Besides 7/11 being “Free Slurpee Day,” we’re in the middle of “home buying season” (if there are actually listings) and loan officers are currying the favor of real estate agents coast to coast. Just how far will a real estate agent go to seal a sale in New York? Here are some tips LOs can give agents for selling properties.

Upcoming events

There are just a few spots left to register for the Lenders One 2017 Summer Conference in Minneapolis, August 6-9. For this members-only event, Lenders One has curated six education tracks led by industry experts, including two Secondary Market panels that I will be monitoring. "Join us as we look at the future of the industry and take away insights on topics that apply to your current organizational needs. We've incorporated expanded networking opportunities for members to connect with peers and explore best practices. Including three nights of fun and surprises you can only expect from Lenders One, don't miss your chance to reserve a spot at this year's Summer Conference." Click here to register today and contact Lauren Ketchum to learn more. Registration closes Friday, July 14th, or when the remaining spots have been filled. Interested in membership with Lenders One? Contact Michael Kuentz.

Don't miss out on Small-Balance Commercial Success - National Mortgage Professional Magazine presents a complimentary webinar sponsored by Silver Hill Funding. In this webinar, this Thursday, July 13th at 2PM ET veteran commercial mortgage experts Ski Swiatkowski and Mike Boggiano share insights to help you diversify and close more deals in 2017. This webinar couldn't have happened at a better time. The rise in rates has drastically cut the flow of refis. The drop in real estate inventory and rise in home prices is becoming a drag on the purchase market. With the cloud of uncertainty enveloping the future of the marketplace, now is the time for companies and their loan officers to take control of the future and develop a profit center with originating small-balance commercial loans.

Learn how to build a prospecting system with Plaza's July 11th webinar. This practical, hands on session covers specific ways to expand your current prospecting "comfort zone". Participants will learn creative tips on prospecting to potentially increase their pipeline production. On the same day Plaza is also offering Plaza's USDA Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan Program. This live webinar will cover applicant and property eligibility, origination and underwriting guidelines and the many resources available to you.

On the July 12th, Loan Processing: using the 1003 as a Roadmap" webinar is also available from Plaza, along with July 13th's webinar on Plaza's renovation product offerings -- the Fannie Mae HomeStyle Renovation loan.

Sun West has published its July webinar calendar. Webinars include Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act (MDIA) Regulations, Non-Agency Premium Programs, Appraisal Ordering Process, Best Practices for Correspondent Delivery, Reverse Mortgage, USDA Loan Programs and FHA's 203(k) Rehabilitation Program.

Register for the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association Fraud Protection and Detection webinar. This July 12th session will cover what data analytics is, common areas of application and case study examples of data analytics in action.

As mentioned above, XINNIX has its next Leadership Lessons Webinar, "Everything You Need to Know About RESPA Sec. 8," on Thursday, July 27 at 2:00 PM ET.

Monday, July 31, the Mortgage Compliance Professionals Association of America (MCPAOA) is holding its first annual Compliance Workshop: "Deep in the Heart of Compliance" in San Antonio, Texas. The keynote speaker is Mr. Calvin Hagins, the Deputy Assistant Director for Originations, Office of Supervision Policy Supervision, Fair Lending and Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). There is also a great lineup of compliance professional speaking, including Mary Pfaff, Lisa Klika, Cassie Wayman, Jerra Ryan, John Haring, Scott Nowak, and Burton Embry. The agenda will include regulatory compliance issues, Uniform Closing Dataset, CFPB examinations, HMDA, and TRID/KBYO.

The Mortgage Collaborative will be heading to Nashville this August 20-23 for its summer conference. For information on this event visit the Mortgage Collaborative website or contact Rich Swerbinsky.

Thursday and Friday, August 17-18, is the Mortgage Star Conference for Women in Las Vegas.

If you're in, or want to be in, Salt Lake City on August 31, the UAMP Expo 2017 is taking place at the Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown. Email valsaun@gmail.com for information.

Freddie Mac is planning its second annual customer conference to be held Sept. 17-19 in Baltimore. Attendees can network with their peers, participate in training sessions and hear from thought leaders. The event is open to essentially anyone that does business with Freddie Mac, including selling and servicing executives; secondary market officers and loan officers; underwriters; default and performing loan managers; and production management and operations staff.

In Colorado, on September 19, will be is the Colorado Mortgage Summit.

Survey taking, 1A

How many survey questions will a borrower answer? Conventional wisdom says if you ask more than four questions, you run the risk of the survey taker abandoning the survey. STRATMOR Group's MortgageSAT data (based on 250,000 surveys) suggests otherwise. STRATMOR found that response rates remained consistently high (35-40 percent) with as many as 35 survey questions. Overall, 90 percent of respondents who answered the first MortgageSAT question completed the entire survey. In this month's MortgageSAT Tip, Mike Seminari from STRATMOR suggests the difference between conventional wisdom and the actual data may lie the mortgage transaction itself, along with survey methodology and the audience.

Capital markets & rates

For those interested in private money in the mortgage biz, Angel Oak Capital Advisors, LLC announced today it has completed AOMT 2017-2, a $210.45 million securitization of non-prime residential mortgages. The securitization is backed by non-Qualified Mortgages (non-QM) which were fully sourced through the firm's three affiliated mortgage lenders: Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, LLC, Angel Oak Home Loans, LLC and Angel Oak Prime Bridge, LLC. For those playing along at home, this transaction marks Angel Oak's fourth securitization since 2015, accounting for over $630 million in total securitized residential mortgage loans.

Shifting to the bond markets, and interest rates, things were very quiet Monday. There was no news of any substance. MBS opened the week slightly higher in price, and tighter on spread, and we saw some minor price movements based on security (Ginnie, Fannie, Freddie), coupon (interest rate), and maturity (30-year vs. 15-year) but overall agency MBS prices improved about .125. The 10-year note closed 5+ higher to yield 2.37%.

There wasn't any major news out overnight, and the today's calendar is similarly sparse.This morning we've had the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for June (dipped .9). Coming up are some Fed speakers along with wholesale inventories and sales, JOLTS job openings, both for May, and a $24 billion 3-year note auction. The 10-year is currently yielding 2.39% and agency MBS prices are worse a shade versus last night.

Company news

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. and Bayview Asset Management, LLC jointly announced that Bayview had entered into an interest purchase agreement to acquire Pingora Holdings, L.P., a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Annaly. Pingora operates as a specialized asset manager focused on investing in new production performing mortgage servicing rights ("MSRs") and servicing residential mortgage loans. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including requisite regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017.

And S.F. lender Sindeo, which shut down last month and posted a "goodbye letter" from its CEO Nick Stamos, appears to be back in business, as if nothing happened. Word has it that Sindeo was acquired by one of its investors. Crunchbase lists three investors for Sindeo's seed and Series A funding rounds Second Century Ventures (which is owned and operated by the National Association of Realtors), Renren Inc., and Philippe Suchet.

Jobs, products, personnel moves

MegaStar Financial announced Michael DelVecchio as its Senior Vice President of National Production. "Michael's success comes from his love of people. His ability to surround himself with excellent people has resulted growing retail production in 6 years from zero to an annual level of $950 million. He brings over 25 years' experience in originations, structuring loans, sales leadership, and the ability to grow production., helping hundreds of loan officers improve and grow their business. MegaStar looks forward to Michael expanding his talents to grow our nationwide platform. His track record and expertise are the perfect fit for the next stage of our growth in the leadership, recruiting, and coaching of our nationwide loan officer teams. Our commitment to our four promises speak to our impeccable track record of closing our loans on time, every time."

"The world is changing. The 'Big Data' strategy is becoming essential for businesses to not only thrive, but to survive. If Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods was any indicator, the future is shifting fast. loanDepot's CEO, Anthony Hsieh understands this profound shift entirely. Since the inception of fintech, loanDepot's Tech Team headed by Dominic Marchetti, CTO, has invested millions of dollars into developing game changing technology. The result? The company is quickly attracting the sharpest tech minds, who are now choosing loanDepot as their employer of choice over Google or Apple. It's a no-brainer given an incredible culture, competitive compensation and a cool techie environment. For those looking to take part in digital disruption and innovation in the mortgage space, loanDepot is seeking top-notch engineers, brilliant IT talent, as well as highly motivated loan originators who are looking to grow their personal market share. Contact Peter Tenfjord to learn more!"

"National MI is excited to welcome Mike Eberl to our sales team as an Account Manager covering Colorado and Wyoming.  Mike comes to National MI with a wealth of experience in the mortgage industry, and brings his strong relationship-building skills to the South-Central team. He will partner with Account Representative Diana Wening. To contact the sales advisor in your region, please click here. You can reach Mike Eberl at (510) 858-0574."

JMAC Lending today announced the hiring of industry veteran R.J. Arnett as Vice President of Wholesale Production. In this role, Arnett oversees JMAC's Regional Sales Managers, Account Executives, and the Inside Sales Department. Arnett is currently looking to build his sales team with the recruitment of the following positions: Regional Sales Manager for the Pacific Northwest territory, and Senior Account Executives in Atlanta, Ohio, Dallas, Denver, Southern California, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City. Visit www.jmaclending.com/careersfor a complete list of employment opportunities and to apply, or contact Vanna Nguyen with any questions regarding recruitment.

Join XINNIX for their next Leadership Lessons Webinar, "Everything You Need to Know About RESPA Sec. 8," on Thursday, July 27 at 2:00 PM ET. XINNIX CEO Casey Cunningham and special guest Mitch Kider from Weiner Brodsky Kider PC share the information you need to know to successfully navigate the critical areas of compliance. Topics will include guidelines around marketing and advertising, consent orders with the CFPB, the impact of the PHH case, and much more! Click here to register today!

"Mortgage technology company Special Agent X continues to add blockbuster updates to its recently launched Version 2.0 of the X-Ray Intelligence Platform. Many of our lenders/readers already know how X-Ray transforms massive amounts of data from your LOS, CRM, leads and accounting systems, into easy-to-understand, readily available analytics and reports that drive faster, more accurate decisions at mortgage companies. This new version of X-Ray adds three more tools - the Business Planner, Score Cards and the Custom Report Builder - that help you eliminate the noise and create an action plan for each team member, evaluate/predict team performance and explore and harness the business value of your loan data. To see firsthand how X-Ray's new tools can reduce costs and increase margins for your mortgage business, take 1 minute to book a personal discovery and demo at specialagentx.com."

Congrats to Laurie Souza who Mortgage Network, Inc. has hired as a national business development manager. "Souza will be responsible for building Mortgage Network's business partnerships, growing its renovation and portfolio loan businesses and acting as a resource for loan officers regarding products and scenarios."