I could tell that my cat Myrtle was miffed Sunday. I’m sure that she, given her position at the top of the food chain, believes that I shouldn’t be watching her surf the web for aquariums or frozen line-caught salmon steaks. But I have my ways, as monitoring one’s every move isn’t strictly the ability of the government or Apple. As plenty of managers continue to allow employees to work from home, there’s Controlio (arguably a sinister name) which tells you every keystroke and website your staff (or child) is making or visiting. Salesforce has cornered the market on monitoring employee calls. Meanwhile, many companies have allowed the virtual office to remain but require employees to come in a few days a week to see and talk to one another, and for supervision. (In my defense, I was left unsupervised as a child, and see how I turned out!) Today’s audio version of the commentary is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, audit, tax, technology, and other services in the mortgage industry and in banking.

Lender and Broker Products and Services

Take the headache out of the appraisal management process. Connexions’ premier appraisal management software ensures greater efficiency and compliance, while leveraging the latest technologies. It operates intuitively, utilizing data science, product integrations and best-in-class security that can be customized to match your workflows. Connexions’ platform features accounting automation for greater accuracy, robust reporting capabilities and appraisal management filters at every step, making the process effortless. And because it’s integrated with Encompass, more feature options are available than competing platforms. It’s configurable at the branch level and even lets you auto-disable vendors on exclusionary lists for greater compliance. You’ll also receive onboarding support and ongoing service from a dedicated account representative. A free mobile app is available too! Connexions has been packaging compliance, automation and reporting at the loan, branch, and global levels for residential and commercial lenders and AMCs for 20+ years. To learn more about Connexions, book a demo!

Turning your balance sheet losses into recovered revenue takes significant time and expertise. Get a partner that can help. Computershare Loan Services (CLS), a leader in debt recovery, is ready to review your charged-off portfolio, build a cash flow model, and provide an estimated liquidation rate so you know what you can expect to get back. Its proactive approach to borrower communication and flexible payment programs have helped clients recover debt since 2007, and CLS’ contingency-based model means you only pay on what’s collected. Contact CLS today.

As the bears at Katmai National Park in Alaska prepare for hibernation, a unique competition is about to take place: Fat Bear Week. On Wednesday, voting opens to determine which bear appears best prepared for winter… In other words, which is the fattest of the fat. Lenders, if you aren’t using your existing contact records to find future loan opportunities, you can consider your database in hibernation. Sales Boomerang, the #1 automated borrower intelligence and retention platform, monitors your database and notifies you when your borrowers are eligible for a loan. Notifications include refi opportunities, home listings, credit improvement and more! Lenders using Sales Boomerang see an average 20-40% lift to loan volume and 65% borrower retention rate. Don’t sleep on this opportunity to fatten up your pipeline. Schedule a demo today and become your borrowers’ forever lender.

There are tons of tech companies cropping up in the mortgage industry, and for good reason! Originators need to use data from external sources to meet the regulatory requirements during the loan process. Searching for data from sources like contracts, bank statements, loan applications, and guidelines is a time-consuming task. The mortgage industry is in dire need of a platform that securely integrates with lenders’ key systems via authentication and provides the loan officer with instant and actionable answers about borrower opportunities, loan statuses, guidelines, etc. This type of solution could reduce the time that loan officers spend manually logging into systems and searching for information. If you’re interested in solving these problems, you might be interested in a mortgage support automation platform. Learn more.

Check out TRIPLE STAR Conventional, VA and FHA purchase Incentives! The Freedom Mortgage Wholesale Division is offering a (.250) LLPA Purchase Incentive and 2 business day Priority Purchase Underwriting for all Conventional, VA and FHA purchases. Additionally, Freedom’s new Premier Jumbo Fixed Rate product features a maximum 89.99% LTV/CLTV (Purchase, Rate/Term, up to $1.5 million, 1 unit, single family, includes PUD/Condo/Co-op, minimum 740 credit score), no required mortgage insurance, and cash out up to $750,000 on primary and second homes. Available for Brokers and Non-Delegated Correspondents using their Table Funded Broker ID only.   

Covius, a leading provider of technology-enabled solutions to the financial services industry, has reached an agreement to acquire Nationwide Title Clearing, a leading national lien release provider. With this acquisition, Covius will be able to significantly enhance and expand its post-closing capabilities. Commenting on the transaction, John Surface, President and COO of Covius said, “Over the past three years, Covius has continued to build out our platform of tech-enabled offerings through acquisitions and organic growth. Our robust solutions span origination, servicing, and capital markets segments, offering loss mitigation and loan modification services, document and critical borrower communications, title and settlement services, auction and REO asset disposition, verifications, and due diligence. NTC’s market-leading solutions strategically complement Covius’ existing broad offerings.” To learn more, contact us (877-516-8121).

MLOs, 2021 has modernized the mortgage industry. Is your software ready to support your loan growth goals in 2022? Unify has introduced 6 new ways to grow your 2022 business. For more than 10 years, Unify has worked to provide thousands of top mortgage professionals all-in-one software tools and automation to stay ahead of their competition. With Unify, you will 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. Click here to see how Unify can help your drive your 2022 business success!

NEWS: Digital mortgage platform Maxwell launches Maxwell Capital, offering game-changing secondary market access to local lenders. The lenders serving America’s communities need scale and competitive rates to win against large industry players. Maxwell’s latest solution, Maxwell Capital, works as a dedicated partner to offer transformative benefits, including decreased trading time, a streamlined process, and more consistent experiences for lenders and borrowers. By leveraging Maxwell’s existing scale, Maxwell Capital enables competitive, faster pricing. In turn, lenders are able to offer rates that delight their borrowers, helping drive powerful business growth. To learn more about how Maxwell Capital can transform your secondary market experience, click here or request information now.

Disasters

For easy reference, here is FEMA’s Disaster Information Page.

FHA issued a reminder, FHA INFO #21-74, to mortgagees about its guidance for originating and/or servicing FHA-insured mortgages in locations in the U.S. and its territories when the President declares a major disaster area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Access the Sun West Seller Guide under the HELP section in sunsoft to view Disaster Inspection requirements. Refer to Sun West Forward Mortgage Seller Guide (Section 404.07) and Sun West Reverse Mortgage Seller Guide (Section 3.23) for more details.

Refer to the disaster policies in Caliber Home Loans Seller Guide  for inspection requirements in areas declared as a Disaster by FEMA.

In response to FEMA declared disaster areas, AmeriHome issued a Reminder to Sellers  regarding responsibility in determining potential impact to a property located in an area where a disaster is occurring or has occurred. Log into AmeriHome or contact your sales representative or Operations Account Representative with any questions.

Tropical Storm Fred - FEMA Disaster Declaration Counties in North Carolina. First Community Mortgage posted Disaster Announcement DA-21-14 addressing North Carolina’s Tropical Storm. Due to Fred, Flagstar Bank is requiring satisfactory re-inspections, and Mortgage Solutions Financial posted Announcement 20-21C.

Hurricane IDA - Areas declared as major disasters include Pennsylvania Counties, New York Counties, and New Jersey Counties. Tax Filing Relief information updates related to Hurricane Ida is provided in FAMC Correspondent National Bulletin 2021-37. Mortgage Solutions Financial posted revisions to Announcement 19-21C on September 10th. Flagstar Bank posted information on resuming closings and fundings in various locations affected. FEMA issued Amendment No. 2, to DR-4611 on 9/16/2021 providing an Incident Period End Date of 9/3/2021, for Louisiana parishes affected by Hurricane Ida. Flagstar Bank has resumed loan closings and funding for properties located in the counties/parishes listed in Flagstar Announcement 21117 due to Hurricane Ida. AmeriHome Mortgage posted inspection requirements for Louisiana parishes with FEMA issuance of an end date. Login to AmeriHome SellerWeb to view Disaster Announcement Number 20210908-CL. First Community Mortgage Disaster Announcement Update: DA-21-13- Louisiana Hurricane IDA- Incident End Date. Inspection requirements for revised Counties in Pennsylvania Counties declared disaster areas were posted in First Community Mortgage Announcement DA-21-15.

Capital Markets

Those preaching higher rates for the entirety of this calendar year may finally have a reason to rejoice. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is now at its highest level since the start of July after the Federal Reserve left monetary policy unchanged following their meeting last Wednesday, but began to set expectations as to when they may begin to reduce asset purchases. Expectations are for asset purchases to be wound down by mid-year next year and the updated dot plot shows the Fed may begin to tighten monetary policy towards the end of 2022.  A few additional members now see a rate hike in 2022: odds are now around 50-50 for a rate hike next year.

Meanwhile, housing data released last week showed existing home sales softened in August while new home sales increased slightly. Both new and existing home prices were significantly higher than they were twelve months ago, which may be a reason that new home sales are down nearly 25 percent from a year ago. Existing home inventory remains tight at 2.6 months’ worth and new home inventory increased to 6.1 months. Housing starts for single family homes declined 2.8 percent in August to a 1.076-million-unit annual rate while permits were up a scant 0.6 percent. September’s survey by the National Association of Homebuilders showed homebuilder confidence has increased.

This week’s September month-end and quarter-end calendar may be overshadowed by what is going on in Washington D.C. A $1 trillion infrastructure bill awaits consideration in the House today, a $3.5 trillion social policy and climate change measure is still being drafted, and a possible government shutdown looms on Friday followed by a potential debt crisis next month. On the data front, it is a jam-packed week with markets receiving updates on durable goods, home prices, consumer confidence, pending home sales, final Q2 GDP, Chicago PMI, PCE, ISM manufacturing, construction spending and Michigan sentiment. Today’s economic calendar is already underway with August durable goods orders (strong at +1.8 percent, but ex-transportation only +.2). Later this morning brings Dallas Fed Texas manufacturing for September and a Treasury auction of $61 billion 5-year notes. We also receive remarks from a couple Fed speakers with Chicago’s Evans and New York’s Williams both taking the stage. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices down/worse .250 and the 10-year yielding 1.51 after closing Friday at 1.46 percent on continued optimism about worldwide economic conditions.

Jobs

Research shows that adopting healthy brain habits will help you build the mental resilience needed to excel in today’s demanding world. That’s why Caliber Home Loans has partnered with the Center for BrainHealth to offer a new benefit for employees: The Brain Healthy Workplace Program. The Brain Healthy Workplace Program is valued at more than $1,000 per employee, but we offer it to our employees for free! The program is designed to build a stronger, healthier, more efficient brain, which will improve the way you think, work and live. Watch as Sean Harding, EVP Caliber Human Resources, and Stephen White, COO of Center for BrainHealth, speak about the program and its benefits, such as a current brain assessment, self-paced training modules, and personalized, one-hour coaching sessions. If you want to join the team that cares for its employees and understands the importance of maintaining your health, email James Hecht for Sales positions.

New American Funding Receives 5-Star Retail Lenders Award from Mortgage Professional America. The award is based on surveys of over 90,000 mortgage professionals, who were asked to identify the best retail lenders and what makes those companies great. It’s not surprising New American Funding won, given how much it cares about its team. The company, one of the country’s largest privately held lenders, has an award-winning culture that focuses on supporting its employees in business and in life. New American Funding believes in development through mentorship, coaching, and support. The company works closely with its originators to develop new technology and marketing campaigns. The company offers proprietary technology like Local Buyer Connect, which matches originators with live local online purchase borrowers, and GoGo LO mobile, which offers strategic market intelligence and marketing outreach campaigns. At New American Funding, originators are teed up for greatness. Join our team today! Visit teamnewamerican.com.

"Because of my investment banking career, The Wall Street Journal called me to comment on publicly traded mortgage companies and their future earnings potential," said  Dr Rick Roque, reputable industry consultant and Corporate VP at Shamrock Home Loans, “While there are a few companies with diversified revenue streams such as Finance of America or Quicken who arguably will grow in a rising rate forecast, most others will disappoint investors due to predictable market cycles that we have seen before and likely to come. When quarterly earnings are missed, loan officers and Sales Managers get squeezed either by changes in comp plans or margins affecting your street-price. Founded by Dean Harrington, Shamrock Home Loans is one of the oldest mortgage banks in the US and is proud to be family-owned, innovative, and free of investment banking or public interests. Expect more for your clients, realtors, and employees: contact us: JoinTheRock@ShamrockHomeLoans.com.