5.1.23 Servicing Platform Acquisitions; Moderation of Economic Growth

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Did you know that cows sleep laying down for the four hours of snoozing they need a day? Did you know that horses sleep standing up? These tidbits may come in handy for me this week as I head to Cody, Wyoming for the WMLA annual conference. Or they may not. Here’s a question not so trivial: what has 250,000 customers and a $37 billion unpaid principal balance? Answer: Rushmore Loan Management Services’ residential mortgage servicing platform, being sold to Mr. Cooper Group this year. Recall that Mr. Cooper agreed to acquire Roosevelt Management Company, LLC, Rushmore's parent company, to serve as the platform for its mortgage servicing rights fund asset management strategy. Lenders of all shapes and sizes have been selling their MSRs for various reasons, not the least of which is to raise cash in tough times, and it appears that “tough” times will be with our industry for a while. For many lenders, servicing is the only asset worth anything. Depository banks know a thing or two about assets, and the big are getting bigger: JPMorgan Chase & Co. submitted the winning bid for First Republic Bank in an auction being run by U.S. regulators. (Today’s podcast can be found here and is this week’s is sponsored by Blend. Want to power a better lending journey from application to close? Find out how their digital end-to-end mortgage experience can help you reach your business goals.)

Employment

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Direct Mortgage Loans is thrilled to announce that Dean Johnson has joined its leadership team as Chief Production Officer. Dean is a true leader who is respected in the mortgage industry for his vision, optimism, and for winning the right way. His experience in branch building, sales training and leadership, and marketing will be a big benefit to DML’s sales teams. In his new role, Dean will be responsible for growth based special projects; sales leadership and training; business development initiatives; branch architecture, strategy, and coaching; community impact projects; and enhancing opportunities for sales collaboration. Learn why Dean chose to join Direct Mortgage Loans. 

Get the options you and your borrowers need. When it comes to buying a home, one size does not fit all. Each buyer has unique needs that can only be met by shopping multiple lenders. As a wholesale loan officer, you’ll have more choices than a bank or retail lender can offer, and when your clients can shop more, they’ll save more, leading to more referrals that lead to more business. To learn more about all that wholesale lending has to offer, contact our team at BeAMortgageBroker.com.

Lender and broker software, services, and products

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Foodies hoping to live on the wild side may one day get a taste of wooly mammoth thanks to an Australian cultivated meat company. Unable to adapt to their changing environment, these beasts went extinct millennia ago. Fortunately, SimpleNexus, an nCino company, ensures industry evolution beyond prehistoric point-of-sale solutions. Watch to learn how Alterra Home Loans has embraced a solid tech consolidation strategy and SimpleNexus’ end-to-end product suite to enhance borrower engagement, loan officer productivity, origination efficiency, and digital closing convenience. Want to overcome the efficiency challenges plaguing your tech stack? SimpleNexus is up for the “tusk.”

“Looking for 100 percent financing with competitive pricing? All roads lead to ESSEX Correspondent and our Down Payment Assistance (DPA) product. Become a fully delegated and underwrite/fund your own 100 percent LTV purchase product. FHA 1st 96.5 percent LTV with two 3.5 percent 2nd mortgage options; 0 percent forgivable or a 10 year Fully Amortized. No DTI limit, AUS approval required. FICOS as low as 600. One set of guidelines is available in 47 states. Generous Income limits using 160 percent of AMI or SMI, whichever is more. No first-time home buyer requirement. No 3rd party underwrite allows you to close as quickly as your team can originate. Email Kim Schenck or contact your Account Executive today and get signed up!

Does it feel like your current point-of-sale vendor has lost focus on mortgage? At Maxwell, mortgage is all they do. Constantly looking to improve the origination experience, Maxwell Point of Sale offers unique features to help lenders stand out including lender configurability, technology that pre-fills the application for the borrower, a complete Spanish language application, payment capabilities, quick pre-approval letters and more. With an average implementation time of less than 2.5 weeks, Maxwell Point of Sale can start working for you and your borrowers quickly. Schedule a call with the team to learn more.

Need processing support for Non-QM or FHA manual underwrites? Carrington Wholesale has launched ProcessIQ to help expand broker capacity and increase capabilities for time intensive and/or complicated loans such as those with low FICO, high DTI, Non-QM (bank statements, DSCR, high balance) and FHA/VA manual underwriting loans. The Carrington ProcessIQ team handles all the logistics, jumps in and works directly with borrowers to process the loan. For more information contact Amy Marsh at (949) 517-5732.

For independent mortgage banks coping with shrinking production volumes and rising costs per loan, outsourcing accounting is an elegant solution to what’s become a very common challenge. Whether you have no accounting expertise in-house or you have a new team with no mortgage experience, you can tap the Richey May Client Accounting and Advisory Services (CAAS) team for the support you need. This team is stacked with mortgage industry experts who can tailor your solution to meet your most pressing needs in a volatile time, with no training needed. Need help transitioning to loan level accounting? Need a fully outsourced function? You got it! Need industry training for your controller? We can do that. In this article, Richey May’s expert Kim Dittmer answers all your most frequently asked questions around outsourced accounting as a mortgage bank. Learn more.

Check out these opportunities to network with LendingOne’s TPO team in the month of May! Check us out on May 2nd - May 4th at the 39th Annual Regional Conference of MBAs in Atlantic City, NJ. Join us at the MARC Elevate Your Game Conference on May 8th at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland. And you don’t want to miss Samuel Bjelac, LendingOne’s VP of Third-Party Originations, as he joins other industry experts on a panel discussion about the state of private lending at this year’s NYC Real Estate Expo on May 10th at Citi Field in NYC! We look forward to seeing you there. Call us today to schedule some time to meet: 866-794-0937. Learn more about LendingOne’s TPO program.

Webinars, events, and training to start May and beyond

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As the TMBA conference is in full swing in San Antonio, a list of 2023’s conferences and events can be found here under the “Conferences” tab.

Fairway Wholesale Lending is hosting a webinar on May 1st at 1PM CST featuring Rob Chrisman to discuss market and industry updates. Fairway Wholesale is licensed in all states and is growing its broker and non-delegated correspondent partner relationships. Join by registering here to hear from Rob and the Fairway team.

MBA Education has tools and training you need to ensure your organization remains on track while maximizing value for its shareholders.

Builder 100 Leadership Summit, May 1-3, 2023, is less than a month away. The event will be focused on exploring the future of homebuilding and will gather senior executives from America’s largest volume home builders on stage and in the audience.

This Friday at 3PM ET is the next edition of The Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Tom Gallucci and me. We’ll be covering current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes starting at noon PT in “The Rundown”!

The Utah Mortgage Show returns on May 10, in Salt Lake City, bringing in the industry's best, with educational sessions that show you how to make more money, be a better sales pro, and keep your pipeline full. Plus, enjoy the free NMLS renewal class, happening Thursday, May 11, when you attend the expo. This event can all be completely free to you, thanks to our sponsors. Just use our code OCNFREE to save $125 off your registration and the registration of up to 9 of your colleagues.

In Massachusetts? Headlines about discrimination by appraisers have been splashed across the country as Fair Housing and discrimination complaints and legal actions have been filed against appraisers, lenders, and appraisal management companies. If you review appraisals, are in quality control, mortgage operations and compliance, join MMBA’s virtual, live-streaming program on May 10th 9:00-Noon. Take a look behind the headlines and get answers to the who, what, when, where, and why of the story.

In Maryland, join MMBBA for 2 STACKED Panels - Friday, May 19th from 1-4 PM at the Checkerspot Brewing Company in Baltimore. Get several different industry professionals’ perspectives on transaction pitfalls, ways to avoid them, and ways to deal with them from the perspective of two great panels. This will be followed by a chance to network (a drink ticket and appetizers are included) and brewery tours.

FHA is offering a Free, In-Person Underwriting Training in Boston, May 16th | 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM (Eastern). This training will cover a variety of topics including credit, income, and asset (CIA) documentation, automated underwriting systems (AUS) closing, and more.

FHA is offering a Free, In-Person Appraisals Training in Boston, May 16th | 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Eastern). The training topics will include property inspection requirements, appraisal validity period, manufactured homes, well and septic, attic and crawl spaces inspection, and the FHA Appraiser Roster.

FHA is offering a Free, In-Person training on FHA Condominium Approval and Processing Training in San Juan, PR on May 16th | 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM (Atlantic).

Where will you be May 21-24? The MBAG Live conference this year: sign up for the May event. The event is at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. The hotel deadline for the event block ends April 30th.

Yes, out in June, ACUMA workshops registration is now open!

IMN announced the upcoming 4th Annual Non-QM & Non-Agency Mortgage Forum, scheduled for June 1-2 at the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach, in Dana Point, CA. This forum will be constructed from both the loan origination and investor perspectives, diving deep into the critical issues facing the industry. At this event, you will meet senior professionals in the market consisting of Correspondents, Wholesale Originators, Investors/Capital Market Leaders, Servicers, Brokers, and many more at this two-day event. Check out a sample of panel topics of past registered companies, view The 4th Annual Non-QM & Non-Agency Mortgage Forum.

Registration is officially open for the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3), June 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency at The Arch in St. Louis. The premier annual destination for all professionals involved in the real estate transaction to come together for unrivaled networking and education. The best value in conferences, with the most innovative session topics, numerous networking opportunities and access to solution providers each year.

The Indiana MBA's State Convention is June 19th and 20th at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, IN, the home of a retired basketball player named Larry Bird!

It’s time to renew your MBAH membership and enjoy member pricing at its Annual State Conference, June 21st-22nd packed with top notch speakers.  

The FHA’s Office of Lender Activities and Program Compliance will conduct a series of free webinars on the FHA Lender Approval Application process as outlined in FHA’s Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1. This training series is designed to assist entities interested in becoming FHA-approved mortgagees (lenders). The three webinars will conclude with a live question and answer (Q&A) session. Session 2 – Non-Supervised Applicants on July 11, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Eastern). This webinar will provide a detailed overview of the FHA Lender Approval Application process, the eligibility requirements, and required documentation for supervised and government mortgagees. Common application deficiencies will be addressed and tips for submitting a successful application will be provided.

Session 3 – Supervised and Government Applicants on July 18, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Eastern). This webinar will provide a detailed overview of the FHA Lender Approval Application process, the eligibility requirements, and required documentation for supervised and government mortgagees. Common application deficiencies will be addressed and tips for submitting a successful application will be provided.

Capital markets: quiet, rate-wise

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There weren't a lot of surprises in the March Personal Income and Spending Report to close last week. Personal income increased 0.3 percent month-over-month, slightly above expectations, and personal spending was flat when it was expected to decline. The PCE Price Index (Personal Consumption Expenditure) was up 0.1 percent and the core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, was up 0.3 percent. The core PCE Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, checked in at 4.6 percent year-over-year versus 4.7 percent in February.

We also learned Economic growth moderated during the first quarter as real GDP increased at a weaker than expected 1.1 percent annualized pace. However, consumer spending (the largest component) grew 3.7 percent. Low existing home inventories have pushed buyers to new homes with sales jumping 9.6 percent to a 683,000 annualized pace in March. Demand from buyers and lower than normal supply should help to keep falling home prices in check. Analysts expect consumer spending to contract later this year, which would ease inflationary pressure throughout the economy. Employee compensation costs are not cooling as quickly to levels the Fed would deem consistent with 2 percent inflation.

To sum things up, the U.S economy continues to move forward, and inflation continues to move down, although it is well above the Fed's target range. This probably won't change the Fed's plans to hike 25 basis points this week. The market sees a 90 percent chance for another 25 basis points this week, and then a 25 percent chance of another 25 in June before a series of rate cuts.

JPMorgan Chase is buying most of First Republic's assets and assuming all of its deposits. “We didn’t seek this out, but there are benefits.” But the impact on bond markets is negligible. This week’s calendar is packed with market moving potential including that expected 25 basis point hike by the FOMC on Wednesday, as well as data including PMIs and Friday’s employment report. In addition to PMIs and payrolls, data includes construction spending, factory orders, JOLTS job openings, ADP employment, Challenger job cuts, trade, productivity / unit labor costs with consumer credit also on Friday after the jobs report. In regard to MBS, FDIC sales will continue and are expected to include more asset classes while April agency prepayments will be released after Thursday’s close and into the evening.

Today’s calendar begins with a whimper with the final April S&P Global manufacturing PMI, which will be followed by ISM manufacturing PMI for April and construction spending for March. We begin the day with the 2-year yielding 4.07, the 10-year unchanged at 3.45, and Agency MBS prices also unchanged from Friday.

I finally got over my addiction to chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts. I won’t lie, it was a rocky road.

Visit www.robchrisman.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or to subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. If you’re interested, visit my periodic blog at the STRATMOR Group web site. “The Yield Curve Is Inverted: Should Lenders Care?” is the current blog. The Commentary’s podcast is live and at any place you obtain your podcasts (like Apple or Spotify).

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