With Simone Biles injury at the Olympics, let’s shift our attention to lending & housing. Have you ever asked someone, especially a politician, for the definition of “affordable housing”? Maybe the better riddle is, “How is affordable housing like pornography? You’ll know it when you see it.” (See Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s quote from 1964.) I’m sure lending on “affordable housing” (housing units that are affordable by those whose income is below the median household income) will be a topic at most of the upcoming in-person conferences in August, September, and October. Yes, it’s “full speed ahead” in attendance at events like the California MBA’s Western Secondary and its attendee list which is near 450 already, although COVID precautions are a wild card for conferences everywhere and “CDC conversations are occurring as the Delta variant is prevalent in states with lower vaccination rates: Missouri, Texas and Florida are responsible for 40 percent of all new U.S. coronavirus cases.”) Another topic will undoubtedly be the private sector’s role in the Fair Housing Act and how to help borrowers use down payment resources to their best advantage. available here and features an interview with Matt Allen of NASB on the whole loan trading space. This week’s is sponsored by Origence, helping financial institutions can provide mortgage, consumer, indirect, and home equity loans with greater efficiency and increased scale while also delivering a convenient and personalized experience to borrowers.)


Lender Services and Products

Just this morning LBA Ware released its Q2 2021 Loan Compensation Report, which, as always, is chock-full of insights into how LO and processor comp has evolved over the last quarter. The headline finding is that LOs’ per loan commissions declined1.76% (to 101.308 BPS) while refi dropped 35%and purchase volume surged 50%. Also of interest, lenders added almost 10X more processors than LOs in Q2. That’s a lot of processing manpower, and it allowed lenders to significantly scale back the number of units handled and incentive compensation paid per processor. Get the full rundown, including intel on BPS and more, here.

Verify 1099 contractors (Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Instacart) and government agency employees on Truework. I bet a lot of folks spend 80% of their processing time on 20% of their loans. How do you process that 20% faster? VOE/VOI is a great place to start. Truework is constantly growing their network, and their new technology, Truework Credentials, lets loan processors verify government employees and gig economy workers at no extra cost. Truework users (sign up here) don’t need to do anything other than submit a verification to use Credentials- it is automatically engaged whenever the applicant isn’t in their instant network of 35 million employees (and growing). Sign up to Truework for free.

Summer is when roller coasters go up and down. And so can interest rates and mortgage application levels. This trend over the last few weeks has brought back the challenge of matching employee head count to loan volume. But your office should be concentrating on closings, and these feelings of anxiety reserved for the amusement park. By partnering with DocProbe to manage the Trailing Document back office of your operation you are always covered, and your costs stay stable as you only pay per loan in tandem with the volume passing through. 125+ lenders across the country rely on DocProbe to retrieve, process and deliver their Final Documents so they can focus on driving revenue and closing new loans without worrying about fluctuating employee counts and unnecessary overhead. Contact Nick or visit us to find out more.

What do you need in order to be successful with intelligent automation? One single platform with all the functionality you are looking for and a team of industry experts and professionals to support you. Richey May’s RM Automate, powered by the world-class Zoral Automation Platform, is a holistic automation solution to enhance every part of your business. Build and customize automation across the whole organization, from POS and automated processing and underwriting to back-office operations. With seamless integration of processes, decisioning and workflow is hosted and managed by an automation platform in the cloud. This leaves your employees free to deal with more complex, challenging, and revenue-generating tasks. Contact us to schedule a demo today to see how intelligent automation can change the game for lenders

Here’s a company that decreases costs/increases revenue while providing training (wait... what?). Unlike other providers (NMLS/Compliance), these folks partner with IMBs as the solutions reduce MLO training time and keep the sanity of your Compliance Team with cross-certified courses and a robust tracking/assignment portal. Contact Dave Olchek or request a demo. Hear what your colleagues have to say.

MLOs: discover how to rise above your competitors using these 6 new ways to grow your business. Not all mortgage software systems are created equal. With more than 10 years of serving thousands of top mortgage professionals, Unify provides the key platform you'll need to grow your business. You will be facing a tougher mortgage market later this year with the shift from Refinance to Purchase loans and Interest rates may rise too. Learn how to use the Unify Hot Prospect Alerts feature with Mortgage Inquiry Alerts and Prequalified Prospects. Marketing Automation with great done-for-you content nurtures leads to customers, Automated Workflows dramatically increases your team’s collaboration, Client Retention programs create referrals and more loans. Lastly, the Unify Mobile Ap puts the most robust mortgage business growth platform in the palm of your hand. Unify will help you win your Gold Medal ;-)!

Northpointe Bank Correspondent Lending offers 100% financing and expanded qualification requirements with its Medical Professionals loan program. Designed for borrowers who have student loans or limited savings, the program helps medical professionals* qualify to purchase a home. Eligible borrowers can be currently practicing or begin employment within 90 days of loan closing. Delegated clients receive eligibility sign-off by Northpointe pre-close and, Third-Party Origination is allowed. With loan amounts up to $850,000, loan-to-value ratios up to 100%, and no mortgage insurance options, Northpointe Bank provides tailored solutions to maximize your profitably and help your business grow. View program details for more information or email us at correspondentsales@northpointe.com. *Medical Professional program available to Medical Doctors, Dr. of Dental Surgery, Dr. of Dental Medicine, Dr. of Optometry, Dr. of Ophthalmology, Dr. of Osteopathy, Dr. of Podiatric Medicine, Dr. of Surgery, Dr. of Psychiatric Medicine, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and Chiropractors.

Let your people work from home while improving efficiency with a virtual assembly line. Henry Ford reduced car production-time from 12.5 to 1.5 hours with an assembly line. The benefits were: Shorter timelines, increased efficiency, and near-zero errors, plus the ability to employ both high and moderately skilled workers to get work done. The same has proven true for mortgages. 2021 has seen more mortgage operations move to a “virtual assembly line” model to produce higher volumes and shorten “lead-to-close” timelines. Case in point: A division of American Pacific Mortgage quadrupled its volume and produced 280% more revenues after implementing TeamworkIQ, a simple task-based-workflow platform that drives virtual assembly lines. Work moves forward faster. bringing the right task to the right person at the right time with the right priority. And some tasks can even be automated to achieve even greater efficiency. See the case study and request a test-drive.

Announcing New E-Book for our Mortgage Lending Ecosystem: Engaging Your Clients For Life. All signs point to a purchase-heavy and volatile market, creating greater urgency to compete and create relevance for your business. Our new e-book can help mortgage lenders convert more business by connecting with homeowners for life. Creating a “Client for Life” program requires a paradigm shift, from a transactional focus to building meaningful relationships. And while shifting strategies can be difficult to incorporate, industry professionals that are truly ready to embrace an approach that adds real value for homebuyers need only follow five simple steps, each of which will be explored further in this E-Book: Home Buying Process – and Beyond! Reimagine the Closing Experience. Choose Technology Wisely. Home Management Made Easy. And Maximize the Value of the Home. Read, download, or interact with the E-Book here!


Events and Training

Friday, July 30th, is the next edition of The Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob. Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, and I will be virtually covering current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes starting at 3PM ET: “The Rundown with Rob and Rich.”

With new leadership at the CFPB and other agencies, the mortgage industry can expect a shift in regulatory oversight. Two sought-out advisors will share their insights and experience on the disparate impact issues and fair lending regulations, RESPA oversight, the top issues related to TRID and more to help you stay compliant. Richard Horn, formerly senior counsel and special advisor at the CFPB, will be joined by Joshua Weinberg, a compliant consultant helping traditional and digital lenders make compliance a competitive advantage Aug. 4 on the “Complying With the New CFPB” webinar. Join Dodd Frank Update to learn more about the bureau’s and other agencies’ priorities and the steps you need to take in response.

You’re invited to National MI’s upcoming August 2021 webinar sessions which include Own Your Power ​​​​​- Follow-Up, with Jennifer Powers, Navigating the Current Market, with Rebecca Lorenz, Leveraging Technology & Trending Homebuyer Apps, with Kristin Messerli & Sarah Vita, Maximizing Video Emails, with Kendra Lee, It’s About Time, with Andrew Oxley. Follow the National MI channel at nationalmi.podbean.com or find Being Better with Jennifer Powers by searching for “National MI” or “National Mortgage Insurance” on most of your favorite podcast platforms. 

The 2021 CMLA Convention is headed back to Vail, Colorado, August 4-6. This event will include engaging local and national speakers who will lead discussions on important industry topics and the ever-popular annual convention golf tournament at Eagle Vail Golf Club.

There’s the Lenders One Summit 2021, August 8-11 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate. (Contact Jessica Bellomo with questions.)

The MMLA Annual Lending Conference will be held in-person August 11-13 at Grand Traverse Resort in Acme, MI.

The California Mortgage Expo is in San Diego on Thursday, August 12th (with an optional, free, live NMLS class on Friday, Aug. 13). If you’d like to zero out all the registration fees for you and up to 10 of your colleagues, Register as a guest of Vincent Valvo, CEO, Originator Connect Network. Click this link to register, follow the registration prompts, and enter this code: VINCEFREE (then be sure to click the “apply” button to actually apply the code!) This is a savings of $125 off the regular registration rate, per person.

The Great River MBA Conference will be held in Memphis August 17-19. Watch out for the ducks!

Chase invites correspondent lenders to an eNote overview with its partners from MERS®/ICE Mortgage Technology on August 18 from 2-3PM ET. Click here to register for this informative session on transitioning to eNotes.

Viva Las Vegas! Originator Connect is a 3-day in-person weekend event, August 20-22, the only mortgage conference focused solely on the origination community at brokerages, banks, and credit unions.

The California MBA holds its Western Secondary Market Conference in-person from August 24-26 at the Waldorf Astoria in Orange County. The conference is one of the largest regional gatherings of mortgage industry executives and the agenda promises to cover a wide range of timely and important topics. (In 2019, the California MBA had a total of 449 registered attendees for WSMC, 289 were registered one month out. Today the conference already has 443 people registered for WSMC 2021!)

In Fort Worth this is year is the TMBA’s live, in-person Annual Convention, August 29th – 30th: Grabbing The Bull By The Horns Reigning In The Chaos.

Attendees of the August 31-September 2 NS3 Compliance Track in Naples, FL. will learn how to leverage industry partnerships, improve fair lending and housing practices, work around redacted files and much more.


Capital Markets

“When it comes to pipeline hedging and loan trading, scale matters! That’s why a record number of independent mortgage banks, credit unions and banks of all sizes are choosing secondary marketing solutions from Black Knight, including the Optimal Blue and Compass Analytics platforms. The two platforms are on pace to execute over $3 trillion of TBA trades and loan sales in 2021. This scale provides the insights necessary to obtain best-in-class trade and loan sale execution across multiple counterparties. As Black Knight clients attest, this scale comes with something unexpected – a personal touch. Clients are supported by dedicated, relationship-oriented analysts and trading teams that provide guidance on a daily, no-voicemail basis. Between its dedication to putting clients first, world-class analytics, and commitment to data integrity and accuracy – it’s no surprise so many capital markets leaders choose Black Knight. Reach out to learn more and connect with us during Western Secondary.”

Monday continued the recent bond market trend of a little up, little down, or a little staying the same. With the summer doldrums in full swing, we’re driven by COVID news. Sales of new homes fell in June for the third consecutive month to the lowest annual sales rate since April 2020. The Delta variant seems to be factoring into decreasing new home sales with supply increasing beyond new home construction in May and June coupled with sagging demand which means the overall market could be cooling after the late-2020 surge. The most recent reading is nearly 20 percent below last year's reading.

It would seem that most of the past year’s buyers looking to take advantage of low mortgage rates and remote working opportunities have proceeded with their intended purchases at this point. Mortgage rates have ticked down this mid-summer and that may encourage some opportunistic buying, though not likely enough to change the feeling of a cooler market this year. If inventories continue to increase, it will restrain home prices this fall.

Today’s market movement will be influenced by the sentiment surrounding the start of this week’s two-day FOMC meeting which concludes tomorrow afternoon with the Statement and Chair Powell’s press conference. We’ve already seen the MBA’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 2 bps to 3.48 percent of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week as of July 18. Despite the 21st consecutive week of declines, according to MBA’s estimate 1.74 million homeowners remain in forbearance plans. We’ve had June’s Durable Goods Orders (+.8 percent). Coming up are Redbook same store sales, Case-Shiller and FHFA home prices, July consumer confidence, and the Richmond Fed manufacturing and services indices. The Desk will conduct two MBS purchase operations targeting up to $5.3 billion 30-year 2 percent and 2.5 percent. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices up .125 and the 10-year yielding 1.25 after closing Monday at 1.28 percent.

 

Jobs and Transitions

Indecomm National Sales Director Opportunity! Are you a high-performing, experienced mortgage automation and technology sales executive? If so, this opportunity is for you! Indecomm is looking for a National Sales Director to help meet their customer acquisition and revenue growth objectives for their Automation Solutions. This remote position will be responsible for developing and executing all key growth sales strategies, tactics, and action plans required to achieve sales goals. Experience selling automation solutions includes, but not limited to LOS, Servicing, data digitization solutions, Robotic Process Automation, Workflow/Business Process Management, and Machine Learning. If you are interested, learn more or email Linda Bomar.

Planet Home Lending’s vision is simple. We want to be a top 10 lender, and we’re looking for people who want to get there with us. Planet has the capital, the pricing, the service, and the support. We’re an industry leader in providing this groundwork to originators. While Planet has big ambitions, we don’t believe in big bureaucracy. We want to give you direct access to leaders and decision-makers who can help you and your team grow, build, and develop your careers. Watch our Retail Sales Leader Caleb Mittelstet talk about why originators are moving to Planet. Then send a note to Caleb Mittelstet or SVP Talent Acquisition Brian Miller. Grow your business with Planet Home Lending – Right Place, Right Size, Right Now!”

Streamline Mortgage Solutions announced that Leo Loomie will be joining the executive team and serve as EVP and COO, driving business strategy, operations, and marketing, with a focus on a nationwide expansion of Streamline’s residential lending footprint. Congratulations!