal is not agreed to. The speech was unremarkable in that it failed to provide any meaningful updates on the trade talks with China. Markets also received some Fed speak, foreign and abroad. Philadelphia Fed President Harker said that lowering the fed funds rate range to zero and undertaking asset purchases would be the Fed's "first line of defense" in the event of an economic downturn. Across the pond, European Central Bank policymaker Coeure said that the ECB governing council is committed to asset purchases for as long as needed, adding that expansion of access to the ECB balance sheet should be considered.
Markets now turn their attention to Fed Chair Powell, who will appear before the Joint Economic Committee later this morning. We’ve already received MBA mortgage applications for the week ending Nov 8, which saw apps increase almost 10% from the prior week. Refis led the charge, up 13 percent. Refis account for about 62% of the incoming business, and FHA/VA biz is 25%. October CPI was next up (+.4%, strong, ex-food & energy +.2%). There are three Fed presidents scheduled to appear, Richmond’s Barkin, Minneapolis’ Kashkari, and Philadelphia’s Harker. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices up .125 and the 10-year yielding 1.88% after ending Tuesday at 1.91%.
Employment
Colonial Companies is growing and seeking a Production VP for its Retail division, Colonial National Mortgage in Fort Worth, TX. The ideal candidate will have established relationships and the ability to develop a strategic business plan for increasing productivity. This includes, the recruitment and development of top performing sales and operations teams. Value proposition highlights include: Strong operations, portfolio products, in house one-time close, aggressive compensation that includes a base salary, overrides and a healthy split of the bottom line. Interested and qualified candidates, please visit ColonialCareers.com and Apply today! “This privately owned, Fed-chartered, retained-servicing lender has been financially solid for more than 60 years and is highly respected. Great pay and superior benefits.” #OneColonial #IAmColonial Equal Opportunity Employer | M/F/Disability/Vet. | Equal Housing Lender | NMLS ID 401285
LoanLogics announced that Brenda B. Clem, CMB, has joined the company as chief product strategist responsible for developing and implementing strategic plans for all LoanLogics products and maintaining strong relationships within the mortgage industry to understand the prioritization of market needs.
Oklahoma’s Gateway First Bank announced the appointment of Deirdre Cherry as its Chief Credit Officer responsible for the review of Gateway’s loan portfolio on a continuing basis to guide risk-appropriate growth, assist in the detection of deterioration in loan quality and review the portfolio to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.
SLK Global Solutions (in the U.S. title insurance underwriting & agency biz) announced it has hired Lisa Donahue as VP of customer relationship management to oversee the growth of SLK Global’s title support services, including its SmartProp® property search and SmartTrak tax reports platforms, and expand existing and new customer partnerships in the title and settlement industry.
Congrats to Robert Tyler-Cook who has joined Planet Home Lending as SVP of the company’s Western division where he will strategically build and manage the company’s branch network in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Guaranteed Rate Affinity has named Brandon Frosch as Regional Sales Manager of Mortgage Lending for Guaranteed Rate Affinity’s North Texas division and has named Brett Toyne as Regional Sales Manager for Guaranteed Rate Affinity’s Midwest division.