August 2022 Magazine

August 2022

HOUSINGWIRE MAGAZINE ❱ AUGUST 2022

2022 Women of Influence 50 women who are making an impact in the industry

Sue Yannaccone, Anywhere Brands

Kristy Folino, Senior Vice President, Custom Solutions

ServiceLink Congratulates Kristy Folino on being named a 2022 HousingWire Woman of Influence!

Kristy Folino’s unique brand of leadership, deep subject matter expertise, positivity and passion make her a truly influential woman in the industry. Kristy, thank you for all that you do to move the industry forward! ServiceLink congratulates you on this well-deserved honor.

Learn more at svclnk.com

congratulations 2022 HousingWire Woman of Influence

kim nelson Chief Executive Officer

www.banksouthmortgage.com

A Mortgage Company Built By & For Mortgage Originators BankSouth Mortgage Company, LLC, NMLS #690971 is not a bank or other depository institution and is not FDIC-insured. BankSouth Mortgage Company, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BankSouth, NMLS #688851, a federal savings bank and Member FDIC.

HOUSINGWIRE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SARAH WHEELER MANAGING EDITOR JAMES KLEIMANN DEPUTY EDITOR KATE DOUGLAS SENIOR REAL ESTATE REPORTER MATTHEW BLAKE SENIOR MORTGAGE REPORTERS BILL CONROY, GEORGIA KROMREI REAL ESTATE & TITLE REPORTER BROOKLEE HAN MORTGAGE REPORTERS FLÁVIA FURLAN NUNES, MARIA VOLKOVA REPORTER CONNIE KIM LEAD ANALYST LOGAN MOHTASHAMI CONTRIBUTORS MIRIAM MOORE, JESSICA LAUTZ

REALTRENDS VICE PRESIDENT OF REAL ESTATE MARK ADAMS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TRACEY VELT DIRECTOR OF RANKINGS PROGRAMS LIZ SMITH EXECUTIVE MANAGER, CEO PROGRAMS JILL OLMSTED SENIOR DATA ANALYST KEERI TRAMM FINLEDGER EDITOR JOE BURNS REVERSE MORTGAGE DAILY EDITOR CHRIS CLOW

HW MEDIA CORPORATE CEO CLAYTON COLLINS COO DIEGO SANCHEZ DIRECTOR OF FINANCE ANDREW KEY DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE AMY BEARD CHIEF OF STAFF ALEX BRIDGEMAN VICE PRESIDENT OF GROWTH CAREN KARRIS GROWTH MARKETING MANAGER GREG ROBERTS MAGAZINE EDITOR AUDREY LEE SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER EMILY CARPENTER GRAPHIC DESIGNER BRANDON JOHNSON VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT HOLDEN PAGE UX/UI MANAGER BO FRIZE WEB DIRECTOR BRENT DRIGGERS AD OPS COORDINATOR ELIZABETH LEDOUX DIRECTOR OF HW+ & EVENTS BRENA NATH SENIOR WEBINAR & EVENTS MANAGER ALLISON LAFORGIA MARKETING PROGRAM MANAGER LESLEY COLLINS MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR SARAHI DE LA CUESTA PEOPLE OPERATIONS MANAGER JAMIE BRIDGES PRODUCT MANAGER MATTHEW STAFFORD MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST CAROLINE ABAD EMAIL MARKETING SPECIALIST ALI MORRISSEY GROWTH COORDINATOR SYDNEY SMITH SENIOR EVENTS MANAGER KATIE GALBRAITH EVENT SPECIALIST MAKENNA CLAY BUSINESS ANALYST WHITNI ROWE SALES SVP SALES AND OPERATIONS JENNIFER WATSON LAWS WESTERN CHRISTI HUMPHRIES, LINDSLEY HARRIS, CASS HECKEL CENTRAL & NORTHEAST MICHAEL ORME, SAMANTHA STEIN, ADINA RITTER SOUTHERN TAMARA WREN, AMINA JAHIC STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGER BRIA SOYELE SALES MARKETING MANAGER TOD MOHNEY CONTENT SOLUTIONS MANAGING EDITOR MALEESA SMITH CONTENT EDITOR JESSICA DAVIS ASSOCIATE EDITOR MARNI DAVIMES MULTIMEDIA PROJECT MANAGER DALTON JOHNSON

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JUNIOR DIGITAL PRODUCER ELISSA BRANCH CONTENT SOLUTIONS COORDINATOR EUNICE GARCIA HOW TO REACH US LETTERS TO THE EDITOR EDITOR@HOUSINGWIRE.COM TIPS AND STORIES EDITORIAL@HOUSINGWIRE.COM CURRENT MEMBERSHIP / SUBSCRIPTION HWPLUSMEMBER@HOUSINGWIRE.COM NEW MEMBERSHIP / SUBSCRIPTION HOUSINGWIRE.COM/MEMBERSHIP MARKETING & ADVERTISING JLAWS@HOUSINGWIRE.COM OR (469) 870-4572 ADVERTISING CLIENT SUCCESS CLIENTSUCCESS@HOUSINGWIRE.COM

AUGUST 2022

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Leading through authenticity OVER A YEAR AGO, Sarah Wheeler, who serves

A repeat honoree, we were finally able to meet

as our HW Media editor-in-chief, and I got to work

in person at this year ’s RealTrends Gathering

on a passion podcast together: GirlFunds. These

of Eagles conference to get this amazing cover

interviews with top female leaders were special

photo and hear firsthand about the impact she is

since we were able to go to a deeper level with

having in the space. What stood out to me about

them as they opened up about being women in

this encounter was being able to see the same

leadership, how they were hoping create space

leader whom I interviewed a year earlier truly

at the table for more women and so much more.

lead in authenticity. She encompasses exactly

There was so much vulnerability in these inter-

what it means to a be a Woman of Influence

views.

and you can read all about Yannaccone, and all

At the time, we sat down virtually with Sue Yan-

the honorees, in our 2022 Women of Influence

naccone, who is featured on the cover. She was

profiles that start on page 28. Congrats to this

just promoted to the position of president and

year ’s incredible list of honorees.

CEO at Realogy Franchise Group, now Anywhere Brands, becoming the first woman to ever hold the position. I distinctly remember that interview because of her efforts toward career developwhy I am thrilled to be able to feature her on the cover of this year ’s Women of Influence issue.

Brena Nath Director, HW+ & Events @BrenaNath

Tweets From The Streets If you think of homebuyers as past clients, that makes you their past Realtor. @LKendallNinja at #gatheringofeagles

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by @swheelerHW

The information contained within should not be construed as a recommendation for any course of action regarding legal, financial or accounting matters. All written materials are disseminated with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal advice or other professional services. HW Media does not guarantee the accuracy of information provided, and is not liable for any damages, losses or other detriment that may result from the use of these materials. © 2022 by HW Media, LLC • All rights reserved

AUGUST 2022

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ment for more women in the industry. It’s also

Dionne Wallace Oakley and Terin Vivian Are Freddie Mac’s 2022 Women of Influence Congratulations to Dionne Wallace Oakley and Terin Vivian on being named 2022 Women of Influence Honorees. These women are lifting Freddie Mac to new heights by driving innovation, championing inclusive engagement and inspiring change.

careers.freddiemac.com

August 2022

Real Estate Brokerage

People Movers

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12 Companies and organizations like Planet Home Lending assign new leaders to key positions.

Take 5

14 What would industry titan Stuart Sim pursue professionally, if he wasn’t in proptech?

Event Calendar

16 Enhance your leadership skills at the NAR Leadership Conference this month.

Inside Agent

18

Local Intel

20 Yee-haw, the housing market in Texas is hot, Austin isn’t the only southern city making headlines.

Trade Desk

66 AIME and NAHB are celebrating women in the industry this fall with several events and initiatives.

Reverse

70 Homeowners are leaving money on the table with the Homeowners Assistance Fund.

Heads of industry speculate as to why there’s been a pause on real estate companies going public.

Politics and Money

78 New technology and processes could remedy the racial prejudice in property appraisals.

Kudos

84 HomeAid Orange County is building homes for the less fortunate in their community.

Parting Shot

86 Gathering of Eagles 2022 was a huge success. Can’t wait to see everyone next year!

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Robert Sarkisian saw a real estate opportunity in Nantucket and made a big splash.

AUGUST 2022

50 women who are pioneering leadership opportunities for future women in the industry Introducing the 2022 Women of Influence award winners.

These women are setting a precedent for future generations of women that those who came before them could only dream of.

Take a deeper look at this year’s featured award recipient, Sue Yannaccone and her path to President and CEO of Anywhere Brands.

46

Reverse Mortgage Leaders: What the forward world should know about our business

For mortgage companies that operate on both the traditional “forward” side of the business and the reverse side, several lenders have recently pointed to a bright spot in their quarterly reports.

How digital closings can help housing affordability

50

GSE’s still shun the low end of manufactured housing Momentum is building for government back chattel loans.

eClosing Solutions Special Report

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The eight companies featured in this section are paving the way for a fully digital closing process to both save turnaround times and save production costs.

AssetTech in Housing: Why real estate as an asset class stays on the center stage

The “Side Hustle” millennials will fuel mortgage innovation

By Romi Mahajan

By Suzanne Ross

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By Diane Tomb

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AUGUST 2022

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features

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Misconceptions about reverse mortgages may be costing you

10,000 0 leads †

per day

For business and professional use only. Not for consumer distribution. ©2022 Finance of America Reverse LLC is licensed nationwide | Equal Housing Opportunity | NMLS ID # 2285 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) | 8023 East 63rd Pla Residential Mortgage Lending Act | Georgia Residential Mortgage Licensee #23647 | Kansas Licensed Mortgage Company | Massachusetts Lender/Broker License M Finance of America Reverse is known as FAReverse LLC in lieu of true name Finance of America Reverse LLC | Rhode Island Licensed Lender | Not all produc †bit.ly/CensusBureau *Since December 2011. Based on trailing 12 months’ endorsement volume. Source: Reverse Market Insight.

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There are many myths out there about reverse mortgage, but here’s a fact: this year, 3.65 million Americans will age into reverse – a safe and strategic solution for improving retirement via home equity.

Go FAR With the #1 Wholesale Reverse Lender* The most innovative product suite in the industry Expert guidance through comprehensive training programs Dedicated account team providing world-class service

Power your business with reverse at FARwholesale.com/joinus

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ace, Suite 700 | Tulsa, OK 74133 | AZ Mortgage Banker License #0921300 | Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California MC2285: Finance of America Reverse LLC | Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance | Licensed Mortgage Banker — NYS Banking Department where cts and options are available in all states | Terms subject to change without notice | For licensing information go to: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org

PEOPLE MOVERS

Richard Harris

| Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach | CEO

Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach hired Richard Harris as CEO following a merger of the two companies. Harris, who most recently served as CEO at SparkPost, will focus on bringing Sales Boomerang and Mortgage Coach together to reach more borrowers through a combination of AI and mortgage advice. His previous titles include group Vice President at Oracle where he led international operations of its cloud business unit.

Shannon McNair |

Mid States Title | President

Mid States Title named Shannon McNair as president. In this position, McNair will oversee the company's seven settlement companies and law firm affiliations. She brings 25 years of experience in real estate and business law to the table. McNair most recently served as vice president of compliance and operations for Long & Foster Real Estate. Prior to her time at Long & Foster, McNair spent 15 years running a law firm and settlement agency.

Laura Escobar |

Mortgage Bankers Association | Vice Chair

The Mortgage Bankers Association nominated Laura Escobar as the vice chair for the 2023 membership year. She brings 35 years of experience in the real estate finance industry, holding leadership positions at both bank-owned and independent mortgage companies. Since 2018, Escobar has been president of Lennar Mortgage. As vice chair of the MBA, she will work toward members’ commitment to advance homeownership and affordable rental housing opportunities across the country.

Chris Erickson |

Motto Mortgage, wemlo | Vice President

Motto Mortgage announced that it appointed Chris Erickson as vice president of product and strategy at Motto Mortgage and wemlo. His previous positions, throughout a 20-year career, include vice president of product management at Guaranteed Rate, head of product for rental property solutions at CoreLogic and assistant vice president and product manager for Mr. Cooper. Erickson will be in charge of product management and oversee the training department and support teams for Motto Mortgage and wemlo.

Kathryn Edelen |

Planet Home Lending | Regional Vice President

Planet Home Lending hired Kathryn Edelen as regional vice president of its sales division. Edelen most recently was a regional sales manager at Nations Lending. She also served as vice president for loanDepot and regional manager for Homebridge Financial Services. Edelen, who will manage the Eastern U.S. for Planet Home Lending, will focus on increasing market share by adding new branches and new loan originators.

Sofia Rossato |

Floify | President and General Manager

Floify, a subsidiary of Porch Group providing loan origination point of sale tools and solutions, appointed Sofia Rossato as president and general manager. Rossato will focus on enhancing Floify’s operations, growth and performance. Rossato brings 20 years of experience to her new role, including experience at startup companies and large corporations. Before joining Floify, Rossato was CEO of the chat platform SnapEngage and chief operating officer of the information division at MarkIt.

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Kuba Poraj-Kuczewski |

New Western | Chief Marketing Officer

New Western named Kuba Poraj-Kuczewski as its chief marketing officer. Poraj-Kuczewski will lead the company’s marketing strategies and oversee its marketing team. He brings more than two decades of experience in customer acquisition, engagement and marketing communication strategy, including the founding of HelloKrystof, a product and lifestyle website. Poraj-Kuczewski most recently served as vice president of marketing at ClickBank for more than two years.

AUGUST 2022

MBA Congratulates HousingWire’s 2022 Women of Influence Honoree Lisa Haynes Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Mortgage Bankers Association

Your contribution to the industry through leadership, commitment to excellence, and your desire and passion for moving the industry forward are critical to our voice and our success on behalf of our members.

Congratulations on this well-deserved honor.

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TAKE 5

Stuart Sim

Head of Industry Development, Chime Technologies

Stuart Sim is the head of industry development and brand ambassador at Chime Technologies. Prior to Chime, he held a number of leadership roles, including vice president, sales at Realtor.com and owner of NCL Sales & Strategy Consulting. He was recently featured in a HousingWire HW+ Member Spotlight, where he broke down the five things he thinks people aren’t paying attention to in real estate, but that they need to be, including iBuying and cryptocurrency.

Here, Sim answers five questions that give an inside look at his life:

1. My most useful tech tool is... my iPhone.

2. The weirdest job I ever had was...

Club Med GO. 3. My biggest learning opportunity was... leading people and learning as we grew rapidly.

4. If I had picked a different career path, I would be a... pilot.

5. I felt like a success at my job when...

I am able to hit unexpected, high

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targets.

AUGUST 2022

The competitive edge you need to stay ahead.

HW+ members get exclusive access to: Premium Content Deeper dives into the stories impacting the housing industry and your bottom line

Virtual Events

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Complimentary seat saved at HousingWire’s virtual events and access to on-demand libraries

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Connect with other industry leaders and HW Editors in an exclusive membersonly experience

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HW+ Slack Channel

EVENT CALENDAR

NAHB Association Management Conference August 9-11, 2022 Cost to attend: $485 Presented by the National Association of Home Builders

Reverse mortgages are hot, hot, hot

BY ELISSA BRANCH

SCOTTSDALE, AZ The Association Management Conference brings together HBA executive officers and other industry leaders to build community and discuss ideas for the coming year. Including excellent professional development opportunities and networking events, this year’s conference features special sessions on membership recruitment, development, advocacy and governance. There are several networking opportunities arranged by the conference during after-hours events and social breakfast hours. Attendees will rediscover their passion for managing strong associations that empower their members through collaboration with fellow leaders from across the country. HBA leaders who want even more content can attend a pre-conference workshop on August 9th through a separate registration.

NAR Leadership Week August 7-12, 2022 Cost to attend: Free Presented by the National Association of Realtors CHICAGO, IL This week-long series of events for member Realtors of the NAR, includes a vision course, leadership summit, committee leadership camp and more. Each of these events promises to leave Realtors feeling inspired and armed with new knowledge to put to work in their unique markets. A special reception, on Sunday evening August 7th, will be hosted by the Chicago Association of Realtors. The event will be a great opportunity to connect with other conference attendees and prep for the coming week. Events are free to attend for invited members, and all of the events offer fantastic networking opportunities.

Event TIP 16 ❱ HOUSINGWIRE

HOUSINGWIRE DAILY

On this episode of HousingWire Daily, Editor-in-Chief Sarah Wheeler talks to Chris Clow, editor of Reverse Mortgage Daily, about the rise in reverse mortgage volume this year and the trend toward private label reverse products.

The two also discuss key takeaways from the first National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA) conference to be held in person since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here is a small preview of the interview with Chris.

Sarah Wheeler: At the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association conference, did they talk about when they think they’re going to start seeing some headwinds?

We know that, at some point, home prices have to cool, we can’t continue to have this appreciation that we’ve seen over the last year forever. When do they think you’re gonna start seeing that in reverse?

Chris Clow: It’s hard to say. A lot of it was really focused on inflation. As long as inflation is kind of taking hold and driving up the cost of living, then there’s always going to be some kind of a utility for a senior to be able to tap into their home equity.

That’s what a lot of the conversation was focused on. I didn’t hear a lot of concern from people when it comes to a potential cooling or even a reduction in home prices.

However, that’s not to say that some of these issues can’t come back to bite the reverse side. At some point, if home prices go down, then you’re going to see potentially deleterious effects in the reverse mortgage market.

When that happens, I think that would be a point of concern. But it’s still a little bit unclear how much that will play out by the time we reach the end of the year.

Scan the code to listen now!

“Professional success at industry events or conferences, and really in life, starts with showing up—the energy you put in is the energy you get out. If you are asked to participate on a panel, say yes. If you like what someone says, tell them. If someone asks for a meeting, just do it, you can never underestimate the value of a new relationship. Last, the most important question when in a big room of industry folks, I learned to ask when I started my own consultancy in 2021, always ask, “How can I help YOU?” - Courtney Thompson, EVP Sagent

AUGUST 2022

Celebrating our

2022 Women of Influence winners

F I N A N C E O F A M E R I C A C O M PA N I E S

Lauren Richmond GENERAL COUNSEL

FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE

Jill Portilla V P OF B O R R OW E R E N G AG E M E N T

INSIDE AGENT

Robert Sarkisian Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices d/b/a Island Properties robert@islandproperties.com 238-40 Polpis Road Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554 $8.25 million Four bedrooms, three baths

ROBERT SARKISIAN has spent 28 years in Nantucket, the tiny,

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touristy island 30 miles south of Cape Cod. In the land of boats, beaches, golf courses and polo shirts, Sarkisian worked as general manager of 21 Federal, a downtown restaurant owned by former New York Mets owner Nelson Doubleday.

“I was feeding all these real estate brokers and meeting all these clients,” Sarkisian said. “And I kind of said to myself, ‘Why am I not doing this?’”

Sarkisian joined Island Properties, which allowed him to continue work at 21 Federal for a while. But by 2010, he was using those connections to work full-time in real estate and became a principal broker.

The home for sale on Polpis Road derives its value from not just being by the sea, but specifically near one of the city of Nantucket’s 16 permitted docks.

“There’s a prohibition on docks,” Sarkisian said. “It seems silly to me, but that was a decision made at a town meeting about 20 years ago.”

So, the home has not just “breathtaking views” and boat storage, but also a path for one to set sail from the home’s backyard to downtown Nantucket.

The $8.25 million home is expensive by some standards, but not that extraordinary by Nantucket standards where the typical home value is $2 million, by Zillow. While other agents have fretted about rising interest rates, Sarkisian hopes such macroeconomic adjustments, “Can return us to some kind of normalcy.”

AUGUST 2022

LOCAL INTEL

By Brooklee Han

There is no doubt that San Diego is one of the hottest housing markets in the country, and with the city’s unbeatable weather, breathtaking beaches, and friendly, laidback culture, it is no wonder why people want to live there. According to data form Redfin, the median home sale price was up 22.8% in April, to $890,000, and homes are spending an average of eight days on the market before going pending. Local agents like Compass’ Todd Armstrong say they are starting to see a shift. “A lot of firsttime homebuyers have been kicked out of the market because of the interest rates,” he said.

“So, instead of seeing 20 or 30 offers per property, you are seeing five or six, which is still amazing.” According to Armstrong, the luxury market has been red-hot since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with agents “consistently selling $10 million homes left and right.” The slight slowdown, however, isn’t all bad news.

“We are starting to see more inventory and a slowdown in the number of showings and the number of clients, as well as some price reductions on properties that have sat on the market for more than a week, which for a while has been unheard of, but this is more how the market should be,” Armstrong said.

San Diego, California

Some Texas cities, such as Austin and Dallas, have been making headlines for their hot housing markets. While receiving less attention, the Houston market has still shown that it certainly deserves recognition. According to Redfin, homes in Houston had a median sale price of $327,000 in April, up 11.6% from a year prior and homes were spending 14 days on the market, down from 25 days a year prior, “If you have a buyer, you have to write about four offers before you get one accepted,” Thebe Warren, a local Compass agent, said. “That part is not fun and sometimes it makes sellers think that every home at any price should go under contract, but that is not the case. Buyers are catching on and they know what is on the market.” Warren said that even though there are some signs of cooling in the market, multiple offer situations are still occurring. “In our area, I have seen things go for $150,000 over asking, but that was six months ago. Things are still going for over asking, but not by that much anymore,” she said.

AUGUST 2022

Southaven, Mississippi

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Houston, Texas

Chincoteague Island, Virginia Perhaps best known from Marguerite Henry’s classic children’s novel, “Misty of Chincoteague,” Chincoteague Island is the gateway to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. This island is home to wild Chincoteague ponies, like the fictional Misty. Located on Virginia’s eastern shore, Chincoteague Island is the state’s only resort island. According to local Long & Foster Real Estate agent, Meghan Clarkson, the resort and tourist destination nature of the island make it an “I-want-to-buy market and not an I-have-to-buy market.”

“People buy here because they want to and they can afford to,” she said. “I think I have only ever listed one house that was a fixer-upper, nearly all of them are on the higher end.” Clarkson said that despite the resort nature of the community, she still sees some bidding wars, with the most offers she has had being 14. Looking ahead, Clarkson said she remains optimistic about the market even as housing market conditions nationwide remain uncertain. “We don’t have any inventory and we still have people that want to buy. We are in the middle of the Eastern Seaboard, so all of the markets to the north have astronomical prices and our neighbors to the south have also seen huge price increases, so if you compare it to the Jersey Shore or North Carolina beaches, it is still relatively affordable here.”

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Known as the “Steel City,” Pittsburgh has undergone numerous changes over the years. It became a center for manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution, then underwent a reinvention in the 1990s when it became a hub for health care, education and technology. Home to a variety of major league sports teams, renowned museums and a rich history, it is no surprise that homebuyers have been flocking to Pittsburgh. But according to local Compass-based Selling Steel City team leader Jordan Jankowski, things are starting to slow down. “People’s houses are sitting a little bit longer,” he said.

“Areas on the outskirts of downtown are cooling and we are seeing a little bit less activity on properties.” Compared to pre-pandemic conditions, Jankowski says that market conditions in Pittsburgh are still elevated and that it is still a strong seller ’s market. Like elsewhere in the country, inventory is an issue in Pittsburgh, according to Jankowski. “The older generation is not selling because they may have paid off their home or refinanced and got a really great rate and the younger generation is graduating college, getting a job and ready to buy their first home and that is where the void is.” This deficit has driven the median sales price in the area up from $191,000 in April 2020 to $242,000 in April 2022, according to Redfin.

AUGUST 2022

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Located on the Mississippi-Tennessee state line just outside of Memphis, Southaven is the third-largest city in the state and one of the most populous suburbs of Memphis. Incorporated in 1980, in its first 20 years as a city Southaven saw its land area double and its population triple. Over the course of the pandemic, as the housing market in nearby Memphis took off so did the market in Southaven. In April, Redfin reported that the median home sale price in the city was $283,900, up 23.4% compared to a year prior. In addition, the median days on the market for homes in the city was six. However, as interest rates have gone up, local RE/MAX Experts agent Quintavius Burdette says market conditions have cooled down. “If you used to have 15 to 20 offers, now you might only have five or six,” he said. “By October here, I think we’ll be at a neutral market, but we are still at very low inventory right now.” Burdette said he has seen a lot of buyers moving to the area from New York, California, Arizona and Colorado. “This area is really affordable and there is no income tax, so that attracts a lot of people. You also kind of get the best of both worlds.

You have all four seasons, but the winters are mild and then you get that great southern charm and southern cooking.”

COMMENTARY

H

ow digital closings can help housing affordability ALTA and MISMO combine powers for a technologically advanced closing process

By Diane Tomb

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From the White House and Congress to multiple federal agencies, housing affordability is a top concern. Consumers are worried too. About half of U.S. adults (49%) say the availability of affordable housing is a major problem where they live, up 10 percentage points from 2018. In the same 2021 Pew survey, 70% of Americans said young adults today have a harder time buying a home than their parents’ generation did.

THE CURRENT STATE OF CLOSINGS While it’s getting more expensive to buy a home, it’s also getting pricier to originate one. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), total loan production expenses increased to an all-time high of $9,470 per loan in the fourth quarter of 2021. This was up from $9,140 per loan in the third quarter as the market transitioned from a rate-term refinancing market to a purchase and cash-out refinancing market.

With the current cost of origination, combined with higher interest rates and low housing inventory on the horizon, the MBA reports that 2022 is likely to see about a 30% decline in overall mortgage originations, as compared to 2021.

With revenue tightening and volume slowing, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to adjust costs. As a result, lenders and title companies are seeking ways to invest and implement solutions that will further streamline operations, grow market share, remain competitive and improve borrower experience while providing increased ROI. One avenue to reduce cost and streamline the closing process is to offer digital closings. A recent Marketwise eClose ROI study found that lenders can save nearly $450, and settlement agents up to about $100 per loan, from time-saving improvements in transactional quality and costs associated with printing and mailing documents. Lenders and title agents also reported that with digital closings, they can close more loans faster using the same or fewer

people. They can improve overall loan quality by reducing critical errors, avoiding missed signatures and unnecessary rework. Full eClosed loans also reduce funding time during post-closing to the secondary market and result in an improved, measurable overall return on investment, according to the study. A 2021 digital closing survey by the American Land Title Association (ALTA), found 52% reported closing times decreased utilizing remote online notarization (RON) due to the number of documents signed ahead of time, while 43% reported cost savings.

“Consumer expectations have shifted to digital-first, and that’s an incredible opportunity for the lender and title industries to be at the forefront of both what consumers want and what is also most financially and operationally efficient,” said Terri Davis, GM of Real Estate at Notarize. “eClose is the final frontier of real estate, and we’re seeing the incredible ROI, both in the numbers and in consumer feedback.”

THE E-ELIGIBILITY EXCHANGE To help drive the adoption of digital closings, ALTA partnered with the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) to be the sole provider of title and settlement agent data for the MISMO e-Eligibility Exchange, powered by Snapdocs. The e-Eligibility Exchange serves as a central source of information on the criteria that impact digital closings. The data will be provided to MISMO under a contributor agreement with the ALTA Title & Settlement Agent Registry (ALTA Registry), a national database of title and settlement agents.

The MISMO e-Eligibility Exchange features information on trading partner requirements, e-notarization regulations, county recording requirements, settlement agent readiness and title underwriter restrictions. The platform helps real estate and finance professionals navigate these factors so each closing can be as digital as possible.

The ALTA Registry is a unique real estate utility created specifically for the mortgage industry and service providers. For the first time, the ALTA Registry will provide data on individual title insurance and settlement services companies, identified by an ALTA ID. The ALTA Registry identifies title and settlement companies that can perform RON closings. This helps mortgage companies identify closing companies that offer this increasingly in-demand service. The ALTA Registry is free and ALTA membership is not required.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with MISMO and provide the

AUGUST 2022

mortgage loan’s life cycle. “eClosing volume has grown significantly in the last two years due to growing acceptance from stakeholders such as investors, servicing buyers, etc., as well as the growing adoption of e-recording and e-notarization at the jurisdictional level,” said Raj Penugonda, product development director at Freddie Mac. “However, since acceptance and adoption are not yet uniform across the ecosystem, lenders need to make a loan-level determination of which loan documents can be electronically signed. This makes it difficult for them to scale their eClosings. MISMO e-Eligibility Exchange helps address this challenge. As part of our efforts to help the industry’s journey toward a true digital mortgage, Freddie Mac is excited to work with MISMO in developing e-Eligibility Exchange.”

Balancing high-tech with high touch was a priority for companies even before the pandemic. In a 2020 report by Forbes Insights, in association with Freddie Mac, 85% of firms surveyed described their efforts at mortgage digitization prior to COVID-19 as aggressive or very aggressive. During the global crisis, lenders already focused on technological capabilities were the most prepared to help borrowers.

As people have become accustomed to using smartphones for everyday tasks and expectations for technology continue to increase, businesses are responding by meeting the client where they want to be—on their screens. According to a 2020 study by J.D. Power, 64% of consumers believe that a digital process would make buying a home or refinancing easier than one conducted in person.

In an effort to permit immediate nationwide use of RON, ALTA and other groups continue to support the SECURE Notarization Act, which now has 83 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. The bill would create national minimum standards and provide certainty for the interstate recognition of RON. At the state level, Maine joined 39 other states to allow RON after Gov. Janet Mills signed into law LD 2023. The legislation will go into effect on July 1, 2023.

“There is a need and demand for this approach to notarization throughout the United States,” Tomb said. “The SECURE Notarization Act allows businesses and consumers the ability to execute critical documents using two-way audiovisual communication. Current requirements for a signer to physically be in the presence of a notary are often impractical and sometimes impossible due to social distancing limitations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other roadblocks for in-person signings, like overseas military service and time constraints.”

“Consumers expect greater digitization in the mortgage process like they do with other experiences. From a homebuyer perspective, digital closings can help bring the reality of homeownership to a wider swath of consumers. For businesses, digital closings improve efficiency through reduced operational costs and increased productivity. Solutions like the MISMO e-Eligibility Exchange can help bridge the gap between housing affordability and accessibility,” Tomb concluded.

Diane Tomb is the chief executive officer of the American Land Title Association, which represents more than 6,000 title insurance companies, title and settlement agents, independent abstracters, title searchers and real estate attorneys.

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e-Eligibility Exchange with the most accurate title and settlement services company data available in the industry,” said ALTA CEO Diane Tomb. “It’s crucial that the title insurance industry urge progress and innovation in the digital closing space. With 9,000 locations already listed in the ALTA Registry and 2,000 of them showing a state of ‘RON readiness,’ now is the time for all title insurance companies and real estate attorneys to register.”

ALTA launched the ALTA Registry in 2017 as the first national database of title insurance and settlement services companies. In addition to contact information and branch locations, each ALTA Registry listing also includes a title insurance company’s or real estate attorney’s unique seven-digit ALTA ID. The e-Eligibility Exchange is now available to all MISMO members via an online interface. It includes APIs that can be integrated into other technology platforms.

“The MISMO e-Eligibility Exchange serves as a resource for the entire industry and its success relies on the quality and accuracy of the contributed data,” said Seth Appleton, president of MISMO. “The exchange will benefit tremendously from ALTA participation, with its timely and accurate title insurance and settlement services company data. The fact that a title agent can only join the ALTA Registry after its title insurance underwriter has confirmed its information gives us ongoing confidence that we will have data that is unique and up to date. This accuracy, together with the uniqueness of the ALTA ID, will help make the e-Eligibility Exchange a compelling and innovative industry resource.”

The e-Eligibility Exchange draws on Snapdocs’ and MISMO’s respective areas of expertise, with Snapdocs providing the technology that powers the e-Eligibility Exchange, and MISMO working with industry participants such as ALTA to collect and maintain as much up-to-date digital closing criteria as possible.

THE LONG ROAD TO MODERNIZATION The number of title and settlement companies offering digital closings increased 228% compared to 2019, according to ALTA’s 2021 Digital Closing Survey. The survey of 300 title professionals showed that 46% offered digital closings in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the health crisis, a 2019 survey showed that 14% of companies offered digital closings.

While the number of digital mortgage closings completed continues to rise, industry-wide adoption is still hindered by the complexity and lack of transparency into factors that determine how “e” closings can be. The e-Eligibility Exchange helps to maximize the digitization of closing processes, including shifting to eNote and RON, and increasing these benefits for every participant involved in a

COMMENTARY

A

ssetTech in housing: Why real estate as an asset class stays on center stage (and how technology can help) The five factors affecting housing as an asset

By Romi Mahajan

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The real estate industry is whipsawed by economic factors and the need to foreground this sector persists. Technology and data can play a huge role in this emphasis but we need a new paradigm.

As of this writing, the housing market in the U.S. has witnessed a radical turn, as a lengthy period of unprecedented buoyancy has given way to a deep-seated pessimism, spurred by a rare (if predictable) combination of phenomena.

In a world in which we are not inured to sudden changes of fortune, both the abruptness and the about-face of industry pundits would seem comical; alas, as they say, we’ve seen this movie too many times before.

And we are far too used to cycles of boom and bust.

Whatever might be the prevailing winds in housing, however, the importance of this asset class cannot be overemphasized.

Though many sectors get top-billing in business news, very few are as important as housing (agriculture and energy come to mind here.) To understand this, it is worth delving into

“Data can play a huge role in change but not if we look only at the historical data in canonical ways and using standard methodologies.

We need new thinking wrapped around innovative technologies.”

“One need look no further than the Great Recession of 2008-2009, and the implication of the housing industry in that bust-cycle, in order to grasp its relevance.”

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the “Why?” behind the importance of housing as an asset and the coverage it receives.

THE FIVE MAJOR REASONS THAT REAL ESTATE AS AN ASSET CLASS WILL REMAIN CENTER STAGE:

2.

3.

4.

5.

It’s housing, stupid! Ultimately, the sector is important because it determines the direction of peoples’ lives. So much is determined by both whether one owns a house and where that house is located.

Homeownership constitutes the largest source of networth for the vast majority of American families and as such is the central element of generational wealth transfer. In addition, the location of the house (and the characteristics of the neighborhood) determines such essential life factors as quality of education, time spent commuting, air-quality and safety.

The housing market’s sheer size. The U.S. housing stock is worth in excess of $43 trillion, making it the largest asset class bar none. As such, it is an upstream sector that acts as a bellwether for the entire economy. One need look no further than the Great Recession of 2008-2009, and the implication of the housing industry in that bust-cycle, in order to grasp its relevance.

The housing market is a carrier of past sins. The history of racial inequality, racist and classist urban planning, and of the excesses of both public and private capital, plays itself out in the housing market even today. Red-lining, as an example, still exists de facto. Several academic studies on the real estate market suggest that the racial (and other) divides in the housing market not only persist but in many geographies have been exacerbated.

Housing is a focus for institutional investment. It is no secret that private equity companies and investment banks have been buying up housing stock at unprecedented levels. While the recent industry slow-down is marked, there is no evidence that institutional investment will abate.

Housing is an area for helpful government action. Given the size, importance and racialized nature of the housing market, government action — including regulation and other proscriptive remedies — is

necessary. Further, given the crisis in home affordability, government programs to support prospective house-buyers and government investment in the equity of private companies with a home affordability charter is welcome.

All of this might appear to be well and good, but we need to turn our focus to the role that innovative startups and progressive industry players can play in remediating and improving this market.

First, it is important to point out that proptech companies for too long have been categorized as different from other companies in the “AssetTech” space. The term, coined by Pepper CEO Pulak Sinha, is a portmanteau connecting the world of “Assets” to the world of “Technology.”

We have to think of real estate as a core asset class that lives in a symbiotic relationship with other asset classes.

Second, we need to natively build technology solutions for this asset class and not try to port or retrofit existing technologies to “just another thing.”

Third, we need to understand data as a living organism that carries with it history and within it an inertia (and bias) that dissuades us from taking new paths.

Data can play a huge role in change but not if we look only at the historical data in canonical ways and using standard methodologies.

We need new thinking wrapped around innovative technologies.

AssetTech in housing has to take into account the five fundamental pillars listed here.

Housing will continue to stay center stage. The radical turn of the last few months in no way diminishes the sector’s importance. To date, technology plays that focus on the market have by and large missed the mark, with notable exceptions.

Romi Mahajan is president at KKM Group and an advisor at Quantarium and Rook Capital.

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COMMENTARY

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T

he “side hustle” millennials will fuel mortgage innovation Millennials are driving financial institutions to accelerate digital transformation

By Suzanne Ross

Mortgage rates are increasing and demand influx of new buyers motivated to buy homes by growing rents is beginning to level out. The residential real and still-low interest rates. Now, these younger buyers are driving estate market is shifting, creating uncharted financial institutions to adapt to their expectations for more territory for lenders who’ve relied on a housing streamlined user experiences, accelerating digital transformations boom and refinancing to keep them in business. with new technology that will move the mortgage industry into a As existing homeowners truly digital age. potentially put the brakes Remember that millennials are on buying new homes the generation that watched their or on refinancing their parents struggle with high-interest existing ones, lenders mortgages during the last recession. will rely more on firstThey see that they have a better time buyers to cut down financial position in the current on attrition during the market and view homeownership as “These new buyers, slowdown. being paramount to their success. however, will heavily consist These new buyers, Although mortgage rates are of maturing millennials who however, will heavily slightly higher than they were six expect instant access to all consist of maturing months ago, these buyers face rates of life’s bounties, including millennials who expect that remain far below what they were capital, at a moment’s instant access to all of when their parents first entered the notice.” life’s bounties, including housing market. capital, at a moment’s Furthermore, escalating rent notice. inflation in the United States is Lenders of all making homeownership especially sizes are now faced attractive for these buyers right with a confluence of now. Purchasing a home today is unprecedented workforce much more affordable than it was and customer satisfaction previously and, with a larger variety challenges that threaten how they’ve historically of loan programs available, the appetite for homeownership in done business. this generation of buyers is easier to satisfy.

Top lenders will continue to capitalize on that, offering new products and technology that cater to younger buyers.

MILLENNIALS CONTINUE TO DRIVE CHANGE Millennials are the fastest-growing segment of homebuyers today, comprising 37% of the ON-DEMAND EXPECTATIONS housing market.

This is also the generation that popularized on-demand services Stemming from a baby boom in the 1980s, this and the gig economy. This includes everything from Uber and generation is also the largest, fueling a massive drop-shipping to telemedicine over the last 15 years.

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They seek rapid responses and resolutions, digital access to forms and tracking, and streamlined processes, or more generally speaking: instant gratification with less human intervention.

A 30-something, tech-savvy homebuyer today desires a faster, more no-contact approach to financing with a variety of options available to them at their fingertips rather than mailin forms, in-person office visits, and constant waiting. The days of 45- to 60-day processing times in mortgage lending will simply not satisfy, nor survive.

Millennials and adult Gen Zers also work more alternative gig jobs, often to supplement their primary work, than do older Americans.

According to Edison Research, 38% of 18-34 year olds take on these roles, the highest of any age group.

Whether these contract positions serve as a primary source of income or function as a side gig, lenders need to use new solutions to account for income verification and scoring creditworthiness, as the traditional model of relying on a paystub from a single job and credit report become obsolete.

THE MORTGAGE INDUSTRY IS BEHIND THE TIMES Even with new borrower portals and paperless processing, the mortgage industry is behind the times. Human decision-making is still essential when dealing with the complexity of high-dollar collateral, secondary market maneuvering and data analysis.

But it will be mortgage lenders investing in automation and robotic processes that autofill, crunch through data, and eliminate keystrokes

to deliver lightning-fast responses, who are proven most fit to survive the industry’s next evolutionary step.

A LOOK FORWARD With demand shifting to a new generation of first-time homebuyers, low inventory and a possible interest rate rollercoaster ahead, expect to see an increasingly non-traditional mortgage landscape.

Condo markets and new construction will swell. Non-QM loan products and government assistance for first-time homebuying will be more prevalent in the coming months and years.

“The days of 45- to 60-days processing times in mortgage lending will simply not satisfy, nor survive.”

Consumer-driven adoption of more technology in mortgage lending will prove to be essential in keeping up with the demand, as lenders recognize the innovation tipping point is upon us.

Moving forward, mortgage lenders will need to do more and do it faster to provide the borrower experience necessary to compete for the next generation of homebuyers.

Once technology gains traction for adoption, it moves quickly, and we already see many tech-first banks and fintechs using solutions like automation to serve these younger customers better.

As the market gets more competitive for lenders, being prepared to meet the technological demands of the fastestgrowing segment of buyers will mean having the ability to grow alongside them.

“Once technology gains traction for adoption, it moves quickly, and we already see many tech-first banks and fintechs using solutions like automation to serve these younger customers better.”

Suzanne Ross is the director of product, Mortgage at Ocrolus.

E X C L U S I V E F E AT U R E

Finance of America Companies’ Culture of Opportunity With a commitment to helping employees advance their careers and achieve their goals, Finance of America has created an environment where women can thrive, and the business can flourish.

A

AT FINANCE OF AMERICA COMPANIES, we

celebrate women at all stages of their careers across the mortgage industry. The accomplishments of the women featured in this issue cannot be overstated. These trailblazers have set an unmatched standard for excellence. They’ve endured, overcome, and improved our industry at every turn.

We also want to celebrate the company cultures that have empowered these women to pursue their career ambitions and make their mark in this industry. At Finance of America Companies, we believe that effective leaders and voices of influence can only emerge from a supportive environment that allows the brightest minds to shine, regardless of gender. That’s why we strive every day to offer women from across our family of companies the opportunity to learn new skills, grow their careers, take on new challenges, and influence the influencers.

We’re not just celebrating women of influence today—we do it every day through our culture of opportunity.

To help women advance their careers, we provide mentorship, leadership training, skillsbuilding opportunities, and

formal and informal educational programs. We also supply what can sometimes feel like a rare commodity—encouragement.

Our goal is to help all of our team members develop the careers of their dreams. For some, that may include leadership roles with an

that to exist not just for today but for generations to come at Finance of America. We are all women of influence here, and we’re committed to investing in women—and all our employees— so they can enjoy long, fulfilling careers with us.”

“I’m very proud of the career I’ve built, and I want to ensure that other women have the same opportunity to see how far they can go. I want that to exist

not just for today but for generations to come at Finance of America.”

PATRICIA L. COOK CEO EMERITUS, FINANCE OF AMERICA COMPANIES

end goal of a C-suite position.

Others may choose to master specific talents that are enriching to them and vital to our business’s success. Regardless, women can and do have tremendous influence at all levels of our enterprise.

“I want to provide women with the choice and opportunity to pursue the life they want to live, personally and professionally,” says Finance of America Companies’ CEO Emeritus Patricia L. Cook. “I’m very proud of the career I’ve built, and I want to ensure that other women have the same opportunity to see how far they can go. I want

STO RY S P O N S O R E D BY

To get perspectives from across Finance of America Companies, we spoke with women working at Finance of America Mortgage, Finance of America Reverse, Finance of America Commercial, Finance of America Home Improvement, and Incenter about how the enterprise is helping them build their careers, talents, skillsets, and leadership abilities. ➥ Read more about our culture of opportunity from the influential women we are fortunate to call colleagues and friends.

I N S P I R I N G W O M E N AT F I N A N C E O F A M E R I C A C O M P A N I E S

It is such a great feeling seeing so many women in leadership [at Finance of America Companies] but also furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion within these roles. That is so important to me. I don’t necessarily feel like there are any glass ceilings or any walls.”

DANIELLE KESLER CLIENT SUCCESS MANAGER, BOSTON NATIONAL TITLE AGENCY

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 10 CAREER GOAL: “My eye has always

been on the consumer, so it is important to me to bring the customer experience to the forefront. I want to make certain that someone in the room is always speaking up for the customer.”

I have been supported knowing that what I say has value, and if I have an opinion or concern, I know someone will listen to what I say about it. Being in a comfortable work environment has helped me figure out what I want my career to be.”

MEGHAN SANDER SENIOR BUSINESS ANALYST, FINANCE OF AMERICA COMPANIES

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 5 CAREER GOAL: “I would love to have BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “My manager,

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “We are so

by entrepreneurs, the people who have creativity and ingenuity and just go out and make it happen.”

The unit that we have is amazing.

Everybody is here to help anybody out. Everybody treats everybody as if we’re family.”

We have so many women in leadership, and it makes me think that, yes, I have a chance to lead, too.”

be more in production and helping out with streamlining processes because I’m very good with details.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “Walt Disney.

Talk about someone who really used his imagination and made the small world a big world that everyone can enjoy.”

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 10 CAREER GOAL: “To get more engaged in

the operational parts of the business beyond accounting.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “I am inspired

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 3 CAREER GOAL: “Eventually, I’d like to

MISTY HAUGLUND VICE PRESIDENT DIVISIONAL FINANCIAL OFFICER, FINANCE OF AMERICA COMPANIES

a role in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) space.”

Judy Anderson. She has been my manager for the last three out of my five years. She has given me the space to grow into the human being I want to be, supported and guided me, and given me a safe space to fail.”

STEPHANIE DUPUIS CHANNEL ACCOUNT MANAGER, FINANCE OF AMERICA HOME IMPROVEMENT

When I think of Finance of America, I think of a company that has done a lot of things in a relatively short amount of time. I have seen tons of growth occur within the organization, people moving into different roles and moving up.”

NYISHA TAYLOR POST CLOSING SECONDARY DELIVERY COORDINATOR LEAD, FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 10 CAREER GOAL: “I’ve always thought

about underwriting. It is an important job, and in my current role, I appreciate the multifaceted nature of the underwriting department.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “[FAR VP

of Operations] April Steele is my business role model. She’s a gogetter and is always willing to do anything and everything she can to help in a situation. She’s a great person to go look up to inside and outside of work. She’s friendly, funny, and gets along with everyone.”

fortunate at Finance of America that we have some really sharp minds in our leadership group.”

The company is very supportive of anything I am passionate about. Working with women in leadership makes me feel empowered and successful.”

ASHLEY SILZER VICE PRESIDENT OF CLIENT RELATIONS, INCENTER APPRAISAL MANAGEMENT

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 2 CAREER GOAL: “I strive to successfully

guide our clients through every aspect of the appraisal process while continuing to manage our growing team of appraisal coordinators by mentoring and empowering them to achieve high standards.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “Michelle Obama

is very inspiring to me. She managed to overcome many obstacles and challenges due to her race and gender and is a role model to millions of women around the world.”

I’m currently participating as a mentor in the FAR mentor program. I’ve already learned a lot as a mentor from my mentee. And it’s given me the opportunity to learn more about what happens across the family of companies.”

I’ve had amazing opportunities at Finance of America. I started as a designer and have been able to grow into the creative I am today because of the responsibilities I’ve been given. When you are seen for your potential, the possibilities are endless.”

DEBORAH R. STATES VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, FINANCE OF AMERICA COMMERCIAL

KELSEY BIRDSEYE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, FINANCE OF AMERICA MORTGAGE

AMY FORD VICE PRESIDENT OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SILVERNEST YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 2 CAREER GOAL: “My long-term career

I’ve always felt that I immediately had a voice even though I am a new employee. I am so grateful that I’ve been welcomed and for the team’s willingness to embrace my ideas.”

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 10 CAREER GOAL: “Being a great

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 1 CAREER GOAL: “I have always worked

toward gaining as much knowledge about my industry to effectively make a difference in many areas such as operational growth and developing future leaders.”

goals are focused on the growth of the homesharing movement, and inspiring people and organizations to think more creatively about our options for how we live as we age.”

creative means always looking for new ways to be inspired. I want to continue growing and learning in the creative space.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “I greatly admire

Scher is a creative director who does amazing strategic brand work. The way she thinks about branding, design systems, and the strategy behind them, I find powerful and inspiring.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “Katherine

[FAR president] Kristen Sieffert. She’s authentic and is very inspiring. She leads with compassion and treats people as individuals.”

I worked part-time for many years and raised two 20-something daughters. Now I am in a leadership position. Finance of America keeps the door wide open for lots of opportunities should you want to be promoted.”

Where I was [before], the mentality was you were lucky to have a job. Here, you’re made to feel like FAR is lucky to have you. I love it here so much that I have recruited my sister, and I recruited my daughter.”

I believe that we design the worlds that we want. I’ve had offers to move up the ladder, but I like exactly where I am because I get to help my own employees with what they want to achieve, and I get to help my customers.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “Paula

NADINE CONKLIN ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF WHOLESALE SALES SUPPORT, FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE

KELLI TEETER DIRECTOR OF RETAIL CHANNEL ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE, FINANCE OF AMERICA COMPANIES YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 12 CAREER GOAL: “To empower the retail

branches to make quicker decisions and to improve the borrower experience.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “[Finance of

America Mortgage Brand Manager] Denise Montgomery is one of my business role models. She’s one of the top producing branch managers, and she is a bold decision-maker and champion for borrowers.”

Gardner [from ARC Home Loans] is impressive in the way she has built her sales team. It takes a charismatic personality to be a sales leader and have an operational mind.”

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 10 CAREER GOAL: Moving up to the next

DENISE CUDDEBACK MONTGOMERY PRODUCING BRANCH MANAGER, FINANCE OF AMERICA MORTGAGE

YEARS WITH THE COMPANY: 14 CAREER GOAL: “To be exactly

level (Vice President).

where I am.”

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL: “My mother

BUSINESS ROLE MODEL:

because she’s the greatest woman in the world.”

“My grandfather.”

Further your career and make an impact at a company that values and invests in its people. Write your next chapter at FinanceofAmerica.com/Careers

2022 Brooke Adams Stephanie Anton Cindy Ariosa Carey Armstrong

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Jennifer Beeston Laura Brandao Jennifer Corcoran Parker Dunahay

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Angela Dunham Courtenay Dunn Emily Farley Stephenie Flood

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Kristy Folino Beth Fowler Donna Freeland Liz Gehringer

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Kelli Hodges Renée Hunter Kelly Isikoff Selene Kellam

38

39

Camelia Martin Kymber Menkiti Kim Nelson Qingqing Ouyang

40

Payal Parikh Tara Pettersen Jill Portilla Tanya Reu-Narvaez

41

Lauren Richmond Katherine Rugge Courtney Schaefer Emily Shapiro

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Valerie Sheeley Karen Starns Katie Sweeney Courtney Thompson

43

Lauren Toth Terin Vivian Dionne Wallace Oakley Terri Waring

44

Ginger Wilcox Sue Yannaccone

45

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Lesli Gooch Toniqua Green Lisa Haynes Selma Hepp

Paola Kielblock Andria Lightfoot Jennifer Lomanno Holly Mabery

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Sue Yannaccone: Breaking boundaries through authenticity and dedication Paving the way to a more equitable leadership paradigm

BY AUDREY LEE Sue Yannaccone recently made her mark in the industry as the first female president and CEO of Anywhere Brands, formerly Realogy Franchise Group. While this move is an industry-defining milestone, don’t overlook the grit and tenacity that established Yannaccone as the leader she is today. With more than two decades of experience and expertise running both franchise and brokerage businesses at Anywhere Brands and within the industry, we are honored to feature Yannaccone on the cover of our Women of Influence issue. A repeat Woman of Influence honoree, we were able to sit down with Yannaccone at RealTrends’ Gathering of Eagles Conference earlier this year. She has been a long-standing contributor and session speaker at GOE. Yannaccone took a pause from her speaking to share her take on the success she has found throughout her impressive career and the advice she would give to others in the industry.

HousingWire: What people or key moments would you attribute to your current success?

Sue Yannaccone: My appreciation for this industry was shaped in large part by experiences throughout my childhood. I moved a lot when I was a kid. I lived in multiple states and houses before sixth grade. I didn’t know it at the time, but that experience equipped me with a somewhat unique perspective, not just on the process of finding a house, but also on the concept of ‘home’ in all of its different forms, shapes and sizes. Later, when I started my career, first in commercial real estate and then in the residential brokerage world, I was fortunate to be around people that really led by doing. I’ve been inspired by so many ambitious leaders that were committed to the betterment of our industry and were undeterred by the perceived obstacles in achieving their goals.

HW: What does it mean to you to be the first female president and CEO of Anywhere Brands, formerly Realogy Franchise Group?

SY: It’s personally gratifying, but I also view it as a significant responsibility in more ways than one. The truth is, I never had a female boss. We’re fortunate that Anywhere has a really strong representation of women executives throughout our organization, but we all know that the industry has not historically embraced women leaders to the extent that it should. More than 70% of the employees in our company are women, and that’s not uncommon in real estate. Those of us that have ascended to the highest professional positions — where we’re viewed as one of the faces of our businesses — must accept that we are still in the process of paving the way to a more equitable leadership paradigm. I’m less interested in running a victory lap on behalf of myself and other female CEOs in real estate, and more interested in helping to build a sense of confidence for the underrepresented groups that should feel equally empowered to follow in our footsteps.

HW: In the past few years, you began the “What Moves Her” campaign. What have been the highlights of that experience?

SY: My favorite aspect of the What Moves Her campaign is the fact that it has taken on a life of its own. Anyone who knows me knows that, when I started the program, the last thing I wanted was for it to be a vanity project. I had no idea how well it would be received beyond the boundaries of Coldwell Banker, where it was initially launched. Now we’ve reached well over 5,000 women in the industry through our programming, and that number is growing quickly because leaders throughout our brands (Better Homes & Gardens, Real Estate, Century 21, Corcoran, ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty) have embraced What Moves Her as a launchpad for their own content. It has become a kind of decentralized, adaptable platform that anyone can use to produce their own digital and in-person events focused on networking, sharing professional wisdom and amplifying the voices of those who are accomplishing big things throughout all corners of our industry. We’ve seen everything from local and regional advocacy events produced by our affiliated brokers to national initiatives targeting individual affinity groups, like Century 21’s Empowering Latinas program — all leveraging the What Moves Her platform to expand their reach.

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HW: What advice would you give to young women starting in the industry?

SY: I’d say, no path to leadership is a straight line, and it shouldn’t be predefined. Many of us start out in the industry with an end goal in mind: We want to become a business owner, a CEO or a top producer. That end goal might be your north star, but you can’t let it obscure all of the steps that you need to take to get there. You should strive to become an expert in your domain. It all starts with accepting challenges and immersing yourself in your work so that you can truly develop your expertise and discover your passions. Throughout my career, I realized that I was unwittingly defining my own path to leadership by developing an understanding of the nuances of the industry, the pain points that existed and the opportunities for progress. When you’re open to tackling challenges outside of your comfort zone, you equip yourself to chart your own career course that best fits your passions and skills.

HW: In your first 18 months as President and CEO, what victory are you most proud of?

SY: The ability of this team — and Anywhere as a whole — to adapt to a fast-evolving industry. Our franchise operations and our brokerage brands have had immense success recently in growing transaction volume and market share, but I’ve been impressed with our team’s collective open-mindedness to change, even in the face of success.

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2022

Following last year’s stories of grit and determination, the 2022 Women of Influence program represents a cohort of women who have emerged stronger than before, prepared to make the journey smoother and more accessible for those who will follow.

Among their outstanding achievements, these women are using their platforms to support and empower others in the industry while simultaneously improving processes that can provide greater access to homeownership for women.

This can be seen in Sue Yannaccone’s work as the president and CEO of Anywhere Brands.

Yannaccone created What Moves Her, an advocacy organization introduced in 2020 to help women in the real estate industry develop their leadership skills and realize their professional development goals.

Or in Laura Brandao’s “Say Yes Every Day” ethos. As chief growth officer of EPM, Brandao encourages women to find their superpower to unlock their best lives.

Similarly, Emily Farley of Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group has been dedicated to seeing women achieve a work-life integration that allows them to succeed in all areas of life, both at work and at home.

Farley is a champion for the 75% female company. She has built a coaching program that caters to growth initiatives and ensures that each mortgage banker on the team feels they have space to grow and develop within Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group.

NewRez’s Jennifer Lomanno has helped develop careers for women in the industry and has served as an advocate to ensure a variety of positions were created within the underwriting division that focused on career trajectory and professional growth, particularly for women.

And Realogy’s Tanya Reu-Narvaez was responsible for a new partnership with Catalyst, a global nonprofit supported by many of the world’s leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women.

On the following pages, you’ll see dozens more examples of how this year’s honorees are mentoring, coaching, supporting and championing other women with the hopes of creating a brighter future for those who will follow in their footsteps.

Congratulations to HousingWire’s 2022 Women of Influence.

AUGUST 2022

Brooke Adams

Stephanie Anton

Stavvy

The Corcoran Group

General Counsel

President of Corcoran’s Affiliate Network

Brooke Adams, general counsel at Stavvy, has a pulse on the industry.

Adams has extensive knowledge of the wide array of laws, regulations, public policy, ethics and risk that she leverages to engage and impact change in the industry, both with customers and within Stavvy.

Adams has a decade of experience in the industry as a legal subject matter expert on remote notarization. She has worked on a wide array of both servicing and origination policies, helping to drive change in the industry.

Prior to her time at Stavvy, Adams spent nine years with Fannie Mae where she served as the primary legal department representative providing necessary regulatory, compliance, corporate and governance advice. Adams’s early successes at Stavvy are a direct result of those experiences. Her experience in mortgage coupled with corporate legal experience from prestigious firms helps her embody Stavvy’s values and is sure to help drive the paperless revolution in lending.

Stephanie Anton, president of The Corcoran Group’s affiliate network is an experienced residential real estate leader who — just 18 short months after joining Corcoran — was named the first-ever president of the Corcoran Affiliate Network. For 20 years, Anton has served the real estate community. She has experience in franchise marketing and operations. Thanks to her leadership, Corcoran was named the #1 fastest growing franchise brand based on year-over-year sales volume by T3 Sixty’s Real Estate Almanac. Anton is focused on helping Corcoran grow their global network and affiliates grow in their local markets.

Corcoran’s Affiliate Network launched in February 2020. Since joining, Anton has led strategy across several multi-functional teams in addition to overseeing growth and development of the franchise side of the Corcoran brand. Her dynamic leadership and industry expertise have fueled this rapid expansion of Corcoran. She focuses on creating cohesive collaboration and communication and a flexible way for both the brand and its affiliates to grow globally.

Cindy Ariosa

Carey Armstrong

Bright MLS

Tomo

Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer

Cindy Ariosa serves as chair of the board of directors of Bright MLS and senior vice president at Long & Foster Real Estate. She works with colleagues on Bright’s board to ensure the organization is constantly evolving and continues to position the organization as a leader in the industry. Ariosa’s expertise in managing operations, budgets, mergers and acquisitions gives her a valuable perspective as board chair. She has been with Long & Foster for over 20 years, growing the company in her region from 22 to more than 40 offices. Ariosa has been a longtime industry leader through her work with the National Association of REALTORS on the issues and policy committee, and she has continued her contribution to the industry by holding numerous leadership positions.

Ariosa’s contributions to both organizations is a testament to her commitment to those she serves and to the individuals who hold her responsible for providing strategic direction and guidance. Her work allows business to move forward in a fair and competitive manner.

Carey Armstrong is the co-founder and chief revenue officer of Tomo, a company that shortens pre-approval times and removes lender fees.

In March 2022, Armstrong, along with her co-founder, former Zillow executive Greg Schwartz, secured one of the largest seed rounds in U.S. history. They led Tomo as it raised a $40 million Series A round, more than doubling its valuation to $640 million.

At Tomo, Armstrong focuses on delivering a fast and delightful mortgage and home purchase experience. She leads the development of Tomo’s core product offering and the growth of the business units that support it, including mortgage and brokerage.

Since co-founding the company, Armstrong has supported growth by hiring 150 employees and expanding to operate in more than a quarter of the country. In January 2022, Armstrong was vital in helping expand into Michigan and Ohio. The company grew its purchase mortgage footprint to nearly a third of the U.S. market after earlier launching in Texas, Florida, Washington, Connecticut and Colorado.

AUGUST 2022

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Chair, Board of Directors

Jennifer Beeston

Laura Brandao

Guaranteed Rate

EPM

Branch Manager and SVP of Mortgage Lending

Chief Growth Officer

Jennifer Beeston, branch manager and SVP of mortgage lending at Guaranteed Rate, is in the business of lending — whether it’s lending mortgage loans as one of the nation’s top-producing originators, lending her wealth of expertise or lending her time and energy to teach financial literacy. She describes herself as a mentor to others through her active involvement in the Guaranteed Rate Organization of Women (GROW), which provides women in the mortgage industry with the resources and confidence they need to build their businesses. As the nation’s No. 1 Female VA Loan Originator according to Scotsman Guide, Beeston emphasizes educating her clients, real estate partners and fellow originators to lead them to success.

She is changing the face of the industry and leading the way by leveraging social media as a tool to build business and help more clients achieve homeownership. Today, most of her clients are driven from her YouTube Channel. Her social media savvy began as a way of providing financial literacy as a woman of influence in the mortgage industry.

Laura Brandao, chief growth officer at EPM, has been a transformative influence in the lives of countless peers who have embraced her “Say Yes Every Day” ethos. Her influence is better described as a legacy.

After a long tenure at American Financial Resources (AFR), she moved into her new roles as chief growth officer at EPM and the CEO of its Lighthouse Lending Capital division.

Brandao’s influence in the industry goes well beyond any single company. She has been a champion of DEI for her entire career. In her role as chair of the National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America’s Visionary program, Brandao actively recruited more than 100 corporate partners to support the program.

She serves as a board member of the MBA of New Jersey women’s committee. Brandao enjoys watching women rise to positions they never dreamed of qualifying for previously through the #nowomanleftbehind campaign. Brandao has continued to work with AFR, appearing as a panelist and keynote speaker at numerous conferences.

Jennifer Corcoran

Parker Dunahay

Caliber Home Loans

eXp Realty

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Senior Vice President of National Operations

Vice President of Agent Experience

Jennifer Corcoran, SVP of national operations at Caliber Home Loans, takes her position as an advocate of women in leadership very seriously. She makes it her mission to maintain an open-door policy to assist anyone in their quest to improve. She is an expert mortgage professional who brings results, and desires to see every professional she works with thrive by creating a welcoming work environment for all, including the LGBTQ+ and the military communities.

Corcoran joined Caliber Home Loans in 2013. At that time she had more than 10 years of mortgage experience and multiple leadership positions under her belt that she utiilized in her subsequent positions within the company. She helped combine two large mortgage platforms after New Residential Investment Corp.’s acquisition of Caliber Home Loans. She brought two divergent teams and cultures together as one cohesive operations team. She also helped to ensure that 90% of the assistant VPs and leadership staff remained despite inevitable changes.

Parker Dunahay joined eXp Realty in July 2018, was promoted to regional operations manager in July 2019 and was named VP of agent experience in February 2021. In one year, she built up the agent experience department and significantly improved agent onboarding and engagement, all while eXp Realty expanded from 45,000 agents in 10 countries to more than 80,000 agents in 20 countries.

With 28 years of experience as a real estate broker, Dunahay sees every challenge as an opportunity for enhancement. She finds solutions and changes that may impact the company. She empowers agents and staff to share ideas and feedback because she believes that each person can make a difference. Each week, she schedules time for the team to brainstorm improvements and submit ideas.

As she built the new agent experience department, she implemented scalable processes that would empower her employees with the knowledge, attitude, skills and habits necessary for efficiency and career success.

AUGUST 2022

Angela Dunham

Courtenay Dunn

OJO Labs

ICE Mortgage Technology

Chief Operating Officer

Director of Government Affairs

As COO at OJO Labs, Angela Dunham drives the company forward using empathy, innovation and impact. Dunham has been a guiding light for the company, forging a new path for the future of the workplace where employees feel both supported and trusted. She has played a critical hand in creating a culture that provides employees with options, supports their wellness and ensures the company stays connected. At the same time, Dunham has continued to double down on DEI initiatives and instill OJO’s values within the company’s workforce.

Dunham has a proven track record in driving operational success.

Since joining OJO in 2017, Dunham scaled the company from an initial 22 employees to 700 across five locations and launched OJO’s office in St. Lucia. This year, Dunham created a new hybrid work environment for employees. She and her team are working closely with employees through internal reviews and employee surveys to determine what should stay and what should change in the future for the organization.

As director of government affairs, at ICE , Courtenay Dunn is responsible for overseeing government relations for ICE Mortgage Technology.

Dunn’s expertise in the mortgage space has been instrumental in enabling ICE to deliver the trusted solutions that customers have come to expect from one of the industry’s leaders in compliance.

Beyond her role at ICE, Dunn has supported the adoption of digital mortgage infrastructure through involvement in standard-setting groups and trade organizations.

With more than 15 years of experience, Dunn is an expert on policy issues and laws as they relate to the mortgage industry. Her understanding of legislative and regulatory activity in the mortgage space is second to none. She works to affect policies on AI, machine learning, blockchain and other mortgage technology at the state and federal level. She shares appropriate and correct information to inform our laws and businesses. Dunn aims for better mortgage infrastructure and policies for the improvement of the industry as a whole.

Emily Farley

Stephenie Flood

Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group

RE/MAX Gold

Vice President of Operations

Emily Farley is the CLO for Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group. She manages growth of sales in new markets, overseeing approximately 450+ team members. Prior to her work on Atlantic Bay’s majority-female executive leadership team, she worked extensively in the mortgage industry over the last decade. Farley has served as the president — or worked in another larger role — of Tidewater Mortgage Bankers Association, Virginia Mortgage Lenders Association, Tidewater Builders Association, Volunteer Hampton Roads, Roc Solid Foundation, as well as many other organizations like Mortgage Action Alliance and MORPAC. Farley is a proud female powerhouse within Atlantic Bay and throughout the real estate finance industry. She is dedicated to seeing other people, especially women, achieve a work-life integration that allows them to succeed in all areas of life. Farley has advocated for policies within Atlantic Bay, like a new pension plan for the sales team, paving the way with a program that is rare in the mortgage industry.

VP of Operations Stephenie Flood is a key leader, not only within RE/ MAX Gold, but also among the larger RE/MAX brand. Flood has been with RE/MAX Gold since 1997, beginning her Gold Nation career as an administrator. Since that time, she has overseen every operational department, culminating in her promotion to director of operations in 2015 and later, VP of operations. Flood now leads nine departments within the organization and her efforts allowed the company to continue to grow while maintaining impressive service levels to agents and staff.

In 2021, Flood led the development and execution of a new concierge-level department. Since its implementation, the new department, Enhance, has been receiving positive reviews for both the product offering and the level of support provided to each agent client.

Flood’s leadership is evident particularly in the service center, which serves as the backbone of the company and provides all levels of service from agent accounting, broker support and beyond.

AUGUST 2022

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Chief Lending Officer

Kristy Folino

Beth Fowler

Senior Vice President, Custom Solutions

Executive Vice President, Lender Services

ServiceLink

Stewart Title

Kristy Folino, SVP of Custom Solutions at ServiceLink, has 24 years of mortgage services industry experience with a background in valuation, title and settlement services and P&L management. Folino inspires her team with her passion and commitment to her clients and their businesses. As someone who has experienced the power of mentorship firsthand, she is committed to giving back to the next generation of mortgage industry leaders by providing advice, a listening ear and a bit of tough love. Folino leads by example and builds successful teams that grow and thrive under her leadership. Because of her adaptability and excellent customer service, Folino was tasked with creating a team of mortgage professionals who provide hightouch service to retail loan officers and small- and mid-tier clients of ServiceLink’s origination title and close division. Today, the team has expanded to 50 members who work internally with sales and externally with clients to build custom solutions for their title and closing needs.

Beth Fowler, executive VP, Lender Services, brings excellence to the forefront of her career. As the leader of the company’s lender services division, Fowler oversees solutions for real estate lenders, originators, servicers and investors. She is moving the industry toward digital homebuying and closing while prioritizing customer experience. It is easy for employees to support Stewart’s mission to be the Premier Title Services Company thanks to Fowler’s leadership.

Fowler began a two-part strategy for expanding the lender services business. The plan included organic growth and the acquisition of seven new businesses. This success resulted in expanded solutions and broad impact with customers. Fowler welcomed all these challenges, and her commitment to operational excellence enabled lender services to thrive during a chaotic time. Throughout this growth period, Fowler prioritized mentorship and guidance to managers and employees alike, helping to foster an environment of accountability and opportunity while promoting employee recognition.

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Donna Freeland

Liz Gehringer

Senior Vice President, Retail Operations

President of Affiliate Business and Chief Operating Officer

RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation

Coldwell Banker Real Estate

Donna Freeland is the SVP of retail operations at RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation. She oversees all retail operations, including managing production volumes, delivering compliant systems and ongoing process improvements. She can be described many ways, but “leader” is her most shining quality. Freeland is approachable and confident. Under her watch, RoundPoint has deployed new technologies that create a more efficient loan process and improve turnaround times by more than 10%, significantly decreasing the cost per loan.

In the past year, Freeland has led the transition of the retail lending operations team — and all supporting staff from parent company Freedom Mortgage Corporation — to RoundPoint to establish the retail sales division. She managed the transitioning of nearly 1,000 employees. This process ensured all systems at RoundPoint were set up, archives moved and pipelines were accessible. Freeland managed the transition so that it was undetectable to customers and protected against any disruption to their loans in process.

As the president of affiliate business and COO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Liz Gehringer oversees the brand’s franchise operations, including events, field service, international business and Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliate networks. She leads a franchise network of more than 1,400 U.S. and 628 global offices, with more than 50,000 affiliated agents across 40 countries and territories and 3,000 affiliated commercial real estate professionals in North America and around the globe. Her unification of a family of real estate brands and elevation of other women to leadership roles makes her a distinguished woman in the real estate industry.

While Gehringer focuses on business growth, she is also passionate about creating a high-performing and inclusive culture. In 2021, her team added 10 new affiliates to Coldwell Banker’s Inclusive Ownership Program, an industry-first program aimed at increasing the diverse demographics of the franchise affiliate owners and providing support to minority brokerage owners during their first two years of business.

AUGUST 2022

Lesli Gooch

Toniqua Green

CEO

Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility

Manufactured Housing Institute

Mr. Cooper

Dr. Lesli Gooch, CEO of Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), is known for her ability to achieve policy and political goals that translate into significantly improved housing options nationwide. Gooch’s effective advocacy efforts on key priorities of the manufactured housing industry have had a far-reaching impact on millions of Americans striving for affordable homeownership. Gooch advocated the benefits, safety and innovations of manufactured housing to Congress and the White House administration, and she gained bipartisan support for it as a solution to the current affordable housing crisis.

Gooch believes manufactured housing is the best source of affordable homeownership for Americans, and she motivates a small team to raise the industry’s credibility, dispel myths and advocate for more financing options. Gooch used op-eds and coalition meetings to persuade the administration and Congress to consider racial equity in the context of zoning for manufactured housing. This work alleviated exclusionary zoning and supports homeownership.

Toniqua Green, VP of corporate social responsibility, started her career in Mr. Cooper company’s call center. She worked her way up, advocating for herself and mentoring others along the way. After three years working in the call center, she was promoted to foreclosures manager and eventually worked her way to VP. Green built her dream career through hard work and persistence. Today, she oversees state and community relations and the company’s environmental social governance efforts. She partners with housing advocates, state housing agencies and federal housing associations to provide mortgage assistance to homeowners in need.

She is motivated by finding the most favorable outcomes for customers, investors and employees. Recognized at Mr. Cooper’s 2022 Leadership Conference with the Spirit of Mr. Cooper award, she stands out as a tenured team member who has demonstrated the company’s core values and excelled in her daily work. Green strives to be at the forefront of innovation for each initiative that she is a part of.

Selma Hepp

Executive, Research & Insights and Deputy Chief Economist

Mortgage Bankers Association

CoreLogic

Lisa Haynes serves in the multifaceted role of SVP, CFO and Chief diversity and inclusion officer for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Haynes has gone above and beyond to ensure that the industry is equitable and inclusive for all. Prior to joining MBA, Haynes worked for Fannie Mae and served the company in several VP positions. She led a team of 45 professionals in the management of single and multifamily loans Hayes has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of finance and accounting, so she brings a wealth of knowledge to the CFO position. She works to ensure future financial stability for MBA through strategic planning and forecasting.

In her role as chief diversity and inclusion officer, Haynes serves as an executive-level strategist, partnering with the leaders of MBA’s diversity and inclusion initiatives to promote a comprehensive strategy that fosters a workplace culture of diversity and inclusion within the real estate finance industry.

Selma Hepp has held the role of housing economist for almost 15 years. Hepp has been determined to provide a thorough and data-driven analysis of the real estate market trends, and she is passionate about supporting and encouraging immigrant women to pursue their dreams. In her work, she focuses on providing actionable insights to the organization’s leaders to support the business vision and strategy. She helps position the organization as a thought leader and chief source of property data and location intelligence for all participants across the housing ecosystem. Hepp’s monthly updates on the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index have raised its profile and helped to underscore the link between appreciation and build-up of home-equity wealth (as reported in the CoreLogic Home Equity Report).

Hepp is an active member of the National Association of Business Economics where she held multiple roles, including the President of Los Angeles NABE Chapter, co-chair of the Real Estate Roundtable and member of the Business Conditions Survey committee.

AUGUST 2022

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Lisa Haynes

SVP, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Kelli Hodges

Renée Hunter

Mortgage Coach

Notarize

Chief Operating Officer

General Counsel

Kelli Hodges, COO, is the operational mastermind at Mortgage Coach.

She relies on her more than two decades of mortgage technology expertise to drive process transformation initiatives that have enabled the firm to rapidly scale and maintain a 99.8% customer retention rate. Hodges has proven her business chops in the boardroom. She played an integral role in prepping Mortgage Coach through a sizable investment from private-equity firm LLR Partners. Hodges is a woman to watch thanks to her standout reputation for business and technological acumen among industry leadership circles.

As COO, Hodges oversees everything from customer success to finance and partner integrations. Over the last year, Hodges has led initiatives that enabled the company to expand its enterprise lender customer headcount by 48%. Hodges worked to upskill and promote key employees in each department, equipping them with KPIs and staff to support enormous customer growth — an initiative that led to a 55% increase in customer adoption.

Notarize General Counsel Renée Hunter has used her knowledge and expertise of the law to help pioneer the remote online notarization industry. She works with a passion and an innovative spirit. Well before 2020, Hunter led and built teams in the digital mortgage industry to adopt remote online notarization. Today that industry is growing at a rapid speed. In her role, Hunter oversees multiple functional areas composed of several dozen team members.

Hunter and the team she leads keep Notarize’s mission of integrity and pioneering technology at the core of their work every day, as they have a fundamental responsibility to safeguard the reputation of the industry that they helped build. Hunter helps to drive those efforts at Notarize by overseeing a diverse and multifunctional legal department. Hunter is passionate and knowledgeable about modernizing the notarial process to streamline everything, including digital closing. The cornerstone of Hunter’s leadership style is integrity and fairness.

Kelly Isikoff

Selene Kellam

Common Securitization Solutions

Thrive Mortgage

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VP, Chief Information Security Officer

Chief Operations Officer

As chief information security officer, Kelly Isikoff leads one of the most vital efforts at Common Securitization Solutions (CSS). She oversees the cybersecurity of CSS and the Common Securitization Platform.

Through her leadership, Isikoff ensures the integrity of CSS’s data and processes. She plays a critical role in maintaining the stability of the U.S. mortgage market.

Isikoff is a leader who values education, encouraging her team to tackle challenging problems while providing guidance and strategies to be successful. She challenges her teams to find better solutions, efficiencies and methods and has pushed her team to leverage automation and various machine learning techniques to both improve detection and response as well as reduce overhead and manual intervention and activity.

Isikoff’s leadership style allows team members ample time for professional development, which strengthens the entire team’s ability to tackle challenging problems in the field.

Selene Kellam has worked at every level of Thrive Mortgage and has worked her way up to COO. Kellam fostered a culture where opportunity abounds for those willing to commit to being a part of something greater than themselves.

She began as a loan officer assistant for Thrive’s founders, Roy and Barbara Jones, in the mid-2000s. Kellam quickly proved that “Hungry, humble and smart” would be the cornerstone description of her future career. One of Kellam’s key attributes is her ability to draw the best out of those she works with at any level of the organization.

Using her propensity for analyzing and establishing high-quality and efficient processes, Kellam gravitated toward the operations side of the mortgage industry. She became the key architect of a revolutionary loan manufacturing workflow that was foundational to the company’s amazing growth and success. The results of her and her team’s efforts have culminated in Thrive’s reputation for consistent, industry-leading turn times.

AUGUST 2022

Paola Kielblock

Andria Lightfoot

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation

SimpleNexus

President of Products

Chief Customer Officer

Paola Kielblock, president of products at Fairway Independent Mortgage, is a 23-year industry veteran who focuses on affordable housing and consumer education. Today, she works with 85 state housing authorities and 350 nonprofit down payment assistance fund programs.

In her position, Kielblock has spent the past 10 years building out Fairway’s affordable housing initiatives. She now leads an affordable housing initiative that works with 85 state housing authorities and a national program that offers first-time homebuyers down payment assistance. Kielblock works to ensure that consumers are put into safe, affordable loans and prioritizes down payment assistance.

Kielblock works to ensure that borrowers are in the best position possible by guiding them through education both before closing and after the loan is funded. She works with her team to develop products for consumer education even months before taking out a mortgage in order to help borrowers financially prepare.

Andria Lightfoot, chief customer officer, has been integral to SimpleNexus’ acquisition of LBA Ware and subsequent acquisition by nCino. She oversaw the merger and build out of all customer-centric functions. Lightfoot has quickly risen through the ranks thanks to her 16 years of experience. She managed an IMB merger at the age of 25, advising top lenders as a senior analyst at Teraverde, was promoted to COO at George Mason Mortgage and landed an executive role at SimpleNexus. To top it all off, Lightfoot has led the charge on multiple products, including Nexus Bilingual, which facilitates a Spanish language lending experience.

She is known for her innovative leadership in process optimization and technology configuration. Lightfoot oversaw SimpleNexus’s integration management, project management and expansion of personnel during their acquisitions. She scaled SimpleNexus’s teams to ensure a smooth transition into its new internal operational structure within its new parent company.

Jennifer Lomanno

Holly Mabery

Newrez

eXp Realty

Vice President of Brokerage Operations

What sets Jennifer Lomanno apart as a leader is her strong focus on risk assessments, positive leadership and empowerment of her team. As SVP and national underwriting manager at Newrez, she advocates for the professional growth of her team and development of more women leaders in the mortgage industry. The efficiencies she’s created to positively impact her underwriters have allowed them to be more productive.

Lomanno has more than 25 years of experience in the mortgage industry. She believes that in her position it is just as important to be a strong supporter of her team as it is to be a source of experience and expertise. Lomanno continues to accomplish this by paving a pathway for career upward mobility for Newrez’s underwriting division.

Lomanno has helped develop careers for many, as well as been a steadfast advocate for ensuring new levels of positions were created within the underwriting division that focused on career trajectory and professional growth, especially for women.

Holly Mabery was named VP of brokerage operations in May 2021 after first joining eXp Realty in 2018. She leads a nationwide, cloud-based team of 350 people who work to keep the world’s fastest-growing real estate brokerage moving forward. She brings together 24 years of experience as a real estate broker, realty association volunteer and nationally recognized trainer and public speaker.

Mabery’s name is synonymous with integrity, honesty, leadership, empathy, intelligence and inspiration. Mabery has led the way with her methodical and innovative approach. Every day, Mabery strives to create the best possible experience for clients, agents and her team. She and her team set goals, priorities and strategies, which regional operations managers roll out to the individual state teams.

Because of Mabery’s integrity and sense of fairness, she is loved and respected by agents and staff members alike. Her effective leadership is also reflected in the employee Net Promoter Scores that are over 80% — an industry-leading standard.

AUGUST 2022

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Senior Vice President and National Underwriting Manager

Camelia Martin

Kymber Menkiti

Snapdocs

Keller Williams Capital Properties

Vice President of Industry and Regulatory Affairs

President

Camelia Martin is a leader in the industry’s adoption of digital mortgage closings with 17 years of experience in policy and technology.

As the VP of industry and regulatory affairs at Snapdocs, Martin’s breadth of experience has never been more relevant. Her deep knowledge of the industry’s challenges fuels her work. Martin focuses on furthering transparency and uniformity in digital mortgage closing policies, enabling lenders to maximize the digitization of every loan and scale digital closings. Martin spearheaded the April 2022 launch of an industry-first central repository of digital closing acceptance criteria called the MISMO e-Eligibility Exchange, Powered by Snapdocs.

This initiative is essential to Snapdocs and Snapdocs customers by partnering with MISMO to make it available to all MISMO members at no cost.

Martin’s role requires her to stay close to the issues that stifle innovation in our industry and explore ways Snapdocs can help solve them. She achieves this through volunteering with MISMO.

Kymber Menkiti, a visionary leader, serves as the president of Keller Williams Capital Properties, KW’s divisional leader across 8 states, and regional director for KW Maryland and D.C. She is passionate about giving back to the community and wants to find pathways to bridging success and opportunities between business and volunteering. Her true passion comes from inspiring women leaders to succeed and grow. A majority of her volunteer positions focus on empowering women.

Menkiti is the chair of the board for the CPMG Foundation, an organization that was founded to address the diverse social needs in urban communities, specifically D.C. She is also on the board of Crittenton Services of Greater Washington, an organization that empowers teen girls to overcome obstacles through school programs. Menkiti is also a board member for a local arts company that promotes an educational tool for young people in Washington, D.C., focusing on teamwork, academic achievement and cross-cultural understanding.

Kim Nelson

Qingqing Ouyang

BankSouth Mortgage

OJO Labs

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Chief Executive Officer

Chief Technology Officer

Kim Nelson, CEO of BankSouth Mortgage, utilizes her 30 years of mortgage experience to lead over 200 employees in the company’s vision of providing borrowers an unparalleled mortgage experience.

Nelson founded a mortgage company in September 2008 at the height of a financial crisis with only 10 employees. She was confident she could provide a better option for consumers’ mortgage experience.

14 years later, BankSouth Mortgage originates over $2 billion in home loans annually. They employ nearly 60 loan officers in 13 offices across the southeastern footprint and earned a significant industry ranking with high customer service ratings.

Nelson is a strategic leader who combines her mortgage experience with a drive to power the next decade of the business. Nelson’s work ethic is highly regarded and she is known for her loyalty, tenacity and unstoppable drive to succeed. Kim has been named a “phenomenon” by industry veteran Doug Smith. Nelson was named a 2016 “Woman Who Means Business” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

As chief technology officer at OJO Labs, Qingqing Ouyang is constantly developing the company’s guided marketplace for homebuying and selling to millions of consumers. Since joining OJO in 2018, Ouyang has grown the footprint of the OJO engineering team globally. She scaled from seven local engineers to more than 150 around the world in under two years while simultaneously increasing the scope and complexity of her remit.

Ouyang has led several critical engineering initiatives, including the refinement of the company’s proprietary AI technology, humanin-the-loop training, and state-of-the-art personalization engine and broadening the data science team’s investment in understanding consumer needs to help drive decision-making at each stage of the homebuying journey. She significantly accelerated OJO’s ability to support consumers throughout the homebuying process, ultimately helping to move the real estate industry toward more holistic, equitable and consumer-centric experiences.

AUGUST 2022

Payal Parikh

Tara Pettersen

ICE Mortgage Technology

CMG Financial

SVP, Engineering

Chief Compliance Officer

As SVP of engineering at ICE Mortgage Technology, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Payal Parikh consistently delivers innovation for the residential mortgage industry. She leads by example and is known for keeping both customer and partner needs top of mind. Parikh fosters a culture across her organization that focuses on speed and innovation, while never sacrificing quality or stability.

She runs her organization with a commitment to diversity and a customer-first mindset. She understands the needs of her customers and partners in a way that enables her to develop valuable customizations and integrations across the ICE Mortgage Technology platform.

Recently, she rolled out two main customer experience solutions to the mortgage market. One is a new customer-friendly website builder called Encompass Consumer Connect. The other is a seamless integration of an industry-leading insurance provider within the ICE Mortgage Technology platform that eliminates the previously time-consuming process of amendments.

As chief compliance officer, Tara Pettersen has spearheaded a complete transformation of her department to better protect the company and its consumers from risks or losses. Pettersen manages over 11 departments within risk management, provides the essential framework that guides key stakeholders’ decisions and still finds the time to touch the hearts of every single member on her team.

Throughout Pettersen’s 29-year career, she has maintained a distinct leadership style that inspires those around her to reach for greatness. She mentors risk managers with grace and kindness, acting as an instrumental aid in their career development.

Since joining CMG in 2014, Pettersen trained and guided multiple employees who have risen into leadership roles. She hired more than 50 new team members within the last year, redesigned the department’s framework and eventually transformed the compliance department into what is now the company’s risk management department.

She has built a team of talented compliance and risk professionals.

Jill Portilla

Tanya Reu-Narvaez

Finance of America Reverse

Realogy

Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer

Throughout her 15 years in the lending industry, VP of Borrower Engagement Division Jill Portilla has dedicated her talents to improving the borrower experience. Her visionary leadership in designing the groundbreaking borrower engagement division at Finance of America Reverse has propelled customer service in the mortgage industry to new heights. She believes in the notion that the work begins, not ends when the loan is completed. Portilla’s “people-first” approach has radically impacted borrowers’ expectations and appreciation for their lender. To her company, her industry and her borrowers, Portilla is driven by a desire to do more — and better — for everyone.

Portilla believes that to be a positive force for change in the world, she has to raise her hand and lead by example. That philosophy has driven both her professional trajectory in the lending industry and her pattern of personal excellence. With Portilla at the helm, FAR’s newly established borrower engagement has gone above and beyond the industry standard.

Tanya Reu-Narvaez serves as chief people officer for Realogy. In her role, she directly influences all aspects of the employee experience, including diversity and inclusion, engagement, talent management, and compensation and benefits for the Realogy enterprise. She was directly responsible for launching many of Realogy’s DEI initiatives decades ago, and influences the path Realogy is paving for underrepresented communities through homeownership, entrepreneurship and careers. When she assumed the role as Realogy’s chief people officer, one of her top priorities was elevating the company’s focus and commitment to DEI. Her talent strategy is focused on strategically cultivating an inclusive culture to strengthen teams.

Reu-Narvaez was responsible for the launch of Real Career Connections. This mentoring program for employees of color, in partnership with Catalyst, is a global nonprofit supported by many of the world’s leading companies to help build workplaces that work for women.

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Vice President, Borrower Engagement Division

Lauren Richmond

Katherine Rugge

Finance of America

Freedom Mortgage

General Counsel

Senior Vice President, Call Center Sales

As general counsel of Finance of America, Lauren Richmond is instrumental in the company’s success, evidenced by her successful leadership of the FOA legal department and her guidance and support in taking the company public in 2021. Richmond is a mother of three young children and, at 34 years old, one of the youngest general counsels at a public company and in the mortgage industry. Richmond serves as a role model for other aspiring female executives. During her time at FOA, Richmond has used her leadership skills and extensive legal knowledge to manage a team of 28 people while fostering a company culture that encourages work-life balance and supports the development of diverse talent.

Since joining FOA in 2016, Richmond’s commitment to excellence has contributed to her rapid rise in the company. By 2019, she was promoted to general counsel, and over the past year, she lead the complex legal process of taking FOA public via a special purpose acquisition company.

As SVP of call center sales at Freedom Mortgage, Katherine Rugge has spent nearly a decade working in or supporting the company’s call center. Rugge has become the heartbeat of the division.

Rugge oversaw a sales division with a team of over 100 sales professionals, focusing on re-engaging borrowers who had expressed interest in refinancing their mortgage but did not complete the process.

She came into work every day thinking about how to further engage with these customers and how her team of loan advisors could help.

Rugge and her team were responsible for new-hire training, management development, compliance updates and new technology updates. Rugge developed the strategy and led the outreach efforts by collaborating with leadership across various departments to develop tailored messaging that would assist borrowers with customized solutions. Her leadership enabled her team to better connect with customers, which resulted in closed loans of over $7.5 billion by the end of the year.

Courtney Schaefer

Emily Shapiro

Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp.

Docutech, a First American Company

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Chief Operations Officer

President

Courtney Schaefer is the dedicated, hardworking and knowledgeable driving force behind Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp.’s mortgage operations. During her 24-year tenure, she has risen through the ranks to the role of COO while constantly improving the quality, efficiency and capacity of their lending processes. Her standout leadership and wide-ranging industry knowledge have enabled Draper and Kramer to grow from a small regional lender to one of the nation’s top mid-sized mortgage companies.

Starting out as a loan processor, Schaefer was promoted progressively as she proved her talents for management, finance and process improvement. Achieving the role of director of operations in 2016, she was responsible for upholding the company’s ambitious lending standards on every loan. In 2020, Schaefer oversaw the seamless transition of operations to a work-from-home model, the company’s adaptation to interruptions of available mortgage programs and a rapid staffing increase to capture a surge in loan volume.

As president of Docutech, a First American company, Emily Shapiro leads an inspired and empowered team that is helping lenders drive the digital transformation of the mortgage industry by assisting them in delivering more personalized digital experiences to their customers. Emily leads with transparency, which creates an engaged workforce with a direct line of sight into the value they provide. As a result, Docutech continues to experience record growth as a leader in digital mortgage and eClosings.

Shapiro drives Docutech forward by empowering her teams to make bold decisions focused on client and employee interests. With her leadership style being rooted in transparency, she openly shares challenges and opportunities along with company wins.

She regularly communicates her vision and performance expectations throughout the organization, leaving employees with a solid grasp on where the company is headed and how they contribute toward it’s success.

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Valerie Sheeley

Karen Starns

Aslan Home Lending Corporation

OJO Labs

COO

Chief Marketing Officer

For Aslan Home Lending’s COO Valerie Sheeley, it all comes down to communication. As a founding partner of Aslan, Sheeley placed the greatest value on practicing transparency.

She works to create a work environment that’s both loving and supportive, with communication as the decisive element in her stated goal of delivering best-in-class customer service and care. In her role as COO, Sheeley is constantly looking for ways to improve Aslan’s technology and processes. She is also constantly sharpening her skills as a leader. Sheeley is involved in all things Aslan, from P&L management to the growth of the organization’s corporate pride and brand supervision. Sheeley has also personally helped onboard new “pride members” and has helped build a company that fully embraces the feminine qualities of showing love to its employees, clients and business partners. A senior management professional with years of experience, Sheeley is committed to the honest goal of positively affecting every life she touches, every day.

As the chief marketing officer at OJO Labs, Karen Starns has transformed the young, fast-growing brand into a real estate powerhouse.

Driven by her passion to create meaningful connections with consumers, Starns has been instrumental in driving toward the company’s mission, working to ensure that anyone — regardless of race, gender or class — can realize the abundant benefits of homeownership.

Harnessing more than 20 years of experience building some of the biggest names in consumer tech, Starns oversees a skilled, agile team across product marketing, brand, media, creative, insights and PR at OJO. Since joining OJO in 2019, Starns has worked diligently to establish the company as a purpose-driven, forward-thinking brand committed to creating the industry’s first guided marketplace for homebuying and selling.

Over the past three years, Starns has up-leveled the company’s profile significantly, achieving #49 on Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500 recognition.

Katie Sweeney

Courtney Thompson

Association of Independent Mortgage Experts

Sagent

Chief Product Officer

In her initial 12-plus months as CEO of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, Katie Sweeney has launched its first-ever proprietary software, the AIME Member Portal, driven federal and state legislation for both broker and consumer advocacy, and expanded AIME leadership to include diverse representation. Each initiative contributes to her strategy to create a more equitable environment in the housing industry with education at the forefront.

Sweeney created AIME’s government affairs lobbying initiative to bring broker and consumer issues to Capitol Hill. They worked with a lobbying group and other partners to pass Maryland House Bill 809, legislation that benefits disabled veterans. This success further supports Sweeney’s efforts in creating a more equitable space for consumers in the housing industry. Sweeney’s growth-focused vision has produced countless initiatives that have rapidly increased AIME’s female membership by 25%, showcasing her dedication to bringing more representation to the mortgage industry.

Sagent’s chief product officer, Courtney Thompson, builds bridges between the financial and the fintech community to deliver meaningful, connected and efficient solutions. She’s one of the housing industry’s most vocal and passionate advocates for people, process and technology transformation while honoring the human experience. Thompson increasingly influences those in the industry by maintaining the transformative vision of connection and compassion.

Thompson’s impact on Sagent comes from her ability to run scale servicing operations, build intricate mortgage tech stacks and manage the organizational transformation that comes with innovation and modernization. Thompson has built and groomed a large team of industry professionals with these technical skills while simultaneously speaking plainly and keeping things light. Thompson has improved customer NPS scores by 25 percent, exceeded revenue targets over the past 2 quarters, renewed every client to multi-year deals and become the go-to servicing operations advisor for America’s top servicers.

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Chief Executive Officer

Lauren Toth

Terin Vivian

Senior Director, Enterprise Resiliency and Security

Vice President, Head of Loan Portfolio Management & Structuring

Fannie Mae

Freddie Mac

Lauren Toth, senior director of enterprise resiliency and security at Fannie Mae, has designed and executed Fannie Mae’s resiliency testing model and adeptly reprioritized the company’s technical resiliency program. Toth’s contributions have helped Fannie Mae remain nimble and competitive to meet its strategic goals.

Toth has successfully executed roles in business resiliency program management, disaster recovery delivery and testing, technical resiliency program development and enterprise resiliency. Colleagues rely on Toth for her subject matter expertise, problem-solving and critical thinking to unpack technical and programmatic challenges for elegant solutions.Toth’s understanding of resiliency models helped her innovate the company’s resiliency efforts and elevated them to respond to any prolonged application outages.

Outside of Fannie Mae, Toth is a devoted mom to three boys and an active volunteer. She volunteers with the Lower Loudoun League, Reston Raiders Hockey program and the Upward Basketball program.

Freddie Mac’s Terin Vivian has built a team and a culture committed to respectful treatment of borrowers in default while ensuring Freddie Mac maintains the financial capacity and risk management discipline to continue its vitally important public mission. As the vice president and head of loan portfolio management and structuring, she implements borrower protections while optimizing Freddie Mac’s returns by selling or re-securitizing defaulted or re-performing loans.

That equaled more than $5.5 billion in the last 12 months and over $84.5 billion since 2011.

Vivian fosters a team culture where individuals can flourish. Vivian and her team manage the most credit sensitive assets in the investment portfolio which requires an intersection of industry expertise.

As such, teams at Freddie Mac have sought Vivian’s leadership and knowledge, and she has been the non-standard offerings workstream lead for Freddie Mac’s reference rate transition task force.

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Dionne Wallace Oakley

Terri Waring

Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Credit Officer

Freddie Mac

Freedom Mortgage

Dionne Wallace Oakley joined Freddie Mac in 2021 as senior vice president and chief human resources officer after a 32-year career in the insurance industry. She saw an opportunity to use her business expertise to help Freddie Mac drive its mission by addressing two important workforce challenges: managing a hybrid return to office model and continuing the growth of Freddie Mac talent for today and tomorrow.

Wallace Oakley has led several initiatives that will continue to shape the future, leading the way with passion, purpose and vision. She led the return to office and hybrid work model that resulted in three return waves for employees throughout March 2022 that prioritized employees’ health and safety while also prioritizing business operations.

She has been at the forefront of Freddie Mac’s Future of Work efforts.

With the support of her senior officer peer group, she established new corporate competencies and associated behaviors, updated the talent ecosystem and enhanced the performance review processes.

Terri Waring is SEVP and chief credit officer for Freedom Mortgage Corporation with nearly 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Waring oversees the management teams responsible for underwriting and credit risk, including credit policy, underwriting, underwriting training, the company’s First Flyer development (college-entrants program), prefunding quality assurance and the Condo/ Coop Project Desk. In total in 2021, Waring was overseeing a department of nearly 1,100 employees.

With extensive knowledge in government policies and investor guidelines, Waring ensures Freedom’s rules-based loan origination platform and employees handling all aspects of loan applications operate with the highest level of integrity to produce quality transactions and customers for life. Waring and her team have implemented innovative tools, best practices and controls to make strategic efficiencies and effective credit decisions with skilled staff to help prevent undue risk for Freedom Mortgage and its customers.

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Ginger Wilcox

Sue Yannaccone

Homepoint

Anywhere Brands

Chief Experience Officer

For over 20 years, Ginger Wilcox has effectively merged her expertise in technology, sales operations, customer experience and marketing to positively impact the mortgage and real estate industries. As CEO, she has played a pivotal role in the expansion of Homepoint’s wholesale operations. Wilcox leads her marketing, customer experience, industry relations and account growth teams by empowering and motivating them with her infectious energy and dedication. For two years, Wilcox has been a driving force in reinventing the traditional wholesale industry. Wilcox started with a complete Homepoint rebrand — evaluating and updating key customer messaging and updating the brand’s look and feel to better convey the company’s mission and value proposition. She then helped to guide the company through IPO. Wilcox has also launched two new programs, the Homepoint Customer Experience Program and the Homepoint Partner Experience Program.

President and CEO

As president and CEO of Anywhere Brands, Sue Yannaccone is one of the most highly regarded and influential women in the real estate industry. Having cut her teeth in various roles throughout the industry — including work in contract admin, brokerage and later as a leader of renowned companies like ERA — she now helms Anywhere Brands.

Yannaccone is recognized for her nearly two decades of expertise in franchise management and real estate brokerage operations. Before her role at Anywhere Brands, she served as regional executive VP of the Eastern Seaboard and Midwest regions of Coldwell Banker Realty.

Yannaccone is perhaps most well-known for creating What Moves Her, an advocacy organization that launched in 2020 for helping women in the real estate industry develop their leadership skills and realize their professional development goals. The program has helped guide more than 5,000 women and provided them with tools and strategies to help them continue achieving success in their personal and professional lives.

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Reverse mortgage leaders: What the forward world should know about our business

By Chris Clow

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For public mortgage companies that operate on both the traditional “forward” side of the business and the reverse side in tandem, several lenders have recently pointed to a bright spot in their quarterly reports: the reverse mortgage segment.

The reverse business has been consistently viewed by many of these lenders as a sound, profit-driven enterprise which offers additional options for borrowers who may find such an instrument — which can convert a home’s equity into cash flow — useful in managing the finances of later life.

As usual, though, the reverse mortgage industry faces unique headwinds which are not present on the forward, traditional mortgage side of the business. Some of these are longstanding: a lack of accurate information about the product category being widely available to consumers is a longtime sticking point, and lingering reputational issues.

Some of these issues have been joined by recent economic volatility, resulting in disruptive rate changes and a need to quickly address pricing.

HousingWire Magazine, in conjunction with Reverse Mortgage Daily, sat down with two major industry leaders: Ed Robinson, president of American Advisors Group (AAG); and Kristen Sieffert, president of Finance of America Reverse (FAR) to get a better idea about how the reverse mortgage industry distinguishes itself from its traditional counterpart.

Robinson joined AAG in 2021, and he boasts more than 30 years of experience in the real estate industry. At AAG, he takes pride in ensuring that the organization’s key initiatives are prioritized across the company. His previous leadership positions at USAA and Fifth Third Bank prepared him well for his time at AAG. Sieffert has been with FAR since 2015. In her time there, she has driven sustainable business growth and fostered a positive culture where teams can grow and develop. She also built a wealth of knowledge around reverse mortgages that can’t be beat. Sieffert has also held leadership positions with One Reverse Mortgage and EquiPoint Reverse

Mortgage.

Both leaders offer their insights and predictions for the future, and why reverse mortgages should warrant consideration among traditional mortgage professionals.

Ed Robinson, president of American Advisors Group (AAG) HousingWire/Reverse Mortgage Daily: Your perspective is really interesting because you have recently come into a leadership position at a major lender. This position could dial you into some of the misconceptions that exist in the broader mortgage business. What would you say is the biggest misunderstanding that other housing professionals — like in the forward mortgage, real estate and appraisal worlds — have about reverse?

Ed Robinson: I would say the single biggest misunderstanding is that when taking out a reverse mortgage loan, many folks still believe that our customers no longer own their homes and that they don’t retain the title. In fact, recently, I was speaking with an executive at a nationally recognized title company, and she was really surprised that the customer owns the home and so many safeguards are in place. She was pleased to learn that information.

I’ve had conversations with executives from other title companies and wealth management firms recently, including a neighbor of my own appraisal firms. Their perspectives were actually rather consistent with broader

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ER: I think there are probably a few causes. One includes the pretty high-profile financial experts, if you will, that have come out about reverse mortgages to discuss the good, bad or ugly. Some of these folks, especially folks you see on TV, have very strong personalities and opinions. And so, what you’ve seen is the perspective from these personalities, as well as a lot of articles about the product in the industry. Realistically, people always err on the side of, ‘let’s protect the consumer,’ especially the senior consumer. I personally admire that, and I think that is amazing.

When I first came into the industry 15 years ago, at least from an ancillary perspective, it was very clear that there were old, strong opinions because of some missteps and product development that occurred early on. FHA and HUD were effectively evolving the product.

There are some myths and misconceptions that still linger, because of early missteps; the good news is that many were corrected along the way. Still, people have long memories when it comes to our seniors. It is really important that we continue to show that we’re in this for the good of America’s senior community and make sure we take care of them.

HW/RMD: How can lenders remain profitable even as the refi boom dies down?

ER: Profitability is always important, make sure that you understand every line item in your P&L, this will allow you to make proper business decisions to keep your company profitable. Know what is making you money and what is costing you money. Cross-train your staff and leverage technology to produce cost-effective results.

HW/RMD: How big of a role do you think technology plays in determining who will come out on top?

ER: Technology in the mortgage space has come a long way and is very important for the industry. A lot of companies are focused on the technology that focuses more on the front end of the origination process, point of sale.

This software is great and creates a positive experience for borrowers, but there is a lot out there for the production side as well to assist with compliance, processing, closing and post-closing. This software, from what we have seen, saves costs and can improve quality.

HW/RMD: Where do those misconceptions come from? The persistence of some lingering reputational issues? From previous interactions that those people might have had with other tools that leverage home equity?

ER: A lot of this comes from education. At the end of the day, I had to understand not only what AAG does but what it stands for. I had to understand how our peers go to market, and I had to understand the specificity of the product.

It’s a mortgage, but it’s a negative mortgage. And so I had to go about understanding the dynamics that come into pricing that mortgage or that loan, determining the available borrowing amount and determining the safeguards that are in place when it comes to foreclosures.

By and large, foreclosure is a different model in reverse mortgages than it is in forward. In a forward mortgage, foreclosures occur when folks can no longer pay for their home. In the case of a reverse mortgage, foreclosure occurs upon the death of the youngest borrower or their removal from the home, not their inability to pay, because the intent of the reverse mortgage is to make sure that you no longer have to pay on the home.

Foreclosures can also occur to people who are unable to pay property taxes and insurance, or who are unable to maintain their home.The good news is with safeguards such as the life expectancy set-aside (LESA), now you have ways to make sure that foreclosure is something that really comes down to the consumer. The customer has now utilized the entirety of the mortgage and the funds available for the point needed, which is aging in place.

And so I think a lot of it is understanding what FHA, HUD and the lending and servicing communities in this space are doing to make sure that the product is the best fit for

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misperceptions outside of the reverse mortgage industry.

HW/RMD: When you came into the reverse mortgage industry yourself, what did you find most helpful in terms of setting the course for your perspective on what this industry is and what it primarily aims to do?

each particular customer.

We’re taking it upon ourselves to educate them very thoroughly about what the product can and should be used for, to make sure they safeguard their financial security and then making sure that they and, frankly, their adult children really understand the dynamics behind using the reverse mortgage for further benefit.

HW/RMD: How much work goes into correcting product or industry misperceptions both within AAG and industry-wide based on conversations that you’ve been having with other people who are active in the space?

ER: Really, it’s a journey. For example, when I was beginning research with Genworth Financial around 2007 to see whether or not we wanted to offer the product to our customers, there were numerous articles that were rife with misperceptions and even horror stories about reverse.

I had to separate fact from fiction, educate both myself and Genworth executives and ensure that we built safeguards for consumers and for the business.

Fast forward to August 2021 when I joined AAG, and I noticed that many of the same, common misperceptions still existed. However, I also noticed that AAG employees really understood the realities. They clearly articulate the facts to consumers, regulators and investors.

AAG continues to invest in training, awareness and specific customer stories, which really bring the product and the benefits to life. Continuous communications from

professionals across the company ensure that our folks are well-versed in the product, the business and the industry at large.

To add to that, I think the most effort is spent on marketing. Of course, AAG prides itself on being at the forefront of informing the public-at-large about what the product is and what it isn’t. Our spokesman, Tom Selleck, has done a terrific job of speaking from the heart to consumers in our advertising campaigns.

Kristen Sieffert, president of Finance of America Reverse (FAR) HousingWire/Reverse Mortgage Daily: We asked another industry leader about the most commonly misunderstood components of the reverse mortgage business by other segments of the housing industry. Where do you see these misunderstandings most in your business?

Kristen Sieffert: I would say it’s the same thing that has been pervading the industry for years, which really is the misconception that the product is best suited as a loan of last resort, or for people that maybe didn’t plan as well as they should have.

I was with some of our traditional mortgage originators earlier this week, and in addition to that belief that these are a loan of last resort, a lot of them still think of the product in the same way that a lot of the consumers think of the product, which is [based on its attributes from] 10-15 years ago.

We all know that there have been huge changes made over the past couple of decades in reverse. The product has really created a great option that is sustainable for many different borrowers. The existing product is used as a tool to create better outcomes for an overall retirement plan. That is really how the product is positioned today for those educated properly about it.

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HW/RMD: How much work would you say goes into correcting product or industry misperceptions both at your company and industry-wide?

KS: Personally, I feel like I’ve made it my life’s mission to change the perception. I think at FAR in general, we’ve kickstarted many initiatives to create better access to education around the product. I think first and foremost, education needs to happen so that people can make the best decision for themselves rather than making decisions based off of ideas or those misconceptions.

[Some strides include] our arrangement with the Stanford Center on Longevity, and research into the use of reverse mortgages to reduce the market risk in portfolios by the likes of the Urban Institute and by the Journal of Financial Planning.

When you look at all of those avenues that we pay service to [in order to] create relationships and educate the more credible entities out there, that really can make a

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HW/RMD: Because education is such a big focus of the industry, do you think your personal tolerance for having to reiterate so many product details is generally high? Is this a conversation you relish, or is it grating at times?

KS: I relish it. And I would say even more than just talking about how the product works today, I believe it’s important to transparently talk about why the product has a bad rap.

For a long time, there were facets of the product that really did create some of the negative press that the industry ended up becoming known for. I think it’s really important that while we’re educating people, we begin by addressing those points.

At one point, I wasn’t even proud of some of the things being done in our industry, and we need to explain why.

We need to detail the things that we have done to change all of those [formerly problematic qualities] since then.

Again, I feel like it’s my life’s mission to really look at every area of our industry and be very confident that we’re creating a product that does result in sustainable, lasting solutions for consumers.

That will allow us to create an industry that also becomes sustainable and lasting. I think when you look at the landscape around us, tapping home equity is such a necessary function, and it’s going to be more necessary as we progress into the future. It’s on us, the industry, to make sure that we’re creating a sustainable outcome for everyone involved.

HW/RMD: In terms of how the economy’s doing right now, it seems like housing in particular is going through a pretty challenging period with historic levels of inflation and a volatile rate environment. How do these realities manifest most for FAR and for the industry at large?

KS: It has felt like a perfect storm, in general, for the mortgage industry. I think the industry as a whole is working as quickly as possible to make sure all of our companies are in a good position to weather the current market dynamics.

I think, more interestingly, that it’s a perfect storm for our demographic, as well. When you look at where retirees are, and their current lifestyles and lifecycles, they’re in the drawdown phase of their portfolios, if they have them. The market volatility that’s happening and the quickly dropping valuations for people’s portfolios are scary.

On top of that, the rapid levels of inflation hurt a lot for people on fixed incomes. Going to the grocery store or going to get gas really puts a tremendous amount of pressure on people.

One of the biggest things our demographic did when they felt like they needed to create a different cash flow for themselves was to downsize. But when you look at the market, there’s very little inventory. Downsizing these days doesn’t necessarily mean finding a less expensive home. So, the options have really blown up.

I think it’s creating an opportunity where we’re seeing increased interest in people who want to understand how a reverse mortgage may be able to help them, especially when all of these dynamics seem to be working against them.

One area [which remains] a bright spot for some is home equity. Finding ways to use home equity to help alleviate their financial pressure is probably going to be top of mind for a lot of people.

And, for those that can afford a home equity payment and do things like a HELOC, that’s great. But again, when you’re on a fixed income, that might not even be possible.

So a reverse mortgage becomes a really elegant solution for people that may not have ever looked at it before.

HW/RMD: The larger Finance of America organization has made a lot of investments into diversifying its portfolio of product offerings. Do you think that adds to the flexibility an FOA borrower can have if they all of a sudden have to pivot to a different product based on certain economic realities?

KS: Yes. I think when we went out to create the product suite that we have, we were always trying to address the gaps in the market. You and I have talked about this before when we launched HomeSafe several years ago. The industry was not doing a lot of production at the initial launch of that product. But, when there was a big shift in the market, HECM [loan-to-value ratios] came down quite drastically. HomeSafe became a huge part of our overall business, and we were uniquely positioned because we had had it in the market for so long.

So operationally, we were able to handle that increased capacity. When we look at what’s going on in the market around us right now, HECM LTVs are being reduced with the rising interest rate environment. Proprietary/ conventional product LTVs have been reduced recently, as well. And when we look at the potential fallout in the pipeline based on these changes, one shining spot for us is EquityAvail.

That’s a product that hasn’t gotten a ton of traction yet because it’s still very new. But, when you look at borrowers who need to access capital in order to pay off the existing debt on their homes, EquityAvail could be the answer. If LTVs change too much on the reverse products then EquityAvail’s looking like it could fill a gap in that market where other products can’t.

So to answer your question again, yes. Our product suite was purposely built to address those gaps. And it’s interesting to see that when the market shifts unexpectedly, a lot of times there will be products that shine that maybe didn’t do so prior.

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difference for financial planners, mortgage professionals and borrowers. Ultimately, I think that I would say this work is a top priority of our company. It’s been a long journey, and I think we still have quite a ways to go.

GSEs still shun the low end of manufactured housing Momentum is building for government-backed chattel loans

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By Georgia Kromrei

The most affordable manufactured homes are financed with private loans with higher interest rates, shorter terms and fewer consumer protections than mortgage loans.

The homes financed by these loans come without land, like a car, and the homeowner typically rents the land beneath their home.

The home itself is a depreciating asset, which makes it difficult for manufactured homeowners to build equity or intergenerational wealth. The loans, called chattel, are rarely refinanced.

That means the 17.5 million Americans who live in homes financed with chattel — about 42% of the manufactured housing market — don’t enjoy the consumer protections that long-established legislative bulwarks afford those with a traditional mortgage.

But the government-sponsored enterprises may now be on the cusp of entering the chattel market.

The GSEs, which back mortgages on traditional site-built homes, currently do not provide financing for chattel. That’s despite being ordered by Congress, in the aftermath of the Great Recession, to specifically serve manufactured housing.

The enterprises thus far have shunned the affordable end of the market. Instead, they have opted to finance manufactured homes that more closely resemble sitebuilt homes, are titled as real property and cost much more.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also have backed commercial loans on mobile home communities. Freddie Mac has sought to educate borrowers on options to convert chattel financing to real property.

“Instead of serving the market as it is, they’re essentially trying to change the market to something it isn’t by favoring real estate loans,” said Mark Weiss, CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform, which represents manufactured housing lenders and builders.

Freddie Mac aims to purchase 1,500 to

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2,500 chattel loans by 2024, though it does not yet have a product for it. Fannie Mae is considering the matter with its regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Freddie Mac’s goal to finance chattel loans also received a prominent shout-out in the Biden administration’s national affordable housing plan.

To observers, it’s a clear indication of momentum building for the GSE to finance chattel, for which affordable housing advocates continue to argue.

-Mark Weiss P roponent s of government-backed chattel loans say the sector is not as risky as it has been in the past.

Manufactured homes are no more vulnerable than site-built homes in extreme weather events, industry groups claim.

Manufactured housing lenders say the sector has reformed its past risky underwriting practices. A subprime crisis afflicted the sector long before it appeared in the wider mortgage market. Faulty loans on mobile homes led to the downfall of the nation’s largest manufactured home lender in 2002, ensnaring Fannie Mae on its way down, an episode both GSEs remember well.

The GSEs have not yet explained how they would provide liquidity for loans made on a depreciating asset. Also up in the air is whether they would shape the market to fulfill their charter, or act as a passive secondary market participant. The chattel market is still highly concentrated, with the top five manufactured housing lenders accounting for nearly three-quarters of chattel originations, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found.

Despite potential risks, manufactured homes as a source of affordable housing backed by the government is a tantalizing concept.

Aside from renting, it’s often the only available option for many borrowers who can’t afford to buy the now median $375,000 home. The median chattel loan amount is $59,000, according to the CF PB, versus $237,000 for a site-built loan.

But it’s not clear whether manufactured homes financed by chattel loans can be an engine for long-term wealth building, as conventional mortgage financing is.

“The public policy purpose behind promoting homeownership is to create an avenue for long-term wealth building. There’s also a public policy interest in ensuring people have safe and affordable housing,” said Ed DeMarco, former acting director of the FHFA. “Chattel can be one form of providing safe and affordable housing. But it doesn’t mean that [type of] housing is going to be a path for wealth creation.”

“They’re essentially trying

to change the market to

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“Chattel can be one form of providing affordable housing.” - Ed DeMarco

something it isn’t.”

AUGUST 2022

A little bit jumbled Fannie Mae has good reason to be cautious about manufactured housing. It’s been burned before.

Years before subprime took hold in mortgage, risky underwriting wreaked havoc on manufactured housing. Now-defunct Green Tree Financial Corp. made loans handover-fist in the 1990s, with loose credit requirements on depreciating mobile homes.

It was able to conceal the faulty loans for years through creative accounting, however, and sold itself to Conseco for $6 billion in 1998.

But when home prices depreciated, it flamed out, and its parent Conseco filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002. At the time,

“The public policy purpose behind promoting homeownership is to crebuilding.” -Ed DeMarco

70% of Fannie Mae’s $9 billion ma nufactured housing portfolio were Green Tree loans bought by Conseco.

Fannie Mae waived liens on the portfolio, in exchange for servicing fees and increased servicing oversight, and recorded a loss of $83 million on securities it held, Fannie Mae documents show.

A spokesman for Fannie Mae said that any future effort to finance chattel loans would be structured to support its affordable housing mission and Duty to Serve objectives while maintaining safe and sound credit standards.

Depreciation, as the GSE noted in its most recent Duty to Serve plan, is still a “market challenge,” and a spokesman said Fannie Mae would monitor Freddie Mac’s effort in that area.

“A lot of subprime behaviors showed up in the chattel market first,” said Paul Bradley, president of ROC USA, a nonprofit that helps manufactured housing communities convert to resident ownership. “This was classic fog-the-mirror underwriting and lending, invoice-fixing.”

A former Fannie Mae official who observed the debacle firsthand said mortgage finance was not built to address a depreciating asset, and Fannie Mae did not understand counterparty risk well enough at the time.

“We were really good at getting things really wrong when we got them wrong,” the former official said.

Fannie Mae “stepped in right before bankruptcy and wound up taking it on the chin,” said Weiss, of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform.

“The underlying lender had significant problems and was not handling things in the proper manner,” Weiss said. “But that’s not the market today — it’s just a completely different situation.”

Although the underwriting has changed,

AUGUST 2022

according to Weiss and other lenders, Fannie Mae still remembers the Conseco debacle. And both of the GSEs are demonstrably cautious when it comes to supporting chattel lending.

“Our friends at Fannie and Freddie who have put boots on the ground and really decided to educate themselves on manufactured housing have been fantastic,” said Cody Pearce, president of Cascade.

“They believe in the product, that it’s the No. 1 solution for affordable housing. But then they run up against the credit risk and pricing teams, and it seems to get a little bit jumbled.”

Momentum builds Regardless of whether the GSEs have an appetite for financing the affordable end of the manufactured housing spectrum, financing for chattel is gaining political traction.

On May 16, the Biden administration released a sweeping affordable housing plan, which specifically called out chattel loans as a vehicle for affordable housing.

The plan bluntly stated it would “Deploy new financing mechanisms to build and preserve more housing where financing gaps currently exist: manufactured housing (including with chattel loans that the majority of manufactured housing purchasers rely on).”

The Biden administration is banking on FHFA’s approval of Freddie Mac financing chattel loans.

That’s far from a foregone conclusion.

Freddie Mac, the plan points out, first will conduct a feasibility assessment of whether it can finance chattel, and then it will seek FHFA’s approval. Although the president can now remove the FHFA director at will, giving the Biden administration much greater authority over the agency, it is still an independent regulator, not a cabinet-level agency, like the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Freddie Mac declined to comment. An FHFA spokesperson said that “any personal property loan purchases for DTS would

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ate an avenue for long-term wealth

be subject to FHFA approval as we explore manufactured housing financing options with the Enterprises.”

The FHFA also said it plans to host a public listening session sometime in the summer, focusing on financing options and consumer protections related to manufactured housing.

The Biden administration housing plan also highlighted increases to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s purchase targets for manufactured housing loans titled as real estate, as well as efforts by HUD to update its building code, to “modernize and expand their production lines,” and help manufacturers respond to supply chain issues.”

A HUD spokesperson said the Federal Housing Administration would look to increase its loan limits to align w i t h m a nu f a c t u r e d home sales prices to increase the usability of the program. The agency will continue to monitor supply chain issues and maintain flexibilities, to help continue the production of manufactured homes “which are necessary to meet the demand for this important source of affordable housing supply,” the spokesperson said.

Despite the Biden administration’s plan, the path forward for government-financed chattel lending remains uncertain. It’s a frustrating dilemma for Lesli Gooch, president of the Manufactured Housing Institute.

Research her organization conducted based on data from lenders — which it shared with the CFPB — contradicts the idea that chattel loans are riskier than real estate loans.

The seriously delinquent rate for chattel loans in the first quarter of 2021 was just 0.38%, compared to 1.75% for manufactured home loans titled as real estate. The delinquency rate also was orders of mag-

“We have data showing these loans

are performing well - this is not

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about risk.” - Lesli Gooch

AUGUST 2022

nitude lower than that of FHA loans, with just over one in every 100 chattel loans at least three months past due in March 2021, compared with more than one in every 10 FHA loans at the same time.

“We have data showing these loans are performing well — this is not about risk,” Gooch said of the GSEs’ reluctance. “A lot has been done to get over the sticking points. At some point, we have to stop doing research and move forward.”

Here’s an idea Industry stakeholders have some ideas for how the GSEs could finance chattel loans without taking on too much risk. Affordable housing advocates hope the GSEs would not just provide financing, but seek to improve the market for consumers.

The GSEs already require tenant pad lease protections for manufactured housing communities for which they provide commercial loans. Could the same logic be applied to chattel loans?

Currently, the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act don’t apply to chattel. Mortgages require a detailed loan estimate when a borrower applies for financing and a lengthy disclosure at closing. Not for chattel.

Site-built homes and manufactured homes with mortgages have foreclosure protections and are covered under the CARES Act. In case of default for chattel loans, they go through repossession, a process with fewer consumer protections.

“We’re seeing what they’re able to do with the tenant pad lease protections initiative,” said Woobie Rust. “They’re driving consumer protections with their market power. Why can’t they do the same thing in chattel?“ Freddie Mac protections for manufactured housing communities it finances already include a one-year renewable lease term, unless there is good cause to not renew, 30-day written notice for rent increases and the right to sell the manufactured home to a buyer that qualifies as a new tenant in the community.

But the GSEs ity to an otherwise fragmented market,” could make fur- Brickman wrote in a piece published by ther demands, the Urban Institute.

To guard against the higher risk of chattel given the right leverage. loans, Brickman suggests the GSEs initially Bradley, of ROC could require lenders or investment partUSA, said the ners to take on risky portions of loan pools.

Having an established secondary market GSEs could provide secondary is a tantalizing idea for Pearce, of Cascade. financing that But his firm is not only waiting for the GSEs. In 2019, Cascade, which specializes in requires longer loan terms, and chattel loans, went to market with its first limits rent in- private-label securitization.

It securitized another manufactured creases for the land on which housing loan pool in 2021 of $163 milma nu factu red lion over 1,889 loans, which were mostly chattel. homes sit.

Fitch-rated a $103.2 million notes tranche “If they came in with a mortgage conventional residential rate and term,” per with a preliminary AAA rating.

Gooch, of the Manufactured Housing Bradley, “they would find the industry very receptive to whatever added protections Institute, asked, “If you have lenders able to they would need to provide on that prod- do this with PLS offering, why can’t Fannie and Freddie do it?” uct in the commuPearce chalks the nity. But if they are GSEs’ reluctance going to just mimic up to their past what chattel lenders exp er ienc e w it h do — 15- to 20-year the manufactured term financing, 6% housing sector ’s to 8% to 10% intersubprime crisis in est rate — then no, the early 2000s. the industry is not After that point, he going to cha nge said, underwriting one bit.” guidelines changed But what of the in- David Brickman a n d t he s e c t o r herent risks in manwas “ahead of the ufactured housing? curve” when the sinDavid Brickman, gle-family crisis hit.

Freddie Mac’s forUltimately, after the Dodd-Frank reforms, mer CEO, posed a solution: using credit risk transfers as a mechanism to offload the GSEs were able to move beyond the that risk and spur affordable housing, in- mortgage crisis mindset on site-built housing, Pearce said. But they have not moved cluding manufactured housing.

“Specifically, the GSEs could work with beyond past blunders with affordable manexisting lenders to develop a standardized ufactured housing.

“The GSEs’ memory of that is strong, product for manufactured housing chattel loans, including a single set of loan terms they’re passionate about it,” said Pearce. and documents, credit parameters and “But it’s not fair to hold manufactured housdelivery mechanics, which would create ing accountable for such a long time for significant value and bring helpful liquid- something that was repaired and changed.”

“We’re seeing what they’re able to

do with the tenant pad lease protections initiative (...) Why can’t they do the same thing in chattel?“

“The GSEs could work with existing

lenders to develop a standardized

product for manufactured housing chattel loans.”

AUGUST 2022

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- Woobie Rust

- SPECIAL REPORT -

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eClosing Solutions Special Report Given the economic factors currently impacting mortgage origination volumes and loan production costs, lenders are looking for any way to gain efficiencies and improve their bottom line. One way to accomplish this is through digitizing the loan origination workflow as much as possible, including the closing process.

These eight companies offer eClosing solutions that help lenders and other stakeholders realize efficiencies and optimize the closing process, whether they choose a hybrid eClosing ap-

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proach or a full eClose.

AUGUST 2022

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Black Knight.................................................58 The Closing Exchange............................................59 D o c M a g i c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 0 Docutech, a First American company........61 ICE Mortgage Technology......................................62 Notarize.....................................................63 NotaryCam.....................................................64 Wolters Kluwer.......................................................65

AUGUST 2022

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Sponsored Content

- SPECIAL REPORT -

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BLACK KNIGHT’S ECLOSE SOLUTIONS BlackKnightInc.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

JOE NACKASHI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Joe Nackashi leads the company’s overall vision and direction for Black Knight to provide premier solutions and services for many of the nation’s largest lenders and servicers.

KIRK LARSEN, PRESIDENT & CFO Kirk Larsen provides overall strategic direction to Black Knight’s operating groups to maintain a laser focus on delivering solutions to clients, as well as providing overall financial management of the company.

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RICH GAGLIANO, PRESIDENT, ORIGINATION TECHNOLOGIES

Black Knight’s eClose technology offerings solve many of the common eClosing pain points

T

he post-pandemic business landscape is totally different from what we were used to just a few years ago. As the world races toward increased digitization, mortgage professionals are striving to keep up with the demand for convenient lending solutions that allow borrowers to navigate the process from the comfort of their own homes. One of the most notable of these solutions has been the introduction of eClosings.

Black Knight, a leading provider of integrated software and data analytics solutions, is at the forefront of offering intuitive digital closings that support all forms of closing. From fully online to wetsign and hybrid options, the end-to-end solutions Black Knight brings to the table are designed with the purpose of helping lenders select the best way to close each loan while providing a simplified closing process with lower costs and improved customer outcomes.

The eClose technology used by Black Knight solves many of the common pain points that have traditionally been associated with eClosings, allowing lenders to focus more on smooth transactions and customer satisfaction.

“Our eClose technology leverages intelligent analytics to systematically select the best way to close each loan,” said Joe Nackashi, chief executive officer of Black Knight. “It uses client-defined rules, builtin logic and transaction data to identify factors like jurisdiction requirements, consumer preferences, settlement agent processes and investor requirements, to determine if the closing should be fully digital, paper or a hybrid of both.”

With a seamless digital close experience that connects all participants in a real estate transaction and allows them to collab-

Rich Gagliano is responsible for the overall strategy and product direction of Black Knight’s origination technologies.

AUGUST 2022

orate securely online, Black Knight has set the stage for a flexible work experience for everyone involved.

Once the eClosing process is initiated, borrowers are presented with a clear overview of their documents and are assisted along the way by helpful tags that provide important information about what they are signing, assisting every customer in making an informed decision.

“As borrowers review and sign the closing documents, they are given lender-specific, detailed information on a document-by-document, line-by-line basis —insight that is typically given at the closing table,” said Kirk Larsen, president and CFO of Black Knight.

From there, documents that require notarization can be handled with Black Knight’s Remote Online Notarization (RON) solution. By connecting signers with online notaries through secure video conferencing while verifying the content of each digital document, borrowers can feel confident that they are protected against the risk of forgery, fraud or theft.

While we are no longer constrained by pandemic restrictions, the demand for digital solutions isn’t showing any sign of diminishing and Black Knight continues to listen to the desires of their borrower base.

“More than ever, borrowers look for and expect to close their loans digitally, from the initial loan application through the final review and approval of their loan package,” said Rich Gagliano, president of origination technologies at Black Knight.

“By further integrating Black Knight’s eClose, eNote, eNotarization, eSign and eVault capabilities, lenders can serve their borrowers’ needs by expanding their digital ecosystem, resulting in a true eMortgage experience.”

- SPECIAL REPORT -

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The Closing Exchange provides a wide variety of signing solutions for lenders looking to deliver eClosings

The CXChoice platform leverages integrations with title production software platforms, loan/transaction management platforms and other API to provide clients

with the seamless ability to work within their native environment to provide borrowers with their choice of how to close a loan or complete a loan modification.

Working with TCX means access to its blend of technology and services, configured to a client’s workflow, including: • Ability to select the signing type when placing a signing/closing order and the ability to switch from one signing type to another seamlessly without changing vendors • Access to TCX’s RON-trained notary panel, with specific training on various integrated RON platforms, including Nexsys ClearSign, DocuSign Notary, Expedite/DocVerify and eNotaryLog • Ability to leverage TCX’s smart document-tagging engine and templates for electronic document tagging, backed by quality control performed by its Digital Services Team • Use of its new Interactive Scheduler to allow borrowers to schedule their RON session TCX provides a perfect mix of technology and service, providing its clients with the choice of how to close a loan at every stage of its digital evolution. Its integrations with transaction management platforms, as well as integrations and partnerships with eClosing platforms, make it easy for clients to seamlessly order and provide eClosing options. And its technology also includes tools to make the workflow efficient and scalable.

“Our technology and service model is designed to enable companies to configure their workflow dynamically as they move along the eClosing adoption curve,” said TCX CEO Alan Frelix. “Whether the client needs a full-service eClosing solution or a ‘bring your own notary’ option, The Closing Exchange provides an integrated solution.”

THE EXECUTIVE:

ALAN FRELIX, CEO Alan Frelix, CEO of The Closing Exchange, is a former senior executive of Bank of America/ Countrywide, president of LandSafe Title (national title agency) and managing director, Stewart Title Lender Services. He has more than 25 years of experience in financial services, business services and management consulting.

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A

s more lenders look to deliver eClosings, they are finding that the right partner makes a difference.

The Closing Exchange (TCX) partners with its clients to configure solutions to support their workflow at every stage of their digital evolution. Whether a lender is just beginning the journey to offer eClosing options or is looking for a more flexible, scalable model to offer clients, TCX is the perfect partner to deliver a dynamic eClosing solution.

TCX provides a full spectrum of signing solutions, including mobile notary, eSigning, hybrid eSignings, IPEN and RON. Its signing solutions are delivered by TCX’s proprietary and integrated CXChoice platform, along with more than 80,000 vetted and trained notaries across the country with specialties in areas such as RON, HELOCs, loan modification, high net worth and reverse mortgage.

CXChoice is an integrated SaaS technology and production platform used to assign notaries to each order, based upon criteria set by the client. CXChoice also offers a variety of tools to enable the eClosing process: • A Learning Management module, allowing notaries to develop specialization in RON and other topics • An Interactive Scheduler tool, allowing borrowers to select their signing date and time • An Automatic Document Tagging engine, which creates electronic tags that can be loaded into IPEN/ RON platforms via XML/JSON • Status updates and signed documents pushes to the client’s production system via API/email

THE CLOSING EXCHANGE theclosingexchange.com

AUGUST 2022

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Sponsored Content

DOCMAGIC docmagic.com/total-eclose

THE EXECUTIVES:

DOMINIC IANNITTI, PRESIDENT & CEO Dominic Iannitti founded DocMagic over 35 years ago and his vision inspires the work behind the company’s full enterprise technology stack, supporting every aspect of the complete digital workflow process.

CHRIS LEWIS, DIRECTOR OF ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS

A

s the mortgage industry adjusts to higher rates, loss of refinance volume, margin compression, supply issues and other factors, lenders are looking to solutions like eClosing to optimize operations for the short- and long-term. As the industry pioneer and leading eClosing provider, DocMagic continues to lead with innovation to help lenders streamline their operations through technology solutions that can increase efficiency, lower operating costs and provide a competitive advantage by delivering the best possible borrower experience.

DocMagic has always been focused on making it easier for organizations to implement modern digital mortgage capabilities to improve the overall process for all participants.

Total eClose, DocMagic’s end-to-end eClosing solution, provides everything needed for a 100% paperless eClosing including a comprehensive suite of eSolutions leveraging SMART Doc eNotes, Remote Online Notarization, Certified eVault and Investor Delivery technology.

Now, from the moment the first document package is generated, lenders can understand how “e” each loan can be with eDecision, DocMagic’s eEligibility solution integrated with Total eClose.

Lenders can now determine if a loan is best suited for one of three hybrid eClosing options or if the loan is a fit for a fully paperless eNote and RON eClosing.

DocMagic’s goal is to make both accessing and accomplishing an eClosing easier, and to support all parties involved in the transaction.

“DocMagic’s eClosing solutions are integrated into a solution set that is provided as a service that lenders can consume transactionally,” said Chris Lewis, director of Enterprise Solutions.

“Users have the ability to eSign, eDeliver,

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Chris Lewis joined DocMagic in 2016 and partners with the largest banks in the industry to provide tactical strategies for increasing operational efficiency and expanding digital mortgage utilization.

DocMagic’s Total eClose provides everything lenders need for a 100% paperless eClosing

AUGUST 2022

generate eNotes, perform remote online notarization eClosings and secure eVault storage… within one system, transactionally and right out of the box.”

More lenders are moving beyond hybrid eClosing to a fully digital eNote closing process.

DocMagic’s industry-leading eVault was built to handle all facets of the eNote lifecycle. It validates the integrity of transferable electronic records, protects them with a tamper-evident seal, categorizes documents according to MISMO Document Classification standards, and seamlessly eDelivers category one SMART Doc eNotes, documents and data via direct integration with the MERS eRegistry.

Both Total eClose and its embedded RON technology are MISMO-certified.

DocMagic is the only document generation provider to receive MISMO’s eClosing certification.

Lenders, borrowers and settlement agents using Total eClose benefit from a seamless digital workflow, enabling borrowers to review, eSign and have documents eNotarized in a single, streamlined and intuitive end-to-end eClosing process.

“Our solution suite gives users the ability to conduct a perfect eClosing without having to leave DocMagic’s eClosing system or log in anywhere else,” President and CEO Dominic Iannitti said.

“There were a lot of providers in the market that had pieces and parts, but not the whole thing,” said Beth Eller, vice president of Mortgage Lending, Truliant Federal Credit Union. “DocMagic could generate the eNotes, provide the eVault, help transmit the data, generate the document packages… DocMagic provided the ease of getting everything in one place.”

Getting started with eClosing is easier than you think. Request a demo today and DocMagic will show you how.

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Solex from Docutech is a fully integrated eClose solution, meaning lenders work with only one vendor

•

•

Solex eClosing Xpress enables efficient, rapid eClosings. Solex eClosing Xpress includes Solex eSign, eEligibility for each transaction and a direct link to access the streamlined settlement agent/attorney experience, which can be managed at the individual transaction level without having to establish an account.

Solex eClosing Engage, part of the Docutech eClosing suite, includes a robust settlement agent/attorney experience, with robust pipeline management, IPEN, RON, the ability to

•

assign tasks to the settlement agent or attorney and eEligibility for every loan.

Solex Orders is a solution designed for non-Docutech lenders to reap the benefits of eClosings without having to change document providers.

Using Solex Orders makes the Solex eClose solution available on any closing document.

W hen lenders use Solex eClose with ConformX documents, all interaction points are generated natively when Docutech dynamically builds the documents.

This means there are no missing eSignenabled interaction points and no need to review the document set for accuracy of interaction points before sending to the borrower, settlement agent or attorney.

Documents are also generated in seconds and do not have a delay when creating the eClose sessions.

Additionally, Docutech has a highly trained implementation team with deep expertise and resources to help its lender clients assess and optimize their current processes, as well as how to drive technology change in a way that meets their critical-to-success items and provides the best experience.

“At Docutech, having completed more than 700,000 eClose, Hybrid eClose and RON transactions for multiple lenders across the industry, we have been able to establish a strong set of best practices for driving change within your teams to ensure high adoption,” Shapiro said. “Every lender is unique; we work with our clients to understand their uniqueness and implement a solution that delights their customers and their teams and also ensures they achieve their efficiency, cost and automation goals.”

THE EXECUTIVES:

EMILY SHAPIRO, PRESIDENT Emily Shapiro uses her passion for solving client challenges to drive the company’s strategic vision.

ADAM STERN, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER Adam Stern is a technology leader who combines vision and execution to deliver scalable solutions to challenging problems, driving the company’s technological vision with a focus on innovation and growth.

CATHY TURNER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Cathy Turner’s ongoing commitment to our clients’ priorities and the strategic focus she demonstrates in leading her team have contributed to helping lenders digitize an increasing amount of their lending process.

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M

any lenders looking to deliver a fully digital eClose find themselves having to manage multiple vendors, integrations and a complex tech stack leading to pain points and frustration for users.

Unlike other solutions, Solex is a fully integrated, end-to-end eClose solution, meaning lenders work with only one vendor and implement one technology.

The solution includes intelligent eEligibility, native SMART Doc eNote, electronic notarization including Remote Online Notarization (RON) and In-Person Electronic Notarization (IPEN), multiple closing room/settlement agent experience options and a proprietary eVault with a direct integration to the MERS eRegistry.

“It’s a full-service solution,” Docutech President Emily Shapiro said. “Solex includes all necessary components for any lender to move to full eClose where all documents in the package are executed electronically.”

Solex is comprehensive, eliminating the need for multiple tech partners and integrations, streamlining lenders’ solutions and providing better value. And Docutech offers multiple solutions within the Solex brand to meet the needs of any lender in the space.

DOCUTECH, A FIRST AMERICAN COMPANY docutech.com

AUGUST 2022

- SPECIAL REPORT -

Sponsored Content

ICE MORTGAGE TECHNOLOGY www.icemortgagetechnology.com

THE EXECUTIVE:

REBECCA FRISBIE, DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

A

common issue with eClosing technology is that even the best solutions can result in fractured workflows made up of multiple systems, logins and workflows. This can make the adoption of eClosing technology a difficult task.

ICE Mortgage Technology has set out to change this with its Encompass eClose solution, the ideal closing solution for Encompass LOS lenders who want to maximize their cost savings and gain operational efficiency in closing and post-closing.

Unlike other solutions, the Encompass eClose process keeps stakeholders in the systems they use today, removing the adoption friction that many other platforms may present.

This helps reduce origination costs by eliminating the expense and complexities of dealing with multiple vendors and technologies.

Encompass eClose is extending this model with the recent introduction of the Point-of-Sale (POS) Framework which integrates with any point-of-sale platform its lender customers and their borrowers are using today.

Additionally, Encompass eClose offers the same workflow regardless of the type of closing being performed, from full ink to hybrid to full eClose. This gives lenders, borrowers and settlement agents flexibility in the closing process.

“While our broad goal with Encompass eClose is to help drive industry-wide adoption of electronic closings, it goes beyond eClose adoption,” said Rebecca Frisbie, director of Product Management. “We want to fundamentally change how residential loan closings are done by removing the inherent inefficiencies in the process. We do this by incorporating document ordering, borrower engagement, settlement agent collaboration, eSignatures, investor deliv-

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As director of Product Management, Rebecca Frisbie has spent the last 12+ months working tirelessly on the launch of ICE Mortgage Technology’s highly anticipated product, Encompass eClose solution. Her extensive knowledge of the borrower’s journey during any mortgage process makes her the perfect leader to drive solutions toward a fully digital experience.

ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass eClose solution helps lenders maximize cost savings and gain efficiency

AUGUST 2022

ery and more in a single workflow. We call this the power of one.”

With Encompass eClose, ICE Mortgage Technology has created the industry’s only true end-to-end eClosing solution that provides a single source within the industry’s leading LOS. Encompass eClose is connected to the ICE Mortgage Technology network, leveraging the industry’s largest ecosystem of lenders, settlement agents, counties, investors and services through integrations with Simplifile and MERS. Encompass eClose leverages leading technology, in compliance with all eSign and eNote requirements, as well as a tight integration between Encompass, Simplifile and MERS. This integration keeps the data trusted between systems and eliminates the need for manual rekeying and reconciliation. By replacing manual processes with a fully digital experience, Encompass eClose helps lenders increase efficiencies and reduce time spent at the closing table.

The Encompass eClose platform provides both the lender and borrower with choice and real return on investment.

With hybrid, lenders are seeing a return on investment right away, and often are up and running in less than a month. With eNotes, lenders like Googain see all the same benefits of a hybrid eClose, in addition to faster funding, shorter warehouse time, reduced risks and a better borrower experience.

“We are focused on our customer experience and digitizing mortgage for our customers,” said Shawn Song,president, Googain. “By adopting eClosing, we are reducing errors and delays — reducing frustration for borrowers and giving them peace of mind. With more than 70% of our loans being eClosed with ICE Mortgage Technology, we know that this is just the beginning of our efficiency and digitization.”

- SPECIAL REPORT -

Sponsored Content

Notarize offers a comprehensive workflow to complete remote notarizations as part of the eClosing process livery cycle times, ultimately improving overall ROI. In a recent sur vey conducted by MarketWise, Notarize clients reported that lenders can eliminate up to 157 minutes per transaction and title agents can eliminate over 100 minutes per transaction.

“For title agents, Notarize has proven to be a huge time saver,” said Eddie Oddo, VP, strategic settlement services and strategy for Notarize. “We provide an easier, more convenient eClosing experience than the antiquated print, drive, sign paper model.

It relieves escrow officers and closers from the burden of managing physical meetings and stacks of paper for every closing.”

As millennials and Gen Z make up more of the mortgage market, Notarize knows the desire for digital solutions will only increase and they are prepared to meet the demand.

“Consumer expectations have shifted to digital-first, and that’s an incredible opportunity for the lender and title industries to be at the forefront of both what consumers want and what is also most financially and operationally efficient,” said Pat Kinsel, CEO of Notarize. “eClose is the final frontier of real estate, and we’re seeing the incredible ROI, both in the numbers and in consumer feedback, of those who fully embrace eClosing mortgages with online notarization,” Kinsel concluded. “Wherever an organization is on its journey to go digital, Notarize is the partner to achieve your goals and provide a smooth path towards success, savings and efficiencies.”

THE EXECUTIVES:

EDDIE ODDO, VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC SETTLEMENT SERVICES As Vice President, Strategic Settlement Services, Eddie Oddo leads the business development team responsible for accelerating the adoption of Notarize’s category-leading online notarization platform in the title and settlement agent channel. He is also a member of Notarize’s leadership team and a contributor to the company’s product development strategy.

PAT KINSEL, FOUNDER AND CEO Pat Kinsel is the founder and CEO of Notarize, the first company to offer legal online notarizations that enable anyone to buy or sell their home, execute their mortgage, or buy or sell a car completely online. Pat is a recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur 2021 New England Award and was named a Tech Trendsetter and Vanguard award winner by HousingWire.

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ith demand for digital mortgage solutions gaining momentum, lenders want to ensure they’re partnering with professionals that can offer the best when it comes to eClosings.

Notarize, a leader in online notarization, has heard the calling for more streamlined digital mortgage options and has acted in the interest of its customers. Notarize offers technology for the real estate market with an all-in-one workflow to complete remote notarizations as part of the eClosing process.

For title agents, Notarize provides tech solutions that allow them to digitize the notarial process to save time, reduce errors, condense closing cycle times and accelerate the delivery of closing documents.

“Notarize has been the trailblazer for RON capability and we are helping more and more organizations embrace the digitization of mortgage closing in the real estate industry,” said Terri Davis, general manager of real estate at Notarize. “We help drive change so lenders and title companies can do more loans faster, reduce closing time and costs while improving the borrower experience.”

From origination to closing, Notarize has completely embraced a full eClosing process that improves the borrower experience. Notarize helps mitigate margin compression and maximize profit in a shifting market by guiding lenders and title agents toward a fully digital mortgage.

Moreover, Notarize helps the real estate industry close more loans faster, improve loan quality and reduce funding and de-

NOTARIZE INC www.notarize.com

AUGUST 2022

- SPECIAL REPORT -

Sponsored Content

NOTARYCAM notarycam.com/

THE EXECUTIVE:

RICK TRIOLA, FOUNDER AND CEO

T

he COVID-19 pandemic transformed traditional business practices and gave way to a digital revolution that has impacted nearly every industry. This demand for digital business solutions is here to stay and leaders in the mortgage industry are adapting to the changing needs of borrowers everywhere.

T r usted by over 1 million users, NotaryCam’s eClose 360 platform allows borrowers to close anytime from pretty much anywhere. With RON, remote ink notarization (RIN), in-person electronic notarization (IPEN) as well as hybrid and mobile options, lenders have the resources they need to serve diverse borrower situations.

In fact, NotaryCam’s technology remains the only RON platform that scales in every jurisdiction, providing mortgage lenders and their settlement agents a competitive advantage when it comes to helping their clients close. Boasting a robust, nationwide network of professional eNotaries available 24/7 and placing no limits on the number or location of parties able to join the signing ceremony, NotaryCam offers a truly modern approach to digital closings.

“NotaryCam’s ability to allow multiple parties to join the signing ceremony from anywhere worldwide is just one of the features that sets it apart from the competition,” explained Rick Triola, founder and CEO of NotaryCam. “NotaryCam has achieved and sustained the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) in the niche and remains the only platform that scales in every allowed jurisdiction, thus providing mortgage lenders and their settlement agents with the advantage of closing how

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Rick Triola has decades of real estate industry experience, in NY and CA, in residential and commercial, in sales and settlement.

Since 1999 he has been a tech entrepreneur, focusing on eSigning, eNotary and his “holy grail,” a completely electronic, frictionless real estate and mortgage eClosing.

NotaryCam’s eClose 360 platform allows borrowers to close anytime, with hybrid and mobile options

AUGUST 2022

the client wants to close.”

By utilizing the highest industry standard technologies, NotaryCam ensures secure connections and electronic surveillance that complies with SOC2 Type 2 certification. The company’s technology is also certified MISMO-compliant and leverages knowledge-based authentication (KBA) to provide an enhanced level of identity verification throughout the notarization process.

NotaryCam’s customers are the first to express their satisfaction with the company’s future-thinking approach to closings.

Leslie Hanna Coatney, client relationship manager at Oliver Title Law, is just one of many customers to convey their gratitude for the eClosing services NotaryCam has provided.

“The pandemic has brought extra hurdles for everyone. However, NotaryCam has been our shining star, helping us effortlessly close our customers worldwide with an extra level of security that surpasses in-person closings,” Coatney noted.

With more borrowers getting a taste of the digital mortgage experience, the demand for eClosings is only expected to grow and NotaryCam is leading the way in technology that makes virtual closing possible regardless of location.

“As the mortgage industry moves closer and closer to the digital mortgage becoming standard, reliable RON technology will be the key to fully realizing the promise of conducting real estate closings anytime from anywhere,” Triola said. “With the expansion of RON legislation, NotaryCam can help increase eClose adoption nationwide.”

- SPECIAL REPORT -

Sponsored Content

I

n an increasingly digital-first age, businesses are targeting solutions that provide convenience and speed, allowing their customers to make everyday transactions without stepping outside their homes. And when it comes to buying and refinancing homes, the demand for digital is no different.

W i t h t he r e c ent a c q u i s i t ion o f International Document Services (IDS), Wolters Kluwer has solidified its position as a digital mortgage solutions leader.

Complementary doc prep, eSignature, and full and hybrid eClosing options tailored to the needs of originators of all sizes are just some of the innovations Wolters Kluwer brings to the table.

“Our solutions, like ClosingCenter, are integrated with the most widely adopted eVault, Wolters Kluwer’s eOriginal OmniVault, used by Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae, as well as major lenders,” said Steve Meirink, executive vice president and general manager of Compliance Solutions at Wolters Kluwer.

Wolters Kluwer’s solutions not only enable lenders to offer both full and hybrid eClosings, but the company also provides assurance that they are creating compliant, monetizable eNotes. In addition to enhancing the customer experience, these solutions integrate with leading LOS, DocPrep and POS platforms like Mortgage Cadence, Blend and Floify, eliminating duplicate data entry, saving time and reducing data integrity issues. Moreover, ClosingCenter features a RON Hub that allows settlement service providers to use their choice of RON partners.

As of January 2022, 92% of all eNotes registered with MERS were created and

registered with Wolters Kluwer technology. And that’s not where the company’s tech achievements end.

“Wolters Kluwer solutions are complete, scalable and integrated with a digital-ready secondary market ecosystem that includes the GSEs, Ginnie Mae, large investors, leading originators, warehouse lenders and custodians,” explained Meirink. “Built with compliance in mind, idsDoc offers more than 2,000 customizable audits available to clients, supports state- and federal-level documents and provides a complete audit worksheet on each loan package.”

Wolters Kluwer provides lenders with a compliant solution from doc prep through selling eNotes on the secondary markets.

From idsDoc’s advanced software integrations that ensure seamless doc prep workflow and easy tracking, to eOriginal technology that enables the creation, closing, management and secondary market activities of the digital asset, Wolters Kluwer addresses every step of the closing process in an innovative way.

In anticipation of the shifting market conditions and the expected growth of home equity lending, Wolters Kluwer recently introduced a new solution — OmniVault for Real Estate Finance.

This market-leading solution will make hybrid closings and eVaulting easier for real estate assets, including home equity loans.

Ultimately Wolters Kluwer, through its product suite of purpose-built offerings that now include eOriginal and IDS solutions, provides its financial services customers with a superior, end-to-end digital lending experience.

WOLTERS KLUWER wolterskluwer.com

THE EXECUTIVES:

STEVE MEIRINK, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer, Steven Meirink held several senior positions at other firms within the financial services industry.

SIMON MOIR, VICE PRESIDENT Simon Moir has more than 20 years of experience delivering solutions to the banking and financial services industry.

SHANE MARTIN, MORTGAGE SEGMENT LEADER Shane Martin spearheads the growth initiatives for the Wolters Kluwer eOriginal platform.

MARK MACKEY, DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY PRODUCT MANAGEMENT Mark Mackey helps lenders and other financial institutions digitize their operations.

AUGUST 2022

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Wolters Kluwer’s scalable solutions enable lenders to offer both full and hybrid eClosings

TRADE DESK

Trade associations from across the housing industry are on the front lines of issues that lenders, real estate agents and everyone in between face every day. In these letters, they give their members an inside look at what they are working on, and the most important issues facing each industry today.

AIME......................................67 MBA ......................................67 NAHB ....................................68

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NAMMBA...............................68

AUGUST 2022

TRADE DESK

Katie Sweeney

President Association of Independent Mortgage Experts

AIME members, The mortgage industry is feeling the pinch of the pending recession and shrinking margins through the layoffs, restructuring and mergers that are making headlines every week. The broker channel, however, continues to grow and add to the mortgage businesses that shape local communities across the country.

One of the areas that we’re seeing impactful growth, besides an increase in women coming into the industry, is through significant leadership expansion within the broker channel.

This year, AIME is focusing on expanding our support programs to make them accessible and impactful for all members in the broker channel.

We are particularly excited about the

growth that our Women’s Mortgage Network (WMN) has had over the past year, with over 20% organic growth so far.

As a woman in mortgage myself, I understand how important it is to create a space for women in this industry. That’s why I’m so excited for this year’s WMN Summit that will take place at our Fuse National Conference on Thursday, September 29th.

Last year, the summit sold out in record time. This year, we’re excited to push the boundaries of our WMN community to create valuable conversations that will resonate for years to come. I sincerely hope that all women in the wholesale mortgage industry join us for what will be another landmark event in our channel!

Association of Independent Mortgage Experts

households, improve affordability and stability in the rental market, and ensure our workforce better reflects the diverse makeup of the communities and borrowers we serve. They are: 1. Fostering public policies and industry practices that promote and sustain minority homeownership and affordable rental housing; 2. Supporting market-based solutions through MBA’s place-based CONVERGENCE programs; 3. Championing diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplaces and our industry; and 4. Supporting inclusion in single-family and/or multifamily housing with similar actions that are not listed above.

This is our opportunity to commit, take action, and make substantial progress toward sustainable minority homeownership and affordable rental housing. You can learn more or sign the Home for All Pledge at www.mba.org/homeforall.

Robert Broeksmit President & CEO Mortgage Bankers Association

Mortgage Bankers Association AUGUST 2022

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MBA members, There is a significant need and opportunity for the mortgage industry to come together and eliminate the racial inequalities that have plagued our communities for generations.

MBA continues to engage our member companies around efforts to diversify our industry’s workforce and works with key stakeholders on initiatives that provide increased homeownership and affordable rental housing opportunities for households nationwide.

Last October, 2022 MBA Chair Kristy Fercho announced the Home for All Pledge, an MBA member company action pledge to promote minority homeownership; affordable rental housing; and company diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

The immediate reception to the action pledge has been fantastic — more than 270 organizations have already signed on.

The four results-driven pillars of the Home for All Pledge are designed for companies to commit to activities that will help expand homeownership opportunities for minority

Jerry Konter

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Chairman of the Board National Association of Home Builders

National Association of Home Builders

TRADE DESK

NAHB members, Each fall, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Professional Women in Building (PWB) Council sets aside a special week to celebrate the women of the residential construction industry.

From September 12-16, 2022, NAHB PWB will highlight the achievements of the diverse, talented women in our industry and work to encourage the next generation of women to join the field.

PWB week raises awareness of the numerous, well-paying job opportunities available in the home-building industry by highlighting the work of current PWB members in their communities. The week aims to combat the industry’s chronic labor shortage through the recruitment of more women.

While the number of women employed in the construction industry has grown slightly over the past several years, women still make up less than 11% of the overall construction

NAMMBA members, The biggest Strategic Networking + Exposition + Thought Leadership Convention in the real estate and mortgage industry is kicking off in Orlando, Florida, this September 15-17th.

CONNECT 2022 is 3 solid days of workshops, roundtable discussions, keynote speakers and exhibitions at the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa. CONNECT 2022 isn’t just about face time with policymakers and economy shapers.

It’s about giving industry professionals the tools and connections they need to develop a strategy for making the mortgage industry work for them.

Some key speakers at the event include: • Sandra Thompson, deputy director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority, will be on stage sharing the future model of the GSE and how it will work to support a more sustainable housing market.

Following this presentation will be a 1-to-1 onstage interview with me; we will dig into the future of Fannie and Freddie Mac. • Pam Perry from Freddie Mac and Alanna McCargo from Ginnie Mae will be on hand with strategic financing workshops.

• Albert Martinex from ESSENT MI will teach attend-

workforce. Only 3% are involved in the skilled trades.

As NAHB and our members work to break down the barriers and misconceptions regarding women in the industry, we can simultaneously increase the number of women in the industry and solve the overall skilled labor shortage.

In fact, the latest government data shows the number of unfilled jobs in this sector hit an all-time high of 449,000 this spring. Women can help fill that gap.

PWB week’s special events include peer-to-peer discussions, educational webinars on the benefits of careers in residential construction, and a social media takeover. Marketing and advertising materials, workforce development resources and sample news articles are all available at nahb.org/pwbweek.

Follow along on nahb.org/blog for the latest news and celebrations, and help amplify the voices of women of our industry.

ees how to use mortgage insurance in out-of-the-box ways to get more families into more homes.

• Teresa Placios Smith from HomeServices of America will be hosting language inclusivity workshops.

• K ev i n Pe r i a n o w i t h Paramount Residential Mor tgage Group a nd Laura Brandao with EPM Mor tgage will discuss how the wholesale channel and correspondent channel will work together in the future.

With a spacious convention center and expectations of over 1,200 attendees, this is going to be NAMMBA’s biggest CONNECT conference yet. Tickets are selling quickly!

Don’t miss out on the chance to meet and learn from the biggest names in the industry! Book tickets by going to nammba.org/connect-registration and learn more about our speakers, event s, pa r t ner s and sponsors.

National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of Amerca AUGUST 2022

Tony Thompson

CEO National Association of Minority Mortgage Bankers of America

October 3-5, 2022 Fairmont Princess Scottsdale, AZ

All Things Housing HousingWire Annual Heads to Scottsdale Register today! housingwireannual.com

Content

Technology

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REVERSE

AUGUST 2022

REVERSE

Reverse mortgage servicers: Financial relief information is here THE CHALLENGES IN USING THE HOMEOWNERS ASSISTANCE FUND

BY CHRIS CLOW

T

The HAF fund was established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and was a central pillar of President Joe Biden’s agenda upon entering office.

It aimed to combat the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It features $1.9 trillion of relief for Americans in the form of direct cash payments, the expansion of unemployment programs and additional funds for a national vaccination program to fight the virus.

As a component of the law — passed by Congress and signed by the president in March 2021 — $10 billion was set aside for HAF to provide direct relief to homeowners who had been impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.

their loans in good standing.

It has very few strings attached and departments set up in every state. However, getting the word out about the availability of funds has been challenging for servicers, a truth which is very apparent on the reverse mortgage side of the business.

This is according to reverse mortgage servicing experts Gail Balettie and Leslie Flynne, employed

by Celink and Reverse Mortgage Solutions (RMS), respectively.

They spoke in a presentation and interview that took place at the recent National Reverse Mortgage

AUGUST 2022

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T

Lenders Association (NRMLA) western regional meeting in Irvine, California late last month.

The $10 billion Homeowners Assistance Fund (HAF) is designed to provide mortgage borrowers who were impac te d by the COVID-19 pandemic with financial assistance to keep

REVERSE

Reverse mortgage borrowers qualify for HAF funds, which can be applied to delinquent taxes or homeowner’s insuranc e payment s: t wo sums necessary to keep a reverse mortgage loan in good standing.

Unfortunately, a sluggish rollout and lack of education on the topic have depressed the potential reach of HAF funds for reverse mortgage borrowers.

When asked for a show of hands during the NRMLA event, servicing professionals Gail Balettie of Celink and Leslie Flynne of RMS/Ocwen Financial were disappointed by how few of the assembled industr y professionals described awareness of HAF availability for reverse mortgage borrowers.

“That’s why we’re going to talk about it,” Balettie said in response to the show of hands.

The generally easy path to at least begin the process of getting monetary relief to reverse mortgage borrowers was emphasized by Flynne.

“I just want to tell you that [the HAF] is an absolute godsend to people who have run out of money and cannot pay their taxes and insurance,” she said. “It’s a gift from the U.S. government. All they have to do is apply, but unfortunately, we can’t get borrowers to apply. It’s unbelievable, but what we need you to do [is get your affected borrowers to apply].”

“It’s a gift from the U.S. government. All they have to do is apply, but unfortunately, we can’t get borrowers to apply."

-Leslie Flynne

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O

One obstacle in the ability to serve more impacted borrowers is the speed at which these HAF programs are coming online in the individual states. As RMD reported earlier this year based on an investigation by the Texas Tribune, Texas’ HAF program only came online after 25 other states already had their programs

in place.

Like Texas, other states took several months to implement their assistance programs after President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law in March 2021.

Other high-population states including New York and California set their own programs up in mid-December. Vermont got its program off the ground in late January.

“All they have to do is attest to the fact that they had COVID impact,” Balettie said of reverse mortgage borrowers. “ They could have had an income decline if they have a part-time job, or had expenses. Maybe they were in the hospital or had family members who had COVID-19 impact. I mean, almost all of us have had some kind of COVID-19 impact in our lives.”

If an originator knows of a borrower in default on their reverse mortgage for taxes, insurance or other property charges, they need to encourage the borrower to locate their state’s HAF program and apply for funds, Balettie added.

S er vic er s have facilitate d the necessary registration and paperwork to get registered with all 50 state programs, she added, but the results are very real for affected borrowers.

“We have done all of [the necessary registration], largely,” she said. “And I’m happy to say that while I’ve been at this conference, we’ve gotten our first $150,000 and cured between seven and eight borrowers from foreclosure.”

F

Flynne described how in the state of California, the amount available for an impacted borrower is $80,000. In New York, the total is $50,000.

AUGUST 2022

REVERSE

“Each state is different. If you look at all the program guidelines in each state, some of them are even paying for Wi-Fi and utilities.

But the seniors won't answer the phone when we call."

- Gail Balettie

“Each state is different,” Balettie added.

“If you look at all the program guidelines [in each state], some of them are even paying for Wi-Fi and utilities. But, the seniors won’t answer the phone when we call.”

This is where reverse mortgage loan originators can come into play. Since LOs often remain the prime point of contact for a borrower, sometimes years after a loan closes, they may be uniquely suited to reach out to their past clients and inform

"we do outbound phone call campaigns, we have it on our website, we do email campaigns, everything other than hiring homing pigeons.”

them of HAF availability should they have fallen behind on their applicable taxes or other fees.

“We have done everything we can possibly think of,” Balettie says of getting the word out to reverse mortgage borrowers.

“I’ve had HAF messaging on my statements since Januar y, we do outbound phone call campaigns, we have it on our website, we do email campaigns, everything other than hiring homing pigeons.”

Seniors may simply decline to answer these communications if they feel there’s a chance they may not be legitimate.

Loan officers, or other stakeholders who have an established relationship with borrowers, have the potential to make all the difference in terms of making a connection, the pair said.

Find more information about the fund at the CFPB.

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-Gail Balettie

AUGUST 2022

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REAL ESTATE BROKERAGES

AUGUST 2022

REAL ESTATE BROKERAGES

IPO no: Why real estate companies stopped going public CAN ANYONE CAN TRULY DISRUPT REAL ESTATE?

L

Last June, Guy Gal was staring ahead at Wall Street. The chief executive officer for real estate brokerage Side announced a fresh $50 million in venture capital money spearheaded by ultraprolific financier Tiger

Global Management.

The San Francisco company was now “backed by the top three technology initial public offering underwriters,” Side announced at the time, and the money raised “sets the stage for a future IPO.” Today, though, Side is radio silent on going public.

Gal and other company representatives did not return messages for this article.

Side is no outlier. After a few years of brokerages going public, a list that includes Compass, Offerpad, Opendoor and Redfin, real estate companies are now keeping matters private.

“I would largely chalk up any shelving of plans to go public to the macro backdrop including stock market volatility, recession fears and slowing housing.”

-Thomas McJoynt

AUGUST 2022

These include HomeSmart, the Scottsdale, Arizona-based brokerage that disclosed its financials in January, and Keller Williams Realty, which has faced rumors since the beginning of time, or at least the last five years, about going public.

Messages left with HomeSmart were not returned.

Keller Williams declined to comment.

The reason to stay private is twofold, industry experts said. One is people dislike where the economy is headed.

“I would largely chalk up any shelving of plans to go public to the macro backdrop including stock market volatility, recession fears and slowing housing,” said Thomas McJoynt, an equity research analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods who focuses on real estate and mortgage companies.

Another reason is fading enthusiasm from investors and IPO underwriters that a company can upend the notoriously fragmented residential real estate industry.

“For many years, everyone thought brokerage was ripe for major disruption,” said Gilles Duranton,

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BY MATTHEW BLAKE

REAL ESTATE BROKERAGES

real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “New ventures have tried to disrupt it in all sorts of ways. But no one has really managed to make a big dent.”

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T

The recent brokerage IPO wave started with Redfin in 2017. With a popular listings website, salaried employees as agents, and eventually iBuying, the Seattle-based company fit ‘to a t’ the notion of a tech-forward outfit that could shake things up.

CEO Glenn Kelman deemed his company “the Amazon of real estate,” a one-stop shop for all things housing.

“We can’t just reinvent half of it. We got to do the whole thing!” Kelman declared at the time of the company’s initial public offering.

One year after that, eXp Realty, a brokerage known for its virtual platform and multilevel marketing plan, moved from an over-the-counter Canadian stock exchange to Nasdaq.

Then, in the year following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., Compass, a brokerage that billed its tech as providing real estate agents an edge, and Offerpad and Opendoor, iBuyers who are also registered brokerages, went public.

These companies debuted on Wall Street amid both the highest home appreciation and most home sales in 15 years.

“The 18-month post-COVID-19 period presented an excellent window for any real estate transaction volumedependent business to enter tain attractive initial valuations,” McJoynt said.

But those valuations have fallen.

Compass, for instance, premiered on the New York Stock Exchange trading at $19 a share with an $8 billion valuation.

“With rising mortgage rates, Wall Street thinks housing sales will go in the tank, so they are lowering their earnings expectations for all of them.”

-Steve Murray

AUGUST 2022

The company’s stock is currently at just over $5 with a little over $2 billion market capitalization.

Redfin stock has seen a lot of fluctuation. The company’s stock began trading at $22 a share in 2017 and zoomed to a $76 share price last February. But today Redfin stock is at just over $9, with a valuation of a little over $1 billion.

The stock price has not correlated with either Redfin’s top-line revenue or bottom-line income. Redfin did lose $91 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to $36 million in Q1 2021.

But the company’s revenue more than doubled to $597 million. The increased revenue but growing losses are both traceable to an internal ramp-up of iBuying.

What gives with the stock price, then?

The company, which declined to comment, has in general connected its fluctuations to investors’ overall thoughts on real estate, not anything Redfin-specific. In other words, the macro backdrop.

“With rising mortgage rates, Wall Street thinks housing sales will go in the tank, so they are lowering their earnings expectations for all of them,” said Steve Murray, senior advisor at RealTrends.

But there may also be some frustration from investors with Redfin and other real estate outfits, said Jay Ritter, a business professor at the University of Florida who focuses on stock market activity.

“Redfin is still a legitimate, possibly successful company,” Ritter said. “But a lot of that run-up has been everincreasing expectations about the future.”

There was some hope among investors, Ritter said, that Redfin, or Zillow or Compass, or some company they were placing a bet on, could emerge as a one-stop shop, “benefiting from some network effects and become dominant.”

But, rightly or wrongly, investors now see no model disrupting a brokerage industr y replete with dozens of established entrants.

REAL ESTATE BROKERAGES

E

Earlier this month, Rainy Hake Austin excitedly char ted the future. Her brokerage, The Agency, which has significantly expanded since Austin took over as president in late 2020, had just announced the acquisition of New York brokerage Triplemint.

“We’re going to build from the coast and into the middle,” Austin said, about The Agency’s nationwide plans.

What about going public?

“That’s one option,” Austin replied. “But that’s not the only option.” The executive then went on to talk about first developing The Agency’s mortgage, title and other ancillary services.

Side, according to people at the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity, similarly plans now to see how much it can grow before going public.

Less clear is the future of HomeSmart, which on January 7 filed an S-1, the initial registration statement companies file before going public. According to that statement, HomeSmart retained J.P. Morgan and BofA Securities among others to underwrite the shares. HomeSmart declared itself

a “revolutionary real estate enterprise powered by our proprietary end-to-end technology platform,” the S-1 states.

The company has made no subsequent

“Investors finally realize that whether or not these proptech firms are fast-growing on their top lines, there is no path to profitability for some or most of them.”

-Steve Murray

filings except an amended S-1.

Keller Williams, meanwhile, has faced persistent calls to go public, especially after its creation of the holding company, KWx in October 2020.

“We are aware of what HomeSmart has attempted to do, and we had heard Side was planning to do something,” Murray said.

“Other than the rumors of Keller Williams planning to do something, either IPO or private sale or SPAC, we are not aware of anyone else considering it.”

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One possible exception, Duranton noted, is Compass, which in a decade has become the largest brokerage by market share.

But Compass did this after “making huge investments,” and creating a brokerage model that “differs minimally” from competitors like Sotheby ’s International Realty or Douglas Elliman.

Said Murray, “Investors finally realize that whether or not these proptech firms are fast-growing on their top lines, there is no path to profitability for some or most of them.”

AUGUST 2022

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POLITICS & MONEY

AUGUST 2022

POLITICS & MONEY

GSEs further expand AVMs, desktop and hybrid appraisals FHA TURNS TO NON-TRADITIONAL PROPERTY APPRAISALS

BY GEORGIA KROMREI

F

to the appraisal process.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s equitable housing finance plans further expand non-traditional property appraisals.

These sometimes rely on property tax information, data collected by third parties or algorithms to assess a property’s value. Both GSEs argue that these approaches advance equity.

“Using automated tools to establish home values helps remove human bias, although it limits the collection and evaluation of a property’s current condition,” wrote Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac’s research in 2021 concluded that appraisal gaps, which negatively impact Black and Latino borrowers and homeowners, exist on purchase appraisals.

That was before a study spelled out the appraisal industry’s regulatory dysfunction, and before a federal task force promised to combat appraisal bias, proving that the discrimination and bias has been present in the industry for many years.

A follow-up study Freddie Mac conducted in

AUGUST 2022

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T

Desktop appraisals and hybrid appraisals, where an independent third-party inspects the property, both “reduce costs to the borrower and reduce potential risk of bias by creating greater separation between the appraiser and borrower,” wrote Fannie Mae.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released voluminous plans in May that were developed by Fannie M ae and Freddie Mac to make the housing market more equitable, in part through changes

POLITICS & MONEY

“We are constantly refining our system, and we frequently bring in new technologies to improve our capabilities.”

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-Freddie Mac

May found that “even after controlling for impor tant factors that af fect house values and appraisal practices, properties in Black and Latino tracts are more likely to receive appraisal values that fall below contract prices, and this likelihood increases as the Black or Latino concentration in the neighborhood increases.”

The cure? According to Freddie Mac’s equitable housing finance plan, it could be the expansion of automated valuation models, desktop appraisals and third party appraisers.

Using its automated valuation models “leads to relatively lower racial gaps,” Freddie Mac said.

Freddie Mac currently uses that technology to speed appraisals on some purchase transactions, but only those with loan-to-value ratios up to 80%, and this process is one that excludes most Black and Latino borrowers.

Starting in 2023, Freddie Mac said it will look at expanding the use of its automated collateral evaluation for mortgages with loan to value ratios greater than 80% through a targeted lending program. They hope by expanding this program that it should be a greater assistance to Black and Latino borrowers and homeowners.

But researchers at the Urban Institute recently found that automated valuation models (AVM), while they “represent the promise of greater efficiency and lower costs for the mortgage industry,” perform differently in majority-Black neighborhoods.

The researchers write that, “even with data improvement and artificial intelligence, we still find evidence that the percentage magnitude of AVM error is greater in majority-Black neighborhoods.

This indicates that we cannot reject the role historic discrimination has played in the evaluation of home values.”

In response, a Freddie Mac spokesperson said that the GSE and its regulator conduct routine fair lending analyses to ensure the automated system fully complies with fair lending laws, including a review to ensure that no factor is a proxy for protected classes. “ We are constantly refining our system, and we frequently bring in new technologies to improve our capabilities,” a Freddie Mac spokesperson said.

Automated valuation would largely benefit lenders via more ef ficient originations and borrowers potentially through reduced costs and a shorter wait time from application to approval, Freddie Mac said.

Freddie Mac would also benefit, “via an understanding of the valuation method and the ability to deploy it consistently throughout the organization,” a company spokesperson said.

When asked about the implications of the Urban Institute findings, a Fannie Mae spokesperson emphasized that its equity plan focuses on the expansion of

AUGUST 2022

desktop and hybrid appraisals, which was not the focus of the research from the Urban Institute.

Fannie Mae also included efforts to “modernize” appraisals in its equity plans.

The GSE will modify its selling guide to allow for desktop as an appraisal option, after its large-scale experiment with that option as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, Fannie Mae said it would start offering desktop appraisals for some loans.

But its equity plan also looks to increase the use of hybrid appraisals — those where the property inspection is done by an independent third party.

“Both options reduce costs to the borrower and reduce the potential risk of bias by creating greater separation between the appraiser and borrower,” the Fannie Mae plan read.

Unfortunatley, introducing a third party to the transaction to conduct the

“Both desktop and hybrid appraisal options reduce costs to the borrower and reduce the potential risk of bias by creating greater separation between the appraiser and borrower.”

-Fannie Mae

POLITICS & MONEY

"Democratizing the data they have available would benefit policy development.”

-Michael Neal

B

Both of the GSEs have plans to continue conducting research to better understand unconscious bias.

Neither indicates they will give outside researchers the ability to replicate that research, however.

Fannie Mae said it would use its database of roughly 54 million appraisals to analyze undervaluation that could indicate bias.

Fannie Mae did say it would share those research results via an external industry memo, and then a research paper for industry stakeholders sometime in the first half of 2022.

Among the 21 research projects proposed in Freddie Mac’s equitable housing finance plan is an appraisal gap analysis that Freddie Mac said would help the organization understand “if, how and why” automated valuation might be part of the solution to the appraisal gap.

That research, however, will be conducted by Freddie Mac researchers.

No outside researchers will be checking Freddie Mac’s analysis to test the conclusions it reaches.

It’s a limitation that has irked academics and researchers who have long sought access to appraisal data from both the government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “Certainly the GSEs have smart

AUGUST 2022

researchers,” said Michael Neal, a former Fannie Mae official who is now a researcher at the Urban Institute.

“But democratizing the data they have available would benefit policy development.”

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also have plans to ramp up their quality control systems.

This decision was made in the wake of an FHFA blog that, while light on specifics, found at least some instances of references to protected classes, Black and Latino ethnic groups among others, in appraisal reports.

By the second quarter of 2022, Fannie Mae will implement a “new awareness flag data point” that will activate when internal data indicates a possible undervaluation. When flagged, this will trigger a targeted quality control review by the organization.

Freddie Mac also wants to use technology to bet ter detect undervaluations or the use of “biased words or phrases.” Words and phrases that could trigger this response include phrases like “pride of ownership,” or “crime-ridden.”

Freddie Mac hopes to deploy the capability to detect undervaluations this year and detect the use of biased language by 2023. In both cases, the GSEs have heard the cries from homeowners and the FHFA reports, and change is on the horizon.

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inspection in order to reduce costs and eliminate bias does not sit well with some industry stakeholders.

Appraisers have, in the past, fretted over liability and data reliability from third parties. Other stakeholders wonder how cost reductions would impact their end of the business.

Peter Christensen, principal at Christensen Law firm, which advises on legal and regulatory matters concerning valuation, believes that the GSE's plan for third-party data collection will both reduce costs and the potential for bias.

Those performing property data collection do not command the hourly rates that certified appraisers do.

Using a third party is “moving that labor to essentially the lowest common denominator,” Christensen said.

As for its mitigating effect on bias, it is true that separating the analysis from the data collection can counter biases.

A property data collector may well have unconscious biases unleashed by a photo of a Black or Latino family on the wall, but they would not include their analysis or a photo of the family portrait in the report for the appraiser, said Christensen, who has written contracts for property data collectors.

Still, there are some kinks to work out of third-party property data collection, which Christensen described as the “Wild West.”

“Appraisers, until this point, don’t get very good fair housing training, but while it’s not perfect, far from, Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) does make a reference to fair housing law,” said Christensen.

“But for all the weaknesses amongst appraisers, who is training the average property data collector on this stuff? Fair housing, are you kidding me?“

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kud

KUDOS

One California-based nonprofit is solving housing insecurity, one home at a time

HomeAid Orange County completed its annual Diaper Drive to help families and children experiencing homelessness and poverty.

By Audrey Lee

HomeAid Orange County is a nonprofit organization seeking to end homelessness in Orange County and across the country. They bring together volunteers and homebuilding professionals to create homes that cost 30% less than traditional buildings.

These homes are given to people suffering from domestic violence, homelessness and abandonment. Alongside their home-building mission, HomeAid organizes regular community donation events, like this annual Diaper Drive. Below, HomeAid’s Gina Cunningham answers questions about the success of the event and where they hope to see HomeAid in the future.

HOUSINGWIRE: WHAT UPCOMING HOUSING PROJECTS IS HOMEAID ESPECIALLY EXCITED ABOUT? GINA CUNNINGHAM: All four of the upcoming projects, but especially La Veta Village and FX Residencies, because not only will HomeAid be constructing these housing projects, but we will also own them and have a permanent stake in their growth and future support services.

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HW: CAN YOU SHARE A BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF HOMEAID AND THE IMPACT IT HAS HAD ON THE COMMUNITY? GC: Since HomeAid’s founding in 1989, the organization has had a widespread impact in the community as it relates to accessible and affordable housing, as well as access to critically needed resources. To date, HomeAid has built and renovated 70 different housing projects that range from emergency housing to bridge housing and affordable housing.

The Essentials Program, which works to provide important materials like food, diapers and clothing to those experiencing homelessness, has allowed HomeAid to distribute more than 11 million items.

AUGUST 2022

HW: HOW CAN INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS GET INVOLVED WITH HOMEAID? GC: HomeAid has varying levels of involvement available for industry professionals.

Each opportunity has a range of requirements and duties. The opportunities include joining one of HomeAid’s committees for folks seeking a leadership role, volunteering through HomeAid’s Essentials or Cares Programs, and/or being one of the builders donating their time and resources to the construction of a HomeAid housing project.

HW: ONE COMPANY IN PARTICULAR, TRI POINTE HOMES, WORKED WITH HOMEAID IN THE RECENT DIAPER DRIVE. HANNAH BRADLEY, A MARKETING SPECIALIST, IS ALSO ON THE BOARD FOR HOMEAID ORANGE COUNTY. SHE SHARED A BIT ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH HOMEAID, AND THE GOOD WORK THEY ARE DOING. HB: We have really enjoyed the opportunities HomeAid provides and appreciate the essential work they do in our communities. What I appreciate most about HomeAid is the opportunity to do tangible things that immediately give back to the community. Our team at Tri Pointe is always so willing to partici-

dos

KUDOS

HOMEAID HAS MADE SUCH A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF AT-RISK PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY. WHERE WOULD YOU, GINA, LIKE TO SEE THE COMPANY IN FIVE YEARS? GC: In five years, HomeAid wants the number of affordable housing units drastically increased. That is why we feel it is imperative that we continue to focus our efforts on constructing more and more affordable housing.

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pate, whether that is through donating essential items like baby diapers or reaching out to trade partners to help extend the reach of an event. More than 50 Tri Pointe team members participated in the Diaper Drive this year and raised more than $17,000 for HomeAid.

AUGUST 2022

parting shot

❱ THANK YOU, GOE ATTENDEES

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A huge thank you to all the Gathering of Eagles attendees who made this year’s conference a great success. HW Media is honored to bring together leaders from across the housing industry to network, learn and create solutions for future generations of Realtors, mortgage originators and brokers. This year’s conference featured Keynote Speaker Larry Kendall of Ninja Selling and panels packed with housing executives who shared their insights on where the industry is headed. The 2023 GOE conference will be held at the Omni Barton Creek in Austin, Texas. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

AUGUST 2022

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