Over the weekend I visited a gas station, and the fellow in the kiosk had a name tag with, “Tim, Fuel Leader” inscribed on it. I will leave making fun of the title to you, but seeing him in there made me wonder how much interaction and collaboration he has with… who? In this era of scheduled virtual calls, spontaneity, brainstorming, and advancing corporate culture have “taken it on the chin.” If you’re headquartered in Dallas, how much camaraderie does a doc drawer outside of Boston hired nine months ago have when they’ve never met anyone in the company? As overtime pay vanishes, and lenders begin thinking about “trimming the sails,” how will remote workers fare? Companies continue to re-evaluate the work from home (WFH) life. Paying ops employs over time has certainly ceased. Managers should check out Fannie’s study on remote work. Spoiler alert: remote work improved productivity, reduced operating costs, but reduced collaboration. Fannie’s study showed that 79 percent of lenders prefer a hybrid model, where some employees work remotely and some work on-site. (By the way, the audio version of today’s commentary is available here and is sponsored by Churchill Mortgage, operating in 47 states and funding $4.5 billion in 2020.)
Lender Products and Services
MortgageFlex is growing! We just had one of our best quarters in a decade. Why are lenders selecting us? They are looking for one system for POS/LOS/Servicing for all mortgage, Non-QM, Foreign National, consumer, and chattel lending. The MortgageFlexONE solution is Microsoft hosted and supported by a rock-solid rules-driven SQL DB with strong industry partner API integrations and automated workflow. All backed by hands-on dedicated personal service. Contact John McCrea to book a demo and see the difference.
Save big on all your Jumbo and Conforming purchase loans. JMAC Lending offers .250 bps off Conforming, Jumbo, and FHA purchase loans locked by May 28, 2021. The new JMAC JumboPLUS+ product has loans to $2.5 million, up to 90% LTV to $1.5M with no MI, and up to 10 financed REOs. Take unlimited cash out up to maximum LTV. Perfect for your borrowers who need to go above county limits but may not qualify on the regular Jumbo guidelines or lack reserves. JumboPlus follows credit, income and reserve based on DU or LPA findings with limited overlay. Contact Team JMAC to price your purchase loans today, or visit www.JMACLending.com/jumbos to choose a jumbo for your client. 23+ years of dedicated service to mortgage brokers. Purchases are our priority. And JMAC Lending is actively hiring Account Executives in many states. Contact sales@jmaclending.com. Ready. Set. Fund.
“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” is the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and like all other Marvel content, people have very strong opinions. People also have very strong opinions about Sales Boomerang, the #1 automated borrower intelligence and retention platform. In a recent case study, Corey Shelton of Atlantic Coast Mortgage said, “It’s like we’re Tony Stark and Sales Boomerang is the Iron Man suit; it empowers us to better connect and engage with clients. Sales Boomerang gives you powers that you wouldn’t otherwise have to do good for the clients we’ve promised to help.” You don’t need X-ray vision to get a look at how Sales Boomerang has helped ACM and its customers. Download the case study and get ready to suit up with your own super squad.
Ever wonder why you don't see ads from Google when you're online? Or why Facebook ads don't follow you around the web? It's because they advertise using direct mail! But not spray-and-pray direct mail. Google's direct mail is intelligent, data-driven, mature, and profitable, exactly like Monster Lead Group's solution. That's why Howard Korey from The Federal Savings Bank said, "Monster's direct mail is still our best lead generator by far. It's our bread and butter." Talk to the team at Monster if you're looking to generate more leads, or learn how they can help.
When it comes to subservicing, you’ll want to find a partner who understands a lender’s unique pain points. Originally an originator, TMS Subservicing has firsthand experience as a lender, so they know what you’re up against, which helps them deliver true service to you. One of the ways TMS does that is through its SIME servicing portal. SIME stands for Servicing Intelligence Made Easy, and it’s simple to use and understand. It gives you real-time access to your information, and whether you use their reports or create your own, the raw data is invaluable. It’s also one of the ways TMS Subservicing achieves a 98% customer satisfaction rate. Partner with us.
Chances are eClosing figures heavily into your 2021 strategy. Luckily, SimpleNexus has your back with a one-stop homeownership platform that seamlessly guides borrowers from point of thought to closing. In addition to an improved borrower experience, SimpleNexus eClose offers lenders improved operational efficiency, greater data integrity, and faster delivery of loans to the secondary market. Join SimpleNexus and The Mortgage Collaborative on Thursday, May 20 for Success. The webinar will feature an all-star line-up of SimpleNexus’ Shane Westra, Notarize’s David Burner, and Highlands Residential Mortgage’s Josh Herbert. Register now to attend the webinar.
Ready to go independent in 2021? If you’re thinking of becoming an independent mortgage broker, you won’t want to miss our “Build Your Own Mortgage Business” webinar, hosted by the team at BeAMortgageBroker.com on Thursday, April 22, at 2PM EDT. Our team of experts will walk you through how to easily move out on your own as an independent mortgage broker or join an existing broker shop as a loan officer. Learn the benefits of becoming an independent mortgage professional and how to become licensed and hear from others who have made the move and found success in wholesale lending. Register now.
Vice Capital Markets will be sponsoring this Friday’s Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob, featuring Chris Bennett. Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, Chris, and I will be discussing current events in the mortgage market for 45 minutes on April 23rd: “The Rundown with Rob and Rich.”
Wells Fargo Funding issued a reminder that Address Confidentiality Loans are ineligible for purchase, as stated in Wells Fargo Funding Seller Guide (Seller Guide) Section 300.02,89.
Flagstar Bank issued memo 21028 regarding 2020 tax year filing requirements.
PRMG posted an important announcement. Starting March 31, 2021, PRMG's TPO Portal stopped supporting Microsoft's Internet Explorer 11. PRMG encourages you to upgrade to one of the following supported browsers: Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
Plaza Home Mortgage updated its Standard Appraisal Fee Schedule, including new pricing for FHA 1004C Manufactured Homes and standardized fees for the state of Indiana, effective April 13. Download and review the schedule for the most up-to-date information.
The Single-Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program has created a Frequently Asked Questions resource document for lenders, applicants, and stakeholders to provide immediate answers to common origination questions received by the Agency. The Frequently Asked Questions are available on the USDA LINC Training and Resource Library, in the SFH Guaranteed Loan Origination Documents and Resources accordion, under the sub-heading “Documents & Resources” (Item #3) and on the SFH Guaranteed Lender website, in the Tools and helpful links accordion.
Citi Correspondent Lending’s Bulletin 2021-05 provides updates and clarification on SOFR ARM Product, Limited Review Condo Projects, direct account verification requirements, and COVID temporary policies.
MWF’s process to complete an MLO Signed Final 1003 has been updated to include the following enhancements: Automated generation of the Final 1003 with included e-signatures. (removes manual process). Upon execution by the MLO, Final 1003 to be uploaded and protected into eDocs (removes manual process). Condition for Final 1003 to be signed off via automation. (removes manual process)/.
Due to current market conditions, Wells Fargo is temporarily suspending new applications for home equity lines of credit. Click here to view additional information.
Wells Fargo Funding announced it has expanded verbal verification of employment (VOE) timing requirements for Non-Conforming Loans to allow more time to obtain the verbal VOE.
To align with changes announced by Fannie Mae, updates to its conventional conforming cooperative (co-op) policy to reflect that the following are ineligible for purchase: Loan with a Desktop Underwriter (DU) Accept/Ineligible response and cash-out refinance of a second home. View the Wells Fargo Funding Announcement C21-017 for details.
TCF Home Equity issued an announcement that it will no longer accept future applications for the TCF Home Equity Solution product line. May 28th, 2021 is the last day Home Equity Line of Credit applications may be submitted. July 30th, 2021 will be the last day to close and fund HELOCs.
The First State Mortgage Guide Announcement 2021-010 includes information on LPA Specs for alimony and affordable seconds, Federal tax extension, and revisions to its retail IHDA reminder.
Effective with new commitments taken on and after April 7, loans will not be eligible for purchase by AmeriHome Mortgage if any borrower is one of the following: An employee of Western Alliance Bancorporation, its subsidiaries, or divisions, an “insider” or their related interests, such as inter-vivos revocable trusts, of Western Alliance Bancorporation®, its subsidiaries, or divisions. Contact client.support@amerihome.com with any questions.
Capital Markets
Two new press releases have been posted regarding Ginnie Mae. First, Ginnie Mae reported March MBS Issuance of $82 Billion. Second, an announcement that a record 65 Platinum securities transactions were completed in March 2021 with the volume representing approximately $5.6 billion of business.
Looking at the market on Tuesday, LOs are wondering, “Why the rally/improvement in rate sheets yesterday?” There was no major economic data on the day, no substantive Treasury auctions, and no impactful news headlines outside of Chairman Powell sending a letter to a senator saying the Fed would not allow inflation to substantially overshoot its target. It was more so that Treasuries have been on a general slide that has taken yields to a five-week low. All three major U.S. stock indexes didn’t perform so well, which meant some money flowed into Treasuries, pushing prices up and yields down. Talk yesterday, at least internationally, was that new virus lockdowns would sap optimism surrounding growth prospects. Certainly, international travel will not happen as quickly as it is happening in the United States.
Today’s economic calendar is again light on data, though we have seen that mortgage applications increased 8.6 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 16. During the reporting period, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell nearly 10 bps, while both the Bankrate and Mortgage News Daily 30-year rates fell 11 bps to 3.07 percent and 3.18 percent, respectively. The only other event of note for mortgage bankers will be this afternoon’s $24 billion 20-year Treasury bond auction. The Desk of the NY Fed is set to provide the largest daily support on the current schedule at $7.98 billion today, including over $6.6 billion UMBS30 2 percent and 2.5 percent. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices worse/down a few ticks and the 10-year yielding 1.57 after closing yesterday at 1.56 percent.
Employment and Transitions
“We’re looking for a candidate with leadership experience in collateral underwriting (appraisal, condo, title) to fill a Collateral Underwriting manager position. The ideal candidate will have experience building out a team from the ground up, be a solution-oriented thinker who looks for ways to solve problems and prevent them from happening and likes working in a collaborative team environment. This role requires good communication skills and an ability to be a systems thinker to identify and implement technology-based solutions and processes.” If you are interested, please send your resume to Anjelica Nixt and specify this opportunity.
“Victorian Finance is hiring! We are currently looking for top talent in all departments. If you are passionate about your work, love to learn new things while exuding kindness, you are a perfect fit. At Victorian Finance we are expanding our offerings and forging a new path in the mortgage lending community. Does this sound like your next career path? Let’s schedule a time to talk about how you might be a good candidate for this role. Apply today!”
Evergreen Home Loans™ is excited to announce it now handles 100% of Evergreen’s loan servicing in-house. The company has made significant investments in its loan servicing platform as well as investments in technology improvements, ensuring that customers receive the highest customer service levels when contacting Evergreen. The new loan servicing platform includes state-of-the art digital services that help customers easily manage their investment with educational tools that are available via the web or app. The company has recognized a 200% increase in customer retention since starting in-house servicing in 2018, and has led to more opportunities for Evergreen loan officers to enrich their customer relationships and grow their business. If you’re interested in working with a company dedicated to a WOW customer service experience, check out the Careers page to learn about new opportunities.
Track record of long employee tenure = Assurance Financial. Best tech stack in the mortgage marketplace = Assurance Financial. Exemplary record of servicing purchase money market MLOs = Assurance Financial. Incredible entrepreneurial branch manager business model = Assurance Financial. Community-service oriented in all markets with St. Jude as our philanthropy partner = Assurance Financial. Founded in 2001, licensed in 43 states, all agency approvals, not controlled by private equity, and growing in all markets. If you are an aggressive producing branch manager or senior mortgage loan officer considering another opportunity, contact Paul Peters, CMB to discuss a mutual opportunity or visit AssuranceMortgageLO.com to learn more!
JMAC Lending is actively hiring Account Executives in many states. JMAC’s JumboPLUS+ product has loans to $2.5 million, up to 90% LTV to $1.5M with no MI, and up to 10 financed REOs.
Out of Connecticut comes news that Planet Home Lending, LLC has named John Bosley as President, Mortgage Lending to lead the company's Origination, Fulfillment, Correspondent and Capital Markets divisions.
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