Life is full of ups and downs. Some news is devastating, some of it not so much. But remember how bad it felt, that feeling in your stomach, when someone stole your lunch from the cubby, or your bike from the rack? The stakes are higher now, and wire fraud is now hitting the home building industry. CertifID put out a white paper titled, “Wire Fraud Begins to Hammer the Construction Industry” that is worth passing along to your builder clients or your compliance department. “…three actual frauds perpetrated on home builders…convincing yet false payoff letters, open bank accounts in the name of the targeted developer or employ a technique known as identity spoofing.” (There’s also another paper: “When Minutes Matter: A Step-by-Step Guide to Wire Fraud Recovery.”)

Upcoming Events

Lending solutions provider Data Facts is sponsoring a complimentary webinar "TRID 2.0: Clarity and Improvement Coming in 2018". Industry expert David Luna is the presenter in this high-octane opener as he helps the mortgage world navigate this 560-page TRID 2.0 document that will significantly impact all mortgage loan originators! Join us Tuesday, June 12 at 1 pm CDT. Register here. Keep Data Facts in mind as a trusted partner you can rely on for credit reports, debt monitoring, fraud products, tax return and social security verifications, flood certs, appraisal ordering, bankruptcy, lien, and judgment reports, and more. Take advantage of their experienced and personalized support staff to help achieve your business goals. They offer a variety of seamless LOS integrations (Encompass, Calyx, Byte, etc.) and a 100% US-based customer support team that helps lenders close more loans, faster and easier.

AmeriHome’s underwriting management team will be offering a new Core Jumbo webinar on the following dates in June: June 5th or June 12th or June 19th and June 21st.

ACUMA is holding a workshop for mortgage-lending credit unions in Minneapolis in mid-June.

This year's MBAH Annual State Conference, "Loan Rangers" is scheduled for June 28th and 29th at The Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki in Honolulu. Presentations by key speakers will discuss the mortgage industry, the local economy and what to expect in 2018. Click here for conference details and registration information.

loanDepot Wholesale offers a suite of renovation products that will help you capture market share and build stronger relationships with borrowers, giving them the confidence to take on a fixer-upper. The company will be offering a live 60-minute Renovation Lending webinar that will include topics such as: The Value Proposition of Renovation Lending, LDW Program Highlights, and Renovation Best Practices. Click to register for the session you are interested in attending: Tuesday, June 26 at 11AM PST or Friday, June 29 at 11AM PST.

The Western Secondary Market Conference (July 16th-18th, Westin St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco) will have a new exhibit hall space that incorporates a networking lounge, small meeting areas, free WIFI and charging stations and refreshments. The exhibits will be situated around the perimeter of the large ballroom and allow us to utilize the space in the middle for meeting areas, all meal functions and receptions.

Technology

The only thing constant is change… let’s take a short, random sample of some of the news out there. More later!

Teraverde Management Advisors launched of the second generation of the CoheusTM mortgage banking technology solution. “The latest generation offers expanded integrations and improved ability to help lenders to correct data quality problems. Teraverde’s flagship Coheus™ Profit Intelligence solution converges your mortgage banking loan origination system, general ledger, payroll, contact management, warehouse, quality control, secondary marketing, and servicing data to provide a complete picture of your business, with focus on providing the insights you need to Manage Differently. Leveraging all the data from multiple sources allows lenders to make well-informed decisions in real-time. The ability to identify and eliminate performance problems, waste, and revenue leakage is crucial, especially in today’s challenging lending environment. Getting the most out of digital mortgage capabilities also requires close attention to metrics.”

United Wholesale Mortgage has expanded its virtual e-closing capabilities to 19 states and the District of Columbia, allowing more borrowers to close from anywhere, anytime, completely online. The latest states to adopt virtual e-closings are Arizona, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Lake Michigan Credit Union will utilize CertifID, a unique wire fraud prevention platform that uses patent-pending digital device analysis, identity authentication sequencing, and multi-factor verifications which is guaranteed up to $500,000. LMCU will leverage the solution to verify identity and confirm bank credentials before mortgage funds are sent. It will also protect members in its branches by using the technology to confirm the member is dealing with the right person before funds leave their account.

Veros has released a new white paper entitled, “Efficient Collateral Valuation Key to Success in 2018.” The paper outlines an important opportunity for lenders working to be more competitive in a purchase money market.

The California MBA Technology and Servicing Conference (August 5 – 7, Hilton Bayfront Hotel, San Diego) offers a conference focused on the vast technology industry within the mortgage space. Last year the added platform of mortgage technology to its existing servicing conference and it was a hit. This year is moving to a larger venue which will be featuring technology for every aspect of the loan process so this will be a great opportunity for both originators and servicers. Sponsors will also be offered the opportunity to participate in the Technology Marketplace session where feature a wide variety of mortgage technology through product demonstrations on its main stage.

Capital Markets

As I mentioned yesterday morning, international news certainly has an impact on domestic rates. U.S. rates inched up again by yesterday’s close after the Reserve Bank of India announced a surprise rate hike, aimed at alleviating some pressure on offshore dollar liquidity. Aided by more hints that the European Central Bank is preparing a hawkish policy shift, as ECB economist Praet indicated that the ending of their asset purchase program was expected to be discussed at next week's meeting, the U.S. 10-year closed at nearly 3%. Ahead of next Thursday’s June policy statement release by the ECB, four of their key policymakers (including Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann) shared their expectations for eurozone inflation hitting the 2.0% target in short order.

Back on this side of the pond, the trade deficit was better than expected in April, narrowing to $46.2 billion from an upwardly revised $47.2 billion in March. That narrowing was the result of exports increasing and imports decreasing. (The real goods deficit in April was 6.0% less than the Q1 average, which suggests net exports should be factored as a positive input for upbeat Q2 GDP growth forecasts.) Separately, Q1 productivity was revised down to 0.4%, while unit labor costs were revised up to 2.9%. Unfortunately, productivity continues to run at relatively weak levels, which will stand in the way of GDP growth maintaining an accelerated growth rate above 3.0%.

For news this morning we had initial jobless claims (-1k to 222k, four week low). The only other release of note will be April consumer credit, not including mortgage debt, due out at 3PM. Rates start Thursday a shade higher versus Wednesday’s close: the 10-year is yielding 2.99% and agency MBS prices are a couple ticks (32nds) worse.

Products

“Low production. Shrinking margins. Stress all over the place. This is today’s reality. You wish that costs can vary as quickly as production does, so you can profit at any level. If there was ever a time to switch from a fixed cost model to a variable cost model, now is that time. DocProbe’s mission has been to relieve lenders of fixed operational cost by managing the entire Trailing/Final Documents process and charging on a per loan basis. At the same time, DocProbe provides insane efficiencies to a universally hated task. Backed by their LOS integrated software, dedicated team and investor relationships, they will ensure that all the documents are retrieved, are error-free and sent to custodians/investors in time. Reach out to Nick Erlanger  to find out how to make this small part of your life, easier.”

FundingShield, the Fintech market leader in wire fraud prevention, closing agent risk / compliance and vendor risk automation has estimated $3 billion in wire and closing fraud attempts in the first 4 months of 2018.This alarming amount is triple the $1 billion reported to the FBI for all real estate related wire fraud losses for the first 9 months of 2017. This report leverages FundingShield’s industry-leading proprietary software, analytics and transaction database of wire account information and is specific to lender impacted wire and closing fraud attempts only. The IBM X Force Threat Intelligence Index 2018 shared that 27% of all security incidents and 17% of attacks in 2017 were in the financial sector and 76% of this involved injection attacks. FundingShield’s newsflash shares what approaches various lenders are taking to manage these risks per the company’s unique market view. Contact info@fundingshield.com (800.295.0135, ext. 2) for a demo or meeting.   

“Floify, the leading end-to-end mortgage point-of-sale system, has been making waves in the mortgage industry with its new 1003 loan application. Hailed by many top-producing LOs as one of the best things to happen to the industry in decades, Floify’s “interview-style” 1003 effortlessly walks borrowers through their application step-by-step. Leveraging visual cues and graphics designed to be easily identifiable, Floify’s 1003 reduces stress by seamlessly keeping the application process moving forward. Enterprise lenders can create an unparalleled experience by enabling pre-qualification automation via Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter and Optimal Blue's pricing engine. Additionally, Floify's 1003 was built from the ground up to show off your brand and provide an equally beautiful presentation on mobile and desktop. If you’ve been considering Floify for yourself, your brokerage, or your enterprise, now is the perfect time to take advantage of this incredibly powerful solution and innovative 1003. Request a live demo today.

Employment and Business Opportunities

William Lyon Mortgage, LLC has an immediate need for Mortgage Loan Officers to serve several of the William Lyon Homes and RSI communities. The positions open are in California (Inland Empire, Orange County, Bay Area-East Bay), as well as in Las Vegas, NV and Denver, CO. William Lyon Homes is one of the largest western U.S. regional homebuilders and it’s continuing to grow! It has sold more than 103,000 homes (not including the recent RSI acquisition). As the preferred lender with William Lyon Homes, the William Lyon Mortgage team has the opportunity to increase their sales and professionally thrive. In addition to the partnership, the company also offers revolutionary digital technology, a comprehensive benefits program and more. If you’re interested in joining a company that will grow your career, please contact Brian Corder (612-405-7100).

Caliber Home Loans, Inc. continues to be recognized as a top lender within the mortgage lending industry and is proud to achieve the #1 Top Overall Volume ranking on Scotsman Guide’s annual list. In 2017 Caliber’s volume was over $43 billion – the highest in its history. It can attribute this performance to its three sales channels – retail, wholesale and correspondent lending – which all had strong years and were ranked in the top 10 on their respective Scotsman list. Caliber has been able to increase its production year after year by leveraging its corporate departmental resources across all sales channels, investing in technology and maintaining its capital. Doing so not only allows Caliber to be profitable but be nimble in an ever-changing market. Producers who are interested in joining a lender with the strength and stability required to succeed in any mortgage climate can contact Jeremy DeRosa or visit www.joincalibernow.com.

If you’re a company looking to enter the Reverse Mortgage market, consider the advantage of acquiring an existing Reverse Mortgage company and scaling it, rather than spend years starting from scratch. An exciting opportunity exists for the right buyer, because a successful and productive Reverse Mortgage company is on the market. The company has a team of 6 reverse mortgage loan officers, and a fully operational inbound/outbound call center. The company has a complete Reverse Mortgage training program and corporate sales trainer, as well as a proprietary loan origination software tool that allows for rapid integration and scaling of a sales force into the Reverse Mortgage product. The best fit would be a medium to large sized, full eagle FHA lender, looking to acquire a world class brand name and begin to compete immediately. Interested parties can send me a note for forwarding to the principal.