Some New Yorkers like to think that they’re at the Center of the Universe. But, though larger Java, in terms of islands, in Indonesia, is home to 135 million inhabitants versus Manhattan’s 1.7 million. (And although Manhattan does have about 125,000 hotel rooms, it is less than Las Vegas’ 152,000 and Orlando’s 150,000.) What about housing affordability? Even though some homes have become more affordable in the past year, based on income growth, home prices in more than 70 percent of the country are more than the average worker can afford. Brooklyn and Manhattan have a dubious distinction: The largest share of income to buy a home at 115 percent.

Lender Products and Services

Congratulations to Frank Novak whom ACT Appraisal has hired as its new Coordinator/Account Executive. Frank comes as a seasoned individual in the AMC arena. Before he officially started with ACT, he was already strengthening business through his relationships he has developed over the 10 years in the AMC field. Frank has already increased ACT order volume since coming on board late December. He has a "can do" attitude and his customer service skills are held in high regard in this industry. “We are very excited at ACT Appraisal, and with Frank’s help 2019 is starting off on an incredible growth pattern.” To contact Frank, call 888-377-8901 x-3004, or email him at frankn@actappraisal.com.

There is a well-publicized dearth in affordable housing, particularly for low to moderate income homebuyers as well as potential homebuyers in rural markets. In response to this national housing shortage and as a premier underwriter of ALL government-backed loan products, Mid America Mortgage is excited to announce the formal roll-out of the “One-Time Closing/Construction to Perm” program for use with FHA, VA & USDA products, which allows for up to 96.5% LTV on FHA loans and 100% LTV on VA and USDA loans.

In recognition of the added complexities surrounding construction lending, Mid America has partnered with National Capital Funding, Ltd., which is widely recognized by FHA, VA and USDA as the premier construction funds administrator in the U.S. This partnership ensures a smooth & seamless process for builder approvals/interactions and construction/draw administration, even for LOs who are new to the product. Contact your local Mid America AE today for more details: https://mamtpo.com/wholesale-account-executives.

“The mortgage industry is selling homes, not hamburgers and French fries. So, why does this industry deliver one of the lowest retention rates of any category, as fast food companies boast the most loyal customers out there? With the proliferation of technology in the mortgage servicing industry, it’s time we capture the lifetime loyalty of a customer. Great technology provides great data and insights so your customers can have an amazing experience and you can maximize your portfolio and your business. The key is to make sure you partner with a subservicer who can deliver on that.” Take this Subservicer Health Check from TMS to determine where you and your subservicer stack up.

Attention FinTech investors and investment bankers. A mature, profitable and well-adopted Mortgage technology firm is seeking to raise $10M+ for rapid expansion purposes across banking and mortgage verticals to enhance the sales and prospecting capabilities of mortgage loan officers. Serious and interested investors may inquire by contacting Anjelica Nixt for a confidential discussion. Mortgage Technology Document Management firms, Mortgage Insurance, Institutional or private sources of capital are encouraged.

Events, Workshops, and Classes

Sierra Pacific Mortgage is hosting a free webinar on Sierra Elite. This jumbo product is so hot, they are offering the webinar twice this month. Register for Tuesday, April 9 at 10:00 am PDT or Thursday, April 25 at 1:00 pm PDT. You will learn about some of the amazing features of this program and how it can help your next borrower purchase up to $3.0 million or one who needs a cash-out loan up to $2.0 million. This is the loan program for them, including self-employed borrowers. Register now.

On Friday, May 31st and Saturday June 1st, 2019, 55 mortgage company owners, managers and executives will join Ron Vaimberg in LA for Recruiting and Leadership Mastery. This is the only event of its type for you as a leader solely focused on mastering recruiting and leadership skills. If you are looking to attend a premier event that is dedicated to dramatically enhancing your skills to attract top originator talent, then this is the only event in the industry for you. Sign-up here before April 25 and save $600 using special code “Chrisman2”.

AIME is offering a Mortgage Expert Workshop in Ft. Lauderdale at the Diplomat Beach Resort on Wednesday, April 17 from 7:30am-530pm. Click here for the entire agenda and registration.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve, Farm Credit Administration, and National Credit Union Association will require the entities they supervise to accept certain types of private flood insurance policies and permit acceptance of others on July 1st. Register for the April 8th Buckley Webcast: New private flood insurance rules & recent flood litigation.

Register for MBA’s April 10th webinar “UMBS and Your Business: Best Practices for Readiness”. Hear an overview of the Single Security Initiative and how it affects the mortgage industry, including what you'll need to know to participate in the new marketplace. Upon completion, attendees will develop an understanding of how the Universal Mortgage Backed Securities (UMBS) impacts sellers, as well as the origination, servicing and the hedging process.

In Colorado CoAMP is hosting a luncheon with Rob Chrisman on Friday, April 19th from 11:00-1:00. Registration deadline is April 12th with limited seating availability. Sponsorship opportunities should be addressed to Cathy Brogan at PRMG (303.333.7333).

That MI Guy, Steve Richman, and Customer Education Leader, Mary Kay Scully, will present at the Regional Conference of MBAs on Wednesday, April 10 at the Harrah’s Resort & Convention Center in Atlantic City, NJ. Steve will walk through a presentation on the current rates environment, understanding today's consumers, creative ways to find them and how to establish profitable relationships with clients. Later Ms. Scully, the newly appointed Chairman of the MBA-NJ Women’s Committee, will hold the first committee meeting to reveal 2019 events including Rise Against Hunger and recruit new committee members.

To succeed in today’s mortgage market, you need to constantly be adapting and learning. The National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America gives a fresh take on how to grow your mortgage operations in its power-packed CONNECT 19 conference, which offers professional development, training and networking. From the state of the industry to how to close the gender divide, NAMMBA’s CONNECT 19 conquers important topics  and starts a conversation around key issues. Register HERE to join other top companies at CONNECT 19 in Atlanta from April 24 through April 27. Check out NAMMBA’s website for more information.

Could your executive team benefit from few days of focused discussion with other lenders on a specific functional aspect of your business? Good news for you — there’s still time to sign up for one of STRATMOR Group’s Workshops. STRATMOR is offering three of its popular workshops the week of May 5 at the Omni Mandalay in Dallas, Texas: the Consumer Direct Workshop, the CIO Workshopand the Operations Workshop. These lender-only workshops fill quickly and seating is limited, so register soon — early bird pricing for all three sessions expires Tuesday, April 9.

Fannie/Freddie/FHFA Chatter

Yesterday the Senate confirmed Mark Calabria as the next FHFA Director. Of course he received the usual volley of congratulations from various industry organizations. The news was no surprise, but now what? With the recent Presidential Memorandum, we can expect negotiated capital retention and renewed efforts to end conservatorship, and a push to shrink the GSE footprints, probably starting with cutting back on cash-out refi, investor property, and second home exposures at the GSEs: Critics say they’re there to promote home ownership, not necessarily landlords or people using their homes as piggy banks. MI companies are watching closely but optimistic. Are you okay with increased loan level price adjustments for high balance conforming loans? I hope so.

Calabria will probably use the FHFA Conservatorship Scorecard release in November or December to implement key policy changes, but as Compass Point Research & Trading’s Isaac Boltansky points out, “Director Calabria will be forced to navigate the ideological divide between Republican GSE orthodoxy and President Trump’s growth agenda. FHFA Director Calabria will surely embrace policies intended to directionally reduce the role of the GSEs in the market, but our sense is that those changes will be tactical and measured as housing represents roughly 15% of GDP and economic growth remains paramount.”

Fannie Mae announced that Hugh Frater is its new CEO, setting the overall enterprise vision and strategic direction of the company. In addition to his role as CEO, Frater remains on the Board of Directors. Hugh previously served as Interim CEO. Congrats!

Fannie Mae’s policy on eligibility for non-U.S. citizen borrowers is available as a PDF to use as a reference guide.

Fannie Mae issued a reminder to Homeowners and Servicers of its Mortgage Assistance Options for areas affected by flooding in the Missouri River Basin. Under Fannie Mae’s guidelines for single-family mortgages, homeowners impacted by the Missouri River Basin flooding are eligible for payment forbearance of up to 12 months, during which time they will not incur late fees during this temporary payment break will not have delinquencies reported to the credit bureaus.

Freddie Mac confirmed utilization of its disaster relief policies for borrowers who have been affected by the spring flooding in the Midwest. Freddie Mac's disaster relief options are available to borrowers whose homes or places of employment are located in presidentially-declared Major Disaster Areas where federal individual assistance programs are made available to affected individuals and households.

Beginning in June 2019, Freddie Mac will draft - via ACH transaction - principal and interest payments and payoff proceeds directly from the Servicer’s designated P&I custodial account. To authorize Freddie Mac to draft these funds, Servicers must submit Form 1132A, Authorization for Automatic Transfer of Funds from a Principal and Interest Custodial Account Through ACH, to Freddie Mac. View the full correctly completed sample Form 1132A here for further clarification.

Freddie Mac posted new and updated eMortgage resources which include updated FAQs that address common questions related to implementing eMortgages. Pre-recorded, self-paced webinars. Access to the Closepin database of closing agents that allows you to quickly locate agents who are ready to conduct your desired type of eClosing (hybrid eClosing, remote online eClosing).

Capital Markets

The 10-year spent most of yesterday fluctuating between 2.50% and 2.52% which made for a rather boring, low-volume session ahead of today's payrolls report for March. Hesitation in market movement was due primarily to that and back-and-forth reports discussing trade talks between the U.S. and China that continued in Washington. President Trump could possibly announce a summit date with President Xi. Speaking of Mr. Trump, he gave Mexico a one-year notice to curb flow of illegal immigrants and drugs across border, threatening implementation of tariffs on imported goods, namely cars. Separately, reports are that Trump is looking to name Herman Cain as Fed Governor.

Global growth concerns simmered below the surface following a disappointing factory orders report out of Germany, yet a report showing the lowest level of initial claims in the U.S. in 50 years aided belief that the U.S. economy is still faring relatively well despite economic issues abroad. The UK House of Commons narrowly passed draft legislation that would force Prime Minister May to ask EU for an extension to avoid a no-deal Brexit on April 12, as she has been unable to forge a new alternate Brexit plan with Labour leader Corbyn.

Today, we’ve received the March payrolls report (nonfarm payrolls +196k, unemployment rate 3.8%, hourly earnings +.1%). The only other market news of note will be February consumer credit and an appearance by Atlanta Fed President Bostic, both this afternoon. We begin today with agency MBS prices unchanged and the 10-year yielding 2.52%.

Employment and Transitions

“Here we grow again! WesLend Financial is aggressively expanding its wholesale platform and is seeking highly motivated Sales Managers and AE’s nationwide. As a mortgage banker licensed in 41 states with aggressive pricing and extensive product offerings that go beyond the basics and includes Co-ops, Non-QM and much more, top producers find a steady flow of revenues along with one of the most competitive comp plans in the industry. Our Sales Mangers and Account Executives experience little to no overlap and have full access to all operational personnel including our underwriters. If you’re looking into expanding your book of business come to WesLend. You also will have access to hundreds of untapped brokers that we already have relationships with. But, it’s not just about full-service. It’s about outstanding service and support. If you are ready do more than simply set goals and are ready to be a part of the next generation of leaders and exceed your goals, contact Darryl Skinner.”

Thrive Mortgage made a name for themselves in 2018 as the first lender in Texas to complete a 100% digital mortgage closing (including an eNote) using a Remote Online Notary. “The ‘I’ in Thrive stands for ‘Innovate’,” according to Thrive’s CEO Roy Jones, a known visionary and forward-thinking leader. “Our nationally-recognized technology allows for a complete digital transaction to enhance the client experience, something we are very passionate about!” Clients, business partners, and mortgage consultants love the eClosing platform, developed in conjunction with Notarize. “When you’re in a room of 50 other lenders, and you’re the only one to raise your hand indicating that you can complete a 100% digital mortgage, it lets you know that you’re leading the charge regarding technological advancements,” stated Michael Jones, Thrive’s CFO. Thrive is growing again in key markets. For more information, please reach out to info@thrivemortgage.com.

Opus Capital Markets Consultants, LLC, (Opus CMC) leading provider of mortgage due diligence, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT), a leading global Information Technology, Consulting and Business Process Services company, is seeking an Operations Manager for an outbound call center in Atlanta, GA. The candidate must have extensive knowledge of mortgage processing and origination functions and hands on experience with a dialer-based outbound loan processing call center. He/she will have a minimum of 10 years industry experience with proven results for driving the team to meet business objectives, managing large data and retaining records for future analysis. “Our industry continues to evolve and digitize, so given current market conditions, assisting our clients with methods to gain efficiencies through new tools while maintaining customer centricity is critical to our collective success.” said Pete Butler, Executive Managing Director/Business Unit Head, Opus CMC.  For more information contact Tony Veasey.

MorVest Capital, LLC, announced the addition of Managing Director Larry Charbonneau. “Larry Charbonneau is a well-respected industry veteran with a formidable reputation in M&A. He pioneered valuation of mortgage companies and has successfully advised on over 90 M&A transactions. Larry perfectly complements our existing executive team and we are truly excited for him to join the firm,” said Mr. Fleig, CEO of MorVest.