The co-founder and former CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher, died last week. I mention this because I read his obituary and the article noted his advice to employees in 2014 when they were upset by efforts to reduce costs and otherwise evolve. “What we’re talking about here is your future. If we don’t change, you won’t have one.” Just ask Sears, which is closing after 126 years in business. Hopefully that fate does not befall many lenders in the U.S., although this year as many things in store for our industry. Branches moving, companies moving, large and small. My guess is that we’ll see more headline-grabbing M&A coming soon!

 

Lender Products and Services

In broker news, “UWM is dropping its pricing, making its pricing more competitive than ever. For years, United Wholesale Mortgage has topped mortgage brokers’ lists in a variety of categories, but pricing wasn’t necessarily one of them – until now. UWM has dropped its rates across the board, for conventional, government and jumbo, giving the nation’s No. 1 wholesale lender the best pricing in the country, to go along with its leading client service, technology, turn times and partnership tools. UWM has removed all state adjustments and most Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPA), as well. Now, not only will mortgage brokers enjoy the fastest and easiest experience by working with UWM, they’ll also obtain the best rates for their customers.”

 

Trying to grow your business and help borrowers? Here’s a new USDA One-Time Close product that can be sold to your correspondent investor right after closing and before construction has begun. Spare your borrowers the hassle of going through multiple closings. And, bundle their building costs and mortgage costs into one loan. It’s a win-win and saves much-needed time. Check out the new USDA One-Time Close purchase option TMS Correspondent recently rolled for its partners.

 

Lending solutions provider Data Facts recently announced an exciting new appraisal product. The Verisite Plus Report gives current, comprehensive details for non-standard appraisal loans. Using the Verisite app, sellers, realtors, or appraisers securely take interior and exterior photos that are geo-located and sent back to the lender. These are combined with property data such as location, map, and comparable sales to create an appraisal. The Verisite Plus Report typically returns in 4 hours and costs $100 less than traditional appraisals. Trust Data Facts to provide you efficient mortgage lending solutions, such as credit reports, fraud products, tax return and social security verifications, a variety of lead generation tools, and more…all integrated within your LOS! Talk with a live person and take advantage of their personalized support for your business. Their 100% US based customer service team will help you increase efficiency so you can close more loans, faster and easier.

 

“Deephaven Mortgage continues to experience impressive growth in the Non-QM sector while staying committed to adding new products, capabilities, and technology to make the lives of originators nationwide more streamline. On the subject of making the process more streamlined, Deephaven’s Wholesale Division is excited to announce that it is now supporting credit reissuance including many of the most popular credit providers in the mortgage industry. Credit reissuance allows for greater predictability in scoring, pricing, and qualification along with improving the overall cycle time on loans. For additional details on how to start a new file with Deephaven Wholesale using our new credit reissuance process, please contact your Deephaven Wholesale Account Executive today or by emailing us.”


Upcoming Events

Momentifi CEO Gibran Nicholas is hosting a free webinar today at 2PM ET: How Purpose-Driven Loan Originators Will Dominate the 2019 Mortgage Market. Topics include: how to identify the target market where you can win in 2019; how to articulate why your ideal clients and strategic partners should choose you vs. your competitors; and how to utilize technology to win more business with your target audience. Click here to register. If you miss the live webinar, click here to access the recording.

 

Have you set your goals for 2019? If you’re ready to start setting money making goals, then join Sierra Pacific Mortgage on January 14 at 10:00am PST for a free one-hour webinar on achieving your goals. In this course, focused on goal setting, you will learn how to establish smart goals, how to work backwards to accomplish your goals, and how to analyze your current book of business and referral sources to help meet your next financial goal. Make 2019 your year. Register today.

 

Don’t miss the opportunity to register for the MBA-NJ webinar series beginning January 10th, “Mastering Social Media in the Mortgage Industry”.

 

Sign up for Plaza’s January 11th complimentary training webinar: Negotiate the Numbers. In this webinar, you will learn the fundamentals of calculating income for self-employed borrowers from personal and business tax returns.

 

Register for the January 15th MBA Education Diversity and Inclusion Webinar Series. Get the tools you need to expand your reach by registering for the How to Boost Sales in the Multicultural Market webinar. Learn the best ways to connect with African-American, Asian and Hispanic audiences—the fastest growing populations in the nation with huge, untapped buying power.

 

Register for the MMA for breakfast on January 16th. Presenters will discuss eMortgage and eClosing topics as these continue to gather momentum as states enact remote notary laws such as the one that recently went into effect in Minnesota.


New Products

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. launched a 2-1 buydown from a fixed rate mortgage program during which Taylor Morrison will help pay some of the interest cost during the initial years of homeownership. The Taylor Morrison 2-1 rate buydown for Conventional and FHA financing for qualified owner-occupied borrowers with a minimum 680 credit score allows consumers to pay their mortgage payment at a rate 2% below the fixed rate mortgage the first year and 1% lower the second year before the mortgage returns to a fixed rate over the remaining life of the loan.

 

Hudson United Mortgage Services, LLC is now accepting appointments for its Second Look Program. “Any prospective homebuyer is encouraged to meet with a Hudson United Mortgage loan officer once they have received a mortgage estimate from another lender to receive competitive rates and discuss their best options. This ensures that clients are receiving the best mortgage rates available anywhere. Clients who meet with one of the Hudson United Mortgage loan officers will receive a $100 Visa Gift card following the meeting. To be eligible, you must show a Hudson United loan officer a signed purchase offer to buy a home and a mortgage estimate from another lender at the time of your free consultation. Then, the borrower will receive a Visa Gift Card, whether they apply for a mortgage through Hudson United Mortgage or any other mortgage company. This offer expires December 31, 2019.

 

Loan Stream Mortgage offers Bank Statement loans. Fixed Rate, 5/1 and 7/1 ARM’s up to $10,000,000 with interest only options available. Questions? Submit them too: inquiries@lswholesale.com.

 

Effective January 2nd, PennyMac released its Non-Conforming NonQM Loan Program.

 

Fannie Mae launched the MH Advantage program, hoping to give future homeowners another option. Rick Walker, Collateral Policy & Strategy Risk Manager with Fannie Mae sat down with Appraisal Buzz to give us a closer insight into the new program. For details, read the Q&A discussion.

 

Elixir Mortgage Lending has 1 Month Bank Statement Loans available.

 

Citadel Servicing has a new ODF Plus Program for 5 to 35-Unit Properties. Contact sales@citadelservicing.com for more information.


Capital Markets

The U.S. 10-year closed Tuesday +3 bps to 2.72% as Treasuries across the curve all moved in the same direction with markets receiving no updates on trade talks with China, though it was reported the talks will extend into today. Beijing was in the headlines twice, as North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong-un reportedly arrived there for a visit that will continue through January 10. Finally, on the international front, Germany's Industrial Production experienced its sharpest rate of decline since the financial crisis.

 

 

 

Today's calendar kicked off with the usual mortgage applications from the MBA for the week ending January 4. In proof of a) an unusually slow week the prior week, and b) how flighty holiday week stats can be, applications were up over 23% with refis doing well. Up next will be three scheduled Fed President speakers: Atlanta's Bostic, Chicago's Evans, and Boston's Rosengren. Finally, and most importantly, at 2PM the minutes from the December FOMC meeting will be released. We begin today with the 10-year yielding 2.74 percent and Agency MBS prices down/worse a couple ticks.


Jobs and Personnel Moves

FirstBank Mortgage, a division of FirstBank with $5B in assets, is aggressively seeking loan officers and teams throughout TN, AL, & GA that possess an entrepreneurial spirit and love to work hard and have fun while doing it. “Backed by a management team of former producers, FirstBank Mortgage has the technology, training, pricing and marketing to help you exponentially grow your business and industry knowledge. Expansive product offerings include portfolio, jumbo, super jumbo, multiple down payment assistance programs and expanded credit programs. Come thrive in an environment where your voice is heard, your opinions matter and customers come first. Excellent compensation package included.” Click here to learn more.

Join the firm that’s aggressively pursuing a retail growth strategy. Planet Home Lending opened more than 40 retail branches nationwide in the past 15 months. Discover what’s under the hood of the engine driving Planet Home Lending’s growth strategy, including an underwriting policy of “no overlays and no minimum credit scores on government lending.” “Whether you’re interested in working with us or for us, we’re always happy to chat about what you’re looking for and how we can help.” Contact Planet SVP Fobby Naghmi (703-473-2340) today.

Kwik Mortgage is looking for both supremely confident and stubbornly independent loan officers and branch managers who have the strength and capacity to build their own business in today’s evolving market. For over twenty years Kwik has made its way from coast to coast by sweating the details running a lean management structure while supporting its sales teams to work autonomously. Kwik has done the heavy lifting so you don’t have to deal with 30% plus in operations costs or 40% plus in corporate administrative costs and then wonder why your compensation and pricing continue to move around! If you are an experienced loan officer that can generate three funded units or $1 Million in fundings per month and enjoy working remote contact us today! If you are a branch team generating $2.5 million in business or 12 t0 20 units per month contact us today, we have both P&L and Corporate team options! Kwik is currently searching for Sales professionals in CT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, VA, GA, FL, OH, TX, CA, and Washington State. Please email Resume@kwikmtg.com to learn more about Kwik Mortgage!

United Capital Markets, Inc. announced the addition of Tim Covington as a SVP joining UCM’s St. Louis office. Tim will be responsible for analytics, business development and trading/hedging of mortgage servicing assets. He joins the UCM team after 19 years with Wells Fargo Home Lending as SVP and Market Risk Manager. Congrats!

And FundingShield announced that Faith Schwartz has joined its senior advisory board, bringing “a wealth of experience and relationships stemming from her leadership in the lending, fintech, non-profit and advisory space. Faith is currently president of automated verification provider FormFree.”