Tom Petty sang, “There's somethin' good comin,' just over the hill, somethin' good comin', I know it will. And I'm in for the long run, wherever it goes, ridin' the river, wherever it goes.” Lenders always walk a knife-edge between wanting good economic times for their customers, and having them qualify, but at the same time knowing that bad times helps keep rates low while hurting credit. In an interview with NPR, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, while not an immunologist, said that wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to fight the spread of the coronavirus could deliver major benefits to the US economy. He noted the Fed will need to offer steady support even after the pandemic is over. "We think that the economy's going to need low interest rates, which support economic activity, for an extended period of time. It will be measured in years." U.S. mortgage lenders issued a total of $1.1 trillion in home loans between April and June, the largest Q2 figure recorded by mortgage data firm Black Knight. Compare that three-month figure to the $2.5 trillion issued in the whole of 2019. And, as MLOs know, many of those loans are in the burbs.


Broker Products and Services

It’s no secret—everybody and their dog is refinancing right now. Problem is, as the rates get lower and lower, your stress gets higher and higher with the overwhelming flood of refi’s and mortgages. No fear, Truework is here to help. Our dedicated team of highly trained mortgage industry professionals at Truework is committed to tackling and completing your VOE/VOI request (whether manual or automated), so you can close your loans faster than ever. Truework is a US-based company and has partnered with major lenders across the country to conduct 100,000+ verifications and counting. And for a limited time, Rob Chrisman readers receive 5 free Verifications (a $200 value). Let us do the heavy lifting so you can focus on what matters. Interested? Email zackary@truework.com.

“Record loan volumes have been a happy distraction in 2020. Not every loan, however, will be purchased by the investor its originally intended investor. When that occurs, Mid America Mortgage’s correspondent division has your back, providing liquidity for displaced loans, such as scratch and dent, or investor fallouts, as well as relief for seasoned portfolios. When you have a disagreement with your primary investor, give Mid America Mortgage a call. To help lenders place their orphaned loans, Mid America has hired seasoned industry sales executive Julas Hollie as National Sales Director for its Correspondent division. ‘I’m excited to join this group to increase our sales and marketing efforts nationally. A lot of people out there aren’t aware of the resources we have to offer,’ Hollie noted. For more information, please visit our website, or submit loans for bid to the Trade Desk here.”

The predictive & prescriptive Mortgage Risk & Fairness Score and report gives visibility into true borrower credit risk & resiliency. Lenders, investors, traders, servicers, and insurers can sleep well at night knowing that Overstated Credit Scores are uncovered up-front, helping avoid costly Forbearance, Delinquency, and Default events. They will be thrilled opening the credit box to lower-FICO, higher-margin GSE, Govie, and nQM borrowers who will outperform their credit scores by a mile. Bottom line: The Mortgage Risk Score is an easy and inexpensive tool that leverages state-of-the-art AI and ML algorithms, and years of experience, to supercharge risk management, sales, operations, secondary, and servicing. It's plug-n-play, validated (top 10 bank) and vetted (CFPB, OCC, Fed). Click for more information.

Did you know that marketing budgets as a percentage of revenues and company spend have risen to record levels during the COVID outbreak? That means most companies are working hard to build their brand’s value with their target audiences in this new environment. Are you? Seroka Brand Development has outlined what lenders should be doing right now in its new whitepaper, “Marketing During the Pandemic: Best Practices for Mortgage Lenders.” In it you will learn the 8 best practices to help you gain market share both during and after the pandemic is long over. You can download it here or contact Seroka directly if you want to discuss how they can help you #TurnUpYourBrand!  

Boomerang notifies mortgage lenders when someone in their database is ready for a loan. “Look at the opportunity cost you have by not having Sales Boomerang. Last year we closed over $72M in loans that we would have lost from not having Sale Boomerang.” (Stephen Barton, EVP, Eustis Mortgage) “In the first 4 months we took in $180M in applications and we have about 100 LOs. That is a significant impact to our business. My top performing LO attributes 25% of her business to Sales Boomerang alerts.” (Katherine Campbell, CMO, Assurance Financial) “Sales Boomerang gives us a conversion that is 2 ½ times better than our normal conversions.” (Tim Lewis, Castle and Cooke) The numbers speak for themselves: 20X Avg ROI, $240 Avg Cost Per Acquired Loan, 10-20% Avg Lift to Loan Volume. Want to see exactly how much you lost this year? Request your report today. “We will show you which competitor took your deal, what was the loan amount, what type of loan it was, the term and much more.”

FundingShield, is pleased to be a presenting sponsor at the MBA Risk Management & QA Conference on the Fraud Prevention track September 15-16. FundingShield is also co-hosting a live discussion on providing borrowers a safe, secure, and seamless homebuying experience to protect consumers from wire fraud risk. Selim Aissi, SVP & CSO of Ellie Mae; Jerry Halbrook, CEO of Volly; and FundingShield CEO & Chairman Ike Suri present on September 24th at 3pm Eastern as the group collaborates to drive thought leadership around this arena of heightened risk.  FundingShield’s MISMO Certified FinTech B2B/B2B2C solutions deliver transaction level coverage against wire & title fraud, settlement risk, closing agent compliance & cyber threats while reducing operating costs and improving asset quality. FundingShield’s user-centric plug ‘n’ play tools are scalable, pay-per-loan, secure, cloud-based and are integrated via APIs or LOS (Encompass) driving ROIs >200%. Housingwire TECH100 Winner for 2019 & 2020. Contact Sales@Fundingshield.com for demos  

Want better call results? Use BETTER Direct Mail Marketing for Mortgage Lenders from Monster Lead Group.  “It's been your consistency; it's been unbelievably consistent. It's really like clockwork… We're able to grow and scale because of the predictability of the Monster campaigns.” (Steven Sless and Andrew Parker, PRMI Reverse Mortgage Division.) “Monster is a very intricate part of our success and how we keep the phones ringing.” (Ryan Sawyer, United Mortgage Corp.) “Somebody can charge me half as much as you guys do, but I can’t get beyond the level of your results. For me, service means a helluva lot and the results speak for themselves.” (John Kresevic, JFQ Lending.) "We've basically stopped doing all other marketing and gone 100% with Monster." (Manny Fajardo, Premier Lending Corp.) Monster Lead Group. If you want consistent phones and predictable ROI from your direct mail like these lenders, go to www.monsterleadgroup.com/better/ right now.

AIME Fuse Virtual, happening on Friday, Sept. 25th, is a premium interactive event experience where independent mortgage brokers and their teams can easily access a television-quality event remotely from any laptop, computer, or mobile device. You’ll learn alongside hundreds of other wholesale mortgage professionals with over 10 hours of live-streamed keynote speakers, spotlight speakers and panel sessions and you’ll have access to a virtual exhibit hall featuring industry leading partners who are focused on celebrating the growth of the wholesale channel. Find the full agenda here. Virtual attendees will have access to live streams of the event’s programming as well as opportunities to communicate in real-time video chats with top-name exhibitors and forward-thinking leaders within the mortgage industry. AIME Fuse Virtual is quickly approaching so secure your tickets now to be a part of the third annual AIME Fuse National Conference

Now more than ever it’s imperative to supercharge your Realtor referral business and keep your eye on the long game. Scotsman Guide recently featured Dan Harrington quoting, “Originators can better support the agents they work with by tapping into technology and more effectively utilizing their client database. Now is the opportune time for originators to provide value to real estate professionals.” Does your CRM help you build Realtor relationships that last a lifetime using data intelligence and multi-channel marketing? Usherpa helps you build your non-stop referral machine that performs regardless of market conditions. Discover the power of insanely easy technology and robust automated marketing today.


Capital Markets

Volatility continued to grip financial markets at the open of this short trading week. The selloff in tech equities picked up steam and caused a rally in MBS and Treasuries amid the “risk rout”. The MBS basis was aided by the Fed purchasing nearly $7.5 billion MBS, while the day's $50 billion 3-year note auction was met with lukewarm demand. In Washington, Senate Republicans presented a $300 billion stimulus package that is not only expected to be rejected by Democrats, but should harden both sides' battle lines on additional fiscal stimulus. House Speaker Pelosi labeled the slimmed-down package "fraudulent" and a “check-the-box” effort to give Republican incumbents cover in the November election. Senate Leader McConnell said the Senate will vote on the bill tomorrow. More indecision = more languishing = low rates.

As far as economic releases went, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose to 100.2 in August from 98.8 in July. Separately, consumer credit exceeded expectations in July, though the reading marked the fifth straight monthly contraction in revolving credit, which is something that hasn't happened since early 2011. The COVID shutdowns and spike in unemployment have been underscored by the more restrictive credit stance adopted by lenders. Finally, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 4 bps to 7.16 percent of servicers’ portfolio from the prior week as of August 30. According to MBA’s estimate, 3.6 million homeowners are currently in forbearance plans.

This morning? We learned that mortgage applications increased 2.9 percent last week, per the MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Redbook same store sales for the week ending September 5 are next up, and will be followed by JOLTS job openings for July, and a $35 billion reopened 10-year Treasury note auction. The Desk of the New York Fed will conduct three MBS FedTrade operations that will total up to $5 billion starting with $754 million UMBS15 2 percent followed by $2.9 billion UMBS30 2 percent and 2.5 percent and $1.4 billion GNII 2.5 percent. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices down/worse a smidge and the 10-year yielding .69 after closing yesterday at 0.68 percent.


Employment and Transitions

Royal Pacific Funding and its subsidiary, BluePoint Mortgage, are both hiring multiple positions across all channels! RPF announced that it is launching its Correspondent channel in October 2020 and is currently looking for top candidates to join the National Sales Team. This is an exciting opportunity to join a highly awarded company with nearly 30 years in the mortgage industry. Bluepoint Mortgage is also hiring multiple positions with its growing teams and offering up to $25K signing bonuses for many of its positions. BPM is looking to hire Underwriters, Account Managers, Funders, a QC analyst, Disclosures, Doc Drawers, and Government insuring. For immediate consideration of any of these positions at both RPF and Bluepoint Mortgage, please contact the Director of HR, Char Mangrello (949-771-2474).

PHH Mortgage, a subsidiary of Ocwen, is looking to fill multiple Manager of Underwriting and Manager of Processing positions on our rapidly growing lending team! As one of the fastest-growing correspondent/recapture lenders in the country, PHH is focused on long-term sustainable growth for our company and our employees. At PHH, you won’t be just another number. You’ll be part of an innovative, strategic, collaborative team that is focused on retaining customers for life — a team that is built to last as we continue to grow our operations and expand our footprint in the mortgage industry. Additionally, PHH's comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, paid time off, tuition reimbursement and more! Apply today at our career site or email your resume to Michelle Cisneros. Come grow with us!”

Angel Oak Home Loans’ West Coast is growing! We are excited to announce the addition of two mortgage experts who have phenomenal leadership experience. Sean Casey joins us as the West Regional Sales Manager helping expand our presence in the region. We also welcome Kristy Benson who will be managing West Regional Operations to provide additional support required by the popularity of our products and services. The opportunity for growth on the West Coast is significant by offering both traditional and non-QM loan products which sets us apart from our competitors. We are excited to have Sean Casey and Kristy Benson join the Angel Oak family! For inquiries please contact Lee Williamson, Drew Church, or Mac Cregger.”

“How does PrimeLending continue to successfully achieve record-breaking levels of production volume while maintaining stellar customer satisfaction ratings? It’s in part thanks to Loan Track 3 (LT3), our streamlined proprietary tracking solution that helps LOs deliver timely and consistent communication to customers and referral partners throughout the loan process. LT3 gives a real-time view of files going through underwriting, moves loans up and down the queue as needed, and allows us to be the “hero” by rushing a customer’s loan through when delayed at another mortgage company. With tools like LT3, our team has more control and more autonomy to manage their relationships and run their business. When you’re ready to work with a company who listens to its LOs, understands your needs and creates solutions to help you succeed, contact Nic Hartke. Or, visit joinprimelending.com for more ways we can help you Discover Your Best.”

“Are you looking for an extraordinary career opportunity with strength, stability & success? Then look no further: Citi is the place for you! Citi is strategically positioned for future growth and is making significant investments to be a forward-compatible leader in our industry, while being the best for our clients. Whether you are looking for a new place to work, or to take your career to the next level, now is the time to make the move! We are continuing our growth strategy and actively filling Operations positions nationwide, including remote positions, and seeking Direct to Consumer Sales professionals for our St. Louis, Dallas, and Detroit markets. Nationwide opportunities in Operations and Support can be found hereSt. Louis Direct to Consumer Sales Mortgage RepresentativeDallas Direct to Consumer Sales Mortgage RepresentativeDetroit Direct to Consumer Sales Mortgage RepresentativeDetroit Direct to Consumer Sales Manager.”

Recently named among Top 5 Best Mortgage Companies to work for by National Mortgage News, Geneva Financial, Home Loans Powered By Humans has experienced explosive growth and is seeking Operations Professionals. Competitive pay and benefits. Underwriters, Processors, Closers, and multiple other positions available. Most positions can be remote/home-based across the U.S. Geneva strives to humanize every aspect of their business from the inside-out. With a culture-forward mindset, they focus on employees to ensure an unbeatable experience for their customers. Their Geneva Gives, BE A GOOD HUMAN and Hero of The Year initiatives deemed them a recipient of this year’s AZ Business Magazine’s Excellence in Banking Award for Community Impact. In 2019 Geneva was ranked a nationally fastest growing company in the financial sector, mortgage industry and all industries categories. Apply today

SimpleNexus has named former Ellie Mae exec Cathleen Gates its new president. Cathleen, was “a driving force at Ellie Mae in the run-up to its $3.7-billion purchase by private-equity firm Thoma Bravo.” Congratulations!

Homespire Mortgage announced Scott Valletti has joined its team as VP of Mortgage Servicing, providing leadership and advancement of the company’s loan servicing program, and growing its loan servicing capabilities to further support its borrowers’ needs now across 36 states.