http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/topic/rob-chrisman Pipeline Press - Rob Chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05082026 Fri, 08 May 2026 14:42:21 GMT 69fdd964de48a0725faa4921 Rob Chrisman If you haven’t signed up for the Mortgage Action Alliance, do so. It’s free, has good advocacy information, and there’s strength in numbers. Recent conference chatter includes suggesting that removing politics from the mortgage conversation would be a good thing to attempt, wondering if there’s enough regulatory manpower muscle to take the existing LO comp rules and re-jigger them, some believing that the recent credit score announcements are lacking leave much to be desired, asking why the Fed’s useful Twitter account (Financial Sentiment Index, TFSI) vanished, and suggestions that Southern California’s hottest nightclub was the main ballroom at Mortgage Innovators with its extensive techno play list. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by FirstClose, which provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. Their home equity lending platform accelerates the home equity lending process, reducing application to closing times from 45 days to less than ten. Today we have an interview with Digital Risk’s Kim Lanham on how the Iran conflict and broader geopolitical uncertainty are influencing mortgage rates, borrower decision-making, servicing retention strategies, borrower assistance programs, and emerging credit and fraud risks across both Agency and non-QM lending.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services Why Partnering with MSF as Your Sub-Servicer Is a Strategic Advantage: Built for Speed, Service, and Retention. In today's mortgage servicing landscape, smaller institutions often find themselves working with sub-servicers built for scale, not responsiveness. The result: delayed borrower support, missed engagement opportunities, and lost relationships. MSF Servicing was built to solve that problem. MSF delivers a level of attention larger providers cannot match. Every borrower inquiry, issue, and client request is handled on a same-day or 24-hour basis, because in servicing, speed drives retention. Timely, empathetic responses keep borrowers engaged and relationships intact. Delays create friction; responsiveness builds trust. Led by an industry veteran with deep expertise in customer service and loss mitigation, MSF brings proactive engagement and retention-focused outcomes to every portfolio it manages. The result: a sub-servicing partner who moves at the speed your borrowers expect and delivers the care your brand demands. Contact Rick Smith at 860-989-9006. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05072026 Thu, 07 May 2026 15:53:12 GMT 69fc871d456bd93d22d6fba7 Rob Chrisman Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services Spring homebuying season is in full swing, and for many lenders, that also means a surge in home equity demand as borrowers tap rising property values. But growth can expose cracks. Every handoff, re-entry, and system switch adds time and increases the risk of human error. FirstClose is working to change that with its upcoming integration with MeridianLink Mortgage. By bringing purpose-built order management directly into the LOS, lenders can streamline valuations, settlement, and vendor coordination without leaving their existing workflow. The result is better visibility, faster turn times, and less manual effort. If you are a MeridianLink Mortgage user looking to simplify operations and scale home equity lending more efficiently, this is worth a closer look. Click here to read more. Heading to MBA Secondary & Capital Markets in New York? Connect with Planet’s Correspondent team to explore how expanding into non-agency, business purpose, and expanded credit can drive volume and margin alongside your agency production. Planet makes that expansion easier by delivering the same liquidity and pricing you rely on across Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, and USDA, and niche products like renovation, manufactured housing, and USDA. With full co-issue backed by consistent MSR pricing and fast funding, plus deep capital markets expertise and predictable execution from lock to funding, Planet helps you grow confidently while protecting profitability. Connect with SVP Correspondent Sales Jason Mac Gloan (843-625-6869) or visit here to schedule your meeting with Planet. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05062026 Wed, 06 May 2026 15:47:51 GMT 69fb331c3e1eacf57aae5dc9 Rob Chrisman “What do you call an aging actor who has finally paid off his house? Mortgage freeman.” Servicing is a highly important component of that, and I was fortunate to attend Sagent Ignite in Phoenix yesterday; we have a special live podcast today that was recorded from the event. Mortgagees follow demographics, whether it be aging owners or aging houses. Lenders know that there are plenty of old homeowners who have plenty of equity. GreenPath Financial Wellness (a nonprofit approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development -HUD - and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling) reviewed data from its reverse mortgage counseling clients over the past two years. It found that more older homeowners are turning to home equity to close widening monthly budget gaps. Meanwhile, our housing stock isn’t getting any younger. The median home in the United States is at a record 44 years old, as new unit construction is still well shy of what it had been in the past. One ramification of this is that it’s getting more expensive to maintain those homes. The average homeowner in the United States spent $9,030 on replacement projects in 2023, up 59 percent from 2009. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by FirstClose, which provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. Their home equity lending platform accelerates the home equity lending process, reducing application to closing times from 45 days to less than ten. Today we have an interview with Chris Marshall of Sagent at its 2026 Ignite Conference, as well as Scott Rodeman (Evergreen Home Loans), Chris Wittrig (Land Home), and Jane Roethler (Idaho Housing and Finance Association) on the latest and greatest in servicing technology.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05052026 Tue, 05 May 2026 15:20:36 GMT 69f9e44d1d2ee86e9bb90814 Rob Chrisman Broker and Correspondent Products NFTYDoor, an end-to-end digital HELOC platform, is now operating as a fully independent company, enabling direct partnerships with wholesale brokers and private label correspondents. Brokers are already active on the new structure, submitting applications and closing loans today with no waiting period supported by NFTYDoor's combination of AI-powered origination and real people on every loan. Key enhancements include minimum FICO reduced from 640 to 600, maximum CLTV increased from 80 to 90 percent, maximum loan amount increased from $500,000 to $750,000, borrower rates reduced by 100+ bps, increased partner compensation, and a fully embedded no-cost warehouse line for private label partners. Available exclusively to partners contracting directly with NFTYDoor. Get started at nftydoor.com/partner-application. Peak season calls for peak financing, and Logan Finance is helping mortgage brokers close more deals for their highest-earning self-employed clients with the Open Road Elevated Bank Statement program. Using 12 or 24-months of bank statements (personal, business, or both), the Elevated program qualifies borrowers up to $5.0M with a 740 minimum FICO, up to 65% LTV, interest-only options on 30-year terms, and primary, second home, and investment occupancy all eligible. Logan’s team will be at the MBA National Secondary & Capital Markets Conference. Book time at MBA Secondary with Logan here, or contact bizdev@loganfinance.com to learn more. Logan Finance Corporation, NMLS #127722. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05042026 Mon, 04 May 2026 14:49:45 GMT 69f88d2cf37479ec1d0f0341 Rob Chrisman The industry is talking about their earnings: Fannie Mae had $3.7 billion of net income, Freddie Mac had net income of $3.6 billion. Regular and frequent information like this is critical to make informed decisions, whether you’re thinking about buying stock or buying a home. I recently received this note. “Rob, occasionally I am asked by my clients, and friends, if there is a ‘common way’ for the public to track real estate. Got anything up your sleeve?” Sure, and of course First American puts out some very usable information. There’s also Reventure. “Enter your city, zip, or state to track the 2026 housing market with analytics...” Borrowers are more informed than at any point in the industry’s history. That reality exposes a deeper truth: mortgage production is not just math, it is math plus human behavior, and the lenders who recognize that will operate differently. In a market where the next refinance wave may be more competitive and technology is simultaneously improving efficiency and expanding risk, success will belong to organizations that stop waiting for a rate-driven rescue and instead focus on operational discipline, borrower trust, and retention strategies that treat the customer relationship as the most valuable asset on the balance sheet. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by FirstClose, which provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. Their home equity lending platform accelerates the home equity lending process, reducing application to closing times from 45 days to less than ten. Hear an interview with AnnieMac’s Joe Panebianco on helping borrowers compete like cash purchasers, how affordability pressures are shaping borrower demand and new lending strategies, how global risks ripple into mortgage markets, and what key signals could drive a meaningful market shift through the rest of 2026.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05012026 Fri, 01 May 2026 15:45:05 GMT 69f495b7c51ebf6df753e270 Rob Chrisman The use of down payment assistance has risen sharply over the past year and a half, especially among FHA borrowers. Participation has jumped from 7.5 percent at the start of 2025 to over 21 percent recently, near the highest levels in years, as high home prices and borrowing costs push more buyers to seek help. Despite this increase, borrowers using DPA look very similar to those who don’t in terms of credit scores, debt levels, and loan sizes, indicating the program is being used broadly rather than just by riskier borrowers. Performance differences are modest but consistent: DPA borrowers tend to have slightly higher rates of serious delinquency and loan buyouts over time, though their prepayment behavior is largely similar. In the mortgage market, these borrowers are concentrated in higher-coupon Ginnie Mae pools, meaning the impact is more about where the risk sits in the market rather than a major shift in overall credit quality. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Figure, which is shaking up the lending world with their five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. Figure has hundreds of partners in the Banking, Credit Union, Home Improvement, and of course, IMB space embedding their technology. Today’s has an interview conducted by Movement Mortgage’s Lyra Waggoner of the “Chrismen” (Rob and Robbie) on a listener mailbag list of topics. Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-04302026 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:47:35 GMT 69f34f515f4a80e0351eec3e Rob Chrisman As an industry, we tend to care about interest rates, especially mortgage rates. (A recent STRATMOR piece is titled, “Mortgage Rates Are Not Random.”) But there is a group of people much less sensitive to rates and represent competition to lenders. All-cash home purchases have remained structurally elevated since early 2023, averaging 28 percent of existing home sales, well above the post-2015 norm of 23 percent, and consistently exceeding that benchmark since late 2022. Affluent households, relocating homeowners cashing out of higher-cost markets, investors, and increasingly ordinary savers primarily make up this group, underscoring how accumulated equity and liquidity are reshaping housing demand. While cash activity is far less prevalent in new home sales (largely due to higher price points) both segments have still seen above-trend cash buying in recent years. For housing finance markets, the implications are significant: elevated cash transactions effectively bypass mortgage origination, reducing the flow of loans into the Agency mortgage-backed securities market. Using current run rates, this translates into roughly 1.2 million annual home purchases (or about $385 billion in potential mortgage issuance) being removed from the system, tightening supply, and reinforcing technical support for mortgage spreads even as overall housing activity remains constrained. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Figure, which is shaking up the lending world with their five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. Figure has hundreds of partners in the Banking, Credit Union, Home Improvement, and of course, IMB space embedding their technology. Today’s has an interview with CI&T’s Tim Von Kaenel on building, integrating, and optimizing technology to drive differentiation, modernize operations, and navigate an increasingly complex and fast-evolving digital landscape. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-04292026 Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:17:06 GMT 69f205a2e20118b1ed8fd560 Rob Chrisman Broker and Correspondent Products NFTYDoor, an end-to-end digital HELOC platform, announced last week it is now operating as a fully independent company, enabling direct partnerships with wholesale brokers and private label correspondents. Brokers are already active on the new structure - submitting applications and closing loans today with no waiting period, supported by NFTYDoor's combination of AI-powered origination and real people on every loan. Key enhancements include minimum FICO reduced from 640 to 600, maximum CLTV increased from 80 to 90 percent, maximum loan amount increased from $500,000 to $750,000, borrower rates reduced by 100+ bps, increased compensation for partners, and a fully embedded no-cost warehouse line for private label partners. Available exclusively to partners contracting directly with NFTYDoor. More at nftydoor.com/home. “Our mascot is a pig, and there’s a reason: We love a Piggyback! Our Piggyback HELOC 2 nd can close simultaneously with a 1 st mortgage purchase or refinance. Our Post Close Piggyback HELOC can be submitted to Symmetry within 120 days after the 1 st mortgage closes. Why should you use the Symmetry Piggyback? You can break up a Jumbo loan into two loans and have the 1 st mortgage follow conventional guidelines. Our HELOC can go up to 89.99 percent CLTV on a 2nd lien primary residence up to $500k line amount. We have interest-only minimum payments during the draw period (plus annual fee) with no prepayment penalty or EPO. Lastly, our Piggybacks can utilize most of the same documentation as the 1 st mortgage, including an appraisal. Call your Symmetry Area Manager today to run through scenarios!” Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-04282026 Tue, 28 Apr 2026 15:29:31 GMT 69f0a77eee0de4ac32ffcac0 Rob Chrisman The big keep getting bigger: Real Brokerage announced that it is purchasing RE/MAX for $550 million, revealing that, including debt, the deal is worth an estimated $880 million. The name will be the Real REMAX Group (“a transformative opportunity to fuse REMAX’s strong brand equity with leading AI technology”) and it’s been reported that Motto Mortgage, owned by RE/MAX, will retain its current business model of a mortgage brokerage franchisor following the completion of this deal. REMAX doesn’t belong to the National Association of Realtors, although “they” say that 87 percent of real estate agents are NAR members. NAR tells us that 63 percent of its members are female. There are agents who are part-time license holders, people who got licensed but never entered the business, and even agents on a team where all deals are closed under the team leader. The 2025 NAR Member Profile paints a different picture. Among REALTORS® specializing in residential sales, only 5 percent reported zero transaction sides in 2024, the typical Realtor completed 10 transaction sides, and Realtors with two years or less experience reported a median of 3 transactions. LOs should be careful who they call on! (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Figure, which is shaking up the lending world with their five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. Figure has hundreds of partners in the Banking, Credit Union, Home Improvement, and of course, IMB space embedding their technology. Today’s has an interview with Seroka’s John Seroka on how brands are discovered by prioritizing credible, structured, and widely validated information over traditional SEO, making it critical for companies to build consistent digital authority and trust signals.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-04272026 Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:47:15 GMT 69ef5a07cb5dcfb5bb666fe4 Rob Chrisman What happens if labor or materials become too expensive here in the United States? Despite the move toward rejuvenating the manufacturing-based economy in the United States by the current Administration, people will follow the money and go elsewhere, whether it be dental work, hair transplants, or… manufactured housing. With the high cost of home construction, more Americans are becoming curious about working with Chinese suppliers on their renovations. The price of home construction materials in the United States increased by 3 percent from last year, according to the National Association of Home Builders. And since 27 percent of those materials came from China (in 2023), some US homebuilders are thinking of skipping the middleman like Home Depot and local contractors. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Figure, which is shaking up the lending world with their five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. Figure has hundreds of partners in the Banking, Credit Union, Home Improvement, and of course, IMB space embedding their technology. Today’s has an interview with WSFS Bank’s Jeffrey Ruben on how homeowners can strategically tap their equity while navigating today’s rate environment, avoiding common renovation financing pitfalls, and understanding why many are calling this the “golden age” of HELOCs.) Lender and Broker Products and Services Your workflow is already built. Your systems are already in place. Your credit reporting partner should support that. Advantage Partners Solutions gives you access to two platforms: Credit Interlink and MeridianLink Mortgage Credit Link. Both are fully supported by the same team. You choose the platform that fits your loan origination system. Your process stays intact. Your team keeps moving. No disruption. No retraining cycles. No forced transitions. This is an industry-first kind of structure that aligns to your operation and scales with your production volume. It allows your team to maintain momentum while gaining the support of a partner who understands your environment. See how this fits inside your operation and how both platforms support your workflow without interruption. Review your setup and compare it to a model designed to adapt to you and move forward with clarity: Schedule an intro today. 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