Halfway done with 2021?! Yes, time is flying, and summer is here. The weather service just published instructions on how to bake a lasagna in your mailbox. Speaking of time passing, here’s an attention grabber: “Over a Quarter of Seniors Say Retirement Is Worse Than They Expected.” The body of the article, which I found doing some other research on which age group tends to own more mortgage-backed securities, notes that about 28% of them say their lives are actually worse during retirement than before they left the workforce, according to a nationwide survey. Why didn’t the headline scream, “Vast Majority of Seniors Say Retirement Met or Is Better Than They Expected.”? The audio version of today’s commentary, available here, is sponsored by Origence and features an interview with Andrew Weiss, SVP of Platform Strategy, focusing on how to optimize your technology for ultimate ROI.
Employment & business opportunity
A group of experienced banking professionals, backed by capital from an established financial partner, is seeking an operating mortgage brokerage/IMB platform for a potential acquisition. Full DE approved originator with licenses in the mid-Atlantic states required and West coast desired. Contact Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt to forward your note of interest; please specify the opportunity.
A privately held independent mortgage banker is looking for an experienced capital markets executive to join its senior management team. With a primary focus on secondary marketing, the role also includes oversight of post-closing and servicing. The company is poised for growth and is looking for someone who will contribute to the strategic direction of the firm. Contact Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt to confidentially forward your note of interest or field questions; please specify the opportunity.
“The Citizens Capital Markets team is evolving and growing! We’re saying goodbye to some fantastic colleagues who are retiring after many years of service in our industry, and with Citizens. While the news of their retirement is bittersweet, we are excited to share that we are actively looking to fill several key roles that will help drive the business forward. Our team has several positions open, including two significant senior roles: Head of Investor Relations, and Product Development Assistant Department Manager. Positions are eligible for remote or join one of our key sites in Richmond, VA, Franklin, TN, Dallas, TX, or our Northeast locations. We are expanding our business model, secondary relationships, and product suite, and seeking qualified candidates to also fill other key support roles on these teams. If you, or someone you know, may be interested in joining our Capital Markets team, learn more about Citizens by clicking here.“
Are you looking for top compensation for your talents and knowledge in the wholesale space? Universal Lending Corporation, a service-driven company for over 40 years, is aggressively expanding its sales force and is looking for you! We have a top compensation package and a signing bonus for the right candidates. We are ready to do wholesale business wherever you and your customers are located. We want you to see how you can make a difference with top customer service and competitive pricing, working directly with our Wholesale underwriters, closers, and secondary marketing to close more loans. Join us today by making your first call to Kelly Morgan, National Wholesale Manager, at 303- 877-0761.
Products & services
Congratulations to Russ Crockett, newly appointed as Regional Vice President of Sales for Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions. Russ has extensive experience both with appraisal management companies and the broader mortgage industry. His skills and network will help Triserv continue to grow as one of the premier AMCs in the country. Russ will serve clients on a national level. Please contact him (615-533-0767) for help with your appraisal needs.
FirstFunding, Inc is changing the way lenders think about funding loans. FlexClose Funding™ gives lenders precise control over fundings, no longer binding them to Fedwire® limitations. It reduces the hours-long traditional funding and closing process to just minutes. This benefit reduces stress for all parties involved, borrowers, real estate agents and escrow agents. FlexClose Funding™ allows for proceeds to be disbursed after hours and on weekends and reduces fraud susceptibility. By giving them more control over the funding process, FlexClose-certified lenders gain a competitive market advantage. For more information, please contact us or call 214.821.7800.
Luxury Mortgage Corp® (“Luxury”) is thrilled to announce its latest improvements to Luxury’s suite of Simple Access® Non-QM products. As one of the nation’s leading lenders providing alternative mortgage solutions, “Luxury” is prepared to offer the tools and products to seal the deal. Their team of experts are on standby to assist their clients in providing expanded opportunities to a broad and diverse population. The most notable enhancements to their Non-QM product line includes increased max LTVs, greater accommodation of transferred appraisals, collections need not be paid off in some cases, AND foreign national borrowers can now qualify for loans utilizing either liquid assets or rental income on subject investment properties! Click Here to inquire about becoming an approved wholesale broker or correspondent seller.
You may already know that Homebot is a great way to connect with your clients and prospects. But did you know that Homebot also helps lenders build relationships with real estate agents? Check out what Caliber Home Loans Sales Manager, Jelene Messmer, has to say: “Homebot has been really successful with helping me grow new relationships with real estate agents, as they do not always have enough time to market to their database every single month. So it is a one-and-done feature for them. They upload their database, it gets marketed to every month, and then I’m on there as well as their preferred lender, which helps us create clients together.”
Congratulations to the California Association of Mortgage Professionals on reaching the 30-year milestone! Symmetry Lending is excited to participate in the celebration at the upcoming “Cheers to 30 Years” Summer Camp in San Diego. For those in attendance, we hope you will swing by the Symmetry booth in the Exhibit Hall and visit with our Area Managers. Rick Mangone, Eric Moya, David Yslas, and Kurt Wheeler will be available throughout the event to provide mortgage professionals the information they need on how to close more loans by utilizing Symmetry’s HELOC solutions. Learn how Symmetry HELOCs are a great way to offer your borrowers an alternative financing structure for their new home purchase or refinance. Before, during, and after the event – be sure to connect with Symmetry Lending on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
The average cost to originate a loan industry-wide is approximately $8,000. Polly has developed a solution to bring that origination cost down through loan delivery automation. A trusted provider of innovative software solutions for the mortgage industry, Polly is solving challenges associated with the delivery process by leveraging Robotic Process Automation. Once implemented, users can see up to 50% in cost savings over current manual and time-consuming processes. With the time saved by real-time volume scaling and the ability to add new investors quickly and seamlessly, users can save 45 minutes per file. To learn more about how Polly is lowering costs and removing roadblocks through their revolutionary automated loan delivery process, email Jeff Krischer or visit www.polly.io.
Processing and underwriting notes from around the biz
Don’t forget that the CFPB released new FAQs regarding the Mortgage Servicing Rule and Regulation X and Regulation Z relating to escrow account guidance and analysis.
The PennyMac Correspondent Group posted announcement 21-45, Updates to Best Effort Rate Sheets, and two new announcements: 21-49: Updated Non-Delegated Tax Transcript Requirements and 21-50: Alignment with Fannie Mae’s updates to the RefiNow Option.
PennyMac announced new and improved turn times. Click here to view the updated turn times on page 3 of its Non-Delegated Quick Reference Guide. And remember that it posted information on the April 30, 2021, deadline for New Legacy URLA Loan Submissions in Announcement 21-33.
Citi Correspondent Lending’s Bulletin 2021-07 contains information on requirements related to the amended QM Rule, VOE’s, Florida Condominiums Limited Review and closing cost requirements for LPA refinance transactions.
Updated information on Flagstar-to-Flagstar Refinance escrow credits is provided in memo 21082, and Memo 21048 regarding eligibility limitations for legally prohibited activities.
A residual income evaluation (RIE) is no longer required for Qualified Mortgages (QMs) with rebuttable presumption. As a result of this change, Wells Fargo Funding Prior Approval underwriting is now permitted on Conforming Loans that are higher-priced mortgage loans (HPMLs) or higher-priced covered transactions (HPCTs).
The Wells Fargo Funding Condominium Project Approval Request (Exhibit 11) has been updated to clarify requirements.
Citi Correspondent Lending implemented changes to the Best-Efforts loan level pricing adjusters for conventional second homes and investment properties, effective with new locks completed on/after Wednesday, June 16, 2021. All FICO/LTVs on Investment Property is now (2.500). All LTV’s on Second Home loans is now (3.750).
Over the past several months, Citi has been migrating its Correspondent Lenders over to its new technology platform and working to clear pipeline on the retiring system. Having reached the end of the transition phase, there are a few more critical updates. Click here to view/print the full Correspondent System Transition Update announcement.
First American Docutech implemented Reg Z business day requirements with the addition of a Federal holiday, Juneteenth National Independence Day. Additional updates will be provided as implementation details are determined. First American Docutech worked with its integration partners to ensure continuity of data between systems is considered in this process.
First Community Wholesale posted New QM Rule- Just the Basics. First Community Mortgage Wholesale addressed the new Federal Holiday-Juneteenth Waiting Periods and Recission Period in Announcement 2021-16.
First Community Mortgage Wholesale is increasing its flood certification fee from $7.25 to $7.85, effective new applications received on or after June 15th.
Caliber updated its Assets & Reserves guidelines regarding Cryptocurrency. Conventional- Cryptocurrency is not allowed as an eligible asset for down payment, reserves, or funds to close; however, proceeds from the liquidation of cryptocurrency may be accepted when requirements are met. Government- Cryptocurrency is not allowed as an eligible asset for down payment, reserves, or funds to close; however, proceeds from the liquidation of cryptocurrency may be accepted when the requirements are met. Log into the Caliber Home Loans website for details.
AmeriHome announced new and updated Non-Delegated Program resources designed to streamline the most commonly required loan documentation when delivering loans for
Non-Delegated underwriting review and Complete Loan Files for purchase review. The following are now available on SellerWeb/Resources/Non-Delegated Resources: a new Non-Delegated Closed Loan Submission Checklist, Revised Non-Delegated Underwriting Submission Checklist (formerly labeled Non-Delegated Submission Checklist). As a reminder, any documentation required but missing from the loan file submission will result in a “SUSPENDED” status and delay the underwriting decision.
AmeriHome posted the most common reasons for IRS rejection of the new Form 4506-C. Information such as name, address, mailbox, or SSN is missing and/or inaccurate. The borrower’s name, social security number, and address must be completed exactly as they appeared on the last filed tax return. Inconsistent dates or signature dates that are 120 days outside of the IRS request window. And the company’s Non-Delegated Consolidated Overlay Matrix is now available: SellerWeb/Resources/Non-Delegated Resources. Providing a combined summary of AmeriHome overlays with Non-Delegated loan transactions and the revised Non-Delegated Condo Project Review QRG, simplifying condo project review requirements.
Capital markets
With the advent of open loan exchanges, there is overwhelming evidence that standard loan sales are leaving profits on the table for lenders in a myriad of ways. Opportunity costs involve important variables such as liquidity, pricing visibility, turn times, and ultimately, best execution. As the first ever truly open loan exchange, MCT’s BAM Marketplace revolutionizes whole loan liquidity, providing more outlets and the best deals when it comes to trades for lenders. MCT’s latest whitepaper explains the main features and functionalities of BAM Marketplace, giving an in-detail comparison between the standard loan sale process and the upgraded workflow of an open loan exchange. The secondary market is now entering into a revolutionary new era where maximized liquidity, eliminated barriers, and optimized execution are all now available at lenders’ fingertips. Download the whitepaper and learn how to leverage the latest loan exchange technology to maximize profitability!
Take a look at news over the last few weeks. U.S. economic data, still influenced by the after-effects from last year’s pandemic and the government fiscal response, was mixed over the last week. Personal income declined for the second straight month as transfer payments in the form of government stimulus checks wane. Income from wages and salaries, however, increased 0.8 percent in May, rising for the third consecutive month. Despite the increase, disposable income fell almost 3 percent for the month when accounting for taxes and inflation which was up nearly 4 percent over the last twelve months. New orders for manufactured goods increased by 2.3 percent in May as orders for civilian aircraft rose.
Looking at rates yesterday, we had another mixed day of data for the bond market to digest yesterday as the second quarter drew to a close, with markets are still trying to balance optimism for a recovery with virus concerns. The private sector added 692,000 jobs in June, more than expected, according to the ADP Employment Survey, mostly in leisure and hospitality. Payrolls are still nearly 7 million short of pre-COVID19 levels, though job gains have totaled about 3 million since the beginning of the year. Expectations are now for 675,000 jobs in tomorrow’s payrolls report. Pending home sales rose 8 percent in May, reaching its highest level since 2005, according to NAR. Finally, June Chicago PMI fell well below expectations.
Ahead of tomorrow’s payrolls report release, today’s economic calendar is underway with a couple labor market indicators. Job cuts from Challenger, Gray & Christmas fell 16.7 percent in June to 20,476, the lowest monthly total since June 2000. June’s total is 88 percent lower than a year ago. Weekly jobless claims were 364k, -51k for the week and much lower than expected. (3,469,000 million continuing claims.) Later this morning brings the final June Markit manufacturing PMI reading, the June ISM Manufacturing PMI, construction spending for May, and Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The lone Fed speaker sees Atlanta’s Bostic participating in a housing-related panel discussion. The Desk of the NY Fed will target up to $4.1 billion of MBS purchases. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices down/worse nearly .125 and the 10-year yielding 1.47 after closing yesterday at 1.45 percent.
My cousin’s son begged and begged her to have a DNA test done on his frog. The results? Irish, Italian, and a tad Pole.
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(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes visit LenderNews. This newsletter is designed for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For up-to-date mortgage news visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.robchrisman.com. Copyright 2021 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Occasional paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman.)