Whether it is reducing the number of cookies in a package and keeping the price the same or putting less ounces of cereal in a box and keeping the price the same, both are ways of slyly passing on costs to consumers. In housing, the same thing can be done. It turns out that 10% of the homes in Seattle consist of a single room! Is this 1720? (Think your job is tough? What about appraisers appraising, and investors valuing, homes with only one room?) As we head toward winter, and higher rates, on the flip side Trulia analysis shows 17% of U.S. listings have dropped asking prices. Housing outpacing wage gains is not a long-term recipe for success for real estate.


Training and Events

Join me for lunch next week! On Thursday, October 25th at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, CA join me, the California MBA and their President's Council member Riivos for a CFO Peer Group Luncheon event.  My colleague, Joe Garrett, and I will speak on planning for 2019, mergers and acquisitions and other top of mind issues for independent mortgage bankers. This event is designed exclusively for mortgage banking CFOs and senior finance executives. Normally these CFO round table events are a benefit of membership in the California MBA, but Riivos is extending the invitation for this event to non-members as well. Doors open at 11:30 am (reservation required) with lunch and the program beginning at noon. If you're interested in attending this free event, please contact Susan Milazzo to make your reservation.

The hurricane season has been particularly rough on the Southeast this year and last.  The Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia in connection with NAMMBA, GREFPAC and NAMPW are hosting a charity event to raise money for the hurricane victims in their state and neighboring states. The first ever MBAG Connect for a Cause will be held on Thursday October 25th at Three Sheets in Sandy Springs from 5:30pm - 8:30pm with the Red Cross onsite collecting donations. Registration and more information at www.mbag.org and if you can't make it, donations can be made online via www.rdcrss.org/mbag.

Would you like to attend one of the California MBA events for free in 2019?  Take advantage of its October Membership Month promotion and join the organization before 10-31-18 and you can receive a complimentary registration to any of their conferences next year.  It's a great time to join this valuable organization.  If you do business in California, it's time to support the organization that supports you and your company. Join today!

Join MBA NJ on its November 6, 2018 for its Webinar Series. Demystifying Credit Repair: Your Tools for Closing More Loans, Saving Time and Building Referrals. Hear Vic Melillo discuss Credit Repair and the different tools to help close more loans, save time and build a referral system. There will be time for Q & A at the end of the session.

If you're in the Kansas City area, register for the MBAKC Luncheon on November 15th. Speaker Rob Chrisman, questionable industry newcomer, will discuss, "What the Industry can expect in the First Half of 2019 - Without Making Forecasts."

National MI is pleased to bring the following four webinars to you in November.

Freddie Mac's Home Possible Mortgage: Nov 7 10AM-11:30AM PST, Learn more about how Freddie Mac has combined their Home Possible Mortgages into one low down payment offering and how it provides new flexibilities to expand homeownership opportunities for borrowers with low-to-moderate income. This webinar is led by 30-year mortgage industry veteran, Tom Ward, National Training Manager, Customer Education Services in Freddie Mac's Single Family Strategic Delivery organization. Advanced Self-Employed Borrower: Nov 8 10-11:30AM PST Need help navigating the complicated self-employed borrower process? In this advanced session, led by Marianne Collins of Diehl Mortgage Training and Compliance, participants will get a deep dive into the various schedules and tax code rules that come into play when underwriting the self-employed borrower.

National MI continues with: Oh, Shift! Session #2 - Oh, Shift. Nov 13 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm PST. Words give you power and control. National MI University presents the second webinar in a powerful six-part series. Best-selling author and Executive Coach, Jennifer Powers, MCC's "Oh, shift!" will teach you how to use your words to affect your mindset, motivation, relationships, results and reality. This is a big-time game-changer. Building Partnerships That Work: Nonprofit and Community Outreach: Nov 15 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm PST, 75% of household growth is projected to come from minority segments over the next five years. Millennials and Generation Z are more likely to choose providers associated with a social cause. Join Kristin Messerli of Cultural Outreach and learn how to identify and build the right community partners, how to develop strong relationships through networking and communication and how to convert community outreach initiatives into a new channel of sales and recruitment!


Lender products & services

Government submissions are on the rise. JMAC Lending is offering Appraisal Fee Credits of up to $500 at closing for all Government Purchase loans submitted in October and Novemberand closed by Dec. 31, 2018. "JMAC provides flexible credit and income guidelines manual underwriting (DTI to 50%) manufactured home loans (FHA) and reduced seasoning for credit events such as foreclosure, short sales, DIL and bankruptcy," Regional Sales Manager Robin King says. "We are closing government purchase loans in 14-21 days. Plus, you can get your borrowers pre-qualified to save more time." Click here for details on the Govt. promotion. To speak with an AE, and to submit a scenario, contact sales@JMACLending.com or call 844.888.5622.

TCF Bank's Relationship Lending Unit (RLU) is happy to announce the addition of four new sales leaders to grow its HELOC business nationwide. Mark Mazzenga will lead the eastern United States team, Jim Sprick will lead the western United States team, Ken Cudia joins as the southern Florida business development manager and Douglas Smurthwaite joins as the northern California business development manager. "These four individuals bring decades of experience to the TCF RLU team," said Mark Zierott, national sales manager, relationship lending unit at TCF Bank. "With expanded loan sizes, reduced FICO scores, lower margins, and our concurrent and standalone offerings, TCF RLU continues to be the number one choice for HELOCs in the TPO channel." If you are interested in becoming an approved partner with TCFRLU, please contact Mark Zierott.

Are You Ready to eClose the Digital Loop? Nancy Pratt, Pavaso's Vice President of Partner Relations and Government Affairs, says front-end origination technologies have made enormous strides toward digital mortgages and improved the borrower experience with intuitive designs and automated approvals. Now, she says, it's time for lenders to take the next step toward eClosing loans. "Today's lenders have the ability to expand the digital experience by letting customers view closing documents online prior to close, in the comfort of their own homes and at their own pace," Pratt says. "They can even access educational links, videos and explanations about individual documents. When given a more transparent eClosing process, we've found borrowers spend a fraction of time at the closing table, often executing documents in 15 minutes or less." To learn more about Pavaso's eClose solutions, visit www.pavaso.com, reach out to sales@pavaso.com or give them a call at (866) 288-7051.

Did you sell off yourself along with your loans? This new white paper from TMS will stop you in your tracks and make you rethink what you know about correspondent lending, or, as TMS calls it, CAREspondent lending. It's time you start caring about who you choose as a correspondent investor because your customer sure does. As it stands, less than 10% of customers return to their original correspondent lender when they decide to get another mortgage or refinance. The Correspondent lender loses connection with the borrower when they dump them onto a correspondent investor and never explain the process. If you want to secure future growth and create repeat customers, it's time to start caring about who you partner with, and how you're communicating to borrowers. Read more here.

Amidst rising interest rates and declining origination volume, lenders must cast a wider net for customers, a growing number of which are self-employed. To capitalize on this trend, lenders need a simpler, faster way to underwrite mortgages for Americans who are their own bosses. To this end, Freddie Mac has integrated fintech vendor LoanBeam's technology with Loan Product Advisor®, our automated underwriting system, to introduce the first and only integrated self-employment income solution for the market. LoanBeam's software uses optical character recognition technology to extract and digest a borrower's tax returns and other financials, and then calculate a total income figure that aligns with Freddie Mac's guidelines. This integration offers lenders several advantages, including an automated review of the accuracy of qualifying income, eliminating the need to chase down unnecessary documents that support residual/excess income and certainty that the income calculation is eligible for representation and warranty relief. Learn more.


Capital markets

Steady as she goes. (For now.) The U.S. 10-year closed at 3.18% after the release of a disappointing Housing Starts (20k below expectations) and Building Permits (32k below expectations) report for September. The supply of new homes isn't picking up fast enough to meet the demand for new homes at more affordable price points, and overall home sales activity should continue to be repressed by affordability constraints. The afternoon release of September FOMC Minutes showed that policymakers are ready to increase the fed funds rate range past the neutral policy rate, acknowledging the presence of strains on emerging market economies but without significant concern. The implied likelihood of a hike in December increased to 83% from 80%, but the implied probability of another rate increase in March dropped slightly 50%.

Weekly jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index began today's calendar (-5k to 210k, -.7 to 22.2, respectively) followed later by September Leading Economic Indicators. "Fed speak" consists of messages from St. Louis Fed President Bullard, and Governor Quarles. Finally, the NY Fed will be back with likely the last MBS large-scale purchase recap of the year at 2PM. We begin Thursday with the 10-year yielding 3.20% and agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Wednesday's close.


Jobs & promotions

Fiserv/PCLender is searching for a Client Services Manager. This senior position leads a national customer support team and reports to Fiserv/PCL Director of Client Experience. A successful candidate will work directly with clients, professional services and sales to ensure highest level of customer support services and relationship management for LOS Clients. Send inquiries to Resumes@PCLender.com or apply online for R-10098051-1.

Guardian Mortgage, a division of Sunflower Bank, N.A., has announced that due to unprecedented retail growth, that it will move resources away from its less profitable Correspondent Lending division to focus on the rapidly growing retail platforms. Even in a rising interest rate environment, with refinances slowing, Guardian's volume is up over 119% in 2018 alone, beating projections. The decision was solidified with their 2019 expansion plans for new and existing retail markets, and the addition of new sales teams in several states to fuel further growth. "Due to balance sheet or cash flow concerns, others are retracting and we're expanding. We just purchased $50 million in servicing when others are selling. For Originators, is your current company experiencing this kind of growth? If not, maybe we should talk." said Guardian Mortgage president Mischelle Weaver. Guardian Mortgage is growing, and they're always looking for top performers. Please visit its website.

Do you have the niche products you need to win business from builders and REALTORS? Can you increase your market share via MSAs or desk rental agreements? Planet Home Lending branches can. Join Planet and get a robust product portfolio with no agency overlays, plus: no MI and near-miss jumbo, bank statement, Debt Service Coverage Ratio (lease income), foreign national, and asset depletion non-QMs, 203(k) renovation and 203(h) 100% post-disaster loans, TDB (lock and shop), non-warrantable condos, manufactured homes, USDA, 80/10/10, and DPA. Call 888-792-8480 for a confidential consultation or email Planet Home with a note of interest.

Assurance Financial offers branch managers and top producing loan originators something they seek: consistency - a way to close more loans on time with the same amount of effort. "Our team is designed, built, and marketed to support the LO-every time. We deliver what we promise. Assurance Financial is a growing private residential mortgage banker with offices throughout the South, East Coast, and Midwest US, and we may be just what you're looking for. Contact Paul M. Peters, CMB (225-939-6353) for a confidential discussion today." 

The Equitable Mortgage Corporation (EMC) welcomed Todd Reigle as its new Vice President of Marketing. Reigle joins EMC with over 24 years of marketing experience in the Columbus area various radio and nonprofit organizations including Radiohio Inc./97.1 The Fan, Canine Companions for Independence, Goodwill Columbus and Make-A-Wish.

Sun West Mortgage Company, Inc. has expanded its distributed retail division with the launch of new DBA, Mortgage Possible. Congratulations to industry experts Ty Kern, Jeff Onofrio, Eddie Brown, and John Brumund who are managing the launch of this new DBA.