“What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” While you ruminate on that one, there continues to be evidence and reminders that potential home buyers are having trouble coming up with “skin in the game,” aka, a down payment. It would take an average of 36 years for someone earning the median income in D.C. to save for a 20% down payment on a median-priced house, according to a recent report from U.S. Mortgage Insurers. Still, try being a teacher in San Francisco earning $70k/year saving up for a median-priced $1.6 million home.
Capital Markets
Rates? Every day, a little up, a little down, although many days borrowers wouldn’t notice the difference on rate sheets. Yesterday they went up a little bit as bond prices dropped (there’s an inverse relationship) after a solid Retail Sales report for June nudged the yield on the 10-year up to a close of 2.86%. An increase in consumer spending is going to factor prominently in driving a strong acceleration in Q2 GDP growth. The United States filed complaints against China, the EU, Canada, Mexico, and Turkey at the World Trade Organization over the imposition of retaliatory tariffs. Really?
For thrills and chills today, we have round one of Fed Chair Powell's visit to the Hill to speak on the semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress starting with the Senate Banking Committee, where his prepared remarks are due for release at 10AM ET followed by Q&A. June industrial production and capacity utilization will be released, as well as the July NAHB Housing Market Index. Tuesday starts with the 10-year at 2.85% and agency MBS prices nearly unchanged versus Monday’s close.
Employment and Personnel Moves
Recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing private companies in the nation for six years running, AmeriFirst Home Mortgage has added Brian Morris to its team as Area Manager and Loan Officer of the Raleigh, N.C. area. Throughout his career Brian has made it a priority to build relationships and successfully help his customers achieve homeownership success. A top producing loan officer, he and his team will provide a full range of purchase and refinance loan options. Coming soon...Real Estate Digital Marketing / Social Media Classes. For more details contact Brian Morris(919-624-7077).
An Atlanta-based Executive Management team with nearly 100 years of expertise, which includes cradle to grave originations and servicing, is looking for their newest opportunity to grow and build a culture of excellence. The team is experienced in wholesale, distributed retail and Consumer Direct lending and has a successful history of achieving substantial growth by building high performing management/ops teams, managing P&L expectations and focusing on continuous improvements. The results driven team is experts at strategic planning to optimize processes, improve customer service while staying focused on profitability, risk and the regulatory environment. If you are looking to take your organization to the next level, please email atlexecutiveteam@gmail.com.
A current EVP/CXO executive is looking for new opportunities. The Candidate is licensed and experienced in Consumer Direct, Process Design & Improvement, Data Analytics, Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence, Technology Stacks and their integration, Operations, Marketing, Vendor Management & proficient in Sales Training, Sales Management, and Telephony. Interested parties can send me a note; please excuse delays in response due to travel.
Caliber Home Loans, Inc. is committed to increasing opportunities for home ownership, which is why they launched an innovative jumbo financing option, Caliber Elite Access. Caliber created Elite Access in response to rising property prices to benefit buyers in high-cost markets. Elite Access borrowers may qualify for up to $3 million in loan funds with a little as 5% down, 700 FICO score and 90% LTV. New home owners may save even more after closing, as mortgage insurance is never required. This is an example of how Caliber can respond to the changing needs of the marketplace faster than mainstream banks. Loan Officers seeking to work for a leading lender with such a wide range of competitive products, should visit www.joincalibernow.com or contact Jeremy DeRosa. Elite Access is part of the Caliber Portfolio Lending suite of loan solutions and is currently available.
Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is fresh off another record quarter! To better support the substantial growth and the expected future growth, AOMS is announcing several staff promotions. Tom Hutchens is now EVP, Production and will be charged with continuing the expansion of both the Wholesale and Correspondent channels. Mel Freyre takes over management of the wholesale sales channel as Senior Vice President, Wholesale Sales. In addition, John Jeanmonod, John Wise and Moises Bonet have been promoted to Regional Sales Managers. Jeanmonod is taking over Florida and Texas. Wise is responsible for the Northwest with Bonet taking over management of the Inside Sales team. All have been instrumental in the extraordinary growth over the past 12 months and will have an even greater impact in their new roles. To continue to educate and promote non-QM to brokers and correspondents, Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions is looking at add Account Executives across the country. Join the leader in non-QM by visiting www.angeloakms.com/careers to learn more!
Roostify announced three executive appointments: Syed Ijaz as Chief Customer Officer, Kevin Levitt as VP of Sales, and Eric Drattell as General Counsel. “The leadership expansion takes place as Roostify continues to grow its footprint in the lending industry, processing more than $6B monthly in loans across its platform.”
Lender Products
In today’s competitive housing market, lenders need to exploit every opportunity to be more efficient in their loan process. Lenders can spend a lot of money out-of-pocket early on to help applicants – even when those applicants end up not qualifying for a loan or go with another mortgage company. So losing potential borrowers at the beginning of the mortgage process leaves lenders footing the bill for these expenses, adding unnecessary costs to an already overstrained business model. To help save on upfront costs, download this whitepaper from Informative Research and learn about how you can start investing in more qualified borrowers and read about real-world case studies. By understanding the market and utilizing the best techniques, lenders can start saving right away and have more impact on the ratio of applications to closings – ultimately helping their margins.
Looking to improve operational efficiency, but don’t have an in-house IT Department? Spruce, the leading digital title & escrow company has got it covered. Spruce’s zero-cost integration caters to lenders of all shapes and sizes, from an out-of-the-box solution using their web interface to a fully built-out API solution. Whether you’re doing e-closings or not, leveraging Spruce’s technology, including an easy-to-use borrower portal, will set your consumer experience ahead of the pack. To find out more or schedule a demo, click here.
After implementing two other solutions, Intercoastal Mortgage has found success using Total Expert to accelerate its sales and marketing efforts. “Since implementation in January, the Total Expert Marketing Operating System has propelled our sales and marketing efforts while ensuring we abide by industry regulations,” said Tom Pyne, President & COO at Intercoastal Mortgage. “The platform has positioned us for growth by enabling personal branding within the enterprise and encouraging co-marketing. This will differentiate our loan officers’ marketing efforts to borrowers and referral partners. After implementing two other solutions, we are extremely satisfied with the Total Expert MOS and consider them a true technology partner.” Intercoastal Mortgage Company, NMLS ID # 56323, Equal Housing Lender.
New Penn Financial announced the launch of a new piggyback product, now available in its Wholesale Lending division and coming soon in the Direct-to-Consumer and Retail Lending business channels. “Find solutions for your borrowers up to 95% financing with this piggyback loan! The New Penn HELOC is paired with a wide variety of first lien products. Qualifying at a lower LTV can mean lower rates. And no MI puts more of your borrowers’ money directly into their investment each month! First time buyers can qualify for low down payment options. Solid financial options for solid borrowers! Call your rep for more information or go to www.gonewpenn.com.”
What’s a digital app worth? “Stearns Wholesale thinks it’s worth .125 bps. That’s right! Borrowers who complete a digital 1003 through our digital mortgage app, bsnap, receive a .125 bps pricing improvement. What better reason to push this ultimate broker tool to your borrowers now! Our bsnap mobile app keeps things moving quickly and securely, and can be branded with your company logo and info. Not only can borrowers can complete a digital 1003 and get .125 bps back, they can, e-sign forms, share photos of loan documents, and view loan details like loan type, rate, term, payments, closing date and more. Built-in communications and reminders make it easy for borrowers to get in touch with their mortgage team. Did we mention your logo and branding are included, at no cost? Get bsnap and get an edge – sign up for training July 18th or reach out today to learn more.
Fannie and Freddie News
Fannie Mae announced that Antony Jenkins has been elected to the Board of Directors. Mr. Jenkins served as Group Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors at Barclays PLC, one of the world’s largest banks, and is a digital banking technology executive with extensive fintech expertise. He has been appointed to the Strategic Initiatives and Technology Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Fannie Mae announced a new Enterprise Paid Mortgage Insurance (EPMI) pilot that provides lenders with another option, alongside borrower-paid or lender-paid mortgage insurance, for obtaining MI that meets Fannie Mae’s requirements for high loan-to-value loans (>80% LTV loans). The new lender option enables Fannie Mae to streamline participating lenders’ operational requirements, increase certainty of coverage for the company’s credit investor partners, and help Fannie Mae better manage counter party risk. The EPMI pilot was created based on the company’s mandate to identify new opportunities to transfer credit risk away from Fannie Mae and taxpayers, and was based on input from lenders and private mortgage insurers. Benefits of the program include eliminating the exposure that a lender has to rescission risk and establishing a level playing field for participating lenders by offering competitive and consistent pricing. “We're trying to develop options for lenders to simplify their processes,” said Rob Schaefer, Vice President, Credit Enhancement Strategy & Management at Fannie Mae. “EPMI was created for lenders of all sizes: small, medium, and large. Lenders will decide whether this option makes sense for them and that will determine the success of the pilot. We expect most lenders will continue to buy MI the way they currently do. No lender will be forced to use EPMI. And, our existing MI partners will continue to play a key role in providing insurance coverage to lenders, as they do now through BPMI and LPMI coverage, or by participating through their affiliates on the reinsurance panels writing coverage for EPMI.”
The Developer Portal release added two new API equivalents of existing Fannie Mae Connect™ servicing reports. You can use the Whole Loan Purchase Advice and Committing and Draft Fee Notifications APIs to automate workflows and customize Fannie Mae Connect report data for your business processes. Find these and other APIs on Fannie Mae’s catalog and learn more in the Quick Start Guide.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) have announced additional details for Phase 3 of the Uniform Loan Delivery Dataset (ULDD). This announcement outlines new enumerations and updates to ULDD data points. For more information, view the updated Loan Delivery FAQs and ULDD FAQs, ULDD Specification Appendix A and Appendix D, and more on the ULDD page.
The 2018 income limits have now been implemented in Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) and the HomeReady Income Eligibility Lookup tool. The updated census tract lookup spreadsheet and income eligibility summary are available on the Fannie Mae website.
Fannie Mae has updated its fraud alert, "Misrepresentation of Borrower Employment" (originally posted on May 24), which identified apparently fictitious employers being used on loan applications in Southern California. Updates include the addition of two more apparently non-existent employers, the removal of one entry on the list, and an expanded "red flags" list with sample exhibits. View the updated fraud alert and other resources on its Mortgage Fraud Prevention page.
Get Rob Chrisman Daily by Email
