Here’s a good one. “I’m giving up drinking until Christmas. Sorry, wrong punctuation. I’m giving up. Drinking until Christmas.” Did you know that 1/20/2021 (Inauguration Day) is a palindrome!? Or do you know why millions of borrowers haven’t refinanced? How about, “They have no idea what their rate is.”? Renters, which still make up a sizeable portion of the population, currently have noticeable numbers that are either behind or struggling. A LendingTree analysis of Census Bureau information indicated that 16 percent of renters are behind in rent payments (led by Mississippi at 29 percent, then Louisiana at 28 percent, and then Tennessee at 25 percent). Where would you want to own a rental? Montana, Vermont, and Utah have the lowest percentages of renters behind or struggling. Manhattan real estate prices and asking rents are falling, which might lure people in their 20s. Median effective rent fell 19% YOY to $2,868, and leases are up 33%.


Broker and Lender Products and Services

Sales Boomerang is the #1 Borrower Retention strategy in the industry. We notify you the moment one of your borrowers needs a loan. Borrower retention: If you’re like the average Lender, you retain less than 20% of your borrowers. Our Lenders retain 65% of borrowers. Loan volume: Increase your team’s loan volume by up to 40% in the first twelve months. Loan profitability: 20X average ROI + $240 average CPA. LO recruitment: An LO on average will close 2 deals a month. How does an LO double the loans they close per month consistently? The answer is Borrower Intelligence. The numbers speak for themselves: 20X Avg ROI, $240 Avg Cost Per Acquired Loan, 10-20% Avg Lift to Loan Volume. Don’t take it from us: “Sales Boomerang gives us a conversion rate that is 2 ½ times better than our normal conversions” (Tim Lewis, VP of Sales). Be your best.

It’s always nice to be recognized for a job well done and MQMR is once again helping you thank your compliance team for all their hard work. In celebration of National Gratitude Month this month, MQMR is asking you to nominate your compliance team to receive a $250 gift card for lunch on us. We’re selecting a winner each week and there’s still plenty of time to enter before our Nov. 23 deadline. For a list of Official Rules and to submit your nomination, visit the contest page here.

LBA Ware founder Lori Brewer once told me that over 90% of lenders that reach out to her company are using spreadsheets to manage incentive compensation. Manual compensation processes are labor-intensive and error-prone at the best of times, and in our current, fast-paced environment, they’re a liability and an untenable drain on resources. Fortunately, LBA Ware’s award-winning CompenSafe integrates with major LOS’s to automate incentive compensation, eliminating costly errors and driving better business outcomes through compensation transparency. If you use OpenClose, don’t miss the chance to learn how to power up your incentive compensation with CompenSafe. Register for the free webinar happening this Thursday, November 19th, at 1 pm ET.

Last week, Computershare Loan Services (CLS) was recognized in MReport’s Top 30 Companies in Mortgage and Servicing. CLS was spotlighted for successfully meeting the challenges of 2020 and for creating an ideal culture and atmosphere that make it a great place to work. In the face of COVID-19, CLS adapted quickly to meet client expectations, implemented new technology, and altered their operating model to protect employees. They continue to keep business on track with solutions that give mortgage lenders and investors a competitive advantage. Learn more about how CLS propels clients toward growth with their unmatched combination of products that include a mortgage cooperative, end-to-end & component fulfillment services, collateral valuations, secondary marketing services and loan servicing solutions. They are one of the few whose solutions span the mortgage loan continuum.

“In this week’s episode of “I didn’t know Encompass could do that!” we take a look at automating the collection of those pesky upfront fees. Picture this: Loan officer clicks a button in Encompass and the borrower gets a text message with a link to pay for their upfront fees. Borrower makes the payment on their phone in 10 seconds, receipts are emailed with a copy automatically uploaded to the eFolder. No more papers floating around with credit card numbers (yikes!) and no more uncollected fees! Check out Fee Chaser by LenderLogix and you’ll receive a demo right to your inbox.”

Here’s an example of a technology vendor hitting it out of the park. Capacity, a mortgage automation platform powered by artificial intelligence, supports your borrowers, sellers, and support staff with instant knowledge and automated workflows. Top lenders like AmeriSave, APM, and PRMG turn to Capacity to effortlessly tap into key systems to provide real-time access throughout the entire loan life cycle. Borrowers are benefitting from a superior customer experience with 24/7 automated support. Capacity connects apps, mines documents, captures tacit knowledge, and automates processes, all through a mobile-friendly chat interface. Deploy within 30 days. Request a demo to learn more.


Training and Events

Come on… you’re working twelve hours a day. You can take a break and learn something new!

MBA's Path to Diversity Scholarship provides qualifying diverse industry professionals with up to $2,000 per year (one course per year, three year maximum) to use towards tuition costs to complete virtual offerings through MBA Education. This winter, use the opportunity to complete a certification, review the basics or learn about a new part of the industry. Upcoming Eligible Courses: November 30-December 21 School of Mortgage Banking I. November 30-December 18 School of Mortgage Banking III. December 1-22 School of Mortgage Banking ll. January 8-February 19 Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB) Prep Course

The TMBA's Reverse Mortgage Day will be tomorrow on a virtual platform with the same top quality TMBA content you have come to expect.

Tomorrow AmeriHome’s underwriting management team will be offering a Delegated Webinar covering FHA & VA Forbearance guidance updates.

Join the WMBA tomorrow to hear Jeff Tucker, Senior Economist at Zillow and Co-Host Anthony Grasst, Homebridge, discuss the Impact of Remote Work on Housing.

Fairway Independent Mortgage is sponsoring a call with Rob Chrisman (moi!) Thursday with the MBA of Kansas City. This should be a very interesting call if you would like to attend. I’ll be talking about politics, COVID, and why this is a great time to be in this business. Thursday, November 19th, 1PM CT, 11AM PT. Contact Director Susie Mize for the link to the call.

Reserve Your Spot for OMBA’s November 18th Panel Discussion on HECM/Reverse Mortgages. Register to receive a meeting link by emailing Jay Pascoe, Executive Director, OMBA.

NC Secretary of State and the Electronic Mortgage Closing Advisory Committee is hosting the second annual Electronic Mortgage Closing Conference “E-Closings: Taking Flight in North Carolina”, November 17th & 18th. Join attorneys, realtors, bankers, and loan officers around the state (virtually) to help equip you in preparation for increases in the field of electronic mortgages.

Join UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate on Wednesday, November 18th in a virtual fireside chat with affordable housing practitioners for an in-depth discussion moderated by Robert Wasserman (UCLA Anderson MBA/UCLaw JD '98). Register for "Making an Affordable Housing Development Deal Work". Participants need to have a valid Zoom account to attend.

Do you know how many data breaches you have been involved in?  Do you know what information your phone is sending out overnight? Join CoAMP’s Virtual Class on November 18th to get all the latest updates from Peggy Pingel, Analyst for the Identity Theft and Financial Fraud Unit at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Register here for Wire Fraud and Cyber Crime.

Register for Plaza’s Thursday, November 19th Webinar: What You Need to Know About e-Closing.

Join MoFo on November 19th for a post-election regulatory and FinTech update with financial services regulatory and enforcement lawyers as they discuss what to expect under the new Administration and the new Congress. Register for Election 2020: What Biden’s Win Means for the Financial Services Marketplace

Marketing services agreements can be a useful tool to increase title agents’ exposure to consumers. Learn what each party will be responsible for and the implications in the October Research Webinar on Thursday, November 19th: Mastering MSAs.

Register for a Free Virtual Event on November 20th when leading energy experts will join Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Kansas City Fed President Esther George in conversations about the state of the energy sector, the outlook for global oil and gas markets, opportunities and risks of the global energy transition, challenges in energy finance, and the changing U.S. energy landscape.


Capital Markets

Congratulations to Dave Gottfried, at BondXN. BondXN allows mortgage bankers to more efficiently streamline and auction specified pool lists.

Lenders have different options for delivering loans to correspondent investors. For example, Wells Fargo Funding’s. The PennyMac Correspondent Group posted these Commitment Options. Although it has suspended its Bulk AOT choice, AmeriHome offers options. (AmeriHome announced effective September 9th, sellers may extend the Lock Expiration Date on a Best-Efforts Commitment for a maximum cumulative Extension Term not to exceed 30 calendar days from the initial lock expiration date.)

Looking at rates, last week ended with a small dose of economic data, which showed slightly hotter than expected headline Producer Price Index (PPI) while the core reading was cooler than expected. The mixed report for October follows a soft Consumer Price Index report. Both are consistent with a pandemic that continues to limit pricing power. The preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for November missed expectations slightly due to concerns about the presidential election and the resurgence in coronavirus cases. U.S. Treasuries ended Friday roughly unchanged on little new news, while the UMBS30 “basis” closed tighter to largely reverse Thursday’s widening. (The “basis” is a gauge of how MBS prices and yields move relative to risk-free Treasury prices and yields.)

The NY Fed Desk released a new schedule just after the settlement close that saw no change to coupons. That means GNII operations target 2% and 2.5%, UMBS15s target 1.5% and 2%, and UMBS30s a mix between 1.5% and 2% and 2% and 2.5%. The tentative MBS purchase estimate covering the November 16 to December 11 period consisting of reinvestments and the $40 billion monthly increase SOMA holdings totals another new local high of $124 billion, as expected. Today’s schedule sees the Desk targeting up to $6.9 billion over three operations. With regards to MBS and in addition to the Fed’s purchases, Class C 48-hours is tomorrow with Class D on Thursday.

In addition to Treasury supply, this week has a full calendar of data and Fed appearances. Today’s schedule started with NY Fed manufacturing (down “4.2” to “+6.3”). Aside from some shorter duration Treasury auctions, there are two Fed speakers scheduled: San Francisco’s Daly and Vice Chair Clarida. Later this week, higher tiered economic releases include retail sales, industrial production/capacity utilization, business inventories and housing data. We begin today with Agency MBS prices up/better a tad (one tick) and the 10-year yielding .91 after closing last week at 0.89 percent.

 

Employment

Caliber Home Loans is searching for talent… the best talent. Are you a mortgage professional with at least one year of experience in Underwriting or Direct-to-Broker sales? We want to speak with you! If you have one year of experience in mortgage processing or collections or if you know someone with these qualifications, we want to speak with you! Come join a team that prides itself on providing best-in-class service and making home ownership dreams come true. We’re a great company to work for with an innovative, inclusive, and collaborative culture. Contact us today and empower yourself to elevate your career. Visit our website to view open opportunities. To be immediately considered for Operations or DTB Sales positions, email Jonathan Stanley or Lauri Appenroth respectively.”

A mid-market bank is looking for a leader for the role of CFO/CAO of their mortgage servicing line of business. This bank is looking for a senior leader with extensive experience in mortgage servicing, cash management, and mortgage origination is a plus. Ideal candidates must be well versed in investor reporting, bank reconciliations, advance modeling, and high-level strategic analysis and planning. MSP/Loanserv experience is a plus. For confidential consideration, please email resume to Chrisman LLC’s Anjelica Nixt.

Homebuyers, and their Loan Officers, can dream big with a new Jumbo Loan product at Academy Mortgage. This loan solution features a 10% down payment, in-house underwriting for quick closing times, no mortgage insurance requirement, and competitive pricing. It is also available as a cash-out refinance, and non-occupant owners and second homes are allowed. This game-changer Jumbo Loan program is the latest addition to Academy’s extensive product line, which is one of the largest product portfolios in the industry. If you’re looking to join a company that has solutions for even your most challenging lending situations, contact Senior Vice President Bill Sohan to learn more about Academy.

NewRez LLC, one of the country’s top mortgage lenders and servicers, announced last week that Lusharn Heastie has been promoted as the Company’s first Chief Diversity Officer. “As we continue to unify our family of companies into one firm with one vision, it is our mission to ensure NewRez promotes diversity and equality in everything we do. I am looking forward to Lusharn’s leadership as our Chief Diversity Officer,” added Baron Silverstein, President. “I have no doubt she will bring the same level of commitment and enthusiasm to her new role as she has throughout her entire career with us.” Ms. Heastie will be responsible for shaping the Company’s diversity and inclusion efforts, creating awareness for diversity and inclusion across all aspects of the organization, creating programs that promote inclusive hiring practices, as well as executive visibility and mentorship aimed at strengthening and empowering employees who show an interest in growing their careers with NewRez. For more information on NewRez or to check out open opportunities to help further your career, please click here.