The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association conference is in full swing. Folks tell me that servicing is a big topic in informal hallway discussions. MCT data indicates that lenders are selling 65 percent servicing retained, primarily to the Agencies, 35 percent released. Compare that to last summer’s 95 percent retained, 5 percent released. Yes, MSRs have bounced back. Speaking of the Agencies, lenders will tell you that on their “wish list” is to have a 90-day lead time for negative changes from Fannie & Freddie, whereas we only need about half that for good changes. Good to have regard for lender’s pipelines. Hopefully Sandra Thompson, the acting Director of the FHFA, will have regard for lender’s pipelines and knows uncertainty increases costs, and that expenses are passed on to borrowers. Capital markets staff will typically err on the side of being conservative, while Ops staff are focused on reducing processing friction. Along those lines, today’s audio version of the commentary is today’s audio version of the commentary is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Floify. Loan originators, mortgage brokers, and wholesale lenders, expedite your mortgage process with Floify POS, Floify+, and Floify TPO. Visit floify.com to schedule a live demo of any one of these three powerful loan origination solutions. Today’s episode includes an interview with Michael Dunn on FHFA and HUD regarding Fair Housing initiatives and the Biden Administration's agenda.
Broker Products
“Offer a Conventional Triple Play! The Freedom Mortgage Wholesale Division is pleased to offer new Conventional base price improvements for many popular note rates along with LLPA updates in many LTV/FICO ranges. Additionally, take advantage of our (.250) LLPA Purchase Incentive and 2 business day Priority Purchase Underwriting for all Conventional, VA and FHA purchases. Plus! Check out our NEW Premier Jumbo Fixed Rate product featuring a maximum 89.99% LTV/CLTV (Purchase, Rate/Term, up to $1.5 million, 1 unit, single family, includes PUD/Condo, minimum 740 credit score), no required mortgage insurance, and cash out up to $750,000 on primary and second homes. Now available for table-funded broker and non-delegated correspondent clients using their table-funded broker ID.”
“LoanStream Mortgage is running our Best Price Promise right now! Take advantage of our Non-QM Special: we will beat the rate or price from any competitor for all locked loans from 4/20 to 9/30. Plus, our 85% DSCR is here! 85% on Purchase/Rate and Term, loan amounts to $5 million and credit down to 620! View our Matrix and Rates here. Get in touch with LoanStream right now. Don’t wait. We are the ONE Lender that makes you the ONE to call. Restrictions apply so contact your Account Executive today. Visit LoanStream for our great rates and programs.”
Lender and Broker Software Tools
“The Velma Connector is really outstanding! Not only is the compliance a win but these loans required way less resources to manage from an application/processing standpoint to a compliant cancellation. We gained efficiency and accuracy.” That is what one compliance manager had to say about the value of automating their ECOA Adverse Action process. If you are an Encompass LOS user and have ECOA-Reg B headaches, you’ll want to learn more about Connector.
“The visibility and connection that Homebot has provided has resulted in a lift in our purchase business, which has just been undeniable," says Aaron Nemec, President at Synergy One Lending. Homebot, the award-winning client-for-life portal, is helping lenders like Synergy One foster client relationships that extend far beyond the initial transaction. In just three months on Homebot, Synergy One Loan Officers gained insight into over 18,000 activities performed by their clients in Homebot, leading to over 300 direct message inquiries from clients and 260+ closed loans. See the full story here.
Business coaches have been telling LOs about calling their database forever. And it still doesn’t happen. If you’re a branch manager, this is costing you real money. If you ask LOs why they don’t make database calls, they’ll usually say “I’m too busy.” But if you look deeper, you’ll find fear of rejection leads to ‘call reluctance’, the real underlying reason. What can a branch manager do? Don’t make them search for phone numbers and loan data, give it to them! Then give them a reason to call, like a birthday or loan closing anniversary. A birthday call often results in a referral; sharing that info with the Realtor is great service. Any good CRM should provide the data. A SmartCRM™ will even tell LOs who is most likely to be in the new purchase or refinance market. Schedule your personalized demo to learn how Usherpa’s SmartCRM™ makes this easy!
MLOs: Unify helps you rise above your competitors using 6 new ways to grow your business. Not all mortgage software is built to handle the ever-changing conditions in the residential mortgage loan industry. With more than 10 years of serving thousands of top mortgage professionals, Unify provides the tools you'll need to grow your business. Discover more loan opportunities with the Hot Prospect Alerts feature using Mortgage Inquiry Alerts and Prequalified Prospects. Save time with email drip campaigns, video and other marketing automation packed with pre-drafted content, plus customizable automated workflows that dramatically increase your team’s productivity. Unify’s trifecta of phone, email and direct mail marketing ensures you can retain clients for their next loan. Best of all, the Unify Mobile App puts the most robust mortgage CRM in the palm of your hand. Discover why Unify is your all-terrain business growth platform!
Fires in the West, flooding in the South… FEMA’s disaster declarations set off various policies and procedures for lenders around the nation, the latest being from Hurricane Ida.
Effective August 23, 2021, Flagstar Bank is suspending funding for properties located in some Tennessee counties due to severe flooding. Once closing and funding has resumed, Flagstar will provide the re-inspection requirements, as applicable.
FCM posted updates to Disaster Announcement DA-21-11 Tennessee Flooding.
Mortgage Solutions Financial issued announcement 15-21C regarding the Tennessee Floods.
FEMA has issued a disaster declaration to include Dickson, Hickman, Houston, and Humphreys counties in Tennessee, Declaration Date Aug. 21, 2021. For loans delivered for purchase on properties located in these counties with the appraisal completed prior to impacted date listed above, Caliber Home Loans requires a standard disaster inspection to confirm that no damage has occurred to the subject property. Consult Calibers Disaster Policy in the Sellers Guide for inspection requirements.
FEMA has declared counties in California and Tennessee as major disaster areas. Lassen, Nevada, Placer, and Plumas counties in California with incident period date of 07/14/2021 and Humphreys County in Tennessee with incident period date of 08/21/2021. Loans submitted to Sun West Mortgage with an appraisal dated on or before the incident period end date or for those submitted without an appraisal, Sun West will require an interior and exterior inspection prior-to-funding or purchase of any loans with subject properties that are determined to be at risk. The inspection must verify that the property is sound, habitable and in the same condition as when it was appraised. Access the Sun West Seller Guide under the HELP section in sunsoft for more details.
FCM issued Disaster Announcement DA-21-12 regarding California Wildfires.
4 California Counties have been granted individual assistance due to Wildfires. Read Mortgage Solutions Financials’ Announcement 16-21C for details.
Effective August 23, Flagstar Bank suspended funding for California properties in some counties due to active wildfires. Once closing and funding has resumed, Flagstar will provide the re-inspection requirements, as applicable.
Upcoming Events and Training
The FAMP 2021 Annual Tradeshow and Convention is later this week, September 1-4, in Orlando at the Hilton Bonnet Creek.
On August 31 at 1 pm ET, join Homebot’s Ernie Graham and Sales Boomerang’s Alex Kutsishin as they share the retention strategies that ensure your borrowers think of you for their next loan. And join Sales Boomerang on Sept. 2 at 3 pm ET for an unscripted interview with Alex Kutsishin and Jim Deitch, moderated by Pablo Troncoso, to discuss the tech tools and strategies to field and execute with an all-star production team.
The loanDepot September 2021 training calendar schedule is available.
The Arch MI’s Webinars are posted for September.
Enact, (formerly Genworth Mortgage Insurance) offers a number of webinars and sessions for customers designed to bring out the mortgage geek in you. This September, Enact will host an interactive session covering the current market dynamics and deciphering facts from fiction, sessions on affordability options, understanding your options with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and more. Take a look at Enact September Training Calendar.
Registration is open for National MI’s upcoming September 2021 webinar sessions. The Explanation of Services, with Bruce Lund - September 14th at 10am PT. Basic Underwriting the Self-Employed Borrower, with Marianne Collins - September 15th at 10am PT. How to Coach for Performance, with Andrew Oxley - September 21st at 11am PT. Appraisal Bias Risk Reduction with Fannie Mae, with Jake Williamson - September 22nd at 11am PT. Executive Presence to Elevate Your Influence, with Julie Hansen - September 23rd at 11am PT.
Essent MI offers a video session titled, “Will You Hit Your Goal?” Essent’s training schedule is available here.
Registration is open for Plaza Home Mortgage September webinars, featuring Assessing the Assets – Using Borrower Assets as Income on September 8th, Selling in a Purchase Market on September 9th, and The Fundamentals of Mortgage Process - Session 2: Taking a Loan Application and Processing the Loan - Featuring the new URLA on September 20th. View Plaza’s September’s Training Calendar. Remember, if you can’t make a webinar, register anyway and the recording will be emailed to you.
Join XINNIX on Thursday, September 9 at 1:00 PM ET for “Leaders Who Dominate Disruption,” featuring CEO of Ziglar, Inc., Tom Ziglar, and XINNIX Founder & CEO Casey Cunningham. Michael Norton will make his XINNIX debut as host and facilitator of the live session.
Friday, September 10th, is the next edition of The Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob. Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, and I will be virtually covering current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes starting at 3PM ET: “The Rundown with Rich and Rob.” Market Analysis Manager, Richard Martin from Curinos, fka FBX | Informa, will be co-hosting!
The Indiana Mortgage Bankers Association State Convention is September 13th and 14th at the Renaissance Indianapolis North Hotel in Carmel, IN.
Capital Markets
Surprise, surprise. There were no real surprises in Fed Chair Powell’s speech from the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday. He (along with plenty of other regional Fed presidents) reiterated the U.S. economy has made enough “substantial progress” to warrant an appropriate shift toward tapering the monthly $120 billion bond buying program before year-end. He didn't provide a specific timeline and said that the central bank would be assessing data from the delta variant of the coronavirus. Tapering isn’t the same as tightening, and the Fed Chair added that the central bank won't be in a hurry to start raising rates shortly thereafter. Many saw the comments as dovish, while investors took assurance that the withdrawal of stimulus would be gradual. Perhaps we will receive an announcement as soon as the September 21/22 FOMC meeting.
Fed Chair Powell’s speech came shortly after we saw that the PCE core deflator rose the most in July since 1991. The PCE Price index, which increased 0.3 percent month-over-month and 3.6. percent year-over-year, is the Fed's preferred inflation indicator. The large figures are one reason we are seeing more and more Fed Presidents advocate for a reduction in asset purchases. Fed Chair Powell has recently advocated that higher prices are mostly the result of supply-chain disruptions that will work themselves out over time. The report also showed that income grew more than expected, though there was a slightly lower than expected increase in spending. What does it all mean? Inflation pressures continue to run persistently high and the decline in real PCE will be a drag on Q3 GDP forecasts.
We also saw that consumers moderated spending in July as evidenced by a 0.1 percent drop in personal consumption and a 2.6 percent decline in durable goods spending. Should this moderation continue, it may allow some areas of production to catch up with backorders and supply some relief to the rising prices the Fed insists are transitory. With consumers pulling back spending, the savings rate increased to 9.6 percent. Some estimate that household savings is roughly $2.3 trillion above where it might have been based on pre-pandemic trends. Consumer sentiment fell to its lowest point in nearly a decade as uncertainty around the Delta variant, increased hospitalizations, and the potential for a prolonged pandemic weighed on sentiment. Perhaps this report is simply a reflection of the frustration many are feeling about the prolonged duration of the pandemic rather than a sense of impending economic hardship.
This last unofficial week of summer, ahead of the Labor Day holiday, brings several housing-related releases, regional Fed surveys, PMIs, consumer confidence, ADP employment, and construction spending, but the headline will be the August payrolls report on Friday. The calendar begins later this morning with July pending home sales and Dallas Fed Texas manufacturing for August. In regard to MBS, the Desk will purchase an average of $4.3 billion per day this week including up to $5.2 billion today. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Friday as is 10-year yielding 1.31 percent.
Employment
“Anchor Loans, leader in fix and flip lending, is scaling up, big time!, to meet demand and is looking for processors and underwriters to grow with us. We offer signing bonuses, highly competitive compensation, comprehensive training, in-office and hybrid work options and a culture of caring and success. Anchor has the programs and unparalleled track record of performance that keeps experienced investors coming back to us. In fact, 85% of our business comes from repeat clients. Interested? To find out more and apply to one of our current openings simply contact Desiree Falcon. Come grow with us!”
Thrive Mortgage has a well-documented track record of industry firsts in the mortgage space. Once again, Thrive has accomplished another first by introducing CryptoPay by Thrive Mortgage. “Cryptocurrency isn’t just a novelty with a lot of hype. This segment has matured very rapidly into a savvy investment tool as well as effective method of expanding commerce,” stated Michael Jones, CFO for Thrive Mortgage. Effective 8/30/2021, borrowers can render payment directly to Thrive Mortgage for any number of services such as out-of-pocket closing costs, first mortgage payments, and interim construction loan payments. Jones continued, “We have seen a growing interest in providing this payment option to our clients and we figured out a way to deliver.” In an ever-evolving market and economy, Thrive recognizes the need to be the agility leader in serving their clients and providing industry-leading support to its valued teams. For more information, send inquiries to CryptoPay@ThriveMortgage.com.
Industry Leading Compensation & Turn-Times. Recently named among Top 6 Best Large Mortgage Companies to Work For by National Mortgage News and #1 Mortgage Lender on Ranking Arizona’s consumer poll, Geneva Financial Home Loans is filling Branch Manager and Loan officer positions in 45 states. Close in as little as 10 days. Large volume branches can opt for same-day Underwriting with in-branch Ops option. P&L includes zero fees for credit reports, AUS, LOS, CRM, technology fees, employer taxes (commissioned employees), VOEs, 4506Ts, and warehouse costs. See why Geneva Financial has a 5-star Google rating with over 2,000 verified borrower reviews!
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