MLO, Ops Jobs; Tech, Hedging, Advertising Compliance Products; Non-Agency Updates
How would you like to compete against a company whose tagline is, “We Do It All, Guaranteed!”? The program is part of an existing Weichert Realtors’ offering called “All Under One Roof” that gives consumers brokerage, mortgage, insurance, and other services. Reducing the friction between taking an application and servicing the loan is the name of the game, right? Closing departments everywhere are watching Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote and Electronic (SECURE) Notarization Act of 2021, H.R. 3962. And capital markets everywhere took note of Freddie Mac, “friendly competitor” of Fannie Mae, following up its announcement last week but issuing Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin 2021-26 regarding the elimination of the 50 basis point, “market condition credit” fee in price for certain cash-out and “no cash-out" refinance mortgages and effective for mortgages with settlement dates on and after August 1. (Today’s audio version of the commentary is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Candor Technology; today’s includes Part Two of an interview with Candor CEO Tom Showalter on the ROI of an efficient underwriting process.)
Lender and Broker Products and Services
A new Mortgage Market Opportunities Report published by Sales Boomerang offers a juicy look at the leads that may already be living within your own contact database… Or your competitor’s. Designed to shed light on today’s greatest areas of mortgage lending opportunity, the quarterly report showed a promising 163% uptick in new listing alerts in the second quarter that could herald the start of the purchase wave we’ve all been looking to ride. Meanwhile, servicers will need to keep a wary eye on their portfolios in the coming months, as Sales Boomerang reported nearly 2 out of 5 customers triggered a risk and retention alert last quarter. Get the full report here.
“1 UW Touch on 70% of loans!” With Candor you can reduce fallout, improve your hedge, and banish repurchases. Top Lenders keep Candor to themselves to widen the divide between them and their competitors. “It’s a no brainer!” You can be up and running in 30 days. Request a demo.
Reminder! In celebration of the recent National Mortgage Brokers Day on Sunday, July 18th, 2021, Orion Lending is giving Brokers $500 Off Underwriting Fees on all loans uploaded through Saturday, July 24! While many have cashed in on this epic Brokers Day special, there are only 2 days left to take advantage of the discounted UW fee! Keep in mind, new brokers can get Express Approved by clicking here and start submitting loans by the end of the day! Additionally, Orion Lending offers a 15 BPS New Broker Price Special* on all products! Orion has a loan program to fit your qualified borrowers’ needs. With a broad range of new products and more on the horizon plus our 24-Hour SLA’s on select Purchases, now is the time to hyper speed your business with Orion! You’re Not Just Another Broker. We’re Not Just Another Lender.
Did you know the FFIEC has outlined that financial institutions MUST have a social media risk management program? Surprise! Under this guidance, lenders are required to monitor and control social media related to their brand as if it were traditional advertising. This also means social media must be archived to meet state record retention laws. Unsure about advertising record retention requirements? Check out ActiveComply’s Mortgage Advertising Record Retention Requirements by State Geomap to see individual state requirements. Failure to meet monitoring and archival requirements may result in regulatory audits, penalties, and even citations. ActiveComply helps lenders meet both responsibilities through our compliance system technology: find all company and LO accounts related to your brand, examine profiles for NMLS IDs, Equal Housing information, and company specific disclosures. Ensure post content is compliant and flag for inappropriate or political terms (image scanning included). Visit activecomply.com today to learn more.
Mortgage Brokers that have signed up to ReadyPrice are loving the free broker account that gives them access to a nationwide community of wholesale lenders and creates a seamless loan origination process for them. “I’m so glad to have found ReadyPrice. The features and interface are fantastic! The lender-sponsorship allows me to use this technology free of charge. They even include welcome emails and full video tutorials and took my call over the weekend! Not only is it a great, easy-to-use product, but the ReadyPrice team operates with excellence as well! As a broker who is just getting started, I find this product to be paramount to my organization. I highly advise anyone on the fence to sign up." - Eassa, Mortgage Loan Originator. If you’re a mortgage broker that’s been considering ReadyPrice, sign up today for instant access to this powerful pricing platform!
MCT® is dedicated to ensuring client success through variable market conditions. In its new Hedge Advisory Video, MCT outlines how the Hedge Advisory team combines market guidance, award-winning software, and customer service to help clients of every size achieve their goals. This comes of the heels of several new educational content releases. Join their industry webinar on July 27th, Leveraging Diversity as a Competitive Advantage, where MCT and NAMMBA plan to discuss the power of diversity and inclusion in the mortgage industry. Other content includes their new whitepaper on How Credit Unions can Benefit Members Through Investor Set Optimization. This whitepaper outlines how investor optimization can be used by Credit Unions to get the best rate or price for their members. To stay informed of their upcoming content releases, join MCT’s newsletter today.
Greg was tasked with the seemingly impossible job of finding a partner to help his company close more loans, faster, while providing better customer service. He wanted to ensure the solution he found would support borrowers, loan officers, and support staff. He spoke with other industry leaders, and they recommended Capacity. Katherine Campbell from Assurance Financial proudly reported that with Capacity, over 96% of all inquiries were now answered 24/7/365 without any human involvement within 1.6 seconds, freeing up her team’s time for relationship building and revenue generating activities. If Capacity could integrate with all of Greg’s company’s applications, it would be a perfect fit. He decided to book a demo on Capacity’s website to learn more. He couldn’t wait to tell his manager the great news!
Do you refer buyers to your Realtor partners? You know that referring a buyer to a Realtor is the holy grail in our industry, the problem is how to predict which of your past borrowers will be in the market for a new loan or a new home. Well you’re in luck. Check out this game-changing new app from Usherpa that uses SmartScore™ technology to help you do just that. UsherpAlert™ purchase notifications have a 297% higher likelihood to close! UsherpAlerts™ are based on data intelligence and machine learning algorithms that comb Loan Officer’s databases for opportunities and serve up past customers most likely to be in the buy zone for a new mortgage. Learn how you can double your production with Usherpa’s Smart CRM: schedule your personalized demo! While you’re at it, check out this free e-guide about what top producers do to increase their purchase business.
News on Non-Agency Products
Non-QM investors, and those specializing in jumbo loans, certainly have their volume “chains yanked” as FHA, VA, Freddie, and Fannie’s policies and guidelines shift. Non-QM and other non-Agency lending, such as jumbo, represents less than 10 percent of industry volume, but can be a critical component for lenders. Some, like ACC Mortgage, never ceased offering its non-QM products to brokers. Let’s take a random look at non-Agency developments.
Refinances provided much of the vigor that fed a hefty 54% increase in issuance of jumbo MBS in the second quarter, according to a new ranking and analysis from Inside Nonconforming Markets. Some $14.7 billion of prime jumbo MBS was issued in 2Q21, compared to $9.6 billion in the first three months of 2021. Refis accounted for the bulk of the increase, as volume in the category soared to $10.4 billion from $5.8 billion.
Flagstar Bank revised the reserve requirements for the Jumbo Fixed product: Read the announcement for details.
Wells Fargo Funding increased its maximum loan amount for Non-Conforming Loans to $2 million. As a result of this change, Seller Guide Section 825.11: Appraisal Requirements have been updated which are determined by the total loan amount provided by Wells Fargo for the subject property. Wells also updated its bankruptcy, foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, and loan modification requirements for Non-Conforming Loans to clarify that retention modifications or lender-initiated rate reductions are not considered adverse credit.
PCF Wholesale introduced its Jumbo Fixed and Jumbo Express and is now on Loan Sifter. Click here for more information.
Athas Capital is accepting submissions for 100% Financing. The 80/20’s require no down payment assistance, no governmental insurance, no MI, and no seller carry back. Contact
George Naoumovitch (818-823-0023). Yes, Non-Prime 100% Financing is back at Athas. Contact Brian O'Shaughnessy for details (1-877-877-1477 x1555).
Borrowers with great credit but no steady monthly income? Use assets to qualify for a mortgage with LendSure’s Asset Qualifier Program. Contact Kelly Brown (949-887-4399).
Non-QM updates from A&D Mortgage include Super Prime loan amounts up to $4M and
Max LTVs have been increased. No Cash in hand limit for LTV < 55% for all programs. Contact Jerry Mojarro for details.
Capital Markets
It is a pretty quiet news week, but that doesn’t preclude some movement in the bond markets which seem to have a life of their own sometimes. After Treasury yields fell for most of last week, they rose yesterday for the second straight day, and MBS prices tagged along. Without any substantive news, traders and investors latched on to mediocre demand at the day’s $24 billion 20-year bond reopening as the reason. Really? Black Knight reported that the national delinquency rate dropped in June to its lowest level since the onset of the pandemic. There are still more than 1.5 million seriously delinquent (90+ days) homeowners, the vast majority of whom are in active forbearance plans. At the current rate of improvement, there will still be about 1 million serious delinquencies when the first wave of final forbearance expirations began in September.
Today’s economic calendar is under way with the latest monetary policy decision from the ECB, and stateside with the usual weekly initial jobless claims (419k, up from 360k, worse than expected; continuing claims were -29k to 3.236 million) in addition to the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June (down to +.09). Later this morning brings June existing home sales, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey and KC Fed manufacturing. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices better .125 and the 10-year at 1.27 after closing Wednesday yielding 1.28 percent.
Employment and Recruiting
Academy Mortgage Corporation has teamed up with several non-profit organizations to Inspire Hope in Paradise, California, a community that was largely destroyed by one of the most devastating wildfires in California History, the 2018 Camp Fire. Over 80 employees from across the company donated their time to serve the community of Paradise by building planter boxes, sheds, and picnic tables. Over a two-week period, volunteers worked tirelessly to build a home for Beckie, an 84-year-old resident of Paradise who lost her home in the fire. Watch this video to see how Academy’s employee-sponsored Service Expeditions change the lives of not only the participants, but the communities served. Providing opportunities to serve our local neighborhoods and worldwide is a big part of the culture at Academy. Want to join a company that inspires hope in communities around the world? Contact EVP of Growth Patrick Welberg to learn more about how you can make a difference.
Agility 360, a mortgage recruiting and project staffing firm based in Dallas, Texas, continues to expand its capability matching qualified candidates with employers in today’s hot job market. “With interest rates recently falling and expected to stay on this trajectory, clients are contacting us to help meet their growing need for originations AND servicing personnel. Since 2014, Agility 360 has leveraged its unique methodology and proprietary candidate network to place experienced processors, underwriters, and various mortgage personnel across the country for long-term employment or short-term contract positions. We always meet our goal of finding “the right person for the job” because THIS IS ALL WE DO. By focusing solely on the mortgage industry, we've created and tested a highly successful model that consistently delivers results for our clients. If you want to stop wasting time and money with other companies, please contact Raj Sharma at 469-208-6337 or Cesar Hernandez.”