“Rob, are you hearing that residential lenders are nervous about releasing their 2nd quarter results to warehouse banks, correspondent investors, and other counter-parties since they aren’t as good as hoped? Or even delaying them?” Yes, I am hearing rumblings of that, but hopefully plenty are anxious to release them to show how well they did. No one is immune to cutbacks and changes in business models, the latest example being Pacific Union’s shift in El Paso. (Applications were down again last week.) As an industry we’re coming up on the 10-year anniversary of a heckuva lot, and with it various write ups. For example, RPM Mortgage’s Lepre produced, “Lessons from Lehman Brothers 10 Years Later: Watch for these signs to guard against a repeat of the financial crisis.”

Freddie and Fannie

From Fannie Mae comes news that Tim Mayopoulos will step down as CEO by year end. Dave Benson was appointed President of Fannie Mae and Celeste Brown was promoted to EVP and CFO. Congrats to both! “In this role, Benson will report to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and manage the day-to-day business and operations of the company, including the ongoing execution of the company’s strategy. Mayopoulos will remain CEO until his departure at the end of the year, and he will work closely with the Board of Directors to ensure a smooth transition and succession. The Board of Directors announced that it will conduct a search for a successor to Mayopoulos.”

In an internal memo Tim wrote, “Our team has achieved more in my years here than I or anyone else would have thought possible. We returned to profitability and paid taxpayers nearly $50 billion more in dividends than we received in support. We have improved our business model, making the company’s revenues more reliable and predictable, and reducing risk to taxpayers. We worked hard to keep families in their homes during the crisis, and we have helped millions of Americans buy, rent and refinance homes in the years of recovery. I have pride in all that we have achieved together, and confidence that Fannie Mae will keep delivering innovative solutions that make housing finance stronger.”

Fannie Mae has added a "Vacancy Posting" line item to LoanSphere Invoicing under "Category 19: Property Services" and "Subcategory 8089: Vacancy Posting." And, coming soon, it will add a new "Referral Date" field to further simplify expense reimbursement. Beginning Sept. 1, servicers must populate the new field in the "Title Cost - Foreclosure" expense line item with the foreclosure referral date, which is required for reimbursement of foreclosure title cost expenses. Visit the Servicer Expense Reimbursement page for more information and view the full list of LoanSphere Invoicing servicer expense categories and subcategories for conventional loans.

Consumers who buy a condo, or refinance an existing condo mortgage, may now be eligible for the Freddie Mac automated appraisal waiver. In some instances, borrowers could save approximately $500 on appraisal fees, and potentially close 7-10 days faster. To find out if a condominium property is eligible for an ACE waiver, lenders must submit loan data through Loan Product Advisor®, Freddie Mac’s automated underwriting system. ACE for condominium purchases and refinances will be available beginning July 16, 2018.

The PennyMac Correspondent Group has posted a new announcement on updates to Freddie Mac Condos and Multiple Financed Properties. Also posted is PennyMac announcement regarding various topics including HomeOne, FHA Gift Donor Statements, and Underwriting Help.

AmeriHome Mortgage overlays for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase transactions where the property transferred within 91-180 days prior to the subject transaction resale date are removed. Additionally, the Conventional Agency Overlay Matrix and impacted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac program guides have been updated to clarify existing requirements that apply to resale transactions within 90 days of prior sale date (as measured from closing date of the previous transaction to purchase contract date for the new transaction). Generally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase transactions with resale within 90 days are not eligible.

FAMC will no longer require the transfer or assignment of the UCD file on loans submitted successfully to both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The UCD submission certificate from both agencies must be delivered in the closed loan file. The transfer or assignment of the UCD file will continue to be required prior to purchase on those loans where the UCD file is submitted to only one agency.

Freddie Mac’s HomeOne Mortgage Loans are not currently eligible for purchase by Wells Fargo Funding. It is currently assessing the new low-down-payment option change and building necessary system enhancements to support HomeOne Mortgage Loans. Watch for future Wells Fargo Funding communications announcing system support and updates to the requirements.

PennyMac Correspondent Group has posted a new announcement regarding Freddie Mac updates.

Mountain West Financial Wholesale has implemented new flexibilities for the Fannie Mae HomeStyle Energy program. The program now allows borrowers to use this product to make resiliency upgrades that will improve the home's ability to withstand environmental hazards, in addition to making their home more energy efficient. The max LTV has been increased to 97%.

Property assessed clean energy (PACE) loans are now eligible to be paid off with no dollar restrictions (previously restricted to 15% of the appraised value). Radon remediation is now eligible. And, an energy report is no longer needed for certain energy-related improvements or refinances of existing consumer debt incurred to purchase and/or install energy-related improvements.

Capital Markets

Rates go up, rates go down. After jumping up 7bps on Monday, the 10-year dropped back down 2bps to close at 2.95% as markets digested strong earnings reports from technology and health-care companies, while China State Council pledged to make fiscal policy more proactive. This will include a larger allowance for companies to deduct R&D expenses from tax, speeding up of disbursement of tax rebates, and accelerated issuance and disbursement of local government bonds to support infrastructure development. Worries over international trade disputes were dwarfed by Google parent Alphabet, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron all beating analyst’s expectations. As far as economic releases went, the FHFA Housing Price Index increased 0.2% in May, failing to meet 0.4% expectations after a revised 0.2% increase in April. Prices are still rising at an unsustainable pace in the West and Mountain regions, while the Middle Atlantic, including NY and NJ, is bringing up the rear.

Mortgage applications from the MBA for the week ending June 20 kicked off today's calendar: -1%. Next up, we have June new home sales at 10AM ET, where expectations are for 675k annualized versus 689k previously. The Treasury conducts two auctions with $18 billion of new 2-year FRNs followed by $36 billion of 5-year notes. European Commission President Juncker is scheduled to meet with President Trump at the White House where they will discuss, among other things, trade issues amongst the two counterparts. We start Wednesday with the 10-year yielding 2.94% and agency MBS prices basically unchanged versus Tuesday’s close.

Lender Products and Services

The old saying that, “It’s cheaper to keep an existing customer than it is to replace one,” couldn’t be more meaningful in today’s real estate lending industry. Statistics show that it costs five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an existing customer. HomeScout® offers lenders cost saving solutions when it comes to customer retention by engaging buyers with real estate search where they are advertised; and its buyer reporting interface helps nurture them throughout the entire home buying process. With dwindling purchase numbers and shrinking margins, operating cost containment is critical to originators big and small. HomeScout can offset the costs associated with lost leads and preapproved buyers. To help mitigate these financial challenges, HomeScout-HBM is offering Chrisman subscribers $1,200 of incremental services free. Find out more by contacting them HERE  and scheduling a demo or give them a call at 952-831-0623.

E-recording is one of the most overlooked digital mortgage processes – and one of the easiest to implement. Now that the GSEs will accept e-recorded security instruments, there’s really nothing stopping lenders from adopting this process today. The latest white paper from Simplifile, “What Lenders Don’t Know About E-recording,” outlines why lenders need to make e-recording the next step in their path to a completely electronic mortgage transaction. For example, did you know that 83 percent of the U.S. population is covered by e-recording? Learn more about the benefits of e-recording by downloading this FREE white paper here.

Floify, the leading end-to-end mortgage point-of-sale solution, is rolling out an impressive set of integrations to boost efficiencies for enterprise lenders next week. Following a recent partnership with Fannie Mae, Floify’s newest integration with Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) will instantly help LOs slash loan processing times by enabling automatic pre-qualification, delivering branded letters to prospects upon the submission of a loan application, and seamlessly updating DU® findings throughout the lifetime of the loan – all that’s needed is an active LOS and credit reporting integration to automate this tedious process. Additionally, Floify’s integration with Day1 Certainty provider AccountChek™ by FormFree can now be leveraged within their interview-style 1003, effectively eliminating the need for LOs to collect paper statements from borrowers. To see the power and efficiency of Floify’s newest integrations and how they can boost productivity for your enterprise operation, request a live demo.

Non-QM volume continues to grow at a robust pace. Now that we are past the halfway point of 2018, the velocity of growth, interest in the product and capital investment are at all-time highs. Deephaven Mortgage, founded in 2012, was one of the first entrants into the market. It continues to lead the way by providing capital, liquidity, technology, and process to this growing segment. Deephaven is solely focused on the Non-QM marketplace. It invests in new products, new processes, and most recently, new technology to help the originator. Deephaven is proud to announce the Identifi™ Scenario Calculator which is available to both Wholesale and Correspondent partners. The Identifi Scenario Calculator makes the pre-screening exercise simple, easy and fast. Give it a try today by visiting Deephaven and click on the applicable channel. Find out more about how Non-QM can help you grow your business by contacting us at brokerinfo@deephavenmortgage.com (Wholesale) or sales@deephavenmortgage.com (Correspondent). Providing solutions to clients nationwide that don’t fit the government box.

Most lenders I meet are always looking for ways to grow their business. The great ones, though, stand out because they refuse to accept the status quo. They hunger for new tactics and thrive on experimenting with new methods to drive leads, all while searching for new ways to enhance the borrower experience. As consumer expectations continue to shift, it is incumbent on every lending team to meet prospects where they are to scale your business in a predictable way. A recent eBook from Maxwell, “Six Ways to Master Mortgage Leads,” provides ample strategic insight to help you increase inbound lead volume and grow your business. From website optimization and digital campaigns to creating an “ideal borrower profile,” the eBook provides tips and links to free resources to help lenders outpace their competition every step of the way. Download it free here.

Employment

“A new Augusta, Georgia branch hit a hole-in-one when they joined perennial powerhouse and top 10 national lender, PrimeLending. And the timing is perfect, as more and more homebuyers look to call The Masters hometown (and a Newsweek Top 100 Best Place to Live) their own home. Branch Manager Bob Lacey and the entire Augusta team are already climbing the leaderboard by offering 400-plus loan programs, faster processing and better service than the competition. For instance, the company’s no lender fee VA loan program — Your Home Our Mission — is a real draw for area’s veterans and active Fort Gordon military members. Are you tired of feeling trapped at a company who makes your life rough? Join PrimeLending to score the best situation for your career. Contact Sherri White (469.737.5743) to tee up your transition.”

“Carrington Mortgage Services Wholesale is seeing great success with its new Non-QM programs. As a result, Carrington is expanding and hiring in the following markets:  For Wholesale Account Executives - Houston Tx, Austin, TX; San Antonio TX, Philadelphia, PA; and Minneapolis, MN. If interested, please email John Cervantes.”

How many more residential loans could you and your branch team close with better back office support? You work too hard to experience the same chokepoints over and over again. Assurance Financial offers you a committed team of experts who have spent the last 17 years with only one objective: Help you close loans on time, every time. If you even THINK you may be losing origination opportunities to build your business in your current situation due to poor support, contact Paul Peters, CMB (225.239.7948). Assurance Financial is a growing full-service independent mortgage banker seeking dynamic producing branch managers and MLO teams throughout the South, Southeast, Southwest, East, and Midwest, U.S. Watch this 2-minute video now.

Executive moves from Home Point? Yup. Paul Wyner has been named Senior Managing Director responsible for the national Third-Party Originations team having previously served as Managing Director for the Third-Party Originations East team. He’ll report directly to Chief Production Office Lisa Patterson.