Denver’s airport has the longest runway in the U.S. at 16,000 feet (3 miles). As thousands of vendors, with some lenders thrown in for good measure, and me, head to Nashville for the MBA’s conference this weekend through next Wednesday, I am reminded of a bit of air travel trivia. Namely, if a commercial pilot seems to land quickly and taxi off the runway as soon as possible, generally that pilot’s background is Navy. If the pilot lands gently and taxis for a bit, that pilot was trained in the Air Force. The reasoning? Many Navy pilots were trained to land abruptly on carriers. The economic backdrop for this year’s event is not pretty. And in our biz, concerns about a potential recession and other issues are prompting some investors to sell mortgage securities known as credit-risk transfers that are packaged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The trend has sent the securities' prices lower and widened the yield spread when compared with Treasury bonds. The Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book shows a trend toward deepening pessimism regarding economic health. While the report contains positive notes, including marginal economic expansion and an easing of some costs, many businesses note weakening demand for products and services, as well as consumer pushback against higher prices. Brokerage houses are reporting that day trading has fallen off as retail investors turn to cash: An explosion of day trading by retail investors during the pandemic has subsided as inflation rises and as stock prices fall. (Today’s podcast is available here. This week’s is sponsored by EarnUp, reinventing payment and data flows in real estate ecosystems, origination, mortgage, and fintech.)

Broker and Lender Products, Services, and Software

Movie buffs celebrate October 21 as “Back to the Future Day” in recognition of the date’s prominent role in the beloved time-travel franchise. How serendipitous, as we head back to the MBA Annual Conference this weekend to gain insight into the future of home financing! SimpleNexus, an nCino company, wants you to know a few things before you go. First, RSVP for the opening reception afterparty hosted by SimpleNexus, DocMagic, and Notarize on Sunday, October 23, at 7:30 PM CT at Margaritaville Restaurant. Then visit SimpleNexus at booth #501 to learn some of the unexpected ways its innovative platform streamlines the mortgage experience. For instance, did you know SimpleNexus’ partnership with Progressive lets borrowers secure home insurance AND a mortgage in a single mobile app? To learn more, you’ll just have to wait until Sunday — or take your DeLorean!

“Deephaven Mortgage is committed to strengthening your expertise in the Non-QM space. Our live, reoccurring Deephaven Deep Dive Webinar Series is an open opportunity to learn about various Non-QM programs, resources, and topics specifically designed to help you drive success in today’s market! We are also able to offer customized live training webinars designed to meet the specific needs of your team. Click here to register for any of our Monthly Deep Dive Webinar Series. Our robust product offerings and best-in-class resources, including our bank statement analyzer, Non-QM Scenario desk, pricing scenario tool, and scenario calculator, will help you maintain your competitive advantage. We have trusted advisors ready to meet with you at the Nashville MBA Annual on October 24th, to discuss how a partnership with Deephaven will add value to your business. Contact Tom Davis to schedule a meeting.”

Do you have a solution for Property Data Collection yet? Incenter Appraisal Management offers Property Data Report services for lenders nationwide. A PDR is when property information is physically collected on-site by trained data collectors in lieu of an appraisal. Lenders can use these reports for waiver scenarios with Freddie Mac as well as for Hybrid and Desktop Appraisals, with similar support from Fannie Mae expected in the near future. Property Data Reports? Background-checked, trained inspectors who visit properties and collect material/condition data. Accurate floor plans generated by virtual inspection technology. The floor plan must have exterior dimensions and interior layout, along with room labels and GLA for use by appraisers and GSEs. Time-stamped/geo-stamped photographs of the property. Incenter Appraisal Management has trained data collectors ready to quickly produce accurate, reliable PDRs for you today. Contact Incenter to learn more and start your orders.

Are you tired of paying for an OLD PPE that lacks the modern functionalities as it relates to locks, price concession, and margin management? Now is the time to switch to Lender Price. There is a big changing of the guard happening right now. See why the top lenders in the nation are replacing their proprietary PPE with ours and why other IMBs are ditching their old legacy solution with our modern pricing engine. In addition to switching to our proven pricing technology, many lenders are joining our Marketplace 2.0 platform to get their agency, non-agency, non-QM and home equity products in front of thousands of originators, which is quickly becoming the new volume driver and lead generation tool that everyone is talking about. Our team will be at MBA Annual next week in Nashville. Book a meeting with us at the show or schedule a demo prior and we would be happy to show our platform in action. Email or visit here for more information.

Handle volatility like a pro. Moder is the outsourcing partner you’re looking for to help you manage growth in the toughest market in decades. Moder can automate almost anything, and has a passion for making your processes better, faster and cheaper. The Moder team will be attending MBA’s Annual Convention in Nashville and welcome the opportunity to show you how we’re blending our industry experience with people & technology to help our clients manage their P&Ls with confidence. Contact the Moder team today to schedule some time together in Nashville and you can learn more about Moder by visiting here.

Servicing Products

With an increasing number of regulatory developments and a shift from origination to servicing, confidently supporting consumers' needs is critical for Servicer success. Brace, the mortgage servicing infrastructure fintech, today announced it has received waterfall validation from PHOENIX, the premier advisory firm for MSR and whole loan trading, mortgage services, and analytics. The well-respected advisor performed testing and validation of Brace’s Rules Engine, which provides rules-based workout decisions in real-time for FHA, VA, and USDA decisioning. The Brace Rules Engine has been approved to deliver real-time automated workouts, regulatory responsiveness, and investor transparency through a secure, auditable system. In addition, Brace also recently successfully completed its Type II SOC 2 recertification examination. The audit conducted by Prescient Assurance, LLC found that for the fourth year in a row, the company continues to meet the standards for Security and Availability Trust Services Principles with zero exceptions. Learn more about Brace.

2022 is all about firsts for Flex! MortgageFlex announces the second generation of its cloud-based servicing system. The system was released in 2019 as the industry’s first Web Based Cloud Servicing and the new technology framework represents the most modern servicing solution available in the industry. Built upon an open data structure where the servicer is not paying additionally to access their data, it allows for real time access and real time transactions. MortgageFlexONE Servicing; Bilingual portal and customer service capable, and browser/device agnostic. Announcing our new standalone cloud-based Correspondent Acquisition Portal, the first system to be able to handle bulk commitments and live pricing. Designed for both buyer/sellers, with OCR driven auto generation of purchase conditions, workflow, velocity of the purchase process, best efforts or Mandatory, extend lock policy to the portal including extensions & relocks. Stop by booth 1233 in Nashville to learn about how Flex is first!

Events and Training Into November

Join the Wisconsin Mortgage Bankers Association as it hosts its 48th Annual Real Estate & Finance Conference on November 2 – 3 at the Wilderness Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. They have a great lineup of speakers this year, including yours truly, as they explore topics such as team building, sales training, mortgage fraud, and more. Visit the Conference website here for more information or register today using the registration link.

Reverse mortgages? Registration has opened for NRMLA’s Annual Meeting & Expo at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, November 1- 3 NRMLA provides a vital venue where business owners, loan originators, servicers, underwriters, counselors and others can converse and learn from one another.

Registration is open for TMBA’s 5th Annual Mortgage Symposium, November 7-8. The Early Bird registration is currently $195.00 for members and $320.00 for non-members. Take advantage of TMBA’s block of rooms at the Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel.

Save the date for the L1 Executive Roundtable, November 8-9 in San Antonio! Ready to get a savings review and learn what Lenders One membership benefits and networking events can do for you? Click here or email Tricia Migliazzo today.

Manufactured housing has become a popular alternative for first-time homebuyers and others to achieve affordable homeownership. October Research, LLC is working with HUD and FHA on the complimentary webinar, Manufactured Housing Supply and Financing, Tuesday, November 8th at 2:00 p.m. ET featuring HUD and FHA. Learn more about modern building standards required by the HUD Code, how these insurance programs support affordable financing of manufactured homes, the differences in transactions involving manufactured homes versus site-built homes and much more.

Your time is valuable, don't waste it on boring Continuing Education! The Knowledge Coop offers exciting and entertaining CE by providing live in-person training and webinar events. November 8 Vancouver, Washington: register. November 10 Eugene, Oregon: register. November 11 Salem Oregon: register. November 15, Webinar Continuing Education Event: register.

Get 1-1 time with lender execs at #NEXTFALL22, Nov 8-10 at Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas. This year, #NEXTFALL22 will introduce NEXT Hives, roundtable think tanks for top senior lender executive attendees. Each hive will focus on a business issue that concerns mortgage executives in today’s market. Request your invitation today.

Join Atlantic Bay November 07- November 08 for the first-ever Music City Sales Summit in Nashville, Tennessee. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity that merges the sharpest industry experts, cutting-edge mortgage market analysis, and unforgettable, fast-moving sessions that will send your sales off the charts! If you have questions, please feel free to reach out directly to mcssevent@atlanticbay.com for additional information.

If you’re in the Atlanta area on November 9th, the Atlanta Mortgage Bankers Association’s lunch is being held at the Hyatt Regency. Come by and say hi!

Capital Markets: Headed for 5 Percent Overnight Rates?

Rates rose again yesterday as the selloff in global bonds resumed, backtracking after the release of better-than-expected initial jobless claims (214k) and a below-consensus Philadelphia Fed survey; Treasuries hit fresh highs by the close of trading. St. Louis Fed President Bullard said that he expects the Fed to end its "front-loading" of aggressive rate hikes by early next year and return toward “ordinary monetary policy.” Once the fed funds rate gets to an appropriate level, expected to be around 5 percent, and downward pressure is put on inflation, the Fed can adjust the policy rate as data comes in. Philadelphia Fed President Harker said that the central bank plans to keep raising rates "for a while." The fed funds futures market sees a 75 percent implied likelihood of the fed funds rate range reaching 4.50-4.75 percent after the December FOMC meeting.

Lenders took note that Existing Home Sales decreased 1.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted average rate of 4.71 million, the eighth straight month that existing home sales have fallen and the weakest pace of sales since 2012. Year-over-year, sales are down nearly 25 percent. The inventory of homes for sale declined as well, to 1.25 million units, due to higher mortgage rates creating affordability pressures for prospective buyers and deferring listing decisions for potential sellers who see an expensive repurchase proposition.

Today’s calendar lacks any meaningful data, though we will receive remarks from New York Fed President Williams on the outlook and monetary policy. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices worse .125-.250 and the 10-year yielding 4.27 after closing yesterday at 4.23 percent.

Jobs and Transitions

Synergy One Lending, Inc. Welcomes Rob Shockley! Synergy One Lending, Inc. is thrilled to announce the hiring of top mortgage executive Rob Shockley as EVP, General Counsel. Rob’s 30 + year career has been notable as both a successful practicing attorney and in multiple leadership positions in the mortgage industry. Rob will wear a number of hats at Synergy One including General Counsel and as a member of Synergy One’s Executive Management Team. Synergy’s President, Aaron Nemec, added, “I’ve known Rob for over 30 years, and he brings a wealth of experience in multiple roles and he excels at all of them. He is not only an accomplished legal strategist but a proven production leader as well. We became better as a company the day Rob joined us!” For more information on what has top performers joining Synergy, please reach out to Ben Green or visit Join Synergy One.

“Acra Lending continues to prove itself as the industry’s leading private mortgage lender! Join our growing team and experience the growth that is driven by our employees as much as by our programs! Acra is hiring for Wholesale Account Executives, Mortgage Loan Officers, Accounting, IT Professionals and more. Come build your career with a company that is committed to helping you achieve success. Visit Join Acra or email us to learn more about the opportunities we offer.”

There are advantages in being an originator for a national bank, and NBH is looking for growth-oriented originators in its footprint states which include CO, MO, KS, TX, UT, NM, ID, and WY. Any loan originators interested in a career with NBH, please send me a confidential resume for forwarding.