Freddie Mac is re-imagining the Mortgage Experience to create a smarter, simpler, and less costly origination process. We're using big data and advanced analytics to offer an automated alternative to an appraisal through our new automated collateral evaluation (ACE) for certain loans submitted through Loan Product Advisor®, our next-generation automated underwriting system and the gateway to Loan Advisor Suite®. As of Sept. 1, ACE is available for purchase and refi transactions. This means you can potentially shave 7-10 days off the time it takes for loans to close, and save your borrowers in some instances up to $300 to $700 on the appraisal fee (Source: Freddie Mac Strategic Delivery and lender feedback). Ready to learn more? Visit the Loan Advisor Suite web page.

To find out if a property is eligible for ACE, lenders must submit loan data through Loan Product Advisor, the cornerstone of Loan Advisor Suite. ACE will be available for qualified home purchases beginning on Sept. 1, 2017; it has been available for qualified refinances since June 19, 2017. If ACE determines that the estimated value of the home provided by the lender is acceptable, the lender may receive immediate representation and warranty relief related to the value, condition and marketability of the property upon delivery of the loan to Freddie Mac.

FAMC's recent bulletin updated guideline information including the requirement of Lenders to follow the updated policy for properties with accessory units per Freddie Mac Bulletin 2017-8 for Conventional products. For properties that do not comply with local zoning, the appraiser must provide at least two (2) comparable sales that have the same non-compliant zoning and land use.  Also noted, Lenders may follow the Appraisal Waiver requirements per Freddie Mac Bulletin 2017-13, which expanded eligibility to purchase transactions.

The Flagstar Bank Loan Product Advisor (LPA) will now offer an Automated Collateral Evaluation (ACE) on eligible purchase loan transactions.  Eligible transactions include: Purchase and Rate and term Refinance, One-unit properties (excludes condominiums), Principal residence and second home transactions with LTV/CLTV ratios up to 80%.

Tune in and learn a new way to close purchase loans faster and digitally. View Caliber Home Loans Wholesale Division's latest announcement regarding appraisal waiver on new purchase transactions.

Wells Fargo Funding has updated the Any Role-Individuals List and Any Role-Entities List within the Wells Fargo Funding Validation List available on wellsfargofunding.com in the Info Gallery under Client Tools. Refer to the Wells Fargo Funding Seller Guide for its policies related to the list. It also updated and posted the AMC Appraiser Validation List, which Sellers may download and share with their appraisal management companies (AMCs) to assist in determining eligibility of appraisers to provide valuation products for Loans intended 
for sale to Wells Fargo Funding.

Wells Fargo Funding has created the non-branded AMC Appraiser Validation List to help Sellers ensure appraisals for Loans intended for delivery to Wells Fargo Funding are not ordered from ineligible individuals or entities. Sellers may share the AMC Appraiser Validation List with their AMCs for the sole purpose of assisting AMCs in determining eligibility of appraisers to provide valuation products for Loans intended for sale to Wells Fargo Funding.

Orion Lending, a fast-growing wholesale mortgage bank, announced the deployment of Mercury Network to manage all appraisal pipelines. The company's broker partners use Orion's proprietary STAR portal to manage loans from one convenient location, including the entire appraisal process now powered by Mercury Network, now a part of CoreLogic.  Mercury Network connects Orion Lending to their preferred appraisal management companies (AMCs) for appraisal order fulfillment inside the STAR portal, with one-stop access for broker partners. Orion's broker partners have more visibility into order status, and a single location for all appraisal orders regardless of the vendor used. Mercury Network's platform also gives Orion Lending enhanced reporting for effective vendor oversight and an easier process for placing appraisal orders. 

To exercise the PIW on an FNMA eligible loan casefile, at the time of delivery Special Feature Code 801 must be identified by the underwriter for use by Loan Delivery to receive representation and warranty relief. If for any reason the choice is made to not exercise the waiver, M&T is required to deliver the loan with the fieldwork recommended by DU, which would be an appraisal based on an interior and exterior property inspection.

Freddie and Fannie Programs Continue to Shift

Did you know that FNMA, FHLMC, GNMA and other government agencies own or guarantee approximately 60% of all US mortgages? Dealing with the Agencies is way down the list in terms of Congressional priorities, but to prevent another taxpayer rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Treasury are facing calls from Senate Democrats to allow the mortgage giants to build cash reserves. Recently, the Republican National Committee adopted a resolution to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie, which combined with the Democrats' appeal, could indicate a shift in thinking on the government-sponsored enterprises.

On September 26, the GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) announced the redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA; Fannie Mae 1003; Freddie Mac 65) may be used beginning July 1, 2019, and will be required in February 2020. Heck, that's enough lead time, right?

The Fannie Mae Selling Guide has been updated with the following changes to: Offer property inspection waivers on some purchase transactions, in addition to the refinance transactions already permitted. Provide guidance for submitting Uniform Closing Dataset (UCD) borrower data and Closing Disclosures. Effective Sept. 25, lenders must submit UCD borrower data electronically for conventional loans; there will be a six-month transition period to resolve operational issues associated with this change, with warning edits being issued. Extend DU Refi Plus^TM and Refi Plus^TM options through Dec. 31, 2018, as part of extending the Home Affordable Refinance Program. Read about these updates in Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2017-08.

Freddie Mac announced recent changes regarding their acceptance of lender gifts and grant and agency provided funds for their Home Possible mortgages, including Home Possible Advantage® program. In light of these changes, U.S. Bank Home Mortgage has removed the following eligible source of funds option under the Funds to Close/Reserves section of our guidelines: In addition to gifts, gifts of equity, or grants described in Freddie Mac Guidelines Section 5501.3(c), a gift or grant from the seller as the originating lender. This change is effective immediately for any new registration or locks.

Master servicers undertaking subservicer oversight activities (as outlined in Servicing Guide A2-1-06) may be able to leverage the Fannie Mae STAR Assessment to help satisfy the oversight requirement. Additional evaluation may be required to fully assess subservicer performance. Please refer to the recently published Servicer Self-Assessment and the Servicer/Master Servicer Oversight Job Aid for additional support and best practices related to these oversight requirements.

Capital Markets

U.S. Treasuries had their third straight down week last week. Why? Combine quiet in North Korea, the outline of the Trump administration's tax plan, and hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Janet Yellen that raised odds of a December rate hike. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said that he argued in favor of pausing rate hikes, but still said he expects the fed funds rate to be increased in December and three more times in 2018.

President Trump, in addition to releasing some more details for his tax plan, met with Kevin Warsh, leading to renewed speculation Warsh is likely to become the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve. President Trump said today that he expects to make a decision regarding the next Fed chair in the next two or three weeks.

Looking to this week, Monday we have the ISM Index and Construction Spending, and with nothing Tuesday you can hold your breath for MBA Mortgage Applications on Wednesday, which also has ADP Employment data. Thursday is the September Challenger Job Cuts, Factory Orders and Durable Goods Orders, and Friday is the complete set of payroll data. (On the road to New Orleans - too early to know where bonds are.)

Opportunities and Products

The success and demand for nmpU's Purchase Bootcamp's presented by Ron Vaimberg, nmpU's President and Head Coach is very real. That is why for the first time, nmpU's Purchase Bootcamp will be held on the East Coast in beautiful South Beach, Florida on Thursday and Friday, November 9th and 10th. Mortgage professionals from across the country will converge to attend this amazing one of a kind 2-day intense success program. Because of the exclusive level of customization and personal interaction between Ron and the attendees, the class continues to be limited in size to only 40 attendees. Regardless of your current level of production, you are guaranteed to learn strategies that will increase your income $100,000 or more without working one minute more in your business than you do now.

Struggling to automatically determine your consumer's complete and actual home financing cost at the point of sale? Enter Loanbot, the API for Compliant Loan Quotes, built by the experts at MortgageCTO.

The Loanbot engine provides Fees, MI, APR and Compliance results on demand and securely via an Application Programming Interface (API) designed for integration with your POS, PPE and LOS. Loanbot is hosted in the cloud, built on a contemporary technology stack and boasts a scalable architecture.  The solution offers unparalleled administrative control over a lender's key content and calculations and is accessible anytime from any device.  Learn more at loanbot.com or mortgagecto.com.  To schedule a demonstration, contact Rob Withers or call 1-833-LOANBOT. Visit MortgageCTO and learn about Loanbot at Booth 1219 during the MBA Annual Conventional in Denver, CO October 22-25.

In the Wholesale arena, San Diego based 5th St. Capital, Inc, is searching for wholesale AEs in Northern and Southern California. We are seeking experienced, producing Account Executives with an active book of business, who want to join an industry leader in Prime Jumbo Fallout and the emerging Non- QM space. Candidates should be professional, committed, and hardworking, as well as self-motivated with the ability to succeed in a fast-paced industry. Compensation is very competitive with complete access to a full operational support staff, all with 10+ years' experience in the niche lending space. Interested candidates should confidentially submit a resume and recent record of fundings to careers@5thstcap.com.

Questions can be addressed to EVP of Business Development, Maurice Totry.

I have a Seasoned Retail Mortgage executive who may be a solid option for mortgage banks or depositories who are seeking a competent, results-oriented leader with the documented track record to profitably (55-75bps net) grow a distributed retail multi branch platform. His relationships and track record are serious - depending upon capital structure, recruiting and on-boarding $60M/mo. in originations in less than 12mo, or driving over $2B in two years are consistent with his track record. If you are looking or plan on securing such a leader in the next 3-4 months, email me rob@robchrisman.com directly. Serious inquires only. 

As a full-service mortgage banker, Assurance Financial is seeking motivated, experienced Branch Managers and MLOs who want to take their career to the next level. As seen in Scotsman Guide, leaders who join our team enjoy our reputation of closing loans on time, with great back-office support, ready-to-use marketing and advertising tools, and a state-of-the-art CRM. Close more loans, fill your pipeline, and enjoy your career with Assurance Financial. Contact Sales Recruiting Manager Paul Peters, CMB at 225-239-7948 or visit LendTheWay.com/Careers.

Guaranteed Rate recently announced that Jeff Nelson has joined the company. Nelson joins the company as Divisional Manager of the southeast region, overseeing North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Here's a new group garnering some attention, and you can join for free: America's Homeowner Alliance. It is set up for existing and all future homeowners, built to protect and promote sustainable homeownership for all segments of America. If you go to the AHA website and use the promotional code "rcc2017" by the end of 2017 to get your first-year membership free. "Anyone who cares about homeownership should join for free. LOs or escrow agents can give a free first-year membership in AHA as a housewarming gift to any applicants or to anyone closing a loan. You'll be a hero for your customers and will be doing something great to build the advocacy voice of the homeowner of America."