We don’t eat plain ol’ “bacon” anymore. It is usually “Applewood smoked bacon.” Given the amount of Applewood smoked bacon lenders seem to consume at conferences, and others at IHOP or Denny’s, I wonder if there are any apple orchards left! You read it here first. Speaking of reading it here first, for anyone working on projections for 2018, the MBA released its volume estimates for 2018 – shown below. And here in Denver, HUD Secretary Ben Carson turned some heads by suggesting lower potential penalties for lenders, especially those financing low-income borrowers.

Disaster Updates

FHA has a new, pre-recorded webinar, Originating FHA-Insured Forward Mortgages in Major Disaster Areas. Available 24/7, this self-faced, pre-recorded webinar covers two of FHA's key programs that can be used to assist in recovery efforts following a major disaster. Webinar is available on the Updated Single Family Housing Self-Paced, Pre-Recorded Training web page.

Freddie Mac confirmed that its disaster relief options will be available to homeowners in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who have been impacted by Hurricane Maria. In general, Freddie Mac's disaster relief options are available to borrowers with homes or places of employment in presidentially-declared major disaster areas where federal individual assistance programs have been made available. A description of Freddie disaster relief policies can be found here.

Because of the emergency declaration for the wildfires currently occurring in Northern California, Pacific Union Financial, LLC is monitoring the impact to all areas.  Once impacted areas are identified, standard agency, investor and Pacific Union requirements apply for properties located in these areas to determine whether there is an impact to the property and value.  In addition, all types of issued insurance policies (hazard, flood, windstorm, etc.) must have binding authority on the subject property. Please see the Pacific Union Disaster Area Policy located in the Correspondent Lending Guide for detailed requirements.

Mortgage Solutions Financial posted an announcement regarding the California wildfires.

Because of the multiple wildfires burning in Northern CA, a state of emergency was declared by the Governor of California from October 8, 2017 (incident start date) and continuing (incident end date to be determined) for the following counties: Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Sonoma, and Yuba. Canyon 2 Fire, a state of emergency was declared by the Governor of California from October 8, 2017 (incident start date) and continuing (incident end date to be determined) for Orange county. Due to the size of Orange County, NewLeaf has narrowed the impacted areas to the following Orange County zip codes: 92807, 92808, and 92869. Disaster protocol is applicable per NewLeaf guidelines.

AmeriHome Mortgage posted the following information: FEMA added Grimes and Caldwell counties to the list of counties eligible for Individual Assistance, bringing the total number of Texas counties granted individual assistance to 41.  

Royal Pacific Funding is offering FHA 203(h) Financing for borrowers who have lost their home in a Federally Declared Disaster Area.

AmeriHome Mortgage posted for loans utilizing a PIW or ACE offer, the following requirements apply if the property is in a FEMA declared disaster area with individual assistance:  If the FEMA declared incident period (beginning) date is: Prior to loan close - the PIW or ACE offer may not be exercised, and a full appraisal is required. After loan close - a re-inspection with interior inspection and photos is required. 

PennyMac Correspondent Group posted a bulletin regarding tax return filing extension due to hurricanes.

Capital Markets

There wasn't much movement in the U.S. Treasury market on Monday, although lower coupon MBS outperformed by over 3 ticks in the case of 3% (thus helping lower rate mortgage prices slightly). Most market participants are here at the MBA Annual in Denver, and there was little tradable news despite speeches by HUD Secretary Ben Carson and FHFA Director Mel Watt. MBS volumes were reported to be well below half of recent averages. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York did its usual thing: The FedTrade operation did provide some light buying of G2/FN swaps early, when the Desk purchased $1.073bn 3% through 4% though with a light 15.6% hit rate.

Today kicks off with the October Philadelphia Fed Nonmanufacturing Business Outlook, followed by Redbook weekly chain store sales, Markit Manufacturing and Services PMIs, and finally the Richmond Fed's surveys for October. We closed Monday with the 10-year yielding 2.37%. This morning we start with rates higher: the 10-year is at 2.41% and agency MBS prices are worse .250. The reason? General strong corporate news around the world and a temporary lack of headline international news.

MBA Looks to the Future

Yes, we are only one week from Halloween, and 2017 is not over yet. Yet from here in Denver the Mortgage Bankers Association announced today that it expects to see $1.2 trillion in purchase mortgage originations during 2018, a 7.3 percent increase from 2017. In contrast, MBA anticipates refinance originations will decrease by 28.3 percent from 2017, to approximately $430 billion. In total, the MBA believes mortgage originations will decrease to $1.60 trillion in 2018 from $1.69 trillion in 2017. For 2019, MBA is forecasting total originations to rebound to $1.64 trillion, with purchase originations of $1.24 trillion and refinance originations of $395 billion.

Vendor News

The William Fall Group, a national real estate appraisal firm and parent company of Valuation Partners and WFG, has acquired Summit Valuations, a nationwide provider of valuation services with particular expertise in loan servicing and capital markets. Summit Valuations will operate as a subsidiary of The William Fall Group out of its Des Plaines, Illinois location. Summit president Ron Ahlensdorf, Jr., an 18-year appraisal industry veteran, will serve as president of the subsidiary. With the acquisition, The William Fall Group continues to expand on its diversified goals, aimed at becoming one of the top five privately held U.S. valuation companies.

Credit Plus announced its 4506-T Reports are fully integrated with Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter (DU) platform. Lenders can now obtain automated access to Credit Plus 4506-T Reports through DU and at the same time will obtain freedom from representations and warranties on specific components of the loan process. "We're excited to integrate with Fannie Mae to help lenders reduce risk and verify a borrower's income with what's on file with the Internal Revenue Service," said Greg Holmes, National Director of Sales and Marketing at Credit Plus.

Equity National Title recently completed the first fully digital closing to be initiated through its eWays portal. It was the first time a mortgage lender has used the portal to identify a county where a fully electronic closing is possible and subsequently identified a loan applicant residing in one of those counties. Equity National Title's eWays is a first-of-its-kind "e-closing" hub for mortgage lenders designed to identify the types of electronic closings available at a zip code level.  The portal serves mortgage lenders by clarifying whether key authorities in each zip code accept none, all or some combination of the four existing types of closing:  fully digital; hybrid; remote notary or traditional. The website was launched in September.

Roostify is launching Decision Builder, a new tool that will enable lenders to easily provide their prospective applicants with a clear, easily-digestible view of their loan options, based on the lender's actual product and pricing system. The Decision Builder tool can be placed on a lender's existing website, and features a handful of dropdown questions, such as the desired loan amount, the expected down payment, and the ZIP code of the house to be purchased. With that information, Decision Builder will generate a series of loan options based on the lender's product and pricing system, showing the consumer what products and rates they would qualify for. Each option is presented in a visual, easy-to-understand interface with clear explanation of the benefit of the loan product - for example, a lower monthly payment or low total interest. From there, the consumer can more easily evaluate which loan product is right for them.

Business Opportunities, Jobs, and Promotions

"There are some very unique opportunities in the market for existing production teams with more than $5million per month in production. Opportunities to have control over process and procedure, to help determine corporate pricing and to share in corporate profits. If you have an experienced production team, there has never been a better time to look at what is available to you in opportunities with growing companies who want to take market share from those who treat you like a number. I can introduce you to these opportunities confidentially. Contact Ron at 480-204-1812 or via email."

Headquartered in the financial district of Atlanta, Angel Oak Home Loans LLC continues to expand with the addition of Trent Reed, Regional Vice President for North and South Carolina. With an extensive background leading sales teams, Trent will be responsible for seeking branch managers and loan officers in the North and South Carolina markets.  He'll be creating and maintaining a recruiting platform, promoting consistent growth, while building the Carolina market by attracting and retaining retail loan officers. If you are interested in seeking career opportunities with Angel Oak's Carolina markets, please click here for further information.

nmpU's Purchase Bootcamp (PBC) will be taking place over 2 days in South Beach, Florida on Thursday, November 9th and Friday, November 10th and is presented by Ron Vaimberg, nmpU President and Head Coach. Join top producing mortgage professionals from around the country in the most comprehensive high-performance success program focused on growing your purchase business. Only 40 attendees are permitted and very few seats remain. Purchase Boot Camp is backed by a $100,000 money back income increase guarantee, which means you risk nothing by attending. Click here to find out more about the program and what others are saying about nmpU's Purchase Boot Camp. Use code "Chrisman" (expires Friday, 10/27/17) on checkout and save a total of $400.

"'Together We Are Stronger.' More than just a slogan on a t-shirt. It's a sentiment that Envoy Mortgage enthusiastically embraces. Nature has taken a toll on our nation, leaving thousands to rebuild and find stability once again. Envoy continuously acts nationwide, including its home community of Houston, teaming up with the Houston Food Bank. During the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the Houston Food Bank has distributed 83,000,000 meals. The Envoy Mortgage team of volunteers created 33 pallets, (2,640 packed food boxes), which equates to 15,840 meals during the time they volunteered. Envoy's corporate culture of service goes beyond mortgage loans. It extends to the local communities. Its team of volunteers and efforts to help local communities are dedicated to its mission not just during the hard times, but throughout the year." For more information on how Envoy is assisting its borrowers after Hurricane Harvey, visit its website.

 A "Top 5 National Retail and Wholesale Lender, with deep-pockets parent, is looking to purchase/merge originating independent lenders with production of $500M to $10B annually. We offer extremely competitive compensation, pricing and sales support structure. Key areas where we would like to add new teams as part of our family are Chicago, IL, CA,, MI, OK, New England, DC, OH, AL, LA, MS, MD, VA, ID, MN, NM, TN, WV, WS, OR, NM, WA, and KS. We are not opposed, however, to other areas of the country as well.  We will negotiate the best terms for the best companies commensurate with their current financial status and footprint. A 'plug n play' approach allows for smooth transitions with little interruption to business flow. If interested in having an initial discussion, please email Rob Chrisman so a direct connection can be made. The principals be at the National MBA through Wednesday if you would like to meet in person.

NewDay USA, a national VA mortgage lender, has hired Michael Greenwood as SVP of mortgage servicing. Greenwood has 30 years of experience in the mortgage business, including servicing, production support and portfolio acquisitions as well as end-to-end, high-touch customer service. NewDay USA also brought on Gaurav Bhatia as its new chief digital officer.